Starships

Starships

The amazing personal technology of the 23rd and 24th centuries pales in comparison to the technological wonders found on starships. Able to traverse the galaxy at many times the speed of light, starships play a crucial role in most Star Trek series. Crews use them not only for traveling great distances but also for performing critical aspects of their assigned missions. For example, ship sensors can detect minute particles and energy fluctuations from lightyears away, enabling the crew to study stellar phenomena and planetary anomalies from a safe distance. In most series, the crew's starship stands out as the most important mission resource; it not only provides the means of transport to faroff galaxies, but also serves as the crew's base of operations and place of sanctuary while they're there.

Technology

Although every starship differs from the others in the fleet, they all share certain technologies and systems in common. Every ship has transporters, replicators, shields, and other useful types of technology. While a system on one ship may have greater power or versatility than the same system on another ship, both systems function similarly, use the same components, and depend on the same scientific principles.

Operations Systems

Starfleet refers to the main systems aboard starships as operations systems. Operations systems help the crewmembers perform basic functions such as piloting the ship, detecting other ships, commanding the crew, and going on away missions.

The Bridge

The bridge serves as the center of operations aboard every starship. From the bridge the captain commands the vessel and oversees every aspect of its operations. Assisting the captain, chief officers—called the bridge crew—help keep the vessel operating smoothly and efficiently.

Depending on the size and purpose of a starship, its bridge can range in size from a small cockpit to a large command center. Regardless of size, the bridge houses the instrumentation to control virtually all of the ship's functions. A typical bridge has the following instruments and controls.

Captain's Chair

The central feature of the bridge is the captain's chair, also known as the command station. When on duty, the captain (or other commanding officer) sits here, receiving reports from his staff and issuing appropriate orders. On some bridges, such as that of the Galaxy-class explorer, other important officers such as the First Officer, Second Officer, and ship's counselor occupy seats near the captain's chair, but the captain's chair stands out as the largest and most prominent. The arms of the captain's chair contain the command station—miniaturized control panels and displays that allow the captain to monitor and assume control of any system on the ship. The First Officer may also have access to the command station on some ships, or use an auxiliary station of his own.

Duty Stations

Complementing the command station, several duty stations are located at other points around the bridge. The bridge crew occupy these stations and control various operations of the ship. Each station has a control panel (see sidebar next page) specialized for its particular function. The number and nature of duty stations on a ship depends on the type of ship and its primary mission profile. The most common ones include flight control, communications, engineering, environmental control, operations management, science, and tactical.

COMMUNICATIONS: On 23rd-century ships, communications systems merit their own station. The Communications Officer uses this station to broadcast and receive transmissions, translate alien languages with the universal translator, transmit through interference, and so forth. In the 24th century, the Operations Manager or other officers perform this duty from their own stations.

ENGINEERING: The Chief Engineer usually oversees his department from the Engineering section of the ship, but sometimes the captain requires his presence on the bridge. In those situations, he uses the Engineering station on the bridge to monitor the performance of the propulsion systems, calibrate systems, evaluate the ship's status, and so forth.

ENVIRONMENTAL: Although life support and other environmental controls are highly automated, with multiple redundant backups to prevent failure and withstand sabotage, environmental systems occasionally require crew maintenance and manual control. A crewmember manning the environmental station can reroute energy to the life support systems, shut down life support in key areas of the ship, isolate contaminants within certain locations, and vent radiation or other toxins from the starship.

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT: Usually referred to simply as "Ops." this station allows the Ops Officer to manage and allocate the ship's resources, particularly power. During crises, the Ops officer evaluates power requirements for different systems and functions and allocates power to them according to the captain's orders and the mission priorities. When necessary, the Ops station also allows the manager to schedule the use of other limited resources, such as laboratory and holodeck time, and to perform other minor duties such as communications.

SCIENCE: More common on 23rd-century ships than on later vessels, the Science station controls the sensors and access to the library computer. The science station also allows the Science Officer to gather and correlate data from the ship's laboratories. In combat or crisis situations, the Science station provides backup for Flight Control and Tactical.

TACTICAL: The largest duty station on many ships, Tactical controls the ship's defensive and offensive systems. With its controls the Tactical Officer (often also the Chief Security Officer) can detect, identify, and track other starships and external threats. The station also enables the Tactical Officer to raise, lower, and monitor the shields; and configure and fire weapons. The Tactical station uses a sophisticated computer and sensor suite known as the Threat Assessment/Tracking/Targeting System (TA/T/TS) to assist the Tactical Officer with these duties and if necessary can tie into other sensors and communications systems. The Tactical station also allows the Tactical and/or Chief Security Officer to monitor internal sensors, dispatch security teams to handle on-board threats, and regulate other aspects of the ship's internal security.

Other Bridge Features

Most bridges also include the following features:

VIEWSCREEN: While small ships, such as Danube-class runabouts, get by with a simple viewport over the cockpit, larger vessels usually mount a viewscreen. Any bridge officer can display data, transmissions, or an external view from any angle around the ship on the viewscreen. Under normal circumstances, the viewscreen shows a forward view so the crew can see where the ship is heading.

CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM: On many ships the captain can use a special office, called a "ready room," located next to the bridge. The ready room provides a secure environment for holding meetings, conducting research, receiving fleet orders, formulating strategies, or simply finding a moment to rest.

CONFERENCE ROOM: Many ships also have a conference or meeting room opposite the ready room. The captain meets with the crew and visiting dignitaries here to plan operations and discuss the ship's missions.

Computer Systems

Every starship maintains one or more computer cores, each able to handle the vessel's entire computational needs. A computer core contains hundreds or thousands of isolinear chips (or, in the 23rd century, duotronic circuits). One isolinear chip can store 2.15 kiloquads of data, enabling the ship's computer to contain trillions of pages of text and data. As crewmembers gather data via the sensors and other systems, the computer automatically adds more information to its records, increasing its database every nanosecond.

Powerful and sophisticated, a ship's computers can almost run the ship by themselves in noncrisis situations. But they are neither artificially intelligent nor infallible. The ship's computers can only do what the crew programs them to do and thus cannot exercise reliable judgment in complex situations involving ethical matters or priority evaluations.

A computer cannot anticipate the wants and desires of the crew or individual crewmembers. For example, the computer does not automatically alert the captain about unauthorized use of the transporter; if someone wants that information, he has to specifically request it from the computer (though he may request the computer to make periodic reports). Starfleet engineers do program computers to alert the crew to some situations, such as failure of life support or the approach of obviously dangerous external phenomena. But since crewmembers can always check the computer to gain the information they want, there's no need to inundate them with myriad reports about routine functions. That's the purpose of the computer—to monitor systems and log reports so the crewmembers can look at this information if it becomes important.

Crewmembers interface with the computer via the Library Computer Access and Retrieval System (LCARS). LCARS allows them to access the computer by speech—a simple spoken command prompts the appropriate response from the computer—or via control panels.

