The Sim
A Latin word that directly translates to ‘cavalry’, Equitas a Roman-era goddess also encapsulated the notions of fairness, justice and equity, ideals that the United Federation of Planets and its Starfleet strive to embody in an ever-turbulent galaxy.
The first recorded starship to bear the name Equitas was a Daedalus-class explorer. Commissioned during the Earth-Romulan War, construction was only completed following the Treaty of Algernon’s signing. No longer on a war footing, the Equitas was almost immediately refitted, as much of Earth’s Starfleet’s Daedalus-class vessels were in the 2160s.
Finally re-configured as a scientific exploration vessel the Equitas DA-163/NCC-163 was launched in 2162. Sent to the furthest reaches of the emerging United Federation of Planets, the Equitas and her scientists and diplomats spent long stretches of time exploring the western reaches of the Alpha Quadrant. After a thirty-year career, seven commanding officers and thousands of hours on the frontier, the Equitas was finally retired in 2196.
It would be over a century until the next ship named Equitas would be commissioned. Following the Khitomer Accords of the 2290s, Starfleet found more resources to hand and began expanding her exploratory fleet. Comissioned in the early 2300s, the second USS Equitas was completed in 2311. The Centaur-class vessel primarily operated out of the Unifted Federation’s of Planet’s new frontiers in the Beta Quadrant. Following in the wake of the USS Hecate and her 25 years exploring beyond the Klingon Empire, the Equitas initially called Starfleet Intelligence’s Hades Base her home port, before operating out of Starbase Phoenix.
Optimised for speedy deployment to problem zones, the Equitas brought to bear the most cutting edge technology available to Starfleet at the time. Her primary assignments involved emergency scientific and medical interventions, saving countless lives in the early decades of the twenty-fourth century. Her second commanding officer, Captain Aegik Vong was noted to have made more than fifteen second-contact missions in the 2330s.
As the Cardassian threat grew, the second USS Equitas finished her days defending Federation colonists and citizens from the depredations of a determined enemy. On her last assignment, the Equitas bought time for evacuating colonists to escape by holding off two Galor-class vessels. Outmatched, the fight was short-lived, but the colonists were saved. The Equitas was scuttled to prevent boarding.
The latest starship to bear the name Equitas, the Lamarr-class science vessel NCC-56240 was commissioned to carry on the powerful legacy of the Equitas name. Equipped with state-of-the-art scientific and medical facilities, and premier diplomatic installations, the most recent incarnation of the Equitas is well-equipped to carry on the legacy into the twenty-fifth century.