USS Prometheus separates into sections.
A section was a starship compartment that could operate as an independent spacecraft. Among forms of starship separation, a section was an autonomous unit derived from multi-vector assault mode, or MVAM. (STO - Call to Arms mission: "Welcome to Earth Spacedock")
History[]
Precursors[]
In the 23rd century, Federation Constitution-class starships could perform an emergency separation between the saucer section and the stardrive hull. Although both sections could operate independently, their functionality as a starship was curtailed without one another. In 2257, the USS Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike was forced to separate during its conflict with the Boundless in the Pergamum Nebula. Both components suffered damage. Soon after reintegration, the crippled vessel broke down. (DSC novel: The Enterprise War)
Enterprise-D saucer separation.
In the 2360s decade, the Galaxy-class USS Enterprise-D performed saucer separations to protect its civilian passengers. The saucer acted as a sublight lifeboat with limited offensive potential. (TNG episode & novelization: Encounter at Farpoint)
After years of service, the Galaxy-class saucer was combat ready but remained non-warp-capable. (TNG episode: "The Best of Both Worlds", ST video game: Armada II)
In an alternate timeline where Starfleet failed to save Earth from assimilation by Borg Cube 632 in 2367, the USS Enterprise-D lost its saucer section, forcing the remaining battle section permanently into the role of a starship. (TNG - The Worst of Both Worlds! comic: "The Bludgeonings of Chance!")
Multi-vector assault mode[]
In 2373, Starfleet launched the Prometheus-class for deep space tactical assignments. The vessel was theoretically capable of splitting into three autonomous, warp-capable sections, in a method called multi-vector assault mode.
The system had never been tested until 2374, when Romulan Tal Shiar agents hijacked the prototype USS Prometheus and triggered the MVAM to disable the pursuing USS Bonchune. The officer Nevala used the term "sections" to refer to the sections. While the Tal Shiar operated from Section Alpha's bridge, Sections Beta and Gamma functioned under remote control.
After a pair of Emergency Medical Holograms knocked out the Romulans, the separated Prometheus into its sections again, controlling them through voice commands from the bridge. Without further input, all three sections performed attack pattern Alpha and destroyed a D'deridex-class warbird.
During each deployment, a pair of small warp nacelles emerged from their dorsal and ventral recesses of Section Alpha. During the auto-separation process, the ship and its sections went to Blue Alert. (VOY episode: "Message in a Bottle")
Prometheus in MVAM.
The first block of Prometheus-class starships saw action in the Dominion War against the Dominion itself and other opponents, such as the Borg Collective. In 2375, the Prometheus employed MVAM, separating itself into the command section and the two combat sections to engage a Borg sphere. (Adventures RPG module: Gamma Quadrant Sourcebook)
In the 2380s decade, all three sections of the USS Prometheus were equipped with quantum slipstream drive and could operate independently for prolonged periods of time. (PRM novel: Fire with Fire)
Early in 2409, the Prometheus class and its sister classes of the advanced escort classification were incapable of separating into sections due to technical limitations discovered by Starfleet. ([[Wikipedia:STO|[[Ships of the Line ({{{2}}})|Ships of the Line]]]]WP, Prometheus class, Cerberus class pages)
Top view of a separating Prometheus.
Later that year, the Starfleet Corps of Engineers reached a breakthrough with the launch of the tier 5 multi-vector advanced escort, a new iteration of the Prometheus and its sister classes now capable of entering MVAM. While warp-capable, all sections reintegrated before warping out of a star system. (STO - Call to Arms mission: "Welcome to Earth Spacedock")
In the mirror universe, the sections of a separating advanced escort were called Terran vectors. (STO - New Dawn mission: "Badlands Battlezone")
Specifications[]
Terran Vector Alpha and Terran Vector Gamma.
Sections merged into a single ship. Visually, it was not readily apparent a starship could separate into sections. The separation could occur at warp speed. Each section was warp-capable. (VOY episode: "Message in a Bottle")
By 2385, at least one ship's sections were each equipped with quantum slipstream drive. (PRM novel: Fire with Fire)
In the early 25th century, a commanding officer could choose which section to command personally during separation, while the remaining sections served as escorts. When separated, the escorting sections were armed with phaser beam arrays and photon torpedo launchers, regardless of the ship's regular weapon equipment.
Because of the modular design of advanced escorts, components could be exchanged between related ship classes at Federation shipyards. In the shipyard interface, the saucer, hull and lower hull corresponded to the command section and combat sections. (STO - Call to Arms mission: "Welcome to Earth Spacedock")
By 2409, the Romulan Republic and the mirror universe's Romulan Republic could separate Ha'apax- and Haakona-class warbirds into a pair of sections. These were referred to as guardian warbird and assault warbird, respectively. (STO - Legacy of Romulus mission: "Explore the Flotilla")
Types of sections[]
- command section - equivalent to saucer section
- combat section - equivalent to secondary hull, split into upper and lower hull
- Terran vector:
- Terran Vector Alpha
- Terran Vector Beta
- Terran Vector Gamma