Scout ships: An appreciation

A scout ship from Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares.

No idea why, but my organic computer has been stuck on the idea of scout ships in SF recently. I think it might have come from thinking about the scout and outpost ships from one of my favorite computer games, Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares. In the game, the scout is the cheapest and quickest of your combat vessels that you can build early on. I would use the word "combat" loosely because while they are armed, they aren't at all suitable for combat. In fact, last night I was watching a video on YouTube of someone playing MoO2 and they went ahead and removed the weapons from the first scout they built because it was pointless equipping the ship with them. The main job of the scout is to well, scout. In the game, these are the ships you build first and send out ASAP to explore nearby star systems. Outpost ships, meanwhile, can serve a similar function, but with the additional ability to establish an outpost (just like the name says, wow!) in whatever system they're sent to (provided there's something there to build it on).

But it did get me thinking, though. First, it was what I want to call the quiet nobility of scouting vessels not just in Master of Orion 2, but in science fiction in general. If we think about them in a "in-universe" context, the nobility lies in the willingness of the crews to plunge into the unknowns of space, of the uncertainty of what they'll find when they drop out of FTL flight into an unexplored star system. Not knowing if that system is occupied or not and if it is, whether the inhabitants are friendly or hostile. The challenges that the crew of a fictional scout face would be myriad and immense. They're not unlike the scouts, pioneers, and frontiersmen in our real life history who would trek into the depths of unexplored land in order to make maps a little less blank.

The 'quiet' part of the nobility is that they're simply unsung compared to others. What I mean is which ships typically get the most attention in space operas, military SF, and other genres? The big ones like battleships, cruisers, and dreadnoughts. There's probably not many books, movies, TV shows, etc. where the small, "lowly" scout ship is the center of attention. And that's a shame because I have to imagine that the crews of these ships are among the bravest, hardiest, people to serve. You would have to be when you honestly have no idea if the next time your ship drops out of FTL, it'll be into clear space or right into an errant asteroid.

It's really a shame that they don't get more attention and "love" in SF media. I'd rather read about their adventures than those set on a warship or other big ship.

Oh, pretty ship

Credit: Peter Elson.

Stolen shamelessly from the blog of BARKING ALIEN. I am without shame, people! In any case, I swiped it because it's an awfully cool looking starship for the most part. The knock against I have against it is that antenna/mast. It's just odd and is that a gun mounted at the top? You just know some asshole gunner on an enemy ship is going to aim for that thing just to be a jerk. All the other gunners are aiming for the main body of that ship and there's Johnny Jackass trying to shot the antennas off. What a jerk, am I right?

The Ares from Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars

Artist: Don Dixon (via MangalaWiki)

So I'm reading Red Mars because I'm grooving for some hard-scifi at the moment and I thought the Ares, the U.S. and Russian built spacecraft that carries the first colonists to Mars was worth a post. I'm fascinated by the construction of the ship:

The ship was constructed in Earth orbit by assembling empty external fuel tanks from American and Russian space shuttles, which would also serve as landing ships, thus cutting costs compared to constructing a ship entirely out of dedicated parts. This and the repetitive nature of this construction method allowed the Ares to be completed in less than two years.
An immense ship for early 21st century standards, its primary living space was composed of eight hexagons, and each hexagon composed of six connected hollow cylinders, which previously were the fuel tanks. These eight toruses, ranging from Torus A to H, were speared down the middle by a central hub shaft. At the aft end of the shaft were the fuel tanks and main propulsion system. The front end led to a section with a bubble window, which permitted views of the stars and a partial view of the ship behind.
As a whole, the ship slowly rotated around the axis of the central shaft, providing about .38 of Earth's gravity (or Martian gravity) to the toruses.
The entire ship's living space equated to about the living area of a large city hotel. Each torus was filled with different systems: dining halls, living quarters, a farm, and even a strolling garden.

Using the external fuel tanks from space shuttles to build a ship? In real life, the tanks were disposable, jettisoned by the shuttle and left the burn up as it fell back to Earth, so the idea of repurposing them to build a ship is interesting, clever, and brilliant. Unfortunately, this option is no longer available to us since the Russians have no shuttles (except never used Buron) and NASA retired all of theirs. Still, maybe the design of the Ares could still be used if the United States and/or the rest of the world ever got off its asses and decided to go to Mars and colonize it.

