FRIGATES OF THE LINEAR WARP ERA

KNOX – MIRANDA – SOYUZ The transition from the Class I to the Linear Warp era saw Starfleet finally come into its own, having shaken off the last vestiges of a suffocating, inept bureaucracy. That bureaucracy hamstrung the fleet’s modernization and was a prime contributor to its being caught a good two to three steps behind its principle adversary. Only the emergence of the first modern frigate--in the form of the Surya (FF 1850) class--helped save the fleet and buy it enough time to chart a path forward. In the decades that followed the 23rd Century’s only wide-scale conflict, Surya and its slightly larger sibling Coventry (FH 1230) found a niche and were widely utilized as general-purpose supporting platforms. With the technological advances brought about by the shift to linear warp technology, they were well positioned to become Starfleet’s prime support classes.

The fleet’s wide-ranging program of rejuvenation and uprating began in 2268 on the order of Rear Admiral Heihachiro Nogura. It was spurred on by classified intelligence regarding Klingon S-Graph warp engine technology and preliminary data regarding their next Battlecruiser class, D-8/K’tinga. Starfleet’s response was already in the works, the ASDB having evaluated a number of experimental engine models to replace their line of PF series circumferential units. Leeding Engines LTD’s now-iconic LN-64 series engines were developed in 2267, pre-production units fitted to the prototype Strike Cruiser Decatur (CSX 2500) for testing. Series production units (designated LN-64A) were subsequently installed on the Belknap (CS 2500) class and from there, Starfleet was off and running.

The burgeoning tit-for-tat arms race with the Imperial Klingon Defense Forces accelerated during this period too, the IKDF launching ever larger, more powerful capital ships. Naturally then, Starfleet placed a heavy emphasis on Cruiser classes, launching the offensively-oriented Belknap and then pursuing a dual-track ‘high/low’ strategy when fielding replacements for both Pyotr Velikiy and Constitution (culminating in the Constitution II and Enterprise classes). Though overlooked, this proved to be a seminal moment in the fleet’s development, one which would see the gradual de-emphasis of Frigates, Destroyers and other smaller ship types in favor of larger, more adaptable Cruisers and other vessels. In the late 2260’s and early 2270’s though, Frigates were still very much relevant, multipurpose tools. When charting the path forward for Surya and Coventry, maximum flexibility was deemed essential. Also, because their replacements would comprise a large portion of the fleet, a premium was placed on high construction and engineering efficiencies as well. Design work began in early 2269 and was unusually complex, even compared to larger classes like Decatur/Belknap and Constitution II/Enterprise. This was due primarily to the question of where to place the navigational deflector in the new, streamlined single hull section. A vexing issue, its solution was found in the Kiaga (DD 820) class of yore, which utilized a dedicated generator that fed dual deflector emitters instead of a single dish, housed inside prominent dorsal ‘blisters’ that also housed long range sensor arrays. Dispensing with the dedicated generator (instead, relying on dedicated EPS taps that were directly linked to the horizontal intermix assembly), the ASDB devoted significant work to updating Kiaga’s emitters, eventually producing units that were not only smaller and more streamlined, but significantly more capable. Two were utilized, tightly integrated with the hull, extending out from the augmented/terraced part of the hull, one port and one starboard. Offsetting this complexity was the comparatively simple armament suite. A hallmark of Class I starship designs was the integrated torpedo armament--launch tubes, control spaces and weapons storage being housed within the bridge module. New Linear Warp-era designs dispensed with this integration entirely and largely automated both loading and launch operations. This new Frigate then, relied exclusively on phasers. As with larger Cruiser designs beginning to be fielded, 6 Type VII Phaser Banks at forward, port and starboard locations (both dorsal and ventral) became the mainstay. To compensate for the lack of a torpedo armament, the ASDB reached back to Kiaga again, this time to update its pulse phaser cannons. The first form of phaser-based weaponry developed, pulse phaser cannons were intended to give Starfleet an overwhelming tactical edge against the IKDF. In layman’s terms, these weapons built up highly-charged bursts of energy and released them in short, controlled pulses that proved highly destructive upon target impact, nearly as much so as a photon torpedo. Proving their worth during the Four Years War, it was ironically enough, the encounter between the Constitution (CH 1700) and a new D-8/K’Tinga class Battlecruiser in 2268 (an encounter in which the Constitution was nearly

