| USS Canopus | |
|---|---|
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Registry: |
NCC-77214 |
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Class: |
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Type: |
Heavy Battleship / Type 1 Warship |
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Affiliation: |
Starfleet |
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Status: |
Active |
| Career | |
| Dimensions | |
| Specifications | |
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Decks: |
24 |
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Armament: |
3 x HiBeam Mk 72 Mod 0 Type XII Phaser arrays, 3 x HiBeam Mk 194 Mod 0 Type XII Phaser Arrays, 8 x General Electric Mk 23 Mod 0 Type XII Phaser Arrays, 2 x General Electric Mk 23 Mod 3 Type XII Phaser Arrays, 1 x Telmar Mk 200 Mod 1 Torpedo Launcher, 2 x Telmar Mk 17 Mod 15 Torpedo Launchers, 2 x MechStar Mk 23 Mod 12 Torpedo Launchers |
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Defenses: |
Sylvanesti Mk 97 Mod 1 Deflector shield, since 2382: Sylvanesti/Harper EX 167 Mod 0 Have Dog |
- For additional meanings of "Canopus", please see Canopus (disambiguation).
The USS Canopus (NCC-77214) is a Sovereign-class Heavy Battleship / Type 1 Warship that was commissioned into Starfleet service in 2378. Completed as SCB 690.3 variant USS Pearl Harbor under contract to Saint Petersburg Shipbuilding, she was renamed Canopus and is currently assigned to Third Starfleet, serving with the Joint Allied Task Force. It is the fourth vessel in Starfleet service named for Alpha Carinae, succeeding the destroyed Nebula-class USS Canopus (NCC-69237). Her Commanding Officer is Captain Benjamin Maxwell.
Funding and construction[]
Pearl Harbor was funded in FY2375 alongside Carlton MacDowitt as part of a wartime supplemental, replacing the lost Galaxy-class Deep Space Battlecruisers Constitution and Madison. Both ships were contracted to SPS as supplemental to Mk III as Lot 4. First steel for Pearl Harbor was cut on 3rd of March 2375, the ship being unnamed at the time (although being referred to as Madison) and carrying no registration, at the construction department of Starbase 1, Sol III. Her keel was laid on April 27th at the construction dock No. 4 with the registry NZ-77214, but still unnamed. She was listed as Madison on April 30th with the status “Under Construction”, but was eventually named Pearl Harbor in June 2375. Pearl Harbor was launched on October 12th, 2377 as NCX-77214 with the status “Undergoing Trials” and included with CONSCOM's (Starfleet Construction Command) TESTRON 21 (Test and Evaluation Squadron Twentyone). The ship was declared deep-space qualified on October 31st and relisted as “Commission Pending” on December 22nd.
Commission[]
Commanded by Captain Susan DeVorcha, the project commander during construction, during shakedown, Pearl Harbor had not yet an acting CO assigned. The officer corps was still in a bad shape and qualified officers were difficult to come by. Initially it was planned to have Captain DeVorcha act as CO with Pearl Harbor being assigned to First Starfleet, the vacant slot at Fifth Starfleet instead being filled by Bragg. (STC: “One Up”)
When both the Sovereign-class Heavy Battleship Lionheart and the Nebula-class Heavy Exploration Cruiser Canopus were destroyed by a Mjjrni vessel in January 2378 Fourth Starfleet suddenly was short one Sovereign-class vessel. Given the rising tensions with the Klingon Empire and the Gorn Confederacy and increasing probing by the ISC this was deemed unacceptable. Instead of diverting Bragg to Fourth Starfleet it was decided to supplement Pearl Harbor's already assigned crew with survivors from Canopus and dispatch the ship to Fourth Starfleet. (STC: “One Up”)
Commanded by Captain Benjamin Maxwell, Pearl Harbor entered her final trials, including a SHAETEX (Shakedown Evaluation and Test Excercise) against Starfleet and KDF units. At that time she was already listed as Canopus, although still carrying Pearl Harbor markings. (STC: “Eagerness”)
Service with Fourth Starfleet[]
2378[]
Canopus was commissioned on February 19th, 2378 and assigned to Fourth Starfleet’s TACTRON 406 (Tactical Squadron Fourhundred-Six), directly replacing the lost Lionheart. (STC: “Supernova”).
She was part of TG 43.2 during the liaison talks on Tholia (STC: “Tholia”).
