Most of our existing/surviving ships have extremely outdated weapons and won't be able to contribute much to a defense scenario in the modern era. Same with the defense satellites, though deploying them in bulk may partially account for their individual inadequacies.
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When I'm imagining cargo I figure we have a split like this.
If it's very high danger but low urgency starfleet can set up a convoy or route a Federation but it's flexible so whenever the Federation comes back works. If it's super large cargo then you've got the Archer or Federation. Everything else doesn't need the massive size or could benefit from more frequent visits. Have the Federation sub in every so often to keep enemies guessing about what they'd be likely to face if they try for ambushes.
Sending a Federation out on a year long lap makes them more predictable and if their destinations don't actually need the huge cargo capability seems to only really save flight hours on our Mirandas. Since they're cheaper, more numerous, and have enough teeth to handle most lightly congested situations in the next 5ish years that's not a trade that adds a ton of value to this ship for me.
Edit: If they're also out on a yearlong lap then having them capable of responding to rush shipping is also really a crapshoot as opposed to if we're cycling one through our hub every 3-4 months.
| Low Danger | High Danger | |
| Low Urgency | Archer | Miranda |
| High Urgency | Miranda | Federation |
If it's very high danger but low urgency starfleet can set up a convoy or route a Federation but it's flexible so whenever the Federation comes back works. If it's super large cargo then you've got the Archer or Federation. Everything else doesn't need the massive size or could benefit from more frequent visits. Have the Federation sub in every so often to keep enemies guessing about what they'd be likely to face if they try for ambushes.
Sending a Federation out on a year long lap makes them more predictable and if their destinations don't actually need the huge cargo capability seems to only really save flight hours on our Mirandas. Since they're cheaper, more numerous, and have enough teeth to handle most lightly congested situations in the next 5ish years that's not a trade that adds a ton of value to this ship for me.
Edit: If they're also out on a yearlong lap then having them capable of responding to rush shipping is also really a crapshoot as opposed to if we're cycling one through our hub every 3-4 months.
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Sure, there is a refuel not TOO far away, but it's not right where you are unless you are lucky and even the Federation can't cover 50 light years like nothing. It still takes days of flying to reach a gas station and the less you need to do that the more days you spend actually being useful.
To enable ships like the Miranda and the Archer, and to massively increase the range of civilian craft while also manufacturing parts that can be delivered to border regions more easily.
The Federation needs to pick it's gas somewhere
How is spectral analysis supposed to help detect enemy action? Are we dealing with star eaters?
It should help our science, but it's probably not going to have tactical benefits. Sayle has been pretty outspoken about not giving us tactical for sensors.
Onionjones
The LCAF's best social general
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If the Federation is spending so much time on the border with this range maybe it'd be a good idea to have the Federation with 2 crews like SSBNs
But that's kind of my point. If it's so far away aren't there other ships closer for responding? If they're not planning a strategic strike then why would ships need to get so close to empty it matters? Don't all our ships have the capability to get to a hub on less than half a tank (if they're in our borders)?
The Federation could be using the better sensors all day every day to get information so our scientists and spooks have a better handle on the neighborhood? That's useful. If you're hauling antimatter that you don't need 360 days a year then those 5 days you need it have to be really damn useful to make it worth having.
I've yet to see a use case to me that makes sense in an operational framework. Deep strike sounds good but the ship already offers the capability for striking tremendously deep into enemy territory. Fewer trips to a hub sounds good but that doesn't align great with us wanting to be able to use this for emergency cargo hauling. If we want a border presence to deter enemies we don't want a long predictable route and we do want ships frequently visiting. Is the Federation class a mobile strongbox where we drop off some cargo on an out route and then drop off the rest on our way back? It could work and support some trade between colonies I suppose but I'm not sure how much trade between them makes sense.
If the area is dangerous or contested and we're using a federation economy most of a colony's efforts should be directed to building themselves up right? If that's the case and they don't need a massive cargo a Miranda can do it. Then focus your Federation on only hauling massive cargos (which seems like a hub/core to colony route IMO).
