|
Class:
Sovereign
Classification:
Star Cruiser
Service:
2372-
Number
Active: 3
Dimensions
Length:
680m
Beam:
240m
Height:
87m
Decks:
24 (not counting nacelles)
Compliment:
700
Tactical:
14
Type XII Phaser Arrays
5
Type 4 Pulse Fire Torpedo Launchers
Defense:
Auto
Modulating Regenerative Deflector Shield System
10cm
Ablative Armor
The origins of the Sovereign class date
back as far as 2338. At this time relationships between the
Federation and the Klingon empire had degraded significantly, to the
point where war was considered by many to be imminent. The President
ordered Star Fleet to place a design proposal for a new class of
star ship with very much greater military capability than current
designs. This project was in the advanced planning stage when the
loss of the Enterprise-C during the Nerendra III incident eased
tensions considerably. The warship project was initially to be
scrapped, but Star Fleet was instead asked to continue the project
on a research basis only. Dubbed the Sovereign project it became a
theoretical Star Fleet battlecruiser designed only as a computer
model, with specimen hardware occasionally produced to test the
design principles. The intention was to create a design that could
be put into production with no delay, should a future crisis present
itself.
The basic design was to be updated
every five years so as to incorporate technology advances as they
occurred. Initially the Sovereign design was a simple re-working of
the Ambassador class, emphasizing weapons rather than exploratory
and diplomatic capabilities. In the design updates of 2350, 55 and
60 much of the technology being developed for the Galaxy class
project was incorporated, especially in the nacelle and warp core
design. The re-establishing of relations with the Romulans in 2364
led to a major revision in the 2365 update, and many elements of the
Sovereign went into low-rate production in order to establish a
stockpile ready for rapid assembly.
In mid 2365 first contact was also
made with the Borg. The Sovereign project was activated and
construction began on the first four ships of the class. However, it
was apparent that much of the Sovereigns weaponry was based on that
of the Galaxy
class - a vessel which had proven ineffective against the Borg
during that first encounter. New weapons were in preparation for the
next design update due in 2370, but these were not going to be
available in the immediate future. It was clear that despite the
engineers best intentions, the Sovereign project was not going to
meet it's primary goal - to get a warship into service fast enough
to meet the crisis now looming.
The answer Starfleet settled
on was to continue construction of the hull, propulsion, computer,
and sensor systems of the ships already under construction but to
suspend work on the shield, phaser and photon torpedo systems for
three years. Instead, a crash-development project was begun to field
a small, very easily produced warship incorporating the new weapons
- essentially a replay of the Sovereign project in miniature. To cut
size - and therefore design and build time - to a minimum the new
vessel would only be capable of short duration missions. The vessel
would be very maintenance intensive, but would carry only limited
stocks of non-replicatable spares. Combined with limited
accommodation standards and small fuel reserves the new class would
be capable of maintaining full readiness for only six to eight weeks
during independent operations, far less than had been envisaged for
the Sovereign. An important secondary role of this Defiant
class was as a development testbed for the technology which would be
worked into the Sovereign project as soon as it was ready.
Construction continued on the Sovereigns
throughout the late 2360’s. With the destruction of the Borg cube
in 2366, Star Fleet deemed that the threat had reduced to a level
which would allow the Sovereigns to enter service before any renewed
offensive. The Defiant class was therefore suspended, although the
prototype was put into storage rather than scrapped. The lessons
learned with the Defiant were incorporated into the Sovereign when
work resumed on her weapons, a process which continued after the USS
Defiant was reactivated for use at DS9. The switch from photon to
quantum torpedoes and the inclusion of ablative armor are prime
examples of this process. In addition, the bio-neural computer
system pioneered by the Intrepid
class was also included. The first of the class was was launched in
2371 as the USS Sovereign, with the USS Honorious due to follow six
months later. The loss of the USS Enterprise in that year led to a
last-minute re-christening of the Honorious as the USS Enterprise,
NCC 1701-E.
The Sovereign class has emerged from the dockyards as Star Fleets
most sophisticated and comprehensively armed vessel. The vessel is
equipped with a new variant of the Type XII phaser array - formerly
known as the 'Type X+' for security reasons - which equips the
Federations most powerful Starbases and deep space facilities. The
type twelve has a raw beam power output some 60% more powerful than
the Type ten arrays installed on the Galaxy
class. In addition the type twelve has a shorter recharge time and
can fire a longer sustained burst, giving each bank a combat
effectiveness 79.4% greater than a type ten array. Since the
Sovereign carries fourteen arrays compared to Galaxies twelve, this
gives the ship an overall 92.6% increase in phaser capability.
The torpedo armament is similarly
impressive. The large quantum torpedo turret forward of the
deflector dish is capable of firing five rounds per second, a
greater overall rate of fire than the two main ten round burst
photon torpedo tubes of the Galaxy class combined. A pair of twelve
round burst fire quantum torpedo tubes are situated flanking the
secondary deflector system, while rearward quantum torpedo coverage
is provided by an identical tube above the main shuttle bay. Backup
to the quantum torpedoes is provided by four photon tubes; these are
located at the base of the engineering section in pairs which face
forward and aft and are also capable of twelve round bursts. This
gives the Sovereign class the most powerful torpedo armament of any
vessel in Star Fleet service.
The shield system of the Sovereign
class is similarly the most powerful of any Star Fleet ship; the
design was modified just prior to installation 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 - hoped - that this system will also enable
the Sovereign class shield system to prevent beam-through by Borg
transporter technology.
The warp engines of the Sovereign
are of a new design which eliminates subspace distortion effects
inherent to standard warp drives, a feature now becoming common on
most Star Fleet ships. The Sovereign class is currently the fastest
vessel in Star Fleet, with a maximum cruise speed of Warp 9.9 and a
top speed of Warp 9.99 for up to thirty six hours. The very high
cruise speed is intended to allow the ship to deploy as rapidly as
possible to potential trouble spots. Her Impulse drive system is the
most sophisticated model in production, giving the Sovereign class a
maneuverability equal to that of a vessel one quarter its size.
|
