USS Dallas, NCC-2019-C

Moose · May 21, 2016, 12:00am

U.S.S. Dallas

USS Dallas
_{U.S.S Dallas conducting operations in 7956 Zhen Xiu. c. 2421 Photo credit: Ens. Charles, N. P.}
Class: Registry: Owner: Operator: Launched: Status:	Excelsior II Class NCC-2019-C United Federation of Planets Starfleet 38th Fleet 10th November, 2360 Active (2422)

The USS Dallas (NCC-2019-C) was a Federation Excelsior-class starship operated by Starfleet. This was the last sixth block Excelsior class vessel to be constructed and fourth Federation starship to bear the name. Commissioned by Starfleet Engineers in late 2360, and considering an ever increasing need to ferry supplies and personnel across an ever-increasing distance within the Federation, the Dallas was originally constructed with minimal weaponry and was focused on transporting large cargo volumes over a long distance very quickly. The Dallas has undergone multiple refits since her original construction and has greatly exceeded her original construction mandate.

These refits cumulated in 2422 when the Dallas was brought to a seventh block Excelsior standard, dubbed the Excelsior II.

History

Commissioned near the beginning of the Federation’s golden age, the USS Dallas was the last vessel of the sixth block design Excelsior Class. After her shakedown, Dallas operated throughout the Beta quadrant, ferrying supplies and personnel from core worlds to border reaches. For eight years, the Dallas dutifully carried her duties under the command of Captain Tara Volante.

First Refit and the Klingon Civil War

However, with the discovery of the Borg, a Romulan aggressor resurgence and breakdown of the Klingon Empire, the Dallas was recalled and reviewed for a retrofit, with many experimental defensive systems being installed, including a regenerative shielding array and additional armour plating designed to boil away in the event of a shielding failure. The vessel also enjoyed an overhaul of her shuttlecraft support systems, replacing the older Type 4 shuttlecraft with Type 7 designs. Dallas was finally equipped with a class 8C warp drive, a prototype design which would later be refined to the class 9 drive used aboard Intrepid class vessels.

While these upgrades were defensive in nature, intended to provide additional protection to the Dallas and her cargo and also enabling an increased maximum warp speed without damaging subspace, no weaponry upgrades took place at this time.

Second Refit and the Dominion War

In 2372, the Dallas received a refit again, this time completely replacing her weapon systems, giving the Dallas an offensive edge she had largely lacked until now.

After war broke out between the Dominion and the Federation; the Dallas was assigned to the Starfleet Corps of Engineers, primarily in a supporting role ferrying equipment and repair supplies between different Starfleet installations and outposts, however she did see some combat in the later days of the war, earning her first Unit Citation in the first Battle of Chin’toka.

Third Refit and the Idryll Skirmish

In 2375 and after fifteen years of service, the Dallas received another extensive refit, stripping away the experimental technologies and replacing them with their tried and tested counterparts. The refit took three years to complete, and once it was completed in 2378 the Dallas returned to a typical service under the command of Captain David Galloway.

Over the next two years, the Dallas was assigned to the Romulan border, initially as a patrol, then as a diplomatic transport following the breakdown of the Romulan government in 2379. In 2380, the vessel was attacked by the Idryll, sustaining severe damage and losing most of the senior command staff. The ship was repaired over the next two years where it re-entered service in 2382 as a training vessel, utilized by Starfleet Academy for the next twenty years.

Fourth Refit and the Klingon War

In 2402, with the outset of the Klingon aggression against the Gorn, every combat capable ship was being called to the lines, the Dallas once again became a test bed, this time for the Starship Modernization Programme, it was also an opportunity to perform a full refit, bringing the vessel up to date with the latest technology and equipment. The Excelsior had been used in many precursor modular designs such as the Curry, Raging Bull and Centaur class starships, making her a natural choice for further modularisation work.

The Dallas was pushed back into action in 2404 under Captain Robert Taylor and saw extensive combat during this time, leading to her earning her second Unit Citation and other battle honours. Whilst the vessel was capable thanks to her refits, she was sometimes almost overwhelmed by smaller hostile craft due to poor phaser coverage on her aft facings and poor sensor tuning against multiple targets. These issues were slowly rectified over the coming year, with two additional phaser emplacements and software upgrades to the targeting systems.

