Where are all the aliens in starfleet is a common and valid complaint among star trek fans.
Out of universe its because costumes are expensive.
In universe while we hear refence to a whole starfleet ship crewed by vulcans, and do see some aliens(more of them in the animated shows and novels for obvious reasons), most of starfleet is human dominated. It bothers me a little bit to be honest, especially when in cannon thanks to
a large amount of aliens are just humans with nose ridges or something weird going on with their forehead.
Part of why I adore Farscape because this is the main crew of that show more or less.
Also in another show created by Gene Roddenberry Andromeda, the opening scene depicts the (soon to be deceased) helmsman of the hero ship as an insectoid alien. So I think its fair to say that prominent aliens is at least a little bit of what he wanted out of sci-fi.
It is, but by the same token, the Lirpa is a.. interesting choice. I'm more on board with the ushaan-tor, it at least would fits, but it's not invalid to make the argument to canon: all of the ships are named by humans. At least, for all we know. It could be a simple "The humans call it x, we call it y, it means the same thing" (see: NATO)
It is, but by the same token, the Lirpa is a.. interesting choice. I'm more on board with the ushaan-tor, it at least would fits, but it's not invalid to make the argument to canon: all of the ships are named by humans. At least, for all we know. It could be a simple "The humans call it x, we call it y, it means the same thing" (see: NATO)
I know the other quest has the Ushaan already, but the Ushaan-Tor is the same thing just unshortened. Shame its in third place because it would work for this ship.
This actually makes me like the name more? The Federation isn't going out starting wars. What we're building is a self defense starship used by explorers from a would-rather-be-peaceful people. The intent... resonates.
No. That would better fit the cutter design or a Cygnus. This hull is a warship, while it will perform border patrol in peacetime its true purpose is to be part of offensives into hostile territory to blow up stuff if a nation like the Klingon Empire decides to FAFO.
This actually makes me like the name more? The Federation isn't going out starting wars. What we're building is a self defense starship used by explorers from a would-rather-be-peaceful people. The intent... resonates.
.. The Lirpa *is* a combat weapon. (It's used in ENT.) But kinda bluntly, by TOS is a ceremonial weapon only. I would think the Vulcans, who are very much trying not to be Vulcan High Command, would probably prefer this not be a thing.
That said, ENT establishes Vulcan ships are basically named the same pattern as their names, signifying it's probably named after historical figures.
Naming after a ceremonial weapon is fine, but a Vulkan ceremonial weapon used in, iirc, mating rituals, when current Vulkan culture is that of pacifism, seems quite, um, inappropriate.
The Federation-Kzin War
Chapter 5: The Selachii and the Palace Coup.
The Selachii-class first launched in 2190, claiming the dubious honor of being the first pure-combat ship built since the formation of the Federation in 2161. As an advancement over the Skate-class which had been so quickly designed and produced during the Earth-Romulan War it was a significant improvement in both strategic and tactical terms, with a significantly greater range that allowed it to accompany deployments with its own supplies versus the Skate's necessary reliance on other starships for antimatter during excursions away from base.
But while the Skate had been cheaply produced and suffered alarmingly high casualties, the Selachii was a far more durable ship with powerful shields to protect it. The small and vulnerable vessels produced by Earth had been entirely eclipsed by the designs which were now possible with the pooled knowledge of the Federation's member worlds. It was the beginning of the steady mass-inflation of starships as every species in local space was subjected to the pressures of increasingly advancing technological knowledge and industrial capability that required more space to mount new systems and more energy to use. In the span of fifty years the average mass of a starship with the same mission profile had tripled, an increase that would rarely be matched over the next three centuries.
The Selachii (commonly known as the 'Shark-class') was initially ordered in a tranche of ten vessels over five years, but this would soon be expanded due to circumstances beyond Starfleet's control. In the April of 2192 the palace intrigues on Kzinhome reached their apex as Hragg-Highest and Nig-Highest launched their long-conspired but poorly hidden purge of House Ritt. This failed in resounding fashion, not simply because of the disorganization of the assault once the outer defenses were breached that allowed defending Kzin to diffuse their advantage in numbers, but also because the inner sanctum was bristling with automated defenses which had been covertly installed by the Royal Jotoki over the past year. The attempt was nonetheless catastrophically public, as was the Highest-of-Kzin's retaliation for the attempt. In the span of a week, Houses Hragg and Nig were rendered utterly extinct by both the direct reprisal of the alien Jannisaries that had prompted the initial dissatisfaction with House Ritt, but also subordinate houses turning on them from within their own compounds.
