The Commerce Raider Dark Phoenix is a modified and armed Monarch class Merchantman run by Captain Patch, well-known pirate with bounties on his head in the UFP, the Klingon Empire, and the AOFW. Because he wants to continue operating out of the Turnstile without interference, he has carefully avoided raiding ships of the OFMA. His ship, a heavily-modified Orion-built Monarch class Merchantman, acts as flagship of the twelve-vessel pirate fleet he commands.
The Monarch class Merchantman first appeared in Star Trek III, The Search for Spock, as Valkris' chartered tramp freighter delivering the Genesis files to Commander Kruge. It was depicted as a small vessel, dwarfed by the Klingon BoP, but in reality must have been somewhat larger in order to serve as a freighter. The vessel continued in use through the late 24th century, used by a bewildering array of species and factions. For this reason, I have surmised that it is an ancient alien design, the specs handed down for centuries and modified to suit the many species who use it, similar to the standard civilian shuttlecraft we've seen throughout STTNG and DS9. The late Allen Everhart Jr. drew up the definitive fannish version of the deckplans, on which I have based these drawings.
In the movie, cargo was depicted in the Bridge area behind the consoles. Although externally the Bridge module took the now-familiar shape, inside it was vastly different from Starfleet vessels - cramped and dingy.
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