Because biometric systems are based on bioneural technology, they suffer from the same drawbacks as the older technology: they are difficult to maintain, somewhat tempramental, and prone to suffer from conditions affecting other biological life aboard the ship. To partially counter this, biometric computer systems are often enhanced with synthetic immunities to virii in their RNA chains. This, however, sometimes has its own drawbacks: the biometric systems sometimes react to parasites or pathogens in the ship's atmosphere.

The cluster torpedo is especially devastating as an anti-fighter point defense weapon: when deployed in a spread along the approach vector of an incoming fighter group, very few of the attacking fighters will survive this wide-area attack. However, this torpedo is also effective in capital ship engagements, spreading its damage in a much wider area than a standard quantum torpedo. Finally, these torpedoes could be used in a pattern to search for hostile cloaked vessels over a wide area.

Savant can take orders, search the ship's database, or can appear to operate any console. It is possible for a single person to fly Coro and operate her systems using Savant as a go-between. The interface literally is the personification of Coronado.

In addition to these duties, Savant can monitor the current mission and make information related to the mission available to key officers or personnel from the ship's database. "She" (Savant, by default, is displayed as a human female of indeterminite race) can also direct the actions of the other holographic programs aboard ship and in so doing start repairs on the ship and aid to the crew in the event of a ship-wide disaster that disables the sentient officers and crew aboard. Not quite sentient in the base configuration, the interface is limited to the locations aboard Coronado that are fitted with holographic emitters. However, Savant can also participate in Away teams using Coro's holographic projection system, so long as the ship remains within 25,000 kilometers of the surface of a planet or the site of an Away mission. Having the full resources of the ship's main computer so available is often a tremendous advantage!

The standard holographic program aboard most Starfleet vessels is the Emergency Medical Hologram, or EMH. Designed as a short term supplement to the ship's medical personnel, the EMH is capable of instantaneous transfer to any point on the ship that contains holographic emitters (aboard Coronado, this includes the Bridge, Engineering, Sickbay, holodecks, all Shuttle and Cargo Bays, and the two main crew lounges). The EMH can act as an intern, an additional doctor, or can enter hazardous areas aboard ship. Though not designed to be sentient, the EMH database will expand with repeated or continued use and may have to be periodically purged and reinitialized. The EMH is not known for its winning personality, but will become more and more lifelikeas it is allowed to interact with others, generating a personality to suit the ship's complement.

The Emergency Security Hologram, or ESH, is an experimental program designed to confuse Threat forces in cases where the ship is boarded. The computer forms the ESH visually from the images of random ship's crew in the area, and up to eight ESH programs may be running simultaneously. The ESH allows Security or other ship's personnel in the area of potential Threat force boarders to use the ESH as decoys -- the hope is that boarders will fire at the holographic personnel instead of the real ones. The ESH is extremely limited at this time, and cannot do much more than chase boarders while wielding a holographic phaser at them.

Finally, the Emergency Engineering Hologram is available aboard selected Federation vessels. Intended as a short term supplement to the ship's Engineering staff, the EEH can perform minor ship's repairs, or work under the direction of the ship's sentient engineers. They can also safely travel to hazardous areas of the ship where a biological lifeform could not survive, as long as holo-emitters are present. Also not designed to be sentient, the EEH database will also expand to fill all available storage if used repeatedly or at length. However, the EEH can be selectively purged, targetting only elements outside the factual database information. In addition, the EEH's visual appearance can be modified, and by default is set to an extremely non-threatening personality and appearance.

Approximately four seconds after launch, the torpedo "arms itself" by activating the internal replicator to generate a shell of false matter across the leading edge of the torpedo. This renders any shielded target immune to false matter torpedoes; false matter is incapable of damaging any sort of energy field or forcefield. However, against a non-shielded target, it turns the torpedo into what is essentially a flying drill-bit: the torpedo can and will burrow into any unshielded target that it strikes. For some reason yet to be determined, in the M64 galaxy, "false matter" (a substance/energy field whose properties are still being studied) can pass through any normal matter.