Confidence in the ruling house had nonetheless been seriously damaged by the attempt. The Highest-of-Kzin judged that if the divinely-appointed rule of House Ritt was to be unquestioned even after this shameful event, then their dominance must be proven in equally conclusive fashion. Just two weeks after the palace assault, the Highest-of-Kzin sent forth all the young Heroes out into the black - their target? The overweening Federation, a feeble collective of prey and grass-eaters who would make a fine release valve for internal tensions. Kzin craft ranging from barely-armed runabouts to battleships surged over the border, striking twelve Federation colonies within the first two months. The majority of Starfleet was promptly redeployed towards the conflict zone, relying on member fleets to take up some of its usual duties, but this consolidation and preparation for a counter-offensive would not be entirely complete until the spring of 2193. In the intervening six months, a scattering of vessels judged able to directly engage Kzin ships and close enough to assist were diverted to at-risk worlds in the area. These were the explorers Olympus, Kilimanjaro, Sagarmatha, Sinai, and Aoraki; the dreadnought Warspite which had fortuitously been on a goodwill tour combined with developmental support to the outer colonies before her decommissioning; and the paired frigates Tiger and Hammerhead.
The first engagement with Kzin forces was on July 25th, over the colony of New Providence. The Tiger and Hammerhead had only arrived on-station four days prior, and on detecting the Kzin approach had redeployed in the path of the oncoming forces. The Kzin attack consisted of half-dozen runabouts racing each other to reach the planet first, as well as a well-armed Kzin interceptor running crechemaster on the lightly-armed ships. While two of the ships broke off for the colony and proceeded to land on the outskirts, the interceptor and the four runabouts directly engaged the Tiger and Hammerhead.
The initial exchange did not go well for Starfleet - a withering barrage of disruptor bolts from the overgunned interceptor took a heavy toll on the Hammerhead's shields, and while their return phasers struck true the interceptor avoided three of the incoming four torpedoes with a 720 degree roll to starboard. This was the first demonstration that mass torpedo fire would have degraded effectiveness against the Kzinti sub-capitals save at close range, and rendered last-generation photonics practically useless against smaller vessels.
Fire concentrated on the Hammerhead as the groups broke through each other's lines, and as the two Selachii came about for another pass the interceptor pivoted on its axis using maneuvering rockets and fired again, breaking through the Hammerhead's shields. Two Kzinti then abandoned one of the smaller runabouts and beamed into the Hammerhead's aft lounge. Their physiology prevented them from being able to comfortably use the doorways, but managed to enter the main corridor by the time the onboard security team assembled and intercepted them. Their resistance to the stunning effect of the phaser allowed them to advance to close-quarters, resulting in two fatalities and several critical injuries before they were neutralized.
The Tiger took point on the second attack run, while the Hammerhead took shelter in her shadow. The first exchange of fire broke through the interceptor's shields, and when the Tiger passed by she launched her torpedoes directly into the forward hull at point-blank range, causing a secondary explosion which gutted the remainder of the ship. The smaller vessels were then mopped up by the two Selachii using a reversed circle maneuver, each targeting the other's pursuing runabouts, during which the Hammerhead took minor hull strikes that caused only superficial damage.
With the orbital battle concluded, security teams and spare crew then beamed down to the colony to intercept a half-dozen Kzinti who had entered the colony in search of the colonists. Their two runabouts were claimed intact, which produced interesting but ultimately only marginally useful information regarding Kzinti construction and social behavior.
Examination of the wreckage of the Kzinti interceptor after the battle answered some questions about its maneuverability - in addition to overcharged inertial dampers, the crew were also in crash couches. This neatly explained their ability to withstand the high-gravity maneuvers that the interceptor demonstrated during combat, and the stress microfractures in the spaceframe put a distinct limit on how many times the ship would have been able to repeat the tricks. This prediction was borne out in the Battle of Shasht, when a Kzinti interceptor of the same type ruptured its spaceframe while carrying out a similar high-energy turn.
