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Ships of the Fleet Sunday VOL 1. Saber Class

The first instalment of Ships of the Fleet Sunday, starting with the Saber class.

By KaiserKirk Sun 08 Apr, 2018 6:12 PM - Last Updated: Sat 14 Apr, 2018 2:48 PM
"Treat her like a lady and she'll always bring you home"-Admiral Leonard McCoy, Ship's motto, USS Da Vinci NCC-81623, Saber Class

Welcome to the first instalment of Ships of the Fleet Sunday. The first vessel to be looked into is the spartan but effective Saber class!

Background

Origins: The Saber was designed by Alex Jaeger at ILM. In an interview during 2009 he went into detail about the design:

Design: Compared to almost all other designs seen throughout Star Trek this ship is unique as it does not have a saucer section or defined Buzzard collectors, Nassels or Sensor Array. According to the design artist According to Rick Sternbach:

"Yes, the notch in the front is a forward launch bay. And yes the name Yeager is after Chuck Yeager as is the NCC # 6-1947... the year he broke the sound barrier. Also, there was another design that was not used in the film that was given the USS Yeager name, so I wanted to make sure that at least the name made it through. The unused design was posted on John's blog, it was the 1st design in that post.

The textures are from the Galaxy-class Enterprise, it was a quick way to show that even though it was a 'new' design, it was of the older era ships compared to the then new Enterprise-E. The # of new ship designs in Star Trek: First Contact was actually only 4, the Sabre, Steamrunner, Norway and of course the Akira. The goal with all of those ships was to make them look completely different from the Enterprise as we were introducing the E in that film and they didn't want people going, 'wait, which one's the Enterprise?'

Therefore the very radical layouts on those 4 ships, but still keeping true to the basics of starship design, such as the deflector dish and Nacelle Bussard collectors must have a clear view to open space in the front view etc... A couple more notes about this ship, as some of you have mentioned it's very compact. I basically approached it from the standpoint of getting rid of all the struts and necks as possible and still maintain the 2 hull look. So there is still the flat horizontal 'saucer' section and the vertical (although more triangular) secondary hull. The only 'struts' are the stubs holding the nacelles off the saucer edges.

I figured I could get away with this compactness since the Defiant had been introduced by the time FC came around. The impulse engines should not be glowing all over, you are correct that they only glow at the opening in the back. And as far as the CG model's life, these were VERY low res models, especially the Norway-class, so it's no surprise to me that they've been remodelled several times.

Although now that I'm a better 3D modeller I'd like to take a crack at a redesign.
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Classifications

The ship was considered relatively small as it was only 190.5 meters in length. Though seen being constructed at Utopia Planitia over Mars the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual states that its main production base was the ASDB Integration section on Spacedock 1 over Earth. The ship had a crew of 40 Starfleet officers and an evacuation limit of 200 people. This made the ships crew roster one of the smallest in Starfleet 24th century fleet as it was just smaller than the Defiants 50 personnel.

Type: In the same manual it is classified as a light cruiser but I would personally consider it to be a picket or Corvette.

Decks: 6

Warp: This vessel had an impressive maximum warp of 9.7 which it could hold for twelve hours. This is accompanied with one 1,500 plus Cochrane warp core. This makes the ship extremely maneuverable in battle.

Sublight: 2 large aft-mounted impulse engines.

Armaments:

4 type-X phaser arrays: Are the most advanced and heaviest type of phaser installed on starships from this era. Each ship would be equipped with a number of phaser arrays consisting of multiple emitters for each type. The Saber had two phaser arrays on the top of the saucer section. And two in the same spot on the dorsal side of the saucer section.

2 photon torpedo launchers: The photon torpedo used shaped charges of antimatter that, when they came in contact with conventional matter or hard energy barriers, released massive amounts of gamma-ray photons, hence the weapon's name. They were developed in part due to the requirement for a weapon, which unlike phasers, could be used at faster than light speeds which made the Photon torpedo very unique, useful and deadly.

Defences:

Deflector shields: Most starships are fitted with deflector shields, often projected from a deflector dish, to protect them from particle impacts which, particularly at high velocities, could cause huge amounts of damage. While basic deflectors and deflector beams could provide minimal protection from weapons fire and basic mishaps, the majority of advanced starships were also fitted with more powerful shielding which could be activated in tactical situations.

However, these shields were sufficiently powerful that they also blocked out transporter beams. Shields could be configured in two forms; ellipsoid form shielding, common in Federation starships in the 24th century, which projected a shield bubble around a starship; or contour-conforming shielding which was projected much closer to the ship's hull, providing more specifically localized protection.

Some shielding systems also allowed shielding over specific areas of a ship to be activated or deactivated to provide protection for a specific area only and presumably reduce power consumption not protecting the entire hull.

