The USS Ascendant-a rebirth of the Vengeance

[Shaka Zulu]

Everybody who saw Star Trek Into Darkness saw the Vengeance and how it functioned, and wondered how such a ship could be a part of Starfleet even though it violated the principles of Starfleet and the UFP. An even bigger wonder is if this ship, despite its destructive potential, could be rebuilt into a standard peaceful Starfleet ship of exploration instead of the warlike creation of a power-mad Section 31-affiliated and allied warmongering admiral?

That's been answered with this concept for a post-Vengeance starship of the same class, but as a ship of exploration and peace rather than as a ship of war; the USS Ascendant, as created/visualized by calamitySi at deviantArt:

U.S.S. ASCENDANT Orthos

Another pic of this ship, but from the bottom:

U.S.S. Ascendant 1

In other words, 'Would Starfleet and the UFP get rid of this ship? No way, they'd keep it instead!'

 

[BillJ]

Everybody who saw Star Trek Into Darkness saw the Vengeance and how it functioned, and wondered how such a ship could be a part of Starfleet even though it violated the principles of Starfleet and the UFP.

Kirk's Enterprise has enough firepower to destroy the entire habitable surface of a planet (See: "A Taste of Armageddon"). Not sure how the Vengeance violates anything?

 

[Shaka Zulu]

Kirk's Enterprise has enough firepower to destroy the entire habitable surface of a planet (See: "A Taste of Armageddon"). Not sure how the Vengeance violates anything?

Well. it was a total battleship compared to most Starfleet ships, with the ability to overtake anything at warp and destroy it utterly (Klingon and Romulan ships, but also any Starfleet ship that got in its way like the Enterprise.) Plus, it was meant to start a war with the Klingon Empire and most likely the Romulan Empire as well.

The Enterprise and other Starfleet ships do already have the power to lay waste to the surface of a planet, yes, but so do the ships of the Klingon Empire and Romulan Empire. The difference between all three entities? Starfleet's usually on a mission of peace, and its ships don't have names like Vengeance.

 

[Burning Hearts of Qo'nos]

That's a mighty looking vessel. I'm thinking this artist is in the camp that the Vengeance was the Kelvin timeline's answer to the Excelsior program. This design looks like the timeline correcting itself.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I've always thought that a Vengeance-class ship would be very useful. Even in peacetime.

We know that the Vengeance class can operate with a minimum of crew - perhaps even NO crew - so it seems that it would be a perfect candidate to send into dangerous situations where you wouldn't want to risk a whole starship's complement.

Disaster relief, for example. If there's a starship or colony in distress, but you don't know whether a fully crewed starship could survive the situation, send a largely automated vessel like a Vengeance in to assist.

Of course you would probably want to pick a new name for the class - I do like the term "Ascendant class" - but the basic starship design is sound. Starfleet would be foolish just to throw it away.

Without the heavy weaponry of the Vengeance, but keeping the strength, speed and automation, I see no reason why this class couldn't be a perfectly decent design for disaster relief, colony support, scientific research (in environments which would be hazardous to a living crew), or some other entirely peaceful mission.

 

[fireproof78]

Of course you would probably want to pick a new name for the class - I do like the term "Ascendant class" - but the basic starship design is sound. Starfleet would be foolish just to throw it away.

You do or don't like it?

I happen to like it, and might craft something based on the idea.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

You do or don't like it?

I do like it. The name and the ship itself.

 

[DaddlerTheDalek]

Badass looking ship.

 

[fireproof78]

I do like it. The name and the ship itself.

Sorry, the sentence read weird to me...

I think it is a fantastic ship and it needs a tech sheet workup ala Franz Joseph.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

I've always thought that a Vengeance-class ship would be very useful. Even in peacetime.

We know that the Vengeance class can operate with a minimum of crew - perhaps even NO crew - so it seems that it would be a perfect candidate to send into dangerous situations where you wouldn't want to risk a whole starship's complement.

Disaster relief, for example. If there's a starship or colony in distress, but you don't know whether a fully crewed starship could survive the situation, send a largely automated vessel like a Vengeance in to assist.

Of course you would probably want to pick a new name for the class - I do like the term "Ascendant class" - but the basic starship design is sound. Starfleet would be foolish just to throw it away.

Without the heavy weaponry of the Vengeance, but keeping the strength, speed and automation, I see no reason why this class couldn't be a perfectly decent design for disaster relief, colony support, scientific research (in environments which would be hazardous to a living crew), or some other entirely peaceful mission.