The computer transmits data between duty stations, control panels, and its cores via the optical data network (ODN). This network of multiply redundant, multiplexed optical monocrystal microfibers is one of the ship's most important systems. If attacks damage or destroy the ODN, the crew may have difficulty accessing the computer (and thus controlling the ship).

Control Panels

At every duty station, and in most corridors, quarters, and other rooms aboard a starship, there are control panels for crewmembers' use in accessing the computer and performing their duties. Consisting of multilayer flat-screen technology, a control panel uses sophisticated data management tools to provide information and controls to the user in a graphical format. Crewmembers use control panels by pressing the appropriate areas on the panel. A user can customize almost all control panels, arranging the graphical interface to suit his individual preferences. After programming a configuration into the computer, a crewmember can call it up at any time with a spoken command.

Flight Control Systems

The primary purpose of a starship is to carry its crew and passengers from one destination to the next. Flight control systems exist to make sure the ship gets to where it's going via the safest and quickest routes.

Flight Control Station

The Flight Control Officer uses the Flight Control station on the bridge (also referred to as the "conn") to pilot the ship and control the ship's sensors. In the 23rd century, Starfleet divided these functions between a helmsman's station and a navigator's station. Linked to the ship's sophisticated navigation computer and navigational sensors, the conn allows the Flight Control Officer to chart a course from one point to another, access the propulsion systems, engage in offensive or evasive maneuvers, and configure sensors and review the collected data. In routine situations, the navigational computer actually does most of the piloting, but there's no substitute for a human pilot when crises arise.

Navigational Deflector

Colliding with space debris when traveling at warp speeds can prove catastrophic to a starship and its crew. To avoid such mishaps, all warp-capable ships carry one or more navigational deflectors. A navigational deflector emits a series of shieldlike waves of energy which "push" small objects out of the ship's path. The deflector works in conjunction with the long-range sensors and is mounted directly in front of them so it doesn't interfere with their functions.

A ship's crew can also use the navigational deflector to project a wide variety of electromagnetic and subspace energies, such as verteron particles or tachyon streams. Using the navigational deflector in this manner has saved ships from destruction and provided tactical advantages on numerous occasions.

Inertial Damping Field

The inertial forces generated by accelerating to impulse or warp speeds would destroy everyone and everything aboard a ship were it not for the inertial damping fields (IDFs) generated aboard starships. The IDF generates a counterforce that keeps the occupants of the ship safe during hazardous maneuvering or sudden impacts. But some changes in speed, vector, or acceleration (such as those occurring in combat situations) occur too quickly for the IDF to neutralize completely.

Sensors

Starships come equipped with dozens of different types of sensors that function as its "eyes and ears." They detect thousands of substances and phenomena, ranging from subspace variations to asteroid fields and approaching starships. As such they are crucial to almost all mission profiles, particularly those focusing on scientific or military pursuits. But sensors cannot detect everything at once; that would require too much computing power. For example, sensors used by Starfleet do not routinely monitor some 15,000 known substances and phenomena, but the crew can reprogram the sensors to detect and monitor these whenever the necessity arises. Sensors come in three basic types: long-range, lateral, and navigational.

Long-range sensors work at a range of five lightyears (for high-resolution scans) or approximately 12-17 light-years (for medium- to low-resolution scans). They cover a 45° arc forward of the ship. Long-range sensors function at superluminal speed, propagating at warp 9.9997 (slightly slower than subspace radio). They can detect solid objects, gravimetric and energy phenomena, subspace emissions, thermal images, neutrino images, and variations or fluctuations within any occurrence.

Lateral sensors are located along the sides of a ship in multiple "pallets." They detect objects in all directions around a vessel, but only up to a range of approximately one light-year. As such, they are of little use when traveling at warp velocities. At impulse speeds, lateral sensors facilitate scientific research; during combat situations, they allow the ship to locate and track enemy vessels. The standard Starfleet lateral sensor pallet includes EM scanners, subspace imagers, thermal sensors, and several other detectors. If needed, a crewmember can replace a standard pallet with a more specialized version for a specific mission.

Navigational sensors link with the navigational computer and conn station to chart a starship's course through space. Optimized to detect navigational markers such as chronometric relays, navigation beacons, pulsars, quasars, and other objects programmed into the ship's computer, nav sensors make it easy for the Flight Control Officer to stay on course and monitor the ship's progress.

Probes

Sometimes sensors malfunction or prove otherwise incapable of fulfilling all of a ship's data requirements. In these situations, ships can deploy probes-automated sensor platforms-to study an area or phenomena. Ships often employ probes to perform standard surveys of planets and sectors, approach hazardous objects or energy fields, or simply extend the ship's sensory capacity.

Probes fly and maneuver independently of the ship, using microfusion reactor engines (for impulse speeds) or warp sustainer engines (to maintain a warp field if the ship deploys them moving at warp speed). A ship can control a probe remotely. Ships deploy probes using torpedo launchers, so most probes resemble standard torpedoes in size and shape (typically about 2 meters long, .75 meters wide).

Starfleet uses nine standard classes of probe, and other species employ similar types. These include short-range EM scanning probes, planetary probes able to orbit a body for up to three months, and warp-capable long-range probes.

Separation Systems

Some starships have the ability to separate a part of themselves from the main body of the ship. On Starfleet vessels, separation usually occurs between saucer and body. By disengaging a complex, redundant series of locks, the crew can separate the saucer from the engineering hull. The crew remaining in the hull uses an auxiliary or "battle" bridge to control that part of the ship. The saucer uses its own impulse engines to move; but lacking a warp propulsion system, it does not have the power to travel at warp speeds or operate many power-intensive systems, including shields.

Tractor Beams

Starships use tractor beams—superimposed subspace/graviton force beams—to manipulate objects outside of the ship (most commonly done to assist shuttlecraft landings). By creating and manipulating spatial stress around an object, a tractor beam can pull it closer, push it away, hold it in place, tow it along, or sometimes even tear it apart. The beam's effective range depends on the distance and mass of the target object. Although normally considered an operations system, a tractor beam has many combat applications, so the Tactical Officer usually controls it during battle.

Transporters

A ship's transporters allow the crew to "beam" persons or objects from place to place by converting their matter to energy, then rematerializing them at the destination point. A subspace carrier wave transmits the energy stream and ensures the proper reassembly. The wave also carries a transporter ID trace, a computer log of the entire process, in case anything goes wrong during the process.

Transporting something takes about five seconds using Federation technology or similar systems. A transporter cannot beam through deflector shields, cloaks, or high levels of matter or energy interference.

Transporters come in three types: personnel, emergency, and cargo. Personnel transporters demonstrate a range of 40,000 kilometers and function at a quantum resolution, allowing them to transport living beings safely. Emergency transporters have a range of 15,000 kilometers and can only transport personnel from a ship. Cargo transporters work at a molecular level and cannot transport living beings. They have an effective range of 40,000 kilometers. The ranges for 23rd-century transporters show greater limitations: 26,000, 13,000, and 26,000 kilometers, respectively.

