Walker class

## SPACECRAFT CLASS

The ***Walker*-class**, named for Human pilot Joe Walker, was a type of spacecraft developed by Starfleet in the late 22nd century. It was intended to usher in a new era of exploration and was designed as a multi-mission platform.

## History

Development of what would become the *Walker*-class began in 2190 with the implementation of Operation Next Step. Engineers in the new Advanced Starship Design Bureau were tasked with developing a new vessel that could fill the role of the aging *Columbia*-class, that of a multirole explorer. A general review of the fleet was performed to determine the most successful aspects of previous designs. While the versatility of the *Columbia* was paramount, Starfleet engineers favored the streamlined layout of the *Poseidon*-class for their new design.

Construction on a prototype began in 2192 at the San Francisco Fleet Yards and component testing occurred over the next three years. Named the USS *Walker*, the prototype was launched in February 2195 and underwent trials for nine months before being formally commissioned.

Early performance reports during the *Walker's* testing led Starfleet Command to order the construction of twenty-four hulls. The first six were laid at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards and started coming off the line in mid 2196. The USS *Voroth*, which was commissioned in 2198, was the last of the first batch. Additional berths were appropriated at the San Francisco Fleet Yards and another eighteen spaceframes were constructed simultaneously. The last of the initial order, the USS *Shenzhou*, entered active service in 2205, but not before the admiralty ordered another forty *Walker*-class vessels.

A retrofit program for the class began in 2220, with the first upgraded vessel entering service the next year. The next three decades saw drastic improvements in and evolution of starship technologies, rendering Next Step vessels obsolete. The admiralty favored new construction of Operation New Frontier designs over refitting the *Walker* and its contemporaries, so the cruisers were slowly decommissioned and mothballed.

With the outbreak of war with the Klingons in the 2250s, Starfleet Command sought to rapidly increase the number of starships in active service. One of the main classes to undergo this quick modernization program was the *Walker*. The many in storage were rapidly retrofit and entered the war a month after it began at the Battle of the Binary Stars. The few in active service at the time never entered the slips, as the war went poorly for Starfleet and the ships could not be spared.

After the war, the few *Walker*-class vessels still functioning were kept in service as Starfleet struggled to rebuild. By 2265, the design was retired from active service and by 2289 all remaining starships of the class were decommissioned.

## Technical specifications

### Physical description

The *Walker*-class design was comprised of a saucer-shaped, primary hull connected to a compact secondary hull. Two nacelles were connected to the secondary hull by pylons that were angled downwards. Atypical of Starfleet designs, the bridge in the design was on the underside of the primary hull.

#### Livery

A unique feature of the *Walker*-class was its livery. Two curved bars of color were painted on both the port and starboard sides of the saucer, highlighting the registry number of each vessel. The color indicated the specialized facilities and systems a vessel carried. Engineering and technical assistance vessels carried a red livery; scientific and medical support were blue; and command and diplomatic missions were gold.

This practice was abandoned almost immediately and no other designs from Next Step would carry similar livery. Over a century later, such markings were again employed with the *California*-class.

### Deck plan

The following was the standard internal layout of *Walker*-class starships.

 5
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## Derivatives

### *Georgiou*

Following the armistice at the end of the First Federation-Klingon War, Starfleet sought to rapidly rebuild its armada. The admiralty decided to continue its modernization program, but with stark upgrades and a new aesthetic instead of the rapid rush to put vessels into service at the onset of the war. The *Georgiou*-class was one such outcome of this endeavor. Designed as a fast, light battlecruiser, it was developed concurrently with the *Excelsior*-class, which was designed with more versatility in mind.

### *Shenzhou*

The Yard 39 Project saw the development of many starship classes based upon 23rd century designs. That last entry in the project was the *Shenzhou*-class, which brought the *Walker*-class into the 25th century. The design incorporated many elements from the *Gagarin*-class, another project output.

## 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

* Walker class article at *Memory Alpha*.
* Walker class article at *Memory Beta*.
* Walker-class article at the *Star Trek Online Wiki*.
* *Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection* special issue "U.S.S. *Shenzhou*."
* *Star Trek Adventures - Star Trek: Discovery (2256-2258) Campaign Guide* by Modiphiüs Entertainment.
* *Star Trek Adventures - Utopia Planitia Starfleet Sourcebook* by Modiphius Entertainment.

### Footnotes

1. ↑ *STO* - *Age of Discovery* short story: "Jayce's Interstellar: Walker Class Crash Mobilization."
2. ↑ *Star Trek Adventures Discovery (2256-2258) Campaign Guide*, 116.
3. ↑ Derived from MSDs created by Lee Arundel and BuzaNorbi.
4. ↑ *STO* -  *Mirror of Discovery* short story: "Jayce's Interstellar: Around the Galaxy."