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| {{icons|bfc}} | | {{icons|bfc}}{{Government |
| {{Specification | | | name = Melkot |
| | image = [[Image:Niagara1.png]]
| | | image = |
| | displayName = '''''Niagara'' Class'''
| | | species = Melkot |
| | name = Niagara | | | homeworld = Unknown |
| | affiliation = [[United Federation of Planets]] | | | founded = Unknown |
| | operator = *[[Starfleet]]
| | | warp = Unknown |
| *[[Starfleet Auxiliary]]
| | | language = |
| | status = *Retired (Starfleet)
| | | currency = |
| *Active (Starfleet Auxiliary)
| | | government = Unknown |
| | role =
| | | leader = |
| | type = Star Cruiser
| | | advancement = |
| | precedingClass =
| | | military = Unknown |
| | succeedingClass =
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| | dateEntered = 2345
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| | productionEnd = 2365
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| | retired = 2400
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| | expectedDuration = 100 Years
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| | expectedRefit = 10 years
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| | timeResupply = 2 Years
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| | crewComplement = *100 Standard
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| **Up to 250 medical personnel
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| | emergencyCap = *3,000 Maximum | |
| **1,000 intermediate care patients; or,
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| **125 critical care patients
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| | civilians = | |
| | populationCap = | |
| | flightCrew = | |
| | passengers = 1,250
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| | length = 443 meters
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| | width = 260 meters
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| | diameter =
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| | height = 130 meters
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| | decks = 23
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| | propulsionSystem = Matter/Antimatter powered warp drive
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| | cruiseSpeed = Warp 8
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| | maxSpeed = Warp 9
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| | emergencySpeed = Warp 9.8 (36 hours)
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| | energyWeapons =
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| | torpLaunchers =
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| | torpPayload =
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| | shields = Multi-Layered Shielding System
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| | dockingfacilities =
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| | shuttleBays = 1 | |
| | shuttles = 8 | |
| | runabouts = | |
| | fighters = | |
| | aux = | |
| | msd = | |
| }} | | }} |
| The '''Niagara-class star cruiser''' is an exceptionally fast but also exceptionally odd starship, dating to the 2340s. Originally a light cruiser, its current configuration shows commonality with both the [[Ambassador Class|Ambassador-class heavy cruiser]] and the [[Galaxy Class|''Galaxy''-class explorer]], thanks to a refit in the early 2360s. While the initial design specifications called for simply a smaller, more efficient version of the ''Ambassador'', in practice, these ships have been costly to operate and crew, so few of them still exist. Now retired from mainline Starfleet service, some of these ships continue on in an unarmed capacity as transports or hospital ships under the flag of the [[Starfleet Auxiliary]]. | | The '''Melkot''' are a xenophobic species and minor power with territory in the [[Alpha Quadrant]]. Historically xenophobic and deeply territorial, they have long jealously guarded their borders and resisted encroachment or even peaceful visitation by any outsiders. The [[Federation]] made a [[ma:Spectre of the Gun (episode)|fraught first contact in 2268]], with the USS ''Enterprise'' earning permission to enter Melkot space. Since then, relations between the Federation have been cordial at best, non-existent at worst. There are rarely interactions between the two powers; [[Starfleet]] ships may not approach or enter Melkot space without permission, and the Melkot have only communicated with the Federation in times of dire need for either side. In those times of necessity, however, contact has been possible, and the Melkot wary of engagement but open to discussion. |
| == Science and Exploration ==
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| [[File:Niagara4.png|thumb|A rear quarter of the ''Niagara'' class.]]The ''Niagara'' was comparatively large for a light cruiser, especially compared to the designs that emerged in the 2350s and following the Borg attack in the late 2360s and early 2370s, so it has more space onboard for labs, scientific equipment, and research personnel. It also has a comprehensive sensor suite installed in the lateral band of the saucer section, which makes it quite capable of performing scientific studies. The only remaining vessels of this class are now in auxiliary service and so no longer participate in active exploratory missions, but they still often carry secondary mission equipment for various Starfleet and Federation science agencies and continue to passively collect data about the universe that they relay back to Starfleet. Because of their high speed, they are also sometimes used to deploy or retrieve long-range probes, which is an important but banal task that larger vessels are usually not assigned to do. | |
| == Diplomacy ==