On a list of reasons to join Starfleet, I didn't think a swimming pool would even rate

(via Memory Beta)

Look at this gem from the Memory Beta page for the Northampton-class:

These vessels were designed for deep-space stationing in all sensitive areas, to prevent alien aggression. The Northampton vessels were sought after assignments by crews and troops due to numerous recreation decks and spacious quarters for the crewmembers and marines. Swimming pools, gravball courts, and gymnasiums were all located in the lower hull adjacent to the shuttlebay and near the engineering section. Although the hull design incorporated the single-engine lock often found in Andorian designs, the Northampton was a Martian design.

The bit about the ships being sought after because of swimming pools and other amenities caught me as funny. I can just imagine a cadet about to graduate from Starfleet Academy, getting ready to go out and exploring the galaxy, discovering new life and all that jazz, then ditching that in favor of a swimming pool.

Human Resource Officer from Starfleet: "So, I see you went the Sciences route in Starfleet. We always need more science officers, what was your specilization?"
Cadet: "Exo-botany. I wrote dissertation on the Xindi tulip."
HRO: "Interesting, interesting. Well, we do have an opening on an Oberth science vessel, the USS Sheldon Cooper and they do a lot of research on planet life, including flora, so you'd fit right in."
Cadet: "Great!"
HRO: "Now, I should tell you that an Oberth is a pretty small ship, so it doesn't have all the amenities of larger ships."
Cadet: "That's fine. Sacrifice is expected in the name of science, after all."
HRO: "Good to know, because you certainly won't find a swimming pool on an Oberth like the Northampton's have."
Cadet: "Well that's fine with--I'm sorry, but did you say 'swimming pool'?"
HRO: "Hmm? Oh yeah, the Northampton-class starships all have pools, gyms, grav courts, etc. Big quarters too, even for the most junior officers. Now, let's get the paperwork started so we can move you on out to the Sheldon Cooper."
Cadet: "Uh, actually, I think I've changed my mind. Is there an opening on any Northamptons?"
HRO: "Yeah, a couple, but they don't really need an exo-botanist."
Cadet: "Well, I mean why should have matter? I don't think one should necessarily be limited by their degrees. A person can grow in other directions and my direction is clearly toward a Northampton!"
HRO: "But they're warships - all they do is patrol and guard sectors of space! There's no science or exploration involved!"
Cadet: "Look, I know how to fire a phaser and I've got fists perfect for punching aliens in their faces, so what more do I need?!"
HRO: *facepalming* "Goddammit..."

The Loknar-class is a sweet starship

(via Star Trek Starship Tactical Combat Simulator On-Line Database & Archive)

The Loknar was one of the myriad of starships that appeared in FASA's Star Trek RPG back in the 1980s. Here's some info from Memory Beta:

The five series of Loknar vessels were built at the beginning of a period of Federation expansion known to historians as "The Great Awakening". Although the era was defined by scientific research and exploratory ventures, numerous small warship classes were built, including the Loknar. These vessels were primarily designed by Andorians, who favored a doctrine of border protection for the young Federation.

Note: The Loknar-class does actually have a deflector dish
in other pictures I've seen,
no idea why it doesn't have it in this one.
(via Memory Beta)

When authorized by the Federation Appropriations Committee, the Loknars were constructed by Andorian shipbuilders in large numbers in shipyards at Mars and Salazaar, and introduced to service on reference stardate 1/9010 with the commissioning of the USS Loknar. All Loknar vessels were named for Federation colony provinces and cities, and many are crewed exclusively by Andorians, as part of the "Blue Fleet".

Over the course of the Four Years War, the Loknar became a staple of fleet action, and was upgraded several times from its original design. The first series weapon complement of heavy lasers and accelerator cannons were replaced by phasers and photon torpedoes, the standard starship weapons of the mid-23rd century era and beyond.

The Loknar remained in production until the late 23rd century, with older vessels continuously refit to newer standards.

Interesting sidenote: The same article points out that the NX-class from Enterprise looks an awful lot like the Loknar.

