1.1 DEVELOPMENT HISTORY
The Kodak-class Development Project began in early 2374 with the Idea of an ensign from the Beta quadrant. While it can retaine the familiar saucer section of the Galaxy-class the most noticeable addition to the Kodak space frame is the engineering section and redesigned warp nacelles. Coupled with a revolutionary Bio-Neural computer system and the unique ability to tow, do mission-specific tasks, and is agile enough for Special operations. The Kodak could quickly became a favorite during the later-24th Century.
Initial production of the Kodak-class began at the Starfleet's Outpost Seran-T-One. Before spreading to several other production areas within the Terran Empire, most notably the nearby The Proxima Maintenance Yards and the ship building facilities at Starbase 66, as well as other yards specialized in the construction of frigates, light cruisers and heavy destroyers.
Taking the Kodak design to the next level, a wing hull was attached to the mid stardrive section and, unlike the Galaxy Conqueror class, the absence of a connecting "saucer" produced a smaller profile that was more difficult to hit. This design would see further development, with the lack of the vulnerable connecting segment that was blamed for the loss of several Galaxy Conqueror class starships during the War with the Alliance.
While conceived in an era of the Carassian and Klingon Alliance, Starfleet Intelligence anticipated potential flare-ups on the Terran Empire border. Most notably the Talarian and Alliance frontiers as well as the anticipation of the Romulan Republic Terran Empire to the galactic foreground. Starfleet Command required that, the Kodak would be superbly equipped to handle skirmishes and border conflicts. The standard hull of the Kodak sports a total of twelve phaser array segments and two torpedo launchers, quickly replacing any ship as the premier destroyer in Starfleet's inventory. When approached with the daunting task of upgrading the design to support further armament midway through the project, a young researcher proposed the idea of attaching ablative armor, while opening the way for further developments.
Many years after the engagement at Wolf 359, where the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance defeted the Tarren Empire and the razing of Earth by the Alliance in 2366, the first production thought of the Kodak-class was entering the mind of a Tarren slave. World after world join the Alliance and Terrans and Vulcans become slaves under the bloody fist of the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance. Refugees hide in the Badlands and began work to overthrow the Alliance with the assistance of the aging Intendant Spock. Forced to take on larger Galor-Conqueror ships on their own in some instances, the shortcomings of ships became apparent. Further losses occurred at the unsuccessful defense in the Battle of Orion while the Terran Empire's Tenth Fleet was caught out of position on a training exercise, allowing the planet to be taken and putting nearby Terran Empire worlds at risk of invasion. Elements of the Fifth Fleet, including several classes of vessels, did not help in the rapid evacuation of key facilities in the area before the Alliance could secure its hold on the planet.
Pulled away from hotspots along the Cardassian border, the majority of the remaining ships still in service were destroyed and deep space stations along the Terran Empire's borders to the galactic west were razed. The remaining vessels were immediately put into drydock where components originally destined for refits were halted and repaired. This is where the Kodak comes into play. An Ensign approached a team of engineers on the idea of combining ships together to make one.
The Kodak class Vessels are named after profound/famous figures in history. Seeing, the need for ships and the loss of them becoming more apparent, the Engineering team took up the Ensigns idea and made him apart of the design staff. A Star-drive section was salvaged and intrepid nacelles were attached. Thanks to Terran rebels stealing plans for the USS Defiant. The Kodak was armored with an ablative metal, and wired with bio-neural systems, and setup with two towing tractor emitters, and much more. The Kodak at the time was experimental to say the least. It was a sound idea but the design had never gone any long term testing, as would have most new designed ships. There was a small period of shakedown time before the Kodak was put into the field.
The Kodak class still had the capability to dock with a saucer section of Galaxy Conqueror class vessel. With the towing emitters, the Kodak can tow a vessel of Galaxy class or smaller. The towing increase is possible due to the upgrade and improved engine power. The Kodak vessel may tow two smaller vessels one at a time or together depending on size. The sleek design and high level structural integrity field allows it to have little ware and tear on the hull of the ship at a constant speed or when towing at full impulse.
It should be noted that the Kodak class preformed admirably during Alliance Border Conflicts of the 2375, where the first production line of Kodak-class vessels, serving alongside the new Defiant class vessels that Miles "Smiley" O'Brien Created, mounted a successful defensive against Cardassian forces. While colonies were destroyed in 2375, the heavy losses in the Alliance resulted in the successful territory.
