Task Force 17 – Report #3

October 12, 2026

“Space travel is not just about exploration; it is about expanding the limits of human potential.”

-Valentina Tereshkova

Task Force Updates

Since our last report in June, Task Force 17 has been charging ahead at full impulse. With Wargames 2026 just wrapping up, we look back with an immense sense of pride in the contributions our members made; Task Force 17 once again showed up ready to make its presence known across all three teams. Wargames is an event that many of us look forward to and seeing our members throw themselves into the experience is a delightful reminder of the passion and camaraderie that drives our Task Force forward each and every day.

Shortly after our last report, we welcomed Commodore Jaro Oak to the Task Force staff as the Task Group Commanding Officer for Task Group 9. Well known through the Fleet, he has hit the ground running with tremendous enthusiasm and a genuine drive to offer guidance, lend a helping hand and cheer on the members of 17.

We also had the pleasure of welcoming many new and returning faces:  

Fiction Updates

Task Group 9:

  • USS Andromeda – Following the crossroads crisis, Captain Noli Auru says an emotional farewell to the Lokata, the ship that shaped her career, before taking command of the immense explorer Andromeda and beginning a new chapter beyond familiar surroundings. Though bittersweet, she was reunited with trusted friends including Prida, Rennick, Morrek Shaal and Alaria Okan while meeting the more unfamiliar officers that make up the rest of her crew. As the crew settled into life aboard a vessel built for long range exploration, Morrek began to master the very different demands of piloting the enormous ship and Noli laid her hopes for a mission dedicated to discovery rather than constant crisis. Those hopes were dashed quickly as the vessel was ordered to assist the USS Breedlove in the mysterious Black Cluster. En route an apparently routine transmission abruptly broke into static prompting Noli and the crew to increase speed as their first voyage into the unknown may have just become more dangerous than expected.
  • USS Cerberus – Captain Robert Mackenzie took command of the USS Cerberus following an extensive refit after serous engine failure. While preparing for the ship for its relaunch, Mackenzie receives a suspicious warning from someone claiming to be Starfleet Intelligence about a planned act of sabotage. Trusting his instincts, he quietly investigated alongside his senior staff and discovered the threat was real, though not in the way it was presented. During the Cerberus’s shakedown cruise, the saboteurs sprang their trap and disabled the ships power only to find the crew was waiting for them.  The plot thwarted and the infiltrators captures, the Cerberus successfully proved herself ready for service and established MacKenzie as a calm unconventional and capable commanding officer.
  • Cerne Station – Fleet Captain Tom Church took shore leave alongside his closest friends, Captain Julian Dempsey and Keran Rellis, on Colludia II. During a brief encounter with a Ferengi criminal names Daimon Lok, Church became seriously injured and had to be rescued by a private security contractor names Casabella ‘Cass; Borden. During his recovery, Church was forced to confront the grief he’d been carrying since the disappearance of his son, Kofi. With support from Dempsey, Rellis and Cass, he began to process his loss and regain a sense of hope. A challenging climb up Mount Haratha helped his realise that he cannot give up on the possibility of Kofi’s return or the people who still care from him.
     Though, back on duty, the sight of a battle-scarred Luna-Class starship return home, pushed him to resign from Starfleet and devote himself entirely to searching for his son. However, a heartfelt message from Cass, who had been assisting with spreading the word about Kofi’s disappearance, reminded him that he was not alone. Renewed by the support of those around him, Church deleted his resignation and choose to remain in Starfleet, facing the future with restored hope.
  • USS Culver City  – The USS Culver City got a new crew and a new captain. Commander Brian Park’s first command. Lieutenant Ian Rockwall received an unexpected assignment to the vessels and joined the engineering department quickly finding his place and his feet. As the ship prepared for its first mission, Park balanced his enthusiasm as a former engineer with the responsibilities of command, hosting crew gatherings and building relationships across the ship. After a successful delivery of supplies to Colludia the crew dispersed for team building and down time before the crew properly started their adventures together. Lieutenant Ian Rockwall reflected on the friendships and experiences he gained during the holiday before eagerly returning to the ship, as Commander Brian Park returned from a skiing trip and continues adjusting to life as a first-time commanding officer. As the crew prepared for departure, a minor incident occurred when four crewmembers fail to report back on time, which lead to a first disagreement between Park and his strict executive officer, Lieutenant Commander Pix Cullain, over leadership and discipline. As the crew settled back into shipboard life and looked ahead to the adventures awaiting them on the frontier the Culver City got underway once more.
  • USS Hood – The crew of the USS Hood settled into the routine of their five-year mission of exploration in the Gamma Quadrant. While Captain Olivia Carrillo, Commander Strie Ryaon and the senior staff balance the challenges of leadership, first contact and life far from Federation space the crew formed new friendships, romances and routine aboard the ship. After surveying unexplored systems the Hood discovered Pernod, a former Dominion controlled pleasure world eager to revive its role as a destination for travellers. Despite Carrollo’s concerns that everything seemed a little too perfect, the crew began a staggered shore leave on the planet. As they settled, the arrival of a heavily armed outsider ship and questions about Pernod’s long-standing relationship with powerful visitors suggest there may be more complexity beneath the paradise’s welcoming surface.
  • USS Kennedy – The USS Kennedy hosted a major diplomatic gathering of Federations, Klingon and Romulan officers participating in the Fourth Fleet’s secondment program. While Captain Ria Alleyne departed on an officer’s retreat at Amabassador Drake’s urging, the Kennedy became the centre of a carefully planned effort to strengthen trust and cooperation between former rivals. With Ambassador Muchael Drake, Ensign Maya Ortega and Lieutenant Commander Madison Lawton leading preparations, the ship welcomed delegations from across the Federation, Klingon Empire and Romulan Republic. Through formal receptions, shared meals and candid conversations the Kennedy provided a neutral environment where officers could build relationships, discuss old grievances and explore a future build on cooperation rather than conflict. Throughout, the Kennedy successfully served as a diplomatic heart of the secondment initiative, helping foster new relationships, strengthen alliances and demonstrate the value of continued collaboration between the three powers.
  • USS Missouri – Commander Shymel sh’Insynaph became increasingly frustrated as she learned that her ship had been assigned to checkpoint duty during a fleet-wide month-long holiday period. Her annoyance quickly faded through when Captain Charlie MacColgan revealed that she’s been deliberately given the assignment because it only required a skeleton crew, effectively giving the majority Shore Leave anyway. While Shymel eagerly planned a beach getaway, Charlie looked forward to a far simpler vacation of snacks, drinks and binge-watching television aboard ship.
  • USS Ride – The USS Ride led their Exploratory Squadron during their preparations at Deep Space 47 before departing for the largely unexplored Thomar Expanse. Admiral Niana Tondro returned to the Ride, reconnecting with familiar officer and began to shape the squadron’s mission while welcoming a new Romulan Republic cultural exchange detachment led by Centurian T’Ket. Across the station and ships, officers used the downtime to strengthen professional relationships, pursue personal projects and prepare for future exploration. As the squadron gathered for briefings and planning sessions, Tondro outlined an ambitious initiative that will be sending them beyond known space.
  • USS Sevastopol – The Sevastopol and her crew began what was expected to be a humanitarian mission that quickly became an opportunity to demonstrate the true spirit of Starfleet. After briefly assisting the disables USS Perihelion, the crew arrives at the remote colony of Kappa Zeta VI expecting a simple supply delivery, only to discover a community suffering from years of agricultural failures, disease, failing infrastructure and poor leadership. Led by Captain Julian Durand, the crew threw themselves into relief efforts to help the colony recover. While the colonists grappled with the consequences of their governor’s reluctance to seek help, the crew ultimately left the world far better than they found it. The vessel’s now rejoining its expeditionary squadron and preparing for future missions while reinforcing their professionalism and humanitarian values which define this crew.