Strunkriidiisk
THE LEGEND
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You have a point with the Archer, but the Miranda has an operational range greater than 200 LY and is intended for interior duties anyway, and civilian ships don't use antimatter - which is the Pharos' main logistical link. The Pharos stations also only have basic fabrication facilities so their ability to produce critical parts for outlying colonies is limited.
As I see it, assuming there's still room for expansion out that way/they're not constrained by the border the Pharos makes a good midway point. Have the Archers haul stuff out there and then let the Federation run about with oversized/time critical stuff and let the Miranda handle the less time critical/smaller stuff.
Uses the Archers in a way that makes up for their speed issues, and allows faster and more durable ships to pick up the slack after the Pharos belt.
TheShadowDeamon
Mighty Dragon
I'm looking forward to doing another station. And this time - either a Pharos 2 with much better weapons, or a border defence & fleet logistics with all the guns
Not really sure if we could see a military base singularity or Antimatter core go online or if we'd see signs of asteroid mining, target practice, fleet exercises, etc. They'd likely have to be pretty large but if pirates or enemies stumble across an anomaly who can say what sorts of results our ship would get. If we're flying by and can gather data from 180* or have our computers look for long term differences that indicate subtle shifts it's much harder for an enemy to do something substantial than if there's only a telescope in a known system a huge distance away.
Do gravitics and subspace sensors operate on spectrums?
Worst case we get a list of systems that have resources an enemy might use for staging so we know where we need to keep an eye on or start the search if there's an increase in activity nearby.
Yeah, basic parts which are the bread and butter of those civilian craft. It's not about them using antimatter, it's about keeping the flow of goods running beneath the level of abstraction for Starfleet itself. Critical stuff speed shipped from the interior is what the Federation will be for.
As for the Miranda, they also need to refuel and stock up on spare parts, and as interior intended ships they can just naturally swing over to pick them up. While this isn't an obvious issue for them individually, if we assume the Miranda gets ordered at scale or even in bulk, the need becomes a bit more obvious. Since it won't be one Miranda a year or something like that, but likely closer to a Miranda stopping by a Pharos for resupply on a much more regular basis.
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Not counting the Pharos starbase, (because it's not a starship,) by my count we've been given the option for extra antimatter five times so far, and have chosen it only the last two times. This would bump that up to three times out of six total, and show a trend where starting with the Archer we valued extended range more than we used to.
Curiosity
Sagamartha
Kea
Archer
Excalibur
[X] Antimatter Storage (Range: 314ly -> 628ly)
[X] Spectral Analysis (+2 Science)
Empress_Boog
Grand Empress
[X] Antimatter Storage (Range: 314ly -> 628ly)
This isn't a science ship, no need to go crazy.
This isn't a science ship, no need to go crazy.
I expect a Mission of a Federation to go something like this:
1. Leave Erath/Andor/Tellar/Vulcan fully loaded with atmospheric purifyers, large water filters, fusion reactors, industrial tooling, drilling/Mining equipment and any other high value large industrial goods in her cargo hold. (Things new colonies always need more off to get off the ground and can't make themself) Then she flies out of the industrialized core to flag planting colonies at the border or right beyond it.
2. Start a series of short stops at the various colonies, delivering needed equimpment for said colonies while perhaps taking bulk cargo of ores/food/products and deliver them between said colonies while also acting as Piracy patrol.
3. Starfleet calls, a Miranda(Or other vessel) needs fuel on a mission and can't divert to the next pharos, so captain goes full on throttle and Federation races at 7.4 out to meet said ship and delivers fuel. Then goes back to giving off their high value large scale stuff until all of it has been delivered.
4: Depending on Feddy Fuel status you now can go exploring the near border systems/patrol said systems for pirates or if fuel is getting low head back into the interior for refueling restocking stuff.
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[X] Antimatter Storage (Range: 314ly -> 628ly)
And if we hadn't gone for the cargo last vote, there would probably be a lot less of a push for range this vote. Antimatter tanks certainly weren't a given for me.