In Operation "Return" in 2375 when station Terok Nor was taken back from the Alliance. Seeing allot of participation in the final Invasion of Cardassia Prime in 2376, the Kodak remains a member of the Terran task force in that area to date.
Currently seven remaining Kodak-class vessels are presently on duty around the Terran Empire's border, and steadily being replenished. The remaining two are presently assigned to various mission-specific tasks throughout the Terran Empire, ensuring that while their numbers have fallen sharply, the class still stands as a proud symbol of the Terran Empire. Ships are in drydocks throughout the Terran Empire, undergoing their construction. The rebels' march towards victory shows no apparent signs of slowing.
1.4 CONSTRUCTION HISTORY
Construction of the Kodak vessel, designated NX-84000, began in mid 2374 - just after the Alliance razed Earth. The primary research team, based at Starfleet's Proxima Maintenance Yard, had already finished the overall hull structure and shape of the eventual space frame. The end of 2374, with the aide of computer models, had made sufficient progress to the point, that a working Class-10 Matter/Antimatter Reactor could be used to power a warp field capable of exceeding its design specifications for limited amounts of time. While the reactant injectors for the primary M/ARA were indeed capable of increased firing rates before the project, problems existed in the containment of the warp plasma through the transfer conduits due to the higher rate of energy transfer.
The remains of a damaged Galaxy Conqueror class stardrive section was towed into Drydock 12 of Starfleet's Proxima Maintenance Yard while the primary research team transferred the final exterior hull configuration for the completion. By late 2374, the warp nacelles and coils had been added and an increased structural integrity field output was put in place.
NX-84000 began warp flight tests in 2375 and made use of an experimental deflector dish that preformed well in early test flights. The destroyer vehicle, manned by a crew of 105, managed to reach Warp 9 with marginal strain on the warp propulsion system. Deemed a design breakthrough, the first full production vessel, NCC - 84000, had its primary frame members gamma-welded at a brief ceremony at the Proxima Maintenance Yard. The hull NCC-84005, being built from the ground up, saw further design improvements while the Kodak continued to relay data from the test site. The NX-84000 went to Starbase 74 where it participated in full-scale weapons tests of the Type-X phaser emitter.
NX-84000 saw rapid construction and saw advancement in bio-neural circuitry. Further design modifications allowed for the NX-84000 to reach Warp 9.2, and with all internal spaces and systems installed, the ship was ready for its official launch. However, a new mandate arrived late in the project from Starfleet Intelligence. They had learned of a powerful warship in development by the Dominion. Concerns arose that the Kodak-class would not be able to adequately defend against such a target. By 2376, it was obvious by this point that they would not scrap the overall proven design of the ship, and many on the team did not look forward to the ship being turned into the equivalent of a tugboat, but it sorta did.
A ceremony was held at Starbase 74 Spacedock in 2375 as NX-84000, christened the I.S.S. Kodak, left the space doors and warped out of the system to begin its shakedown cruise near the Tholian border. The estimated lifetime of the Kodak space frame has been projected to be some 80 years, with scheduled refits and major overhauls to take place at 3-year intervals. Unlike minor layovers, repairs and restocking missions to major fleet yards and bases, these major refits were intended to update the class with technologies that will emerge after production of the class began. The space frame was designed to allow for easy upgrades during its entire operational lifetime. To date, the Kodak-class starship has had one major refit after its initial launch.
First Refit: The first refit for the Kodak-class took place Just after the Dominion war when the I.S.S. Ektar entered spacedock 4 at Starbase 84. While the average time for the refit was roughly 3 months, the planning for the upgrades had taken some four months to complete.
This upgrade included:
· Installation of second-generation isolinear sub processors throughout the vessel.
· Removal of current torpedo launchers. Installation of two fixed-focus rapid-fire torpedo launchers capable of firing eight torpedoes at one time for simultaneous launch.
· Enhanced warp plasma transfer conduits.
· Upgrade on the new Class-10 M/ARA.
· Refurbishment of Impulse Propulsion System (IPS) and related systems.
· Replacement of bridge module with upgraded design.
· Upgrade to type XII phaser emitters. (not performed on all first refits)
· Installation of an Auxiliary Navigational array.
· Defense against Breen energy dampening weapons.
· Refurbished warp nacelles with variable warp field geometry capabilities.