(via Star Trek Starship Tactical Combat Simulator On-Line Database & Archive)

I can see the similarities, but I'd say it was probably more of a coincidence than anything else, unless Doug Drexler has said otherwise. I like the overall design of the Loknar, especially in all of the fan art I've seen of it.

Credit: davemetlesits.

Credit: XenoMAX.

 A shout-out to the BARKING ALIEN for reminding me that the Loknar existed.

The Decker-class was one ugly FASA ship

From the front, it looks fine. From the top and the side, it looks whoever at FASA designed it was really hitting the bottle. Here's the description from Memory Beta:

The Decker-class was a Federation class X destroyer starship in Starfleet service in the 23rd century, becoming active on reference stardate 2/7502.

The Decker-class vessels crewed 200 officers and crew, with room for up to 10 passengers and about 100 Starfleet Marines. Additionally, the Decker could carry 10,000 metric tons of cargo, rated at 200 SCU (standard cargo units). The vessels weighed 140,603 metric tons, measured 288 meters in length, 120 meters in width and 52 meters in height. The Decker had four standard (6 person) personnel transporters, four 12-person escape transporter stages and four cargo transporters, two for large scale cargo and two for small scale cargo. The control computer of the Decker vessels was of the M-6A type.

The Decker had warp engines of the FTWC-2 type, rated, in original cochrane unit scales, to cruise at warp factor 12 and max out at warp factor 14. The Decker impulse engines were of the FIF-2 type. The Decker weapons had five FH-11 phaser banks, with forward port, forward starboard and aft firing arcs. The vessels had three FP-4 photon torpedo launchers with forward port starboard and aft firing arcs and was defended by FSM model deflector shields.

The commissioning of the prototype USS Matthew Decker marked a new use of advancements in technology and ship-mounted weaponry that were originally fielded in Starfleet's Excelsior-class, but in a lighter, more maneuverable destroyer vessel designed for patrol, escort and deep space combat. The class ran into initial delays as advanced technology required redesign to fit into the compact spaceframe. Most of these problems were solved by the introduction of Daystrom Duotronics' M-6A/M-9A computers, integrating synoptic duotronics with artificial intelligence. The Marine contingents frequently refer to these vessels as "Damn Fine Deckers" because of their quality as a fighting ship.

The destroyer class was named for Matthew Decker, namesake of the first ship of the class, as well as other members of his family who had given their lives in Fleet service. Other ships in the class are also named after Starfleet officers that had given their life or otherwise sacrificed in the line of duty. By 2364, of the 40 Decker vessels that had been constructed, 20 remained in active service, with an additional two used by Star Fleet Training Command as training vessels, and the rest listed as missing, scrapped or destroyed.

They may have been a "damn fine" ships, but they're never going to win any beauty contests.

Space Station by Long-Pham

Credit: Long-Pham.

Epsilon IX station

(via Memory Alpha)

Epsilon IX was the station that fell victim (after the Klingons) to V'Ger in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Officially, Epsilon was a communications station and transceiver for subspace messages, but it's position near the Klingon border makes you wonder if maybe it wasn't something more. Why would Starfleet need a manned station near the border of a then-current enemy if all it was built for was to handle communication traffic? And why put one there? The fact that they were able to observe the destruction of the Klingon ships that attacked V'Ger would imply otherwise. Certainly makes you wonder which division was really operating Epsilon - Communications or Intelligence?

(via Memory Alpha)

According to Memory Alpha, three scale models of Epsilon IX were built for the movie: the station, an enlarged panel (seen in the second picture), and the largest being the conning tower.

(via Memory Alpha)

The models of the station and panel were later reused as a wall decorations in the Officer's Lounge in The Search for Spock. After that, the models disappeared without a trace because that's something that can somehow happen.

Because you need this in your eye holes: The Master Systems Display (MSD) for the Excelsior-class (Enterprise-B variant) from Star Trek

Click to embiggen.
(via Memory Alpha)

My favorite thing about the Excelsior refit are those two big ass impulse engines Starfleet slapped on the saucer. It's like they decided to turn some of the Excelsior's into hot rods. The Excelsior class in general is on my list of "ships I'd like to command if I somehow ended up in the Trekverse", along with the Constitution, Ambassador, NX, Nebula, and Intrepid classes.

