PROMETHEUS CLASS SHIP SPECS

Capable of outrunning anything in the Fleet, and the most heavily armed Federation vessel ever constructed, the Prometheus Class breaks all the rules of Starfleet starship design.

Though Defiant Class "escorts" are somewhat capable of basic scientific information gathering missions and surveys, the Prometheus Class is a pure bread warship, through and through.

It is outfitted with Regenerative Shielding and Ablative Hull Armor (an outer hull layer that vaporizes under weapons fire, thereby dissipating energy and protecting the ship's interior).

The main problem with this configuration is that if something happens to the Primary Hull section of the ship during a Battle (i.e., computer damage or section destruction), then the Secondary and Tertiary Sections have no way to Independently reconnect and withdraw from combat. 

A re-design was called for in terms of adding a Battle Bridge to both the Secondary and Tertiary sections, which would allow for better control of the Vessel before, during, and after a battle.

Another innovation of the Prometheus was the installation of both shipwide Holo-emitters and Sub-space Hologramatic Link- ups, the first of which allow the EMH Mark II (also a prototype at the time and later renamed to Longterm Medical Hologram), to operate in all crew areas as well as any area that there's a medical emergency, and the second to allow you to talk to someone from either Earth or any other planet, in Your quarters as if they are really there.

This aspect of the design was crucial in recovering the Prometheus from Romulan hands in 2374.

The Romulan takeover itself was during a test flight, during which a group of Romulans hijacked the starship and killed its crew in an attempt to appropriate its tactical technologies for the Romulan Tal’shiar.

This plan was thwarted thanks to the Prometheus EMH and the EMH from the USS Voyager NCC-74656, which had been sent to the Prometheus through an ancient alien communications network from their position in the Delta Quadrant to the sickbay of the Prometheus.

The communications network itself was later discovered to belong to the Hirogen, a species that lived in the Delta Quadrant which the USS Voyager had run into afew times, this time not being the last for the USS Voyager.

Once aboard the Prometheus, Voyagers EMH worked in concert with the Prometheus's EMH and managed to flood the ventilation system with neurozine gas, knocking out the Romulans.

The two holograms then maneuvered the Prometheus through combat with Romulan warbirds while also under fire from Starfleet ships unaware that the enemy was no longer in control--and after using the Multi-Vector Assault Mode to single handly destroy one of the warbirds, effected the ship's return to the Federation.

Afterwards, Voyager's EMH was debriefed by Starfleet Command and sent back to his ship via the same alien communications network.

The communications network was later rendered inoperable by unknown means and all contact with Voyager ceased.

Prometheus Main Bridge

Prometheus Class Design History

The Prometheus is the culmination of several separate research projects, which have been combined into one prototype test bed. Starfleet has long recognized that, all other factors being even, vessels with high maneuverability can gain a significant combat advantage. The physics of warp drive dictate that for a given engine capacity the least massive vessel will have the greatest maneuverability - but minimizing vessel size is at odds with the large number of scientific and diplomatic functions which a Starship must be able to perform. One obvious solution to this problem was to design ships that are able to configure themselves for the mission at hand, but the non-military nature of Starfleet gave research in this area a relatively low priority. However, the Galaxy class did incorporate some of these ideas in that the saucer section was built to be easily separated and re-attached without outside support.

Without the bulk of the saucer the star drive section was much more maneuverable, in theory giving it a significant combat advantage over a saucer-equipped Galaxy. In practice, however, this operation is somewhat unwieldy on the Galaxy class and leaves the saucer (which does not have an independent warp drive) extremely vulnerable to attack. In addition, the saucer section contains the Galaxy's two longest phaser arrays and can provide a significant reserve of power from its fusion reactors. The Galaxy class has therefore not used this capability very often.

In 2359 Starfleet initiated a research project intended to explore the possibility of a true multi-section vessel. The requirement called for a vessel able to separate into at least two independent sections, each with a fully functional warp drive of its own. One would be capable of launching an attack with almost the full ships weaponry, at high speed and maneuverability. The other, comprising the scientific, diplomatic and accommodation sections, would clear the area at high warp carrying the civilian complement. Much of the technology being developed for the Intrepid class project was included in this design, with the result that the theoretical model finalized in 2363 bore a close resemblance to the Intrepid herself.

