[X] Plan for a thick saucer section with plenty of internal space.
While there's something to be said for faster speeds, raw capability asks for as much interior space as you can give it. The saucer section is working out to be a behemoth in its own right, 280 meters across with 15 decks. The same spaceframe techniques you used to build the Reliant are being used writ large here, and there are already excited murmurings from Starfleet and even civilian enthusiasts as the first components of the spaceframe are manufactured and then shipped to Utopia Planitia. Even those without clearance can do basic math and see that the ship is going to be a monumental undertaking.
With the skeleton of the saucer section planned, next is the secondary hull. The main sticking point here will be the model of main deflector used. The first is an extremely wide dish that uses particle emission density across a wide area, effectively brute-forcing the deflector field. The advantage is that the internal components are reasonably compact for its size, allowing you more space to play with in the secondary hull, although the increased verticality the design demands will bulk up the ship and potentially slow its maximum warp.
The second option is a little more exciting, consisting of a traditional recessed deflector with a much more comprehensive back-end. The design will benefit from being hooked directly into the warp transfer conduits and can tap an enormous amount of energy from the warp core. You can see the utility of such a synergistic system between the warp core and main deflector, but it does impinge deeper into the secondary hull. The design is admittedly experimental at present and may need some workshopping closer to launch, but the benefits are such that it may be worth it.
Project Ambassador must be capable of long-range exploration and independent scientific investigation. It must be able to provide diplomatic amenities and appropriate quarters for dignitaries. It will ideally be capable of engaging on equal terms the Klingon Vor'cha class.
Minimums:
Tactical Score: A (Requested)
Scientific Score: B+ (Required)
Comfort Score: A (Required)
The secondary hull is enormous even in its smaller variant, trading height for a trailing aft that will house a shuttlebay and most of the critical engineering systems. The new deflector is enormous, protected by a concave dish and penetrating the secondary hull some forty meters. The warp core will provide a direct transfer of power to the dish in addition to the nacelles, allowing the highest energy investments in warp travel in Federation history. Whether it will actually move this behemoth of a starship at a record speed given all the mass it has to move, however, is an open question.
But before the warp core is installed you need to consult Yoyodyne, who are very happy to report that they have pioneered a new antimatter injector design and a number of adaptations to increase power output. The new nacelles used in the Renaissance-class can now be used without consequence, increasing both cruising speeds and maximum warp factors. But there have been improvements to the original design in the last four years - at least in theory, as the changes have yet to be tested.
Simply put, by elongating the nacelles and slimming down the warp coils, they can create a naturally distended warp field. Even a ship as large as the Ambassador could surf the wave of spatial distortion with unprecedented efficiency. While this sounds like a return to the previous paradigm, they assure you this couldn't be further from the truth. The shorter nacelles are here to stay, and they are simply still refining the design until it reaches the perfect balance between efficiency and speed. New subspace coil field morphologies and material sciences are constantly changing and advancing the field of warp dynamics, after all.
[ ] Renaissance-class Nacelles
[ ] New Nacelle Design (Prototype)
Project Ambassador must be capable of long-range exploration and independent scientific investigation. It must be able to provide diplomatic amenities and appropriate quarters for dignitaries. It will ideally be capable of engaging on equal terms the Klingon Vor'cha class.
Minimums:
Tactical Score: A (Requested)
Scientific Score: B+ (Required)
Comfort Score: A (Required)
You watch carefully as worker bees manoeuvre the nacelles down onto the elegant sweep of the struts that will connect them to the Ambassador's secondary hull. The new nacelles are enormous, over two hundred meters in length and weighing over a hundred thousand tons. Even at a cursory glance you can see the increased sophistication compared to the Renaissance variant. The main coil assembly has been extended in length, but there's also an additional subspace field focus assembly behind the primary plasma vents. You suspect it's probably a quick fix to problems induced by increasing the length of the field coils, and won't be surprised if that is integrated back into the main lateral field emitters in future designs. But so long as it works and performs as promised, you don't care how it's done.
The new warp core has also been installed, and the impressive power output will be vital to getting the ship to do all you want it to do. It feels a little strange diverting a secondary power conduit from the core to the main deflector, but the enhanced reaction chamber is more than capable of handling the additional load. But while the ship now has all the systems needed for warp speed its sublight thrusters have yet to be finalised. The issue is that there is no field-tested impulse assembly that will be able to move the sheer mass of the Ambassador, so it's taking the team a little longer to nail down what to install.
