Length: 244 m
Beam: 40 m
Draft: 160 m
Decks: 9
Mass: 375,000 tons

Complement

Officers: 45
Enlisted: 140

Propulsion Systems

Warp Propulsion System
Drive Type: MARA Type IV

Number: 2

Impulse System
Drive Type: KRLT

Number: 2

Velocity

Standard Cruise Speed: 6.0
Maximum Cruise Speed: 8
Maximum Emergency Speed: 9.5 (12 hr)

Armament

Hull mounted Phaser Arrays, Type VIII

Number: 6 banks
Range: 300,000 km
Arcs: saucer module dorsal array, saucer module ventral array, nacelle pylon arrays (p/s), secondary hull forward ventral array, secondary hull aft ventral array, secondary hull aft dorsal array

Foreward facing Pulse Phasers

Number: 2 batteries
Range: 300,000 km

Torpedoes

Number: 200 Quantum, 150 Photon, 30 Hellfire, 10 Tricobalt
Range: 7,000,000 km
Tubes: 3 forward, 1 aft

Other Systems

Shields
128MW Dual Layered Shielding System (multi-phasic and regenerative), total capacity 891,000 TeraJoules

Upgraded Ablative Armor:
Developed as part of the Prometheus project, this high quality of ablative armor is more lightweight and more durable than the original grade. The exterior of the Valkyrie is covered with this special armor. It is sixth generation Ablative hull armor, capable of withstanding 45MJ worth of energy fire per square centimeter.

Sensors:
High quality sensors for intelligence-gathering. They are configured for optimum use in intelligence gathering: long-range scanning for vessels and artificial constructs, short-range scanning of planetary systems, and monitoring of communications traffic.

Communications:
The Valkyrie has the best communications an encryption/decryption equipment available in the Federation.

Special:
Klingon K-50 Cloaking Device (secretly traded to the Federation)

Transporters

Standard, 6-person: 3
Emergency, 22-person: 1
Cargo: 2

Standard Bays: 1
Dropship Hangars: 2

Embarked Craft

Shuttles: 6
Runabouts: 1 (see San Diego Class Runabout, Shadow Ops Emergent Tech)
C9 Dropships: 2
C2-9 APCs: 2
Walker Units: 3 Butterfly class, 2 Goliath class, 1 Skyscraper class

Notes

The USS Valkyrie is a Federation ship that was specifically designed for used by the Marine Corps as a specialized assault transport. As such, it bears more resemblance to a Marine craft than a Starfleet one. The hull is not the usually silver color, but rather a black and green camoflauge pattern. On the interior, the ships decks are rough metal plating, designed for easy access to systems and junctions and not for ergonomics or asthetics. The wall and floor panelling is a dark black or green color, and the lighting is provided by strips in the ceiling.

Every deck has several control junctures, manned by Marine and/or Starfleet personnel, as well as weapons caches for easy access for the crew.

The Valkyrie is manned mostly by Marines, with special bays designed for Walker and Dropship storage and repair, as well as multiple armories and several training simulators. There are only a few separate personnel quarters, and most of the combat forces are housed in barracks-style bunkrooms. The Valkyrie has three, large enough to house a platoon (35 personnel) each for a total of three platoons. Marine Force Alpha is seperate from these forces.

USS Valkyrie was constructed during the Dominion War at the Utopia Planatia Shipyards in 2376. She was slated to join the the Sixth Fleet as a replacement vessel, but was damaged while under construction when the Breen attacked Earth and Utopia Planatia. By the time repairs were completed and the rest of the work on the ship was done, the war had ended.

Valkyrie was slated to become a Federation Marine support ship after the war, but was diverted back to Spacedock for refit when Shadow Operations requested the ship become the new mission vehicle for Marine Force Alpha, a marine unit operating aboard the Shadow Ops vessel USS Ticonderoga.

In early 2377 Shadow Ops and the Federation Marines converted Valkyrie to be a fully functional Shadow Ops vessel, with accomodations for Marine Force Alpha. Several laboratories and cargo areas in the lower sections of the ship were converted for storing Marine APCs, Goliath walkers and C9 Dropships.

The ship was turned over to Captain Ian MacLeod from Shadow Operations at Apachok Nor and the Marine force came aboard shortly thereafter, commanded by Colonel Lance Williams.

Class Background

During the early 2360's Starfleet became increasingly worried about the average age of the ships in the fleet. Although vessels such as the Miranda and Excelsior class were performing adequately as midsize cruisers and destroyers, these designs dated back between over 70 years and were lagging behind the latest technology despite frequent refits. Rapid expansion of the Federation was also putting a great strain on both the exploratory and defense capacities of Starfleet, and although the Nebula class was under development Starfleet was predicting that it would be unable to meet all of its commitments by 2375.

The Steamrunner design was fielded mid 2360s along with the Saber as part of a major fleet wide program of modernization and a reaction to the new Borg threat. Essentially the Steamrunners serve a similar function as the modern day Intrepid Class -- a smaller, faster counterpart which would be deployed in large numbers to augment the more capable designs.

2368: Starfleet Issues Mission Brief for a new class of starship. Major points of this new class were midsize, well armed, capable of Warp 9.2, and they were to have high-powered defensive systems. ASDB approves Steamrunner-class.

2369: Work commences at Antares Fleet Yard. Chassis work begins.

2370: Work on the basic chassis components nears completion. The Propulsion Dynamics Laboratory at Jupiter Station finalizes the warp core and material testing begins.

2371: Team begins fitting the modified M/ARA engines to the ship. The ASDB passes the engines under Review 1. Computer systems are fully installed and by May, ship becomes self-sustaining. Outer hull nears completion by June and bridge module is attached. In September warp engines are tested to 90%.

2372: USS Steamrunner receives outer hull coating in May, and is allowed to leave the yard for testing. After three months testing, the ship returns with a better than expected report. Minor problems with computer integration are the only problems found with the ship. After another month in space dock, all problems are addressed and the test crew returns for a second evaluation. After another three months in space, the test crew returns to the Antares Yard with a perfect report for the ship. In December 2372, Starfleet commissions the USS Steamrunner, in a ceremony at the Antares fleet yard.

2372-2376: The original Steamrunners suffered great losses as they were used heavily in the Borg incursion of 2373, and later many were used as scouts in the Dominion war. As a result there are not many left. These ship's capcity as a well-armed scientific/exploration ship began to be replaced by the Intrepid class ships. However, with the new use of small but very powerful ships, inspired by the Defiant design, a new role for the Steamrunner was found. The Steamrunner Mk2 project saw the creation of a powerhouse, exclusively for use on the front lines. The new design was completed before the end of the Dominion war, but was not employed in time to enter combat.