Guide:Ariadne

Ariadne
Class Overview
Category	patrol corvette
Operational	2170-2328
Constructed	104 total 25 Ariadne patrol corvettes (2170-2186) 15 Abarta patrol corvettes (2175-2185) 2 Anansi dispatch corvettes (later couriers) (2178-2179) 1 Altjira reconnaissance corvettes (later scouts) (2182) 1 Abuk reconnaissance corvettes (later scouts) (2186) 2 Abassi reconnaissance corvettes (later scouts) (2195-2196) 3 Anbis patrol corvettes (2203-2204) 2 Alpan patrol corvettes (2212-2213) 1 Abaangui dispatch corvettes (later couriers) (2221) 3 Agni patrol corvettes (2229-2230) 4 Aholi reconnaissance corvettes (later scouts) (2238-2239) 4 + 4 + 8 Allowat Sakima patrol corvettes (2246-2247, 2264-2265, 2281-2283) 1 + 1 + 4 Ahaw Kin reconnaissance corvettes (later scouts) (2255, 2268, 2279-2280) 23 Amymone patrol corvettes (2266-2281)
Dimensions
Length	35.4 m (Ariadne)
Beam	92.5 m (Ariadne)
Height	106.8 m (Ariadne)
Mass	24,200 tons (Ariadne)
Performance
Cruise Speed	w 3
Max Speed	w 4.0 (Clipper drive) w 3.2 (Cochrane drive)
Endurance	4 months (Ariadne, Abarta, Anansi) 3 months (Altjira, Abuk, Abassi) 6 months (Agni, Aholi)
Complement
Officers	6 (Ariadne, Abarta, Alpan) 3 (Anansi, other couriers) 5 (scouts) 8 (Agni) 7 (Aholi)
Enlisted	28 (Ariadne) 25 (Abarta) 31 (Alpan) 11 (Anansi) 18 (scouts) 45 (Agni) 15 (Aholi)
Tactical Systems
Beam Weapons	Ariadne, original 2x laser emitters (750 MW) (main hull) Standard fit, 2198 2x laser emitters (750 MW) (main hull) 2x laser emitters (2.0 GW) (warp ring) Standard fit, 2208 2x laser emitters (1.3 GW) (main hull) 2x phaser IV emitters (warp ring) Standard fit, 2245 2x phaser III emitters (main hull) 2x phaser IV emitters (warp ring) Standard fit, 2283 2x phaser IV emitters (main hull) 2x phaser IV emitters (warp ring)
Missile Weapons	Standard fit, 2245 1x light fwd torpedo tube (ventral main hull)
Shields	1-layer globular shield
Transporters	1 GP (1-, 2- or 3-pad); Mk I select vessels brought to Mk III standard in 2268-70
Auxiliary Craft	2x work pods
Historical
Ships of Note	USS Anann (NCC-L238)
Canonicity
Design	FSRC/aridas sofia & Willy Whitten
Name	FSRC/aridas sofia
History	FSRC/aridas sofia & own

When Vulcan High Command in 2161 began pulling back its deep space patrol fleet, Star Fleet was largely unconcerned. It was assumed that war surplus or continuation of wartime shipbuilding programs would quickly fill the ranks. After all, had not the Vulcan fleet at its Potemkine height consisted of just fifty primary combatants, easily replaced by Terran equivalents, plus no more than a couple of hundred smaller units?

However, there had been more to the Vulcan control of their half a dozen sectors than simple numerical strength. Each of the capital ships had been capable of warp six peak speed, many of warp seven. While the smaller patrol types had been no faster than their human equivalents, they had possessed superior cruise economy and endurance. In practice, substituting Earth designs for the patrol fleet would reduce its on-station time and thus potency by at least 50%. Earth in the 2160s struggled with the unexpected industrial slump effected by the war, and was in no position to compensate by introducing a greater number of hulls. Instead, Star Fleet representatives entered direct negotiations with ah’Hrak Soyn Voidsystems for acquisition of further Vulcan ring drive systems.