In 2364 Starfleet was considering moving to a production basis with the multi-section Starship. However, during this year contact with the Romulans was re-established when the USS Enterprise-D encountered a Warbird at the Neutral Zone. Since the Warbird appeared to outgun the Enterprise - then Starfleet's most powerful ship - by a considerable margin Starfleet was confronted with what appeared to be a powerful and aggressive enemy. As part of their response Starfleet requested a complete re-design of the multi-section starship. The new requirement called for an almost totally re-designed vessel; the ship would be in three sections, each of which would have an independent warp core and drive system. The scientific and diplomatic sections were removed in favor of increased armament and power for the weapons.

During the development Starfleet also encountered both the Borg and the Dominion, both hostile and powerful enemies. This led to an ever-accelerating effort to turn the new ship into a pure combat vessel; much technology from other projects was put into what was now dubbed the "multi-vector attack Starship". This came most especially from the Sovereign project - in place of the Type VIII phaser arrays that the original ship had shared with the Intrepid class, the Type XII phaser arrays from the Sovereign project were included. The shield system was massively upgraded and, in light of the subsequent Borg attack, closely based on the auto-modulating shields of the Sovereign. The advanced warp engine design also included many elements of the Sovereign class, while the ablative armor, high capacity structural integrity fields and quantum torpedo tubes developed for the Defiant project were also included.

This technology combined to make the new Starship one of the most massively armed and armored vessels of its size ever contemplated, let alone built. The small size combined with incredible speed and maneuverability when in multi-vector mode; when the prototype USS Prometheus was launched in late 2373 she was thought to have a combat capacity an amazing nine times that of the equally-sized Intrepid class, while her Type XII phasers made her a formidable foe for any vessel in the alpha quadrant.

The power of the Prometheus was graphically demonstrated when the ship was stolen by rogue operatives of the Romulan Tal'shiar in 2374. Although the prototype was still in the test phase, she was able to inflict devastating damage on a Nebula class ship and withstand a combined attack by two Defiant class Escort vessels, an Akira class cruiser and two Romulan D'Deridex Class Warbirds. In the same battle she used multi-vector assault mode to destroy one of the two Romulan Warbirds with ease.

The performance of the Prometheus during this accidental live-fire trial has exceeded all expectations for the ship. The ability to pack firepower little short of a Sovereign class into a ship the size of an Intrepid class offers the prospect of a huge increase in Starfleet's potential combat capability. With Starfleet loosing ground against the Dominion, this could prove to be of vital importance. Starfleet has decided to complete the evaluation as rapidly as possible, and a decision to press ahead with full series production is expected very soon.

2375: On May 3rd 2375 the USS Prometheus NX-59650 is officially commissioned by Starfleet during a brief Ceremony. During which the Ships Plaque is put in pride of place and Captain Byron Bladestorm takes command of the ship and the USS Prometheus is ordered to the Dominion lines.

In 2378 the second Prometheus Class ship the USS Archangel NCC-74913 under the command of Captain Darious Van Basstin is completed and assigned to the Delta Quadrant Task Force stationed at Deep Space 12.

In early 2380 the Multi-Layered Shielding System(M.L.S.S.) was developed and added to the USS Prometheus and the Prometheus class, the M.L.S.S. itself consists of 3 Layers which absorb the impact from Phaser fire or Torpedoes, it works in conjunction with the Ablative Hull Armour and acts as the First line of defense for the ship when the Shields are either compromised or have failed due to excessive damage.

In late 2380 the old Type XII Phaser Arrays were removed and replaced by the New more powerful Type XX Phaser Arrays, later in a major overhaul the 3 original Warpcores was also removed and replaced by 3 New Next-Gen G3 Warpcores which are 3 times more powerful than the originals and allows the Prometheus to sustain it's top speed of 9.99 for a longer 48 hours and it's maximum top speed of 9.999 for 24 hours which is double her original capabilities.

The New Warpcores also gave the Prometheus 3 times the power for other things such as Impulse Engines, Shields and Weapons which gives the Prometheus the battle capabilities of twice that of the standard Prometheus and Sovereign class and little short of the DQTF Flagship the Dark Raven which also has the Next-Gen G3 Warpcore, difference being the Dark Raven's G3 is larger than the Prometheus but lacks it special ability of being able to become 3 seperate and fully working warpcores.

The Multi-Layered Shielding System(M.L.S.S.)

Layer 3 - The outermost layer manipulates graviton polarity in a way not typical to shields, creating a graviton flux disruption that prevents many know designs of threat tractor beams from locking on to the vessel. This layer also incorporates transport inhibitor technology, helping prevent an enemy from transporting aboard.

