Intrepid-class starship

The ***Intrepid*-class starship** was the originating design of long range science vessel for the United Federation of Planets Starfleet. Built with a blend of science and tactical capabilities, the ship was always intended for deep space where it would have to adapt to meet any challenge it might face. Though smaller than the cruisers which traditionally performed these missions, the *Intrepid*-class offered better maneuverability, lower resource budget, and smaller crew complement to meet similar mission profiles in this area. The success of the class shifted deep space missions to this and similar platforms, leaving the much larger cruisers more often closer to home where they could be better available for missions in defense of the Federation.

A major feature of the class were variable geometry warp nacelles. This configuration used two mechanically adjustable pylons, which enabled the *Intrepid*-class to shift and change its subspace profile to reach speeds higher than Warp 8 much more efficiently. The technology was a major selling point for its capability for long range science missions, reducing the need for on board facilities to cater to the crew long term, as was the case with cruisers. This technology was also one of the methods proposed to substantially mitigate damage to subspace caused by warp drive use which, in the late 2360s, had become a major galactic issue.

The class also introduced the Class 9 Warp Drive, bio-neural circuitry, atmospheric flight and planetary landing capability for starships, and was one of the first classes of ship to be equipped with an Emergency Medical Hologram.

Plans to begin retiring the 46-year old class have been postponed indefinitely due to the major losses Starfleet endured during recent wars. The success of *Voyager'*s refit has given Starfleet Command renewed faith in *Intrepid*-class's adaptability, and plans are in motion to make similar upgrades to other surviving *Intrepid*-class starships. As of 2415, all current *Intrepid*-class starships have been retrofitted to be within specifications with the *Pathfinder*-class starship: the latest design in the *Intrepid*-class family.

## *Voyager*

The USS *Voyager* was famously lost within months of her launch while on a mission in the Badlands and presumed destroyed. In truth, she had been transported to the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light years from Federation space by extraordinary means and had become stranded. It was not until five years later that the Pathfinder Project, an experiment based on the theory that *Voyager* had been transported to the Delta Quadrant, that contact with *Voyager* was re-established. *Voyager* finally returned to Earth in 2378 by hijacking and destroying a Borg Transwarp Hub. *Voyager* would spend over a year in much needed overhaul before returning to duty, though the popularity of her story would see her on much lighter duty and closer to home.

*Voyager* would not see major duty until 2409, when she was taken by her new captain, Rear Admiral Tuvok, who had previously served as tactical officer during the period in the Delta Quadrant, to investigate a Borg incursion into Fluidic Space. *Voyager* would later feature prominently through Undine attacks and finally lead a task group which successfully secured a truce with the Undine. Due to her history with many of the people in the Delta Quadrant, *Voyager* was selected for Operation Delta Rising to act as an ambassador to the Delta Quadrant. She was significantly upgraded with technologies borrowed from the *Pathfinder*-class project, which would serve her well during the conflict with the Vaadwaur and later the Iconians. Today, *Voyager* continues her diplomatic mission in the Delta Quadrant under the command of Rear Admiral Tuvok.

## *Bellerophon*

The *Bellerophon* actively served during the Dominion War. Admiral William Ross often used the *Bellerophon* as his flagship throughout the war, as he found her speed and endurance valuable in commanding the theater of war. In 2375, she acted as transport for Federation delegates to a conference on the war taking place on Romulus, becoming the first Federation starship in history to orbit the Romulan homeworld. Some time after the war, she was involved in an unfortunate accident which brought her career to an early end, but her name would live on in the *Bellerophon*-class long range science vessel commissioned in 2394.

## *Sally Ride*

At launch, *Sally Ride* was outfitted for science operations, performing scientific observations and having encounters with the Orion Syndicate along the Klingon border. While in transit to the Shackledon Expanse, the ship was caught in Klingon space when the Klingon Empire suddenly declared war in 2371, but managed to escape after some complication.