The first option is the Avidyne Type-7, mounted vertically down the neck connecting the saucer and engineering sections. Or rather, that's the only option. The controversy is over proposals to add a pair of supplemental engines at the rear of the saucer section to provide extra thrust. While it would certainly add some agility, it would also replace the planned diplomatic lounge. While you can shift the lounge elsewhere it will mean less internal space to play with later down the line.
Project Ambassador must be capable of long-range exploration and independent scientific investigation. It must be able to provide diplomatic amenities and appropriate quarters for dignitaries. It will ideally be capable of engaging on equal terms the Klingon Vor'cha class.
Minimums:
Tactical Score: A (Requested)
Scientific Score: B+ (Required)
Comfort Score: A (Required)
The impulse engines are installed without much fanfare: the Type-5 in the aft saucer section is a process the drydock team can do by rote, but the Type-7 proves more of a challenge. The two thruster units that make up the engine are substantial things, each consisting of two fusion reactors and an acceleration chamber that can put out astronomical amounts of impulse power. They are also much more demanding in terms of precision, where even a micron misalignment could introduce turbulence into the entire assembly.
But with them finally installed you turn to the issue of weapon systems. While not strictly speaking a requirement, you have a firm obligation to provide a ship with nearly a thousand crew a solid defensive armament if nothing else. Here is where the earlier successes of the Type-9 come back to introduce complications: the design teams at Starfleet Tactical have already increased the number of emitters that can be daisy-chained together into a single weapon array. What is more impressive is they believe it can be integrated into a whole-saucer weapon, with a long strip covering what would take five separate arrays under your original plans. The resulting nadion streams would also be much more concentrated, increasing firepower.
The second consideration is the torpedo armament. The standard armament is two launchers forward and at least one aft, but here Tactical has another major proposal. They have pioneered a new rapid-fire torpedo launcher which can fire four photons out of a single tube in less than two seconds. That would more than double the forward payload that the Ambassador could unload in combat conditions. The same could be applied to an aft launcher for full coverage. It's an appealing option, but burst firepower isn't everything.
Project Ambassador must be capable of long-range exploration and independent scientific investigation. It must be able to provide diplomatic amenities and appropriate quarters for dignitaries. It will ideally be capable of engaging on equal terms the Klingon Vor'cha class.
Minimums:
Tactical Score: A (Requested)
Scientific Score: B+ (Required)
Comfort Score: A (Required)
The new weapons are definitely pushing the envelope of what a starship is capable of. The first two phaser strips go around the saucer, each of them approximately three hundred meters of linked phaser emitter. Individually they aren't very powerful at all, but together they pack a mean punch. The third strip goes along the bottom of the secondary hull to protect the aft and rear firing arcs, and the final two are added to the nacelle struts as they flare out from the engineering section. Those last two are comparatively weak, not even the equivalent of the main phaser arrays on the Reliant-class, but they cover such small blind spots on the main arrays that you can't imagine a situation where a hostile starship can stay exclusively in those firing arcs.
Which wouldn't even be a winning strategy, because it would put them squarely in the optimal firing angle for the Ambassador's rear-facing torpedo launcher. Just a single tube, but capable of rapidly firing a chain of four photon torpedoes - or so the theory goes. You are somewhat reassured by how large the assembly is, because it means if the design fails altogether you can substitute a normal launcher instead. Meanwhile the forward launcher sits just above the main deflector dish with a commanding firing angle below the primary saucer.
With most vital systems now planned and being manufactured you can turn to some matters regarding the internal accommodations. The last two designs have used larger crew quarters than Starfleet standard, something made possible primarily by increased automation and larger hulls becoming viable. With the colossal internal space afforded to the Ambassador there is no excuse not to do the same here, but you find yourself wondering if you should take it a step further. Communal crew rooms still sleep three enlisted personnel each, but you could ensure that every member of the crew no matter their rank has a private room to themselves. The accommodations would not be palatial, but they would be personal. The downside is that it might impinge on more ambitious proposals - such as an internal arboretum. Or more realistically additional cargo bays and extra accommodations for non-Starfleet personnel.
