WAYFINDER-CLASS FAST EXPLORATORY CRUISER
In late 2375, with the Dominion war coming to an end, Exploration Command, who had been largely sidelined by TacFleet during the war, decided it was time for Starfleet to get back to its routes and return to exploration.
With the success of the Sovereign class emboldening Exploration Command, it had invested all its resources into the highly advanced and experimental Vesta-class starship at the end of the 2370s, hoping, as it had with the Excelsior-class and its Transwarp drive, that the Vesta’s brand-new quantum slipstream drive would revolutionise FTL travel and propel Starfleet’s exploration into the next century. Unfortunately this, as with the Excelsior, was not to be the case. Starfleet engineers could never overcome the issue with phase variances causing instabilities in the slipstream, resulting in lengthy delays and with the outbreak of the war, further development of the class had been suspended indefinitely.
While Starfleet would ultimately resurrect the Vesta-class, successfully adopting Quantum slipstream using information brought back from the Delta quadrant by the USS Voyager in 2378, at the time Starfleet feared investing in another high-risk venture, so they chose to design a class using existing proven features and technology.
Class:
While an unmitigated success, the Sovereign-class was lacking in one key area: speed. Even contemporary vessels such as the Intrepid-class were cable of faster maximum warp speeds, though the Intrepid lacked the Sovereign’s extensive scientific and diplomatic suites.
Starfleet had hoped the inconceivable speeds of the Vesta-class’s slipstream drive would resolve this issue, but its delays and cost overruns had shown Exploration Command that was not to be the case. What it needed was a ship capable of not just high maximum warp, but a high cruising speed as well, allowing the ship to not just travel fast but to do it for long periods, all in a vessel large enough to conduct long range exploratory missions. And in 2374 they believed they had found a way to make this possible in the Prometheus-class.
While not officially commissioned until 2376, the Prometheus’s highly classified hijacking by agents of the Tal Shair were well known to the upper echelons of Starfleet Command, and while this event had not looked good for Starfleet Security, it had for the ship. It not only defeated multiple starships singlehandedly, but its blisteringly high speed meant that, if it weren’t for the sabotage conducted by her EMH, Starfleet would not have been able to reach the vessel in time to stop its hijackers from escaping into Romulan space.
As the Prometheus-class was clearly designed, if not formally acknowledged, as a warship, Exploration Command knew it would not work as an exploratory vessel. So, as with the Sovereign, it chose to incorporate the best features of the design into its new class. And while this primarily focused on the Prometheus’s engine configuration, other aspects of the design, such as its high use of automation, were also incorporated into this new ship, christened the Wayfinder-class.
Classification:
Designated a Fast Exploratory Cruiser, the first ship with this nomenclature, it emphasizes the Wayfinder-class’s key roles of speed and exploration, over the more “jack of all trades” nature of a Heavy Cruiser.
Design:
Despite that by 2375 the war had turned in the Klingon-Federation Alliance’s favour, it was far from won. And TacFleet had devoted all Starfleet assets to building existing combat-oriented ships, such as the Akira and Defiant classes, with little resources left over for a new exploratory vessel.
Undaunted, Exploration Command tasked the ASDB to design a new vessel that would, through the use of readily available and proven technology, have the speed of the Prometheus, with the exploratory, defensive and tactical capabilities of the Sovereign, and the first vessel of the class ready for commissioning no later than the first of January 2380.
With this rather lofty order received, the ASDB was unsure exactly how to achieve it, especially in the allotted time. Noting that both the Sovereign and Prometheus-classes were listed by name in the design brief, they turned to these ships designs for inspiration. Discovering that both ships had been designed by Boeing-Mitsubishi, they reached out for help, and to the ASDB’s surprise, they were eager to assist.
Boeing-Mitsubishi’s advanced development program, the Phantom Works, had spent most of the war designing and then overseeing construction of the Prometheus-class prototype. And while its performance in the hijacking incident had done their team proud, TacFleet’s decision not to deploy the vessel during the war, for what the Phantom Works felt were political reasons, had left a bad taste in its arguably eccentric designers’ mouths, so they were happy to help Exploration Command steel some of TacFleet’s thunder. To that end, the Phantom Works suggested basing the Wayfinder’s hull around another of Boeing-Mitsubishi’s successful wartime vessels, the Borodin-class.