Regardless of its type, a transporter contains five main subsystems in addition to the control station used to operate and monitor the system. When the transport begins, the molecular imaging scanners in the transport pad analyze the transportee and tie in with the ship's sensors to locate the destination or target. Next, the energizing and transition coils dematerialize the transportee and later reconstitute him at the destination point, using an annular confinement beam (ACB) to create the spatial matrix for dematerialization. Other fields keep the transportee's energy pattern locked inside the ACB.

The transporter holds the transportee's energy pattern in the pattern buffer, a magnetic holding tank, until beam-out begins (microseconds after the Doppler compensators adjust for relative motion between ship and destination). A Federation transporter can hold a pattern in the buffer for up to seven minutes before degradation (with resulting harm to the subject) occurs; some other species' buffers reveal a shorter safety margin. Degradation can range from transporter psychosis (a treatable condition causing hallucinations and delusions) to bodily harm to the subject.

While the pattern is in the buffer, the transporter biofilters scan it for all known bacteriological and viral agents and eliminate them from the pattern if detected. Because the biofilters cannot detect unknown agents, transporters cannot always prevent accidental contamination of the ship. Other filters prevent the ship from transporting dangerous objects, such as primed explosives, aboard. Once the filters complete their task, the emitter and receiver arrays on the ship's hull complete the process by transmitting (or receiving) the energy stream.

Most transports represent routine affairs posing minimal danger to the subject (especially when beaming between two transporter pads). But interference, sabotage, and any number of other situations can risk malfunctions and jeopardize transport. Transporter mishaps can result in failure to rematerialize the subject fully or properly, possibly killing the subject or destroying the cargo. Other errors include rematerializing at the wrong destination (possibly inside a solid object, also fatal to the subject), fusing transported individuals or components, and creating temporal and/or dimensional shifts.

Replicators

Closely related to transporters, replicators allow the crew to instantly create food, spare parts, and other useful objects such as clothing and tools. Their technology has revolutionized starship and colony life, allowing Starfleet to undertake longer and deeper missions without worrying about supply and logistical problems. Most ships carry industrial replicators (small and large) as well as food replicators, which are located throughout the ship.

Replicators dematerialize a sterilized, organic particulate suspension supplemented by recycled waste products and transform it into the desired food or object via established materialization patterns. Since they depend on preprogrammed patterns, they cannot vary what they create; every plate of potatoes a food replicator creates looks and tastes identical. Crewmembers can program new patterns if necessary.

Replicators suffer from four other significant limitations. Because of data capacity, they function only at the molecular level. This means they can't produce living things, and single-bit reproduction errors sometimes occur. Second, the replicator requires greater amounts of energy to replicate large and complex objects. Third, replicators possess safety interlocks preventing the creation of dangerous objects such as explosives (though in an emergency this feature can be overridden). Fourth, replicators cannot create certain objects, or cannot create them safely. The most prominent example of this occurrence involves latinum, which explains why many civilizations use it as a medium of exchange. Similarly, some medicines and complex compounds defy replication; the single-bit errors occurring at quantum levels render them inert or similarly useless.

Power and Propulsion Systems

Starships contain several systems designed to propel them through space at superluminal speed. These systems also generate the massive amounts of power needed to operate their drives and other shipboard systems. Most ships include both warp and impulse drives.

Warp Propulsion System

The main propulsion and power generation system for most starships is called the warp propulsion system, or warp drive. The warp drive works by combining matter and antimatter under controlled conditions, allowing the system to tap the annihilation reaction for energy. A warp drive includes three primary subsystems: the matter/antimatter reaction assembly, the power transfer conduits, and the warp nacelles.

The matter/antimatter reaction assembly, or warp core, typically arranged as a column (or, in the 23rd century, a horizontal structure), uses reactant injectors to inject matter (deuterium) in one end and antimatter (anti-deuterium) in the other end. Magnetic suspension keeps the antimatter and matter from contacting each other until the proper moment. Magnetic constriction segments align the matter and antimatter streams, forcing them into the matter/antimatter reaction chamber (M/ARC).

The M/ARC contains a crystal of dilithium, the only substance known to science which does not react with antimatter when exposed to a high-frequency electromagnetic field. In the 23rd century, dilithium crystals degraded with use, thus requiring periodic replacement. Scientists developed recrystalization techniques in 2286 and greatly extended the usable life of dilithium crystals.

Inside the crystal, matter and antimatter streams collide and annihilate each other. The crystal channels the resulting plasma, directing it into power transfer conduits (PTCs). The PTCs carry the plasma to the warp nacelles, where a plasma injector system feeds it into the warp field coils. The coils create nested subspace fields. By shifting the fields' frequencies, the nacelles generate propulsion at speeds faster than light. As of 2377, Starfleet vessels can achieve maximum speeds of Warp 9.982.

Because the warp propulsion system is so crucial to the functioning of a starship and so potentially dangerous, it includes numerous safety features. The engineering crew performs routine maintenance on it every day and can shut it down for major repairs or to replace the dilithium crystal. An extensive network of access tubes and conduits honeycombs the sections of the ship containing the warp propulsion system, allowing the crew to reach any problem area easily. In the event of a warp core breach, the engineers can eject the core and save the ship from deadly radiation.

Ships rarely engage in combat at warp speed. Not only is maneuvering at such high velocities dangerous, but only warp-propelled torpedoes function properly at translight speeds. Instead, ships usually drop to impulse speeds when engaging in combat.

Impulse Drive

Starships don't always need to travel at warp speeds. When conditions warrant—when passing through a solar system or engaging in combat, for example—they use impulse drives. Impulse drives employ large fusion reactors to propel the ship forward. Like the warp drive, impulse drives can also supply power to the rest of the ship, but in lesser amounts.

Ships calculate impulse speeds as a percentage of c (the speed of light). Most impulse drives allow speeds of .1 to .75 c, but the most advanced models can propel a ship at speeds up to .95 c. Starfleet refers to .25 c as "full impulse," since faster rates usually warrant traveling at warp speed instead. Only emergencies prompt captains to order higher impulse velocities.

Auxiliary and Emergency Power

Most ships maintain two backup power systems: auxiliary and emergency power. The crew uses these systems to counteract losses of power from the warp and impulse engines, or to improve the performance of shields and other systems during combat. Additionally, some systems, such as phasers and cloaking devices, rely on individual power supplies called batteries to provide enough power for short-term use in the event of shipwide power failure.

Electroplasma System

An extensive network of microwave power transmission guides, called the electroplasma system (EPS), connects to the warp and impulse drives. The EPS taps the engines for the power needed to run the rest of the ship; if it suffers damage or interference, some or all of the ship's systems may lose power.

Tactical Systems

Ship designers include tactical systems, such as shields and torpedoes, aboard most vessels, included those designated for civilian use. Though few vessels require as much armament as an explorer or battle cruiser, most ships need shields and at least one small beam weapon for self-defense or utilitarian purposes.