[ ] Communal Crew Quarters
[ ] Personal Crew Quarters
Project Ambassador must be capable of long-range exploration and independent scientific investigation. It must be able to provide diplomatic amenities and appropriate quarters for dignitaries. It will ideally be capable of engaging on equal terms the Klingon Vor'cha class.
Minimums:
Tactical Score: A (Requested)
Scientific Score: B+ (Required)
Comfort Score: A (Required)
You eventually decide that individual quarters would have too many downsides for the internal space question - perhaps in a couple of decades when an even larger starship is on the drawing board you'll have so many decks over so much area that it won't matter. But for now there are plenty of auxiliary systems and internal facilities you want to put in but don't already have the space for, and you don't want to cut that number down even more. That just leaves actually deciding what to install.
Medium Modules (Pick Two):
[ ] Enhanced Medical Facilities. More empty beds, drug synthesis, isolation rooms. Everything an enterprising medical officer needs to put down the latest terrifying plague from the Deep Black. (Utility)
[ ] Bulk Transporter Array. For when a starship needs to use every transporter at the same time to move a lot of mass from one place to another place, and even put it back together at the other end. (Utility)
[ ] Recreational Areas. They aren't just places to socialise and have a drink - pick up painting, clay sculpting, put on a violin concert or a poetry recital. Enrich yourself. (Comfort)
[ ] Secondary Computer Core. When the laboratories need more computer time, sometimes the answer is to give them a whole new computer. (Science)
Large Modules (Pick Two):
[ ] Cargo Bays. You can never have enough cargo bays. (Utility)
[ ] Antimatter Storage. Increasing the time the ship can go without resupply will allow voyages deep into unknown space. Perhaps a five-year mission? (Utility)
[ ] Conference Areas. Having a dedicated section for diplomatic affairs will allow the ship to host major conferences and accommodate large groups. Quarters included. (Diplomatic/Comfort)
[ ] Science Section. Laboratories, sample storage, and experimental areas for the curious mind. Astrometrics, biosciences, geology, stellar cartography, archeology-the list goes on. (Science)
Extra Large Module:
[ ] Arboretum: Green spaces, fresh air, running water. Species of all types find nature soothing, and what better place for it than in the heart of a starship? (Comfort)
[ ] Cultural Exchange Center: a large area for demonstrating the Federation's diversity and hosting cultural events. (Diplomatic/Comfort)
[ ] Cetacean Ops: The aquatic members of the Federation should be able to freely contribute their skills. For science! (Science)
Project Ambassador must be capable of long-range exploration and independent scientific investigation. It must be able to provide diplomatic amenities and appropriate quarters for dignitaries. It will ideally be capable of engaging on equal terms the Klingon Vor'cha class.
Minimums:
Tactical Score: A (Requested)
Scientific Score: B+ (Required)
Comfort Score: A (Required)
[x] Plan: Diplomatic Comfort and Scientific Prowess
-[X] Enhanced Medical Facilities. More empty beds, drug synthesis, isolation rooms. Everything an enterprising medical officer needs to put down the latest terrifying plague from the Deep Black.
-[X] Recreational Areas. They aren't just places to socialise and have a drink - pick up painting, clay sculpting, put on a violin concert or a poetry recital. Enrich yourself.
-[X] Conference Areas. Having a dedicated section for diplomatic affairs will allow the ship to host major conferences and accommodate large groups. Quarters included.
-[X] Science Section. Laboratories, sample storage, and experimental areas for the curious mind. Astrometrics, biosciences, geology, stellar cartography, archeology-the list goes on.
-[X] Cetacean Ops: The aquatic members of the Federation should be able to freely contribute their skills. For science!
There is a great deal of hemming and hawing over what to install as standard, but eventually some compromise is reached. With the well-being of the crew in mind on long voyages you make a point to install the latest medical equipment and facilities to ensure their health, as well as a number of extra recreational spaces for the off-shifts. You then shift to non-crew accommodations and make sure to add a suite of officer-level quarters with attached private areas for meetings by small groups, then add conference areas to allow for varied presentations and discussion spaces. Last but not least are the scientific spaces, which cover a variety of fields and hopefully give the Ambassador everything it needs to tackle problems or just investigate what it finds out there in deep space.
The addition of a dedicated space for Cetaceans and wholy aquatic Federation members is somewhat controversial, but Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations shouldn't be held back by different living conditions. It's new ideas and a new melding of cultures that allows the Federation to thrive, after all, and the Ambassador already has its share of new ideas going into its very construction. As the ship nears completion the time rapidly approaches to put all the prototype systems to their paces, and first among these is the highly experimental deflector system.
