USS Darfur (NCC-2038)

The USS Darfur (NCC-2038) was a Federation starship in service from the late 23rd century until its destruction in 2373.

History
The Darfur was named for the region of the nation of  on Earth, a member of the North African Alliance as of 2065. She was the second Starfleet vessel to bear the name, the first having been a vessel with the registry number NCC-1375. The Darfur's dedication plaque recalled the hundreds of thousands of civilians slain in the in the early 21st century, with the vow to "never forget".

In 2347 the Darfur visited the Gamma Rolor 324 system during a survey mission and confirmed the existence of the seven planets previously detected, and located two that the Earth-based astronomers of the 22nd century had missed. The crew also determined that the seventh planet, later dubbed Dreon VII, was Class M and suitable for colonization.

The Darfur served with distinction in four major engagements during the.

In 2368 Captain Alyshka Flar took command of the vessel and was assigned to Starfleet's standing forces in the.

Around stardate 50564.2 in 2373 the Darfur was part of a Starfleet task force under Rear Admiral Alice Gilhouly that was sent to Deep Space 9 to reinforce the station against an expected Dominion invasion. This proved to be a ruse intended to draw Alpha Quadrant forces into a trap, as the sensor signals indicating an inbound invasion force had been fabricated by a changeling that then attempted to induce a supernova of. This effort was foiled by the USS Defiant (NX-74205).

As the Dominion War loomed, the Darfur was sent to patrol rear areas of the Beta Ursae sector block in case the Dominion attempted a sneak attack against the core worlds. The vessel was listed as missing in action on stardate 50975.3, after leaving orbit of Toron IV on stardate 50970.1 en route to the Bardeeza system.

In December 2409 the USS Bajor encountered the wreck of the Darfur in the of the, and determined based on damage patterns that the Excelsior-class had likely been destroyed in a Jem'Hadar attack.