destroyed) that prompted their updating. Mounted high above the hull on reinforced pylons, large warp plasma conduits provided a direct link between the cannons themselves and the intermix assembly. With larger pre-fire chambers and focusing coils, these updated cannons could store more energy longer and direct it more precisely, making them more powerful than a standard emitter by a factor of 625. Changes and upgrades in armament aside, Surya’s successor improved upon its generous cargo capacity. The hull’s redesign both increased the size of the port and starboard landing bays on deck 5 and the main cargo bay perpendicular to them. A secondary bay was also added at the fore end on decks 6 and 7. This came at the expense of modularity, but did boost capacity from 10,228 to 14,580 metric tons. Aside from this, the new design shared components and systems rapidly becoming standard equipment--the Duotronic III main computer, DX-8 fire control system and LN-64A series warp engine nacelles. Designated as the Knox (FF 1940) class, this quite fitting replacement for Surya entered production and began supplanting the older ships in 2272. To replace Coventry, the ASDB followed a now familiar pattern and lengthened the basic Knox hull 34 meters. This provided a more substantial increase in hangar deck space. Like its smaller cousin, Coventry’s replacement--designated Miranda (FH 1833)--moved small craft storage above the twin hangar bays (deck 4) instead of keeping it below, the movement of craft back and forth from this storage bay facilitated by a large elevator platform. Miranda though was rated to embark 7 Class III Shuttles and 19 ‘Killer Bee’ Assault Craft compared to Knox’s 5 and 10 respectively. Her cargo capacity was likewise increased to 20,500 metric tons. The most recognizable change between Knox and Miranda came with the armament. Miranda sported 4 2nd Class Torpedo Launchers (2 fore/aft) in a sleek pod mounted midway between the two pulse phasers on a reinforced roll bar assembly. Accompanying it was the DX-8A fire control system (modified to provide independent torpedo target tracking) and a stronger Deflector Shield System. Miranda entered service in 2274 following Knox and both established themselves as the preeminent general-purpose platforms in the fleet. With this success, some within the Federation General Assembly (and even Starfleet Command) questioned the need for larger, more resource intensive Cruiser designs like Constitution II (CH 1700). As Starfleet would later come to find out, Miranda was also quite easier to experiment on compared to Constitution II/Enterprise. Such experimentation produced several notable subclasses-Soyuz (FT 1940), Comanche (FSX 3600) and Hensley (TTH 4300). Soyuz came about primarily to more fully leverage the tremendous tactical advantage provided by pulse phaser weaponry and like many other ‘niche’ or ‘one-off’ classes, filled the gaping hole left by continuing delays in the fleet’s infamous Perimeter Action Program. A standard Miranda hull was stripped of its rollbar and the fleet-standard bridge module was replaced by the more austere, low-profile version used on Constitution II. The aft 2/3rds was extensively modified, providing space for not only a

third hangar bay, but also a mounting point for 2 of the 5 pulse phaser turrets that were a hallmark of the design. Comanche was more of a design study than anything else, based solely off Miranda. Externally, it featured a third nacelle suspended beneath the hull opposite the torpedo pod. Internally, science labs were eliminated and cargo handling/storage spaces were cut down to expand accommodations for SFMC troops, assault shuttles and other supporting craft. Given the success of Miranda in service and the ease at which these could be built/operated vis-a-vis Enterprise, it was hoped a multi-purpose Assault Frigate could be procured in the same manner. Unfortunately, the hoped-for gains turned out to be much less impressive than the ASDB had first speculated. Combined with the complexity brought about by the addition of the third nacelle, Comanche remained a design study only, with the testbed ship (FSX 3600) scrapped at the Beta Antares yards in 2277. Hensley was the most sensible sub-class, intended ostensibly to replace the Kirov (TTH 1620) class. Curiously, it was based off Knox instead of Miranda and featured a pair of ventrally-mounted tow pads directly beneath the hangar bays. The crew compliment was reduced and as with Comanche, science labs and other extraneous facilities were eliminated and given over to cargo storage and handling. This boosted Hensley’s internal capacity to 17,540 metric tons. The LN-64A series nacelles, while adequate on the Al-Rashid (TT 3802) class (Ptolemy’s Linear Warp successor), proved just barely so here, Hensley able to match Kirov’s tow ratings, but not exceed them as had been hoped (not without exceeding the thermal limits of the warp coils and overheating the nacelles). Like Knox and Miranda, Soyuz and Hensley found immediate success upon entering service in 2275 and 2276 respectively. With the continued delays in the infamous Perimeter Action Ship program, the former was immediately deployed to the Klingon and Romulan Neutral Zones and other frontier regions, leading to its unofficial designation as a ‘border patrol cutter’. With still respectable tow ratings, the latter had a similar impact on the fleet’s logistical structure, doing well to make up for the fact the ASDB had failed to deliver a suitable Linear Warp replacement for the Independence (FG 1300) and Huron (FG 1913) class Freighters. All though, fared quite well against their contemporaries from other major powers. Contacts with the Romulan Imperial Navy were few and far between for the most part, a notable exception being the participation of the Kilamanjaro (FF 1953) in the Romulan Civil War in 2275, as part of Commodore Jono Danilov’s force present at the Battle of Augo. Despite having no torpedo armament, the Kilamanjaro lead the San Diego (DH 297) and Dauntless (CA 1697) in eliminating the threat posed by the Romulan fixed installations. Contacts with the Imperial Klingon Defense Forces were more frequent, the first of those coming in 2282. The Miranda (FH 1860), Saratoga (FH 1887), Baikonur (FT 1935) and Tacoma (FT 1949) were part of a strike force assembled by Captain Bradley Gates to extricate a number of intelligence operatives from Marram IX. The former two, along