Task Group 38

  • USS Galahad – Commander Orila Karai began her shore leave determined to do absolutely nothing for once, despite her friend T’Ren’s certainty that she will inevitably find trouble. While wandering the old town of Colludia, Ori stumbled into a library and discovered a ninety-year-old ledger entry for a book that was borrowed bit never returned. What started as quiet afternoon quickly awakened her curiosity and before long she found herself chasing the mystery of the missing book, proving T’Ren’s prediction that Ori can never resist an unanswered question.
  • USS Horizon – Shore leave on Colludea II should have offered Lt Sora Venn and CPO Rebecca Thorne a chance to finally breathe. Instead, a day spent wandering Colludea’s crowded markets, rooftop cafes and late-night karaoke bars forces them both to confront what they carried home with them: borrowed memories, lingering guilt and the fear that their bond only exists because no one else can understand what they went through. Meanwhile, a group of young ensign’s, annoyed at being given duties while the rest of the ship was given leave, escorted their old first officer to his new position commanding Starbase 339. What should have been a routine drop off and return quickly went south as an old artifact within the station’s mysterious archive bends reality around them. A mad-cap adventure followed as they navigated their way through understanding the artifact and its purpose.
  • USS Spector – Along the Federation border all things were quiet, until they weren’t. The Spector Fighter Squadron deployed on routine border patrols met increasing resistance from a seemingly unknown foe. The Kzinti government denying all knowledge of any actions against Federation and allied vessels transiting through the region. As attacks increased things got more and more dangerous for the Akira class vessel and its fighters, rookie flight control officers were forced to quickly become veterans within The Revenants.

Task Force Recognition

One of the most enjoyable  parts of being a Task Force staff member is seeing members earn awards and promotions. We’re here to celebrate the following well deserved awards and promotions.

Awards: 

Promotions:

  • Anna Caldwell – Fleet Captain
  • Ian Rockwall – Cadet Freshman, Cadet Sophomore, Cadet Junior, Cadet Senior, Midshipman, Ensign, Lieutenant JG, Lieutenant, Lt. Commander
  • James Wylder – Cadet Freshman, Cadet Sophomore, Cadet Junior, Cadet Senior, Midshipman
  • Tyler McQueen – Cadet Freshman, Cadet Sophomore, Cadet Junior, Cadet Senior, Midshipman
  • Trevin Higgins – Cadet Senior, Midshipman
  • N’Keth – Cadet Freshman, Cadet Sophomore, Cadet Junior, Cadet Senior
  • Vurr zod – Cadet Freshman, Cadet Sophomore
  • Umbra Sarei – Cadet Freshman

Conclusion:

It has been a tremendous year so far, with many members of the Task Force earning awards, promotions and embracing the events and opportunities that make our Fleet what it is but we aren’t slowing down right before we reach the finish line. With Wildfire and so much on the horizon as we wrap up 2026, we can confidently say that the best is yet to come!

FrameProfile Photo
Anna Caldwell Task Force 17 Commanding Officer
Reports Task Force 17