In the finale of the Spacedock's celebration of the past, present, and future of the ST:CCG, Klingon exchange officers have procured information on the latest of the proudest ships in the Federation; the:
The U.S.S. Enterprise-E's uses:
"I'm Gonna Push You Around/I'm Gonna Push You Down": Unlike most Federation vessels, the U.S.S. Enterprise-E is suitable for combat operations. Weapons 9 is sufficient to damage most Klingon Attack Cruisers and Romulan Warbirds, while Shielding of 10 means that only the most vigourous attacks will damage the latest Enterprise. Unlike many other superb combat vessels (the Husnock Ship comes to mind), the U.S.S. Enterprise-E combines these remarkable combat attributes with an excellent Range of 10. Hence, the U.S.S. Enterprise-E is able to get to the battles so that it can win them.
Unfortunately, the U.S.S. Enterprise-E is not especially suitable for Borg-hunting. Even with the minimum crew, it provides only 4 Weapons per crewmember--not as efficient as the K'Vort-class Bird-of-Prey. In addition, the staffing requirements make the U.S.S. Enterprise-E unsuitable for use with a Kurlan Naiskos. With only one Enterprise-E icon personnel with two different classifications, and only three classifications total represented among those personnel, it is difficult to crew the U.S.S. Enterprise-E with a suitably small Kurlan team.
Wherever You Go, There You Are: The U.S.S. Enterprise-E is also a superb mission-completion vessel. High Range means that the U.S.S. Enterprise-E gets there on time, every time. In addition, high Shields provide protection against marauding attack forces. Combined with the ever-useful holodeck (complete with new FC holograms) and the Garbage-Scow towing Tractor Beam, the U.S.S. Enterprise-E offers a superb vehicle for a mission-completion deck.
You Can't Have Too Much Of A Good Thing... : ...and Weapons are good things, indeed. Specifically, the U.S.S. Enterprise-E gets a significant bonus to its Weapons when fighting Borg vessels--marvelous for scoring direct hits on those bothersome Spheres.. As if the weapon bonuses were not enough, the U.S.S. Enterprise-E also benefits from Wall Of Ships and the endlessly popular Captain's Log when the endlessly popular Jean-Luc Picard is aboard.
And yet, no ship is perfect...
What, You Though *You* Decided What Personnel You Use?: The counter to all of the U.S.S. Enterprise-E's advantages is its unusual staffing requirements--specifically, the demand for two Enterprise-E personnel. Although these personnel are quite useful and would deserve serious consideration even when not using the U.S.S. Enterprise-E, the latest ship to bear the NCC-1701 registry number requires that one build one's entire deck with the ship in mind.
Final Analysis: The NCC-1701E rounds out the "Enterprise Four" with a bang. Not only is it useful in many different decks, its limiting factor is not especially limiting at all. If the ST:CCG fares as well as this vessel did, the future is bright indeed.
Next week: Klingon soldiers from an alternate reality bring the I.K.C. Chang for examination--at the request of Terix and Kahless.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Feel free to e-mail Phalanx
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