U.S.S. Challenger NCC-71099-C

         Hello, I am Captain Nicholas Cross, Commanding Officer of the USS Challenger NCC-71099-B. The is Challenger is an Excalibur-class Mk III vessel stocked with the best crew and the best systems the Federation has to offer. Let me tell you a little bit about the Challenger.

         The Challenger's Bridge is the nerve center of the entire ship. From here every inch of the ship can be monitored and every planet reached out to. At the center of the bridge are three chairs belonging to the Captain, First Officer, and ths ship's Counselor. Directly in front of the command chairs are the Helm and Tactical stations. A metal railing behind the command chair seperates the Operations Station and the Science Station. Behind those two stations is the Master LCARS panel, detailing th ship's current status. Flanking the command chairs are the Engineering Console, and a Mission Specific console, set up to assist with the current mission.

         The ever impressive Main Engineering takes up space on Decks 38, 39, 40, and 41. Engineers will tell you that Engineering, not the Bridge, is the true nerve center of a ship, which is partially true. Within the confines of the expansive Engineering bay, is the ship's Tranwarp capable warp core; as well as an emergency Quantum Induction Core. The unique layout of the Excalibur Mk III allows spare parts for a total of two warp cores, should the Engineering crew need to assemble a second core, or even a third.

        The Challenger also sports the latest in Medical facilities that would rival even a Starbase. Located on Decks 23 and 24 the Challenger's Sickbay employs a team of doctors to see to the well being of the crew. The Sickbay is also equipped with a pair of Mark VII EMH programs to assist the Medical personnel. Capable of handling extreme emergency cases, the Sickbay on the Challenger is one of the best places to be for treatment.

         The Challenger's Security Unit Command Center, located on Deck 52, was a design contribution of Chief Miles O'Brien of Deep Space Nine. The Command Center is based on the OPS level of DS9 and suits the Security teams perfectly. There is an emergency transporter for quick beam in of unruly officers or hostile enemies, quick access to the Brig and Armory, and a Jeffries tube access from a pit in the forward part of the room. From this room the Security teams can monitor all the goings on in the ship. The room is capable of using ships sensors to scan for armed life forms aboard other vessels and planets as well. The room also has its own Mission Operations terminal located in the center of the room. The Security Chief's office, located near the rear of the room is where the Chief handles all Security business. It also has its own direct link to Starfleet Security Database at Starfleet Headquarters.

         One of the most important areas of the ship, and located directly next to the Computer Core, is the Operations Center. Here, personnel monitor and allocate resources of the ship, feeding all the information directly to the Operations station on the Bridge. Located adjacent to the OPS Center, the Chief of Operation's office has the most detailed interface with the ship's computer.

         The Challenger has one of the largest secondary craft compliments of any Starfleet ship. With five shuttlebays, the Challenger carries, at any given time, 26 secondary vessels. Those craft are utilized for a wide range of needs, from exploring spatial anomalies, to performing top secret Intelligence operations.

         The Challenger sports one of the best weapon and shield systems in the entire Federation. Tri-Layered Auto-Modulating Shielding, Metaphasic Shielding, and 10 centimeters of Ablative armor to protect the Challenger from any harm. The weapons systems are extremely powerful. Located on the saucer section are 6 Quantum torpedo tubes; 1 Rapid Fire launcher on the bottom of the saucer with 2 tubes facing fore, 1 tube to the port, and 1 to starboard, similar to the Akira-class design. The Challenger has 4 Aft facing torpedo tubes, 2 located on the fart aft of the vessel, and two on the upper saucer-section. She also boasts two tubes on each side of her Primary Deflector array. As well as two tubes, located on the "spine"of the ship, facing "up". The Challenger also has 22 Phaser Arrays, and 12 Pulse Fire Phaser Cannons.

         In addition to the standard Starfleet/Federation weaponry, the Challenger has a set of specially equipped weapons.  Hidden within amored compartments, are 4 Disruptor Cannons.  2 (two) of which are Klingon, and 2 (two) of which are Romulan.  Each government allowed the Federation to carry their weapons, in the hopes of finalizing peaceful relations with each other.

         The two primary warp nacelles attached to the primary hull are capable of propelling the Challenger through space at the normal cruising speed of warp 7.0, maximum cruising speed of warp 9.75 or the emergency speed ofwarp 9.999 for 36 hours. The Challenger also boasts a Transwarp coil assembly, utilized in cases of extreme need. Finally, for most dire emergencies, a Quantum Induction Core, to propel the ship into Slipstream. Two heavy subatomic unified energy impulse engines can send the Challenger hurdling through a solar system extremely quickly as well.



General -
Color: Battleship Gray
Dimensions-

Decks: 61
Length: 1225.7 m
Beam: 812 m
Height: 545 m