Sovereign class

## SPACECRAFT CLASS

Forward view

Aft view

*Marks II & III*:

* 16 type-X phasers
* 10 launch tubes

Development project patch (Thomas Marrone)

The ***Sovereign*-class** was a type of spacecraft developed by Starfleet in the late 24th century as an advanced ship-of-the-line.

## History

The *Sovereign*-class began development in 2365 and was intended to be the latest and greatest in Starfleet exploration platforms. In 2367, Starfleet was exposed to the full force of the Borg Collective in the Battle of Wolf 359. After suffering such huge loses with almost no damage done to the Borg cube, Starfleet's entire policy of starship design shifted towards combat performance and the *Sovereign* class' design was subsequently altered to reflect this.

The prototype USS *Sovereign* was launched in 2370 and, much like the *Defiant*-class that preceded it, ran into numerous issues in the operation and balance of several of its systems. The cruiser was dry-docked and underwent extensive evaluation. Early theoretical tests had seemed promising, so an additional three space frames were already under construction when the *Sovereign* returned. While the prototype was reevaluated, the three additional cruisers continued construction, albeit without some of the design's more experimental systems.

The USS *Enterprise*-E, originally the USS *Honorius*, the USS *Majestic**,* and the USS *Zuikaku* were all three commissioned in 2372. The *Enterprise* later faced the Borg during the Collective’s incursion of Federation space in 2373. Proving to be highly successful in that engagement, the *Sovereign*-class was hailed as one of the best balances of exploration and tactical capability since the *Constitution*-class of a century prior and was expected to be Starfleet's leading class well into the 25th century.

By the end of the Dominion War, no additional *Sovereign*-class vessels had been constructed beyond the original four. Starfleet Command, intent on rebuilding the fleet, authorized the construction of twelve more of the class in early 2376. One of these vessels, later named USS *Vizier* (NCC-75591), received a unique livery and expanded social facilities to serve in diplomatic functions.

## Technical specifications

Following traditional Starfleet design heritage, the *Sovereign*-class consisted of a saucer-shaped primary hull and a secondary stardrive hull connected to two nacelles. Unlike cruiser designs from earlier in the century, such as the *Ambassador* and *Galaxy*-classes, the *Sovereign* design was elongated and hearkened back to cruisers of the 23rd century like the *Excelsior*-class.

Like the *Galaxy*-class before it, the *Sovereign*-class was designed with the ability to reversibly separate the primary and secondary hulls in a process called saucer separation. In this maneuver, the primary hull would disconnect near the top of the stardrive neck. The concept was that in dangerous or emergency situations, non-essential personnel could be evacuated to the saucer, and the secondary hull could be commanded from the battle bridge, located on Deck 15. In order to serve on the bridge of a *Sovereign*-class vessel, officers had to pass the Saucer Separation Clearance exam.

### Deck plan

The following was the standard internal layout of *Sovereign*-class vessels.

### Command systems

Located on Deck 1, the main bridge of the *Sovereign*-class served as the nerve center of the vessel.

### Propulsion systems

The pylons connecting the nacelles to the stardrive included emergency plasma purge vents, which allowed the starships to expel heated plasma before it reached the warp field coils, causing a failure in the system.

### Tactical systems

The *Sovereign* design implemented the most advanced shielding technology available to Starfleet at the time. The multi-spectrum shields covered the entire exterior and had native metaphasic properties that protected the starships from the intense energy, pressure, and radiation of a star's corona.

Though not part of the initial design, Nexus Defense Screens were integrated into the shield systems of *Sovereign*-class vessels after the NDS project was completed in 2372.

The original design was equipped with a dozen Annular Confinement Beam-jacketed Type-X phasers, four fixed-mount Mk 95 variable-payload launch tubes, and a single turreted Mk 95B launcher. The starships carried a complement of both photon and quantum torpedoes.

### Auxiliary craft systems

Vessels of the class had two shuttlebays and carried a standard complement of 42 auxiliary craft, including a captain's yacht and 8 workpods. The typical breakdown of other craft was 10 shuttlepods, 15 shuttlecraft, and 7 runabouts, although *Venture*-class scout ships were sometimes assigned in the place of one or two runabouts.

The ventrally docked support craft, or captain's yacht, was a *Gondola*-class. Use of the craft was left at the discretion of a vessel's commanding officer, with the intended purpose being for diplomatic and personal use by said officer. The initial model used was the VAR-1/A, but later models were assigned as refinements were made to the *Gondola* design.

## Differences and modifications

### Mark II

When Starfleet Command authorized the construction of additional *Sovereign*-class vessels in 2375, designers at the San Francisco Fleet Yards took the opportunity to make some minor changes to the base design. The updates drastically increased the tactical capabilities of the class by including an additional four phaser arrays and five launch tubes. Most vessels already in service were eventually retrofitted to Mark II specifications, such as the USS *Enterprise*-E after its engagement with Shinzon's *Scimitar* in 2379.

## Derivatives

### *Regent* (Block II)

The *Regent*-subclass had a much more elongated shape than classes before it, contributing to its length of 695 meters. Unlike other *Sovereign* subclasses, the *Regent* featured a flatter primary hull tapering into the secondary hull derived from the dual-neck design of the *Odyssey*-class. The nacelle pylons of *Regent* vessels were also swept forward.

### *Archon* (Block III)

As the Starfleet Corps of Engineers revisited many starship designs in the early 25th century, they modernized the Sovereign in the *Archon*-class.

## Gallery

A *Gondola*-class yacht disembarkingMaster Systems Display of the *Sovereign*-classThe Mark III "Vizier" variantThe *Archon* subclass
## 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

* Sovereign class article at *Memory Alpha*.
* Sovereign class article at *Memory Beta*.
* *Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection* issue 21: "U.S.S. *Enterprise* NCC-1701-E."
* *Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection* special issue "U.S.S. *Enterprise* NCC-1701-E."
* Sovereign class article at the *Star Trek Online Wiki*.
* *Star Trek Adventures - The Command Division* by Modiphius Entertainment.
* *Star Trek Adventures - Utopia Planitia Starfleet Sourcebook* by Modiphius Entertainment.
* *The Price of Freedom - The United Federation of Planets Sourcebook* by Last Unicorn Games.
* *Star Trek Roleplaying Game: Starships* by Decipher, Inc..
* Sovereign Class Variations article at *Ex Astris Scientia*.
* *Sovereign-class External Blueprints and Internal Deck Plans* by Strategic Design.
* *Sovereign Class Federation Starship General Blueprints and Specifications* by Kennedy Shipyards.
* Sovereign-class article at *Memory Zeta*, the Sixth Fleet RPG wiki.

### Footnotes

1. ↑ Derived from "Sovereign class decks" article at *Memory Alpha,* MSDs created by NeverPoster and Tim Davies, deck plans by Strategic Design, and Sovereign Class Federation Starship General Blueprints and Specifications by Monte R. Johnjulio.
2. ↑ Starship Operations - Warp Engines article at Federation Starship Datalink.