Being used as deterrent Canopus saw some battle action during the first few weeks of service (STC: “The Constant Officer”), eventually capturing the ISC Company Type Cruiser Eagle's Wrath while leading TU 45.1.4 escorting a Federation convoy. (STC: “The Prize of War”)
With the Sovereign-class design still being troubled by propulsion problems (variously attributed to the deuterium nozzles, pre-burners, magnetic constrictors or the crystal controls) Canopus’ engineering crew began with field modifications and testing of modified equipment. (STC: “Improvements”)
With the shifted importance to defense operations with RIMCOM (Starfleet Rimward Command), Canopus was slated to receive modifications originally devised for Sovereign herself based upon technological breakthroughs achieved by Voyager and her crew. Only a limited number of projects were eventually completed though. (STC: “The Spots of the Leopard”).
Canopus was assigned to TF 42.2 (Sentinel CVBG) for planned raids on ISC patrols, the first of which proved it to be a poorly thought out and executed concept eventually leading to the loss of several ships, including Sentinel herself. (STC: “For the Sake of It”)
Canopus then joined the ranks of the most illustrious group of Starfleet vessel, being visited by the omnipotent being known as Q. Although the ship was damaged during the visit (damage inflicted by Q’s “simulations”) it was eventually restored to status quo. (STC: “Q-Cordium”)
Along with Enterprise and Avenger Canopus took part in the diplomatic effort to restore relations with the Klingon Empire and the subsequent investigation into abductions of high-ranking Klingon politicians. (STC: “Khitomore, or less”, “Entente Cordiale, Part I” and “Entente Cordiale, Part II”)
Service with Third Starfleet / Joint Allied Task Force[]
2379[]
After ratification of the Second Cestus Accords Canopus was assigned to Third Starfleet in 2379, Starfleets contribution to the Joint Allied Task Force. Based at Deep Space 15 in Klingon Space Canopus operated with the KDF and the Confederated Navy, taking part in reinstituted officer exchange programs with the Gorn. (STC: “Here Be Dragons”).
Canopus was sent along with Sutherland to Starbase 407 (the former Deep Space 9, redesignated after Bajor became a member of the UFP) to help investigate readings around the Badlands and the Idran end of the wormhole that were suspected to originate from ISC ships. (STC: “Intrusions, Part I”) Both ships, as well as Defiant, were attached to TG 63.2 in pursuit of a K-cloaked ISC battle group which eventually proved to be a bait luring away Starfleet defenses to allow a battle group of Cardassian ships to cross into the gamma quadrant. (STC: “Intrusions, Part II”)
Canopus transported sensor and intel data collected by Governor to Starbase 14 while overcoming the omnipresent ISC sabotage attempts as well as several direct ISC attacks. (STC: “Running the Gauntlet”)
Canopus and Sutherland played a major role in the investigation into the disappearance of Pegasus (along with her escorts Jurassic and Jeopardy) and successful attempts to establish communications with the stranded vessels. (STC: “Further Installments” and “Far Cry”)
A group of insurgents from Zulon, disguising themselves as diplomats, tried to seize and capture Canopus. They were swiftly dispatched by her crew. (STC: “Nothing Lasts Forever”)
Later in the year Canopus was docked at the Gorn shipyards at Regal III for maintenance and overhaul. (STC: “Terra Firma”)
2380[]
In January Canopus was docked at Starbase 310 for modifications to its MARA. (STC: "Infiltration, Part I")
Canopus and Sutherland were once again paired, this time for mediations on Zulon in spring. (STC: “Perestroika”)
A PTC tap blew up aboard Canopus, killing seven crewmembers. An investigation by the JAG and SIS came to the conclusion that this was due to sabotage by the ISC, rather than waiving of security measures by the engineering department. (STC: “Taking the Heat”)
Evaluations for embarkation of a shipboard SFMC-company aboard Canopus were held in April, though these plans were abandoned later. (STC: “Marines”)
Two years after capturing the ISC cruiser Eagle's Wrath Canopus was able to claim another war prize, this time Raahn the Protector. The ISC ship broadcast a distress call to which Canopus responded. The ISC crew was taken prisoner of war. (STC: “The Son of the King”)
As the earlier devised field modifications to the warp core proved unsuccessful, Canopus was scheduled to receive an upgraded MARA, again from Amata. A thorough review of its engineering parameters lead the Canopus' engineering crew to the conclusion that the new design was deliberately engineering to malfunction like its predecessors. When similar design “flaws” are discovered in all variants since the launch of Sovereign a major fraud and bribery scandal (The Amata Scandal) is uncovered. (STC: “The Warp-Conspiracy”)
