"In the Final Frontier, on the edges of space, the duty of the starship Yorktown is to explore... and to discover... and it is to defend the United Federation of Planets. It is our duty, it is our mission; this is our life. Ad Astra Per Aspera - Through Perseverance, to the Stars."
-Captain Xavier Grant
N.C.C. 2040 - U.S.S. Yorktown
Quoting the ship's Dedication Plaque
It is 2308, and nearly a generation has passed since the Khitomer Accords and détente with the Klingon Empire. But the dedicated members of the Federation Starfleet are finding that winning the peace may be just as hard as winning a war.
Within 3 years, the mysterious Tomed Incident will send the Romulans into isolation for half a century. The Cardassians haven't yet been discovered. And K'mpec, the longest serving Chancellor of the Klingon High Council is just coming into his prime, ascending the hierarchy.
Throughout the second half of the 22nd and the entirety of the 23rd centuries, the Federation had explored massive new sections of space. The task of the early 24th century is to catalogue and consolidate those discoveries and gains.
Attached to each exploratory mission are a set of Sydney Class support ships. These vessels travel ahead of their base ship, preparing to resupply them. They can also serve to supplement the crew compliment, as well as shuttle diplomatic envoys to and from Yorktown herself. Unlike shuttles, however, these ships have their own registries. The Sydney Class ships attached to Yorktown are named for famous battles in which a vessel named Yorktown participated: U.S.S. Coral Sea, U.S.S. Midway, and U.S.S. Korlandra Prime.
Yorktown is equipped with a full compliment of shuttlecraft. Each shuttle has a specific function and point of use. Shuttlecraft are named for previous commanders of Yorktown vessels.
The Excelsior "Great Experiment" of the 2280's was supposed to yield Transwarp Drive. It did not. However, it ultimately realized massive advances in standard warp technology. But, the Excelsior Class also became the workhorse of the Federation, replacing the Constitution Class in the primary roles of transportation and exploration.
Similar to the Star Trek Original Series Movie uniforms, but with a few important differences. First, we include a Class B uniform (less militaristic). The second is the inclusion of a Dress Uniform. Third are the changes to the uniforms themselves, which includes a different badge and belt buckle. Also, some of the coloration/adornment of the uniforms has been altered. These basic uniforms were in use for roughly 70 years. We come in about 30 years after their initial introduction, so there are differences from what was seen in The Wrath of Khan, for instance.
First introduced in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, the Excelsior Class ships have been a mainstay of Star Trek ever since. But, that familiarity shouldn't imply being passé. The original Excelsior delighted every single time it appeared on the big screen. It was such a popular design, in continuity they were still using them by the time of The Next Generation's 2364! And, for good reason. It's an amazing design, and with a few internal tweaks to make our Yorktown unique, the setup is in place for a great addition to the Trek series ship canon.
Along with some amazing external elements that help shape the story, the core of Star Trek: Yorktown is the group of characters we've designed. Emotional, evocative, and evolutionary, this is a Star Trek tale for the ages!
When presented with something like Star Trek, with its massive back catalogue of information and canon, there are two real choices: reboot it or delve into it. When they created the new film continuity, they wisely made it an alternate timeline. They freed themselves from the burden of previous Trek, but didn't eliminate the original. Our approach is to take the vast tapestry of Star Trek and embrace it... In fact, to interweave it even further, while still making it not only accessible to a new audience, but to inspire that new audience to seek out previous Star Trek for even more enjoyment.
Since its initial construction in 2285, Yorktown has been tasked as the testbed for all new Excelsior Class innovations. Thus, there are experimental systems aboard that not even the Captain knows about until taking command. By 2308, she's the most advanced starship in known space. That fact also makes her a ripe target for espionage and sabotage.
The first starship to bear the name was the fourth addition to the Warp 5 Program, NX-04, U.S.S. Yorktown. Continuing the improvements made from each of the previous Warp 5 ships, this vessel was the most advanced starship of the era in terms of Earth ships. NX-04 was launched in 2156 and could attain a maximum velocity of Warp 5.8. A major player in the Romulan Wars, NX-04 was the last of the Warp 5 ships and remained in service until 2182. She is retired to the Orbital Museum at Utopia Planetia next to NX-01, U.S.S. Enterprise in an exhibit to illustrate the service lifetime improvements of the class. NX-04 also holds the distinction of being the last exploration vehicle of the Earth Starfleet.
Within only a few decades of the founding, the Federation had expanded considerably in membership and territory. Most of this expansion was only possible because of the Daedalus Class. With cruising speeds of up to Warp 6.5, the Daedalus Class was the fastest known ship in the quadrant during its era. But, by the 2180's, the original Daedalus ships were aging. The engineers at the San Francisco Fleet Yards convinced the Federation Council and Starfleet Command to approve a redesign of the Daedalus Class. This would result in the basic design continuing in use through the late 24th century. The first of these new Daedalus Class Type II ships was NCC-539, U.S.S. Yorktown. Able to achieve Warp 7.2, these ships were far faster than their predecessors. From 2184 when she was commissioned, NCC-539 stayed in active service for 50 years until 2234, longer than any starship in history until NCC-2000, U.S.S. Excelsior surpasses the mark in 2334. NCC-539 is also retired to Utopia Planetia.