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| [[File:Niagara2.jpg|thumb|A side profile of the ''Niagara''.]]This class of ship follows many of the same design principles as her larger sister, the ''Ambassador'', and as such has comfortable accommodations and several dedicated diplomatic spaces. Because they are more limited in volume, however, they were not used often to host conferences. Their main role in diplomacy was to transport ambassadors and other dignitaries in speed and style when a larger ship was unavailable or inappropriate. By the 2400s, these ships' diplomatic areas are now used for passenger or patient rest and relaxation in their new role as transports and hospital ships. | |
| == Engineering ==
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| [[File:Niagara3.jpg|thumb|A front quarter view of the ''Niagara'' class.]]The vast majority of Starfleet vessels use even pairs of warp nacelles, as this configuration has been proven the most efficient arrangement for Federation warp technology. Only three classes of ships have used three nacelles, and the ''Niagara'' is the one among those classes that ever saw a production run of more than a dozen ships. It's also the only one of the three not to be designed as a "dreadnought" in the way that the [[Federation Class|''Federation'']] or [[Galaxy Class Refit|''Galaxy'' Refit]] classes were. Rather than providing extra power to move more bulk, the third nacelle on the Niagara class is meant to provide a tri-lobed warp field which allows each individual nacelle to operate at a lower power level, thus reducing the stress on the warp coils and increasing the ship's effective endurance. Originally, these ships were built with nacelles identical to those found aboard the Ambassador, but the performance gains were considered marginal at best. While the ship was still considered a moderate success--they were substantially more capable than [[Miranda Class|''Miranda'']] or [[Constellation Class|''Constellation''-class]] ships--they were complex to build and maintain and only ever saw a production order of about 40 units.
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| In the 2360s, the class was being evaluated for possible retirement in favor of the designs developed as part of the Fleet Modernization Program, but their basic spaceframes were considered too young to be discarded, even if their performance wasn't spectacular. Instead of retiring them, it was decided to replace their nacelles with the design used aboard the ''Galaxy'' and ''Nebula'' classes, as well as to upgrade their tactical systems. The resulting design is still quite awkward--the shape of the ship was optimized for a three-nacelle design, and so the refit needed to retain the third nacelle--but with these advanced engines, the ship is capable of comfortably cruising at Warp 8 (compared to the design cruise speed of the ''Galaxy'' being a mere Warp 6) and sprinting to Warp 9.8, which makes them the fastest light cruiser design in service even as of 2399.
| | == Melkot Species and Culture == |
| | The Melkot themselves are non-humanoid and powerful telepaths. They have bulbous bodies without limbs, which appear to float through unknown means, and have bright, round eyes. They are capable of projecting telepathic illusions that are indistinguishable from reality to the recipients, especially in non-telepaths. These illusions are so potent that experiencing injury and death can cause sufficient psychic trauma to hurt or even kill. Other telepathic species, such as Vulcans, have proven capable of resisting the illusions with varying degrees of success. |
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| This speed comes at a cost, though, as the engine systems are difficult to maintain, especially considering that the number of engineers with experience operating tri-nacelle designs is extremely small. Structural integrity systems and the inertial dampeners aboard the ship are also complex and non-standard to handle the unusual stress loads created by the engines. Otherwise, the systems aboard this ship are pretty standard for the mid-24th century.
| | The only confirmed survivors of a telepathic illusion intended to be lethal for the victim was the crew of the ''Enterprise'' in 2268. They were immersed in an illusion of the Old West and were expected to be killed in a gunfight. It is believed that the Melkot identified an experience, setting, or period that the crew associated with violence, where death would be an inevitable outcome. It was through resisting this expectation of violence, when Captain Kirk refused to kill an illusory opponent, that the Melkot became curious enough about humanity to make contact. |
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| The ''Niagara'''s physical structure resembles the ''Ambassador'' but at a smaller scale, being roughly half the size of the larger ship. The design has one shuttle bay on the stern, which can carry a handful of small craft. By the 2400s, increased automation has allowed these ships to continue as auxiliary transports with a reduced engineering crew.
| | Little else is known about the Melkot people. The Federation highlight their xenophobia and territorialism, but also point to the fact that they were stirred by unexpected mercy from those they viewed as invaders. Starfleet presumes the Melkot border policies to be dictated by fear, and thus strives very hard to follow the example of mercy and compassion set by Kirk in all their dealings with them. |
| == Tactical ==
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| This ship was designed with Type-IX phaser arrays, and in the 2360s, this ship's weapons systems were upgraded to incorporate the new Type-X arrays, a total of 13 of them. These offered comprehensive phaser coverage with few blind spots. In addition to two forward torpedo launchers just above the deflector dish and a single aft torpedo launcher under the shuttle bay, these ships were relatively well-armed but fell behind the combat-oriented designs produced in the 2370s and has suffered many hull losses during its career at the hands of the Borg and the Dominion. They had adequate self-defense capabilities but will almost never be sent purposefully into a combat situation, as they are far more valuable for other mission priorities.
