Ships of the Line: U.S.S. Ticonderoga

The U.S.S. Ticonderoga (NCC-93594), a Centaur-class light cruiser, was a scheduled for decommissioning in 2406, but the threat of open war with the Klingon Empire kept it out of mothballs and in service for the next three years. Lacking the armament of a front-line warship and ill-equipped for long-range exploration, the Ticonderoga was tasked with curtailing Orion Syndicate activity in the Sirius Sector. Thanks to this close-to-home assignment, the Ticonderoga was one of the first ships to respond to the Borg incursion in the Vega system, 25 lightyears from Sol.

It was at Vega that the Borg revealed their ability to adapt tactically, ruthlessly targeting the command structure of the Federation ships arrayed against them. The entirety of the Ticonderoga‘s bridge crew was killed, and command devolved to Ensign S’Rros Tanaj. With all other contenders killed or assimilated, Tanaj was eventually made full captain of the Ticonderoga.

Following the battle in the Vega system, the Ticonderoga became a testing bed for a S.C.E. project analyzing the viability of retooling Centaur-class vessels into fast, heavily armed but lightly armored escorts, similar to the Defiant– and Saber-class starships. The forward and aft phaser banks were stripped and replaced with disruptor cannons and turrets, and Tanaj, a commendable but as-yet unremarkable captain, was considered a good, neutral bet for commanding this new weapons platform.

While the Ticonderoga gained improved alpha-strike abilities, it quickly became apparent that the ship’s weapon’s layout had significant problems. Most significant was the fact that without wider arced weapons or more turrets, the Ticonderoga was completely ineffectual against swarms of fighters. On Captain Tanaj’s recommendation, the Ticonderoga‘s refit was regarded a failure and its designs scrapped.