Beam Weapons

In most battles, starships rely primarily on beam weapons for offense. Beam weapons such as phasers and disruptors create powerful bolts of energy with great destructive potential. Although they have greater physical limitations than missiles (shorter range and the inability to be used at warp speed), beam weapons offer more tactical options and greater precision than torpedoes.

Phasers

Starfleet vessels mount phasers as their primary beam weapons. Although phasers lack the raw power of disrupters, they can fire in multiple modes and are far more versatile, making them perfect for an organization devoted to exploration and discovery rather than warfare. Phasers channel energy through emitters organized into arrays (or, in the 23rd century, into banks). These generate the energy beam and use an autophaser interlock linked to the targeting systems to ensure accurate firing. Phasers typically range in type from I to X, though recent breakthroughs have allowed Starfleet to install Type XI and XII phasers on its starships. In the 23rd century, the most powerful phaser is the Type VII, or the Type VIII as of 2284.

Disruptors

The Klingons, Romulans, and Cardassians, among others, prefer disruptors to phasers. Disruptors use microscopic quantities of antimatter to generate powerful bolts of plasma. They cause more damage than a similar model of phaser but lack the phaser's versatility and utility as a tool. Disruptors reveal distinct energy signatures, making it easy to distinguish them from phasers in most circumstances.

Missiles

Most capital ships also carry missile weapons, called torpedoes. Starfleet and similar agencies normally employ two different types of torpedoes. The photon torpedo, which is the most common, creates a controlled matter/antimatter explosion to inflict tremendous damage to the target. The quantum torpedo, which is relatively new and much rarer, releases energy from a zero-point vacuum domain to create an explosion roughly twice as powerful as that of a photon torpedo. Several other types of torpedoes, such as the devastating plasma torpedo fielded by the Romulans, also exist in the Star Trek universe.

All torpedoes have much longer ranges than beam weapons; and they cause more damage than most ship-based beams. On the other hand, crews cannot fire torpedoes with as much precision, and enemy ships can evade or counteract them more easily than energy beams.

Deflector Shields

Deflector shields provide a ship's primary defense. Every ship maintains four shields: forward, starboard, aft, and port. When a crew activates a ship's shields, the shield generators create fields of highly focused spatial distortion, which the external shield grid conforms to the hull. The field concentrates at points of impact to repel damaging force. But even when a shield functions properly, the impact of the blast may jolt the vessel and cause minor structural damage. When a shield deflects attacks of excessive force, it eventually collapses and leaves the ship vulnerable to further attack.

Besides strength, shields demonstrate five additional properties: appearance, geometry, harmonics, modulation frequency, and polarity. By altering, modulating, or reconfiguring these properties, the crew can create a wide range of effects, such as temporarily strengthening the shields, hiding the ship from primitive sensors, or breaking tractor beams.

Personnel Systems

Starships contain many different systems to ensure the comfort and safety of their crews. Keeping the crew active, healthy, and in good morale improves the ship's performance.

Quarters

Starfleet vessels contain large and relatively luxurious quarters for even the lowest-ranking crewmen (23rd-century ships maintain cruder, more utilitarian accommodations). Typical quarters include a living area, sleeping area, bathroom/shower facility, and a food replicator. Crewmembers can configure and decorate their quarters as they like.

Life Support

Life support systems perform the crucial task of maintaining a habitable environment aboard ship. Life support functions stabilize not only pressure and atmosphere, but also temperature, humidity, and gravity. Ships have multiple redundant life support systems, including emergency life support modules and shelters that allow time for evacuation when all other systems fail.

A ship carries large amounts of breathing gases needed for life support, replenishing them when it docks. Additionally, atmospheric processors throughout a vessel recycle waste gases (typically carbon dioxide) to supplement the supply of fresh oxygen. Parallel atmospheric processors operating on 96-hour duty cycles ensure the system never breaks down.

On most Starfleet ships, life support systems maintain an atmosphere similar to a Class M planet, with a nitrogen-oxygen mix of gases. The crew can isolate a small percentage of quarters to support other environments, such as Classes H, K, or L Outside of their quarters, nonoxygen breathers must use personal life support devices to keep from suffocating.

The life support systems also maintain gravity inside the ship via networks of graviton-emitting stators or emitter blocks. This system provides crewmembers with a definable "up" and "down", regardless of the position of the vessel relative to a planet or other large celestial body.

Medical Facilities (Sickbay)

Starfleet vessels equip and maintain one or more medical centers, often referred to as "sickbays." A typical sickbay includes a medical clinic for routine examinations and minor treatments, an intensive care unit, and one or more research laboratories. The doctors and nurses in sickbay can treat minor illnesses and injuries, including broken bones, in just a few minutes using advanced medical technologies and treatments. More serious injuries or ailments may require surgery, drug or nanite therapy, or other sophisticated procedures.

A sickbay's ICU contains two or more biobeds, beds equipped with sophisticated sensors allowing medical personnel to obtain up-to-the-second data on a patient's condition. Larger ICUs may also contain one or more units doctors can seal off with force fields to create sterile environments.

If a crewmember requires surgery, doctors can attach a surgical support frame (SSF) to his biobed. An SSF contains advanced medical and biological sensors, a bioregenerative field generator, and equipment able to assist the doctor with surgery. The SSF can perform many routine procedures, such as administering drugs or anesthetics without supervision. It can also erect a force field around the biobed to create a sterile surgical environment.

Recreation

There's more to life than work, even aboard a starship. Rest and recreation are essential for the crew to improve their efficiency and maintain high morale. But the crew of a starship can't go on shore leave every weekend, so starships provide many forms of recreation aboard ship, including lounges, rec halls, gymnasiums, and other facilities.

Holodecks

The most advanced recreation facility aboard Starfleet vessels is the holodeck. These special chambers are equipped with holoemitters, special sensors, miniaturized tractor beams, and replicators to simulate almost any environment, setting, or situation. Complicated scenarios require detailed holoprogramming, but crewmembers can recreate basic situations by issuing verbal commands.

With its tractor beams and replicators, a holodeck creates objects and people ("puppets") indistinguishable from the real thing. But because they are made of "holodeck matter," these simulacra disintegrate if removed from the confines of the holodeck. Creating a holographic representation of a specific person without permission constitutes both a crime and a breach of ethics in most societies.

Users interact with a holodeck simulation at all levels—they see it, hear it, touch it. They can get in fights with holodeck characters and end up bruised and battered, fall into a holographic sea and get wet, or encounter holographic people so realistic they might develop a passion for them. Though generally safe and reliable, holodecks occasionally malfunction. On at least one occasion, a malfunction is known to have created a sentient hologram, giving rise to various moral, ethical, and technical quandaries.