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| During the Dominion War, ships of this class were used to find and retrieve escape pods from destroyed ships, using their superior speed to quickly jump away from the battle and return the pods to forward staging points or starbases where their occupants could be evaluated and treated. This made them appealing targets to the Jem'Hadar, who targeted them to inflict morale damage on Starfleet.
| | == Border Defences == |
| | The Melkot leave warning buoys at the edge of their territory, which all communicate a message directing anyone approaching to leave. Those ignoring such warnings are treated harshly, with the Melkot demonstrating their xenophobic tendency to view such outsiders as 'aliens' or even 'disease'. Most ships which ignore the warnings meet a grim fate, the Melkot sentencing them to death. Either technological defences repel encroaching ships or, if possible, the Melkot kill the crews through their telepathic illusions. |
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| As of the 2400s, any remaining ships of this class have been disarmed, as they now serve only as transports or hospital ships, but they retain their mainline-grade shields. It would generally be considered a war crime to attack a ship of this class in its current configuration, and ''Niagara'' captains will always choose to run at the first sign of a threat, letting their ships' powerful engines keep their passengers or patients out of harm's way.
| | Ships which need to approach Melkot space are advised to establish a communication link with a warning buoy, state their business and identify themselves as part of Starfleet, and await further contact. If no response is heard, no ship has permission to violate Melkot territory. |
| == Shipboard Life ==
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| Firmly a modern design as a post-''Ambassador'' class of starship, the ''Niagara'' is an aging workhorse with very limited amenities compared to larger ships. In mainline service, they had two holodecks which were converted from cargo bays in the latter half of the 24th century, as well as comfortable lounges intended to double as diplomatic entertaining spaces. The size of the crew was generally small enough versus the size of the ship that not even the most junior crewmen had to share a bedroom, just a living room, and head. This made them relatively popular assignments on their own, even though they don't get the most exciting missions. By the 2400s, these ships have been converted to serve as transports or hospital ships, which increased their crew comfort levels. Space once dedicated to tactical systems and labs is now given over to crew and passenger accommodations. Transports need very small crews, as well, so this allows for high standards of living at the cost of being a very boring assignment.
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| Tours of duty aboard the Niagara tend to be relatively short for command, science, and tactical personnel, as proving their competence here generally gets them transferred to a more important ship. For engineers, though, it's possible to fall into the Niagara trap or to "go over the falls," as developing proficiency with the three-nacelle design makes it highly likely that you will spend a large amount of your career on these aging, maintenance-intensive ships. As "third nacelle" is the 24th century equivalent to the phrase "third wheel," meaning someone who is supernumerary or otherwise surplus to requirements, members of Starfleet who have never served on one of these ships tend to look down on them, which has created a sort of reflexive pride in the ''Niagara'' class for their crews. Indeed, they are now so rare that some officers consider them to be a myth.
| | == In Play == |
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| === Medical Variant ===
| | * The Melkot are a deeply inhuman and unknowable species encountered in one episode of TOS, who are also deeply isolationist. This combination gives writers only limited storytelling opportunities with them, as it is inconceivable Starfleet would not leave them alone unless they had no other choice. |
| A handful of Niagara-class ships have now been converted into hospital ships. They are especially useful for fast response missions, serving as very large ambulances to transport patients back to starbases or planetary hospitals. Unlike the [[Olympic Class|''Olympic''-class cruiser]], they are not as capable of performing advanced treatments themselves and generally aren't sufficient to serve as orbital hospitals. Rather, their focus is on stabilization and transport. They have the capacity for 1,000 intermediate care patients at 1:8 nursing staff ratios or 125 critical care patients at 1:1 nursing staff ratios, with a medical team of 250 mainline Starfleet personnel aboard. As their sprint speed is slightly above the ''Olympic'''s, they are often sent in to retrieve the most critical patients from a scene before turning around immediately to return to base before the bulk of the response vessels is in place.