with a pair of Valley Forge class Frigates engaged the largest part of the Klingon opposition, 6 D-14 class Destroyers, while the latter two flew with a wing of starfighters, providing fire suppression against gunboats, corvettes and numerous other smaller craft. 2 years later, events would transpire that would burn Miranda into the collective consciousness. On stardate 8130.31, the starship Reliant (FH 1864) was hijacked. The ship, under the command of Captain Clark Terrell was carrying out a survey of what it thought was Ceti Alpha VI, in support of Project Genesis led by Dr. Carol Marcus. The roots of this project went all the way back to Operation Vanguard and the discoveries that Marcus made regarding the Shedai and the Taurus Meta-Genome. Terrell, former XO of the USS Sagittarius, was unaware of this connection, nor was he aware that the planet the Reliant was orbiting was actually Ceti Alpha V. Beaming down to the surface, he and Commander Pavel Chekov discovered the wreckage of the SS Botany Bay and were soon captured by Khan Noonien Singh and his followers. After infecting the pair with ceti eels and learning why they were there, Khan took control of the Reliant, intending to steal the Genesis Device and exact revenge on now-Admiral James Kirk for marooning him there some 17 years prior (stardate 3141.9 - 22 October 2267). To do so, he had Chekov transmit a message to Marcus aboard Space Station Regula One, informing her that Ceti Alpha VI had checked out and that the Reliant would soon be taking possession of the Genesis Device for testing on the orders of Admiral Kirk. Khan knew full well this would provoke a reaction in Marcus, who immediately contacted the Enterprise and angrily demanded an explanation from Kirk. Kirk, knowing next to nothing about the project adamantly denied giving such an order and after informing Starfleet Command, was ordered to investigate. While en route to Regula One, the Enterprise was intercepted by the Reliant. Kirk, finding the situation unusual, called for Yellow Alert but didn’t order shields raised. Taking advantage of this momentary indecision, Khan ordered the Reliant’s shields raised and for Enterprise to be targeted. These measures were immediately detected, but before the Enterprise could react, Reliant opened fire, knocking out her main energizer and disabling her warp core. With the Enterprise all but crippled, Kirk accessed Reliant’s command console, using her prefix code to lower her shields, allowing the Enterprise to effectively return fire and drive off the Reliant. Arriving at Regula One while effecting repairs, Enterprise personnel found many of the station’s crew brutally murdered, the databanks empty and no trace of the Genesis Device itself. The only lead they had to go on was one of the station’s transporters, still activated with coordinates that pointed to the deserted Regula asteroid. There, a landing party located survivors including Drs. Carol and David Marcus as well as the Genesis Device. David Marcus as well as several scientists briefly overpowered Kirk and the rest of his landing party, initially believing they had killed the remaining crewmembers on Regula One and that they had come to steal the Genesis Device. The tables were turned however when Captain Terrell and Commander Chekov (recovered from the station) pulled their phasers and trained them on the group. Directed by Khan to kill Kirk and recover the device, they instead succumbed to the effects of the ceti eel,

Terrell turning his phaser on himself and committing suicide and Chekov passing out, the eel emerging from his ear as he collapsed. With this momentary crisis averted, the Enterprise and Reliant (which was now in possession of the device) engaged in a tense ‘cat-and-mouse’ dance, chasing each other around the Class D planetoid, before the former took off for the nearby Mutara Nebula. Here, the dense cloud of gasses and dust would drastically reduce situational awareness (scrambling sensors, sharply reducing visibility) as well as make the use of deflector shields all but useless. Each ship initially came close to scoring a hit on the other before a near-collision brought them close enough for effective combat. Reliant struck first, destroying Enterprise’s port torpedo launcher before Enterprise returned fire at Reliant’s bridge--causing an explosion that killed several of Khan’s followers. Main power on Enterprise had been functioning intermittently and soon went out again. As radiation began seeping out of the dilithium reactor compartment and into engineering, Commander Scott was forced to take the mains offline right before he and his crew were rendered unconscious. The ship managed to gain the upper hand on Reliant, approaching from astern, destroying her torpedo pod, port nacelle and crippling the ship. In a vain effort to gain revenge and kill Kirk, Khan activated the Genesis Device. The Enterprise managed to escape the resulting shockwave by the thinnest of margins, thanks to the sacrifice of Captain Spock. Incapacitating Dr. McCoy and taking the gloves from Scott’s radiation suit, he entered the compartment and managed to repair the main reactor--absorbing lethal amounts of radiation in the process. With the nebula now gone and a new planet rapidly forming, the Vulcan’s body was launched in a torpedo casing into the atmosphere of the newborn ‘Genesis Planet’. Thereafter, the Enterprise departed for Ceti Alpha V to recover the Reliant’s surviving crew members (marooned after the ship was initially hijacked) and transport them to Starbase 11. This marked the beginning of a slow slide back to quiet obscurity for the fleet’s Frigate force. The Saratoga was one of a number of ships disabled during the ‘whalesong crisis’ in mid-2286, but unlike some--including the Shepard (AH 898) and Yorktown (CH 1704)--the ship and its crew survived, limping from the Donatu sector near the Klingon Neutral Zone, to Starbase 2 in a little over a month. In the aftermath of the crisis, the ASDB marked time with evolutionary upgrades and changes that benefitted much of the fleet. These were highlighted primarily by the introduction of the new Duotronic IV computer system and certain interior updates, including a redesigned bridge. The former was developed ostensibly for the Excelsior (CH 2000) class, with a comparatively open architecture and a quadruple increase in processing power intended to handle the complex computations required for the exotic Transwarp Drive system that Excelsior briefly tested. Subsequent to that system’s infamous failure, a

