Prometheus Class

From FEInfobase

Jump to: navigation, search

Contents

Re-Development of Prometheus Class

In 2381 there were several skirmishes between Federation ships and a few Reman vessels. Starfleet had issued the order for their more battle oriented vessels to be sent on patrols along the Romulan border to prevent any more hostilities and maintain the peace. One of the vessels was the USS Bedlam a Prometheus class starship under the command of Rear Admiral Jade Blunt. During a Reman raid on a Federation convoy the Bedlam received heavy damage and was forced to full back in to an adjacent sector to receive urgent repairs.

The Bedlam had collided with a Reman controlled battle cruiser as well boarded by Reman troops. The incident had been minor with regards to galactic affairs none the less the Bedlam had been dry-docked for three months while it received repairs and refits. During this time Rear Admiral Blunt took the opportunity to suggest a refit of the Prometheus class. She had been proud at how well her vessel had served Starfleet for nearly five years but she still believed the vessel could receive improvements to assist in its operations. Starfleet agreed to listen to Blunt’s plan as submitted it to the ASDB for review.

The one problem the vessel had been with its Multi-Vector Assault mode. When connected the ship was limited to the use of only eight type 12 phaser banks and three torpedo launchers. The starship separation process was still slow and it took time to for all three sections to be fully armed and operational to fight an enemy. The individual section response times were also long and meant that a full crew had to be on each section for the "independent" ship to operate.

Blunt wanted to change this and so with assistances from her own crew they begin to look at improving the Prometheus’ capabilities as a front line cruiser and explorer.

The Bedlam herself had been one of three Prometheus class starships built with some extra science labs and other scientific facilities. It was Starfleet’s hope that she would be able to perform the same type of scientific missions that her cousin the Intrepid class starship could do. The Bedlam proved how well the Prometheus could operate in these types of missions countless times when she was launched in 2376. However these extra facilities were not practical in the current state of galactic affairs.

The ship was taken back to Utopia Plantia shipyards on 29th October 2381 for routine re-supplying and general maintenance of her computer core. While there Rear Admiral Blunt met with several admirals and other members of the ASDB to discuss the issue of a possible re-development of the Prometheus class. Many of them weren’t happy with the idea of trying to make the Prometheus class a warship. It was something that Starfleet had been trying to avoid since the end of the Dominion War. Many Federation politicians and citizens didn’t feel it was necessary to have so many well armed ships in the fleet. After using her position as a member of the admiralty, Blunt’s suggestion was taking under advisement and she was given permission to begin his changes to the Bedlam only. Starfleet would give her two years to have the upgrades in place before they would decide follow his plans to refit other Prometheus class starships.

The ship’s science department was heavily reduced; leaving the ship with a very basic stellar cartographer lab, astrometrics and one laboratory. Admiral Blunt had her chief science officer create these re-designs with the idea of having adequate science capabilities using limited amount of space on the ship.

Another feature scaled down on the Bedlam was her Tactical Astrometrics Suite. Even though she was one of many ships to experiment with this new facility, Starfleet Tactical had re-designed the facility so that it wouldn’t take up as much room on smaller crafts. Again the admiral allowed her chief strategic operations officer to oversee the changes as it would effect his department more then others.

With more ships designed to carry fighters in to battle the rear admiral suggested the removal of all fighters from the Bedlam’s auxiliary craft compliment. She also traded in the ship’s type eleven shuttles for type ten shuttlecrafts, again providing more room for other systems. Rear Admiral Blunt even allowed her chief flight operations officer to look in to the possibilities of improving the ship’s new auxiliary crafts with their capabilities.

When it came down to the ship’s engines this was where the problems occurred. The Bedlham unlike her sister ships the USS Prometheus was one of two Prometheus class ships that had a different type of warp drive. She only had one warp core which powered all three sections. When the ship was separated, so was the core. Magnetic locks would be inserted to the core and would alter how each section was powered. The Bedlham had only separated on a few occasions but was affected by the separation locks as a nineteen percent drop in ship wide power was experienced. Rear Admiral Blunt with her engineers and operation staff saw that this was not good. So each section was outfitted with their own warp cores. Only the tertiary/engineering section would house the main warp core which would power the vessel while it was joined. Rear Admiral Blunt looked at the Defiant class starship’s own warp core and found her answers. Her chief of operations saw that the class 7 warp core was the answer to their problems, however there was another flaw. The class 7, though powerful could never attempt to maintain speeds as high as the powerful class 9 warp core that sat in the tertiary/engineering section of the ship. The crew was stuck with putting in these new cores and reducing the capabilities of the main warp core or look making a new design for the ship’s antimatter/matter reaction assembly. Not willing to wait for a new design to come about the admiral ordered for the new warp cores to be installed. It wasn’t until the new cores arrived at Utopia fleet yards did the Bedlam’s chief engineer come up with an idea. The class 7 cores could be enhanced and use Trelinium crystals instead of their Dilithium crystal counterparts. The cores would be re-designed to allow the new crystals to create higher temperature and more powerful reactions allowing the cores to achieve the high speeds expected of the Prometheus class starship. Blunt approves the idea and the enhancements begin.

