Echelon Class
The Echelon-class light cruiser is a mid-sized starship intended to be an all-rounder within Federation space for defensive and humanitarian missions. Designed alongside the Sagan-class light explorer, the Echelon has simplified internal systems, shorter range, and a smaller crew compared to her sister, in exchange for easier maintenance and more versatility.
Science and Exploration
As with all Starfleet cruiser classes, the Echelon carries a full range of science labs, sensor pallets, and scientific specialists. These ships perform generalist duties within Federation space, which includes stellar mapping and routine scientific studies. Given that the majority of her time is spent on things other than science, many of her labs are mission-configurable, and she is able to embark scientists working on independent projects while the ship carries out patrol or relief missions. They are also ideal for missions of scientific interest where a smaller vessel would be out of its depth, but a large Sutherland-class research cruiser would be in too much danger.
Echelon-class ships have oversized small craft capabilities, just like the Sagan, and so they are a good platform for launching scouting missions via runabout and for deploying probes. They also routinely service scientific outposts, so they support Starfleet’s scientific agenda in indirect ways.
Diplomacy
Echelon-class starships are intended for second-contact missions and other routine diplomatic interactions with established powers. In particular, they are useful where a large amount of cargo must be moved as part of a humanitarian or diplomatic process. They are not luxurious, either in their facilities or in their interior finishes, but they do have dedicated guest quarters, conference facilities, and variable life support systems. These starships are also good candidates for transporting ambassadors within Federation space, as well as providing transport to foreign dignitaries.
Engineering
Though they are outwardly very similar to Sagan-class starships, Echelon-class starships do not incorporate the same Borg-derived advances in their systems. Systems aboard the Echelon are tried-and-true, optimized for ruggedness and ease of maintenance over performance. Their internal complexity is also comparatively less, because of not needing a second warp core or full second set of warp nacelles. Like with the Sagan, a roughly circular saucer section is joined to a flat secondary hull, with the nacelles mounted above the ship. Warp speeds match the Sagan, but with half the endurance.
Secondary craft facilities dominate the aft end of the ship, with three hangers on the stern and a fourth connected to a staging area behind the bridge. These hangers are interconnected with cargo bays as well, making the Echelon adept at engineering and humanitarian support missions. They can also deploy a wing of fighters, but their mission parameters don’t usually call for them.
Tactical
Echelon-class starships are reasonably well-armed and well-shielded, but they are mid-level ships, not intended to go toe-to-toe with threats on their own. They are armed with 8 Type-XIV phaser arrays around the saucer and secondary hull, as well as two forward and two aft torpedo launchers in the pods on the nacelle struts. Metaphasic shielding is standard. While this arsenal is significant, and easily out-classes older ships, Echelon class ships’ power generation capabilities are lower than those of a heavy cruiser or explorer, and so their overall firepower is limited.
Unique amongst current starship classes, their weapons have been specifically tuned with traceable payloads which can ionize the hulls of their targets to allow them to be tracked. This allows the Echelon to essentially tag threats that it can’t handle on its own, so it can either pursue them through warp and/or summon help to deal with them. This capability is especially useful in pursuing smugglers, pirates, and others who will tend to run rather than stand and fight.
Shipboard Life
Echelon-class starships are optimized for their overall performance and the ease of internal access to critical systems, meaning that they are sleek and spartan like most other ships of this era in starship design. As on the Sagan, crew quarters are smaller than on some older classes, and there are fewer quarters with windows. Crew recreation is thus focused on communal areas, including several lounges, bars, and mess halls. Holodeck facilities are state-of-the-art.
Medical facilities are larger on the Echelon than on the Sagan, because of the ship’s intended role of humanitarian and generalist duties within Federation space. Several secondary wards support a main sickbay, and there are additional triage facilities available near to the shuttle bays.
This class is still quite new, so it is considered a good assignment, but it is well-known that Starfleet intends to keep these ships on mid-level assignments. New officers will cut their teeth on these ships before being sent to more exciting ships headed further out into space. This is also a proving ground for new captains.
Echelon-class History
Design on the Echelon and Sagan classes began in the early 2390s at the San Francisco Fleet Yards. As part of a general trend in Starfleet shipbuilding towards the aesthetics of the 2290s—clean lines, fewer windows, and fewer curves—this project was originally envisioned as just one class with both two and four-nacelled units to serve as close and long-range versions of the same basic mid-sized cruiser design. As this process progressed, though, Starfleet chose the four-nacelled design to become not just another heavy cruiser design, but a long-range explorer and the testbed for many Borg-inspired systems developed from extensive research into Voyager’s systems and work on the so-called Artifact. Production on the Echelon class began in 2394, and the first vessels entered service by 2397.
By the early 25th century, the Echelon-class is still quite new, but is becoming a recognizable part of the fleet throughout Federation space.
The Echelon Class In-Play
- Echelon-class starships are externally identical to the Sagan, but with only two nacelles. They are shorter range, have a smaller crew, and are meant to serve as cruisers, rather than venturing off too far into deep space. They’re new and capable, but a little less special than the Sagan.
- This class has a large shuttle/cargo complex, so it would be good at similar types of missions to the Cerritos, like engineering support, but it’s also much better armed, so those support missions could happen in more dangerous eras.
- We have seen that in this era of Star Trek, things are shiny and polished, with little emphasis on luxury. Fewer windows means either smaller quarters or at least fewer quarters with windows, so your crew are going to have to get to know each other in the lounge or bar.