partial code re-write and software reprogramming made it compatible with existing propulsion systems. The latter was an extensive redesign that further separated the Frigate force from its brethren and one that would be shared amongst Knox, Miranda, Soyuz and Hensley. Smaller in diameter than the bridge aboard Excelsior or the newly redesigned bridge of Enterprise II, it maintained a similarly open feel thanks to extensive lighting additions in the ceiling, the addition of a second turbolift and the relocation of that and the first one further aft, connected to the bridge proper by short alcoves/service corridors. Otherwise, the station layout did share commonalities with the two aforementioned classes. Helm and navigation shared a large, unified console at the center, engineering and environmental control were situated portside, tactical and damage control to starboard and communications & mission operations aft. The last major encounter between Starfleet and the IKDF came in early 2287 when the Saratoga, Iowa (FH 1865), Oberon (FH 1880), Soyuz (FT 1939) and Vandenberg (FT 1947) were deployed with a flotilla led by the Yorktown (CH 2033) tasked with hunting down and destroying the Klingon Heavy Destroyer Q’rish. The K’Teremny class warship had, with her F-5 escort Qu’Hegh, destroyed the USS Hood (CH 1703), the USS Ajax (DD 547) and seriously damaged the USS Moltke (DD 4417) in retaliation for the Hood’s capture of the K’Tinga class L’ktja during the Rykla Dagh incident a year earlier. Deploying from H’atoria, the Q’rish intended to cross the neutral zone and attack Starbase 24. Advanced sensor drones and other surveillance assets in place forced the Klingon ship away from open space and towards the highly volatile Azure Nebula, which even the most advanced sensors of the day had trouble penetrating. Unbeknownst to the Klingons though, Starfleet’s new Excelsior class ships were equipped with more powerful and robust shielding systems which gave them increased endurance and survivability in environments that would prove troublesome to other, lesser classes. The Yorktown then, held station inside the nebula maintaining discreet surveillance. Upon detecting the Q’rish, she quickly signaled the rest of the armada which entered the nebula and surrounded their quarry long enough to ignite multiple pockets of volatile sirilium gas. The resulting chain of explosions made quick work of a ship that had bedeviled Starfleet for a number of years.

In the period following that battle, a gradual realignment of forces took place. The hurdles keeping the infamous and much-maligned Perimeter Action Ship program on the back burner were now distant memories, the Akyazi (DD 1010) class had entered service in quantity and production was just beginning to hit its stride. This caused Soyuz class ships to gradually be re-deployed to other hotspots like the Triangle & the Taurus Reach and also to take on more of an active anti-piracy (rather than rapid reaction) role. The Inchon (TTH/S 5500) class arrived in early 2288 as a more fitting replacement for the old Kirov and took much weight off of Hensley’s shoulders. A relatively exotic design based on the unconventional Chandley (FFX 2300) concept, it was originally conceived

as an Assault Ship, heavily armed, featuring expansive hangar space and dual tow pads to haul up to 6 containers full of Marines and their supplies. While Inchon’s capabilities were quite intriguing, they weren’t currently in high demand, the SFMC procuring just a single squadron’s worth. The towing (6 containers at warp 5, 4 at warp 7, two at warp 9) and embarked craft (36) capacities, combined with the surprisingly low crew compliment (a mere 190) however made it a natural choice to assume the Heavy Transport mantle, outnumbering Hensley in service by 2290. This realignment continued, with major streamlining beginning around this time and accelerating following the signing of the Khitomer Accords in 2293. The Soyuz class was retired from active service and transferred to the reserves, her heavy firepower along the frontier and in hot spots replaced by Heavy Destroyers of the Abbe (DD 5300) class. With major patrol combatant (Strike Cruiser/Dreadnought) classes replaced by the new Exeter (CB 2200) class, Cruisers being pared down to the Enterprise (Potempkin sub-class) and Excelsior classes (beginning in 2294) and Destroyers continuing to slide into obscurity, Miranda gained more and more importance as a support platform. Rather than retire Knox, a majority (2/3rds) of the surviving examples were extensively modified and brought up to full Miranda class specifications while the remaining third was maintained as-is and utilized for experimental purposes, though it would be some years before fruits of this would be revealed. Like the diverse selection of Heavy Cruisers that originated from the Enterprise class and were unified with the Potempkin sub-class, the Miranda fleet received the same wide-ranging upgrades from 2295-99--upgraded computer cores & accompanying ODN networks, upgraded deflector shield systems bringing them more in line with Exeter and Excelsior, Type VIII Phaser Banks and new, more powerful M/AM reactor cores that fed not only the pulse phaser cannons, but new LN-70 series warp nacelles. These ships and to a lesser extent, their Excelsior brethren, eventually were placed in an awkward position. By 2299, it had become common knowledge throughout Starfleet that the ASDB was on the verge of unleashing another technological revolution that would far surpass that which had brought Starfleet into the Class I era. The Enterprise class by this time, despite its reputation and newfound capability following its uprating to Potempkin class specifications, was suffering from a growing prestige deficit, being eclipsed not only by Constellation and Excelsior, but also by Renaissance (following its entry into service in 2305). Seeking to quell growing questions as to the position and role of its iconic Heavy Cruiser with the widespread fielding of the former two classes, the introduction of a Battleship (Carolina) and then the introduction of a revolutionary new class (Renaissance), Starfleet Command sharply limited exploratory deployments and instead consigned the class to low-intensity supporting or PR/‘showing the flag’ missions. For all intents and purposes then, this left Miranda as the oldest front-line class in the fleet. Starfleet did attempt to field replacements—in the form of the Merced and Centaur classes—but only Centaur found real success. With Centaur in service in