Crewmembers use holodecks not only for recreation but also for training, exercise, and many other purposes. Thanks to the holodeck, a crewmember can spend his shipboard free time learning to drive Altairan dune-skimmers, recreating great battles of history, or practicing Mok'bara against holographic opponents. Safety overrides prevent a holodeck user from suffering any real harm, but if the safety protocols are deactivated or damaged, a hologram can injure or kill.

Most species having sufficient technological advancement employ holodeck technology. Romulan ships have holodecks similar to those of Starfleet, while Klingons prefer to use their 'decks mainly for combat training and tactical simulations. The Ferengi make a healthy profit by selling or leasing holonovels ranging from intellectually stimulating to salaciously titillating.

Ships of the Line

Although its officers are the core of Starfleet, and the single greatest factor in its triumphs and capabilities, they don't get much done without starships. In truth, the average Starfleet officer idolizes his ship as much as any ancient "wet-navy" Hornblower or Nimitz ever did. Ships are homes, fortresses, hospitals, and inspirations to those who serve on them. The thought of abandoning, or destroying one's ship in the line of duty is one of the most painful that any officer can face. This section addresses the ships themselves, and the way they work together to make up a Starfleet.

Fleet Operations

To keep starfleet's ships out of danger, and to put them in the path of danger, are the twin, contradictory tasks of Fleet Operations. Headquartered at Starfleet Command on Earth, Fleet Operations plans and manages the deployment of all vessels in Starfleet. This includes assigning starships to a particular sector or fleet, making personnel assignments, and selecting starships to fulfill missions requested by other Starfleet offices such as Astronomical Science Operations, Starfleet Medical, and Starfleet Intelligence. For the most part, Fleet Operations maintains a tactical focus—it doesn't decide what Starfleet should do, it decides which individual ships can accomplish missions devised by other agencies while maximizing efficiency and reducing overlap. The Chief of Fleet Operations is responsible for maintaining the preparedness of the fleet as a whole. Among the CFO's most important duties is to keep accurate records on every starship and crewman in the fleet. Using these, the Fleet Operations Central Records Office makes sure every vessel undergoes its regularly scheduled maintenance cycle and every crewman remains current in his training.

Fleet Operations serves as the liaison between individual Starfleet craft and Starfleet's various agencies and branches, and those of the Federation and its members. Should, for example, the Vulcan Science Academy need a Starfleet ship to examine a newly discovered star, they would pass a request (through either the Vulcan ambassador or the Vulcan Defense Force) to Starfleet Command. Depending on who's asking, the request might go through Starfleet's own Office of Research and Exploration, or directly to Fleet Ops. Either way, Fleet Operations then coordinates the mission with the Chief-in-Command. Often, two (or more) missions can be combined; if a number of astronomers wish to study the same star, they can all be assigned to the same ship, or if ORE has already planned to survey the star, the Vulcans' representative can be added to the expedition-in-progress. All Fleet Ops decisions, of course, are subject to the standard round of emergencies, frontier crises, system failures, Joint Chiefs interventions for their own mysterious ends, and so forth. Hence, Fleet Ops is often playing "catch-up," and assigning the closest ship, rather than the perfect ship, for a given mission. To manipulate this process, either to get a plum assignment or to avoid a tedious "brown dwarf census" mission, requires command rank. Contacts and Allies will help immeasurably in this regard, and a successful first officer or captain nurtures both where possible.

Fleet Organization

Within Starfleet itself, the means of organizing, commanding, and deploying ships both individually and in groups has changed somewhat over time. Changes in the Federations' resources, strategic posture, and strategic doctrine have altered the fleet organization from a highly individualistic, dangerous task force model to a more comprehensive fleet model.

The Task Force Model

From the earliest days of Starfleet to the mid-2270s, ships regularly spend weeks or even months out of subspace relay range. Captains have to think for themselves, and come to rely on gut instinct and first-hand knowledge of a situation. (This habit of independence also sets the precedent for captains including themselves in landing parties that continues into the 24th century on many ships.) Starfleet Command can only coordinate missions at long range, and often sets up "relay chains" of ships to deliver cargoes, personnel, or even messages one to the other along the frontier, cruising along a general flight path until they located their successor in the mission.

Given the logistical impossibilities of close coordination in the 23rd century, Starfleet uses a "task force" model, based around small groups of ships assigned to operate in neighboring sectors. The heaviest ships, and later, Constitution-class starships, operate on their own, patrolling large sections of the Beta Quadrant, and slowly charting the frontiers of the Alpha Quadrant. These "single-ship task forces" put in at starbases for shore leave, refit and resupply, and to handle any significant emergencies such as disease or courts-martial. Once these tasks are complete, they return to patrol, in a new stretch of space assigned by the commodore of the starbase. When possible, they contact the nearest starbase for instructions, and often piggyback off local planets' communications grid to boost transmissions back to headquarters. Standard practice is to "hand off" a burst of message traffic whenever encountering any other Starfleet vessel; thus, slowly (and occasionally redundantly), orders and reports travel both directions.

The other reason for a task force model, of course, is the continual shortage of ships. Starfleet explorers expand the frontier in all directions; the amount of space to cover increases as a cube function, while ship production in the early-replicator era can barely keep up arithmetically. In the mid-2260s, only 12 Constitution-class ships operate at any time; Starfleet as a whole can muster only 350 capital ships during this era, the vast majority of which patrol the Klingon and Romulan neutral zones. Local navies such as the Andorian Defense Forces pick up much of the slack, but only Starfleet can handle the worst crises. Hence, the heavy cruisers and explorers must juggle tasks from planetary surveys to diplomatic functions to stopping invasions—increasing the need to make decisions on the spot, since there is hardly any "standard procedure" to fall back on. The system works, after a fashion, but only at a terrible cost; almost every Constitution-class ship faced unimaginable stresses and dangers, and six of them were destroyed or decimated on duty. Only the stark heroism, independent spirit, and sharp minds of Starfleet's officers keep the fleet flying through the dangerous middle of the 23rd century.

The Fleet Model

By the 2340s, Starfleet organization reached a crisis point. The full exploration of replicator technology in ship construction meant a vast expansion of Starfleet capital ships (passing the 1,000 mark in 2292), which spread out on an unprecedented course of exploration, contact, and expansion throughout the Alpha Quadrant. As long as the Federation remained at peace, the organizational snarls and spotty communications could be overlooked in the name of Starfleet captains' traditional independence and initiative. Certainly the gallant—and completely unauthorized—act of Captain Garrett in sacrificing her ship to save the Klingon outpost on Narendra III paid dividends far into the future, and other acts, if less dramatic, were equally heroic. However, the Cardassian War of 2347-2366 and the Tholian War of 2353-2360 strained the system past the breaking point. At Starfleet Command, Admiral Taneko brought his Bolian genius for organization to the problem between 2348 and 2350, and developed the fleet model that lasted, and proved itself.

