When it comes to exploring the final frontier, Starfleet has been widely experimental in it’s design philosophy and thanks to a galaxy rich with resources – and possibly, yeah, overcoming capitalist ideals – is never shy on supplies to try out new ideas or unload a whole new line of ships for specific mission types or general experimentation.
Still, while designs and ideas rotate on a regular basis to bring the specialist ships such as the Protostar or Defiant Classes, the core fleet is always held together with standard builds that can last for decades. In approaching a rebuild of the fleet to incorporate new ideas, new technologies, and new lessons learned from an ever increasing range of new and more powerful enemies to Federation ideals, Starfleet’s engineers sometimes go back to the well and lean on old classics that stood the test of time to stand as the backbone of a new lineage for a new generation.
The Excelsior II Class is one of those designs. Launched in 2284, the original Excelsior Class was the 23rd century’s answer to shepherding in anew era of Starship. While the Constitution Class has flown the flag of Starfleets exploration efforts, and the Shangri-La offering a more combat orientated companion, it’s time had come and after a few decades of new discoveries, the Excelsior was born; an updated, streamlined multi-purpose explorer to show off what Starfleet can do.
Initially the Excelsior had an embarrassing start thanks to some minor sabotage. Inspite of this it became the flag bearer for the Federation, even representing the third in line for the 1701 registry. But it’s legacy lasted longer than it’s predecessor. Despite being replaced by the Ambassador Class and eventually the Galaxy Class, the Excelsior was a unique design. Nearly a hundred years later it survived – both with ships still hobbling along from the late 23rd century, and new ships being commissioned with what should have been an outdated concept.
Long into the Dominion war, when everything was thrown at the wall from the carrier style Akira to the ‘escort’ Defiant, two dated designs were still more than capable enough to swap between combat and exploration. Whether fighting on the front lines or charting the farthest stars, the Excelsior Class seemed to thrive. So when it came to finding a new backbone of the fleet, what better a class to build on than one of the most resilient designs in Starfleet history?
In the real world, this design might be numbered with a II, but it’s certainly not the first time someone has tried to bring the Excelsior class to a new age. Whetherit be Star Trek Online’s somewhat bold resolute class, or even the on-screen retrofit by John Eaves for Star Trek Generations, the elegance and style has lasted the test of time.
Bringing it forward, the Excelsior II Class was designed by two of Star Trek’s best artists and creators of their own Enterprise – John Eaves and Doug Drexler with a CGI assist and refinement by the (severely underrated!) Sean Hargreaves.
Bringing more weight and bulk to the party, the E-II comes with the same base layout stretched to match the era building towards the Sovereign and Odyssey styles. At 588 meters in length, it brings in all the style and flair of the original but with a larger volume and more room to customise.
The Excelsior II is of course available as part of Q2’s Fleet for New Captains. Currently the E-II isn’t listed in our Fleet Database, but is available to new captains! Members can find out more in the Officers Hub!
