ARCHER CLASS CUTTER An oft-overlooked player during Starfleet’s so-called ‘Golden Age’ during the 23rd Century, the Archer class Cutter was essential nonetheless—performing scouting, battlefield reconnaissance, intelligence gathering and other important duties in support of Starfleet and the Federation’s expanding network of space stations, starbases and colonies. By 2250, Starfleet’s maturity and capabilities had evolved to the point where thanks to it, the Federation was widely regarded as the preeminent superpower in known space. The Constitution class (CH 1700) Heavy Cruiser and the Hermes class (ST 585) Scout enlarged the Federation’s body of scientific knowledge at an unbelievable rate, while at least half a dozen transport, transport-tug and freighter classes took colonization, trade and commerce to levels which would’ve been dismissed as mere fantasy two decades before. In between, various Destroyer and Frigate classes provided valuable defense/offense and support capabilities, while out on the fringes the Ticonderoga, Watchtower (J-Type), Sentinel (G-Type) and Kepler (K-Type) Space Station classes stood as bulwarks—providing rest to the weary, provision to the famished and an imposing challenge to potential threats. However well developed and impressive these capabilities may have seemed, the industrial base from which all this sprang, was simply incapable of supporting so many challenges at once—especially those relating to the operation and support of the fleet’s massive Space Stations and expansive Starbases (which had varying levels of self-sufficiency, but still required some level of external support). To maintain its current strategy (which emphasized scientific exploration) while also recognizing practical & logistical considerations, Starfleet adopted a more balanced shipbuilding approach—something Transport Command had long advocated—and invested greatly in developing and expanding this part of its infrastructure. A byproduct of this shift was the emergence of smaller, more specialized starship classes into the fleet inventory. One of these was Archer—a low-profile, high-speed Cutter intended to provide similar capabilities to Constitution and Hermes as well as other supporting classes, thereby

enhancing the operational capabilities of Starfleet’s fixed spaceborne and planetary assets as well as giving strategists and planners additional flexibility when it came to starship deployment. Developed by the ASDB in 2252, designers followed the general pattern of the Kiaga class Perimeter Action Ship (Destroyer), though Archer was considerably smaller (a mere 50 meters in length, displacing just 231 metric tons) and more compact. The hull, roughly egg-shaped, was three decks thick and could be divided into two sections—the raised, central portion and then the outer ‘shell’. Owing to its small size and low observability, the central portion was the only section where crew members did not have to contend with low ceilings. Predictably then, the bridge, medical bay, a small science lab and crew accommodations were all featured here. The top deck along the ship’s ‘spine’ contained the engineering compartment—the warp reactor core and impulse fusion reactor placed on separate levels—along with a small transporter used primarily in emergencies. The lower deck was primarily devoted to cargo storage and featured an ingress/egress ramp at the rear and a number of utility access points forward and along the outer bulkheads. Nominally embarking a compliment of 14, conditions aboard were quite cramped—the Captain and XO being the only aboard to have their own quarters, while the remaining crew ‘hot bunked’ in 4 single bed cabins. A large, reinforced cross brace mounted at the end of the spine dorsally provided mounting points for the warp nacelles, while an airlock/docking port was situated along the centerline to port and a single lifeboat was positioned opposite it to starboard. The navigational deflector dish was housed in a semi self-contained pod mounted directly to the fore end of the primary hull’s ventral surface—vastly simplifying in-field maintenance and upgrades.

Taking into consideration its relatively diminutive size, Archer was extremely well armed and protected. Her primary armament consisted of 2 Type VI Phaser Emitters—1 each mounted on either side of the spine while a single torpedo launcher was embedded within. Again, taking size into consideration along with the likely deployment doctrine for the class, weapons stores were predictably limited—with a 60/40 split favoring various probe types over torpedoes. Like her armament, Archer’s Deflector Shield System was quite advanced for its size, having a low power draw while still capable of absorbing 16,200 TerraJoules of energy. Perhaps more impressive than Archer’s speed (rated for a maximum burst speed of Warp 7), operating range and technology was its ability to land on various planetary surfaces. Coupled with specially engineered structural integrity and inertial damping systems, these cutters were ideal forward operating bases for planetary surveys, geological expeditions and other such operations. Launched in 2254, these ships rapidly became integral to Starfleet’s exploratory aspirations—deployed alone and with larger Frigates and Cruisers, often to perilous frontier regions such as the Triangle and Sector 21305 (known today as the ‘Badlands’). Perhaps the most famous Archer class ship was the Sagittarius (CU 1894). Constructed at the starship yards in orbit of Berengaria VII, she entered service in 2261 under Captain Adelard Nassir and Commander Clark Terrell. Based out of Starbase 47 in the Taurus Reach, she was assigned to support Starfleet’s highly classified Operation: Vanguard and saw numerous action against the Klingons & Tholians before the Starbase itself was destroyed in 2268. Beginning in 2273, the Archer class was gradually phased out of service as Starfleet shifted its focus and resources to the Class II Project which saw Archer succeeded in service by 5 separate classes—most notably Gagarin, Clarke and Oberth—beginning in 2275. Archer’s legacy though stretched on into the 24th Century, having a heavy influence on the

ubiquitous Saber class Scout as well as the Pegasus and Promixa Corvette classes.

Class Classification Service Number Active Length Beam Height Decks

Archer Cutter 2254-75 0 50m 26m 9m 3

Mass Compliment

231 metric tons 14

Armament Defense Systems

2 Type VI Phaser Emitters 1 2nd Class Torpedo Launcher Standard Deflector Shield System total capacity 16,200 TerraJoules Light Monotanium Single Hull

Editor’s Annotations Reading through the Vanguard novel series again has made me somewhat misty eyed for an era that for the longest time, didn’t get the proper level of respect in my opinion. That made it harder and harder to keep my current TMP kick going and so I let my mind go, brainstorming on what would make a good TOS update until I settled on the Archer class. Relatively unknown when Vanguard launched, readers quickly got a look at the massive station and the quirky little ‘outrider’ which found itself stuck in a variety of precarious situations. On the issue of classification, when I think of ‘Scout’, I think of actual starships—classes like Saladin, Saber or Nova. Archer on the other hand is vastly smaller, larger than the Danube or Pulsar class Runabouts I’ve profiled, but yet not quite as big as the Pegasus and Proxima class Corvettes. Taking its mission profile into consideration along with its size though, it made the most sense to me to call it a Cutter—sort of a 23rd Century Runabout if you will. The bulk of the description of the class itself is based on information presented in the novels, bolstered a bit by my opening paragraphs delving into the historical landscape in which Archer emerged.

Bibliography Logo—Kristian “Reverend” Trigwell (Gallery @ Star Trek Minutiae) Design/Schematics—Masao Okazaki (Starfleet Museum) Visuals—‘GMunoz’ (Star Trek: Bridge Commander Model) Mark Azevedo (DeviantART)