Breaths are held as the main deflector powers up and the warp transfer conduit kicks into full gear. The glow intensifies behind the protective casing over the dish, the white external paint of its recessed nook cast with a blue tinge. The power holds and nothing explodes, the status board reading all systems optimal. With a great sigh of relief, representatives turn to each other and shake hands with varying degrees of effusiveness. You yourself are just relieved that it functions as promised.
The Deflector Dish functions acceptably in standard mode and is also capable of handling direct warp power transfer. The Ambassador can successfully hit Warp 9.
You wish the same could be said for the nacelles. This is strike two from Yoyodyne on untested promises, though you remind yourself not to hold it against them. They are after all dealing with the most temperamental and complicated components of the ship. Nonetheless a testing failure in the nacelles has quenched the warp coils and ruined them on the spot, though fortunately it didn't threaten to blow the entire ship like it did on the Renaissance. You spend the next couple of months going over the incident with a fine-tooth comb and eventually pin the problem on an internal design defect which necessitates a full rebuild of the coil assembly.
The nacelles set back production due to testing failures. Updated guidelines and system tolerances resolve the problem but require priority monitoring during operation and regular maintenance during standard use.
Fortunately the impulse engines prove more amenable to behaving properly. Somewhat. There is a persistent performance shortfall from predicted levels that causes more than a few retests and engine tweaks; it is eventually determined that the reduced output is inherent to the design. Fortunately the extra impulse engine makes up for the reduction and then some, although as a result of having to compensate for the main thruster you don't quite get the agility you had hoped for.
The Avidyne Type-7 functions but at a lower power level than anticipated. The Type-5 secondary thruster has compensated for the impulse reduction.
The next test is the tactical systems. The phasers are easy enough - cycling power through the entire system in sequence shows no difficulties with emitter load. You make note of the slower firing speed but by pure mathematics the longer strips come out on top. Apparently Tactical is hoping that the Type-10, which is currently still in the theoretical stages, will be able to rapid-fire phasers from multiple points on the same array. The rapid-fire torpedoes on the other hand seem to have trouble hitting the target, with the problem soon traced back to the Ambassador's higher-capacity power system causing increased launch velocities. With a minor correction to the guidance software the dummy casings are crossing the distance to the range targets substantially faster than anticipated. An unpleasant surprise for anyone on the receiving end, to be sure.
The phasers operate nominally with no deviation from projected results. The rapid-fire torpedoes perform above expectations.
With all the prototype testing resolved, it comes to the final assessment. The new nacelles put a bit of a crimp in things, but not beyond the point of being reasonable. Some ship classes are a little temperamental, and the Ambassador is no exception. As for the production requirements, the deadpan "really?" you got from the planetside division of Utopia Planitia tells a tale all its own. It might be a good idea to avoid publicly praising the Ambassador Project in any public spaces on Martian soil, let's put it that way. But for Starfleet Command and the Federation Council, you hope the results will speak for themselves.
The only thing remaining is for the supervisor to sign off on the design and issue a recommendation to the brass.
Project Ambassador Mission Certification
The Ambassador design specification requires it be capable of long-range exploration and independent scientific investigation. It must be able to provide diplomatic amenities and appropriate quarters for dignitaries. It will ideally be capable of engaging on equal terms the Klingon Vor'cha class.
It is the judgement of this report that the Ambassador meets these requirements. Details follow.
The Ambassador has a long operational range at a cruise of Warp 7 with a maximum speed of Warp 9. As such the Ambassador is certified to operate two years from the nearest refuelling depot at standard cruise. Crew lodgings are noted to be comfortable and recreational spaces allocated. Standard complement of 900 crew.
The Ambassador is equipped with a Type-6 shield matrix, five Type-9 phaser strips, and a rapid-fire torpedo launcher fore and aft. Its weapon systems are cutting-edge and engage favourably with simulations of the Klingon Vor'cha. In friendly combat tests the Ambassador is highly effective at mission-killing starships in the light cruiser range and below with its photon launchers.
The Ambassador is equipped with an Avidyne Type-7 impulse thruster and a secondary Type-5, both mounted on the midline for propulsion. She demonstrates slightly improved manoeuvrability for her mass.
