Protostar Class

The Protostar-class corvette is a long-range exploration vessel employed by Starfleet as a training vessel, scout, and light-duty exploratory starship. First developed in the early 2380s with an experimental and highly dangerous "Proto-Warp Drive," the first two prototypes of this class harnessed a compressed protostar to power a faster-than-warp technology which was abandoned due to the potential for massive damage to subspace that would be created by a protostar detonating. Production on this class was halted abruptly in 2385, when Starfleet cancelled long-range exploratory missions following the destruction of Mars. When the origins of this attack were revealed in 2399, Starfleet restarted production on this class--without its dangerous proto-warp drive--and it is now fielded by the Fourth Fleet as a training vessel for elite cadets and as a general exploratory scout.

Science and Exploration

With their high level of automation and good endurance, Protostar-class starships are useful as exploratory scouts, though their actual scientific facilities are relatively limited. They have a single large lab that can be reconfigured for multiple subjects, and their holodeck can also be useful for scientific inquiries. With the capability to land on a planet's surface, they can go into hostile environments that interfere with transporters, with minimal risks to personnel. A typical exploratory mission for a ship of this class would involve hopping from system to system examining planets and other points of interest, so that Starfleet can optimize the routes for larger exploratory ships and science vessels. The ship's advanced vehicle replicator can also be used to manufacture specialized vehicles for planetary and interstellar surveys.

When Starfleet is particularly interested in a scientific phenomena, a Protostar-class starship can be outfitted with additional scientific equipment pertinent to that mission, which the ship can bring into the field with low personnel overhead. Compared to research cruisers or vessels with multiple labs, Protostar-class vessels are better at data collection than they are analysis. They will bring samples and other information back to starbases or research vessels. The same automation systems that make them easy to fly are also good at preliminary analysis tasks, and their databanks can hold substantial amounts of information.

Fully loaded with supplies, a Protostar-class starship is theoretically capable of a mission of up to five years, but this is unlikely to be tested in the near future.

Diplomacy

Engineering

Tactical

Protostar-class vessels are equipped to defend themselves should the need arise, with their tactical systems being described by Starfleet Command as "sufficient." The phasers in service with this class are a variant of the Type-VIII phaser array designed specifically for small starships such as this one, and they are capable of firing both as standard arrays when encountering larger targets or in pulses to ward of smaller attackers. Comprehensive coverage is provided by two long arrays, one each on the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the saucer, and two smaller arrays on the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the stern. This class also carries fore and aft torpedo launchers, each capable of single-firing either photon or quantum torpedoes. Due to the ship's role and small crew, the tactical array can be set to automatic firing mode with the ship's computer intelligently deciding on targets based on Starfleet's tactical protocols. Manual firing modes are also available.

Compared to larger starships, Protostar-class starships are lightly armed. They can punch their way out of a situation when necessary and even handle smaller raiders on their own, but their primary roles as an exploratory scout and as a training ship generally call for them to use their high top speed to escape from threat vessels. A clever captain could take down a significantly larger vessel if they were able to use the ship's superior handling characteristics well, but this ship is not intended to be purposefully sent on tactical missions.

Shipboard Life