A Promethus Class starship |

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The Promethus Class is a Tactical Cruiser!
Expected Duration: 82 years Time Between Resupply: 5 years Time Between Refit: 5 years PersonnelOfficers: 50 Enlisted Crew: 125 Marines: 36 SpeedCruising Velocity: Warp 7.5 Maximum Velocity: Warp 9.9 Emergency Velocity: Warp 9.98 (for 12 hours) DimensionsLength: 415 metres Width: 163 metres Height: 64 metres Decks: 15 Multi-vector assault mode systems. When separated,
the ship's phaser arrays number 18 in total and the ship's torpedo launchers number 5 throughout the saucer section (A), the
upper engineering section (B) and the lower engineering section. DescriptionAfter the first major encounter between the Dominion and the Federation at the end of 2370, Starfleet responded to the
new threat by reactivating the Defiant project and continuing development of the Sovereign project. However, it was felt that
further action was needed. The Sovereign class ships were relatively resource intensive and, while the Defiants were easy
to build, they were also rather limited on range and endurance. Hence, it was decided to combine various technologies into
the new ship. The ablative armour and quantum torpedoes that equip the Defiant and Sovereign classes were included, as were
the advanced hull geometry and warp field technology of the Sovereign and Intrepid classes. Starfleet also decided
to incorporate the separation concept into the new vessel. Many Starfleet ships have had the ability to separate their primary
hull from the rest of the ship but this has historically been an emergency measure intended to allow the engineering hull
to be abandoned in the event of an imminent warp core breach. Moreover, reconnection has generally required the services of
a starbase or drydock in a process taking several days. With the Galaxy class, Starfleet took the separation process
a step further. The primary and engineering hulls both had impulse engine systems, allowing them to operate as fully equipped
STL spacecraft in their own right. The engineering hull was able to use its warp drive whilst separated, not simply as an
emergency measure for a few seconds or minutes but as a viable interstellar drive system. The intent was to allow the primary
hull to escape a combat area with the civilians and family members whilst the engineering hull kept the enemy occupied. However,
this concept was never really as successful as Starfleet wanted. The primary hull was essentially stationary by warp drive
standards, making it an easy target for an enemy that defeated the engineering hull in battle. What was needed was a ship
that could split into multiple sections, each capable of independent warp speed travel. This is the technology Starfleet decided
to incorporate into the new Prometheus class. The ship that emerged from the drawing boards was capable of separating into
three sections - the upper and lower engineering hulls and the saucer section. Both parts of the engineering hull had two
nacelles while the saucer section had a small auxiliary unit that would deploy once separated. The warp core arrangement
was also unique. The efficiency of a warp core is in part dependent on its height, as the longer a core is, the more accurately
the matter and antimatter streams can be controlled. Starfleet had initially wanted to equip each section of the Prometheus
design with a Defiant-style warp core. This is very compact at only three decks tall but suffers from inefficiency as a result.
It overcomes this by using multiple matter and antimatter streams, so achieving high fuel throughput and high power output.
This gives the core a very high fuel consumption rate, something considered acceptable for the short range Defiant but not
for the Prometheus. To solve the problem, the designers came up with a unique core design for the engineering hull.
The warp core has no less than three reaction chambers along its height. During normal operation matte,r is fed in at the
top of the core and antimatter at the bottom, as in any normal warp core. The fuel streams pass directly through the upper
and lower reaction chambers and continue down to their meeting point in the central chamber. The core thus operates in a manner
similar to any standard model, achieving high efficiency through the long core design. The central reaction chamber
lies on the separation plane, and once the ship splits it is shut down. In the lower engineering section a secondary matter
feed just under the central chamber comes into operation, feeding deuterium down to the lower reaction core. This process
is mirrored in the upper engineering section, with an antimatter feed sending fuel up to the upper core. As a result, the
combined engineering sections can operate at an efficiency level comparable to any contemporary starship, while the separated