Duranium-Tritanium hull plating.

Microfiber Reinforced Ablative Armor: Was a type of protective hull plating used on starships, which possessed a capability for rapidly dissipating the energy impacts from directed energy weapon fire.

Auxiliary craft: 2 shuttlecraft: Are small craft that could be transported or launched from larger starships. The Federation made use of Shuttlecraft during the Dominion war as fighter craft or strikecraft. The Saber was unique as it launched its shuttles from two hangar bays at the front of the ship, just below the bridge. The ship usually was seen carrying 2 Type-9 shuttlecraft.

Bridge: No official images of the bridge for the Saber exist but we can assume that it would be either identical or somewhat similar to the Defiant.

Known ships of the class

USS Da Vinci, NCC-81623
Commanding officer: David Gold, Sonya Gomez
Commision: 2370s-2410
Interesting facts: Towed NX-02 Columbia from the Gamma Quadrant back to earth.

USS Graza, NCC-61813
Commanding officer: ???
Commision: 2370s-???

USS Montgolfier, NCC-40109/NCC-94943
Commanding officer: Paul Stephens
Commision: 2370s-2376
Interesting facts: Equipped with a quantum slipstream drive, tetryon compositor and heavy graviton beam array.

USS Peterson, NCC-61815
Commanding officer: ???
Commission: 2370s-???
Interesting facts: Attacked by an installation on one of the moons of Nibia along with its sister-ships USS Graza, USS Sanders and USS Sentry.

USS Sanders, NCC-61822
Commanding officer: ???
Commision: 2370s-???
Interesting facts: Attacked by an installation on one of the moons of Nibia along with its sister-ships USS Graza, USS Sanders and USS Peterson.

USS Sentry, NCC-61890
Commanding officer: ???
Commision: 2370s-73??.6

USS Saber, NX-???
Commanding officer: ???
Commision: ???
Interesting facts: First prototype of its class.

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Role: The ship was generally used by Starfleet in the 24th century much in the same manner it used the Miranda class during the late 2300's. The Saber was an escort vessel with one specification in mind...combat, specifically designed to defend against the Borg Collective. It was mostly seen in escort positions when in large fleets but was known to be in a small fast attacking with two others of the same class. This ships soul purpose was combat, thus why the ships hull was compact and very spartan. This produced a smaller silhouette for hostile vessels to target. The vessel is fast, extremely maneuverable and very well armed. Something of uniqueness was the ship being designed to complement the Steamrunner class light cruiser. It was hoped that the two vessels would cover for each other shortcomings when working in tandem and provide a powerful attack or patrol force without the need to commit any larger ships or squadrons.

During the Dominion War, the Saber was renowned for its effectiveness as a counter to the Dominion Jem'Hadar Scarab class attack ship and the Cardassians Hideki Class raiders. Its impressive armour and armoured allowed it to draw fire away from larger vessels like the Galaxy. It was commonly known that Dominion Vorta captains not considering the Saber a threat until it was far too late.

Scenario

While patrolling the Klingon border the USS Sentry, a Saber class, detects three Klingon vessels with shields raised and weapons readied moving to intercept it at high warp. The Klingon battlegroup consists of two B'rel class BoP's and K'tinga class cruiser. The captain, quick on his feet immediately orders the ship to retreat at high warp while simultaneously emitting a distress signal. Due to its impressive warp capabilities, the Sentry can outrun the attack force. The Klingon squad still chases after however.

After ten minutes of high warp travel, the Sentry runs into a problem. The warp-core has been used extensively at high warp over the past few days and can't hold a stable warp field at such speeds. The captain faces a dilemma. His first officer points out that there is an expansive asteroid field only two minutes away at high warp. If they arrive there before the Klingons they can hide in the field and lay a trap but it may render the warp-core inoperative. The captain nods and orders the helm officer toward the asteroid field.

The Sentry arrives at the asteroid field with reinforcements 30 minutes away. Using its fast speed and maneuverability the Sentry makes its way towards the centre of the field and swings around a particularly large asteroid.

"The asteroids are making havoc with sensor readings meaning good and bad news," the first officer states, "the good news is that the Klingons can't pinpoint us... the bad news is we can't pinpoint them either."

At that point in time, a nearby Asteroid is blown to pieces by several torpedoes. The Sentry maneuvers its hull towards the origin of the projectile and slowly maneuvers under the Asteroid.

The captain orders the ship to full speed and attack pattern Saber X-04 as the Klingon fleet comes into view only three kilometres above them. The cruiser is at the centre as the two BoP's act as escorts. The captain, preparing for battle then receives word that the Klingons want to establish communications. The captain, shocked, agrees.