2381[]
Canopus took part in the Second JATFEX (Joint Allied Task Force Excercise) in January near the Auva system. (STC: “Misfired”)
On Federation Day Canopus was part of the fleet parade near Deep Space 15 when several ships were damaged when Humason was blown up by ISC sabotage. (STC: “Federation Day”)
Canopus was part of TF 42.0 (Wasteland BG), the combined JATF attack group that destroyed the ISC HW generator in the Adhara system. (STC: “Adhara”)
Canopus was planned to undergo HECOR (Heavy Command Refit) modification at the New Aberdeen Fleetyards, Aldebaran III at the end of the year. When the ship was docked and readied for work she was stolen by a group of insurgents. (STC: "The Hunt for U.S.S. Canopus, Part I") She was damaged by Repetition after she destroyed the Geminga trade station. RIMCOM ordered her destruction by force, to be executed by TF 52.1 (Apparition CVBG). (STC: "The Hunt for U.S.S. Canopus, Part III") She was eventually engaged though by TG 55.2 (Van Kargen ARG) and recaptured by elements of the 6th MEU. (STC: “The Hunt for U.S.S. Canopus, Part IV”)
2382[]
Canopus was modified to HECOR specifications and also fitted with a Have Dog reflector, being only the second Sovereign-class ship after Khitomer receiving the experimental device. (STC: “The Brassiere”)
In 2382 Canopus engaged Zee Magnees and her cruiser escorts Battleaxe and John Monterey. She damaged and disabled the three ships that were en route to Tholia. Ambassador Verak was abducted from Zee Magnees and put into custody of the {w|Diplomatic Security Service|DSS}}. (STC: “Thorn Within, Part I” and “Thorn Within, Part II”)
Configuration[]
As launched[]
Built to Mk III specifications (SCB 690.3), Canopus was built with the experiences of the Dominion War in mind. Whereas in the earlier Mk III ships changes were made during construction (with the war already in progress), construction of Carlton MacDowitt and Canopus for the most part was undertaken after the war. This severely limited specification changes during construction, with the final Mk III set drawn around November of 2375.
This included the new Sylvanesti Mk 97 compressor shielding which was retrofitted into Mk I and Mk II ships and added to the earlier Mk III ships late during construction, requiring extensive rewiring efforts for the waveguides.
Canopus was launched with the third major variant of the Amata A800 MARA, the Dash 230B, in the ongoing effort to overcome the problems of the system.
Although the low age of the design limited the need to add improvements envisaged during the Dominion War, a few parts of FRAM found their way into Mk III, namely improved cryogenics, extended systems redundancy and improved piping and wiring.
Tactically the Sovereign-class was fully Defender III capable from the outset (since the tactical suite was a modified version of the Andromeda-class' Commander DL, dubbed Commander SL on the Sovereign-class) with Mk III also being ready for the envisaged Defender IV. Although the rearward firing Mk 23 torpedo launchers have always been a point of debate, actual combat experience showed them to be only rarely used so it was decided to keep them in favor of more expensive and complicated Mk 17 or Mk 71 systems.
Other changes included an improved astrometrics suite and a modified version of the Chimera-class' particle trackers to improved detection of gas and particles trails from ships, including cloaked ones.
MARA improvements[]
Field modifications aboard Canopus to the A800 system brought it to Dash 230FC standard employing improved deuterium nozzles and pre-burners. Some of those changes were incorporated into the next major version, Dash 250 (240 was rejected by both RADCOM (Starfleet Research and Development Command) and CONSCOM (Starfleet Construction Command)). The modifications were done onboard Canopus in January 2380 at Starbase 130. After the Amata-Scandal, Dash 260, the penultimate solution, was installed two years later at New Aberdeen Fleetyards, Aldebaran III.
HECOR and Have Dog[]
Canopus was fitted with HECOR gear during a 3-month yard time at New Aberdeen Fleetyards, Aldebaran III in early 2382. In contrast to the Olympus-class and Galaxy-class battleships changes were on lower scale since most sensor systems as well as the tactical suite was very similar to the Andromeda-class. A modified version of HamiltonMonmaers Venator 3+ system (as used aboard the Saladin-class and Gettysburg-class), dubbed the Venator H, was fitted aboard Canopus.
During that yard time, the experimental Have Dog device was installed aboard Canopus. The third vessel to receive it (after Kingdom and Khitomer), Have Dog adds special operation modes to the Mk 97 shielding, using the compression abilities to create interferences in the shield bubble enabling it to completely deflect relativistic particles until energy depletion.