The last systems to be refitted where the tactical systems, most notable the Phaser and Torpedo systems. Blunt had planned for the ship to receive a fourth launcher, two aft and two forward firing systems. The secondary/stardrive section was already outfitted with six phaser arrays and didn’t have any more room for torpedo launchers. The tertiary/engineering section was already armed with three phaser arrays and two torpedo launchers (one forward & one aft). So it was decided the primary/saucer section would receive the second aft launcher to compliment its forward one and five phaser arrays.

An increase in the ship’s torpedo compliment was also added on, allowing the ship to fire more photon torpedoes at a rapid pace.

Crew quarters were also scaled down. Senior quarters were re-distributed on the ship for security reasons. Enlisted crew quarters were altered where they would have to share with at least three people to a room. The deck specifically for the Marine Detachment was also altered so more storage bays could be put in. The Detachment number was also reduced to 125 troops, instead of 146. The enlisted crew count was also shortened to 116 and officer numbers were taken down to 40. The reduction in crewmembers meant that marine, enlisted and officers had to work closer together in operating the ship. The admiral’s crew had gone through a lot together so any prejudice and biased issues between the different crew "sects" had banished a long time ago. Many people voiced their concerns in the lack of crewmembers on the ship but the admiral was confident that the ship could operate with just one hundred crew members on board. Later simulations proved she was right and the ship could operate with fewer crew on board.

Crew recreational facilities were also re-structured and the ship’s third holodeck was removed. Holodeck Two which had been for Marine use only was now opened to all crew members. The commanding officer’s dining hall was also removed, as the admiral would normally dine with her family, senior officers and guests in her quarters. The mess hall was re-vamped and designed on the Intrepid class crew lounge. A bigger galley was put in and the mess hall was provided with a total of six food and drink replicators.

By the time these refits had been finished to the Bedlham, the Borg War was starting up. The Bedlham was rushed out of space dock and sent straight in to battle.

The ship performed well during the first five years of the Borg War. Starfleet was impressed at the re-design and upgrades, which prompted them to order all Prometheus class starships modified to the new Bedlam specifications. The Bedlham served Starfleet for a long time during the Borg War. It assisted in the Khitomer assault of 2391, the battle of Wolf 359 in 2392 and soon helped in the defence of the Sol sector from 2392-2396.

None the less the Bedlam was destroyed during the Battle of Sol, but Starfleet had been proud of the vessel and its commanding officer. The Prometheus class starship would remain an important part of assisting in Federation defence and security for years to come.

In 2399 after the Battle of Sol, San Francisco shipyards had started work on construction of three Prometheus class starships; they were named the USS Prometheus NCC 75913-A, USS Yorktown NCC 1717-F and USS Bristol NCC 90087. In 2400 the Yorktown was constructed and assigned to the Re-Exploration Initiative and by 2403 all three ships had been built with the Prometheus and Bristol assigned to the Earth Defence Force.

Summary of Re-Development

  • 2381:
  • March: USS Bedlham NCC 79006 is dry-docked at Starbase 61 for major repairs. Her commanding officer Rear Admiral Jade Blunt begins to write up plans to improve and enhance the Prometheus class starship.
  • October: Starfleet eventually agrees to the admiral’s suggestion and gives her the chance to improve the Bedlham while she is docked at Utopia Plantia shipyards. The Bedlham is given two years to have its refits in place and operational within the fleet.
  • November: Scientific facilities are reduced in favour of smaller and necessary laboratories. A basic stellar cartographer lab is put in place, astrometrics is kept and one smaller general laboratory is installed. Probe compliment is condensed, and micro-probes are put in place.

