Starfleet Design Bureau

[X] 0: United Federation Starship (UFS)
[X] 1: Cygnus

Ships that Built the Federation, 2320
The Cygnus-class

2167 was an important year for the Federation for more reasons than one. Benzar had become the first non-affiliated civilization to express interest in joining the Federation, and was beginning the accession process. The Federation Starfleet was formally established with its headquarters in San Francisco, the nucleus of a defense and exploratory force that would slowly eclipse the member fleets in prestige and power. Then the very first Federation Starship was launched: the UFS Cygnus, NCC-800.

The Cygnus was not what one would expect from such a groundbreaking ship, possessing neither powerful weaponry or advanced scientific facilities. Instead it was an intensely practical design, focused entirely on supporting the internal structure and outward expansion of the Federation. Over the next two decades, Starfleet would commission twenty eight starships of the Cygnus-class, practically all of which never set foot outside Federation-claimed space. But what they accomplished was nonetheless transformative.

The first task of the Cygnus was to completely expunge piracy from Federation territory, a task that had essentially been completed along the main trade lanes by the increased presence of the Andorian and Vulcan member fleets, both now willing to draw down longterm military deployments and redistribute them to constructive ends. But this did not account for the long-standing Naussican and Orion presences near the outer colonies, which were often subject to protection rackets and exploitation of the raw materials they produced. These were not the profit-focused and criminal enterprises of the Orion Syndicate that would necessarily come to characterise piracy in the 23rd century against the proactive response of Starfleet, and precisely because of this opportunistic and squatting lifestyle they proved unable to mount a real resistance.

Over the next five years, the first four vessels of the Cygnus-class apprehended over a dozen criminal gangs while simultaneously providing much needed resupplies and technical expertise to the colonies. On Arcadia III, the UFS Peregrine averted an impending famine with a shipment of climate-adapted seeds that prevented mass starvation. When an industrial accident caused a major delta radiation leak on Delta Pavonis IV, the UFS Osprey was able to divert from a nearby patrol and arrived ten days later to conduct emergency repairs. Most impressively, the UFS Kingfisher rescued the Benzite colony on Loracus II from a pirate group extorting medical supplies and valuable materials from the Benzite government with a neutron bomb by disabling their ship and then audaciously beaming the bomb aboard and back out into space. The Kingfisher was exposed to the detonation at close range with its shields still down, inflicting no casualties but requiring a complete decontamination at Benzar Prime. The memorial to the ship and the bravery of the crew still stands in the central annex of the Loracus capitol building.

By 2220 more aggressive policing actions had passed to more modern and heavily-armed starships, but the Cygnus-class remained the first responder to many domestic crises and reports of hostile incursions thanks to its ubiquity in the Federation interior. The final vessel of the class was decommissioned in 2252, of which regrettably none now survive in their original launch conditions. However the UFS Goshawk became a cargo ship in civilian service and was converted in 2294 into a ground-based museum of spaceflight on the outskirts of Tycho City on Luna, during which the bridge and main engineering were restored and can be viewed in their original context.



Cygnus-class Utility Cruiser [2167]
Single Target Rating: 8
Multi-Target Rating: 3
-Average Damage: 4.6
-Max Sustained Damage: 10.5
-Alpha Strike Damage: 23
-Coverage: 75%
-Maneuverability: Medium
Defense Rating: 32
Engineering: 5 (Shuttles, Transporter, Fabrication, Cargo)
Science: 2
Warp (Efficient Cruise): 5.2 (140.6c)
Warp (Maximum Cruise): 6 (216c)
Warp (Maximum Warp): 6.8 (314.4c)
Industrial Cost: 20 (Civilian) + 23 (Starfleet)