In 2407, command of the vessel was transferred to Captain Alexandria Holmes.

The True Way Resurgence

Under the initial command of Captain Holmes, the Dallas was placed under Deep Space Nine’s Strategic Operations Command, patrolling the Cardassian Demilitarised Zone and supporting colonisation efforts into and around the Rolor Nebula.

Fifth Refit and the Iconian War

With the formal ending of hostilities between the Klingon Empire and the Federation in 2413, the Dallas returned to a light duty once more ferrying supplies between hard hit colonies and repairs to spaceborne infrastructure throughout the Beta Quadrant. With the outbreak of the Iconian war the following year, the Dallas was placed into a defensive role, often running reconnaissance and search and rescue following an attack.

In late 2414, the Dallas was recalled to Sol to prepare a final defence against the Iconian onslaught. During the battle, she was struck to the aft by an Iconian frigate, splitting the Engineering hull in two, ripping her nacelle pylons and aft shuttlebay from the ship as the Dallas began heading to a cascade warp core failure, the core was ejected where it exploded less than 3km away from the ship causing severe damage.

After the sudden end of the war, the Dallas was towed to the San Francisco fleet yards where she received a major refit, replacing her warp nacelle pylons began reconstruction to her engineering hull. Additionally, two large shuttlebays and two standard sized ones were built into the neck, as well as a service bay built along the ventral stardrive.

The Tzenkethi Offensive

In late 2416, the 38th Fleet was called on to support efforts in the Alpha Quadrant against renewed Tzenkethi tensions. The Dallas was one of a number of vessels sent to destroy a protomatter production facility around a Quasar Hypermass in the Alpha Quadrant. For this operation, the Dallas was equipped with a number of Tricobalt devices which were then used to great effect.

Rebuilding the Quadrants

While a joint Starfleet and Dominion taskforce ventured into the Gamma Quadrant to directly combat the Hur’q threat discovered as the reason for Tzenkethi tensions, the Dallas was one of many vessels tasked with rebuilding infrastructure that had been lost in either the Iconian or more recent Tzenkethi attacks. The Dallas spent much of the next four years re-establishing subspace relay stations, and rebuilding damaged Transwarp conduits allowing fast and efficient travel between the extremes of the Federation.

In 2420, however, with the breakout of Civil War within the Klingon Empire, Dallas was recalled to the Federation-Klingon border along with a crew rotation, and was dispatched to support supply efforts to Federation colonies on the far side of Klingon space, having to go “the long way around”.

Dallas was instrumental in keeping the colonies going and warding off would be raids of opportunistic minor houses and criminal elements within the Empire, using the confusion of the Civil War for nefarious plots against vulnerable colonies along the border.

The Terran Gambit

Unfortunately, the peace enjoyed by both the Federation and Klingon Empire did not last long as an incursion by forces of the Terran Empire assaulted the Confederacy of Azed space, displacing refugees and disrupting traffic along the Federation border once again.

The Dallas was dispatched to oversee construction of both defensive and offensive reinforcements in Federation allied territories against the oppressive Terran Empire. Of particular note, the Dallas was instrumental in the construction and delivery of a temporary orbital station in orbit of Doza Colony, known as the Felixstowe Barge.

During one of the battles against Terran forces, one of Dallas’ auxiliary impulse reactors overloaded, and had to be ejected along with the impulse engine housing. While repairs were being effected at Deep Space 13, the Dallas computer had been infected with a corrupted Terran isolinear chip, likely transported over during a time where Dallas’ shields had been compromised.

While the incident was dealt with before any damage to DS13 could be caused, the incident rattled Dallas and DS13 crew alike.

Upon the conclusion of the Terran incursion, which saw the decimation of most of the Confederacy of Azed, Dallas returned to Deep Space 13 with the USS Dragon in tow, and is now pending a review of her operational capabilities.

Retrofit and Reclassification

In 2422, the Dallas underwent a six-month retrofit program to bring the vessel in line with the so-called “Excelsior II” specification.

Legacy

USS Dallas (NCC-2019): 2292-2323

USS Dallas, NCC-2019

Commissioned in 2292, the USS Dallas was the nineteenth and last Block I Excelsior-class vessel to be constructed, before the Block II design, as seen in the construction of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-B) was favoured for contemporary Excelsior class vessels.

