I've seen from pretty lame attempts to modernize the Connie Refit. So far, none have really impressed me so I made my own.


End of an Era – Connie Retires:
The Constitution Class family remains one of the most distinguished heavy cruiser types in Starfleet history, with active production and refits lasting through the late 2280’s. While its reputation in the fleet was legendary, the type’s eventual retirement was finally brought about by shifting trends and the numerous Strategic Arms Limitation Treaties that followed the Khitomer Accords in 2293. Which ironically, was made possible by a prominent member of the class, the USS Enterprise-A.

These changing times for the Federation Starfleet caused a paradigm shift in its core structuring, principles and foreign policy. Despite its merits, the class was now viewed as a "Cold War" relic, akin to its equally famous Klingon D7/K’tinga counterpart. As such, the Constitution was formally retired along with its sister designs. Meanwhile, its stable mate, the Miranda, and the brand new Excelsior would continue active production and service. Both proved to be excellent platforms in the scientific area and future development, not to mention being more economical. Decades would pass and despite some modest efforts to revive the Connie, the bulk of the surviving examples were sent to museums or storage in various reserve fleets and maintenance centers.

A New Lease on Life:
During the opening months of the Dominion War, Starfleet's Sol Reserve Fleet, at the time headed by time displaced Montgomery Scott, was tasked to evaluate certain types to be brought out from mothballs to quickly fill up the fleet's ranks. Chief among them were several 2280's-era Constitution Hulls which barely saw a decade of service in deep space before being abruptly retired in 2295. Scott's team discerned that they were ideal candidates to be upgraded to 2370's era technology.

First among the ships to be refitted and re-commissioned would be the USS Wyvern NCC-2848. The modifications were extensive but managed to stay fairly manageable in terms of cost and manpower. This was due in large part to the reliance on "off the shelf" refitting techniques. The entire shipboard systems were updated to 2370's standard and the outboard hull refits were patterned over the 2310's era Sparrow Class, saving costs even further. The end result was a balanced light cruiser capable of basic fleet defense missions. She was promptly re-added back to Starfleet service and given the brand new registry NCC-78702. This refit would be given the moniker "Wyvern Subclass".

Several ships followed suit and were assigned to core systems to augment their defenses. In mock combat assessments, Wyverns handled fairly well and were comparable to a Sabre destroyer in mobility. However, they were still limited ships with relatively basic capabilities. The Wyvern was indeed born out of the need to fill missing gaps in the UFP's defensive line. Still, it also gave the old Connie a new lease on life for the 24th Century. The sixteen vessels currently in service are expected to serve well into 2400. A legend is reborn.


Model by Rick Knox
BG by freelancah, Burning Liquid and CE