Excelsior Class Refit

A brand new starship derived from the Excelsior Class, the Excelsior Class Refit has yet to enter full service and is only now entering pre-service trials. She is the result of encounters with Neo-Tholian vessels in the Galactic Fringe and during the Andromeda Strike requiring yet better protected starships, and is being built with co-operation from Gorn engineers.

## Development

During the latter stages of the War of Pacification, Captains of the new Excelsior Class Battlecruisers found themselves facing the firepower of the ISC Plasmatic Pulsar Device (PPD) on a regular basis. Although the Excelsior Class ships were individually more powerful than the ISC Type CA-VIII Heavy Cruisers they encountered, the ISC ships regularly outnumbered them. Due to the nature of the PPD, the damage inflicted on the Excelsior Class ships was often considerable, even through shields.

One proposal to remedy the situation was the fitting of ablative armour plating to critical areas of the hull. The drawback was that for a useful level of protection, the armour plating employed by Starfleet would add too much mass, and would negatively effect the impulse performance of the Excelsior Class. Plans for an upgrade were postponed.

Being in the Organian Conflict and reaching it's height during the General War, the Federation worked closely with the Gorn Confederacy, the alliance between them reaching fruition in a series of technological exchanges. Starfleet received design plans for the Quantum Carrier-Wave Beam (or QCB) and greater understanding of the Plasma Torpedo, and in return provided the Gorn Royal Navy with improved sensors and the design schematics for the Type III Assault Phaser. This exchange also led to a discourse between Federation and Gorn designers regarding armour, shielding and torpedo tube designs.

As a result of these talks, a new type of spaced armour was adopted by Starfleet, and along with advances in impulse drive technology, led to a new proposal for an upgrade to the Excelsior Class design. To protect the deflector and reinforce a slight structural weakness in the original design, armoured bulges were fitted to the sides of the engineering hull. The warp nacelles were modified, and an extra pair of impulse engines fitted to offset the increase in weight. This gave a considerable increase in structural strength, whilst not impairing performance. Increases in warp core outputs also allowed shield strength to be boosted.

The construction of the new Excelsior Class Refit was delayed by the General War, but several Excelsior Class ships under construction were changed to the new specifications on the slipway.

## Operational History

Towards the end of the General War, the first Excelsior Class Refit was launched. The USS Andoria (NCC-2338) was modified from an Excelsior Class Battlecruiser whilst under construction, and represented a considerable improvement on the original design. Two more ships, the USS Tellar (NCC-2339) and the USS Vulcan (NCC-2340), were completed shortly afterwards, with a fourth, the USS Terra (NCC-2341) under construction.

## Apocrypha

Several more Excelsior Class Refits were constructed, most famously the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-B) in 2293. Production continued until 2301, when Starfleet fleet doctrines no longer had a place for these Heavy Battlecruisers. Existing Excelsior Class Refits remained in service for many years however, acting as Heavy Cruisers alongside their unrefit sisters.

## Specifications

* **Class:** Heavy Battlecruiser
* **Hull Type Designation:** FBCH
* **Length:** 446m
* **Crew:** 795
* **Warp Nacelles:** 2

* **Maximum Sublight Speed:** 3300 k/s (33 Mk/s)
* **Cruise** **Warp Factor Speed:** wf 8.5
* **Safe** **Maximum Warp Factor Speed:** wf 9.8
* **Hull Rating:** 540 HSF
* **Shield Rating:** 980 FSP

* **Sensor Rating:** 800 SRU

* **Armament and Equipment:**
	+ Primary
		- 4 × Type B Phaser Emitter
	+ Secondary
		- 4 × Mark VII Photon Torpedo Tube
	+ Heavy
		- None
	+ Advanced
		- None
	+ Equipment
		- Tractor Beam Emitter
		- Mark VI Probes
		- 1 × Wasp Attack Shuttle

## Ships in Service (2292)

USS Bennington (NCC-2251) (Proposed)

USS Franklin (NCC-2252) (Proposed)

USS Andoria (NCC-2338)

USS Tellar (NCC-2339)

USS Vulcan (NCC-2340)

USS Terra (NCC-2341)

USS Nimbus (NCC-2342) (Launched 2293)

USS Cestus (NCC-2343) (Launched 2293)

USS Outback (NCC-2344) (Launched 2293)

USS Orion (NCC-2345) (Launched 2293)

USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-B) (Launched 2293)

USS Ethereal (NCC-2346) (Proposed)

USS Gallant (NCC-2347) (Proposed)

USS Brittany (NCC-2348) (Proposed)

USS Charles De Gaulle (NCC-2349) (Proposed)

USS Foch (NCC-2350) (Proposed)

USS Clemenceau (NCC-2351) (Proposed)

USS Marne (NCC-2352) (Proposed)

USS Flanders (NCC-2353) (Proposed)

USS Alsace-Lorraine (NCC-2354) (Proposed)

USS Aquitaine (NCC-2355) (Proposed)