A hairy and fat captain with several skulls of small animals tied to his belt appears on the main screen.

"Your death will bring GLORY to this dishonoured house!" the Klingon bellows before closing communications. Simultaneously the two B'rel escorts broke formation and charged full speed at the oncoming Saber. Using short, quick and rapid maneuvers to weave through Asteroids the Sentry was to sustain only two direct hits from the Klingon BoP's. The BoP's overshot their target and quickly swung around to get into weapons range. The USS Sentry wouldn't let this happen however as it maneuvered through the Asteroids to be right behind one of the escorts. The Saber was designed to have the majority of weapon systems facing forward for maximum combat effectiveness. The Sentry ripped through the first escorts shields with all four of its Phaser banks. The captain ordered the photon torpedoes to target the bridge and warp-core. As the Sentry veered away in an upward direction two red photonic torpedoes stormed out of its torpedo tube. The B'rels bridge exploded, sending debris in all directions. The other torpedo smashing into the heart of the old vessel, tearing it in two.

The K'tinga was now moving on an intercept course, firing a barrage of disruptor fire. The Sentry was able to avoid a majority of the shots fired as it twisted and twirled through the dense asteroid field. Though it was dodging most of the incoming fire, the Klingon disruptors where to powerful and before long the Sentries shields would be down. The Sentry was running out of maneuvers and had a minimal aft facing weapons, even worse was the fact that the asteroids were starting to clear, they were nearing the edge of the field.

The K'tingas disruptors fired through the gap between two large asteroids and the remaining B'rel fired its photon torpedoes. The Sentry looked to be all but lost when something/s come out of warp right behind the Sentry and...

Well, that's up to you, what happens next? Leave your ideas on the ending of this scenario in the comments! As well as to what you think the next ship should be, and your thoughts on the Saber class.

Thank you so much for reading this 'extensive' breakdown of the Saber class, I hope it was entertaining! Now it's up to you to decide what happens in the next issue!

WRITTEN BY Kirk142
EDITED BY Three of Seven - rena.hobden@ufplanets.com
24 Comments
Sun 08 Apr, 2018 8:16 PM
Loved this! Looking forward towards the next one - very thorough and a fantastic read up!
Sun 08 Apr, 2018 9:03 PM
Thank you very much, Avenger!

Anything you think I should add or change?
Mon 09 Apr, 2018 8:51 AM
Very nice!!!!!!!
Mon 09 Apr, 2018 9:24 AM
That's great to hear!

What ship would you like to see next Bridger and what do you think the outcome of the scenario should be?
Mon 09 Apr, 2018 7:08 PM
I'm Grateful someone finally made a fuss of the Saber its always been my Favourite Canon Star trek ship!
Also the Starfleet Corps of Engineers series of novels that feature the Da Vinci has always been my go to series of books Smile
Mon 09 Apr, 2018 8:46 PM
I loved the Star Trek Corps of engineers books, they were my favourites as well! All nonhero ships are mega nerfed in all ST games it’s heartbreaking !
Mon 09 Apr, 2018 10:35 PM
I'm Grateful someone finally made a fuss of the Saber its always been my Favourite Canon Star Trek ship!
Also the Starfleet Corps of Engineers series of novels that feature the Da Vinci has always been my go-to series of books Smile
Thank you very much for your kind words. I have never read the Starfleet Corps of Engineers novels but after what you said I think I should have a look at them.

The Saber class for me has always ranked high on my favourites list, in STO it was the first ship I commanded.

Now I have a question for all of you, what situation do you think the Saber would perform badly in?
Tue 10 Apr, 2018 10:42 AM
Diplomatic duties and Ferrying services as it has very limited interior space
Tue 10 Apr, 2018 1:24 PM
If wouldn’t be a good evacuation vessel either


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Tue 10 Apr, 2018 7:28 PM
I love this! Corps of Engineers were my favourite set of books. I have an idea for the outcome if I may? Emerging from warp right behind the Sentry is a Steamrunner class light cruiser. As the two ships were meant to cover for each other's weaknesses, I'd love to see what would happen if the two actually teamed up.
Tue 10 Apr, 2018 9:10 PM
I love this! Corps of Engineers were my favourite set of books. I have an idea for the outcome if I may? Emerging from warp right behind the Sentry is a Steamrunner class light cruiser. As the two ships were meant to cover for each other's weaknesses, I'd love to see what would happen if the two actually teamed up.
I love that outcome, in fact, that was what I originally had planned to be the conclusion but I decided to let everyone else have a go at the ending.

Finally, do we want to see the Steamrunner class in volume 2?