quantity by 2340 and 2 of a planned 4 new classes due to enter service shortly thereafter, Miranda was transferred to the Reserve Forces Command in 2341. The 2350s saw a return of conflict, though fortunately for the Federation, Starfleet was in a much better position vis-a-vis its opponents. The Tholian and Tzenkethi Wars, fought concurrently between 2353 and 2363 were more low-intensity border conflicts than anything else, waged primarily by the aggressors in response to the Federation’s continued expansion towards their borders. Starfleet met these twin challenges primarily with their Reserve Forces, which by this time were fully fleshed out with Destroyers, Frigates, Cruisers and Patrol Combatants. Miranda was a key player, performing above average against the Tholian Navy, just as her Coventry class ancestor did. It was much the same story against the Tzenkethi. The Cardassian conflict was different however. It was a wide-scale, general war akin to the Four Years War fought a century prior, but unlike the IKDF, the Cardassian Guard lacked the quantity and variety of warships making the overall tempo and pace of engagements uneven. By this time, the youngest of the Mirandas were fast approaching the end of their 75-year intended lifespans while the oldest were now far past them. Starfleet leaned more and more on their newest ship classes which tended to skew larger and more powerful while utilizing the bulk of their reserves for predominantly defensive operations. Of note here was the loss of the Avenger in 2362. Assigned to defend Setlik III--the closest Federation colony world to the Cardassian border--its mere presence lent credence to Dal Laen Enkoa’s assertion that the colony was a cover for a covert weapons depot. This assertion, fabricated and fed to him by the Obsidian Order, led him to launch an unsanctioned attack on the colony in his vessel, the CDS Lakar. A Zhoden class Heavy Frigate, the Lakar was a contemporary of Avenger and sustained heavy damage in the resulting one-on-one encounter. Due to Enkoa’s irreversible actions, his superior Jagul Hanno was forced to launch an intervention to support Enkoa and annex the entire system. The arrival of Hanno’s forces at the last minute, well before Starfleet reinforcements, sealed Avenger’s fate and she was eventually lost with all hands. Starfleet’s experimentation and fleet augmentation finally bore fruit in the form of the Lantree and Saratoga. The former was extensively modified internally, quadrupling its cargo capacity and reducing the crew compliment to 26. In this vein, it functioned as a Class 6 supply ship that helped Starfleet bridge a gap created by an additional Mediterranean class build group that was held up by bureaucratic red tape. The latter served as a testbed for experimental sensor upgrades, housed externally in special pods attached to port and starboard. Unfortunately, both were later lost, the Lantree with all hands. In 2365, the ship’s first officer contracted a case of Thelusian Flu. A week after contracting the virus, the Lantree visited the Darwin Genetic Research Station at Gagarin IV. The first officer was exposed to the genetically modified children living on the planet and subsequently, their

modified immune systems created an antibody to fight the virus. A deadly side effect of this however, was extremely rapid aging--the modified immune systems not only creating new antibodies, but also modifying the human genes responsible for aging. Consequently, upon returning to the Lantree, the first officer unknowingly infected the rest of the crew. By the time the CMO ascertained the situation, it was already too late. Captain L. Isao Telaka set course for the nearest Federation installation and transmitted a distress call. The call was received by the Enterprise (CH 1701-D), which enforced a quarantine until a solution was found. Ultimately, to prevent further spread of this antibody, the Enterprise was forced to destroy the ship. Saratoga on the other hand was lost trying to stop a marauding Borg cube at Wolf 359 in 2367. They were currently on maneuvers, evaluating multispectral sensor systems for the upcoming Nova class when a priority one transmission from Starfleet marshalled them and 39 other starships to stop the Borg. One of the first ships to arrive, she flew in formation with the Gage, Kyushu and Melbourne. The three were quickly cut down with the Yamaguchi and Bellerophon taking their place on Saratoga’s wing, but it was ultimately a futile effort. Captain Storil and many others were part of the over 11,000 killed and the ship was one of the 39 total that were lost. In 2368, the class found itself fighting with the Klingons instead of against them. In a technically inferior position via loyalist forces led by Gowron, the House of Duras attempted to leverage secret Romulan connections to defeat those forces and seize control of the Klingon government. Recognizing the tactical threat a reformed Klingon-Romulan alliance would pose, the Tian An Men (FH 21382) joined the Enterprise in enforcing a blockade of the porous Klingon/Romulan border. Late in that same year, Soyuz returned to the collective consciousness with the return of the Bozeman (FA 1941). In 2278 she was one of a small handful of vessels assigned to routine patrol near the Typhon Expanse. IKDF forces operating in the area attempted to lure her and other assets away from nearby Starbase 12 to lay the groundwork for a sneak attack by the D-10/Riskadh class Sosoy Tuj. The Bozeman detected and intercepted the Klingon ship, but later disappeared and was presumed lost with all hands. It was later revealed that she had become ensnared in a temporal causality loop. While exploring the Typhon Expanse, the Enterprise became similarly ensnared but was later able to free both itself and the Bozeman. The latter continued in service until 2371, when she was retired and the name transferred to a new Sovereign class Heavy Cruiser. Throughout the 2370’s, the dominant issue in galactic affairs was the destructive war between the Dominion and the Federation Alliance. Following a disastrous first contact (which resulted in the destruction of the USS Odyssey/CH 71832), the shape-shifting Founders embarked on a campaign of destabilization, sewing suspicion and paranoia throughout the Alpha Quadrant. The Klingons were especially susceptible to this, launching an invasion of Cardassia (who they suspected of being controlled by the Founders) and even going to far as to ignite brief hostilities with the Federation.