Nearing the end of the first half of the 23rd century, Starfleet Command needed larger and more powerful vessels, not only for convoy missions, but more specifically for their deep space explorations. A series of heavy cruisers were built within this new Constitution Class. Among them was NCC-1717, U.S.S. Yorktown. Launched in 2251, she was in active service until 2268 and her destruction by the Klingons at the Battle of Korlandra Prime. The heroic sacrifice of her crew would earn NCC-1717 a distinctive honor within the Constitution Class: Yorktown was the only name assigned to two ships of new construction within the class.
With great advances in propulsion technology, the original Constitution Class vessels were redesigned in the late 2260's. Almost immediately, a new series of these Constitution Class Type II ships were built to augment the size of the Starfleet. One of these brand new vessels was NCC-1942, U.S.S. Yorktown. This was the only Constitution Class Type II ship assigned the same name as a Type I ship in new construction. She was launched on June 6, 2272, 330 years after the Battle of Midway. Unfortunately, Yorktown was captured in the wake of the Cetacean Probe in 2284. Captain Randolph was able to modify the ship after extensive work to take advantage of a solar sail. Yorktown limped back to Spacedock 1 in orbit of Earth for repairs. At the time, in honor of the original starship Enterprise, NCC-1701 and her gallant crew, U.S.S. Yorktown, NCC-1942 was rechristened: U.S.S. Enterprise, NCC-1701-A. The ship was eventually mothballed after battle against the Klingons in defense of the Khitomer Conference. Today she resides in the Starfleet Orbital Museum above Utopia Planetia on Mars with great honor, making her the third Yorktown in the collection.
Our conceit is that within the Federation there are two great starship families: Enterprise & Yorktown, and our series is designed to showcase the latter for the first time. By using our in-continuity history, it adds a compelling new narrative to the Star Trek mythos.
Obviously there are more people and ships in Starfleet than just Enterprises. In fact, when there isn't one, what's the flagship of the Federation? This takes nothing away from the specialness of the Enterprise saga, it's simply that while this world begins there, that's not where it ends... It never ends... and Yorktown can be next!
The series opens on a mystery. Gabriel Parsons, former Captain of Yorktown, has been killed. Starfleet's official line is an accident. His best friend since their Academy days, Captain Xavier Grant, believes it's murder, and is now taking command of Yorktown to suss out the truth and expose the guilty, regardless of who they are and the consequences to the quadrant!
With an ensemble of intriguing characters, both on and off the ship, Star Trek: Yorktown would focus on the people and their stories within the greater context of the era. There are major events happening in the Trek universe, but those stories only hold relevance when they impact real people. We think our stories achieve that proper balance.
The era of Star Trek between the Original Series Movies and The Next Generation is 60 years (from the christening of Enterprise-B in 2294 to Encounter at Farpoint in 2364).
Enterprise and Yorktown have been linked for centuries. From the Battle of Midway in World War Two, through to the end of known Trek... One of them is even the same ship! It's time that the other half of the Star Trek story be told.
This is also the era that defines who the people of The Next Generation will become. The conflicts that laid the groundwork leading into that series are the bedrock and immediate future of this series.
This is the next generation after Kirk's space cowboy era. In fact, 1966-1969 equated to 2266-2269, so we can still use Original Series actors in their classic roles at nearly their proper age. Thus, cameo appearances from Captain Sulu and his Excelsior among others would be possible.
©2016 Third Triumvirate Studios
At Third Triumvirate Studios, our ambition is to build worlds which will inspire as well as entertain, and to populate them with memorable, fully developed characters. We aspire to bring to our audience a sense of fun, to make something truly engaging that rekindles the flame of imagination in the old and adds fuel to the fire in the young.
The genesis of the concept owes much in spirit to The Next Generation (the return of Star Trek the last time it lay fallow on television temporarily): a captivating tableau of characters set in the Star Trek Universe. Those characters were what won over skeptical Trek fans in the late 80's,
and to that end we've created a deep pool
of new characters to populate this period.
1991's Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered
Country was designed as an allegory for
the end of our Cold War with the Russians. This was the extension of the long tradition of the Original Series using the future as commentary on the present. By setting ST:Y in 2308, we can again directly use it as commentary on our own times... And just like the United States thought the hard times were over when the Soviet Union was dissolved, and they weren't, so too, did the Federation think everything was clear sailing after peace with the Klingons. If only things were that easy.
Peace itself with the Klingons isn't as simple as we thought. The relationship with the Romulans is never simple. And, with the existence of the
exploration all being serviced in this interconnected serial, a novel approach was required: We spent the better part of two years developing the entire 130 episode run of this series. By knowing the central mysteries, locations, character requirements, etc. we believe we can craft a truly captivating and unique entry into the Star Trek realm.
Star Trek: Yorktown is the perfect Star Trek series for this time!
horizon, the politics of diplomacy and war are never more important.
With a murder mystery, sabotage, espionage, diplomatic gamesmanship, and
Cardassians on the
