To Boldly Go... (a Starfleet quest)

AN: Here, have a thing, This is the result of a great deal of thought and discussion off and on about the second lives of old starships and what exactly happens when one is taken out of service. Should be a couple nifty minor plot hooks in here , the last of which I think I may just run with it doesn't get shot down, and hopefully nothing contradicts established setting facts or introduces anything the QMs might object to that can't be just as easily hand-waved away.

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Excerpt from "New Lives for Old Hulls: A Spaceflight History Preservation Society report"

It is a much remarked-upon fact that starship hulls are not cheep, and for both government and civil operators it pays to make them last as long as possible. Baring a few special cases, such as unusually small vessels like the Oberth and the original Klingon Bird of Prey, starship classes in use for deep space exploration or military purposes can expect to receive at least one major refit throughout their service lives. Civilian craft can follow similar trajectories, though in many cases a series of smaller minor updates and perhaps a single drive overhaul is more common practice, while others remain in operation with only incidental or cosmetic changes for many decades. However, sooner or later, it becomes infeasible to continue to operate a ship for its intended purpose. Perhaps it can no longer be practically updated to meet the changing needs of its mission, replacement parts become difficult to find, or multiple systems begin showing their age to the point where constant repairs are no longer worthwhile.

Many such vessels are scrapped for materials, placed in a bone yard and scavenged for still-operating ships of the same class, mothballed pending future need, or in far too few cases, made into museum ships. However, some ships go on to live a second life.

A starship that remains space-worthy but is no longer useful for the task for which it was built can often be re-purposed for less demanding tasks. A passenger liner that becomes too slow and unreliable may seen new use as a freighter, for example. Failing that, a functional starship has many capabilities that are valuable separately, perhaps as a stationary facility or for some sub-light application. A new hull may take more time and resources than re-purposing an old one, even if extensive reconstruction is required.

To illustrate these phenomena, a range of case studies are provided.

Ranger-class explorer:
Starfleet's Ranger-class explorer was used as the basis for a range of engineering, logistics, utility and hospital ship, starting within a decade of its entry into service. Though both original and more recent examples have been constructed using purpose-built hulls, several were instead produced as conversions once the last mothballed Rangers were no longer considered necessary. The record of these ships has been somewhat mixed, having a higher rate of drive issues than their purpose-built sisters due to accumulated wear and tear, but with somewhat sturdier hulls and overbuilt plasma conduits and power relays intended to supply weapon systems having mitigated other accidents and saved at least one ship that would have likely otherwise been lost with all hands. Though they are increasingly showing their age, it is telling that there are more original Rangers still in use than Constitutions.

Seoul-class colony ship:
Originally produced as colony ships for the United Earth Colony Administration starting in 2172, by 2185 variants were also in use as passenger liners and transports. Though the original configuration was primarily a sleeper ship, the Seoul class was intended to house over two hundred colonists for up to eight months upon arrival in support of initial colony construction before the full compliment could be unloaded. Compared to similar ships of the era, the Seoul-class was considered large and well-appointed, with significant dedicated recreation spaces, well-designed, space-efficient cabins and comfortable interiors. Forced out of service early after aging components and a previously unnoticed flaw in the warp drive design led to the tragic loss of the UES Odessa, a number of space-worthy but no longer warp-rated hulls became available starting in 2198. These soon found use as in-system liners and freighters, asteroid mining support ships, or even components of stations. Though all mobile Seoul class ships have long since been re-purposed or scrapped, to this day the former UES Bogotá, UES Chengdu and UES Lisbon make up part of the station complex at 624 Hektor, while the hulk of the UES Vancouver now serves as storage, lounge and office space for a civilian shipyard complex.

Unnamed battleship (Gorn?):
An extraordinarily large, extraordinarily old battleship of unknown class and originating civilization makes up part of a mining complex on the surface of an airless rock in the outer reaches of the Qo'noS system. The hull, striped of all weapons and identifying markings but otherwise apparently superficially unchanged, now contains dormitories for non-Klingon workers, storage for raw ore, waste processing for the rest of the complex and an assortment of other functions. Due to limited Federation access to Klingon space and the set of cultural factors at play, where it came from and how it came to be where it is now are not entirely clear, but both Klingon sources that have mentioned it claim that it was captured essentially undamaged after an exceptionally dishonorable and cowardly showing in some past battle, and that it was struck from history but kept around as a monument to its crew's shame. It would appear that the Klingons have intentionally obscured its origins even from themselves, remembering it only for the story of its defeat. To a certain version of Klingon psychology, being denied a warrior's death, forgotten by all with the exception only of one's failure and left to live on defeated and inglorious is perhaps the worst conceivable fate. Some evidence suggests that an analogous punishment is or was occasionally applied to individual people under similar circumstances as well, but the practice does not seem to be openly discussed and is outside of the scope of the report. In any case, it's there, it has been for hundreds of years, and Klingons occasionally reference it in the context of extreme cowardice or dishonor but have done everything they can to make sure it is remembered for absolutely nothing else. Overall design philosophy suggests a possible Gorn origin, but the Klingons won't answer questions about it and asking the Gorn might be unwise.