Upon reaching a pre-programmed "depth" within the target, "detonation" occurs, which is very different from a standard torpedo detonation. Instead of exploding, the torpedo's internal replicator converts the matter/energy store into a series of six to ten false matter "wires." These wires are generated along moving "trajectories" within the target, essentially becoming moving blades, chopping the target area to pieces from within.

However, a false matter torpedo "detonation" is unique in that it relies entirely on secondary effects to damage the target. If the torpedo and its attendant false matter wires fall entirely within a shuttlebay or fuel tank, for instance, and the wires slice nothing, no damage will be done to the target and the torpedo will fall idle and inert inside the target. However, if the target interior spaces are well understood, a large number of shorter wires created within the target's engineering spaces, for instance, will likely cause catastrophic damage to the target with only a single strike.

The false matter torpedo was devised in the M64 galaxy for use against Pfhor warships. These warships, which can be 2,000 meters long or longer, have demonstrated only two vulnerabilities. First, they rely on incredibly thick armor over shields (which they do not carry or use); and second, they remain relatively motionless in combat, relying on their thick skins to protect them. To date, standard Starfleet ordnance has been only marginally effective in penetrating Pfhor armor. It is hoped that the false matter torpedo will make Starfleet vessels a credible threat to Pfhor warships.

Use of this weapon requires that the deflector array be charged for at least two hours for a 10-second discharge, but the discharge will be more powerful than the combined output of the rest of the starship's weaponry, and the discharge can be very precisely targeted.

The disadvantages of the Lance are many. First, the discharge will irradiate the area for several dozen meters around the deflector array, requiring that the area be evacuated and later repaired using radiation protocols. Second, use of the Lance frequently overloads the main power systems of the starship using it. Third and finally, shields cannot be raised during the Lance charging sequence (two hours); doing so will neutralize any charge built up to that point and may overload the graviton emitters, rendering the shields useless until repaired.

Great care must be taken when using the HDS: it is extremely energy intensive, often requing that one or more of the other ship's power systems be temporarily shut down while the HDS is in operation. Most commonly, phaser power is routed to the HDS when at Alert status, requiring that the ship forgo the use of the phasers while the HDS is in operation. However, other major power systems (such as impulse maneuvering, shields, the IDF/SIF, primary life support, etc.) may be used instead.

Hornets have very low maintenance requirements. Coronado normally carries four Hornets in an upper shuttlecraft bay.

Hornets are not generally given names, but Coro's are known informally as Cortez, de Leon, Vega, and Santiago. Less than three meters tall and only ten meters long, Hornets require a minimum of deck space; spare parts are also similarly compact. Coronado generally carries modules rendering the Hornets capable of firing microtorpedos, running sensor scan or data-gathering operations, providing electronic countermeasures, or acting as a transporter relay. With the sensor module in place, Hornets can also act as armed sensor relay pods for the starship. While it is unlikely that these relatively small shuttles will come into general use aboard larger starships, for smaller ones the Hornet has proven ideal.

Kelaka was originally conceived to augment Coro's exploratory and tactical functions, while providing an information-gathering platform that could gather detailed information from a distance without relying on active sensing systems that could potentially give away its position. While the full extent of the equipment aboard Kelaka has not been disclosed by the design team members, we believe she is extremely well outfitted for covert operations.

His equipment package includes an extremely powerful communications array, a powerful computer system, and a custom-built stealth device. While the stealth device is not as effective as a cloaking device, it does shield the vessel from visual scans and is ninety-seven percent effective at avoiding other forms of scans. When in stealth mode, Kelaka also minimizes emissions. Due to his size, he is extemely difficult to locate when operating under these parameters. Kelaka is launched from Coro's lower saucer Captain's Gig mount.

The LORASON array, mounted aboard U.S.S. Coronado, NCC-97901, provides high-resolution long-range sensor scans to a range of 21 light-years, more than triple any previous sensor technology. Even more important, low-resolution range has been increased to more than 60 light-years. The LORASON array aboard Coro is built into a series of dedicated modules in conformal mounts above and below the frigate's main deflector and long range sensor cluster. Advanced bioneural computing capacity installed in the modules also allow for real-time processing and observation of sensor data, displaying it in a holographic Stellar Cartography facility on deck 9, forward of Coro's Command Information Center (CIC).