Ah’Hrak Soyn agreed to provide the highly efficient drives of Solak sentry vessels for an initial batch of 25 new patrol corvettes. Their hulls would be built on Earth in the slab-sided shapes of the pathfinding Hippolytas, to dangle at the lower end of the central spoke of the drive ring. The company also sold the engine license to Whitten, which would continue production for fifteen further vessels. The affordable patrollers were designed to be modular in their armament and sensor outfit, not so much in anticipation of widely varying missions but rather to allow just a minimum number of systems to be installed initially. A crew of 34 was to tend to the vessel in the barebones configuration, which featured a spartan sensor array, a laser armament of two 750 MW cannon, and a dual warp drive system. The ring drive would mainly be employed for cruising, especially in regions of high matter density such as the nebulae that pirates frequently exploited for their ambushes. An internal coil system of traditional Earth type was provided for combat dashes and acute maneuvering, however. Common to both was the fusion powerplant with 1:40 antimatter spicing. Flexible power management allowed the drives to be operated in any combination, or excess power to be channeled to the laser cannon pods at the ends of the open propulsion ring.

A typical Ariadne patrol corvette (albeit formally of the wholly Earth-built Abarta subclass) displays to good effect the refinements introduced in the 2190s. In addition to the ring-end laser cannon, this ‘clipper’ mounts two phase cannon pods on upper hull flanks, just aft of the large flight control deck windows. Passive subspace sensors and a trailing gravimetric array are added to the lower hull, and a white surface finish is applied on the ring and parts of the hull. Return to more subdued colors and sensor-absorbing coatings in the 2220s would graphically display a change in status from hunter to prey. Yet in the 2190s, the Ariadnes could still hold their own against adversaries their size, such as this Zaranite warseeker prowling near Canopus.

The 25-strong first batch was dubbed Ariadne at the 2170 launch of the inaugural vessel. An alliterative theme of Terran mythology was followed through the second batch, known as Abarta, and extended to later batches as well. These would follow the Ariadne lead in the choice of propulsion systems, but would feature modified primary hulls and systems, for a variety of roles. By far the heaviest was the Agni batch of three, with 2,600 ton hulls of inverted T shape and with dual internal coil sets plus torpedo armament; the lightest was the lone Abuk, a scout from the late 2180s with a slim crescent hull of 750 tons. In all, no less than fourteen variants could be discerned in the production run of 104. The differences were often minimal in practice, though, resulting from slightly dissimilar manufacturing practices on the six worlds involved in the production.

The dual-drive corvettes might not have been the most impressive warships ever designed. Yet their elegance and economy achieved what brute force could not: the assorted pirates, briefly emboldened at the end of the war, were driven from UFP core space for the time being. An efficient vigil at outer borders would warn of their return. Holes in the dragnet of still rather primitive sensors would be sewn shut by the significant cruise speed and sailing radius of the patrollers. Often reaching trouble spots well before heavier starship forces, the vessels of Ariadne descent became commonly known as ‘clippers’, a name apparently derived in part from the Ariadne mission class pennant code CP, or ‘corvette, patrol’. The parallel designations ‘corvette, reconnaissance’ and ‘corvette, dispatch’ would soon be superseded by ‘light scout’ and ‘courier’, respectively, and their pennant codes CR and CD appropriated for other use – but ‘clippers’ would persist in Star Fleet records well into the 24th century.

This is not to say that the Ariadnes would have enjoyed particular longevity. There were still half a dozen of the initial vessels in nominal Star Fleet service by the time of Khitomer peace, but these tall ships were respected elders, preserved for reasons of prestige rather than practicability. The same already applied to most of the succeeding subvariants, introduced throughout the 23rd century to provide patrol combatant presence for border space, and especially for the vast nebulae of the rimward patrol sectors. The last of these let go of active commission in 2328, making way for vessels of brute strength and superior overall performance. Yet dozens still persist as training vessels or pleasure yachts across the operational theater of Star Fleet, meticulously maintained and lovingly operated.

Gallery

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Notes

• The multirole Ariadne class remained an excellent tool in filling the gaps in UFP perimeter defenses even in the 23rd century.

References

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• Back to the Table of Contents
• Corvettes, Couriers, Escorts, Perimeter Ships & Light Scouts
• Appendix A: Of Ship Statistics
• Appendix B: Glossary
• Appendix C: Starfleet Organization - General Outline
• Appendix D: Abbreviations From Outside