When it came time for the Starfleet Engineering to re-evaluate the Ambassador-class starship, they realized that there were a variety of weak points that made the ship a tempting target in hostile situations. Under orders to begin the construction of a more combat-oriented heavy cruiser with existing technology and hull designs, the Starfleet Design Core came up with the Carolina-class cruiser, which employs elements of the Galaxy and Ambassador design to produce a more streamlined, combat-capable space exploration cruiser. USS Antares is one of the 12 Carolina-class starships used for deep space exploration and research in the Gamma Quadrant.

The Antares is, obviously, mostly stock parts from a Galaxy-class and Ambassador-class, both from their respective Enterprise 3-sets. The only real custom work was that I emulated the hull plating on the bottom of the Ambassador-class saucer so that it matched up with the Galaxy-class secondary hull.

Image: Stern

Image: Bow