Maybe the next few volumes can cover the ships designed to defend against the Borg:

Akira,

Defiant,

Norway,

Sabre,

and Steamrunner class.
Tue 10 Apr, 2018 9:19 PM
I love that outcome, in fact, that was what I originally had planned to be the conclusion but I decided to let everyone else have a go at the ending.

Finally, do we want to see the Steamrunner class in volume 2?

Maybe the next few volumes can cover the ships designed to defend against the Borg:

Akira,

Defiant,

Norway,

Sabre,

and Steamrunner class.
I'd love to see the Steamrunner featured in its own article. For a ship that only had a few seconds screen time across first contact and DS9, it certainly had an impact. So much so, I have one in my dry dock.

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Tue 10 Apr, 2018 10:12 PM
I know a little bit about the ship already and it has a very intricate history and backstory with the list of ships provided, especially the Sabre. It also is one of my favourite designs.
Tue 10 Apr, 2018 11:30 PM
Loving this already. Great article, Kirk!

As for your question: There are sadly a lot of situations a Saber would preform badly in on its own. Anything that finds it outgunned or outnumbered will spell doom for the little frigate if it doesn't make a run for more powerful allied ships. She's very much meant to either work the more safer interior parts of Fed space, scout for the fleet or work in tandem with bigger, more powerful ships.

As for the next bit of the scenario: I'd say either an Akira or two Steamrunners would be dropping out behind the Sentry and intercept the incoming fire with their own shields. Then deliver an alpha strike against the BoP before chasing down the K'tinga and either destroy it or disable it.
Wed 11 Apr, 2018 1:33 AM
Thanks for the support Isacc. I agree with you about the Sabre but I think it can definitely take on much larger targets than its own. I think that it is a tough and fierce warship.

Anyway what ship would you like to see next?
Thu 12 Apr, 2018 4:55 AM
Okay because the end of the week is coming close I have decided to break down the Sabres close cousin, the Steamrunner class.

Make sure to comment on what interesting scenarios you want to see it in!
Thu 12 Apr, 2018 5:00 AM
Okay because the end of the week is coming close I have decided to break down the Sabres close cousin, the Steamrunner class.

Make sure to comment on what interesting scenarios you want to see it in!
I’d love to see it in a true cat and mouse game, hunt for red October style with an adversary across an event horizon or perhaps simply a first contact situation...


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Thu 12 Apr, 2018 5:11 AM
Love the idea of the Steamrunner, great ship and a firm fan favourite - I for one agree and think it should have had more screen time because a. It looks awesome b.) it looks awesome and c.) it looks awesome lol

Looking forward to it!


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Thu 12 Apr, 2018 6:28 AM
Love the idea of the Steamrunner, great ship and a firm fan favourite - I for one agree and think it should have had more screen time because a. It looks awesome b.) it looks awesome and c.) it looks awesome lol

Looking forward to it!
I agree Avenger, I have been researching the ship now for three days and it is surprising how little detail there is on the ship!

I’d love to see it in a true cat and mouse game, hunt for red October style with an adversary across an event horizon or perhaps simply a first contact situation.
That is an amazing idea! The only problem I see is that the ship wasn't an exploratory vessel, rather a border patrol vessel. Maybe We could have a non-cannon battle during the Dominion War where two fleets fight over the event horizon of a black hole and the wreckage is slowly pulled into it!
Thu 12 Apr, 2018 9:33 AM
Thanks for the support Isacc. I agree with you about the Sabre but I think it can definitely take on much larger targets than its own. I think that it is a tough and fierce warship.

Anyway what ship would you like to see next?
After the Steamrunner i'd say continue on with the Norway and Akira classes. Outside of those, i'd love to see the ol' Excelsior class and the new blood Prometheus class.

Okay because the end of the week is coming close I have decided to break down the Sabres close cousin, the Steamrunner class.

Make sure to comment on what interesting scenarios you want to see it in!
Keeping with the Hunt for Red October style event, you could have the Steamrunner searching for a few Dominion ships trying to slip past the battle lines through the Badlands, that area of space wreaks havoc on senors and would be a perfect setting for such an event.
Thu 12 Apr, 2018 9:47 AM
Keeping with the Hunt for Red October style event, you could have the Steamrunner searching for a few Dominion ships trying to slip past the battle lines through the Badlands, that area of space wreaks havoc on senors and would be a perfect setting for such an event.

That is... an amazing idea! I love it!
Thu 12 Apr, 2018 11:20 AM
I think the Steamrunner in this scenario should be named Dallas then, for reasons...Ferengi Wink
Sat 14 Apr, 2018 1:50 AM
Deal Smile
Sat 14 Apr, 2018 6:21 AM
Volume two is finally done and should be viewable in the next one or two days (Depending on where you live!)