Soyuz Class

A modification of the Miranda Class Light Cruiser, the Soyuz Class was designed for convoy escort duties, foregoing the usual Photon Torpedo armament associated with most Federation ships for a battery of powerful Phaser Cannons derived from the Type III Assault Phaser and earlier 'Kaminari' Type II Phaser Cannon. A relatively niche design, she has since proved invaluable as an anti-Fightercraft platform, as well as being better able to target and destroy fast moving light starships such as the Klingon E12 B'Rel (Bird of Prey) Class.

## Development

The origins of the Soyuz Class begin with the origins of the Type H Phaser Emitter.

After the redesign of the 'Kaminari' Type II Phaser Cannon, the resulting weapon was overweight, oversized and underpowered. Whilst it went on to give acceptable service on the Siegfried Class, a small development team was kept on to work on the design further.

In 2267 as part of the Langley Class project, the 'Kaminari' concept was revived, and the small team that had been working on upgrades over the years since it's deployment was enlarged and given tremendous resources to develop a modern, more powerful version. The prototype of the new Assault Phaser was not completed until 2273, and the initial test proved disastrous.In an incident startlingly similar to the original 'Kaminari' test, the Advanced Weapon Capacitor overloaded and the test ship, the ex-USS Tigress (NCC-1465), Valley Forge Class, ruptured and exploded. Fortunately, lessons had been learnt from the testing of the 'Kaminari' 40 years before, and the test ship was entirely automated. No-one was injured in the explosion, but it set back the Assault Phaser programme many years.

While the main team was scaled back again, slowly working on perfecting the Assault Phaser, another approach was taken. Using technology developed for the Type B Phaser Emitter, it was hoped that a much smaller Assault Phaser type weapon could be developed as an interim between the Phaser Banks (Primary Weapons array) and the much heavier Photon Torpedo Tubes (Secondary Weapons array) of a starship. The Klingon Empire employed the Heavy Disruptor in this role with some success, using them operationally to soften up the shields of a target before a Photon Torpedo strike.

One solution to the overheating (and subsequent overloading) issue so common with overpowered Phaser-based weaponry is to emit the charged energy in slower, visible pulses, rather than as quick, cohesive beams (all Phasers pulse, but beyond the visual spectrum of most lifeforms). This lessens the strain on the emitter arrays although lowers the damage per second on target. In the aim for a Heavy Weapon for Starfleet ships, this was considered an acceptable trade off. A lighter weapon could also be more easily directed, giving a wider firing arc than earlier Assault Phaser designs.

The Type H Phaser Emitter, or Megaphaser as it was soon known, had drawbacks however. It's power requirements were quite severe, limiting the number that could be mounted. Their range was shorter than other Phaser weaponry, and they possessed a slower effective rate of fire, again due to overheating concerns. This limited it's deployment on most vessels.

In 2270 reports had surfaced of a new type of Klingon light warship, one that was faster and more manoeuvrable than any Federation starship. Davids Class Frigates had already struggled to outpace their Klingon counterparts, the F5B pIH (Suspicious) Class during the 4-Day War, and the new E12 B'Rel (Bird of Prey) Class would outrun and outmanoeuvre them easily. Convoys would suddenly be very vulnerable to hit-and-fade attacks. A new approach was required.

Based on a Miranda Class hull, a new breed of Cruiser was developed. Designed solely around Phaser-based weaponry, this new Gun Cruiser would use the accuracy and firepower of the Megaphaser to quickly target and destroy any attacking Birds of Prey. With dorsal, port, starboard and twin ventral Type H Phaser Emitters, the firepower and coverage provided would more than make up for the loss of Photon Torpedo Tubes.

## Operational History

Entering service in 2274, the Soyuz Class was deployed in limited numbers, with most of the prepared hulls laid up ready for launch in wartime. The few ships activated were sent on long ranged patrols. In 2278, one of these ships the USS Bozeman (NCC-1941), went missing in the Typhon Expanse near the Klingon Neutral Zone.

In 2285 with the beginning of the Organian Conflict, the remaining Soyuz Class ships were commissioned and assigned to convoy escort duty. As the war progressed, they also found use in Cruiser Squadrons helping to fight off marauding Klingon Birds of Prey.

In the War of Pacification, the Interstellar Concordium deployed Fightercraft, based on pioneering Hydran usage of such craft in the Organian Conflict. The Klingon Empire, Romulan Star Empire and indeed all combatants in that war had seen the utility of such small but powerful (for their size) craft and had taken steps to introduce them into their own fleets, although none had entered service before the end of that conflict. With the ISC use of Type FA-VII Strike Fighters, the Soyuz Class found a new use as an anti-Fightercraft platform, the same qualities that made her adept at defending against Birds of Prey and other Escorts also making her effective at targeting fast moving Fightercraft and Attack Shuttles.

It was in this role that the Soyuz became most well known, although during the General War and the offensive into the Galactic Fringe her Megaphasers mainly found use in targeting the slower Type FF-IV Frigates in use by ISC forces there. (Most of the great Type CVN-VI Fleet Carriers having been lost in the War of Pacification)

## Apocrypha

With the end of the General War in August 2292 and the signing of the Khitomer Accords in 2293, Starfleet retired many wartime designs. The Soyuz Class was one such design, and they were decommissioned at the end of that year.

## Specifications

* **Class:** Gun Cruiser
* **Hull Type Designation:** FCG
* **Length:** 224m
* **Crew:** 390
* **Warp Nacelles:** 2

* **Maximum Sublight Speed:** 3975 k/s (39.75 Mk/s)
* **Cruise** **Warp Factor Speed:** wf 7.4
* **Safe** **Maximum Warp Factor Speed:** wf 9.3
* **Hull Rating:** 250 HSF
* **Shield Rating:** 480 FSP

* **Sensor Rating:** 800 SRU

* **Armament and Equipment:**
	+ Primary
		- 3 × Type B Phaser Emitter
	+ Secondary
		- None
	+ Heavy
		- 5 × Type H Phaser Emitter
	+ Advanced
		- None
	+ Equipment
		- Tractor Beam Emitter
		- Mark VI Probes
		- 1 × Type 2 Shuttlecraft

## Ships in Service (2292)

USS Soyuz (NCC-1580)

USS Steadfast (NCC-1579)

USS Voskhod (NCC-1590)

USS Allaway (NCC-1510)

USS Boheme (NCC-1534)

USS Cavenaugh (NCC-1589)

USS Cheffer (NCC-1581)

USS Davidson (NCC-1523)

USS Helena (NCC-1533)

USS Katsinis (NCC-1543)

USS Rabah (NCC-1566)

USS Sonnier (NCC-1590)

USS Talbot (NCC-1537)

USS Ursaline (NCC-1514)

USS Valtman (NCC-1508)

USS Salyut (NCC-1578)

USS Ivanovich (NCC-1580)

USS Vindicator (NCC-1561)

USS Devastator (NCC-1562)

USS Annihilator (NCC-1563)

USS Decimator (NCC-1564)

USS Eliminator (NCC-1565)

USS Nepal (NCC-1567)

USS Himalaya (NCC-1568)

USS Magellan (NCC-1569)