Even more impressive, the computer capacity in the LORASON module allows Coronado to combine sensor data available from dozens of platforms and display that data on a single screen or in the CIC. It is theoretically possible for the commanding officer of Coronado or embarked Admiralty to observe and direct the movements of hundreds of Starfleet vessels for a variety of purposes, including defense, response to distress calls, relief to Federation members, colonization, transport, exploration... the possibilities are endless.

A good balance between a large shuttle and a small runabout, these ships are incredibly tough and versatile. They will easily accomodate seven passengers and their cargo, and can be refitted for a variety of applications. Minervas can be handled by a single pilot, or two people can split the flying duties. Her twin microwarp engines are modernized versions of those originally carried by the Danube class runabout and allow the type 12 shuttle to cruise at speeds exceeding warp 7 for a period of more than a week.

Coronado carries a pair of Minervas, informally known as Diana and Teresa. While Minervas can be fitted with the same detachable modules that were previously carried by Danube class runabouts, Coro only has one such module aboard: a weapons/sensor relay module. With this module in place, a Minerva can act as an armed sensor relay pod for Coronado, increasing her sensor range. Minervas are also fitted with medium-duty shields, three type VIII phasers (two forward, one aft; maximum output 4,200 kW), and a microtorpedo sling. The Minerva class shuttle should be in general use for some time to come!

Most commonly used on probes or shuttlecraft, multispatial shielding is incapaple of so protecting an object of greater than 75,000 kilograms of mass, or larger than approximately 20 meters in length. In these applications, metaphasic shielding can be used, but is comparitively much less reliable. For these reasons, when close observation of hazardous phenomenon is required, a multispatial-capable probe is most often used.

Unfortunately, that excitement was short-lived: it was discovered that Voyager's successful use of slipstream was a fluke, and the ship could have been destroyed or severely damaged by her use of it. In theory, quantum phase inversion involves creating a bubble of quantum subspace, into which the starship is inserted. That bubble is then linked through a conduit to a distant point in space. The bubble transits through the conduit very quickly, appearing to cross enormous distances in very little time. Once the destination is reached, the bubble is collapsed and the starship emerges into real space at her destination.

In practice, the use of slipstream technology was problematic. Although short-lived conduits could be generated relatively easily, a major problem plagued the project: quantum phase variances. During the transit, these variances had a tendency to disrupt the conduit, overloading the quantum bubble and prematurely dropping the starship out of slipstream, with disastrous results. Several successful tests were conducted in 2386, but they were done with vessel sizes no greater than about 16 meters long.

After years of frustrating research, a rather embarrassing breakthrough was made in 2391 when it was discovered that the testing methodology itself was flawed: all of the ships used in prior experiments included warp nacelles, included as part of the matter/antimatter power system as a matter of course. When this seemingly obvious oversight was remedied, several possible theoretical models for successful transit through a slipstream conduit emerged. Soon after, it was realized that a slipstream-capable ship could incorporate warp nacelles if a method to render them energy-neutral was included also, and their z-axis compression was within a very thin tolerance. The race to build a slipstream-capable starship was on.

The Katana class starship is the first Starfleet design specifically built around the quantum phase inversion propulsion technology. The major advantage to the class, of course, is its multi-mission capability. Though a relatively small ship, the Katana class frigates should provide a suitable testbed on which to refine slipstream further. Already, though, several drawbacks to this propulsion technology have been identified. First, as stated above, the phase variances of the matrix need to be carefully monitored at all times. Failure to do so could result in the matrix overloading and the vessel dropping out of the conduit unexpectedly. Second, only low energy deflectors may be used during transit: high energy deflectors will disrupt the matrix or prevent its formation entirely.

From an external perspective, slipstream conduits are extremely easy to track, and are quite obvious to even relatively primitive sensors. Therefore, they should not be used near planets settled by low technology civilizations protected by the Prime Directive. Further, the obvious nature of the conduit's formation effectively announces the arrival of a slipstream-capable starship as much as 20 seconds before the starship can exit the conduit. This is a significant tactical disadvantage. Much like transwarp conduits, slipstream conduits can also be disrupted by high-energy explosions across their subspace threshhold or transition path. A ship outside the conduit but in the path of it can therefore bring the slipstream-capable vessel out of the slipstream with a well-placed torpedo blast or use of similar weaponry. If the helm officer's reflexes are not sufficient to the task, a starship caught in such a disruption will certainly be destroyed.