The brief, but extremely bloody subjugation of the Cardassians left the Union and its space-going forces (the Cardassian Guard) decimated. This led them to seek out an alliance with the Dominion. A fresh infusion of powerful Dominion warships, Jem’Hadar shock troops and other supplies gave Gul Skrain Dukat the power to not only destroy the IKDF elements that remained in Cardassian space, but also to exterminate the longstanding irritant that was the Maquis. These developments, plus the fact the Dominion’s military buildup in Cardassian space continued unabated, had a destabilizing effect on the entire quadrants and gave rise to a dangerous new cold war. As had been the case prior to the Four Years War, Starfleet’s shipbuilding doctrine did not favor a protracted conflict. Overall numbers were down, production trends favoring smaller numbers of larger, or otherwise more sophisticated ‘multi-mission’ classes. This had been ameliorated somewhat by small-scale modernization efforts just prior to and then just following the Borg Incursion of 2367, but still, Starfleet was once again, caught unprepared. Unlike that earlier conflict with the Klingons, where Starfleet deployed its reserves independent of its front-line forces, here, they began to augment front-line formations with reserve force elements while they continued working to correct their force deficiencies. One example of this was the redeployment of the Tian An Men to the 5th Fleet prior to the latter’s arrival at Minos Korva. In December 2373, she was on patrol near the DMZ when she was seriously damaged by a squadron of Hideki class Corvettes. Due to the fact the ship was on the edge of the 5th Fleet’s area of responsibility, the engagement was not immediately detected and she was initially presumed lost. In actuality, her warp engines had been disabled forcing her to traverse the 3.8 light years towards Starbase 211 on impulse before she was picked up by another ship and towed in for repairs. Given Gul Dukat’s predictability and the formidable threat posed by the Dominion, Starfleet Command chose to stay the course, albeit cautiously. It wasn’t until the Dominion began securing non-aggression pacts with several regional powers, including the Romulans, that the Federation General Assembly began to view them as a more serious threat. The Federation Security Council pushed Starfleet Command to take a more aggressive stance and consequently Starfleet & Bajoran Militia engineers deployed a minefield (of cloaked, self-replicating mines) at the Alpha Quadrant terminus of the Bajoran wormhole. This in turn sparked a brief standoff between Dominion officials and Starfleet officers aboard Deep Space Nine. When the latter group declined to take down the minefield, the Dominion deployed a combined force from Cardassia and launched an assault on the station. This action coupled with Starfleet’s withdrawal from the Bajoran system was the opening salvo in what would become a two-year long conflict. Miranda’s contribution in the evolving order of battle was supportive for the most part. A spiritual successor, the Intrepid (CL 74600) class, had been commissioned, however at the conflict’s outset, there wasn’t even a full squadron’s worth in service. Given the early