A new re-design of the Tactical Astrometrics suite replaces the old one originally installed, this suite is also scaled down in size.

  • December: Auxiliary craft number altered. Fighters are removed from compliment, and type ten shuttles replace the type elevens. Work on warp propulsion systems begin.
  • 2382:
  • January: Engineers finally find fault with ship’s propulsion and power systems. The design for the Defiant class warp core is modified and installed on the Primary and Secondary sections of the ship. Each section now possessed warp engines with trelinium crystals as their catalyst for matter/antimatter reactions. Overall warp performance is improved.
  • February: Refits to tactical systems begin. Extra aft torpedo launcher installed on saucer section. Increase in photon torpedo armament to compliment extra launcher.
  • March: Crew facilities (including holodecks, mess hall and quarters) are altered. Crew count is also reduced.
  • May: USS Bedlham is finally re-launched from Avalon shipyards with Rear Admiral Blunt resuming command.
  • 2387: Starfleet issues a general order for all Prometheus class starship to be improved to the Bedlham refit variant.

2399: Borg War ends, and San Francisco shipyards begins construction of three Prometheus class hulls.

  • 2400: Final constructions complete on one of the Prometheus class starships. On 23rd December 2400 USS Yorktown NCC 1717-F is officially commissioned by Starfleet a brief ceremony. The ship is assigned to the Re-Exploration Initiative and waits for a commanding officer and crew.
  • 2401: On 27th August 2401 USS Prometheus NCC 75913-A is officially commissioned by Starfleet during a brief ceremony. Bridge Plaque is put in pride of place and Commander Darryl Blackburn takes command of the ship. USS Prometheus is ordered to join the Earth Defence Force.
  • On 3rd September 2401 USS Yorktown NCC 1717-F is assigned a commanding officer and crew. Bridge Plaque is put in pride of place and Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Coast takes command of the ship.
  • 2402: On 24th April 2402 USS Bristol NCC 90087 is officially commissioned by Starfleet during a brief ceremony. Bridge Plaque is put in pride of place and Commander Darien Smith takes command of the ship. USS Bristol is ordered to join the Earth Defence Force.


Technical Specifications for Prometheus Class

Category: Explorer/Heavy Cruiser - Uprated

Expected Duration: 80 years

Time Between Resupply: 5 Years

Time Between Refit: 10 Years

Systems

Computer: Hybrid bioneural/isolinear Circuitry

Power Systems: Primary Fusion Reactors: Output 6.1 EJ/hr

Secondary Fusion Reactors: Output 4.3 EJ/hr

Tractor Beam: Type-XI (Range 2.75 km)

Sensors: Advanced Lateral & Long Range Output/Retrieval Systems

Warp Core: M/ARA (Using A Trelinium Powered Core)

Speed

Standard Cruise Velocity: Warp 6.5

Maximum Cruise Velocity: Warp 9.91

Emergency Velocity: Warp 9.997 [13 hours]

Personnel

Officers: 40

Enlisted: 116

Sabre: 1 squad

Passengers: 30

Auxiliary Craft

Shuttle Bays: 1


Shuttles:

2 type-9 personal shuttles

2 type-10 cargo shuttles

Runabouts:

1 Huron Class Runabout

Weapons

Phasers:

14 Type-XII Phaser Arrays (Separated)

8 Type-XII Phaser Arrays (Combined)

Torpedoes:

Launchers: 4 (1 Forward Tertiary Section, 1 Aft Tertiary Section, 1 Forward Saucer Section, 1 Aft Saucer Section)

Photon: 200

Quantum: 50

Defence

Hull Plating:

Ablative Armour Type I

Shields:

Multi Layered Shielding System

Additional:

Starfleet / Romulan Cloaking Device

Dimensions

Height: 50 Meters

Width: 130 Meters

Length: 365 Meters

Decks: 14

Additional Information

Class Service: Currently there are 3 in service with 1 building per year. 29 were lost during the Borg War.

Assigned to 1st Fleet Earth Defence Force

Assigned to 1st Fleet Earth Defence Force

Assigned to 1st Fleet Earth Defence Force

Assigned to 4th Fleet Starfleet Re-Exploration Initiative Task Force

Assigned to 4th Fleet Starfleet Re-Exploration Initiative Task Force

Retrieved from "http://classic.infobase.futilitysend.info/index.php/Prometheus_Class"
Personal tools