Early in its life in 2295, under the command of Captain Sofia Bhattacharyya, the Dallas was responsible for first contact of the Scerutio, and subsequent evacuation of their doomed moon. Making a name for herself as

In 2323, the Dallas was recorded as lost with all hands after loss of contact in an un-forcasted ion storm near Tholian space. Both Starfleet and Tholian authorities launched a rescue effort, but this was called off in 2326. To this day, the Dallas or her crew has never been recovered.

Following their acceptance into the Federation, the Scerutio council member petitioned for a new vessel to be named Dallas in its honour.

USS Dallas (NCC-2019-A): 2326-2335

USS Dallas, NCC-2019-A

Commissioned in 2326, the USS Dallas was a Constellation-class vessel. Originally slated to be the USS Orion, she was renamed prior to the completion of construction upon special dispensation from the Federation Council and Starfleet Chief of Operations.

The Dallas remained in service for just nine years, partaking in largely routine “milk-run” missions and diplomatic escort duties. Commanded by Captain Samuel Woodville, the Dallas was abandoned in the Karidus Rift following a breakdown of her warp propulsion system. The vessel was later recovered four months later in 2336 and brought to Starbase 83 where she was decommissioned and placed in a nearby mothball yard.

USS Dallas (NCC-2019-B): 2344-2359

USS Dallas, NCC-2019-B

Commissioned in 2344, the USS Dallas was a ShiKhar-class vessel, commanded by Captain Ethan Caruso. Constructed as part of a new style of Federation support vessels, the name Dallas was chosen to continue its legacy in this new era of design. With seven shuttlebays and an expansive internal cargo space, the Dallas was able to carry unprecedented quantities of cargo and passengers, and crucially, was able to collect and deploy these resources in short periods of time, even during times when transporters were not available.

In 2347, with the massacre on Setlik III, the Dallas received a small refit, allowing its vast network of shuttle and cargo bays to operate as fast attack “fighter” launch bays, allowing the Dallas to operate in force multiplication efforts should Cardassian starships encroach further on Federation territory.

Technical Data

Full Technical Details

Extended Specifications
Class: Designation: Hull Duration Time Between Refits: Time Between Resupply:	Excelsior II Class (Seventh Block Retrofit (2422)) Long Range Heavy Cruiser 100 years 10 years for major system replacements. 2 years, 6 months for minor system upgrades. Full store rotation every 2 years
Length: Beam: Draft: Mass:	588 m 177 m 83 m 3,000,000 mt
Decks: Officers: Enlisted Crew: Civilian Crew: Marines/MACO: Emergency Cap.:	29 (25 habitable) 136 617 Up to 200 (including short term visitors, crew families, scientific and facilities contractors) Mission specific 5,000
Warp Drive Configuration: Warp Drive Units: Primary Impulse System: Slipstream Drive: Transwarp System:	Class 9 Yoyodyne 45A M/ARC Warp Core rated at 1650+ Cochrane Twin AF-2 Mod 1 Advanced Asynchronous Warp Drive Units Twin FIG-6 Subatomic Unified Impulse Units Twin FIG-8 Subatomic Unified Impulse Units Q-1T Quantum Slipstream Drive System Twin Asynchronus TF-7-U Transwarp Coil Units
Avg. Cruising Spd: Max. Cruising Spd: Maximum Spd:	Warp 7.5 (Conventional) Transwarp 16.1 (Slipstream) Transwarp 12.84 (Conventional) Transwarp 32.2 (Slipstream) Transwarp 13 (for 1 hour, conventional) Transwarp 60 (Slipstream - See Addendum)
Primary Shielding System: Backup Shielding System: Additional Defences:	FSS6-C Cyclic Regenerative Shielding Array FSQ7-C Forcefield and Deflector Control System 4cm of Trellium-C based Ablative Armour Plating
Phaser Systems: Torpedo Systems: Torpedo Armament:	8 Mk XIV Collimated Phaser Arrays, 4 Mk XII Omni Directional Point Phaser Arrays 3 Twin Tube Mk95 Burst Fire Photon/Quantum Torpedo Launchers Typ. 400x Mk XXIV Photon Torpedo
Sensor Systems: Probe Systems: Deflector System:	2 DYN-90 Multi-Band Linear Sensor Suites P/S, Twin SENTINEL Omni-Directional Targeting Arrays, 1 Warp Current Sensor Class I through X probes available Twin graviton polarity generators feeding twin 550 millicochrane subspace field distortion generators
Scientific Laboratories:	10 General Purpose Labs 5 Specialised Labs 1 Geology 2 Biology 1 Astrophysics and Subspace Mechanics 1 Stellar Cartography Labs Additional specialised equipment may be installed on request
Medical Support Systems:	Full Medical Complex in Saucer Section Up to six additional Medical Facilities for Triage/Quarantine/Emergency Capacity
Recreational Systems:	4 Crew Lounges in Primary Hull, 2 in Secondary Hull 8 Standard Holodeck Facilities 16 Standard Holosuite Facilities 6 Gym Suites Phaser Range (Primarily used for Security and Tactical Training)
Auxiliary Craft:	20x Type 6 Shuttlecraft 16x Type 7 Shuttlecraft 10x Type 8 Shuttlecraft 6x Type 9-B Shuttlecraft 4x Type 11 Shuttlecraft 2x Argo Class Runabouts 1x Delta Class Runabout 24x CMU Workbees

