Emissary class

## SPACECRAFT CLASS

*Dialogue and diplomacy are the only guarantee of lasting peace.* - Martin McGuinness
The ***Emissary*-class** was a type of spacecraft developed by Starfleet in the late 24th century.

## History

### Design

In the late 2370s, Starfleet Command encouraged a return to the less-militarized design principles that had been the focus since the Battle of Wolf 359. A study of Starfleet's performance in the Dominion War also prompted the need for a starship design that excelled at handling diplomatic missions. The *Sovereign*-class, which was the peak of Starfleet design at the time, had spent much of its time addressing diplomatic crises instead of actively participating in the war. Incidents with various contact species, such as the residents of Beta III and the Pakled, finally pushed the admiralty to request a new starship design that could fulfill a much needed role in Federation diplomatic relations.

The *Ross*-class, which was in development at the time, received some minor additions to its design to accomodate this need. The lead ship was commissioned in 2381, but was still unable to fully meet Starfleet Command's expectations for a diplomatic cruiser. Designers at the San Francisco Fleet Yards were tasked with beginning from scratch to create a new, purpose-built design.

To facilitate the design's diplomatic purpose, engineers included a number of advanced systems and facilities. One of these was a powerful communications system, which was the most advanced in the fleet at the time and allowed *Emissary*-class vessels to serve as subspace relays for nearby starships, outposts, and other Federation assets. The class was also developed with extremely efficient primary and redundant life support and energy systems to ensure endurance and survivability of its crews. Expansive cargo bays and luxury diplomatic suites rounded out the starship design.

What would eventually be designated the *Emissary*-class was presented to Starfleet Command and approved for full development in early 2384. The lead ship began construction at the 40 Eridani A Starfleet Construction Yards and was two-thirds completed when the disastrous Attack on Mars occurred in April 2385. Construction was halted for two months as Starfleet Command dealt with the fallout of the attack. The USS *Emissary* eventually completed its trials in late 2386 and was commissioned early the next year as construction began on three additional vessels of the class.

### Service

The USS *Emissary* was launched in a tumultuous year. The destruction of Romulus threw the Romulan Star Empire further into chaos, which spilled over into Federation territory along its borders with the Empire. The *Emissary's* crew was tasked with overseeing diplomatic relations between Romulan refugees, Federation citizens, and opportunistic individuals operating in the former neutral zone and Star Empire territory.

The three sibling ships of the *Emissary*, the USS *K'Ehleyr*, USS *Navras*, and USS *Satie*, launched between mid 2388 and early 2389. They were immediately put into service throughout Federation territory and along its borders visiting new member worlds, running second contact missions, and other such diplomatic operations.

## Technical information

The *Emissary*-class had a short secondary hull, but a rather wide and pointed primary hull. Pylons of the class were angled downward and the nacelles had recessed Bussard collectors and a field grille that protruded in an oval-like pattern across the housing. The design held twenty decks and measured 724 meters in length, with a beam of 255 meters and draft of 90 meters.

### Propulsion systems

Though not the fastest cruiser in the fleet, the *Emissary* was designed with powerful and efficient propulsion systems to give it a broad operational range and the ability to maintain high speeds for extended durations. The primary warp core, a Yoyodyne 35G Matter/Anti-Matter Reaction Assembly, was connected to 2 Leeding *Nāhuku* Dilithium-Energized Variable Warp Drive Units. A Ceries C9.12-Grade Matter/Anti-Matter Reaction Assembly served as an auxiliary core in the event that the primary unit became non-functional.

Sublight maneuverability of the *Emissary*-class was somewhat limited due to its single impulse engine, located at the extreme aft of the secondary hull. The engine, a HeliosCorp V7 Hyper Subatomic Unified Energy Impulse Unit, was picked for the design due to its high efficiency and reliability.

### Tactical systems

The hull of the class was a durianium-tritanium composite with ablative armor over critical compartments and systems.

### Auxiliary craft systems

To support the primary purpose of the design, the *Emissary*-class held two large shuttlebays. Each facility was flythrough and had two flight decks. Shuttlebay 1 was located forward of Shuttlebay 2, with entrances on the port and starboard sides for both facilities. The size of the shuttlebays allowed the starships to carry a large amount of auxiliary craft, with the initial complement sitting at 20 shuttlepods, 20 shuttlecraft, 10 runabouts, and 12 workpods.

### Crew support systems

At the time of the *Emissary*-class' development, most Starfleet vessels were designed so that a percentage of their crew accommodations could be adjusted to a variety of atmospheric settings. The *Emissary* was the first to have entire sections dedicated to this variability.