SS Fortuitous (Inquisitive-class Exploratory Cruiser):
The Fortuitous, originally a "Science" (read: primarily mineral prospecting) vessel operated by the Alukk Orbital Resources Corporation, is notable for one of the more extensive reconstructions ever successfully attempted. Entering into service in 2268, the Fortuitous had a successful but unremarkable career until 2289, when she was struck by an Orion Empire era fusion-pumped particle beam mine while investigating the remains of an ancient battle site. Suffering severe structural and sensor damage but relatively minor casualties, she was recovered and found to not be in condition for cost effective repair, but with a largely undamaged engineering section. After several years sitting in a bone yard, the Fortuitous was purchased by Unlimited Logistics and rebuilt as a bulk cryogenic gas tanker. The badly damaged primary hull was removed completely, and replaced with a newly constructed partial frame mated to the bridge and habitation section from a scrapped mining ship and five large cryogenic gas tanks originally intended to fit modular container freighters. The resulting construction, after substantial warp coil and navigational deflector realignment and the addition of another set of impulse engines, was then leased out to a number of helium and deuterium mining concerns and remains in service in that role.

USS Mendel (Oberth-class science vessel):
One of the original production run of Oberths, the Mendel served with distinction for many years before extensive micro-fractures, likely a result of gravitational sheer during prior extended study of a pair of orbiting neutron stars, were discovered throughout the hull during routine preventative maintenance. Judged no longer safe for extended warp or impulse travel and not economical to properly repair, the Mendel was eventually stripped of her drive, fitted with a civilian fusion power plant, and transfered to a consortium of universities for use as a stationary research platform for study of WISE 0855−0714, a low-temperature brown dwarf which was the first discovered to support life. In its new role, the Mendel continues to support a rotating staff of researchers and graduate students studying the atmospheric chemistry, weather patterns and ecosystem of WISE 0855−0714, along with the geology of its two rocky planets.

SS Pruk Dagh (Tellerite Pagh Makot class passenger liner):
After an uneventful career, the SS Pruk Dagh was slated to be scrapped in 2319 before being purchased by Risans for conversion into an orbital nightclub and micro-gravity dance hall. Conversion is ongoing after delays finalizing the deal and securing berth space, but the Pruk Dagh (renamed the Overlook) is currently on schedule to open in early 2323 in low Risa orbit.

Vinakthen-class battle cruiser:
The Vinakthen class was the last indigenously designed capital ship class to enter Andorian service before the switch to Starfleet designs in 2255. Entering service in the late 2240s, the Vinakthen class was comparable to a pre-refit Constitution class but with weaker sensors, relatively minimal diplomatic facilities and a somewhat tougher hull. A total of two were produced, with the third and fourth planned replaced with Constitutions. When the time came for a major refit in the late 2270s, a combination of unanticipated difficulties accommodating the planned improved shields and the ongoing standardization on Starfleet designs led to the Vinakthens instead being equipped with smaller modern phasers of similar power and outfitted with improved sensors and additional lab space for use as long duration explorers analogous to Starfleet's EC-Constitutions. At the time, this was the subject of some degree of derision in the Andorian media, with several wits noting that they were using their battle cruisers as explorers to free up their explorers to play battle-cruiser. Never the less, the Vinakthen-A Explorers proved reasonably successful for their purpose, and remained in service until 2296, when depleted stocks of spare parts, increasingly obsolescent computers, drives and facilities and funding cuts in the Andorian Survey Corps forced them to be decommissioned. After sitting in mothballs for a number of years, they were striped of drives and weapons and transfered to a Rigelian scrapyard for disposal in 2316. Surprisingly, in early 2321, the former ASC Kelsatha and a number of components from ASC Vinakthen (which was already partially scrapped at the time) where purchased by a Yrillian work gang and towed to Yrillian space for possible refit, a prospect that generated considerable alarm in the government and media once it became known. Though the transfer appears to have been technically legal due to their demilitarized nature and status as scrap, the work gang in question having passed a rudimentary background check, Yrillian affiliate status and the fact that the hulls had already been cleared for transfer to a private entity, a number of concerns have been raised by various parties who are less than enthusiastic about the prospect of an unaccountable Yrillian work gang with a battle cruiser, even an obsolescent and demilitarized one no larger than some modern frigates. Given the state of the ship at the time of transfer, any refit would have to be extremely extensive even assuming access to a replacement warp drive system that can be adapted to fit the hull and remaining systems. Alternately, it may be destined for use as an in-system craft or stationary platform. In any case, it has yet to publicly resurface.