User:CrimsonTacit/Sandbox/Miranda Class Refit
The Miranda II-class starship was one of the most widely-produced starship designs of the 23rd and 24th century, serving as a light cruiser, frigate, science vessel, and supply vessel at various points during its long career. Prized for its balance of capabilities across all of Starfleet's main mission parameters, this class of ship was built en masse and served as the backbone of the fleet from the 2290s through the 2370s. Originally designated as a light cruiser, this class was redesignated as a frigate in the 2350s during the Federation-Cardassian War. Their numbers were decimated during the Borg and Dominion conflicts, but the spirit behind the design and her aesthetic signature lives on in the Reliant-class frigate. While the class is no longer in mainline Starfleet service, many of these vessels continue on in Starfleet Auxiliary service as transports, science vessels, and surveyors.
Exploration and Science
For decades, Miranda II-class ships were considered front-line explorers, serving alongside Excelsior-class and Constellation-class heavy cruisers. By the 2330s and 2340s, there were a sufficient number of these other classes in addition to the even larger Ambassador-class heavy cruisers to push the Miranda II to second-line surveys and scientific missions, but they remained a valuable part of the exploratory fleet into the 2360s. As a fully-equipped light cruiser, they carried comprehensive science labs and a full science department, with specialized labs for most fields found aboard. The planetary sensor dome they share with other ships of their era was a powerful tool for examining planets closely, and they had two forward-facing sensor pods, but a weakness of this class was always a lack of specialized sensor arrays.
As a frigate in the 24th century, Miranda II-class ships retained their scientific facilities but with greatly reduced scientific staff aboard. What staff remained were typically tasked with long-range monitoring of threat vessels and coordinating with Starfleet Stellar Cartography to plot optimal patrol routes.
The Miranda II-class ships now operated by Starfleet Auxiliary as surveyors and research vessels can carry scientific teams of 40 to 80, depending on the specific project. With increased automation and lacking the weapons found aboard the frigate or light cruiser versions of the ship, they are given spacious facilities that take up a great deal of the primary hull and are ideal for long-term projects where a vessel will stay in one area for a long period of time, as they are too slow for much else.
Diplomacy
Miranda II-class vessels were once used extensively for first and second-contact missions, as they have the same large recreational spaces that vessels of their era included, as well as a large officer's lounge, all of which were suitable for use in diplomatic functions. It was also considered a well-armed vessel for much of its life, so it was capable of assessing diplomatic situations from a position of strength. By the 2330s, it was no longer tasked with first contacts, and by the 2350s, its diplomatic role had ended almost entirely. Given that Starfleet Auxiliary vessels do not engage in diplomacy on behalf of the Federation, Miranda II-class vessels no longer have even the pretense of diplomatic capabilities.
Engineering
Sharing commonality in engines, hull design, and basic systems with other designs from the 2270s, the Miranda II is an extremely reliable design that has stood the test of time. The integrated warp and impulse system pulls power from a single matter/anti-matter assembly that runs through the center of the ship's raised superstructure. While its cruise speeds are now quite modest, in its day it was a fast ship. Compared to modern vessels, though, the engineering systems aboard a Miranda II require much more direct supervision and maintenance. When several of these ships were converted to supply vessels in the 2350s, enhanced automation systems were added to allow for a crew as small as in the dozens, but it wasn't considered resource effective to make these modifications fleet-wide. Those that now are in auxiliary service have some of these modifications, however, and it's now possible for a ship of this class to go many months without serious maintenance, at least in the low-stress, stripped-down roles they now find themselves in.
Small craft are handled with twin shuttle bays on the stern, which connect internally to one another and to an extensive cargo complex. This made the Miranda II well-suited to be loaded up with supplies for long missions as a light cruiser and then a very capable supply ship when it was switched to that role later on.
The Miranda II class does not have an external deflector dish, unlike most other Federation starships. Instead, the ship's standard shield grid is used at a lower power setting at warp to provide navigational deflection, and the repulsing features of the deflector are handled with the ship's standard tractor beams. This was intended to simplify construction, but it does increase wear and tear on these systems.
