posted
Ture, but wasn't the Ambassador supposed to be the stepping block between the Excelsior and Galaxy? I'm sure that was the original intention, but I agree with your analysis on the ships now, Timo. As for the Soverigns, wouldn't Starfleet want to get as many of these advanced ships out there as it could? The excelsior is due for retirement pretty soon, and since the main goal of Starfleet is exploration, it would make sense to want to most advanced explorers out there. Of course, we won't see that because they are exculsive to the movies, but oh well.
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posted
I'd say the replacement for the Excelsior is obvious: the Nebula. Basically, in the past Starfleet probably went in for very generic designs, capable of all kinds of functions. But as the Federation has grown, so have the Fleet's responsibilities changed. Once the Excelsior was the backbone of the fleet, and in a sense it still is - they made so many they still have many functions to fulfil. But now where you'd see one in TNG, on DS9 you often see a Nebula.
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posted
...Except in late DS9, where we usually see an Akira or a Steamrunner! And those are so much more numerous than Nebulas in the fleet action scenes that one is tempted to nominate either of them as the Excelsior successor.
I think it's agreed that the Excelsior was the successor to the Constitution as the "backbone" ship of Starfleet. The Ambassador may have been a failed next-generation "backbone", or then a successful next-generation "elite ship". But the following generation, which includes things like Nebula, Galaxy, New Orleans, Cheyenne, Akira, Freedom, Niagara, Rigel... Now that seems to portray both the Galaxies and the Nebulas as "elite" ships, with Excelsiors still the most popular cannon-fodder (if we exclude the much smaller Mirandas) but with Akiras running as a very good second. And the Akiras ARE a tad smaller and probably cheaper than the Nebula/Galaxy ships.
If we take the Excelsiors as the backbone from "Constitution generation" to "Galaxy generation" without assuming an "Ambassador generation" in between (which seems a good idea since there are no Ambassador-like ships besides the heavy cruiser herself)... Then we more or less have to divide the Galaxy generation into "backbone" and "elite" ships as well. If Galaxy/Nebula is elite, Akira backbone, then all we have to do is explain why we never saw the backbone before DS9. The registries of the Akiras place them before the Galaxies and contemporary to the Nebulas.
Any ideas for the Akira's absence from early TNG? (No, it's not a valid reason to say John Eaves hadn't designed her yet )
posted
The Akira is actually a warship, and is only used in extreme situations...
That's the only one I can think of.
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posted
If that were the case, we would have seen it at Wolf 359, wouldn't you say?
I think that Starfleet has three primary grades of ship: backbone, science, and elite. My guess is that originally, Dadelaus was the backbone, Constitution was the elite, and Oberth was the science. Then Dadelaus was retired, making the Constitution both backbone and elite for a time. Then Miranda replaced Oberth, and Excelsior replaced Constitution as the elite. Then Constitution was retired, making Excelsior the backbone, and Ambasadors were built to be the elites. At some point, Nebula replaced Miranda as science. Since the Excelsior turned out to be so durable, the Ambasadors never became the backbone, and were replaced by the Galaxy as the elite force. Now the Excelsiors are being replaced with Soverigns, and the Nebulas are being replaced by Steamrunners (just a guess, as we've never actually had one play a part in the plot of a show). I'm not quite sure where Intrepid and Constellation fit into all that, but maybe there are other, less important and more specialized classifications, like long-range explorer, or escort vessel.
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Mirandas seem to be more for defense/combat functions.
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posted
Maybe there were no Akiras who could have made it in time for the battle of Wolf 359. I believe Akiras were designed to increase Starfleets combat capabilities. I don't think that they were supposed to replace the Excelsior. I do think they are pretty cools ships though
posted
Of the ships present at Wolf 359, we have a positive ID on, what, thirtysomething? Before "Emissary", we never knew there was an Ambassador there; before the Encyclopedia 2.5, we had proof of one or at most two Nebulas, but now we have to add the Endeavour as well.
It is quite possible that three or more of the unseen ships were actually of Akira class, with some Steamrunners and Sabres and Yeagers thrown in as well. If three Nebulas made it to the battle, then surely a similar number of Akiras would have reached the battlefield as well - the types share registry ranges and thus probably construction dates, and DS9 seems to show the Akira to be the more numerous of the two roughly similar types. And it's unlikely that either Akiras or Nebulas would have been hanging around near Earth to create a bias in the numbers, given how the Enterprise always is the only starship anywhere near Earth... Most likely, the three Nebulas arrived from "deep space", and the Akiras could have done likewise.
posted
But I thought the new addendum to the Encyclopedia *explicitly* said the Endeavour was present at Wolf 359? I can't really tell since the book isn't out yet where I live, but usually reliable Usenet sources leaked this bit of information...
That is, of course, just an "Okuda fact", not a canon fact... Personally, I don't like the idea of such a big ship fleeing the battle. A battered Oberth, perhaps, but for the Nebula to retreat honorably, it would have to have been missing the port nacelle and most of the starboard one, with a hole in the hull big enough to drive a Constitution through . And I doubt the ship would have remained in service if that were true!
posted
I think I saw one of those good 'ol Ambassadors in 'The Emissary' durring a flashback of Wolf359. Was this the Excalibur? Or am I forcing the puzzle peice in to hard?
posted
That was the Yamaguchi, and it was an Ambassador.
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posted
Was the USS Yamaguchi named after the US Olypic gold skater Kristy Yamaguchi or someone else? If it was, does she know that her name is forever attached in Star Trek to a ship destroyed in a very nasty battle?
Did Greg Jein name the ship by any chance?
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posted
Did you know that USS Fleming was named for 1968 Women's figure skating gold medalist Peggy Fleming? And that USS Denver was named for the actor playing the title character in Gilligan's Island?
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