Intrepid class (Vanguard)

Overview
The Intrepid-class was introduced in 2371 and was Starfleet's answer to their growing need for a versatile and quick class of starships which were capable of excellent maneuvering at both impulse and warp speed.

At less than half the size of a, it was considered "quick and smart." The hull configuration of the Intrepid-class adopted the saucer-type shape of previous starship classes, that of primary hull, secondary hull, and nacelles driven by the physics of warp generation and control. As well as being designed to be quick and maneuverable in combat, the Intrepid-class was primarily designed to perform exploration, survey, and courier missions.

The Intrepid-class light cruisers of Vanguard Command were all retrofitted and refitted with ablative armor, multi-phasic shielding, two forward Type-XII pulse-phaser cannons assemblies, and quantum torpedoes to make them superior to other ships of their class.

Onboard tactical systems
Ships of this class incorporate the latest in Starfleet weaponry and defensive technology.

Offensive capabilities
The Intrepid-class utilizes a ship-mounted phaser array system. The dorsal saucer section was covered by four phaser arrays, two of which extended from the aft curvature, along the length of the saucer and stop short of the auxiliary deflector incision. The aft firing arc was covered by two smaller arrays, angled on the rear of the saucer section. The relative bottom of the ship was protected by two similar arrays as on the dorsal saucer section, extending to the rear of the saucer and following the curve to the auxiliary deflector incision. More protection was provided by an array that extended across the ventral engineering hull just fore of the warp core ejection port. Far-aft strips were provided on the underside of the variable-geometry nacelle pylons and under the shuttlebay landing deck on the underside of the ship for a total ship's complement of thirteen Type-XII phaser arrays.

The Intrepid-class houses five standard 3-tube torpedo launchers (two fore and two aft, and one on the ventral side of the ship). It carries a payload of 25 quantum torpedoes and 75 high-yield photon torpedoes.

Defensive capabilities
The shields of Intrepid-class vessels were superior to earlier designs. They included multiphasic and multi-spectrum shielding. The shields allowed the ship to survive near a binary pulsar for a few minutes and even a planetary explosion at short range.

The Intrepid-class light cruisers assigned to Vanguard Command boasts of a hull that is made of overlapping and regenerative ablative hull armor that allows it to take many direct hits from enemy fire even with minimal shields. In addition, the class has been equipped with two separate armor generators that can deploy a thick layer made of ablative armor plating along the contours of the entire ship when activated. This can be done through the numerous armor plating emitters that are installed at different points on the ship's hulls. This coating covers the ship's phaser mounts, but torpedo launchers are not affected by it.

This triple redundancy feature of shields and armor on the Intrepid-class allows it to effectively counter Borg and Dominion firepower. However, due to the huge energy needed to deploy both the shields and the generated armor coating at the same time, the Intrepid-class can only use these simultaneously for a maximum of one hour. As a result, the shields and the generated armor coating are used alternately when the ship is in battle.

Command and senior staff
Intrepid-class starships have first-time or second-time Commanding Officers that hold the rank of Captain, while First Officers hold the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

Warp drive
The propulsion system onboard the Intrepid-class is state-of-the-art. The class boasts of the best navigational sensors, and among the highest top speed of any Starfleet vessel. The ship’s matter-antimatter reaction assembly warp core is among the most powerful in Starfleet. The warp core spanned 5 decks just behind the center line of the primary hull. Its warp drive featured a tricyclic input manifold and was designed to operate for up to 5 years before refueling. Its warp drive was modified not to have damaging effects on subspace. The reaction chamber was equipped with a compositor, which allowed recrystallization of dilithium. The deuterium tanks were above the core, while antimatter storage pods surrounded the base of the core. The ship's standard warp core allows the ship to sustain a cruise speed of Warp 8.5 and a maximum speed of Warp 9.975 for 12 hours.

For Intrepid-class light cruisers assigned to Vanguard Command, a secondary class 7 warp core is located aft of the primary warp core and spans 3 decks and brought online when the primary warp core is offline. This allows the ship to travel at warp 6 for up to a week.

Equipped with the enhanced warp drive of the Khronnians, Intrepid-class light cruisers assigned to Vanguard Command can now easily attain and indefinitely sustain a maximum cruise speed of Warp 9.985.

Impulse drive
The impulse drive system of the Intrepid-class is the most sophisticated model in production. Its oversized impulse engines are equipped with impulse thrusters that provide superb sub-light maneuvering speed, especially considering her size. With this design, along with the new retro-thrusters, and uprated structural integrity fields give the ship maneuverability surpassed only by a few other smaller starships.

