USS Icarus (NCC-68954-A)

The USS Icarus (NCC-68954-A) is a Midway class Starship launched from Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards in 2379 and severed the Federation through the 24th.

=History=

With the near-destruction of the previous USS Icarus (NCC-68954, the Midway class starship was commissioned at the end of 2379 in honor of her predecessor, which was deemed too badly damaged to be of service.

The Ship
Due to primarily to the intervention of her captain, the Icarus has several very unique properties. The most impressive modification is the addition of a secondary warp core forward of the primary. This core can provide emergency propulsion up to warp five in the event of damage to or loss of the primary core, and, when used in tandem with the main core, can theoretically provide a more stable field and brief emergency speed bursts nearing the speeds of subspace radio. Additionally, the Icarus has twenty automated type-IV phaser turrets at various point along the outer hull, and sixteen automated micro-torpedo tubes mounted on eight turrets. These computer-controlled systems can be used as point defense and anti-starfighter close-in weapons-system (CIWS) defense, freeing up the primary weapons for the more important tasks of capital ship combat.

In addition to the standard captain's yacht type of vehicle, docked on the ventral saucer, there are two other recessed dock points to port and starboard for heavily-modified variants of the Intrepid class style aeroshuttles. These vehicles have been specially designed to serve as escorts for the yacht. Also, the eight Sphinx M1A workpods have their own independent dock-points on the aft portion of deck sixteen, near the main engineering deck.

Within the ship, main engineering has been vastly increased in size, comparable to the massive decks of the large Pathfinder class and Hyderabad class explorers. A three-deck high Galaxy class style stellar cartography lab has been added, and an astrometrics lab, similar to the one pioneered on the USS Voyager (NCC-74656), has been added in a most unusual place; indicating the major importance these labs have taken on front-line Starfleet vessels, Captain Holmes and Lieutenant Commander Durden insisted on installing one on deck one, just aft and a little starboard of the main bridge. The observation lounge, meanwhile, has been moved forward of the bridge. This lounge is mostly used by the senior staff as an off-duty or on-duty break area, as Captain Holmes preferred to hold briefings for his uncommonly large senior staff in the astrometrics lab, a tradition continued by Captain Khoma.

The bridge itself is quite a bit larger than is usual, incorporating not only the typical duty stations, but a flight deck control console, a spare tactical station, a larger engineering station, and an independent communications station, among others. There is also an aft alcove that contains a situation table. Aft and to port of the bridge is a small lounge for the ship's two most senior officers, both of whose offices are located off of this lounge.

Like most vessels of her class, the Icarus is capable of supporting a full group of starfighters. Originally embarked onboard were the three squadrons of the 93rd Starfighter Group from the 7th Fighter Wing. These squadrons included FS-71 Chimera Squadron, RS-13 Shadow Squadron, and FI-106 Gladiator Squadron. The fighter group was under the command of SFFC Commander Norax Taldren (a former member of Holmes' flight in the 21st).

The Icarus is considered a forefront mission test ship of the in Starfleet, so she was originally staffed with far more specialties than one would expect to see on a vessel of comparable size. There were twelve departments - Command, Flight Control, Tactical, Security, Engineering, Operations, Science, Medical, Counseling, Intelligence, the ship's Marine company, and the ship's Starfighter group - along with numerous divisions. The ship was also assigned an envoy-grade diplomatic liaison, a Starfleet Inspector General, a Strategic Operations officer, a fully-certified member of the Starfleet Judge Advocate General's Corps, diplomatic representatives of the Klingon, Romulan, and Ferengi governments, a tactical analyst, an independent communications division, an engineering research specialist from Starfleet Research & Development, a six-member intelligence team, and a company of the Federation Marine Corps. This made the Icarus one of the single most capable starships in the Federation. Most of these positions have since been removed with the drastic downsizing of the crew after it came under the control of the Starfleet Intelligence Directorate