sections lose a measure of efficiency because of the shorter warp cores. The primary hull operates on a separate Defiant-style
warp core when separated. The original intent was to have the saucer serve to evacuate civilians as in the Galaxy class,
but at warp speed. The idea of carrying civilians was quickly abandoned, however, and the saucer section up-gunned to match
the remainder of the vessel. In separated mode the ship is thus able to attack an enemy from three different directions simultaneously,
a tactic known as "multi-vector assault mode". The development and construction of the prototype vessel took three
years, and the USS Prometheus was launched in April of 2374. The ship included all of the latest systems, including holographic
projectors on every deck so as to facilitate operations of the EMH Mark 4 and other such holographic supplements planned to
come into service in the future. Initial trials went well but, during the shakedown cruise, the Prometheus encountered external
problems that resulted in a live combat situation. Although the prototype was still in the test phase, it was able to inflict
devastating damage on a Nebula class ship and withstand a combined attack by two Defiant class escort vessels and an Akira
class cruiser. In the same battle, it used multi-vector assault mode to destroy a Romulan Warbird 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 prodigious increase in
Starfleet's potential combat capability. Deck Listing:
Deck |
Description |
1 |
Main Bridge, Observation/Conference Lounge, Captain's Ready Room |
2 |
Saucer Upper Warp Nacelle, Captain's Quarters, Executive Officer's Quarters, Executive
Officer's Office, Environmental Controls, Mess Hall, Engineering Support Labs, Armoury 1, Saucer Engineering (Level 1), Deuterium
Storage, Storage Bay |
3 |
A - Primary Computer Core (Level 1), Saucer Warp Core Jettison Hatch, Deuterium Fuel Pumps
and Fill Ports, Deuterium Injector, Anti-matter Fuel Pumps and Fill Ports, Anti-matter Injector, Anti-matter Storage Pods,
Maintenance, Life Support, Waste Management, Crew Quarters, Gym 1, Saucer Engineering (Level 2), Forward Torpedo Launcher,
Torpedo Bay 1, Transporter Room 1 B - Docking Latches, Forward Torpedo Launcher, Torpedo Bay 2 |
4 |
A - Junior Officer Quarters, Primary Computer Core (Level 2), Science Labs, Captain's Yacht,
Cargo Bay 1 B - Crew Quarters, Anti-matter Storage Pods, Secondary Computer Core (Level 1), Phaser Batteries, Anti-matter
Injector/Reactors |
5 |
A - Senior Officer Quarters, VIP Quarters, Primary Computer Core (Level 3), Holodeck 1,
Lounge, Transporter Rooms 2 & 3, Cargo Bay 2 B - Battle Bridge, Stellar Cartography, Astrometrics Lab, Sensor Control
Room, Secondary Computer Core (Level 2), SIF Generators, IDF Generators, Armoury 3, Docking Latches, Junior Officer Quarters,
Main Engineering, Power Distribution Controls, Engineering Support Labs |
6 |
A - Crew Quarters, Primary Computer Core (Level 4), Tertiary Deflector Controls, Tertiary
Deflector Array, Cargo Bay 3 B - Environmental Support, Impulse Reactors, Secondary Computer Core (Level 3), Crew Quarters,
Waste Management, Emergency Batteries |
7 |
A - Main Sickbay, Medical Labs, Security Offices, Brig, Armoury 2, Holodeck 2, Transporter
Rooms 3 & 4 B - Battle Sickbay, Transporter Room 5, Holodeck 3, Cargo Bay 4, Crew Quarters, Aft Torpedo Launcher, Torpedo
Bay 3 |
8 |
A - Saucer Lower Warp Nacelle, Crew Quarters B - Crew Quarters, Secondary Deflector
Control, Science Labs, Phaser Batteries, Deuterium Fuel Pumps and Fill Ports, Deuterium Fuel Storage, Deuterium Injectors,
Upper Shuttle Bay, Shuttle Bay Control Room, Shuttle Bay Support 1 |
9 |
A - Lounge, Gym 2, Docking Latches, Phaser Maintenance, Tertiary Tractor Emitter B -
Crew Lounge, Maintenance Labs, Secondary Tractor Emitter, Storage Bay, Secondary Deflector Array, Lower Shuttle Bay, Shuttle
Bay Support 2, Warp Core Jettison Hatch, Docking Latches |
10 |
Auxiliary Bridge, Forward Torpedo Launcher, Torpedo Bay 4, Auxiliary Sickbay, Deuterium
Fuel Storage, Maintenance Labs, Deflector Control, Docking Latches |
11 |
Crew Lounge, Transporter Room 6, Holodeck 4, Crew Quarters, Auxiliary Sickbay, Life Support,
Environmental Support, Deuterium Fuel Pumps and Fill Ports, Deuterium Injector/Reactors, Main Deflector Array |
12 |
Marine Barracks, Marine CO's Office, Marine CO's Quarters, Armoury 4, Tertiary Computer
Core (Level 1), Tertiary Engineering (Level 1), Aft Torpedo Launcher, Torpedo Bay 5 |
13 |
Emergency Batteries, Cargo Bays 5 & 6, Anti-Matter Injector, Tertiary Computer Core
(Level 2), Tertiary Engineering (Level 2) |
14 |
Anti-matter Storage Pods, Anti-matter Fuel Pumps and Fill Ports, Phaser Batteries, Tertiary
Computer Core (Level 3), Storage Bay |
15 |
Warp Core Jettison Hatch, Main Tractor Emitter |
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