Computer systems
The Intrepid-class starship is equipped with some of the most advanced computer systems of the time. The computer system on board the Intrepid-class was bio-neural based. Computer systems were concentrated in a computer core, which was accessible through a maintenance room. Each Intrepid-class vessel carries one main computer core and one back up computer core. The main computer processor was capable of simultaneous access to 47 million data channels, of transluminal processing at 575 trillion calculations per nanosecond, and having operational temperature margins from 10° to 1790° Kelvin. The bio-neural circuitry speed up the computer's data functions and improved overall performance.

Emergency holographic complement
This class is equipped with holo-emitters on every deck to allow emergency holographic programs a higher level of access and free movement around the ship. The ship’s computer systems can simultaneously bring online 1 Emergency Command and Conn Hologram (ECH), 1 Emergency Security and Tactical Hologram (ESTH), 1 Emergency Engineering Hologram (EEH), and 1 Emergency Medical Hologram (EMH).

Science facilities
The Intrepid-class starship houses multiple scientific research labs, which include biology, medical, stellar cartography, and holographic research.

The Intrepid-class also boasts of an Astrometrics lab, which is not only dedicated to the science and practice of charting space, but could also be used for long-range communications purposes or even, as a workplace for easy access to sensor information. It could measure the radiation of up to three billion stars simultaneously, resulting in readings ten times more accurate than was previously possible. Astrometrics is used for charting stars, planets, nebulae, and other stellar bodies. It contained a large, wraparound, holographic wall screen which could display a stellar region three-dimensionally. There were a series of control panels to manipulate the screen. The area below the screen and in front of the control panels could be used as a stage during presentations. Astrometrics also included three workstations on the side wall. The standard astrometrics staff consists of the astrometrics officer and a science non-commissioned officer, supplemented by the Emergency Science Hologram.

Medical facilities
There is one large sickbay facility located on Deck 5, featuring an intensive-care unit, bio-hazard support, critical care, a morgue, the chief medical officer's office, a load-out of three standard biobeds, one surgical bed in the main ward, and a small medical laboratory. The standard medical staff consists of the chief medical officer and one nurse, supplemented by the Emergency Medical Hologram, the Intrepid-class being one of the first to be equipped with this medical technology.

Crew facilities
All crew and officers' quarters (except the captain's quarters on deck 3) are located on Decks 2, 4, 8, 9, and 13, with special variable environment quarters on deck 11 for crew with special comforts. Although the Intrepid-class was highly advanced, the quarters in general were smaller than those of other vessel classes because of its smaller dimensions.

Accommodations
The captain's quarters, located on Deck 3, are similar to the officers' quarters but are slightly larger. The captain has a large desk area and work terminal. His or her quarters feature five windows (below the navigation lamp), which offer an excellent view of space in front of the vessel; the captain's quarters are positioned below the mess hall.

Officers' quarters line the edge of the saucer section and contain a living area, a bedroom, and a bathroom area. They are generally reserved for those ranking lieutenant or higher. Members of the senior staff were typically assigned quarters featuring a pair of large, wide windows.

Standard crew quarters are small quarterslocated within the primary hull and lack windows. They include a living area, a bedroom, and a bathroom. Crewmembers of lieutenant junior grade are given their own quarters; ensigns, non-commissioned officers and crewmen are required to share their quarters. The living area contains a replicator terminal and is customizable with a variety of furniture and decorations.

Mess lounges
On the Intrepid-class vessels, the mess hall is on Deck 2. It is equipped with four food replicators, with a private captain's dining room just behind the mess hall. This dining room could be reconfigured to serve as a kitchen.

The mess hall generally hosts many social gatherings, including diplomatic affairs, birthday parties, memorial services, weddings, and holiday celebrations. The mess hall could also serve as a makeshift sickbay whenever that facility is overwhelmed or otherwise disabled.

A crew's lounge is located in the far aft section of the vessel's secondary hull, providing a view of space aft of the Intrepid-class starship.

Holodecks & other facilities
There were two holodecks aboard the ship. Located on Deck 6, these holodecks could support fifteen people at a time. The Intrepid-class' holodecks were of a next generation of holographic technology, even further advanced than those applied on board Starfleet vessels during the 2360s, being able to impersonate matter even at the molecular level.

Vanguard Command
There are thirty-six (36) Intrepid-class light cruisers assigned to the task forces of Vanguard Command.

In squadron formation, each Intrepid-class travels with one and one.