## Derivatives

Beginning in the early 2390s, Starfleet Engineering advocated a plan that called for modular ship designs, where components could easily be switched out or replaced. Modular construction had been a part of Starfleet design philosophy for decades, but was greatly expanded after the Dominion War. As part of this new design system, Starfleet engineers developed subclasses of many existing starship designs, including the *Emissary*-class.

#### *Nomad*

Developed to improve the range and mission length of the *Emissary* design, the *Nomad*-subclass was designed with greater longevity.

#### *Sentinel*

As tensions rose in the late 2390s, Starfleet Command worried that a cruiser dedicated solely to diplomatic relations would become an easy target. The *Sentinel*-subclass was developed to improve the defensive capabilities of the *Emissary*-class.

#### *Vanguard*

The *Vanguard*-subclass was developed to improve on the speed of the previous designs and was eventually the first of the class family designed with an integrated quantum slipstream drive.

## Appendices

### Connections

**Project groups:** **Union Station** (*Geneva* • *Concorde* • *Presidio*) • **Century Cruiser** (*Springfield* • *New Orleans* • *Challenger* • *Niagara* • *Freedom II* • *Galaxy* • *Nebula* • *Cheyenne*) • **Multi-Mission explorers** (*Brigid* • *Esquiline* • *Palatine*) • **Deep Shadow** (*Eclipse* • *Phantom* • *Scryer*) • **Miracle Worker** (*Scott* • *Daystrom* • *Tucker* • *Gagarin*) • **Aeronaut** (*Mercury* • *Ajax* • *Icarus* • *Shran*)

**Other named classes:** *Aegian* • *Aerie* • *Akula* • *Atlas* • *California* • *Centaur* • *Challenger* • *Cheyenne* • *Constellation* • *Constitution III* • *Crossfield* • *Curry* • *Daedalus* • *Dauntless* • *Excelsior II* • *Freedom II* • *Gemini* • *Glenn* • *Guardian* • *Inquiry* • *Iwo Jima* • *Jupiter* • *Lexington* • *Niagara* • *Obena* • *Okinawa* • *Parliament* • *Perseus* • *Pioneer* • *Ranger* • *Sagan* • *Solanae* • *Springfield* • *Turing* • *Ulysses*

**Auxiliary craft:** *Aero* • Class C • Class F • *Danube* • *Flyer* • *Gondola* • *Kodai* • *Mollard* • *Peregrine* • *Selenic* • Type 4 • Type 5 • Type 6 (Type 6A • Type 6S) • Type 7 • Type 8 • Type 9 (Type 9A) • Type 10 • Type 11 • Type 14 • Type 17 • Type 19 • *Valkyrie* • *Venture* • *Waverider* • *Yellowstone*

**Leadership:** Commander-in-chief • Joint Chiefs • Chief of Starfleet External Affairs • Chief of Starfleet Operations • Chief of Starfleet Research and Exploration • Chief of Starfleet Tactical

**Agencies:** Operations (Engineering • Judicial • Materiel Supply • Mission Operations • Personnel Management • Records Service • Shipyards Operations • Starbase Operations) • Research & Exploration (Science • Medical) • External Affairs • Tactical (Intelligence • Security • MACO)

**Notable units:** Ktarn Fleet • Task Force 77

**Facilities:** Deep Space K-7 • Deep Space K-13 • Deep Space 9 • Masamichi Array • Starbase 45-Keepsake • Starbase 82-Maat • Starbase 234-Beskerm • Starbase 247-Vershina

**Agencies:** Starfleet • Diplomatic Corps • Department of Temporal Investigations • Federation Security Agency

**Facilities:** 40 Eridani A Starfleet Construction Yards • Antares Ship Yards • Beta Antares Ship Yards • Copernicus Ship Yards • Laikan Starfleet Shipyards • McKinley Station • Memory Project • New Aberdeen Shipyards • Proxima Maintenance Yards • Salazaar Shipyards • San Francisco Fleet Yards • TL-9139 Starfleet Maintenance Yards • Tranquility Base • Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards

### Sources consulted

* Emissary class article at *Memory Beta*.
* Emissary Star Cruiser article at the *Star Trek Online Wiki*.
* "Starship Sundays: Emissary-class" article at *Continuing Mission*, A Fan Site for the Star Trek Adventures RPG by Modiphius.

### Footnotes

1. ↑ *Star Trek: Lower Decks* episode - "No Small Parts."
2. ↑ "Ship Name Winners" article at the official Star Trek Online website.