Well, I suppose it's a good time to share this, then. It's mostly based on thoughts I had while working on the mesh, but also borrows from comments/omakes by
@Simon_Jester and
@Vehrec, as well as events in-thread. I wasn't active in the early thread, so if I've made any glaring errors, let me know and I'll try to correct them (I'm not sure I got the Connie-B development timeline quite right, for instance). Simon_Jester, I tried to base the Leslie quote on what he observed in your omake, but if that's not something he'd say, I'll change it.
An Overview of the Renaissance-class
History
Origins
The
Renaissance-class traces its origins to the early days of the leadership of Admiral Vitalia Kahurangi. During this time, it quickly became clear to many in Starfleet that the then-current light cruiser design, the
Constellation, was woefully inadequate to the role it was designed to fill, with only one new hull laid down since the 2280s. Indeed, the first refit to the
Centaur-class is considered by many to be universally superior, despite significantly smaller crew requirements.
First Steps
Preliminary design work on Starfleet's next-generation cruiser began almost immediately after Admiral Kahurangi's promotion to Commander, Starfleet. Spurred by the urgent need for new garrison starships during an extraordinary period of expansion for the Federation, there was surprisingly little politicking over the design of the
Renaissance. Designed to be built in Starfleet's more plentiful and less in-demand 1mt berths, the
Renaissance would nevertheless be as durable as Starfleet's renowned
Excelsior class explorers.
Delay
First contact with the Cardassian Union in 2304 changed many plans. Starfleet Intelligence and the Federation Diplomatic Service were quick to determine that their aggressive expansion would very quickly put them at odds with the UFP, and there were fears that the
Renaissance, not yet even at the prototyping stage, would not be ready in time. With tensions rising with the Orion Syndicate, responsible for multiple assassinations against Federation officials, Kahurangi eventually gave the green light to an unprecedented further refit to the venerable
Constitution-class explorer.
The 'ConnieBee', as it is affectionately known, was more of a rebuild than a refit, but the first wave of ships reused many components – notably the intact warp nacelles – of mothballed
Constitutions, and were in some cases given their names and registries. These vessels are considered by many to have been instrumental in delaying the conflict with the Cardassians, easily matching their
Jaldun cruisers despite being derived from a sixty-year-old design, and proved invaluable in the campaign against the Orion Syndicate.
Continuation and Completion
Following the
Constitution-B project, research proceeded at the Design Group at the new Utopia Planitia shipyard in Mars orbit, where the prototype – USS
Renaissance NX-2601 – began construction in 2309. It launched five years later, under the command of Captain Larai Leaniss.
Design Elements
Specifications
- Displacement: 1mt
- Length: 330m
- Decks: 19
- Armament: 6 paired, 4 unpaired phaser emitters; 2 forward + 2 aft torpedo launchers
- Notable facilities: battle bridge, secondary shuttlebay (hospital variant only)
Features
The
Renaissance lives up to its name in many ways. While taking design cues from the convex saucer of the
Excelsior and
Centaur, much of the rest breaks new ground, from the 'boxy' nacelles to the oblate ellipsoid of the engineering hull.
The interior is no different. Launching with a new version of the LCARS, the dual redundant computer cores are the pinnacle of duotronic circuit engineering. The furnishing is far more luxurious than any earlier starship, described on
Renaissance's maiden voyage as 'too damn soft' by Commodore Edward Leslie. Indeed, the starship boasts no fewer than four separate observation lounges: the spacious 'Six Forward' at the leading edge of the saucer, the two longitudinal rooms taking up the whole of Deck 2, mostly reserved for bridge officers and dignitaries, and the twinned lateral lounges of Deck 8.
The engineering hull is another matter. While still retaining the comforts of the saucer, every cubic metre is entirely devoted to providing the ship with everything it needs to make it the astounding vessel it is, from the high-sustainable-velocity warp core, to the shields that rival an
Excelsior's. It also possesses a dual-concentric deflector array, which enhances capture or deflection of particularly energetic charged particles.
Controversies
While the desired specifications of the Renaissance were easily decided, the frame went through several iterations before settling on its final design. The initial design called for non-elevated warp nacelles, with line-of-sight attained by the sharp upward curve of the aft ventral volume of the engineering hull. However, this curve was later lessened, as it resulted in a shuttlebay that was deemed too small for requirements. As a result, the nacelles had to move. Several possibilities were floated, including lowering the nacelles further, before they were finally raised to just below the level of the saucer.
Hospital Ship
Selected before the start of prototyping as the Federation's next-generation hospital ship to replace the ancient
Ranger-class derivative, the variant has a few major changes made to it. The phaser emitters have been replaced by transporter collimators, the entire ventral aft of the engineering hull is a large shuttlebay capable of landing multiple runabouts, and the lateral lounges are instead given over to extensive recuperation facilities.