Tactical
In the 2270s, the Miranda II class light cruiser was actually more heavily armed than the Constitution-class heavy cruisers she served alongside, thanks to the rollbar pod with two forward and two aft torpedo launchers, as well as two forward and two aft phaser cannons, supplementing six dual phaser banks in the saucer section and two aft phasers between the shuttle bays. This allowed her to be a competent patrol ship for much of her life, going toe-to-toe with threat vessels with confidence.
Fully equipped with the rollbar pod and enhanced phasers as she was during the Dominion War, the Miranda II was effective as a frigate, as well, because of her combination of maneuverability (which was used to screen larger ships) and the ability to bring relatively significant firepower to bear on the enemy. Where it was let down, however, was its relative fragileness, having none of the ablative armor that newer ships did in the 2370s.
The remaining Miranda II-class ships in auxiliary service generally have had all weapons except one of their forward phaser banks removed. They would be easy targets for most threats by the 25th century, even fully armed.
Shipboard Life
Compared to smaller ships developed during the 24th century, such as the Saber and Defiant, Miranda II-class ships were comfortable assignments. While they lacked holodecks and other modern conveniences, they had well-equipped recreation decks, an arboretum, and even a pool. Originally envisioned for deep-space assignments of 2-3 years, they were also built with crew quarters that put no more than four crewmen in a bunk room. Two chiefs or junior officers shared a living room, while senior officers had private quarters. The crew complement of 200 allowed for there to be a sense of family and camaraderie amongst the crew, while also being large enough that the crew never felt too involved in one another's affairs.
By the 24th century, these ships were considered comfortable, but not luxurious. More and more of them were also being sent out with smaller crews, especially in supply configurations. These assignments had a much different character than those of the fully crewed Miranda IIs in their light cruiser days and were often shorter due to the loneliness and stress that could come from social isolation.
Presently, the crew complements, and crew experiences aboard the Miranda II-class ships in Starfleet Auxiliary service vary wildly, from supply ships with minimal crew complements to science vessels with large scientific contingents being transported to their research site. By the 25th century, a voyage on one of these ships is considered something a novelty, but that often wears off when crew or passengers realize that they're on a relatively slow ship with no holodecks for weeks or months at a time.
Modifications for Starfleet Auxiliary Service
No Miranda II-class starships remain in mainline Starfleet service, but many have been transferred and retrofitted for service in the Starfleet Auxiliary. These vessels retain their USS prefixes but have often been renamed when their original name passed to a newer vessel. Some variants, like the surveyor, required minimal modifications, but others like the medical variant, have been substantially altered. Because they have been stripped of their tactical functions, the rollbar assemblies containing the torpedo pods and heavy phaser cannons have been removed from Miranda II-class ships in auxiliary service.
Transport/Supply Vessel
The most common variant in service, the transport and supply vessel configuration of the Miranda II has been stripped of all of its scientific systems and most tactical systems other than the forward phaser banks. This has freed up most of the internal volume of the vessel for cargo or passenger transport duties. When assigned as a supply vessel and only carrying cargo, improved automation allows them to operate with a crew of twenty-six. When acting as a transport, their crew increases to forty, with up to two hundred passengers.
Surveyor/Research Vessel
Miranda II-class vessels configured for scientific duties retain close to their original configuration, though with tactical systems reduced to just the forward phaser banks, as with the transport version. Improved automation means their core crew is reduced to twenty-six, and they can handle anywhere from a dozen to a hundred scientists. Typically, ships of this class on mineralogical surveys for the Starfleet Auxiliary operate with a crew of thirty to forty, while vessels operating on behalf of other Federation agencies may have larger crews. Their sensors and other equipment is often obsolete, other than anything installed specifically for a particular mission.
Medical Vessel
Miranda II-class medical vessels have been completely disarmed and have had most of their internal volume retrofit to handle patients. The core crew of 26 Starfleet Auxiliarists necessary to operate the ship is supplemented by a crew of 75 mainline Starfleet medical personnel when the ship is engaged in a medical mission. They have bed space for up to 100 moderate-care patients.