In Taneko's fleet model, Starfleet organizes itself into Fleets, each one comprising around 150-200 ships under the command of a Fleet Admiral (who may hold any actual rank from fleet admiral to rear admiral), usually based at a starbase. The "flagship" of a fleet is simply the ship best suited for command-and-control functions in an emergency; seldom is it the admiral's personal command. (A few admirals keep their "flag" on shipboard, however, and can make subordinates' lives a terror by dropping into a sector unannounced for a "look-see.") Fleet Operations passes orders down to the Fleet Admirals, who pass them along to subordinate admirals or to individual captains depending on the urgency of the order and the admiral's personal style. Reports and emergencies travel back up the chain to Fleet Ops. Within Fleets, some admirals set up "wings" to further subdivide command; a rear admiral normally commands a wing.

Each Fleet serves either a tactical purpose (such as to protect Vulcan) or a strategic purpose (such as ready reserve). Most tactical fleets are "standing" fleets, which retain the same mission throughout their existence. Most strategic fleets are either "mobile" fleets, sent to any crisis area or place on deep-space patrol and exploration duty, or "supporting" fleets kept ready for specific contingencies. The deployment of a mobile fleet essentially follows the older task force, only with better communications and more ships. Most mobile fleets keep their ships in the same broad area (20-40 adjacent sectors), for faster concentration and coordination in case of emergencies.

Starfleet has approximately 6,100 starships, plus transports, surveyors, hospital ships, and other support craft. (Another 2,700 or so small scouts, runabouts, fighters, and heavy shuttlecraft fill out the mission boards.) These ships make up 27 numbered Fleets, as well as six specialized Fleets.

Fleet Deployment

Standing Fleets

Charged with the exploration and defense of a given sector or small group of sectors, a ship in a standing fleet can make an excellent base of operations for a single-sector series, or a source of personnel for a series centered on a stationary base of operations. A single-species series can also be set in a ship of a standing fleet assigned to protect the crew's home planet.

• 3RD FLEET: Assigned to defend Sector 001—the Solar System—from attack. Hardly a cushy posting, some of Starfleet's most elite officers and finest tactical minds serve in 3rd Fleet.
• 5TH FLEET: Patrols the Andor Sector, one of the crucial home defense fleets of the Federation. Officers in 5th Fleet work closely with the Andorian Defense Force.
• 7TH FLEET: Assigned to defend Betazed and the outer core worlds of the Federation.
• 22ND FLEET: The standing fleet established at Starbase 173 to guard against Romulan incursion. Officers in 22nd Fleet train constantly against captured or reconstructed "threat vessels."

Mobile Fleets

Given vast, wide-ranging theaters of operation, mobile fleets make good assignments for ships in exploratory or otherwise galaxy-trotting series. Scientific, diplomatic, and intelligence series also work well with mobile fleet operations.

• 8TH FLEET: Explores uncharted reaches of the Alpha Quadrant, especially the coreward sectors past Ferenginar. This fleet is heavy on older ships such as Ambassador-class, Nebula-class, and Miranda-class cruisers.
• 16TH FLEET: Commanded by Fleet Admiral Nechayev, the 16th is the "Flagship Fleet" of Starfleet, containing the U.S.S. Enterprise. Its duties include a wide range of survey, diplomatic, and border emergency missions.
• 20TH FLEET: Patrols the rimward sectors of the Federation, including the Tholian border and portions of the Klingon frontier. This fleet has a number of Oberth-class science vessels seconded to it for sensor support.

Support Fleets

Support fleets perform specific duties, or have tasks that require special abilities not always available in mobile fleets. Single-profession series, galaxy-trotting series, and series centered on the task profile of the fleet are good candidates for being set in support fleet ships.

• COLONIZATION FLEET: Made up of 34 vessels plus transport craft, and based out of Starbase 4, the Colonization Fleet specializes in establishing new colonies and terraforming missions. It also aids with planetary and life-form surveys.
• EVACUATION FLEETS: Three evacuation fleets base out of dispersed starbases in the Rigel, Deneb, and Canopus sectors. Each fleet has enough ships to coordinate and defend a convoy carrying up to 10 million civilians in case of planetary emergencies.

Starbases

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Both models of fleet deployment depend heavily on starbases to coordinate, resupply, and even defend the ships on duty. From almost its earliest days, Starfleet has joined stationary starbases with mobile starships as warp and weft of its defensive and exploratory pattern. From 17 starbases and a smattering of other stations in the early 2260s, the network expanded to over 500 such stations. Keep in mind that a base's purpose may shift over time; a former strategic base on the Federation frontier may, as the Federation expands, become a supply station and then a service hub, as ships of all kinds increasingly put in for supplies, refit, and eventually trade or recreation.

Command Centers

STARBASE 11: Located on the starkly beautiful planet Yko, this is one of the key Starfleet administrative facilities in the Beta Quadrant, and one of the emergency "continuity" offices of Starfleet Command itself, should anything happen to Earth. Important ceremonies and precedent-setting court-martial occur here.

STARBASE 12: Orbiting command post in the Gamma 400 star system, established in 2163 as a test for Starfleet's remote construction abilities. It remains an excellent location for starship maintenance, as well as coordinating much of the defense traffic for the inner core of the Federation.

STARBASE 173: A major command and administrative post for the Romulan Neutral Zone, located quite near Starbase 23, its associated strategic station. Built in 2280s, both bases are on accelerated alert status even in peacetime. Starbase 173 hosts a key field office of Starfleet Intelligence.

Science Stations

STARBASE 2: Located between Beta Auriga and Camus II, Starbase 2 has been a key center for space medicine research ever since the 2240s. Its advanced life support and hospital facilities can comfortably support (and hopefully heal) almost any known species or theoretical life-form. A strong Vulcan and Betazoid presence aids with counseling and psionic research.

STARBASE 9: Originally a supply station constructed in the 2180s, Starbase 9 slowly became a major scientific and astronomical monitoring station—the Argus Array, for example, was designed as an "uprated" model of Starbase 9's orbital phased EM collectors.

Service Hubs

STARBASE 6: This starbase's reputation as the finest R&R post in the fleet goes all the way back to the 2250s, when a Tiburonian-Centauran team redesigned it from the hub out. In peacetime, starships divert from sectors around to enjoy its facilities, which include state-of-the-art holodecks, null-G saunas, and the most sophisticated replicators (and chefs) within a thousand parsecs of Aldebaran.

STARBASE 74: One of Starfleet's largest spacedocks, Starbase 74 orbits Tarsas III. Its bays can service fifty Galaxy-class starships at once, if need be. The Tarsas-Qualor run is an excellent place to see any and every kind of ship, under power or tow. In addition to being a spare-parts paradise, Starbase 74 bosts the finest Bynar computer techs in Starfleet.

STARBASE 315: A thriving commercial and traffic hub in the BeTau sector deep in Federation space in the Alpha Quadrant, Starbase 315 does it all. Its supply station falls under Federation Merchant Marine rather than Starfleet jurisdiction; built in the 2320s, its spacedock facilities are too small for any ship larger than an Ambassador-class vessel.