tactical advantages the Dominion enjoyed thanks to their phased poloron weaponry, there was withering criticism from some sectors of the Admiralty and even the General Assembly about sending such an aged platform into combat. The class did have its champions though in both Rear Admiral Edward Sherman (who led a bloodthirsty campaign during the Cardassian conflict) and Captain Robert DeSoto (who had previously served under him). DeSoto, who had a keen tactical mind, had commanded the Excelsior class Hood (CH 42296) since 2261. His engagements against the Cardassians and early ones against the Dominion validated Excelsior’s relevance against newer, more advanced threats and having served a tour on one (the Calgary/FH 11664), he was convinced he could do the same with Miranda. When the Hood was reassigned to the Fifth Fleet, he personally selected both the Tian An Men and Nautilus to fly as his escorts. The first engagement of the war Miranda participated in was at Torros III. In a pre-emptive move, when Starfleet detected the deployment of Dominion task force from Cardassia to Deep Space Nine, they hurriedly deployed a joint Starfleet-IKDF task force of their own. The Torros system, just over 18LY from the station, was situated in the Cardassian heartland. The location of a major military command center and shipyard complex, it was also a key part of the Union’s overall industrial base. With Dominion forces currently arrayed towards the Badlands (operating out of bases at Devos and Goralis) and the DMZ (with major bases at Rakal, Trelka and Chin’toka), their central flank was left exposed, providing a perfect opening for the allies. Unlike Starfleet, the IKDF or the Romulan Imperial Navy, a typical Cardassian shipyard was comprised of a single massive structure. A central station, somewhat similar to Starfleet’s old G-Type, formed the core. Built around it were 5 massive arms that housed docking ports and internal construction bays. More often than not, several of these stations were constructed in close proximity and linked together by appendages that not only permitted personnel & equipment passage from station to station, but also provided mounting points for larger, more traditional drydock facilities. The stations themselves were heavily armed and a dense network of weapons platforms was also present. This made for something of a challenge, but mobility was a key advantage for the allies. Upon their approach, nearly every ship present began actively jamming both enemy sensors and communications. Severing the link between the shipyards (which provided both power to and C&C over the network) and the platforms made it easy for the Hood and her escorts, along with the Majestic (FH 31060), Trial (FH 1948) and other Mirandas to pick off the platforms one by one while other ships concentrated on the stations themselves and the few enemy vessels present. Following this battle and for the remainder of 2373, the Federation Alliance’s prime concern was regaining control of Deep Space Nine and getting back on the offensive. The longer the station was in Dominion hands, the more likely it was they would successfully dismantle the minefield and bring reinforcements in from the Gamma Quadrant. In that event, victory would become almost impossible. A campaign of hit-and-run ‘cavalry raids’ attempted to knock the Dominion off balance and draw them

into a war of attrition, but their high tempo, combined with the lack of substantive gains had a seriously detrimental effect on morale. When it was discovered that the Dominion had devised a plan to dismantle the minefield, set it in motion and was just days away from completion, Starfleet was forced to act. A plan to retake Deep Space Nine had been drawn up, known as Operation Return. Elements of the 2nd, 5th and 9th fleets would enter the Bajoran system from three directions, fight their way to station and retake it by force, supported the whole way by a large IKDF contingent. However, at this juncture, Klingon support was not yet set in stone and the 9th fleet was still days away. Recognizing the risk, Admiral William Ross ordered Captain Benjamin Sisko to take what forces were assembled and proceed with the operation regardless. Waiting for them on the edge of the Bajoran system was a Dominion force twice their size (approx. 1,254 ships). For three hours, they held back amazingly enough, allowing Mirandas and other Federation starships to launch standoff bombardments and probe their lines with their attack fighters. Finally, Gul Dukat decided for his own wry amusement, to give Sisko an opening and ordered a half dozen Cardassian squadrons to break formation and pursue the Federation fighters. Escorted by the Majestic and the Sitak (FH 32591), Sisko, aboard the Defiant (DD 74205) attempted to punch his way through. Both Frigates sustained direct hits to their warp nacelles before being destroyed--in the Sitak’s case, a direct torpedo hit from a Jem’Hadar Battlecruiser vaporized much of the saucer. The Trial was part of the rear guard that moved in following the sudden arrival of IKDF reinforcements, but was one of the first starships to reach Deep Space Nine following the Dominion withdrawal. Given the grievous losses experienced by these reserve forces, Starfleet gradually began de-emphasizing them in their evolving order of battle. All Steamrunner class Heavy Frigates not currently involved in combat operations were redeployed to front line fleets, with new builds being deployed without the benefits of a shakedown cruise to replace Mirandas. Excelsiors were replaced as well, though on a much slower basis. Intrepid class construction rates remained tepid at best and there was a strong desire throughout both the admiralty and the Security Council to retain these as exploratory units, at least for the time being. They would eventually see wartime service though, along with slightly larger numbers of older Renaissance class ships (replacing Excelsiors on a one-for-one basis). Captain DeSoto’s influence ensured that these older ships would still play a role in the war going forward though. To that end, the Hood, Tian An Men and Nautilus flew close escort for the Defiant during the First Battle of Chin’toka, assisting in the destruction of the main power source for the system’s Cardassian weapon platforms. Losing the ShirKahr (FH 31905) was a further blow to Miranda’s prestige, blunting the influence of DeSoto and others to keep the Frigates on the front lines. The latter half of the war was increasingly vicious and bloody, Starfleet losing several engagements and incurring serious losses in those which they were able to win. Many more Mirandas were lost, but given Starfleet’s numerical deficiencies by late 2375, they

could ill afford to hold any ship back. The final battle at Cardassia Prime proceeded much the same as Operation Return though this time the two sides were more evenly matched. The Allies were bolstered by the Romulans while the Breen entered the fray on the side of the Dominion. The Defiant was escorted this time by the Beijing (FH 1657) and Berlin (FH 1658). Together, the trio destroyed several Breen warships, but like their sister ships Sitak and Majestic, the Frigates eventually fell prey to the Jem’Hadar. With the battle disintegrating into a free-for-all as the allies sought to break through the Dominion lines, the pair were avenged by the Tian An Men and Prinz Eugen (FH 1611) which lead a Klingon Vor’Cha class squadron in attacking a Jem’Hadar Dreadnought at point blank range.

