Of all the aspects of the KSFFA, it is the ISS Katana that is the oldest… and is essentially what started it all. The ISS Katana’s roots were planted on 24 March 1991 when the Shuttle Gallifrey launched from the USS Horizon as an official chapter-in-training in STARFLEET: The International Star Trek Fan Association. Nine months later, on 7 December 1991, the Gallifrey became the USS Krazny Oktyabr when the group was commissioned as a full chapter in STARFLEET.

The USS Krazny Oktyabr, DN-23102, was an Olympus Class Dreadnaught originally under the command of Captain Dwain Gleason. Dwain was the original founder of the Gallifrey while a student at Northwest Missouri State University, several years later, when he moved back to Kansas City, the chapter moved with him. Those members of the chapter who were still living in Maryville, continued to participate in chapter activities as “Beta Shift,” with the KC members being known as “Alpha Shift.” Each ‘shift’ not only held many joint activities but activities central to their own participants.

Over the next several years, the Krazny participated in a variety of community service projects – manning the phones for PBS Telethons, USMC Toys-for-Tots, Clothing & Food drives, etc. – but never forgetting to have fun in the process (i.e., gaming, movies, cook-outs, etc.). The chapter was also very involved in Region 12 (a.k.a. the 12th Fleet), the geographic/administrative area the Krazny was assigned to, working on organizing regional activities and publishing the regional newsletter: UFP Today.

In 1996, at the chapter’s 5th Anniversary, now Fleet Captain Gleason stepped down as Commanding Officer of the Krazny Oktyabr and Captain Robert Westfall was named his successor.

In 1999, while STAR TREK: Deep Space Nine® was embroiled in the Dominion War story-arc, the crew decided that a change was needed to ‘freshen’ up the chapter – especially as newer crew members introduced new ideas and genres for the group to participate in. So it was that in December 1999 the USS Krazny Oktyabr was destroyed in battle with Dominion Forces in the Gamma Quadrant with the surviving crew being transferred to the newly commissioned USS Royal Sovereign. The battle was chronicled in a story written by Dwain, Robert, and several other crewmembers, entitled: Dreadfleet.

For the next decade, the USS Royal Sovereign continued in the same tradition as the Krazny had done before her: fun, fellowship, and community service. The writers among the crew also continued penning stories of the Royal Sovereign’s adventures in the Trek universe.

In 2009, several members of the Royal Sovereign had become active members in a Battlestar Galactica® fan association and by early 2011 that had formed a chapter in that organization. After working on a rather in-depth back story, the Battlestar Katana was launched. Over the next several month, after much discussion, and a slightly lagging participation in STARLFEET, members of the Royal Sovereign decided to change their name and unify all the aspects of the group under one name. Hence in 2011 the ISS Katana, BB-77003, was born – given the desire to ‘play’ in the Mirror Universe established in Trek. In the writings of the group, the ISS Katana is the third ship in the Excalibur Class Battleship line.

Shortly thereafter the Katana Science Fiction Fan Association was born, forming the ‘umbrella’ under which all aspects / chapters of the Katana’s identity were unified.