Parliament Class

History

Almost as soon as the California class starships completed production, they were found to be lacking. Whereas the ship was meant to fill the role of the long serving Miranda class, the ship was mostly being dedicated to engineering support missions, something in many cases it was ill suited to perform at a higher level. Original attempts were made for refitting the hastily built and developed starship with more advanced engineering facilities, but this proved to be a dead end. Instead, taking technology gathered by the USS Voyager and her return to the Alpha Quadrant, a new ship was being designed to take the place of the California. 

From the ground up, this new design was built with large, expansive engineering facilities in mind. It featured an entire deck dedicated to industrial production and maintenance facilities. Increased tractor beam technology was considered a critical element for this new starship. The team started with a Yeager-class starship, intended for decommissioning and scrapping, and borrowed the primary hull. Taking careful notes of the lack of firepower and outdated systems that had been applied to the California, designs were laid to modify the hull into a similar style of design as the California was to the Galaxy class. 

Initial designs and testing lead to the Parliament Class design project. Final designs were finished in 2380, with the borrowed primary hull entering dry dock the same year. The process was complicated by the onslaught of new designs coming out of the Starfleet think tanks, and put to the back burner of most people’s minds. Still, the prototype was completed in 2381, with the USS Parliament leaving spacedock for trials and tests. 

Overall the ship was a marked improvement over the California, with higher rate of speed, better facilities for engineering purposes, and most important the upgraded tractor beams for tug assignments. The speed with which the project was completed using the Yeager frame meant that the design was pushed to secondary shipyards that could complete what many had taken to jokingly calling a “refit”. All eighteen remaining Yeagers were pushed to various smaller yards, and the eight month overhaul into a Parliament class was undertaken. 

While overall an unremarkable ship as far as many are concerned, the ship has gone on to serve with distinction and honour in the Fleet. By 2398, many Parliaments can still be found operating as engineering support ships for crises, as well as attached to large dockyards as long distance warp tugs.