Basic Information
Built at: Spacedock (Starbase One), Earth
Decommissioned and given to: A.S.A. Fleet Yards, Earth
Refitted at: R.A.S. Starbase Clannad Fleet Yards, Reydovan Prime
Propulsion
Warp Engines: The engines were slightly refitted to handle the current warp scale.
Impulse engines: The impulse drive was untouched during the refit.
Thrusters: Thruster speed was increased so the vessel could leave Spacedock without much ado.
Warp Core: The Skyrider was given an up-to-date Federation warp core.
Computer core: The Skyrider is equipped with an up-to-date Federation computer core.
Systems: The refit of the Skyrider was to make the vessel look the same outside, but its systems totally redone. The science and tactical consoles were refitted the most, the ops and helm stations the least.
Other Design Changes
Weaponry: The Skyrider was given Type VII phasers, and it's supply of 50 torpedoes was split to 25 photon, 25 quantum.
The Bridge: The bridge on the Skyrider was, once again, the same outside, but the inside was refitted to look like a Sovereign-class bridge with one chair in the center of the room.
Engineering: Updated, like the rest of the ship.
Shields: The Skyrider was severely damaged in a Klingon encounter in 2293 (due to faulty shielding), so when A.S.A. gave the vessel to Starbase Clannad, the first thing that the refit crew did was enhance the shields. They are a regenerative type of shielding.
Ablative Armor: An Ablative Armor Matrix was added to the Skyrider, so its hull would be protected.
Biographical Details
The U.S.S. Skyrider was the last Constitution-refit class vessel ever commissioned by the Federation Starfleet. After its commissioning in 2292, the Skyrider was instrumental in assisting the Excelsior in the Reydovan Sector, where Captain Sulu had been for almost three years. The Skyrider was one of the ships chosen to escort Chancellor Gorkon to Earth after the Praxis incident, but her commander at the time, Commodore Joseph Meyer, stepped down in favor of the Enterprise-A. Meyer and most of his crew were killed in a Klingon attack while patrolling the Neutral Zone, but the helmsman survived, and took the vessel back to Spacedock, where it was decommissioned and then given to the Alpha Squadron Alliance. The Alliance let it sit in storage for 80 years, until Vice-Admiral Michael Davenport ordered its refitting at Starbase Clannad. Fleet Captain Joshua W. Underwood, the commander of the base, went immediately to work, and installed a new bridge interior, new weapons systems, and increased speed. It was finished in 2371. The Alliance fell in 2372, thus becoming the United Federation of Allied Simulations. Underwood was promoted to Commodore in 2374 and was given the ship he had refitted: the brand new-looking Skyrider. It was recommissioned in 2375.
After three years, Underwood was promoted to Rear Admiral, and assumed the Presidency of UFAS. Underwood and Fleet Admiral Mendez of DSA (former President of UFAS) agreed to merge, making the Republic of Allied Simulations. Underwood was promoted to Fleet Admiral, then made the Skyrider the secondary flagship.
That year, after the Dominion War had ended, the Skyrider was destroyed by a Romulan warbird in an encounter that remains classified. Admiral Underwood and 26 crewmen escaped from the explosion and the Federation Council filed a protest against the Romulan Empire. Underwood was demoted to Vice Admiral for "reckless action" in that conflict and was left on Starbase Clannad. While he was there, Underwood rebuilt the Skyrider and took it to Earth in 2381, so he could show the Council that while a starship can be destroyed, human determination was as indestructible as neutronium. It had the right effect. The Council awarded him with the vessel's command. He ran the ship for nearly 100 years until he, and his crew, retired from Starfleet with honors in 2475.