About the author
A Fistful of Down To Earth Adventures
Warping through the stars always searching for the next adventure, it's rare that Star Trek ever comes home to Earth. Through all the series, and highlighted in Enterprise, the third rock from our sun is kinda important in the grand scheme of things but our eyes are always far beyond the stars. So for no particular reason at all - certainly not any recent new series launching - we're taking a look at Trek's more Earthbound moments.... Homefront/Paradise Lost Deep Space Nine Season 4 The Founders said they were everywhere. Now we know they're on Earth. Recordings revealed a founder during the bombing of a Federation meeting on the home-world and Sisko is recalled. His knowledge and experience with the Dominion is vital to securing Earth against the inevitable war. But while the Dominion may be the enemy, they aren't […]
Some Scary Ship! The Griffin Incident; Strange New Worlds S4E02
Returning from a conference for future leaders of Starfleet, Spock and La'an (with Kirk hitching a ride) find a long-lost ship adrift. The USS Griffin's disappearance nine years prior had never been explained, becoming a bit of folklore within the fleet. Stum,bling upon it by chance, the trio board the ship hoping to find an answer to the mystery only to get more than they bargained for... Writers: Robbie Thompson Director: Axelle Carolyn I'll preface this now by pointing out I love creepy sci fi settings.. The isolation of being trapped on a derelict ship with no escape and no one to call for help has always been something I've enjoyed from the obvious Event Horizon, even to old classics like The Thing. So I was excited for this one by the trailer alone and can't say I was disappointed! […]
Mars Attacks! Valles Marineris; Strange New Worlds S4E01
Since losing Batel at the end of the last season, life for the crew of the Enterprise hasn't stopped. Mainly because Pike won'd let them. Racing from mission to mission without even a water break in between, the crew are getting a little run down after six months of back to back nonsense. And it's all because of Pike running away from the loss and burying himself in adventure to keep the grief at bay. As Admiral April pops over for a chat, and to offer Pike a promotion he doesnt seem too interested in, a break doesn't seem to be coming any time soon. Writers: Henry Alonso Myers, Alan B. McElroyDirector: Chris Fisher Sent to investigate some new weird space stuff, things go completely mental when the Enterprise gets pulled into it and thrown, Caretaker style, into an unfamiliar […]
Mark Mitchell; 1969-2026
It's with great sadness we report that our Director of Operations, Mark Mitchell, has sadly passed away suddenly earlier this week. Mark was one of our longest serving members and a huge part of what helped shape what SFCQ2 is today. Having served in leadership as a CO, throughout fleet support and originating the role of Director of Administration, Mark's unyielding dedication to the club and his multiple contributions over the decades undoubtedly make him worthy of his Legend handle. From writing the entire base for our modern Academy to being vital in the fleet restructure, to offering support and advice to countless members to support leadership and direction, Mark's efforts serve, and will likely continue to serve, as the backbone of everything that makes Q2 with his primary goal always being to offer the best of everything and push […]
Gamma Quarter 2403 Promotions & Citations
Throughout it’s entire existence SFC has grown, evolved and thrived due tot he commitment and passion of our officers and crew. Keen members can make a huge difference within their unit or the fleet as a whole, and we like to ensure members are rewarded and recognised for all they bring to the organisation. Starting this quarter, we're opening every new period within the fleet celebrating those who have made an impact and engaged in being a positive influence in their unit or in Q2 overall. The most obvious form of rewards comes from our naval-based rank structure. Utilising the same base rank structure seen on screen, SFC takes members through their journey as a Starfleet officer by giving members a chance to rise throughout the ranks from Ensign to Captain. Having had an active and exciting year, Lt Commander […]
A Fistful of ‘Spirk’
We've been spoiled with Spock in the past few years with Discovery introducing a younger iteration of the character long before he became the refined man of logic that made him famous, and continued that story through Strange New Worlds and his time under Captain Pike's command. As Strange New Worlds continues, giving more history to the original series line up and the early meetings of Spock and Kirk as it makes way for the beginning of the Kirk era, we thought we'd look back at some moments that made the partnership one of the most popular combinations in science fiction. JOURNEY TO BABEL TOS Season 2 Spock's got a bit of an issue with sharing. Secret brother who was shunned. Secret sister who's fate was classified. And despite trusting the Enterprise crew with his life, it was clearly only […]
Related
[Ships of the Line] The Galaxy Class
