RP tools: Operations Division

[Kheren]

Here is found all technical and operational data officiers might find useful to know and use, be it as players or as gamemasters.

[Kheren]

Kheren11-14-2010 11:45 AM STORY TOOLS: standard cargo ship



 STARFLEET VESSELS



CLASS: PTOLEMY REFIT MKIII TRANSPORT/TUG WARP VESSEL

REGISTRY: NCC 3800 to 6999 : MKI 3800 to 3899, MK II 4000 to 4999, MK III 5000 to 6999
DENOMINATION: prototype USS Ptolemy. Following names will refer to historical figures, places or events or subject matters related to the original assignment of the commissionned starship. For examples:

CARGO SHIP: USS PHENICIA, USS PROSPERITY, USS EXCHEQUIER
RELIEF SHIP: USS SALVATION, USS THERESA, USS RED CROSS
TUG SHIP: USS SIKORSKY, USS FORD, USS ATLAS
SWEEPER SHIP: USS ICEBERG, USS GULF STREAM, USS CAINE
STARLINER SHIP: USS QUEEN ELIZABETH, USS STARVIEW, USS ICARUS

DEADWEIGHT TONNAGE: 126,500 METRIC TONS
LENGTH; 222 METERS
WIDTH; 127 METERS
HEIGHT; 66 METERS
NUMBER OF DECKS : 15 DECKS (14 HABITABLE; 15TH IS TOWPAD)
SHIP COMPLEMENT; 320 (22 OFFICERS, 198 CREWMEN)
MAXIMUM SAFE CRUISING SPEED: WARP 6
EMERGENCY SPEED; WARP 8 (12 HOURS)
DEFENSIVE SYSTEMS; STANDARD SHIELDS
STANDARD DEFLECTOR SCREEN (can be supplemented by tractor emitters)
OFFENSIVE SYSTEMS; 2 DORSAL PHASER ARRAYS 180' COVERAGE EACH.
SCANNING SYSTEM: STANDARD SENSOR ARRAY
SPECIAL SYSTEMS; LARGE TRACTORING PAD, 4 SUPPLEMENTAL TRACTOR BEAMS EMITTERS for 360 degrees coverage
REINFORCED STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY FIELD (double standard output)
DOUBLE REINFORCED STANDARD HULL.

This universal workhorse starship looks much like a smaller Nebula class without the pod above it, and with a neck structure under it ending with a large tractor emitter instead of a secondary hull (picture the Enterprise without the lower part under the neck and nacelles afixed downward at the rear of the saucer). The lower-nacelle design allows for the warp field and shield emitters to encompass attached cargo pods or tractored vessel within their structure and thus without any strain on the engines and power systems.

The main towpad can be used to tug larger starships of any tonnage or to attach cargo pods for transport. The other emitters are for smaller targets like shuttles and large outside repair parts to be stabilized during space construction or for debris clearance. The ship can also be used in times of war as a most effective mine sweeper and salvage collector, even fast rescue (lifepod retrieval) and troop transport, with no modification needed. Some even came up with fightershuttles carrier designs.

It is designed and operated as the most versatile and effective working starship but not for combat or exploration. All systems have been designed with reliability and durability in mind, not performance. Shrewd commanders however have shown original use of its specific capabilites in both, like using its much more powerful tractor beams to paralyse an enemy starship or extract large samples of an asteroid field for analysis in cargo pods modified into science labs.

23rd century version: the original Ptolemy class of the Kirk era as seen in the Offical Starfleet Technical Manual. Stats are the same except for approriate era technology like phaser banks instead of phaser arrays, duotronic systems instead of gel packs or isolinear chips, etc and speed is limited to warp 2 before the STTMP refit era. In original and refit versions, it looks like the Miranda class (USS Reliant) but again without the upper pod and with a lower neck ending in a large towpad. MXI has nacelles like the original Constitution class of TOS; MK II has the STWOK type nacelles.

CLASS III TRANSPORT CONTAINERS

DEADWEIGHT TONNAGE: 100,000 METRIC TONS
LENGTH; 200 METERS
DIAMETER; 40 METERS
NUMBER OF DECKS: 12 
DEFENSIVE SYSTEMS: NONE
OFFENSIVE SYSTEMS: NONE
SCANNING SYSTEMS: NONE
SPECIAL SYSTEMS: DOUBLE REINFORCED STANDARD HULL

MK I LIQUID/GASEOUS CONTAINEMENT
MK II DRY BULK 
MK III CRYOGENIC CONTAINEMENT
MK IV LIFE-SUPPORT CONTAINEMENt
MK V SPECIAL CONTAINEMENT
MK VI STARLINER FACILITIES

These containers are essentially long tubes rounded at the end and are all standardized for ease of use. They can be used for various specialized transport and applications, especially in regards to colonisation: for example, they can be linked together to form instantly an operational orbital space station, or lowered into a planetary atmosphere to be converted immediately into habitats suitable for even the most hostile environements, or left in an asteroid field to be used as a temporary, retrievable base of operations for mining. Their standard design allows them to be quickly reconfigured for other needs and always well integrated into a ship's warp field or shield grid while in space. 

They are usually fixed one behind the other for transport but can effectively be grouped at any angle desired through their magnetic clamps. They can be fitted with their own power source but are usually without any except batteries for emergencies, but wich can be hooked to a solar power converter for long use. Although their double hull is thicker than standard ship hulls for purpose of atmospheric entry, they rely solely on the transport ship for offensive and defensive needs.


APPOCRYPHA

Sometimes, stories call for a type of ship other than a conventional starship. Having precise data on such vessels is not only helpful for stories ideas, but for players like Engineers, Tactical and Science officers to write dialogs and ideas for their character with little details all Trek fans usually love to read.

The above data is for our story aboard the USS Artemis, and is of course freely provided also for any LF RP storyteller/participant needing precise stats and definition for a Starfleet ship other than the general purpose starships or warships already defined by canon. When stories call for a simple cargo ship or otherwise ''defenseless'' vessel, we are often stuck with using a generic, non-descript, vague ''transport,'' or forced to include things like Ferengis, or, again, vague, undefined ''aliens'' or anachronistic ''civilian shipping service'' wich is not always appropriate nor desirable.

Starfleet is responsible for all space traffic within the Federation, including establishing and supplying colonies and starbases. Therefore, Starfleet must certainly have its own transport ships, not only because it has the ressources beyond any so-called incongruous private corporation, but to free ships-of-the-line for security and exploration... and because allowing civilian ships and personnel access to Starfleet installations is inefficient at best, downright dangerous at worse. Even today, the military does not use civilian transport but have their own transport ressources... wich they also provide to civilians in case of emergencies; just like the imaginary Starfleet of the United Federation of Planets.

That was the original concept showed in the original Starfleet Technical Manual. Inspired directly by it (page 01.04.16), here is therefore proposed what an utilitarian starship could be like in our LF RP 25th century Starfleet




(( OOC: this is a non-canon conversion of the material found in the Starfleet Technical Manual (Franz Joseph, Ballantine Books 1975) adapted and expanded for ease of use in our RP stories. It will be first used in the USS Artemis first season and episode: Before the Storm (USS Jeanne Mance). Hope this will find itself useful to others too!)).