Derf class (FASA)

FASA Timeline
(FASA Roleplaying Game)

Derf class

Derf class (FASA 2302, 1st Ed.; Original B&W Image)

Commissioned	RSD 1/9807
Advertising	Amazon

Deck Arrangement

Deck 1	Bridge
Deck 2	Weapons, Crew Quarters, Lounges
Deck 3	Crew Quarters, Rec Areas
Deck 4	Recycling, Fabrication, Ship's Computers, Hydroponics
Decks 5-6	Storage (Fore), Engineering (Aft 1/3)
Deck 7	Parts Storage
Deck 8	Open Storage

The Derf class tender became operational on Reference Stardate 1/9807 (July 2198) with the commissioning of the U.S.S. Derf NCC-20100. More than 500 were constructed, and although the class did not see combat during the Four Years War, which ended a month earlier, the class was responsible for repairing and maintaining navigational beacons along the new border between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire. The class was also used for survey work as a medium exploration ship. The circular top hull was four decks high; the lower hull was also four decks. Decks 5-7 were 3.2 meters high, while Deck 8 was 9 meters. Derf class vessels were named after historical places in the Federation, and initially bore hull registries in the 20100-20179 range.

The Derf class marked a new concept in navigational beacon repair. Before its introduction, marker buoys and navigational beacons had to be retrieved and returned to a repair facility to be serviced. Derf class tenders eliminated this need because they carried repair facilities onboard. When performing maintenance on navigational buoys, early warning sensors, beacons, and communication relay stations, special shuttles with tractor beams recovered the buoys, then entered forward, where the retrieved equipment underwent an "assembly line" maintenance routine. When repaired, the shuttle then took the device out the aft door and replaced it on the navigation route.

Designed and built under contract by Chandley Works Ltd., the class had a maximum safe cruising speed of Warp 6, and an emergency speed of Warp 8. The class was 274 meters long, 128 meters wide, and 65 meters high. Derf class vessels carried two 6-person and one cargo transporter, two passenger shuttlecraft, and five work pod shuttles. Although the Derf was not designed as a fighting vessel, it was capable of aggressive defense. Most repair missions took place along the borders between the major powers, where the chances of encountering enemy ships was very high. Because of this high risk, the Derf was armed with two banks of two FH-4 phasers and an FSH deflector shield.

This protection does not prevent the Derf class from falling prey to enemy ships. On Reference Stardate 2/0702 (February 2207), the U.S.S. Acropolis responded to signals from a malfunctioning marker buoy. As its shuttle neared the beacon. a Klingon warship appeared and opened fire before defensive actions could be taken. The volley crippled the Acropolis' engines, and the tender was boarded and towed into Klingon territory. Intelligence later discovered that the beacon had been sabotaged by Klingon operatives to entrap the repair tender. It is theorized that the Klingons gained technical information concerning robotics and repair techniques that they lacked, but it is not known just what gain this action brought them in the overall situation. Some analysts believed that study of the robotic repair systems could make it possible for Klingons to alter the functioning of navigation beacons robotically, creating potential havoc in border spacelanes.

As of Reference Stardate 2/2306 (June 2223), of the 545 Derfs built, 16 Mk Is, 362 Mk IIIs, and 68 Mk IVs remained in active service, and 38 Mk Is and 17 Mk IIIs were in reserve fleets. Two Mk Is and 2 Mk IIIs were used by Star Fleet Training Command; 12 Mk Is, 8 Mk Il ls, and 1 Mk IV had been destroyed; 1 Mk III has been captured by the Klingons; 1 Mk I and 3 Mk IIIs were listed as missing; 4 Mk Is, 4 Mk IIIs, and 2 Mk IVs had been scrapped; and 2 Mk Is had been sold to the private sector. The Derf class was built at Merak at the rate of 4 ships per year.

Specifications

	Mk I	Mk III	Mk IV
Date Entering Service	1/9807	2/0403	2/1811
Number Constructed	180	396	71
Length	274m	274m	274m
Width	128m	128m	128m
Height	65m	65m	65m
Mass	126,860mt	127,820mt	133,120mt
Cargo Capacity	17,500mt	17,500mt	17,500mt
Computer Type	M-2	M-3	M-3
Transporters	•  Personnel: 2  •  Cargo: 1	•  Personnel: 2  •  Cargo: 1	•  Personnel: 2  •  Cargo: 1
Crew	72	72	72
Passengers	0	0	10
Shuttlecraft	7	7	5
Velocity	•  Cruising: Warp 7  •  Emergency: Warp 9	•  Cruising: Warp 6  •  Emergency: Warp 8	•  Cruising: Warp 6  •  Emergency: Warp 8
Weapons	4 FH-4 Phasers in 2 banks	4 FH-4 Phasers in 2 banks	6 FH-4 Phasers in 3 banks
Defenses	FSH Deflector Shields	FSH Deflector Shields	FSI Deflector Shields

Derf class vessels

FASA Timeline

U.S.S. Acropolis •  U.S.S. Derf NCC-20100

Notes and References