The Inquiry-class was a type of Federation starship, first entering Starfleet service in 2394. It was classed as either a battleship or an exploration cruiser. (ST video game: Star Trek Online; Star Trek Adventures module: Utopia Planitia Sourcebook)
History and specifications
One ship of the line of this class was the USS Zheng He, which served as flagship of the 1st Devron Heavy Response Squadron under the command of Captain William T. Riker in 2399. That task force was the first large-scale deployment of Inquiry-class vessels. (PIC episode: "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2"; Star Trek Adventures module: Utopia Planitia Sourcebook)
The Inquiry class was heavily armed and armored, a departure from previous exploration cruisers, as Starfleet faced renewed aggression from the Gorn, Kzinti, and splinter factions of the former Romulan Star Empire. The class was equipped with ablative armor systems that had limited regenerative capabilities reverse-engineered from Borg nanites, quantum torpedo launchers with an on-board manufacturing planet capable of slowly replenishing the magazine, and dual phaser systems for area saturation fire from mark XV arrays and pinpoint fire from mark VII-OF phaser banks. The class' propulsion systems were the most advanced of the era, improving upon the design of the earlier Vesta class, with a sustained cruising speed of warp 7.5. (Star Trek Adventures module: Utopia Planitia Sourcebook)
While unable to use mission pods like the Nebula or Luna classes, the Inquiry class was still considered a modular design as large sections of its superstructure could be removed and replaced, allowing for the installation of mission-specific equipment. (Star Trek Adventures module: Utopia Planitia Sourcebook)
Initially seen as adaptable enough that variant designs were deemed unnecessary, nonetheless, by the 2410s, the Inquiry class would have two major subclasses, the Avenger-class and the Arbiter-class. (Star Trek Adventures module: Utopia Planitia Sourcebook; ST video game: Star Trek Online)
Inquiry-class starships were mostly named after explorers from Federation member worlds, though Starfleet's rapid expansion during the 2390s resulted in many different naming traditions. The class' lead ship, the USS Inquiry had the registry NX/NCC-86500, and all other vessels of the class had higher numbers. (Star Trek Adventures module: Utopia Planitia Sourcebook)
Class variations
In the 2390s, ships of the class were produced with different warp nacelle configurations, visually distinguishable by the shape of the nacelles and the color of the bussard collectors. (PIC episode: "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2")
The class prototype USS Inquiry had red Bussard collectors with pointed nacelles. (Star Trek Adventures module: Utopia Planitia Sourcebook)
The
had pointed orange ramscoops. The
collectors were pointed red ramscoops. On the USS Maui, the ramscoops were red and rounded and on the USS Toussaint the Bussard collectors of its rounded nacelles were orange. (PIC episode: "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2")
In the 2410s, the components of Inquiry-class battlecruisers were interchangeable with those of its sister classes, the Avenger-class and Arbiter-class. (STO website: House Divided: Command the Inquiry-Class Battlecruiser!)
Known vessels
- USS Inquiry (NCC-86500)
- USS Zheng He (NCC-86505), flagship
- USS Touissant (NCC-87111)
- USS Varian Fry (NCC-87883)
- USS Maui (NCC-96761)
- unnamed Federation starships (squadron vessels)
- A large number of unnamed Federation starships of this class were shown onscreen in squadron formation, but not otherwise identified. (PIC episode: "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part II")
Appendices
Connections
Background
- The assembled fleet all had similar planforms to Zheng He, with minor differences in warp nacelle arrangement and hull detailing. None of the vessels were labeled with names or registry numbers. Riker described the ship as the most formidable vessel ever fielded by Starfleet, meaning that the great number of like vessels was supposed to represent a significant display of military potential.
- The Zheng He bridge was a re-dress of the USS Discovery bridge set.
- The class of the ship itself was not named in any production mentioning the vessel, although showrunner has had social media conversations stating class names he would like to give these vessels. On his Instagram story (transcript here), he initially said it that Zheng He belonged to the Curiosity class, which had been the class he earlier specified for the USS ibn Majid. When this inconsistency was pointed out, he provided corrected information to admins of Memory Alpha, which designated the Zheng He as an Inquiry-class heavy cruiser.
Appearances and references
Appearances
External link
- Inquiry class article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.