Conestoga II-class starship

The Conestoga II-class is a Federation colonial transport and fleet auxiliary vessel first commissioned in 2345. Designed for long-duration colonization and humanitarian missions, the class became Starfleet’s largest and most capable deep-space transport platform of the 24th century.

Built for endurance, population relocation, and independence, each Conestoga II carried over 5,000 passengers and could operate autonomously for up to twenty years. These ships were humanity’s great arks — slow, powerful, and entirely self-sustaining.

Design Overview

Constructed at Utopia Planitia and San Francisco Fleet Yards, the Conestoga II-class blended civilian comfort standards with Starfleet engineering discipline. The class was conceived during the Federation’s mid-24th-century expansion wave, when the demand for permanent, long-range colony transports surged.

While slow by fleet standards, the Conestoga II could maintain Warp 6.5 for decades of continuous operation. The ships were heavily modular, featuring detachable planetary landing pods capable of autonomous atmospheric entry and surface settlement.

Each vessel functioned as a self-contained migration ecosystem: hydroponic bays, full-scale replicator foundries, educational sectors, and medical complexes. The class was armed with six low-output phaser arrays and two photon torpedo launchers, intended for defensive use only.

Specifications

• Length: 940 meters
• Beam: 365 meters
• Height: 145 meters
• Mass: 5.8 million metric tons
• Crew: 450
• Passenger Capacity: 5,000 civilians/colonists
• Cruising Speed: Warp 6.5
• Maximum Speed: Warp 7.6 (emergency 7.9 for six hours)
• Range: 20 years without resupply
• Auxiliary Craft: 10 Danube-class runabouts, 40 Type-9/10 shuttles, 24 cargo pods
• Colony Pods: 18 modular surface habitats

Deck Layout

Primary Hull:

• Decks 1–5: Command, navigation, flight operations, and senior crew quarters
• Decks 6–14: Passenger habitation domes, education sectors, and arboretum rings
• Decks 15–22: Agricultural bays, hydroponic farms, water reclamation, and environmental control
• Decks 23–28: Industrial replicators, fabrication centers, and colony pod maintenance
• Decks 29–30: Medical wards, trauma units, and emergency quarantine suites

Secondary Hull:

• Decks 31–35: Engineering, warp core, and antimatter containment
• Decks 36–40: Cargo bays, shuttle maintenance, and hangar control
• Deck 41: Docking ports and auxiliary control centers

Role in the Dominion War

By 2374, Starfleet’s losses in the Dominion War had reached catastrophic levels. As frontline fleets collapsed, Conestoga II-class transports were pressed into emergency service as refugee ships, hospital carriers, and logistics platforms. Their cavernous interiors and long-range power systems made them ideal for mass evacuations and humanitarian relief operations across collapsing Federation worlds.

These ships would later play a central role in one of the most secret operations of the war.

Operation Noah’s Ark (The Ark Mission)

In mid-2375, as Dominion forces tightened their grip on the Alpha Quadrant, the Federation Council and Starfleet Command authorized a classified evacuation initiative: Operation Noah’s Ark, codenamed The Ark Mission.

The mission’s objective was the preservation of the Federation’s legacy — not as a government, but as an idea. Under the direct command of Captain Rebecca Talon of the USS Denver, a small mixed fleet would carry the Federation’s brightest scientists, diplomats, and families ten thousand light-years beyond known space.

The core of this fleet would consist of five Conestoga II-class transports, each converted into a generation ship.

The Fleet

Flagship:
USS Denver – Nebula-class, flagship and fleet command vessel under Rear Admiral Rebecca Talon

Escorts and Support:
IRW Xoval – D'deridex-class Romulan warbird (defected and pledged to the Federation cause)
USS Saratoga – Miranda-class refit, commanded by Captain Angel Blake
USS Texarkana – Excelsior-class refit, converted into a mobile refinery, fabrication yard, and fuel carrier

Conestoga II-class Transports:
USS Mariposa (NCC-79003) – Human contingent and command coordination ship
USS Conestoga II (NCC-78100) – Vulcan contingent; science and philosophy academies
USS Hopewell (NCC-78123) – Andorian, Tellerite, and Betazoid contingents; agricultural divisions
USS Arkadia (NCC-78147) – Civilian medical and cultural transport; Bajoran and Trill communities
USS San Francisco (NCC-78112) – Mixed-species complement; primary Federation historical and data archives

The Breen Attack

The Ark Fleet was still under final preparation at Earth Spacedock and Utopia Planitia when the unthinkable happened. Without warning, the Breen Confederacy joined the Dominion and launched a devastating surprise assault on Earth.

Massive energy discharges tore across San Francisco and Starfleet Headquarters. Spacedock itself was rocked by impacts, its superstructure venting atmosphere into orbit. Dozens of ships were destroyed or crippled before they could respond.

In the chaos, the Conestoga IIs — already loaded with civilians, supplies, and cryogenic archives — were ordered to launch immediately.

The USS Denver led the fleet out of Spacedock through clouds of burning debris and Breen fighter wings swarming the orbital perimeter. The Mariposa and Conestoga II followed under covering fire from the Saratoga and Texarkana.

Several tugs and auxiliary craft were lost in the escape. The fleet’s warp jump from Sol System occurred as Breen disruptor fire rained down through Earth’s upper atmosphere.

Last Recorded Transmission

Federation Intelligence recovered one final transmission, partially scrambled but authenticated to the USS Mariposa, moments after the fleet cleared the outer system:

“We are away. Fleet integrity at seventy-eight percent. Earth burning below. We carry the flame. May it never go dark.”

After that, all contact with the Ark Fleet ceased.

Legacy

The fate of the Ark Fleet remains unknown. Starfleet officially listed all participating vessels as destroyed during the Breen attack. However, unverified long-range sensor echoes detected years later in the Beta Quadrant suggested five massive warp signatures moving in tight formation far beyond known Federation space.

To later generations, the Conestoga II-class became a mythic symbol of hope — a class not defined by its design or battles, but by the people it carried into the void when all else was lost.

In historical archives, the phrase “We carry the flame” became synonymous with the enduring spirit of the Federation itself.