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U.S.S. Eldridge NCC-1173
Federation Experimental Transwarp Project
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The U.S.S. Eldridge, NCC-1173, was originally a front line cruiser in the fleet, along with her fellow Constitutions, and received the same series of upgrades pioneered by the U.S.S. Enteprise in the 2270s.
When Starfleet began initial experimentation with transwarp propulsion, the Excelsior was the official prototype for transwarp, the ship that would be in the spotlight throughout the Federation.
What was not known, even by some top officials in Starfleet Command, is that there was another transwarp testbed alongside the Excelsior.
The U.S.S. Eldridge was selected to be THE REAL transwarp refit, while the Excelsior played the 'poster child' role.
She was secretly outfitted with an identical transwarp drive currently installed in the Excelsior.
Her purpose was to test the various components and aspects of the transwarp drive, and if any serious flaws were discovered, they would be corrected and incorporated into the Excelsior.
Those in Starfleet that authorized this secret project knew that if something serious were to happen to the Excelsior, that it would cause concern throughout the Federation, and quite possibly limit Starfleet's resources to move towards the future, and hinder any further research into advanced propulsion technology.
Also, if the Excelsior was lost, years of research and construction on her design would have gone down the drain.
After months of various testing, the Eldridge was finally ready to conduct her first transwarp flight.
This test flight occured at the same time that Captain Montgomery Scott sabotaged the Excelsior's transwarp drive so she could not pursue when Admiral Kirk stole the Enterprise in an attempt to go to the Genesis planet.
Just as the Eldridge engaged her transwarp drive, something went horribly wrong.
The transwarp drive became unstable, and although the Eldridge managed to achieve transwarp speed for a second, she suddenly disappeared, leaving behind unusual subspace readings, and debris.
When the Excelsior was towed back into spacedock after failing to pursue the Enterprise, Captain Scott's sabotage was discovered.
After the disaster and loss of the Eldridge, those in charge of the transwarp project realized that Captain Scott, with his sabotage of the Excelsior, inadvertently saved the entire ship and crew from the same fate as the Eldridge.
What little data they collected from the Eldridge before she was presumeably destroyed was used to modify the Excelsior's transwarp drive, but eventually it was discovered that the transwarp drive wouldn't work.
Breakthroughs had been discovered, and new technology created from the Excelsior project, so it was not a total waste, and the Excelsior was fitted with a brand new standard warp core, and eventually became one of the most successful ships in Starfleet history.
Admiral Kirk's crew were absolved of all charges except one, which was held against Kirk.
The secret events behind the Excelsior project is what saved Kirk's crew from more serious punishment.
The U.S.S. Eldridge was officially declared lost with all hands while on a deep space exploration mission in the Beta Quadrant, and all records and information concerning her true fate were sealed away, never to be revealed again.
In the mid 2420s, the Federation once again attempted transwarp drive.
Instead of designing and building an entirely new starship for the project, they decided to use one already in service.
The Constitution-Class U.S.S. Resurrection, NCC-1796, first ship to receive the Mark 6 step system refit, was seriously damamged in an encounter with the Borg.
She was repaired and outfitted with the new experimental transwarp drive.
This new transwarp drive benefitted from nearly 150 years of research, since the failure of the original transwarp project, and also from information gathered on advanced propulsion technology discovered by Voyager during her time in the Delta Quadrant.
The year 2427 was to be the year the Resurrection would successfully break the transwarp barrier.
After undergoing last minute systems checks, the Resurrection engaged her transwarp drive.
Just as she did, fluctuations in the transwarp field occured, and interacted with a dorment transwarp signature, and mysteriously the U.S.S. Eldridge appeared in normal space within the sector, sending out a distress call.
The U.S.S. Resurrection responded, and discovered that the ship had sustained moderate damage, but the most shocking discovery made was that the original crew were still alive.
The Eldridge was towed back to the nearest starbase where a full investigation was launched, and eventually her secret mission was discovered.
After the ship was inspected, it was discovered that the Eldridge somehow managed to slip into a pocket of subspace, practically trapped in time due to her transwarp drive, but the ship's systems somehow managed to record unusual data about the transwarp drive.
This information was used to help make additional modifications to the Resurrection's transwarp drive, and in 2428, she successfully broke the transwarp barrier safely, maintaining a speed equivalent to Warp 10.5 for 5 minutes.
The crew of the Eldridge were exonerated of any charges, since they were obeying orders from a superior officer, and were allowed to return home.
The ship herself was taken by Starfleet Intelligence Section 31, and her current status is unknown, and knowledge of her transwarp mission is still classified by Starfleet.
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Author(s) : F9thDaihak and ModelsPlease
Original Mesh and Textures : p81 and Khaliban
Retextures by : GAFY?
Kitbashed and HP by : F9thDaihak
Based on the story : "The Philadelphia Experiment"
Schematic : Starship Schematic Database
Copyright and Distribution Permissions
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