Technical

Like a few other classes, the Akira class starship was originally designed for one purpose and one purpose only -- to combat the Borg invasion of 2373 (Star Trek: First Contact) which had been anticipated for years. Specifically, she was designed to be an advanced weapons platform for improved battle efficiency. When the Borg threat had come and gone, though, the Akira didn't have to wait long before a new threat emerged -- The Dominion.

Employed heavily in the Dominion war, the Akira class starships made a name for themselves. There are approximately 9 starships of this class in existence, although not all of them have been identified yet. At least three of them were destroyed in 2375 at the Battle of Cardassia by orbital weapons platforms.

1.2 Mission Objectives

The Akira class starship is a multi-role attack ship, capable of a broad spectrum of mission objectives. Duties range from domestic mission internal to the United Federation of Planets, to outward cultural contact and diplomatic missions, protection of all Federation interests, exploration and research.

1.3 Design Lineage

The Endeavor is the seventh of the class, designated NCC-71805-A. The original Endeavor was a Nebula class starship that was so severely damaged during the Borg invasion of 2373, that she had to be put out of commission. Since the majority of her crew was lost during that conflict, Starfleet paid tribute to them by allowing the ships name to carry on to this newest ship. Although her name was in memory of the crew of that doomed ship, ultimately, the Endeavor is a long standing salute to the first ship ever to have that name -- the 20th century Space Shuttle Endeavor, which helped to carry man on its first voyages into the limits of space.

1.4 General Overview

This version of the starship Endeavor was commissioned late in 2374. On Stardate 52109.8 of the next year, she began her maiden voyage under the command of Captain James Tyrelle, and she was put into active service doing patrol duties along the Cardassian Neutral Zone. Sometime later that year, the Endeavor was summoned by Fleet Admiral Ross to Deep Space Nine to pick up a new crewmember. That is where Episode 1 "The Mission - Part One" picks up.

Since the ship and its crew are both relatively new, it is still considered to be in its infant stages. Throughout the course of her ongoing mission, she will be in a state of constant evolution.

Designated as an attack vessel, by no means is her mission restricted to that parameter. With the mission capabilites that have been incorporated into the Akira class starship, she can easily modify her mission parameters to meet many objectives.

Docking configurations exist on this class, making it easy for the saucer section and engineering module to separate in case of extreme emergency. The docking configurations will be discussed in another section.

Having upgraded impulse and warp drives make this ship, along with its muted size compared to most other ships of her mission class, a very fast and maneuverable starship.

Physical Arrangement

The ships outer hull is reinforced with active energy fields that expand and contract to compensate for flight stresses and other external forces that may affect them.

There are 34 decks on this starship class, with most of the major functional areas located higher up in the saucer section and at the low points of the engineering module.

Living areas of the starship are designed for maximum comfort, since this starship could be expected to be away on long term missions. Family members are allowed on aboard the ship, and there are plenty of facilties to accomodate including child care, schooling, play areas, crew lounges for recreation, physical health centers, and other such family centered areas. There are also holodeck facilities for recreational purposes.

The command areas of the ship, primarily the Main Bridge on Deck 1, are designed both for comfort and maximum efficiency. Battle operations of all varieties may be conducted by crewmembers from there with full access to ship defenses and systems.

USS Endeavor commissioning plaque located on Main Bridge

Specs

Starship Class:	Akira
Length	437m
Crew	430
Passengers	500
Max Warp	9.8
Armaments
Phasers	10 emitters
Photon	3 forward
	4 aft
Quantum	2 forward
	1 aft
Pulse Cannons	2 forward

Support craft:	Quantity:	Example:
Type 8 Personal Shuttlecraft	2
Danube Class Runabouts, w/ modifications	4
Valkrie Class Fighters	5