The Ambassador is equipped with a standard navigational array and experimental deflector system. Her isolinear computer system is capable of rapid computation and data storage, supported by a number of scientific laboratories with equipment suited to the analysis of anomalies and samples across multiple fields. Facilities for advanced navigational crew and aquatic research are available.
The Ambassador is equipped with an aft shuttlebay, managing a total of six Type-5 shuttlecraft. This increased capability makes this ship well-suited to engaging with situations where transporters are unreliable. The design has two large cargo bays, split between the central saucer and engineering section that are equipped with a cargo transporter and facilities for storage of oversize and hazardous containers. The Ambassador is therefore certified to carry out medium to high-capacity bulk cargo deliveries.
The Ambassador has advanced medical facilities aboard and can be used as a hospital ship in times of emergency. It is certified to analyse and treat level-2 biohazards on board. Six transporter rooms are capable of transporting 72 persons per minute in optimal conditions.
The Ambassador is equipped with diplomatic facilities purpose-designed for housing and interacting with representatives of foreign governments. Included are three conference rooms, a holoprojector-equipped auditorium, and a social lounge in the aft saucer.
In concordance with the findings of this review and in consultation with Starfleet Command, Supervisor Utopia Planitia authorises one (1) production run of six vessels, further orders to be reviewed after a performance analysis in five years.
PS: Harriman, she's going to be a nightmare to produce but every Admiral and Commodore is going to want to put their flag on her given the opportunity. You might want to pull some of those strings now if you want to be one of them.
The verdict is in: not perfect, but definitely a success. The last thing she needs is a name. Or she would, but you are specifically being asked to name the class rather than the first ship.
[ ] Ambassador-class. She'll show the virtues of the Federation to species nobody has met before.
[ ] Emissary-class. She might be armed to the teeth, but her mission is one of peace.
[ ] Majestic-class. She's the finest ship to ever leave the yards, a record-setter in size and capability.
Project Ambassador Results Ease of Maintenance: C
Ease of Manufacture: D+
Tactical Score: S
Scientific Score: A
Comfort Score: A-
Warp 7/9
TO: Office of the Admiralty, 24-593 Federation Drive, San Francisco, Earth
Concerning the Ambassador: Negotiations on Capability
Gentlebeings,
Now that the Ambassador-class capital starship is entering production and service, I believe we can all agree that it is a monumentally impressive ship; monumental in its capabilities, and monumental in its operational and production requirements. As such, as is my wont, I took it upon myself to review the design for any potential adjustments that could be made to the design. Opportunities to narrow the class's mission profile, in order to ease the massive requirements for production.
Initially, I will admit I found myself stumped by this task; merely trading systems for alternate options would either produce minimal impact on the difficulty of production, or unacceptably reduce the performance of the class. However, when reviewing the earliest stages of the design I found a curious possibility, which I believe if implemented can not only ease the production requirements, but provide a substantial improvement in certain of the ship's capabilities.
I refer, of course, to the alternate saucer design which was proposed for the class. Although this was rapidly discarded as unlikely to contain sufficient space for the Ambassador-class to meet its design requirements, if the need for advanced diplomatic contact were removed and a minimal loss of recreation and science facilities were accepted, I believe it would prove perfectly serviceable.
Further, the reduction in saucer mass will increase the class's ability to move and maneuver at both warp and sublight. Even pessimistically, a cruising speed of Warp 8 could be expected with the alternate saucer design, with optimistic modelling suggesting Warp 9 crusing speeds with sprint speeds of Warp 11 may be possible. Impulse power, meanwhile, is expected to produce a near-30% increase in maximum speed and corresponding increase in maneuverability. Combined with the expected increases in ease of production, I believe the loss of conference areas and reduced size of the Cetecean ops and labs are a perfectly reasonable sacrifice if a narrower mission goal is accepted.
As an entirely new saucer design is far too drastic an alteration to justify calling this a variant of the Ambassador class, I have tentatively named this redesign the 'Negotiator', and earmarked it as a medium-ranged explorer and rapid response capital ship. All relevant files and initial design documents are attached.
I await your positive response, in the hopes that this will convince the engineers at Sol shipyards to stop sending me death threats.
Commander William Tempest
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2341: Project Ambassador (Retrospective: Part One)
Interview with Commander Douglas, Starfleet Liason to Qo'nos, 2340-2345.
