BRAD'S COMMENTS:  A cooperative fanship submission from MU&A message board super-posters Christopher and Dave.  Dave did the stats and backstory while Chris did the graphic, based on a very large line-art copy of the TMP-era Enterprise that I ultimately sent him.  I give these two guys an A+ for effort, and I also offer a humble apology for how long it took me to post this.  I'm not a huge fan of the spare look of this class (the forward cross section is nothing more than a saucer and two nacelles!) especially since the gross tonnage and overly high superstructure don't jive with something so spare in appearance.  But these two really put their backs into it, complying with my guidelines as best as they could, re-drawing and re-submitting several times.  So here it is.  I took the liberty of doing a little line editing where Dave's backstory is concerned, just because I am anal, otherwise the story and the stats are rendered exactly as they were sent to me.

FANSHIP DESIGN & STATS: Christopher & Dave, 2005
Astoria Class XI Cruiser
NOTES:  The brainchild of Chiokis starship designer Lee Bixby, the Protector Class was originally designed as an expendable escort that would fight as part of a battle fleet; ranging out in front of formations and attracting enemy fire, thus taking hits that would otherwise disable the more expensive capital vessels. The choice of armament for this class was of paramount concern. Too little weaponry and enemy commanders would quickly learn to ignore them.  Too much weaponry and the price per vessel would increase beyond the Spartan cost limit Lee had envisioned.
     In 2256, the Mark I design was complete.  The prototype Protector was built like a destroyer on steroids.  The new ship used torpedoes as a primary armament, their economy and lower power requirements suiting the design perfectly.  The FWE-2 warp engine system was also a matter of course, as it could take the spaceframe to mid and upper warp factors at a relatively economic price tag. The heaviest impulse engine available provided auxiliary power.  Bixby's studies had shown that impulse engine hits were much rarer than warp engine hits; a ship that could depend more on impulse power would be effective longer under fire.  The new ship cost just over 800 MCr, but could take nearly twice the damage of any ship previously produced.  The main drawback, other than it's low maneuverability, was the FSN shield.  The FSN required too much of the ship's limited power to protect more than a portion of the vessel while she simultaneously maneuvered or fired weapons.
     In spite of Bixby's protracted efforts in pitching the Protector to Starfleet procurement, the design was ultimately frowned upon.  It's known flaws, compounded by he fact that it lacked many of the laboratories and recreational facilities that Starfleet prefers on it's larger ships, kept the brass from embracing the design.  Only two of this class, the Protector and the Defender, were thus produced, even though Dr. Bixby had intended it to replace a great many of the conventional destroyers then in service.
     Seen as curiosities by Starfleet Command, The USS Protector and USS Defender were assigned to patrol and merchant escort service until 2272. Neither of the two saw combat, but they did prove uncommonly easy to maintain, thus earning a favorable reputation amongst the personnel who were assigned to them.
     In 2274, the Protector design received an unexpected windfall.  The debut of the powerful FIG impulse system started many junior Chiokis designers--who had previously interned under Lee Bixby--to wondering if the original deficiencies of the Protector might at last be overcome.  In spite of his retired status, Dr. Bixby was brought back to Chiokis in a contracted role, overseeing a substantial redesign project that eventually became the Protector Mark II.
     All weapons would fire forward, making the Mk II even more offensively footed than before.  Original phasers would be replaced with FH-7's and torpedoes with FP-6's.  The result was a ship that was 40% more combat effective than the Mark I, but 12% cheaper to produce on the balance.
     Bixby once again pitched his design to Starfleet procurement, and this time Starfleet was interested.  The excellent maintenance records of the original two prototypes had circulated positive compliments within the upper echelons of the service, and with the power deficiency problem having been largely eliminated, Starfleet decided the Protector might be worth a limited second investment.
     14 of the Mk II ships were produced between 2274 and 2276.
     The USS Protector and USS Defender were outfitted with the FIG-1 engine system in 2274, but all other systems were left intact.
     In 2289, the Protector was finally able to show its worth in combat.  The USS Warder was on patrol along the Klingon Neutral Zone with the USS Tikopai, an Enterprise-type heavy cruiser, when the Starfleet formation was attacked by a renegade Klingon battle lord commanding an L-24 battleship with two D-7M cruisers as escort.  By itself, the Tikopai would have been outmatched, and though the Klingons considered the Protector to be of little concern, they soon learned otherwise.  The Warder moved agressively, pounding away with her abnormally substantial compliment of phasers and torpedoes while limiting the L-24's ability to fire unimpeded on the Tikopai.  The Warder quickly took a beating that would have disabled or destroyed most ships of similar size, but she was able to keep firing, giving the Tikopai a chance to play its role.  Moving slowly, and staying behind the Warder's screening pattern, the Enterprise-class cruiser lobbed several crushing volleys into the renegade Klingon ships.  Together, the two Starfleet vessels managed to destroy one of the D-7's outright and heavily damage the L-24.
     That was when the L-24 exploited the known weakness of the Warder, passing quickly to stern and unloading a rearward barrage on the Warder's unprotected aft quarter.  Having lost most of his power, the captain of the Warder was still able to swing his ship around and launch a final torpedo volley, heavily damaging the L-24's engines.  Surprised by the ferocity and staying power of the Federation destroyer, and not willing to risk more damage to his flagship, the Klingon battle lord withdrew his L-24 and remaining D-7.
     The Tikopai stayed with the battered Warder until it was able to reach a nearby Starbase under minimal warp power.  The USS Tikopai, with only minor damage, completed the assigned patrol alone, while the Warder was refitted.
     The identity of the renegade Klingon commander remains unknown, and his damaged L-24 was never found by the Klingon High Command or their many agents within the far reaches of the Empire. Rumors eventually surface that the renegade scuttled his L-24 in order to slip back into the graces of Imperial authorities without attracting Federation ire on account of his flagship serving as incriminating evidence.
     In 2302, one last gasp of life was given to the Protector design.  Most of the Protectors had been mothballed after the famed Khitomer Accords, their role as armored cruisers having been obviated by the new peace, and they were ill suited to serve in other, less combative capacities. But Starfleet had by this time finally developed a soft spot for Dr. Bixby's once-shunned creation, thus the USS Scutifer was reworked and refitted to the limited-production Mark III specifications.  With the Mk III, the Protector's computer was upgraded to an advanced M-3, and this enabled the impulse engine and shields to be upgraded to FIG-2 and FSL, respectively.  The phasers were upgraded to the new, long-range FH-16 and the torpedoes changed to FP-8's, with two facing rearward in order to at last compensate for the Protector's undefended hind region.  The internal structure was re-worked somewhat to make room for more laboratories and recreational facilities, thus the Scutifer and her three newly re-built sisters served for the next twelve years as light exploration cruisers before being decommissioned.  The Scutifer herself now resides at the official Starfleet satellite museum in the Alpha Centauri system, while the few remaining ships have been mothballed.

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