Hello all, Ric here with a look at a ship that appeared once in canon and technically
might not come to exist considering its place in a future timeline.
This is the Universe class Enterprise NCC-1701-J.
This ship’s origin as a future vessel however does come with certain issues when regurgitating
the lore and design behind it as the era it is from is not featured prominently at all.
This means that much of the technology and the situation around its creation is lost
to us, nevertheless there is a small amount to draw from as well as what can be guessed
at from its design development.
As such I’m going to draw on some speculative ideas that were concepts at the time but we
have no way of knowing if they are actual lore of the Universe Class.
The Universe class was created by renowned Star Trek designer Doug Drexler for the Enterprise
season three episode “Azati Prime”.
Captain Archer had been brought to the future battle of Procyon 5 by a temporal agent to
give context and gravitas to the temporal battle he was waging in 2153.
The vessel was never seen in full with only a master systems display panel in a corridor
giving the shape of the ship at all, but concepts and design work for it was done and just never
utilised in full.
A model created for the show was also a rather rushed job and lacking the finer detail generally
required for a featured vessel, considering it was only a single appearance this was deemed
acceptable, but still never implemented.
The original design came from the Altair class which itself was a concept pitched for a starship
several times that drastically varied from the classic Starfleet silhouette.
The Altair class was made to resemble a delta shape, a narrow V making it incredibly streamlined
and fast looking.
It was pitched as one of the concepts for the Intrepid Class USS Voyager and then later
the NX-01 Enterprise, both vessels that were famous in the lore for their contemporary
speed.
The Altair featured spindly nacelles and pylons that made it appear fragile, if it were made
from modern materials.
While this ship never entered canonicity it was later introduced in a ships of the line
calender and book as an experimental starship in 2371.
The Altair class was 324 metres long, 256 wide and only 34 metres tall.
Whatever the vessel was prototyping, it never caught on and the USS Altair was the only
such ship constructed but still in service for at least another decade.
This raises an interesting scenario because we have a prototype that was never iterated
on, yet remains in service, presumably as a serviceable vessel in some capacity.
This altair class was given a saucer section, somewhat restoring that familiar profile and
the new kitbash termed the Congo-Class, however while this design was not selected either,
it would inform the design of the Universe class that was the Enterprise J. And that
was amended to better resemble the profile of the NX-01 Enterprise, to further hint at
the shared lineage between Archer’s 22nd era ship and this new 26th century torchbearer.
The nacelles in particular were a point of focus in the design with them deliberately
looking, well… uncomfortably narrow along with the pylons.
This was done to evoke the idea that whatever material they were constructed from, was far
superior to our contemporary metals and probably outclassing even the Federation’s prized
duranium.
They simply did not need to be thick to support the technology within and were probably a
lot stronger than anything Starfleet has displayed so far.
Additionally, the idea was floated of them not being attached at all, that the nacelles
would be locked into position by some unseen force using technology beyond even this.
That idea was scrapped however, but would see eventual implementation for the 32nd century
Starfleet that Discovery eventually takes place in.
If I had to guess, maybe some form of quantum entanglement?
That seems suitably technobabble enough to justify detached nacelles that don’t rely
on something as mundane as forcefields.
As for the names, the J legacy was simply a whim to place it further down the line of
Enterprises and the Universe class was a homage to the Galaxy class.
The Galaxy class was comfortable heading off to explore the galaxy, so the universe class
had a… let’s say… wider field of operation, again that was the implication.
Much of this vessel from its look to its scale was designed to stretch the imagination and
incite scrutiny because it was supposed to push what was believable for a Star Trek viewer,
in many ways, placing you in the shoes of Archer if he were confronted with these specifications.
So, saying that, this is where I will introduce a speculative section here based on ideas
that Drexler thought up, but we have no confirmation of in canon, and I’d also like to point
out a cool video interview Trekyards did with Drexler on this topic; an interesting watch.
The Universe class was a multi-role and multi-mission explorer.
The incredible size of the ship meant that it could function effectively as a mobile
starbase and would arrive at an unexplored sector and act as a hub from which it could
launch other ships and begin mapping by itself while other vessels explored outwards.
The Universe class was 3219 metres long, making it over 3 kilometres in length.
Internally, while there were turbo lifts, site to site transporter booths were more
common as a means of traversing the ship.
With the scale of the vessel being close to that of a city, zones of the ship were divided
up into suburbs, not just the facilities and decks of a standard Starfleet ship and while
the environmental controls were able to support numerous species, they were living alongside
each other without incident.
The vessel’s frame would have been constructed as normal, but the hull was created by a growing
alloy that was programmed to organically coat the vessel, which is what gives it the smoother
look.
This method of creating a hull was basically the precursor to the programmable matter seen
in the 32nd century.
In the field, this programmable hull referred to as Molecular Reconstruction and it allowed
the vessel to alter its systems to favour defensive, offensive or repair modes as it
dynamically shifted to accommodate the role required of it.
In terms of armaments, it is equipped with… phasers?
I think?
type… fourty?
Maybe?
I have no idea.
One thing that was mentioned is that it does have some form of new particle weapon, something
Star Trek Online adapted as the “Gravitic Lance” alongside the ability to simply drain
aggressive ships of their power using dampening fields and empowering other ships with a complex
system of power transfers.
Which would be cool to see to be fair, a vessel that tries to attack it is just told to “sit
down and shut up”.
It carried many, many auxiliary craft, but the most notable were Cestus class frigates,
basically the altair class, but smaller and launched to undertake missions in the same
role as a runabout, just larger and functional starships in their own right.
In terms of warp drive, we do not know what it was capable of however it likely possessed
Quantum slipstream drive and a degree of space-folding transwarp locomotion enabling it to reach
other galaxies to explore, hence the “Universe” moniker.
There was also the idea that the ship’s computer systems would operate in tandem with
the crew’s minds, that on some level the crew’s brainwaves were tied into the computing
power of the vessel and that the ship would in part respond to their wishes when operating
it.
This would extend to recreational facilities such as the replacer for a holodeck being
a mental version created through a neural device instead of an entire empty holographic
chamber.
Drexler goes on to say that consoles might not even have been required to fly it, although
that might frankly be dull.
Personally, I think that just because a technology exists to do something, does not mean it should
be done.
Plus, paraphrasing Captain Archer again, if Starfleet wanted to explore they could have
used probes.
But they made starships with crews.
I feel like adding consoles and controls to a starship is just one of those things that
would have to exist to give the crew fulfilment in their duty.
Overall, much of this vessel is unknown and that fits thematically with the ship’s origins
too.
It was created to seem implausible to a 22nd century officer, and as such most of the technology
at play would seem ludicrous to us too.
Additionally it could not be explained in full to someone without violating the temporal
prime directive so it’s all likely to remain speculatory until that era is visited in a
show.
Also this gives the writers room to not be beholden to pre established lore and to be
honest, even the ship’s existence and tech could be in flux from time travel actions,
considering that was the only instance we ever saw it, and it was linked to such.
I like the design in a strange sort of way.
In that, I respect that it looks unconventional and indeed like I don’t comprehend or understand
its form and use, it looks ungainly to me but as established, that is the point.
It’s supposed to make you look at it and go… huh?
I’ve been Ric, thanks for watching this breakdown on the Universe Class Starship.
Until the next one, thanks again and goodbye!