Finally, slipstream is a singularly inexact science at present. Local electromagnetic field flux values and local subspace field densities can greatly influence the speed at which a starship passes through the conduit. In areas of high electromagnetic field flux or low subspace field densities (such as the vicinity of planetary systems), the transit speed decreases dramatically. In comparitively more empty interstellar space, the transit speed can become dangerously high.

These drawbacks, while significant, have not delayed the promise of the quantum phase inversion propulsion system. There is one simple reason: slipstream is fast. A vessel passing through such a conduit can reach average speeds the equivalent of warp 9.9998, or approximately 140,000 times the speed of light. Slipstream holds the promise of forever changing Starfleet's reach in the cosmos; therefore, the experiments will likely continue well into the future. A new age could very well be dawning!

Coronado's four sensor relay pods are sometimes mounted to the hardpoints of one of the frigate's two Spectre fighter wings, allowing the Spectres to perform reconnaissance missions consistent with pre-combat target selection or combat search and rescue (CSAR). Kelaka is also capable of mounting one of the pods for either mission as well, though doing so interferes with that ship's natural stealthy profile.

The Spectre is a one-person space/atmospheric control fighter. Quite maneuverable at sublight, the ship is fitted with both the gravimetric propulsion system used in shuttlecraft and a micro-impulse engine. It carries medium-duty shields, and is armed with a pair of pulse phaser cannons on each wing (maximum output 33.0 MW), as well as a micro-torpedo sling on the ventral side with a complement of 100 launch-ready quantum micro-torpedoes. The Spectre is capable of sustained speeds of warp 7, or burst speeds exceeding warp 9. Lacking a bulky warpcore, plasma conduits, or nacelles, the Spectre is lightweight, making it uniquely maneuverable and survivable.

Pound-for-pound, it is the most deadly weapon ever devised, and in its standard wing of four ships, is a credible threat to even small capital ships. The Spectre has proven amazingly difficult to hit even with phasers, and many sensor systems fail to lock on this small, elusive target. It is currently in widespread use by the Starfleet Marine Corps and Starfleet Secret Service. Coronado fields eight Spectres in two wings, TFW-47, the "Thunderbirds," and TFW-119, the "Thundercats." Coro, as a Flight 2 Katana class frigate, includes an upper launch "catapult" on deck 3 aft of the Bridge capable of deploying one of these wings (usually TFW-119).

Called "Condition Blue" or "Blue Alert," the call to land on a planetary surface must come from the ship's commanding officer. Once that is done, plasma is vented from the warp nacelles, structural integrity and inertial dampers are set to maximum, and emergency power is routed to reaction control thrusters and impulse systems. Generally, the shields (if available) are also reconfigured for a flight dynamics protocol to ease the transition from the in-space to in-atmosphere environment.

Under the guidance of the flight controller, the starship is brought through the planetary atmosphere to a stable, level surface suitable for the starship's mass. Once there, the starship deploys landing struts and transfers available power from the ship's graviton generators to those struts. The struts are generally incapable of supporting the full starship's mass -- the additional power routed to the graviton generators serves to "lighten the load" by artificially accepting a portion of the starship's weight and hold it stable on the surface.

Once on the surface, the starship can use sensors, weapons, and other ship's systems more or less normally. Once the business of the vessel on the surface is concluded (assuming that the landing was not one of an emergency nature), the starship can then use reaction control and impulse systems to climb back into orbit.

In a very few rare cases, a starship may choose a planetary landing as an emergency measure. In these cases, the commanding officer may override some of the parameters normally associated with an "acceptable" planet for Blue Alert, depending on the severity of the situation. In these cases, it is assumed that the starship will be unable to climb back into orbit under her own power, and a landing is the only thing that will save the lives of the crew. Once the starship has landed, subspace transmitters can be used to contact Starfleet, which may have the means to repair the vessel or tow her back into orbit and to a Federation facility.