Strategic Bases

STARBASE 10: The original strategic base defending the Neutral Zone against Romulan incursion, Starbase 10 is screened and supported by the critical Gamma Hydra cluster. Between its construction in the 2170s to 2266, it slowly became a scientific support base as well; following the Romulan incursions in the later 23rd century, it added a state-of-the-art medical facility in case of war. It remains at accelerated alert status.

STARBASES 234: A crucial strategic base along the Klingon frontier, Starbase 234 dates back to the Klingon-Romulan crisis of the 2340s.

Supply Stations

STARBASE 4: Initially constructed in the late 22nd century to support Federation colonial efforts, Starbase 4 eventually became an administrative center for the Lyris Corridor between Tellar and Deneb. During the Federation's great expansion into the Alpha Quadrant during the early 24th century, Starbase 4 became a test-bed for terraforming and replicator technology. It has temporary quarters with full life-support over a quarter of a million people (one of the largest orbital settlements in the Federation) and remains one of the most cosmopolitan places in Starfleet.

STARBASE 84: One of many floating refit and resupply bases for the Alpha Quadrant, Starbase 84 can embay 12 Galaxy-class starships and dock 24 smaller ships simultaneously. A number of industrial planets keep Starbase 84 supplied with dilithium, duranium, and even pre-built warp cores and phaser arrays.

Deep Space Stations

DEEP SPACE 4: A self-sustaining station in the confused frontier area between Romulus and Vulcan, Deep Space 4 sees all kinds pass through it, from mad archaeologists to pirates to naïve astrophysicists. Technically a Starfleet command post, its security force despairs of even getting rid of all the Tal Shiar agents on board. Hence, it serves as an informal diplomatic point, intelligence-gathering hub, and underground marketplace.

DEEP SPACE STATION K-7: One of the nine space stations strung along the Klingon frontier between 2218 and 2293, Deep Space Station K-7 began as a strategic outpost. By the terms of the Organian peace treaty, all frontier stations of both nations were open to each others' traffic, which made K-7 a hub of spies and confrontation. With the Khitomer Accords and the growing Federation-Klingon alliance, K-7 became a major transit point and meeting place for Federation and Klingon ships and personnel.

FARSPACE STARBASE EARHART: A transitional station past Deneb in the Alpha Quadrant, Starbase Earhart serves a minor command post and replacement point for starships in the sector. Primarily a "hiring hall" for spacers of all kinds, its lurid and seamy Bonestell Recreation Facility it a great place to get a drink, a lover, a knifing, or all three.

Federation Starships

Starfleet Ambassador-class

Heavy Cruiser; Commissioned: 2322

HULL DATA
Structure: 40
Size/Decks: 8/40
Length/Height/Beam: 525/133/361
Complement: 900

TACTICAL DATA
Phasers: Type IX (x2/E)
Penetration: 6/6/6/0/0
Torpedo Launchers: Mk 60 DF (x5/E)
Photon Penetration: 7/7/7/7/7 Deflector Shield: CIDSS-3 (C) Protection/Threshold: 15/3

PROPULSION DATA
Impulse System: FIB-3 (.75c) (B)
Warp System: LF-17+ (5/7/9) (B)

OPERATIONAL DATA
Atmosphere Capable: No
Cargo Units: 100
Life Support: Class 2R (CC)
Operations System: Class 2R (CC)
Sensor System: Class 2 (+2/C)
Separation System: No
Shuttlebay: 1 a
Shuttlecraft: 8 Size worth
Tractor Beams: 1 av, 1 fv
Transporters: 8 standard, 8 emergency

MISCELLANEOUS DATA
Maneuver Modifiers: +2 C, +1 H, -2 T
Traits: Hardened System (Weapons)

Mission

A deep space heavy cruiser designed for long range exploration and defense of the Federation, the Ambassador-class serves the primary capital ship of Starfleet from 2322 to 2360 in much the same role as the earlier Constitution-class and Excelsior-class. Designed to be durable and reliable, the Ambassador-class is a rugged vessel well-suited for missions in adverse conditions and far from support. Ambassador starships frequently operate independently and require little pampering to maintain. In combat, the Ambassador-class is a significant weapons platform, using a mix of phasers and torpedoes for overlapping fields of coverage, with little drop-off in combat ability. In diplomatic or support profiles, this class contains adequate cargo and personnel facilities to fulfill a variety of mission objectives.

Features

The Ambassador-class is one of the first new starship designs of the 24th century but its design roots are similar to those of its ancestors, using the traditional primary and secondary hull profile common to Starfleet vessels. The class has proven itself a stable and dependable workhorse for Starfleet for over forty years.

Part of the Ambassador's rugged durability stems from its redundant and shielded systems. Electro-plasma system (EPS) taps throughout the vessel were the first to employ triple-redundancy, allowing the Ambassador to continue to operate even after several hull breaches. Her sensor arrays, while adequate for the time, are not overly sophisticated but suitable for a wide variety of missions.

Defensively, the Ambassador-class uses Starfleet's proven CIDSS shield grid system, providing it with superb protection and reliability. In combat the vessel relies on a number of phase arrays located on both the primary and secondary hulls, providing comprehensive fields of coverage. The class' Type IX phaser arrays, new when the fleet was initially designed, have an efficient power use curve that allows the Ambassador to mount more arrays than past designs. Her forward and aft firing Mk 60 direct fire torpedo tubes can lay down impressive volleys of photon torpedoes. Most significant to her design are the quad-redundancy fire and control systems integrated through her skeletal structure. This separates each individual array and targeting scanner from the rest of the grid, making it nearly impossible to disable individual weapon mountings. To date no recorded Ambassador-class starship has suffered more than a 40% weapons failure at any given time.

Perhaps the class' most glaring weakness lies in her speed. Even after significant overhauling and upgrades during the design process, the Ambassador-class is pressed to achieve warp 9 speeds—and even then for only short durations. A number of warp engine design simulations—including a quad nacelle configuration—were tested, but the Ambassador's spaceframe proved too large to achieve a stable warp field. In the end the experimental LF-17 warp engine, still in the early design stages, was forced into production and was up-rated to handle the Ambassador spaceframe. The LF-17 eventually proved to be unsuitable for the Ambassador-class and unreliable at times. While multiple overhaul plans have called for new drives, perhaps with the more appropriate LF-35 or LF-41 warp engines, technical limitations have made this unfeasible.

Ambassador-class cruisers have a mission profile of up to five years, and an overhaul schedule of 20 years.

Background

While the Excelsior-class took its place as one of the most successful designs of the late 23rd and early 24th centuries, Starfleet was in need of a second capital ship, particularly one that could operate independently for extended periods of time—a role that was at the time filled by the Constellation-class. The admiralty desired a new vessel that could explore further beyond the borders of the Federation, and with greater safety, than before. It's no accident that the Ambassador mimics is older cousin, the Constitution-class, arguably the most successful starship design of all time, in appearance if not function.