| | * With the right level of emergency or accident, Starfleet ships may still have encounters in or near Melkot space. It is up to the writer if the Melkot would accept any request for access, or how indulgent they would be of transgression, especially intentional. This might be an opportunity for intense and difficult diplomacy, or a story of a crew trying to survive an encounter with Melkot telepathic illusions such as those seen in TOS: Spectre of the Gun. |
| | | * Melkot telepathic illusions feel real to all but the most disciplined of minds or powerful of telepaths. If your crew is hit by one, it's entirely up to you how much Vulcans, Betazoid, or others are affected, or how much they can affect the illusion in turn. The Melkot are clearly very powerful, but it's up to you decide what's best for your story. |
| === Transport Variant ===
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| The transport variant of this class can accommodate 1,250 passengers for voyages of up to several months. They are not quite as comfortable as dedicated ''Olympic''-class liners, but they have a slightly higher top speed and so are sometimes preferred by those in a hurry. Starfleet also uses these ships to quickly deploy large numbers of engineers or security personnel in times of trouble, though the ships themselves do not have engineering or tactical support capabilities.
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| == Niagara class History ==
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| [[File:NiagaraOrtho.jpg|thumb|Orthographic views of the ''Niagara''-class light cruiser.]]
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| Envisioned as early as the 2330s, when the first Ambassador-class heavy cruisers were rolling off of the assembly lines as a complement to the larger ship with a smaller hull and simpler systems in the same way that the Miranda functioned to the Constitution, the Niagara-class design process took nearly ten years. During that time, Starfleet's requirements shifted many times, and it was not considered an urgent project due to the Miranda, Constellation, and Excelsior classes comfortably handling Starfleet's needs through the 2340s. A brain wave by the lead designer was to experiment with new engine configurations on this design, and he was given tentative but skeptical permission to try reviving the tri-nacelle design pioneered aboard the Federation-class dreadnought of the 2260s.
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| The prototyping phase was extensive, and the construction of the Niagara took longer than usual, with the ship not leaving the yards until 2345. It was considered a successful ship, as it had pretty good top speeds and modern tactical and computing systems, but the complexity of the design precluded it from mass production. Starfleet investigated reconfiguring the design for two nacelles, but this would have required reworking the structure of the ship and the warp core--all design time that might push the ship back another decade. As such, a small order of 40 ships was made, and Starfleet was content to let this be a strange, limited-run design until the Fleet Modernization Program could be implemented.
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| In the 2350s, the last vessel of this class left the yards. The following decade, Starfleet considered scrapping them, but they were otherwise happy with the spaceframe, and since they no longer were going to build more anyway, it was decided to leave them in service. The Starfleet Corps of Engineers implemented a program to replace their nacelles with Galaxy-type nacelles, however, which raised their middling speeds to the very fast design they now have.
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| The increased top speed of this ship allowed it to go from a generalist light cruiser to a fast response and courier design. These ships were just settling into that role when the Princeton was destroyed at the Battle of Wolf 359. This would be the first in a long list of hull losses for the class, which would pick up during the Dominion War the next decade. Because of their high speed, Starfleet used them to move essential contingents of security personnel, weapons, and supplies to vulnerable border worlds, which made them attractive targets. During large battles, they were also used to pick up escape pods and take them back to safe zones, which further put a target on their backs. During the course of the war, two dozen of these ships were destroyed, leaving only 15 in service by the 2370s. Despite their losses, they were also credited with saving thousands of personnel, and their logistical support functions had immeasurable impacts in the war.
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| Starfleet once again considered retiring the class after the war and actually started the process for a handful of the older members of the class, but the evacuation effort of Romulus starting in 2381 ensured that they would remain in service. The class was officially retired in 2400, though most of the remaining units have been disarmed and transferred to the Starfleet Auxiliary, where they continue on as fast transports and ambulance ships.
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| == Niagara class In-Play ==
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| *Three-nacelle designs are very rare, and this is both due to Gene Roddenberry declaring that Starfleet ships *had* to have even numbers of warp engines and because they just look weird. This seems to be an in-universe perception as well, with the phrase "third nacelle" being used on the show to refer to someone who's third-wheeling.
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| *This is a rare, aging design that still has its strengths (it's very fast) but which is so unusual that many officers might not even know it exists. They are only now in Starfleet Auxiliary service, so you might run into one on the space lanes.
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| *As mentioned in the Shipboard Life section, these ships now operate in a very similar way to ''Olympic''-class ships, but they are no longer in mainline service, and so your characters would only have been able to serve on them either as a medical officer or prior to 2400 unless your character transitioned from the Starfleet Auxiliary.
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| *If you're an engineer, you might wish you had had the chance to serve on such a fascinating and unique starship.
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| {{clear}}
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| [[Category:Retired Federation Starship Classes]]
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