Long and slender, the Borodin-class was perfect for the high speeds intended for the Wayfinder, and as a bonus, a partially constructed hull was available for the prototype. Set aside for a recently cancelled refit program, it was built to the keel, perfect for the ASDB’s needs. Next, the Phantom Works set about taking the brief given to the ASDB and turning it into a reality. Using the best aspects of the Prometheus and Sovereign-classes, along with older vessels such as the Cheyenne-class superscout, and incorporating them into the design, together with adding a 2nd pair of nacelles.
Engineering:
As with much of her design, the Wayfinder-class uses a mix of both Prometheus and Sovereign-class propulsion systems. She mounts 4 LF-44 warp engines in the “X” pattern of the Prometheus, but using the nacelles of the Sovereign. These new nacelles, its sleeker design, and advances in power transfer technology mean that, despite its larger size, the Wayfinder is faster than the Prometheus-class. With a maximum speed of warp 9.993, it still holds the Federation’s record for the fastest ship using conventional warp drives.
While this speed is incredible, it was only 1 part of the design brief. Equally important was its ability to hold these high warp speeds for long periods, and the Wayfinder achieves this through warp coasting. This is when a ship uses both sets of nacelles to achieve a high warp factor then deactivates one warp core and periodically switches between its 2 cores, essentially “coasting” at high warp. Using this process allows the ship to sustain high warp for longer, while using less power and reducing strain on the engine–all very important factors for a ship conducting exploration missions far from support–and gives the Wayfinder a remarkable cruising speed of warp 9.
Additionally, the Wayfinder keeps the same 4 FIG-5 impulse units of the Borodin-class. Double the impulse engines of the Sovereign, it gives the Wayfinder an astonishing sub-light speed, further reducing intra-system travel times.
Tactical:
The original Wayfinder specs called for her tactical systems to be identical to those of the Sovereign-class (prior to its refit), so 12 Type XII Phaser Arrays, 5 Mk 95 Torpedo Launchers, and the FSS shield system. This would be upgraded to the FSU system to match the Vesta-class upon the USS Wayfinder’s return from her shakedown cruise.
The FSU system is a quantum leap in shield technology, incorporating lessons learned from almost a decade of technological development. Like the FSS system, the FSU is comprised of 3 successive shield layers, but now each layer incorporates frequency modulation, metaphasic, multi-adaptive, regenerative, and temporal technology. These new systems not only make each shield layer more effective against conventional arms, but also provide protection against more exotic ordnance such as modulating phasers and chroniton-based weaponry.
This tactical suite, while still not as powerful as the Prometheus, made the Wayfinder the equal to any other Federation starship, including the Vesta, and would protect the ship from any dangers it found in unexplored space.
Computer Systems:
The Wayfinder is equipped with the M-16 Bio-Neural Gel Pack-Isolinear III with LCARS 2.5 and E.V.E.
The most advanced computer of the day, it was considered more than enough for the needs of the Wayfinder, and is identical to the one used in the Prometheus, Sovereign, and even Vesta-classes. It lacks the parallel dual core system of the Vesta, however, as despite their best efforts, the Phantom Works was unable to fit the system into the Wayfinder’s design.
Builders:
Following their enthusiastic response to the ASDB’s inquiries, Boeing-Mitsubishi was appointed the primary contractor for the Wayfinder-class, with their Phantom Works taking the lead on the project.
Due to its experience building the Sovereign, Promethius and Borodin-classes, all 5 vessels of the Wayfinder-class were built at San Francisco Fleet Yards.
Development and Construction History:
With the Borodin’s hull chosen as a base, work began on altering the design to fit the Wayfinder’s needs. While the nacelle position and pylons stayed the same, the nacelles themselves were changed to the more advanced ones of the Sovereign-class, and a second inverted pair were installed. Along with the nacelle changes, the Borodin’s pair of Type XIII phaser cannon mounts were removed.
One of the most unique aspects of the Borodin’s design is its secondary hull, which has been completely integrated into the saucer. While this proved advantageous in a combat vessel, giving it a smaller cross-section, and the sleeker hull allows for a more efficient warp bubble, perfect for the Wayfinder, its lack of a traditional secondary hull decreases the vessel’s internal space, reducing room for things like laboratories and even crew quarters. While the Phantom Works did consider lengthening the rear of the secondary hull, testing determined that this would have an adverse effect of on the efficiency of the vessel’s warp field, reducing its speed. Ultimately it was decided that any lack of space could be countered with the use of automation, reducing the needed crew.
