“I conjure the boy I knew. Achilles, grinning as the figs blur in his hands. His green eyes laughing into mine. Catch, he says. Achilles, outlined against the sky, hanging from a branch over the river.” — Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles
The most recent in a long line of Federation starships to bear the name, the Achilles is a lean and swift Echelon-class light cruiser, well-equipped to support Arcturus Squadron with logistics and engineering assignments. Under the command of renowned engineer Akintoye Okusanya, the bridge crew of this new vessel are all women with decades of experience in Starfleet between them. Together, they will bring a torch into the darkness.
Stories associated with this command may include up to the equivalent of a 222 on the RPG ratings scale, and are intended for mature audiences.
Arcturus Wayfinding Squadron is an elite exploratory unit that specializes in finding new ways forward for Starfleet. Distinct from navigation, which is plotting a course based on the precise knowledge of exactly where one is in the universe, wayfinding is a more general word that refers to the process of orienting oneself in regard to space, place, objects, and peoples. Wayfinding was practiced by the Polynesian and Norse voyagers of Earth in the ancient past, as they used landmarks, the stars, and their relationships with other beings to find their way across the seas. While Arcturus Squadron engages in traditional surveying and charting missions, its mandate is also to use whatever tools it can to find the way forward, whether through diplomacy, acquiring or developing new propulsion methods, or, when necessary, mitigating threats to Starfleet’s exploratory mission.
Currently, Arcturus Squadron is based out of Olympia Station at the rimward trailing edge of Federation space in the Alpha Quadrant.
Commanding Officer
SCE Team Leader
15 September 2024
1. The Roots of a Strange New World
Olympia Station, USS Achilles, USS Antares, USS Apollo, USS Arcturus, USS Arondight, USS Buran, USS Nellie Bly, USS Pallas, USS Renown, USS Saturn, USS Theseus and USS Thomas Paine
Captain’s Log, Stardate 2401.11 Following over two months of work, today is the day that I will be able to certify Zeta Olympiae IV—what we’re calling Mytikas, after the highest peak on Mount Olympus—as suitable for habitation. All of the crews across Arcturus Squadron have been [...]