Slipstream Addendum: Only tested in simulations, the slipstream drive can be put in a controlled overload state which would theoretically allow speeds as high as Transwarp 60 for less than one second, allowing the ship to traverse ~7 lightyears near instantaneously. No known vessel is capable of surviving these speeds as the slipstream drive would rip itself from its housing causing catastrophic damage to the Quantum Slipstream system as well as surrounding systems and ship. Such a procedure should only be used in a dire emergency.

Specifications
Length: Beam: Draft: Mass:	588 m 177 m 83 m 3,000,000 mt
Habitable Decks: Crew Complement: Emergency Cap.:	25 750 5,000
Avg. Cruising Spd: Max. Cruising Spd: Maximum Spd:	Warp 7.5 Transwarp 12.84 Transwarp 13 (for 1 hour)
Armaments:	8 Mk XIV Collimated Phaser Arrays, 4 Mk XII Omni Directional Point Phaser Arrays 3 Twin Tube Mk95 Burst Fire Photon/Quantum Torpedo Launchers
Defenses:	FSS6-C Cyclic Regenerative Shielding Array Ablative Hull Armor
Auxiliary Craft:	20x Type 6 Shuttlecraft 16x Type 7 Shuttlecraft 10x Type 8 Shuttlecraft 6x Type 9-B Shuttlecraft 4x Type 11 Shuttlecraft 2x Argo Class Runabouts 1x Delta Class Runabout 24x CMU Workbees

Physical Arrangement & Crew Support

Measuring at over 580 meters and with 29 decks, the design of the Excelsior II-class consisted of two hull sections: an oval-shaped primary hull and a secondary hull which mounted two warp nacelles. Dallas was designed to carry a standard compliment of 750 officers and crew. In an emergency situation, the Excelsior II-class was rated to carry up to 5,000 passengers for a limited duration.

Excelsior-Class Master Systems Display (Original Specification Layout)

Despite the Dallas not being of a larger explorer-type cruiser class, accommodations for civilian families were present, but were typically limited to scientific and facilities contractors than crew families. A range of typical amenities were available to the ship’s crew, including a large number of holodecks and recreational facilities. Dallas possessed one full sickbay facilities with smaller triage areas and a sizable array of science labs.

Command & Control Systems

The computer systems aboard the Excelsior II-class were based on isolinear circuitry, however supported with additional bio-neural gelpacks for enhanced processing capabilities. The ship employed two computer cores, one each in the primary and secondary hulls. Operational control of the ship was provided by the main bridge, located on Deck 1. While Excelsior II-class ships are capable of saucer separation, the process is destructive and irreversible without the support of a starbase.

Dallas' Refit Bridge Layout

Propulsion & Power Generation

Dallas possessed an uprated Class 9 matter/antimatter warp drive, of Yoyodyne 45A specification, with an average output of 1650 Cochrane. Her standard cruising velocity was Warp 7.5, with a maximum cruise of up to Transwarp 12.83. Dallas was rated for a top speed of Transwarp 13 for a period of up to 1 hour. Sublight propulsion was achieved primarily through the use of the vessel’s large quad impulse engines, located on the trailing edge and centre rear of the primary hull. Fine manoeuvring control was provided by RCS Thrusters.

