I've been working on and off on what I like to think of as an "Ultimate" Star Trek "reboot" of sorts. The idea is to rework Trek, flesh out things, change things as I see fit but ultimately keep it relatively close to Prime. I like to keep dates intact and build stories on that. Details can change as I see fit, sometimes small, sometimes drastic. I REALLY focus on the 20th and 21st centuries, ENT-era and early Federation.
For example, one story i'm working on is basically the origin of the Constitution-Class, which i'm making the first truly Federation ship. Here's a bit of my slightly-alt universe on that...
The origins of the Constitution-Class begin at the formation of the Federation in 2161 and the decommissioning of NX-01 Enterprise. With Earth having transferred most of Starfleet to federal command, a small fleet was withheld for planetary defense, including NX-01. However it was clear after a few years that the Earth Defense Force's fleet was redundant, and NX-01 was set to be truly mothballed.
However, in 2170 a Federation project formed, focused on integrating the technology of Federation members together, which would prove to be more problematic that originally thought. Despite largely working on similar principles, there were many incompatibilities that needed to be worked out. NX-01 was transferred to the Integration Project, who gutted the ship to utilize it as a platform to test various implementations of integrated technology. By 2180, the Integration Project had completely overhauled NX-01, creating an "NX-Refit", adding an engineering hull, and completely replacing near every system on the ship with integrated Federation technology. The NX-Refit was seen a proof of concept, it was possible for this to happen. Enterprise would not enter Starfleet service, instead remaining as a prototype/testbed.
Having proven that the concept was workable, Starfleet set about designing a ship of their own, inspired from the NX-Refit. It took several years, but eventually the "Starship-Class" was fully designed and presented to the Federation Council. The Council approved the design, but the question of logistics held up its development. At this time, there were no federal shipyards. All industrial capacity was managed directly by the member worlds. Predictably, Earth volunteered to construct the vessel, but there was some rising anti-Earth sentiment from those who felt the humans were too dominant over Federation policies. The idea died in committee, but Starfleet wasn't fully ready to drop the idea.
In the meantime, Earth independently set out to build something of their own. The Walker-Class was born in 2190, an attempt to at least partially integrate some Federation member world technology into an Earth vessel. The vessels were considered successful, and by 2196 Earth was producing enough to go to Starfleet that the venerable Daedalus-Class were retired.
With an expansion of Federation membership, the Federation Council experienced a shakeup. The topic of the "Starship-Class" returned to the Council floor and a compromise was made. The Council decided to expand industrial capacity and allow Starfleet to operate a shipyard of its own, Earth having ceded it's fledgling Utopia Planitia facility to Federation control. Starfleet was to establish operations there, build the initial Starship-Class vessel, and from there member worlds would have the option for a contract to build subsequent vessels.
As 2200 rolled around, Starfleet began developing Utopia Planitia Shipyards in earnest, but also revisited the Starship-Class design. Their initial design was now 20 years old, and they wanted to refresh it. By 2205, Utopia Planitia was ready to begin operations and the revamped Starship-Class design was finalized. Work began on USS Constitution, named after the Constitution of the Federation, although the construction was marred by technical issues. It would take a full 30 years for the vessel to complete construction, finally launching in 2235.
The Constitution was not an immediate success, although Starfleet engineers expected there to be issues. They took the time to put the ship through its paces and iron out the kinks in the design, mostly utilizing Constitution as a prototype. Eventually, the flaws in the vessel were identified and Starfleet decided it was time for the vessels to enter into production. Since the design had changed fairly significantly since the original launch, the production model plans were considered to be a developmental step up from the original, and the new constructions would be called "Constitution-Class". As a footnote, Earth had already ordered the construction of USS Enterprise at San Francisco Fleet Yards, unveiling it's dedication plaque at a ceremony... which had already been created as "Starship-Class". Earth decided to not alter the plaque for posterity.
Finally in 2245, USS Enterprise launched from Earth, the first of the production-model Constitution-Class vessels.
For example, one story i'm working on is basically the origin of the Constitution-Class, which i'm making the first truly Federation ship. Here's a bit of my slightly-alt universe on that...
The origins of the Constitution-Class begin at the formation of the Federation in 2161 and the decommissioning of NX-01 Enterprise. With Earth having transferred most of Starfleet to federal command, a small fleet was withheld for planetary defense, including NX-01. However it was clear after a few years that the Earth Defense Force's fleet was redundant, and NX-01 was set to be truly mothballed.
However, in 2170 a Federation project formed, focused on integrating the technology of Federation members together, which would prove to be more problematic that originally thought. Despite largely working on similar principles, there were many incompatibilities that needed to be worked out. NX-01 was transferred to the Integration Project, who gutted the ship to utilize it as a platform to test various implementations of integrated technology. By 2180, the Integration Project had completely overhauled NX-01, creating an "NX-Refit", adding an engineering hull, and completely replacing near every system on the ship with integrated Federation technology. The NX-Refit was seen a proof of concept, it was possible for this to happen. Enterprise would not enter Starfleet service, instead remaining as a prototype/testbed.
Having proven that the concept was workable, Starfleet set about designing a ship of their own, inspired from the NX-Refit. It took several years, but eventually the "Starship-Class" was fully designed and presented to the Federation Council. The Council approved the design, but the question of logistics held up its development. At this time, there were no federal shipyards. All industrial capacity was managed directly by the member worlds. Predictably, Earth volunteered to construct the vessel, but there was some rising anti-Earth sentiment from those who felt the humans were too dominant over Federation policies. The idea died in committee, but Starfleet wasn't fully ready to drop the idea.
In the meantime, Earth independently set out to build something of their own. The Walker-Class was born in 2190, an attempt to at least partially integrate some Federation member world technology into an Earth vessel. The vessels were considered successful, and by 2196 Earth was producing enough to go to Starfleet that the venerable Daedalus-Class were retired.
With an expansion of Federation membership, the Federation Council experienced a shakeup. The topic of the "Starship-Class" returned to the Council floor and a compromise was made. The Council decided to expand industrial capacity and allow Starfleet to operate a shipyard of its own, Earth having ceded it's fledgling Utopia Planitia facility to Federation control. Starfleet was to establish operations there, build the initial Starship-Class vessel, and from there member worlds would have the option for a contract to build subsequent vessels.
As 2200 rolled around, Starfleet began developing Utopia Planitia Shipyards in earnest, but also revisited the Starship-Class design. Their initial design was now 20 years old, and they wanted to refresh it. By 2205, Utopia Planitia was ready to begin operations and the revamped Starship-Class design was finalized. Work began on USS Constitution, named after the Constitution of the Federation, although the construction was marred by technical issues. It would take a full 30 years for the vessel to complete construction, finally launching in 2235.
The Constitution was not an immediate success, although Starfleet engineers expected there to be issues. They took the time to put the ship through its paces and iron out the kinks in the design, mostly utilizing Constitution as a prototype. Eventually, the flaws in the vessel were identified and Starfleet decided it was time for the vessels to enter into production. Since the design had changed fairly significantly since the original launch, the production model plans were considered to be a developmental step up from the original, and the new constructions would be called "Constitution-Class". As a footnote, Earth had already ordered the construction of USS Enterprise at San Francisco Fleet Yards, unveiling it's dedication plaque at a ceremony... which had already been created as "Starship-Class". Earth decided to not alter the plaque for posterity.
Finally in 2245, USS Enterprise launched from Earth, the first of the production-model Constitution-Class vessels.