The peak of mid-24th century design, the Galaxy Class was one of the fleet's most iconic capitol ships that inspired a whole new generation of Starfleet. Built for longevity, the Galaxy was conceived as a deep space exploration cruiser that was not only an adaptable megastructure of science and research, but one that was entirely self sustainable whilst giving it's crew all the creature comforts they need for years, or even decades, without having to turn back home. The key to the Galaxy Class' success was in large part down to it's modular design. It's vast internal space, mainly within the ships primary hull, was designed with extreme flexibility in mind to the point that some ships, including the flagship Enterprise, were launched with around a third of it's internal volume vacant for later improvements or mission specific adaption. Deck […]
[Ships of the Line] Send ‘nubes! The Danube Class Runabout
The world of Star Trek is filled with graceful and elegant ships, huge forces of nature packed to the rafters with a bustling crew with every skill imaginable under one roof for any situation. But not all of the fleet's numbers are massive hulks ready for adventure. Sometimes you just need a little runner to get you from one place to another for missions that might last a few weeks more than a few years. Put into action in the late 2360's, the Danube Class Runabout was ideal for short term missions or teams that needed more than a cramped and empty transport shuttle to get the job done. At at least four or five times the size of a standard shuttlecraft, the Danube class was a step up from the range of short-range craft. Designed as a tightly condensed […]
[Ships of the Line] The Pathfinder
Building upon the discoveries and experiences of Voyager's unplanned trip through the Delta Quadrant, the Pathfinder class is the first line of starships designed specifically for the Delta Quadrant. Less a replacement for the Intrepid and more of a specialised offshoot, the Pathfinder was conceived for a return to the Delta Quadrant with a ship and crew prepared for what to expect. [Image Note: Pathfinder Class model by Thomas Marrone. Screencap taken in Star Trek Online with Sovereign Refit Livery.] After being stranded in the Delta Quadrant, the USS Voyager returned to Earth in 2378 with a little intervention from their future selves, Borg transwarp conduits and enough technology from the future that would drive Temporal Investigations to insanity. Between the new technologies brought in by Admiral Janeway to the discoveries and modifications applied to the ship throughout it's isolated […]
[Ships of the Line] The Ambassador Class
A stepping stone between two pivotal design era's, the Ambassador Class was introduced by the 2320's as a replacement for the Excelsior and Constellation lines before being itself replaced with the larger and more adaptable Galaxy Class. Constructed during a time of cautious optimism in the decades following the original Khitomer conference and relative silence from the Romulan Empire. Strong and sturdy in it's nature, the Ambassador line were installed as a key front line heavy cruiser as a deterrent against enemies of the Federation to take advantage of the relative peace of the early 24th century. Traditional in it's layout, the design process was more drawn out than most and included several variations in style and layout before a more solid and simple base was produced for the final model which included a traditional secondary hull linking back to […]
[Ships of the Line] Dauntless Class (2380’s)
In 2374 the crew of Voyager, stranded in the Delta Quadrant were given a life line; an advanced Starship complete with slipstream drive that would reduce the time of their journey back to Earth form decades to months. Appearing alongside an introduction form Starfleet, the Dauntless appeared to be the next step of Starship evolution. Until they realised it was all a lie – an alien ship dressed up as a Federation ship in a revenge plot that would have led the all to their deaths. Despite the truth being revealed, Voyager's crew had extensively studied the Dauntless and would later try and apply some of the research in an abandoned mission. Once they did return home, thanks to the Borg transwarp network, the Dauntless research was handed over to Starfleets R&D division to reverse engineer their findings and create […]
Relay Recap: July 2024
All Features Universe Categories Fleet Alert Comms GORN GIRL recap; july 2025 Picking up on the Season 2 cliff-hanger, Strange New Worlds returned to our screens this month to find Captain Pike and his crew on the edge of war with the Gorn as Season 3 was finally released!Exploring new worlds and new problems, the Enterprise crew are back in action on Paramount Plus and we're keeping ourselves up to date with weekly episode discussion threads on our FB Continuing Mission Group & Weekly episode reviews from Admin ! Explore... Episode Reviews Spoilers Group ACROSS THE UNIVERSE As we look back on Pike's adventures on the Enterprise in the prequel series, Paramount also gave us a look at whats to come next as Entertainment Weekly and SDCC's Star Trek Universe panel gave us a sneak peek at the reopening of […]