The Klingons stonewalled us for two weeks straight over Narendra III, and that was after it took three days for the news to filter through to the Federation Consulate as something to start chasing them over. I can only imagine what it must have been like for the families, to have all these questions over what had happened and just have total silence coming back the other way. It wasn't like the ship just went missing one day - we knew the final thing the Enterprise had relayed back was that they were responding to a Klingon distress call. If you look hard enough I imagine you'll find some redeployments were being made towards the Klingon border by the second week.
You think Starfleet expected this was the opening shot in a new Klingon War?
No, I don't think so. It's not really in the Klingon character to lure you in for a kill, not unless you're already fighting them. But you hear absolutely nothing for long enough and I expect the worst-case scenario starts being seriously considered as a possibility. It was around week two that we started hearing about a Council of the Great Houses that had been called by Chancellor K'mpec, and that probably didn't help.
Is that unusual, a Council of the Great Houses?
No, they happen fairly regularly, about every half-decade or so. Mostly just an excuse for feasting and starting new internal feuds, but out of schedule usually means there's something big happening in the Klingon Empire. I don't think I'll ever be able to describe the feeling when I was notified that the Chancellor was summoning me specifically in my role as the Starfleet representative. Something between nervousness and dread. The ambassador wasn't thrilled at being specifically left out, either, and I had no reason to give him for why that was.
So you essentially entered the Great Hall with the knowledge you might be going to your death?
That's something of an ex post facto exaggeration of events. Had I thought it was a possibility? Sure, but I just as quickly discarded it. After a few years on Qo'nos you get a fairly solid grasp on Klingon honour rites, and there was no reality where I got a formal summons only to get handed a bat'leth. At least not without warning.
So you were summoned and walked right in. What was that like?
There's something about the Klingons at their most unified that's unnerving to watch, that feeling of being an outsider to something formal and sacred. But to be a part of that formality is something else entirely. I had goosebumps from the moment the chancellor's guards flanked me on the way in with their bat'leth's resting on their shoulders.
Sounds intimidating!
It means they were battle-ready, that they were considering me a threat that needed them ready for combat. Before that day I could count on one hand the number of times any Klingon offered me that kind of respect. Then we entered the Great Hall proper and I found two-thirds of the Great Houses with their House Heads standing with Chancellor K'mpec. Including a few of the pro-Romulan ones. And on a funerary platform in the middle of the hall they had starship wreckage. Must have pulled it straight out of Narendra orbit a couple days after the battle and rushed back to Qo'nos with it.
Did you know right away, or?
Yeah. I closed my eyes for a good few seconds when I saw it, just that feeling of knowing, you know? It's not a good one. But getting a closer look was so much worse. I recognised some of it. The only pristine looking part was the data recorder, which must have been ejected before the ship went up. The Klingons never even tried to open it, did you know that?
I didn't.
Guess the aftermath spoke for itself. Seeing a scorched combadge was a real kick in the gut, knowing that someone had been wearing that. Pieces of hull that had disruptor burns. But the worst thing was that they'd found the dedication plaque. The motto was shorn in two and the rest of the plate warped almost beyond recognition, but I could still read the name. When K'mpec announced that the Klingon Empire saluted the bravery of our fallen warriors I-
We can take a small break, if you like.
I think that's a good idea. I'll pour us a cup. Raktajino?
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2341: Project Ambassador (Retrospective: Part Two)
All times synchronised with Starfleet standard (San Francisco).
1309: Enterprise receives a distress call from Narendra III declaring they are under attack and defences are failing. Captain Garrett orders a change in course and increase to Warp 8.6. XO objects based on Starfleet directive to not enter Klingon Space, Garrett overrules based on Starfleet regulations regarding distress calls. XO withdraws objection.
[Starfleet Judge Advocate General concurs with Captain Garrett.]
1327: Narenda III unresponsive to hails and distress call ceases. Captain Garrett orders increase to Warp 8.8.
1328: Shipwide yellow alert issued.
1412: Enterprise detects disruptor signatures from weapon discharges at Narendra III. Captain Garrett orders increase to Warp 9.
1418: Shipwide red alert issued.
1423: Enterprise drops out of warp at the orbital insertion point for the Narendra III colony and detects four Romulan Warbirds of unknown classification. Captain Garrett opens a general hail ordering a halt to the attack and requesting an open dialogue.