Events on the surface of Cardassia however, moved much more swiftly than those in the stars above. The capture of the Dominion command center and the Female Changeling who acted as the defacto C-in-C, brought a swift end to both the battle and the war. The Allies had emerged victorious, though at a terrible cost in both personnel and assets. In the war’s aftermath, the Frigates found use in the rebuilding effort for a time as convoy escorts. By early 2377, Defiant class numbers had grown to the point where their continued deployment was judged superfluous. Age related stress fractures had also begun to manifest themselves at various points along Miranda hulls and so at long last, ships of the class were removed from service and formally retired.

Class Classification Service Length Beam Height Decks

Knox Frigate 2272-2377 243m 141m 53m 11

Mass Compliment

139,000 metric tons 350

Armament Defense Systems

6 Type VII Phaser Banks 2 Pulse Phaser Cannons Standard Deflector Shield System total capacity 521,000 terajoules Standard Duranium Single Hull

Class Classification Service Length Beam Height Decks

Miranda Heavy Frigate 2274-2377 277m 141m 59m 11

Mass Compliment

156,000 metric tons 360

Armament Defense Systems

6 Type VII Phaser Banks 2 Pulse Phaser Cannons 4 2nd Class Torpedo Launchers Standard Deflector Shield System total capacity 594,700 terajoules Standard Duranium Single Hull

Class Classification Service Length Beam Height Decks

Soyuz Attack Frigate 2275-2377 289m 149m 73m 13

Mass Compliment

235,000 metric tons 390

Armament Defense Systems

6 Type VII Phaser Banks 5 Pulse Phaser Turrets Standard Deflector Shield System total capacity 594,700 terajoules Heavy Duranium Single Hull

Comanche class (FSX 3600) Assault Frigate

Hensley class (TTH 4300) Heavy Transport Tug

Sensor Testbed – USS Saratoga (FF 31911)

Class 6 Supply Tender – USS Lantree (TS 1837)

Editor’s Annotations I didn’t know until after I really got into it, that Miranda was going to be as difficult as it has been. During the TMP era, sure, I could take some liberties with the service history and other bits and pieces, but getting into the 24th Century (the Lost Era and TNG/DS9/VOY) is where the difficulties started to pop up. My decision to stick solely with what’s been seen on screen together with the fact there really wasn’t much going on (aside from the Dominion War) really didn’t leave me much to work with. Oh well. I did however enjoy including the various variants/offshoots. I think I’ve said it before, but the various protrusions and such on Soyuz being described as ‘sensor pods’ strains credulity. Granted, the pulse phaser cannons on Miranda have never been described as such (except when you look up the class at the back of the DS9 Technical Manual), but if you’re going to call them sensor pods, then don’t call Soyuz a ‘border patrol cutter’ (as it was in the TNG novel “Ship of the Line”). Like the few remaining Knox class examples used for experimentation, I didn’t really make any mention of Soyuz’s ultimate fate and kept the arbitrary retirement date of 2377 in order to keep things nice and clean. Hensley and Lantree actually fit in well with non-canon stuff I’ve already come up with. I already established a heavy transport-tug concept (for my own uses/purposes) with Kirov—the basic Knox/Miranda platform being a logical one from which to derive a successor (seeing as how it was being used for other variants already). I purposely hamstrung Hensley though so as to give myself an excuse for including Inchon in the fleet mix later. Lantree on the other hand was simpler to write in. I took the “class six supply ship” line (from the actual TNG episode “Unnatural Selection”) to mean it was a supply tender (the basic definition of which is a ship used to service/support other ships by transporting people and/or supplies back and forth). At this point in time, I have the Mediterranean class filling that role and used a simple/convenient astropolitical plot device to explain why a ship like Lantree would be filling the same role. Comanche was one of those I found way back when I first discovered the Jackill series of reference manuals. An “assault frigate”, it was described as something more or less the same as the real-world amphibious assault ships in service today—transporting troops and fighters to and from conflict zones. In this vein, it would’ve definitely fit in the 23rd Century, however the proliferation of Dreadnoughts (which could accomplish the same tasks, but with greater transport capacities), their eventual replacement by the Essex class CB and the gradual de-emphasis of Frigates overall made it easy for me to describe this as an experimental design study. Likewise, Saratoga was also easy for me to describe. I have no clue why the DS9 VFX staff didn’t just reuse the ship we saw in TVH and why they made the modifications they did, but the fact the outboard protrusions were distinctly different from those on Soyuz combined with the fact we never again saw any other Miranda/Knox similarly outfitted made it easy for me to write it away as a testbed ship. Overall, in the future I plan to smooth out the path forward and make the transition from these ships to Centaur and then Steamrunner a bit clearer.

Bibliography Logo—Kristian “Reverend” Trigwell (Gallery @ Star Trek Minutiae) Design (Miranda)—Joseph Jennings/Michael Minor Design (Lantree/Saratoga)—Gary Hutzel/Image G Design (Soyuz)—Greg Jein/Michael Okuda Design (Comanche/Hensley)—Eric “Jackill” Kristiansen (Jackill’s Ships) Orthos—‘adrasil’ (DeviantART)