Overview
The U.S.S. Excelsior, fourth starship to bear the name, is on a two-year mission of exploration on the far side of the galaxy. Some would call this an honor for Commander Alcar Dovan and his young crew, especially coming so soon after the tragic death of Captain Cortez and so many veteran officers at Valandria. Certainly that's what Admiral Parker's telling the press. Those with a more cynical mindset — such as, oh, I don't know, Captain Dovan himself — would call it exile, a coverup designed to keep the Excelsior out of the public eye after their shocking, top-secret discovery of a terrifying threat to the entire galaxy.
But, as the dedication plaque says, "Wherever you go, there you are," and the Excelsior crew have thrown themselves into their frontier expedition with zest. Since passing through the ancient Iconian Gateway that sent them to this distant region of space, they have had less and less contact with Starfleet Command, and seen sights they could have never imagined. But why is this area so full of Iconian ruins? And why, after a quarter of a million years, are so many of them starting to show signs of life?
Starship Excelsior is a full-cast, full-production, fan-made audio drama in the tradition of Big Finish and Darker Projects. In our early years, we released 40-minute episodes every three months or so. More recently, we have released 80-minute episodes every five months or so. While some (excellent) Trek fan productions aim to exactly preserve Star Trek as it was in 1966, and others try to remake Star Trek into an entirely different (much darker) show, Excelsior simply aims to tell the very best, cutting-edge science fiction stories we can. We aren't afraid to modernize our format, tell big stories, play with the "canon," and break taboos. We have a track record that demonstrates our critical approach to modern Trek. However, in the end, it all comes back to Gene Roddenberry's bold vision of the future: like him, our aim is simply to take Star Trek — and our listeners — where we have never gone before.
The Crew
Commander Alcar Dovan
Alcar Dovan is the most highly-decorated officer in Starfleet below the rank of captain. He has fought in dozens of engagements, won the Grankite Order of Tactics during the Borg Incursion at Sector 001, and was knighted in the Legion of Bolias for single-handedly stealing a Jem'Hadar attack ship and rescuing four retreating Allied vessels during Second Chin'toka.
He hates this. He hates the medals, he hates the memories, and, above all, he hates the admirals and brass who think he's a hero because of it. He hates what nearly twenty years of intermittent armed conflict did to the Starfleet he fell in love with, he hates the fact that he's only happy in a uniform, and he hates the fact that, if he had to do it all again, he would. All this made him the perfect recruit for Captain Cortez, and, when no other C.O. would touch him, she made this "bitter blue Bolian" her first officer. When she was killed, Dovan was forced to become captain. He hated that, too. But, now that the Excelsior is finally on a mission of exploration, not military victory, he's starting to warm to the man he's become.
Lieutenant Alecz Lorhrok
Lieutenant Lorhrok was widely considered too young to be chief engineer of a Sovereign-class starship, but Captain Cortez saw something special in him, and plucked him from an obscure post aboard the U.S.S. Steadfast to get him on her senior staff. When she died, even more responsibility was thrust upon him as Commander Dovan chose him to serve as first officer — a temporary assignment that has proved to be anything but. Some value Lorhrok's innocence; others call him naive. Alecz is Trill, but has never sought symbiosis.
Lieutenant Commander Neeva
Neeva, one of the only Orion women serving in Starfleet, was born on a hardscrabble Klingon world — a failed colony — before apprenticing with an Orion pirate crew at age 9. Eventually, in dire straits, the crew sold her to a kindly Federation citizen, who rescued her. Neeva soon fell in love with the order and safety of the Federation, and she is now the Excelsior's ferociously by-the-book Chief of Operations. She has struggled to form lasting friendships, but hopes that might be changing in her new assignment. (Audio Supplement)
Lieutenant Asuka Yubari
Lieutenant Yubari, chief of security, has a short temper and powerful fists, which have gotten her both out of and into trouble for most of her life. After she was seriously wounded during a special forces mission, Yubari moved to Intelligence, where she worked as an analyst in the same division as Bev Rol. A field assignment took her to the Excelsior, where events came to a head and left her with a new job. Yubari is extraordinarily loyal to her comrades, and never fails to avenge herself upon her enemies. We're lucky she's on our side.
Ensign Bev Rol
Alex Bevoney "Bev" Rol was a high-ranking intelligence officer for decades, but he was unsustainably idealistic, and, one day, he fell from grace, despaired of those ideals, and ended up doing dirty work for a black ops group. Meeting the exceptionally idealistic Alecz Lorhrok while on assignment was a turning point for Rol, and became a helmsman and C.O. of the Excelsior fighter squadron. (Audio Supplement)
Doctor Melissa Sharp
Melissa (as she insists on being called) is a short, fragile little human woman with a cheery disposition and a general distaste for all things space-y. She only ever wanted to be a researcher, but her attempts to remain on Earth during the Dominion War — and her principled opposition to the War — made her a coward in the eyes of many in Starfleet. Recognizing that she would never get to do what she loved until she erased that label, Sharp signed up for a short tour on the Excelsior as Chief Medical Officer. (Audio Supplement)
Lieutenant Commander Kestra J'naya
The newest member of the Excelsior team, the half-human, half-Risian Commander J'naya is an experienced technician and manager who runs the Excelsior engineering department with great competence and warmth.