Layer 2 - The middle layer incorporates automatic rotation of frequency and modulation with meta-phasics, which absorbs enemy fire, spreads it out along the shield. This shield sends data on what type of weapon is used and what frequency and phase the weapon uses. Once this is analyzed, the computer can automatically configure shield to have the same frequency as the incoming weapon, but to different modulation, which dramatically increases shield efficiency.

Layer 1 - The innermost shield layer is a multi-phaseic shield. Based on standard regenerative shielding, this is the ship's last shielded line of defense, once this is gone the ships only defence is the Ablative Hull Armor. The key to this layer is its ability to 'wave' while in a state of temporal flux. This technology was developed in part by the crew of USS Voyager and the Mannheim Research Station. Instead of a standard oval bubble, this layer 'ripples' or waves (like the surface of water) while in a state of temporal flux. This dramatically increases protection against weapons such as the Hellfire, Chronaton, and Transphaseic Torpedoes while at the same time helping protect the ship from temporal anomalies.

The design of the M.L.S.S. was modified just prior to its entering service, in 2376, in order to increase effectiveness against both high-energy tractor beams and phased polaron particles, measures clearly aimed at the Borg and Dominion respectively. Under normal operation the shield modulation frequencies are under the control of the ships computer system, which continually evaluates incoming weapons fire and automatically re-modulates the shields to give the most effective possible defense. It is thought that this system, in conjunction with transport inhibitor technology, will also enable the shield system to prevent beam-through by Borg and Dominion transporter technology.

The Multi-Vector Assault Mode(M.V.A.M.)

The most Advanced Tactical feature of this Class is the Multi-Vector Assault Mode(M.V.A.M.), in this mode the ship splits into three separate, fully Independent, Warp Capable, sections.

The ship is capable of Multi-Vector Assault Mode (MVAM, pronounced em-vam), (pictured below), in which the vessel splits into three smaller warships, each capable of independent warp flight and fully armed.

A computer image of Multi-Vector Assault Mode in action	An actual image of Multi-Vector Assault Mode in action
A computer image of Multi-Vector Assault Mode from a second angle	A computer image of Multi-Vector Assault Mode from a third angle

Multi-Vector Assault Mode gives the Prometheus a Tactical Advantage over larger ships, and also over a large number of ships. Coupled with it's ability to cloak and attack like a Klingon ship makes her a formidable enemy by having the ability to utilize the full array of the ships weaponry to either disable or destroy an enemy or ememies depending on the situation.

Making her a match for anything in the Alpha Quadrant, and possible the Delta Quadrant aswell

Each section can be remotely controlled from the Main Bridge via the ships sophisticated tactical computer, or each section can be manned by a skeleton crew depending on the battle.

The Multi-Vector Assault mode each section can be remotely controlled from the Main Bridge via the ships sophisticated tactical computer, however it is possible for an Experienced Tactical Officer working in conjuction with Tactical Computer, to control each section either semi-manually or fully manually in emergency combat situations, Multi-Vector Assault Modecan also be controlled placing a skeleton crew in each section.

When the Multi-Vector Assault Mode is activated the ship goes into Blue Alert and the Captain notifies the crew.

Blue Alert is also used when the ship uses its "Planetary Landing Ability(P.L.A.)" which it shares with the Intrepid and Nova Classes, more notably the USS Voyager NCC-74656.

Planetary Landing Ability(P.L.A.)

The "Planetary Landing Ability(P.L.A.)" is a system which the Prometheus Class shares with the Intrepid and Nova Classes.

It allows the ship to enter the atmosphere of a planet and land on the surface should it be necessary to make an emergency landing.

The Prometheus Class uses the "Ground Footpad System" to make a landing on the planets surface.

The "Ground Footpad System" is shown here,

This picture shows the "Ground Footpad System" which is situated in the keel of the Tertiary Section, 2 decks below the Main Navigational Deflector.

This picture shows the USS Voyager NCC-74656 deploying its Ground Footpad System.

Additional Information

More recently the Prometheus was part of the Fleet sent to investigate the possible Borg attack which turned out to be the return of the USS Voyager NCC-74656 from Delta Quadrant after 6 years, as seen in the pictures below.

The first picture is of the Fleet preparing to repel the supposed Borg attack that turned out to be a Borg sphere with Voyager inside.

The second picture is the Fleet escorting Voyager back to Earth.