This post also requires some detailed knowledge of Star Trek's history, technology and lore. You have been warned.
Last night on Facebook, I saw an awesome picture of a newly refitted Constitution Class ship upgraded with late 24th Century technology. According to the picture's liner notes, it was a new Constitution subclass pressed into service during the Dominion War. It was called the 'Wyvern Project' after it's subclass prototype, USS Wyvern. I tracked the pic down to its original source on a DeviantArt page here.
Here's what the ship looks like, for those who are too lazy to follow a link to a DeviantArt page...
Starfleet needed ships really badly in the Dominion War so, they went
looking through their mothball fleets. They found a bunch of old
Constitution class ships that were well preserved so, they pressed them
back into service with upgraded tech. All the other details that go
along with the pic are on the DeviantArt page so, I won't repeat them
here. However, I do like how this new refit has phaser arrays like later
classes did from the Ambassador class on up instead of just a few fixed
Phaser bank emplacements. The ship should have no trouble using modern
Quantum torpedoes either since those weapons were designed to launch
from a standard torpedo launcher. Standard Photon Torpedoes haven't
changed much at all between the time of Kirk and Picard.
There are things about those nacelles I would change. Namely, the red would go away and it would stay black, like it was before. The new illuminated grilles on the nacelles that are glowing blue would illuminate the entire grill (including the section that's red in the picture), not just the sections that are illuminated in the picture. I'm still on the fence as to whether or not the nacelles should be constantly illuminated or only when the ship is at warp.
Anyway, when I saw this ship, I started getting ideas for new shows. 2 of them for this ship in particular and a third one for another ship...
Idea #1
Just like the idea in the last post, the Federation is still rebuilding from the Dominion conflict. They need as many ships out there as possible to help with these efforts and to 'wave the flag', so to speak. The difference here is that instead of a Galaxy class ship like I suggested before, we can use this new refit of the venerable (and legendary) Constitution class. There's bound to be a LOT of Federation citizens who would be happy to see one of those in their system. After all, the class was good enough to have TWO different ships named Enterprise in its numbers.
Idea #2
The ships were pressed into service during the war and served quite well. However, they were replaced with newer designs after the war because Starfleet didn't want to be relying on increasingly old technology in increasingly old hulls. Some of them were sold to private corporations and individuals. One such individual, who happens to be a former Starfleet officer/Dominion War veteran with connections, bought one for himself.
He becomes a cargo captain working for the old Earth Cargo Service, using this massive (for cargo ship standards) vessel to deliver cargo all over the Federation. He becomes well known among the cargo hauling community for getting things delivered on time (if not early) and for fighting off Orion Pirates with ease. After all, who's going to be able to stand up to a former Starfleet starship armed with modern weapons left over from the war?
There are numerous different story ideas that can be employed with that scenario. This ship could help Starfleet in a pinch in a dangerous sector of space. He could also be contracted by Starfleet to deliver cargo to a certain Starbase only to discover he's transporting something dangerous/illegal. (WMD's, alien tech, Borg drones in suspended animation, et al.) Or, maybe he works under cover for Starfleet helping them to bring down the Orion Syndicate and their bands of Space Pirates. The possibilites are endless and it really can be like a Western in space. :)
I have no idea what you'd name this Constitution-refit in either of these two show ideas but, it wouldn't be Wyvern. The name 'Star Trek: Wyvern' isn't all that marketable.
Idea #3
This idea is just the third variation on the same old 'proud flagship helping to rebuild and improve morale' idea that has already been expressed twice now. Yes, it's still the same basic idea, as always. However, it's with yet another ship whose name I love: USS Fearless. This is a ship that actually exists in the canon and has been (very briefly) seen on-screen in a first season episode of The Next Generation. It's an Excelsior class with the registry number NCC-14598. The name 'Star Trek: Fearless' sounds quite good to me.
It can even be written into the scripts/series bible/whatever that the Excelsior class design is now woefully obsolete but, Starfleet just can't afford to replace them yet. So, the ship is often out-gunned by enemy vessels. Despite this, the ship and her brave crew constantly live up to its name and triumph over adversity, making it the Starship equivalent of a living legend. I like the sound of that very much.
Anyway, here's what the ship would look like...
Now, if only a few producers from CBS/Paramount/Viacom would give me a call... Or, Pocketbooks. I don't mind turning these ideas into books instead. That's probably the only place we'll ever see the Prime Universe again anyway. The Abramsverse has become so financially successful that Paramount, et al. will probably never look back. Of course, that would mean that I'd have to find a way to use one of the characters that are already established in the canon. Pocketbooks wants a known character to help make the book easier to market to fans. Fortunately, that shouldn't present a problem.
- Lord Publius
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