Class: Olympus Mons–class Capital Ship
Affiliation: Compact Navy
Commanding Officer: [Not specified]
Notable Occupants: Vice Admiral Eileen Burke, Fleet Admiral Tran, Tol Germanicus, John Farno, Persephone, Patty Friese
The CNV Utopia Planitia is an Olympus Mons–class capital ship of the Compact Navy, one of the largest and most advanced warships in active service. These ships are built as long, octagonal cylinders, designed for long-range power projection, command operations, and strategic fleet support. The Utopia Planitia is one of only two classes in the Navy that receive periodic overhauls and upgrades, maintaining their edge as flagships and mission-critical platforms. The lead ship of the class, the Olympus Mons, is permanently moored over Mars.
During the events of No Marigolds in the Promised Land, Vice Admiral Eileen Burke commandeers the Utopia Planitia without Fleet Admiral Tran’s authorization. She uses the vessel to retrieve John Farno and the crew of the Alcubierre following the rogue warp ship’s mission to Farigha.
Capabilities and Features:
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Size and Design: Long octagonal cylinder structure typical of Olympus Mons–class warships
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Shuttle Bay: Large enough to dock the entire Alcubierre, a fact that startles Farno when Patty Friese points it out
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Wormhole Generator: Equipped with a full-scale Projection Drive, it is capable of offensive wormhole deployment
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Combat Action: In the final phase of the Farigha operation, the Utopia Planitia generates a wormhole directly into the path of a hostile Realm warship, obliterating the vessel—a dramatic return to tactical projection use
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AI Containment: Capable of supporting or isolating artificial intelligence, including temporary housing of Persephone after her covert upload via shuttle
Narrative Role:
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Acts as mobile command and recovery platform for the Farigha incident
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Becomes the staging ground for Persephone’s shutdown by Tol Germanicus, who plans to revise her programming to remove emotional subservience to John Farno
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Highlights the political autonomy exercised by Burke and Germanicus within the Navy structure
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Serves as a counterpoint to the minimal, experimental Alcubierre, representing traditional Navy doctrine versus emerging technologies
Upon the Utopia Planitia’s return to Earth, Fleet Admiral Tran confronts his assistant in a sharp and revealing exchange. Frustrated by the layers of bureaucratic obstruction that have surrounded the Farigha incident from the beginning, Tran snaps, demanding an explanation for the assistant’s behind-the-scenes interference. The aide’s evasiveness and vague authority hint at something deeper—an unseen force influencing decisions at the highest levels.
This moment is the first subtle indication of the Juno Initiative, a covert organization operating beyond Compact oversight. While no one yet knows Juno exists, its fingerprints are already present—silencing dissent, rerouting priorities, and using events like Farigha to test how much control it can exert over military and civilian governance.
The unauthorized launch of the Utopia Planitia by Vice Admiral Burke, shielded by Tol Germanicus’s influence, underscores the fragile balance of power within the Navy. What appears to be a simple breakdown in the chain of command is, in hindsight, the first exposure of Juno’s long reach—a shadow organization watching, and sometimes shaping, the Compact from the inside.
Appearances: No Marigolds in the Promised Land