Certainly designers set high standards, and the Ambassador-class was rushed into production. Many aspects of her design were beyond the capabilities and standards of the age, and in the end several key systems, notably her warp drive, ultimately paid the price. The end result was a multi-role starship capable of operating independently on missions of extended durations, but never quick to the scene.

The Ambassador-class, as her name suggests, carried the flag of the Federation to new worlds and new civilizations, and helped pave the way for several first contact situations, such as those involving the Zakdorn. The Ambassador's real strength showed in combat, where her size, rather than her speed, played an important role. At the height of Romulan aggression during the Khitomer conflicts, Ambassador-class ships sometimes found themselves in—and holding their own against—three-to-one odds. These heroic displays, especially that of the U.S.S. Enteprise-C in 2344, eventually led to a formal Federation-Klingon alliance. Ambassador-class vessels also saw action in the Cardassian and Tholian wars of the 2340s and 2350s.

Remaining Ambassador-class cruisers continue to serve in Starfleet, fulfilling either patrol or training duties, along with the occasional survey or diplomatic profile mission. Many of the design philosophies pioneered by the Ambassador-class have found their way into 24th century designs, such as the successful Galaxy-class.

Ships in Service

Name	Registry	Notes
U.S.S. Adelphi	NCC-26849	Commanded by Captain Darson; responsible for disastrous first contact with the Ghorusda (2361); (R5)
U.S.S. Ambassador	NX-10521	Prototype of the line
U.S.S. Enterprise	NCC-1701-C	Fifth starship to bear the name; commanded by Captain Rachel Garrett (2340-2344); destroyed while defending Klingon outpost at Narenda III against Romulan attack (2344); (R18, Famous)
U.S.S. Excalibur	NCC-26517	(R7, Famous)
U.S.S. Exeter	NCC-26531
U.S.S. Gandhi	NCC-26632	Made first contact with the Zakdorn while on the Coreward Frontier Survey Initiative
U.S.S. Horatio	NCC-10532	Commanded by Captain Walker Keel
U.S.S. Krotus	NCC-26544	Defeated Romulan incursion across Neutral Zone (2344)
U.S.S. Valdemar	NCC-26198
U.S.S. Yamaguchi	NCC-26510
U.S.S. Zhukov	NCC-26136	Commanded by Captain Gleason; discovered the twin parallax suns of Ultais

Starfleet Excelsior-class

Exploration Cruiser; Commissioned: 2284; Refitted 2331

HULL DATA
Structure: 35
Size/Decks: 7/30
Length/Height/Beam: 470/111/266
Complement: 650

TACTICAL DATA
Phasers: Type VIII (x5/E)
Penetration: 6/5/5/0/0
Torpedo Launchers: Mk 40 DF (x6/E)
Photon Penetration: 7/7/7/7/7 Deflector Shield: CIDSS-3 (C) Protection/Threshold: 15/3

PROPULSION DATA
Impulse System: FIB-3 (.75c) (B)
Warp System: LF-35 (6/9.2/9.8) (D)

OPERATIONAL DATA
Atmosphere Capable: No
Cargo Units: 80
Life Support: Class 3 (D)
Operations System: Class 4 (E)
Sensor System: Class 2 (+2/C)
Separation System: No
Shuttlebay: 1 a
Shuttlecraft: 7 Size worth
Tractor Beams: 1 ad, 1 fv
Transporters: 4 standard, 4 emergency

MISCELLANEOUS DATA
Maneuver Modifiers: +1 C, +2 H, +3 T
Traits: Battle Tested

Mission

A state-of-the-art capital ship with impressive size, speed, and tactical characteristics, the Excelsior-class is well suited for a number of mission roles. Specializing in emergency response and long-range exploration, the Excelsior-class also distinguishes itself through superior firepower and the ability to project force into neighboring sectors. It served as the mainline fleet vessel for Starfleet after the retirement of the Constitution-class, and before the wide-scale use of Ambassador-class ships. It frequently operats as a command and control vessel, dictating fleet actions. A number of scientific laboratories and the ability to launch long-range probes also make the class viable for exploration and scientific missions.

Features

Originally developed as a test-bed for the experimental transwarp drive, the Excelsior-class underwent a number of late design changes when that project ultimately failed. While transwarp was never realized, designers were unwilling to cast aside what was otherwise a sound cruiser design. The transwarp engines were removed in favor of conventional linear warp drive engines, the uprated LN-72s, the fastest warp engines available at the time. The Excelsior-class can cruise at warp 8, sustain speeds of warp 10 for several hours, and reach warp 13 (OCU) when necessary. This made it by far the fastest Starfleet vessel for almost five decades.

Tactically the Excelsior-class is the most powerful Starfleet vessel fielded during the 23rd and early 24th centuries. Mounting several Type VIII phaser banks, the Excelsior's firepower provides it with excellent strike capabilities. The addition of Mk 22 direct-fire photon torpedoes allows the class to lay down multiple fields of fire. Supplemented by the proven CIDSS-2 shield system, the class enjoys significant combat endurance.

As a support vessel, the ship's sensor capabilities are average for its class, while its operations and computer systems are top of the line. A large shuttlebay and ample cargo room gives the class the ability to operate in a number of auxiliary roles, such as colony supply, emergency relief, and deep-space surveying missions.

In 2331, the first Excelsior refits debuted with a number of upgraded systems. Foremost, the linear warp drive was replaced with the prototype LT-35 design. Excelsior-class ships served as a test bed for these engines years before they reached mass availability. The life support and impulse systems were also upgraded to the standards of the time, as were the torpedo launchers (which mounted the latest Mk 60 direct-fire photon torpedoes). This increased the Excelsior's already-impressive firepower to the strongest in the fleet. The latest CIDSS shield grid was also put into place.

Original Excelsior-class ships have a mission profile of up to four years, with refits and/or overhauls on a 22-year basis. These exceptional endurance numbers allowed the Excelsior to become the backbone of Starfleet in both the 23rd and 24th centuries.

Background

The most prolific design of all time, more Excelsior-class starships have been built than any other vessel in Starfleet history. While not garnering the attention the Constitution-class earned, Excelsiors made formidable ships in their own right, regardless of their shaky beginnings. The failure of the transwarp project was only a minor setback to this class. The Excelsior-class was one of the few vessels that could mount the large LN-72s.

Even while other designs were on the drawing board, the Excelsior continued to astound critics with her multirole functionality. The class was exceedingly fast, able to reach distant colonies and borders in a third of the time of other vessels. More importantly, the Excelsiors were able to handle whatever they came across, thanks to their robust armament and defensive capabilities.

In the early 24th century, after the first overhauls, a number of designers saw ways to upgrade the venerable spaceframe. With no new designs on the drawing board to fill the void that would be left by retiring the class, Starfleet instead opted to upgrade the class. The upgrades breathed new life into the ships and allowed the vessels to continue to make valuable contributions to Starfleet.