Miranda II Class History
By the 2260s, Starfleet had an enormous amount of diversity in its inventory of mid-sized starships. The Malakowski, Nimitz, Miranda, Pioneer, Bellerophon, Hoover, Shepard, and Walker-class cruisers all fit into a size and capability range above scouts, surveyors, and frigates but beneath the Constitution-class heavy cruiser. Among these, the Miranda and Pioneer both remained in production, and the Miranda was considered to be the most well-rounded of all of her peers. As part of the Fleet Modernization Program of the 2270s, it was decided that all of these classes would be replaced in service by a new Miranda II-class light cruiser. Some of these vessels (such as the original Miranda) would be easier to rebuild directly into the new class, while others would only have some of their components salvaged and integrated (such as the Walker).
Construction on Miranda herself was begun alongside another Miranda-class vessel, the Reliant, but Reliant was completed first, launching a few months after Enterprise launched in 2270. Throughout the 2270s, ships of the other classes were rebuilt or decommissioned and replaced by Miranda II-class vessels. In 2273, the USS Soyuz received an experimental new hull form derived from the Ptolemy II with an extended aft superstructure to allow her to operate with a larger crew on longer missions. She also received additional sensor pods and heavy phaser cannons at the expense of her torpedo armaments. A handful of vessels were built in this configuration, but the project was shelved, and the sub-class was mothballed following the apparent loss of the USS Bozeman in 2278, though it was later discovered that she had been displaced in time.
The Miranda II was popular in service with her crews and with Starfleet Command because of her capability to handle any mission type. Though she lacked the range of the larger Constitution II, her tactical capabilities were nearly identical. In some ways, she was considered to be tactically superior to the Constitution II, because of her higher maneuverability, smaller target profile, and her aft torpedo tubes, though a Constitution II's larger reactor could bring more phaser power to bear on a target. This closeness of capability is one factor that led to the Constitution II being phased out with the later introduction of the Excelsior leaving it without a real niche.
Production of the Miranda II continued uninterrupted from the 2270s through the 2340s, with over a thousand of these ships built in that time. While they were originally classified as light cruisers, by the 2350s they were considered frigates. During that period, the oldest members of this class were already being stripped down for use as supply vessels, with many being transferred to the Starfleet Auxiliary.
Scores of Miranda II-class ships were decommissioned in the 2350s, only to be brought back into service in the 2360s and 2370s to serve in the Borg and Dominion conflicts. This class suffered heavily during the Dominion War, proving themselves to be very vulnerable to Dominion weapons, but serving an important role in screening larger ships from attack. Following the Dominion War, a third redesign was contemplated, but the age of most of the spaceframes meant that the new Reliant-class frigate launched in the 2380s would be a distinct class of its own and only a handful of Miranda-class ships were upcycled into the new design.
By the 2390s, Miranda II-class ships had completely left mainline Starfleet service. Those vessels that remain operational have been transferred to the Starfleet Auxilary, where they serve as transports, science vessels, and hospital ships. With their weapons largely removed and less demanding duties, it is anticipated that this class could remain in Starfleet Auxiliary service through the 2450s, though more and more of them are being completely scrapped as newer vessels make their way out of the main fleet and into the Auxiliary. A handful of these vessels have been given to civilian agencies after being fully disarmed, but Starfleet has been reluctant to allow such a powerful symbol of Starfleet to see widespread civilian use. There are no Miranda II-class ships in truly "private" hands, and their export beyond Federation borders is prohibited.
As the Starfleet vessel with the largest and longest single production run in history, the Miranda II shaped Starfleet for a century. These ships were where generations of Starfleet officers cut their teeth, and hundreds of thousands of careers played out on them. Their legacy lives on in the Reliant, but the Miranda II holds a place in many hearts, as well as a place of pride in the Starfleet Museum.
The Miranda II In Play
- There are no Miranda II-class starships in mainline Starfleet service. All of them have been transferred to the Starfleet Auxiliary in support roles. Any ships you encounter of this class would have their weapons removed (other than the forward phaser banks) and used for things like moving supplies or passengers.
- The latest one of your characters could have served on a Miranda II as a Starfleet officer would be approximately 2389.
- There are some civilian Miranda II-class ships with SS prefixes, but they would be owned by organizations like the Mariposa Medical Group, Daystrom Institute, or other non-governmental organizations, charities, etc., not by truly private individuals. These ships would be fully disarmed. You won't find them defending colonies or anything like that, because that's Starfleet's job.