The warp core serves as the primary source of power for all ship systems, supplanted by the vessel’s conventional deuterium fusion and impulse reactors.

Tactical & Defensive Systems

In addition to advanced regenerative deflector shielding and ablative hull armour, Dallas also carries an impressive array of weaponry for her class.

Two dorsal phaser arrays were located on the primary hull, with another two located ventrally. Two further arrays were located along the ventral section of the engineering hull, with two additional phaser arrays present on the ventral side of the warp nacelle pylons, bringing the total array count to eight.

Dallas was also equipped with four point phaser systems to provide increased coverage in critical areas. One was located just aft of the bridge, a second nestled between the impulse deck, with a third just aft of the planetary sensor array, protecting the deflector dish, finally, to the aft of the ship, located beneath the plasma accelerator housing, protecting the lower aft areas.

Three Twin-tube photon torpedo launchers (two facing fore, one aft) were present in the secondary hull. Fore facing, the tubes were located midway along the length of the secondary hull, behind the airlocks, while aft facing, the tubes were located within the plasma accelerator housing. While this configuration meant all launcher assemblies had their own magazines, it also allowed for more flexibility in armaments configuration and firing solution.

The fore launcher magazines held 150 torpedo casings, while the aft launcher held 100. Each casing could be configured with multiple probe, weaponry or other heavy armament packages.

FSS6-C Cyclic Regenerative Shielding Array

During her major refit and uprating, the Dallas was equipped with a significantly enhanced shielding system based on prototypes developed in partnership with Dominion engineering teams, the Cyclic Regenerative Shielding Array. While its original design prevented its use on vessels the size of the Dallas, Starfleet Engineering teams were able to adapt portions of the technology to provide enhanced protection against high energy discharges such as kinetic forces from torpedo impacts or volatile energies from interstellar phenomenon.

The “C” variant of the FSS6 Cyclic Regenerative Shielding Array operates more akin to the initially designed Regenerative Shielding Array tested aboard the USS Sovereign, with some key differences. Where those shields made use of alternating redundant shield generators, the “C” variant maintains a static shielding barrier at all times, while the redundant shielding systems provide an “over-shield” of key or damaged areas. This over-shield is powered by enhanced shielding generators, capable of operating at significantly higher frequencies than those before it.

In practice, this allows the active shield generator to bare the brunt of incoming fire while the redundant generator synchronises with the frequencies of incoming high energy discharges. This secondary shield can then be cast outwards by up to 8 meters, providing direct negation of incoming energies.

Auxiliary Spacecraft

The Dallas’ 2422 refit completely redesigned the auxiliary spacecraft support systems, integrating a slew of full shuttle and service bays, as well as expanding and enclosing the primary shuttlebay at the lower point of the vessel. These new bays were designed around transport of large numbers of utility craft such as workbees, construction pods and Runabouts.

Located beneath the primary impulse engines, two large shuttlebays were able to accommodate several runabout-type vessels, in addition to a full compliment of more standard shuttlecraft. These bays were able to draw power directly from the impulse reactors and can be used for the creation of additional shuttlecraft using a vehicle replicator similar to those in use on Protostar-class vessels.

The redesigned secondary hull featured a cut-in, housing the majority of the remaining shuttlebays. Due to the small room available for manoeuvring, these bays were not able to store or service runabout-type vessels, however there was sufficient room to allow for loading and unloading of them. The entire section may be covered in a forcefield to support shirt sleeves maintenance of landed vessels, however this area was not intended to transport such craft at anything other than sublight speeds.

Finally, at the lower point of the secondary hull, the redesigned landing and cargo processing bay allowed the launching, landing, stowage and repair of multiple Federation and non-Federation shuttlecraft, including some larger post ships and cutters such as the Callisto-class and Venture-class starships.

Dallas, specifically, carried twenty Type 6 shuttlecraft, sixteen of Type 7, ten of Type 8, six of Type 9-B and twenty-four “Workbee” pods as her standard complement of smallcraft, with an additional four large Type 11 Shuttles, two Argo Runabouts and a singular Delta class Runabout.

This complement was intended to suit a range of mission profiles where extended duration repair and resupply missions were expected to be common. Whist this standard complement was impressive, Dallas was able to support quadruple her standard complement for up to three months should she be required.