1424: Romulan Warbirds cease fire and reposition towards Enterprise. Captain Garrett orders weapons cold and helm ready for evasive manoeuvres.
[Running weapons cold is in violation of Starfleet directives regarding non-communicative starships with known hostile activity. Starfleet Judge Advocate General cites Captain's Prerogative and declines to issue formal censure.]
1425:43: Romulan Warbirds open fire. Captain Garrett orders evasive manoeuvres and return fire.
1425:49: Enterprise returns fire with phasers and breaks off. Warbirds split into two wings and begin pursuit.
1426:12: Enterprise executes course change, 162 mark 030, turning to starboard and sweeping above the trailing edge of Romulan pursuit formation. Warbird 4 is hit with five phaser beams (dorsal, 1426:14-16, ventral 1426:18-20, ventral aft 1426:20-21, and dorsal aft one and two 1426:23-24). Aft launcher fires full torpedo spread 1426:25, scores four hits 1426:27. Torpedoes three and four impact hull and destroy target.
1426:37: Enterprise shields at 27%. Enterprise executes course change, 310 mark 180.
1426:41: Warbirds 2 and 3 fire plasma torpedoes. Enterprise engages Warbird 2 with dorsal phasers.
1426:44: Plasma torpedoes impact. Torpedo one diffused by shields, torpedo two impacts deck three diplomatic section.
1426:45: Explosion on the bridge. Romulan disruptors score direct hits on saucer section decks four through seven, engineering section deck eighteen, and starboard nacelle. Enterprise rolls ninety degrees to starboard.
1426:53: Captain Garrett and Lieutenant Callisto assume control of all bridge functions due to casualties. Lieutenant Callisto remains at helm, Captain Garrett takes tactical. Medical teams called to bridge.
1426:57: Enterprise takes major damage to port engineering section and nacelle strut. Warp plasma leak begins from port nacelle. Enterprise retargets Warbird 2 with ventral phasers and executes course change to 270 mark 000 to intercept target warbird.
1427:02: Enterprise takes damage across bow and main engineering section. Navigational deflector disabled. Enterprise fires phasers (ventral 1427:02-04, dorsal 1427:03-05) and forward photon spread (1427:04). Torpedo four impacts hull 1427:06 and inflicts major damage. Warbird 2 remains powered but becomes unresponsive.
1427:08: Enterprise passes above Warbird 2. Ventral aft phaser targets power core and triggers gravitational shear effect in hull. Warbird 2 destroyed by secondary explosion.
1427:11: Warbird 1 uncloaks direct forward and fires plasma torpedo.
1427:15: Plasma torpedo impacts main deflector and causes major secondary explosion in engineering hull. Enterprise loses main power.
1427:23: Warbird 3 fires plasma torpedo.
1427:26: Plasma torpedo impacts saucer section and destroys secondary impulse thruster. Captain Garrett orders abandon ship and broadcasts surrender.
1427:31: Disruptor fire opens hull breaches, decks four through eight and ten through sixteen.
1427:42: Escape pods begin launch.
1427:45: Warbird 1 fires on escape pods and launches plasma torpedo.
1427:47: Plasma torpedo impacts main engineering. Auxiliary power fails. Bridge controls shift to emergency mode.
1427:58: Captain Garrett authorises thirty second self destruct sequence.
1428:01: Lieutenant Callisto concurs.
1428:05: Disruptor hit, main bridge. Sensor feed ends.
1428:26: Enterprise data recorder's internal chronometer logs jettison sequence.
1428:31: Self-destruct sequence completes.
Wreckage analysis indicates Enterprise was destroyed by antimatter pod containment breach consistent with activation of self-destruct mechanism. Accordingly the Enterprise is recorded destroyed at 1428:31.
End Result:
Enterprise-C lost with all hands.
2 Romulan Warbirds destroyed.
Narendra III colony destroyed.
It is the conclusion of this report that Captain Garrett showed exemplary performance and decision making. Recommend posthumous application to Karagite Order of Heroism and immediate award of the Christopher Pike Medal of Valour for Captain Rachel Garrett for her demonstration of the highest dedication to the values of Starfleet. Recommend award of the Star Cross to Lieutenant Richard Callisto. Recommend award of Legion of Valour to all Enterprise-C command staff. Recommend Starfleet Award of Valour and Silver Palm for all Enterprise-C crew.