Someone definitely has too much time on their hands: a chart of (almost) every starship in science fiction

Found on Kotaku, created by a chap named Dirk Loechel on DeviantArt, this sucker is immense!

Holy Hannah! Like the title of this post says, it has almost every starship, but I think Loechel is adding new ones in the future.

Starship appreciation: the Miranda-class from Star Trek

There are a lot of Starfleet ships that I would love to command - the Akira, Galaxy, Steamrunner, Excelsior, Intrepid, and of course, a Constitution class, amongst others - and the Miranda class is definitely high on the list.

Memory Alpha.

Though, to be perfectly honest, I would not want to command one during the 24th century, especially during the Dominion War or a Borg attack. I like the Mirandas, but not that much! Anyway, what I like about the class is how different they look. They don't have a deflector dish or a secondary hull like most of the other ship classes, and that rollbar just makes the ship look cool. It certainly doesn't hurt that the USS Reliant was able to cream the Enterprise's corn in short order, showing that a Miranda can go toe-to-toe with the big guys.

I also like its modularity. We've seen different versions of the Miranda on TNG - with and without the rollbar, some with sensor pods, and such. It seems that by the 24th century, a good chunk of the Mirandas were being used in secondary roles as transports and cargo ships. Not surprising, given their age.

Their age also worked against them during combat. I would actually cringe while watching the space battles on Deep Space Nine, anytime a Miranda charged into the fray. As tough as they were in the 23rd century, they weren't up to snuff in the 24th. It was like watching a senior citizen take a roundhouse kick from Chuck Norris.

Still, I would jump at the chance to sit in the captain's chair of one back during its heyday. Just not the Reliant, because I know how that shit goes down.

I dig Vulcan starships

Because they're just so cool looking! Check out the D'Kyr type, a combat cruiser, for example.

Memory Alpha.

Lovely ship. One of my favorite things about Star Trek: Enterprise were the Vulcan's navy. Their cruisers were decidedly unique and original. The most unique feature, of course, is the ring. Believe it or not, that is their warp engine, because screw nacelles! It's more than a shame that this feature was never adapted by Starfleet after the Federation's formation. There's another configuration, as seen in the Suurok-class, a combat cruiser and science vessel combo.

And that's how you destroy a ship!

From Red Faction: Guerrilla.


I'm guessing the Hydra didn't have any kind of point-defense. By the looks of it, no early-warning system either, because they didn't even spot the missile until it was too late.

Doom Stars, because Death Stars are for wimps

What's a Doom Star? This:

The big green ones.

Doom Stars are warships from the popular - and to be honest, epic as hell - computer game, Master of Orion II. Specifically, it's a planetoid-sized ship that, when armed with a stellar converter (or several, if you're sadistic), become the most powerful ships in the entire game. Really, though, the Doom Star is a Death Star knockoff, right down to the planet destroying uber weapon, the stellar converter. Hit the jump for a demonstration of the technological terror you can construct:

This ship from Terran Trade Authority looks vaguely familiar

You know, just vaguely. This was originally published in Spacecraft 2000-2100 AD in 1978, as part of the Terran Trade Authority book series. I wonder if Joss Whedon ever read those books?

Picture via cee-emily.

Look at what I stole from Matgc's blog

His transports never knew what hit them, bwahahaha!

But anyway, when I saw this sweet looking ship on his blog, I just had to repost it. Truth be told, when I first saw it, I thought it was a rifle or one of those arm cannons Mega Man and Samus Aran have. As for the game itself, Firestorm: Armada is a wargame that, like Starfleet Wars/Galactic Knights, uses miniature warships. In the game, you can play as either human or a variety of alien races. If the rest of the ships in Firestorm look like that dreadnought, then it's definitely worth checking out.

And a tip of the hat to Matgc and his blog, My Ever-Growing Fleets for the picture.

The USS Enterprise, the Queen of Scifi starships

The Serenity, Millenium Falcon, the White Star, and others are all iconic starships in science fiction, but without a doubt, the Enterprise rises above them all.

Picture via Nerd Approved.

RavenstarStudio's mobile repair station is an awesome model

One of my finds while ass deep in blogs last night was this kickass looking Forge Class Mobile Repair Station.