Plus, one could keep some of the weapons in case it has to defend a convoy or stop an enemy.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

That's a mighty looking vessel. I'm thinking this artist is in the camp that the Vengeance was the Kelvin timeline's answer to the Excelsior program. This design looks like the timeline correcting itself.

You are so right on that one:

USS Excelsior (Kelvin Timeline)

USS Excelsior (Kelvin Timeline) 2

USS Excelsior (Kelvin Timeline) 4

USS Excelsior at warp

USS Excelsior in spacedock

 

[Turd Ferguson]

Awesome pictures! As a lover of Star Trek Into Darkness, I'm a huge fan of the Dreadnought-class U.S.S. Vengeance and believe (in my head canon) that the ship went on to serve a useful function in the Kelvin-Starfleet. Using these images, I can imagine it doing just that! My only complaint is that it looks weird with the standard Federation color scheme. I think Admiral Marcus had the right idea making the ship black.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Over in the DISCOverse, Starfleet has black and red ships, and we see a red ship in the background of ID. So maybe they could have black ships that aren't evil, too.

 

[Burning Hearts of Qo'nos]

Or maybe the black ships are in fact evil and the red ships are just pretty angry

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

That would make for some interesting storylines...the person in charge of the class's redesign and refit as a peaceful vessel gets the captaincy of the first redo starship, and crews it with his/her coworkers who were also members of Project Redemption (the refit's code name), but some of them retained weapons capabilities and fudged the specs to hide it (creates lots of conflict between captain and those who hid the guns) and how would peaceful species feel about serving on a redesigned battleship?

Names:
USS Redemption, USS Amnesty, USS Absolution.

 

[fireproof78]

Over in the DISCOverse, Starfleet has black and red ships, and we see a red ship in the background of ID. So maybe they could have black ships that aren't evil, too.

Red also seems to be associate with Vulcan ships as well.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

Awesome pictures! As a lover of Star Trek Into Darkness, I'm a huge fan of the Dreadnought-class U.S.S. Vengeance and believe (in my head canon) that the ship went on to serve a useful function in the Kelvin-Starfleet. Using these images, I can imagine it doing just that! My only complaint is that it looks weird with the standard Federation color scheme. I think Admiral Marcus had the right idea making the ship black.

It can also be seen as an early version of the Excelsior-class, the Ambassador class, the Galaxy class, and the Nebula class.

 

[Leathco]

Cool look. I kinda think I would prefer more of an oval to the saucer, sort of like the Sovereign class, to go with the angular look of the engineering hull.

 

[TrickyDickie]

I like the Vengeance just as it was depicted in Into Darkness, black and all. Somehow reminds me of the bulldog in the Tom and Jerry cartoons....same attitude.

That being said, the new designs are well done as well.

I don't feel that even Gene Roddenberry envisioned a perfect, utopian UFP and Starfleet.

The TOS episode 'The Enemy Within' speaks volumes about the human condition. Humans will always have a darker side because it's needed. It's all about keeping it in check and making positive use of it.

Governing bodies have their 'black ops'. That's just the way it is. Vengeance is very realistic. In a universe of aggressive adversaries, if you do not keep up with the Jones boys, you may face extinction from someone with superior technological might. If someone on the other side of the globe is conducting some very nasty experiments, and a more benevolent government does not figure out some way of doing some kind of parallel experiments then the nasties may gain the upper hand.

I feel that, to an extent, the depiction of the Organians in Trek was off and unrealistically contradicted 'Enemy Within'.

The implication is that at the far end of the evolution of beings lies what could be called 'Ultimate Nice'. That is unbalanced and it eliminates perspective. What would the Organians do with Q if abilities were on par? That's just one small example.

One can even conceive of a scenario whereby a race like The Preservers melded DNA from a race that had become extinct, from being too 'goody-good', to what they found at the time here on Earth and made humans. To give a better balance.

When we look at the world around us and see a lot of negativity, that does not mean that things are unbalanced. 'Bad' things are blunt and in-your-face. 'Good' things are often more subtle and not as easily perceived.

The Vengeance, just as it is, has its place.

'Good' and 'bad' in all things, because it's necessary.

 

[Burning Hearts of Qo'nos]

Well, the Vengeance is very much blunt and in-your-face, I'll give you that. I mean, they were only like one or two iterations away from giving it a long twirly mustache.