Main Bridge

Located on Deck 1 at the very top of the primary hull, the Main Bridge of the Starship Enterprise allows for the supervision of all shipboard operations. The nerve center of the starship, the Bridge is constantly manned by the Senior Staff of the vessel - sans Chief Engineer and Chief Medical Officer - and has workstations dedicated to oversee and control every shipboard function. From this single location, the Commanding Officer could supervise all operations, ranging from plotting a course to control of tactical systems.

Maintaining the traditional layout of workstations established on the earliest Starfleet vessels, the Enterprise Bridge has returned to the warmer, carpeted interiors of the late 24th over the dark and utilitarian look of the early 25th Century. Unlike its counterpart flagship exploratory vessels, the Bridge of the Enterprise is somewhat compact when compared to its historic ancestors. Various workstations were placed on the perimeter of the bridge while the vessel's Flight Controls and Tactical Systems were located at individual workstations in a sunken section ahead of the Captain's Chair.

Access to the Bridge of the Enterprise is provided by twin entries located on the aft-port and aft-starboard bulkheads. The starship's dedication plaque is located adjacent to the aft-starboard entry and provides access to the Captain's Ready Room while the aft-port entry allows access to the Executive Officer's Office and has a wall-mounted replicator terminal. Each entry is supported by a turbolift that provides access to the remainder of Deck One, which includes a Conference Room, a small mess hall, Transporter Room, and twin bunk rooms.

Layout

Command Section

Command Chair

Located in the exact center of the Bridge, the Command Chair (or Captain's Chair) is the primary command station aboard the Enterprise and provides the Captain or Duty Officer with an unobstructed view of the vessel's viewscreen. Unlike recent designs, the Captain's Chair is once again isolated in the center of the Bridge; however, the Chair is mounted on a circular pillar that can swivel so that the duty officer could address any member of the bridge crew with ease. Miniaturized status displays have been constructed into the armrests, providing at-a-glance readiness reports to the Captain. The panel on the right arm controls communications (including allowing for the recording of log entries), tactical, and the viewscreen. The interface on the left accesses flight control, operations priorities, and the ship's library. In an emergency situation the Command Chair can override any shipboard function.

Flight Control/Operations Station

Designed for maximum speed and efficiency of input, the combined Flight Control/Operations console oversees piloting and resource allocation aboard the Enterprise. Located on the port side of the forward workstation, the officer manning this console is responsible for navigating the Enterprise, setting course, and managing the ship's powerful engines despite their automated nature. As the Operations Manager, this crewmember sets the operational priorities of the starship, managing shipboard resources to ensure effective systems allocations. In association with the vessel's Engineer, the Flight Control/Operations Officer also monitors the ship's subspace field geometry to maximize efficiency.

Master Situation Display

The Master Situation Display is a large, wall-mounted computer display on the aft bulkhead of the Enterprise Bridge. Highly detailed, the Master Situation Display incorporates detailed readouts corresponding to the Enterprise and its overall mission. Incorporating a large cutaway diagram of the vessel, the Master Situation Display shows the location of key systems and hardware and can be further utilized to pinpoint systems operating outside of normal parameters. Equipment bays flank the Master Situation panel, storing various supplies that can be used by the Bridge crew as necessary.

Security/Tactical Station

The Security/Tactical Station is located on the starboard side of the forward console between the Captain's Chair and the Viewscreen. Dedicated to defensive systems control and internal security, the Tactical station maintains priority linkages to the starship's sensor arrays to monitor for external threats. In the event of a threat to the ship, the officer assigned here oversees the response to these threats and controls the Enterprise's weapons and defensive shields. Intrusion detection systems monitor the ship for internal threats, allowing the Security Officer to deploy Security Teams and conduct criminal investigations. Communications, launching of sensor probes, and deployment of tractor beams are also managed from this workstation.

Viewscreen

Located at the front of the Bridge, the Viewscreen of the Enterprise takes its inspiration from 24th Century designs and features holographic emitters that provide a three-dimensional overview of space surrounding the vessel. As needed a computerized heads-up display can be projected over the display, allowing the Bridge crew to analyze data from the ship's sensor arrays, communicate with others, or view library records.

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Port Stations - Internal Operations

Engineering I

Located closest to the Viewscreen on the port bulkhead of the Enterprise Bridge, Engineering I is among the largest workstations on the Bridge of the Enterprise and enables the monitoring and control of engineering functions from the Bridge. Engineering duplicates status displays from the Engine Room related to the ship's engines, systems, and allows control over energy distribution. In an emergency, Damage Control Teams can be coordinated and dispatched from the Engineering console to prioritize repair team assignments.

Engineering II

The second of two Engineering workstations on the Enterprise Bridge, Engineering II has been configured to monitor the performance of the Propulsion Systems of the starship. Atypical on the Bridge of a starship since the late 23rd century, the specialized displays of the Propulsion Systems monitor have been installed on the Enterprise Bridge to allow advanced control of the vessel's experimental Coaxial Warp Propulsion System.

Environment

Environment is used to regulate atmospheric conditions aboard the Enterprise including, but not limited to, the concentration of varying gases, lighting, temperature, humidity, and gravity. One of the most closely regulated and monitored systems aboard the vessel, Environmental Controls are highly automated and this workstation is usually only occupied during an emergency.

Mission Operations

Located closest to the Captain's Chair on the port bulkhead, Mission Operations is a specialized workstation that is designed to support the Enterprise's Operation's Manager and is often assigned to the Executive Officer. In its default configuration, the Mission Operations Station monitors secondary missions occurring aboard the Enterprise, coordinates away missions, and is manages operations of the Enterprise's Shuttlebays. In addition to these duties, the Mission Ops console monitors secondary sensor usage to help prevent resource conflicts.

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Starboard Stations - External Operations

Communications

Located closest to the Viewscreen on the starboard side of the Bridge, Communications is the workstation dedicated to managing all external and internal transmissions aboard the Enterprise. As part of its role, the Communications console monitors and controls the Universal Translator, managing its search routines and updating the linguacode databases with new languages encountered. In addition to compiling reports and other transmissions, Communications handles encryption and decryption routines for messages from Starfleet.

Science I

Science I aboard the Enterprise Bridge has been configured for Astrometrics tasks. Featuring priority linkages to the vessel's Astrometrics and Stellar Cartography labs - as well as the Starfleet Galactic Memory Bank - Astrometrics is used to chart stars, planets, nebulae, and other stellar bodies. Often, investigation of stellar and planetary phenomenon will be prioritized to this workstation.

Science II

Science II aboard the Enterprise Bridge has been assigned to Life Science objectives and is often utilized by the vessel's Chief Medical Officer or other member of the vessel's Medical team. Science II is primarily focused on the study of living organisms - including biology, botany, zoology, microbiology, physiology, biochemistry, and related subjects - encountered by the vessel, and monitors the overall health and well-being of the Enterprise's crew.

Science III

Manned by a Science Officer, Science III is the starboard workstation closest to the Command Chair and is used by the Senior Science Officer. In its default configuration, this workstation is designed to monitor scientific activity aboard the ship and offers priority linkages to the Enterprise's sensor telescopes. The Science Station maintains access to the LCARS Computer Network and maintains communication with Starfleet's extensive libraries throughout the Federation, allowing for processing of incoming information both quickly and efficiently by the user assigned.

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Disclaimer

The Enterprise Bridge began life as the USS Anchorage Bridge designed by Tadeo D'Oria. No infringement intended.