With a design in place, work on the partially assembled hull began in mid 2378. And with construction proceeding ahead of schedule, the Wayfinder-class looked like it was going to replace the Sovereign as Starfleet’s premier exploratory vessel. But this would all change in 2378 with the return of the USS Voyager. Amongst the multitude of knowledge brought back from the Delta quadrant was Voyager’s interaction with slipstream drive. Using this information, Starfleet engineers were able to construct the quantum field focus controller. The controller takes sensor readings several seconds into the future when the ship is using its slipstream drive, completely removing the issue of phase variances in the slipstream threshold, and it could be easily integrated into a ship’s deflector.
This new development revitalised the Vesta-class, and work on her began in earnest. The prototype, USS Vesta, had been stopped mid-construction, but engineers believed that, even with the installation of the field focus controller, the ship would be ready for trials by early 2380, not long after the USS Wayfinder’s predicted launch date. Unwilling to waste the considerable resources already invested in the Wayfinder project and somewhat reluctant to trust the still unproven slipstream drive, Exploration Command chose to develop both classes simultaneously, ultimately proving to be the test for what type of FTL travel would serve the Federation in the years to come.
In November of 2379, a full month ahead of schedule, the USS Wayfinder slipped its moorings and began a flawless 3-month shakedown cruise, with every ship system performing at or above expectations. It was on this cruise that the ship set the current conventional warp speed record and mapped several previously unknown systems on the Federation border, and all before the prototype Vesta-class vessel had even left drydock. Once the USS Vesta did get underway, it wasn’t without its problems. While the controller completely solved the slipstream instability issues, it was found that the drive quickly overheated during use, meaning the ship could only make a jump of about 2 hours before the drive had to be shut down and the ship was forced to use its conventional warp engines. While the 2 engine systems used in unison were technically faster than the Wayfinder, it was not all that Starfleet had hoped, so they authorised the construction of 4 additional vessels of the Wayfinder-class.
Dubbed the USS Moana, James Cook, Adelaide, and Mo’ikeha, they were all constructed over a period of 5 years, with the final vessel being completed by 2385. And while all the ships had performed as flawlessly as the USS Wayfinder, unfortunately a lot had changed in the intervening 5 years. Tweaks made to the Vesta’s slipstream drive reduced the cooldown time needed between jumps, exponentially increasing its overall speed, now far outpacing the Wayfinder’s. This, plus the Wayfinder-class’s complicated warp system and extensive use of automation, made it more resource intensive than the Vesta, despite its larger scientific and diplomatic suites. Because of this, Starfleet ultimately decided not to build any more of the Wayfinder-class, instead choosing to opt for the Vesta and her slipstream drive.
Despite losing the FTL “race” to the Vesta, the Wayfinders served the Federation admirably. Although considered perfected by 2385, it took several more years to get the remaining 7 ships of the Vesta-class into service. In the meantime, the Wayfinder-class’s incredible speed allowed them to explore hundreds of new systems, conducting dozens of first contacts and expanding the boundaries of Federation space and knowledge. And when the slipstream drive was perfected in the Odyssey-class, each of the Wayfinders would be upgraded with the drive, allowing them to serve well into the 25th century, and while no more vessels of the class would be built, Starfleet would consider the class a success.
Addendum:
During the Wayfinder’s refit to include a slipstream drive, it was determined that, given the ever-reducing cooldown times of slipstream drives and the increased complexity and dilithium consumption of her engine configuration, her second set of nacelles were not economical, given their slight increase in speed. To that end, the 3rd ship of the class, the USS James Cook, had its lower set of nacelles removed, to reduce the class’s fuel consumption and overall complexity. While this overhaul did reduce both concerns, the cost needed to do so outweighed any benefits, so it was not repeated on any other vessels.
Current Specifications for the Wayfinder-class:
Overall length: 687 m
Overall draft: 105 m
Overall beam: 224 m
Propulsion: Four LF-44 Mod 1 advanced dilithium-energized antimatter warp drive units
Four FIG-5 subatomic unified energy impulse units
QASR-2 particle beam maneuvering thrusters
“Trentis IV” pulsed laser reaction control system
Velocity: Warp 9.0 standard cruising speed
Warp 9.8 maximum cruising speed
Warp 9.993 Maximum attainable velocity
Duration: 5 years, standard
Compliment: 90 Officers
400 Enlisted Crew
490 Total Crew (Standard)
Navigation: RAV / ISHAK Mod 3 Warp Celestial Guidance
Computers: M-16 Bio-Neural Gel Pack-Isolinear III with LCARS interface software
Phasers: 12 Type XII Collimated Phaser Array
Missile: 5 Mk 95 Photon Torpedo Launchers
Defence: FSU Primary Force Field
Life support: MM6 modular Gravity Unit
AL4 Life support System