The preference for close-combat and the Kzinti resistance to heavy stun resulted in a fleet-wide directive for the use of phasers set to kill, which no doubt saved lives but unfortunately resulted in a high lethality rate for Kzinti combatants even when Starfleet had an overwhelming advantage.
In the coming weeks there were a series of engagements over protected colony worlds involving the Kilimanjaro and Aoraki, but by late September the rapid-response phase of the War was over as Starfleet filtered into the area and began to form task groups intended for a counter-push, setting up supply stations and defensive platforms to secure the local colonies.
Battle of New Providence After Action Report
Postscript, Vice-Admiral Tucker
I know the Selachii didn't perform as well as we'd hoped on this one, but that's no slight on the girls and boys who built her. Truth is we had no idea the Kzinti were as damn crazy as they are, and they're clearly crazy enough not to listen to whatever engineers they've got running things over there to do half the crap they did in that fight. That said I've had a chat with the folks over at Utopia Planitia who are gonna be building the rest of these ships and they've got some strong words for the people who are actually going to be flying the Selachii specifically and the fleet generally. I know engineers have a reputation for being worrywarts, but if I've got five screaming shipbuilders in one ear and a tactician in the other I know who I'm listening to, and it ain't the tactician. No offense to any of you fine fellows.
First off, that trick the Tiger did with her last torpedo volley, launching at point-blank range? Don't do that. Particle spalling from detonations that close really chews up the hull plating. Now I know your books say ten kilometers is the minimum so the guidance systems have the best chance to kick in and put your warheads on target, but I know full well you have to launch closer sometimes and just trust your pilot. But we put our foot down at two kilometers. You try that trick any closer with your shields down or even having trouble and you might be walking home without a working deflector. You're not using photonics anymore. Treat them with respect.
Second, don't try to copy the damn Kzinti. If they're stupid enough to practically rip their ships in half to get a second shot in at you, you're just going to have to take your lumps. The answer isn't to try and do it back. I'd put good-old Starfleet quality over whatever lunacy they're making over at Kzinhome, but your spaceframe is designed to fly a specific way. It doesn't include spinning like a frisbee. Your maneuvering thrusters are tuned to do the maximum your inertial dampers can handle. Tactical has some advice on mitigation, mainly regarding spacing and how you execute your turns, and I'll leave the details of that to the experts.
Third, personal congratulations to the crew of the Tiger and Hammerhead for some damn-fine formation flying. You're half the reason that the Selachii are being paired up together for combat work, and the other half is that we can't afford to put them in squadrons of three: that's how impressed we all were. Way the winds are blowing down in San Francisco you'll be getting a dozen extra sisters soon.
Hoo boy, even against hypermaneuverable flying guns designed only for killing--both themselves and whatever they're pointed at--the Sharks won with only minor damage and casualties (And most of those casualties came from spammed alpha strikes and then a boarding operation by stun-resistant psychopaths), and proved that a pair operating in tandem are scary strong for their cost-to-weight ratio.
Because seriously, the maneuvers that Interceptor was making are the realm of anime, not real physics, and the Sharks still managed to kill it by the second pass and then swat the remaining runabouts. What the fuck even is a 720 degree evasion? Seriously?
Ah, the counter for maximum maneuverability: Straight Up Insanity. I suppose it would be quite difficult to hold back "risks shattering their ship with every move" level crazy.
Ah, the counter for maximum maneuverability: Straight Up Insanity. I suppose it would be quite difficult to hold back "risks shattering their ship with every move" level crazy.
It wasn't a counter, it just turned it into a fight instead of bug-swatting, the Sharks are not to be underestimated, and the AAR straight up says "It worked amazingly, we just didn't account for Insane Crazy when we commissioned them."
Given the costs involved with Starships, a flying gun that might just randomly explode and kill everyone onboard without warning is insanely decadent. The Kzinti just don't care because they're an entire species of psychopaths and a shot at getting a few more sweet frags is worth the risk of Sudden Existence Failure.
As things stand, they got no frags, only death. I can really see this would have gotten ugly though if we didn't push for "Maximum Theoretical Manueverability" (Just with the clause of "Without having the entire crew in crash couches and being willing to risk losing it suddenly for no reason")
It wasn't a counter, it just turned it into a fight instead of bug-swatting, the Sharks are not to be underestimated, and the AAR straight up says "It worked amazingly, we just didn't account for Insane Crazy when we commissioned them."
There's a place for overstressing your flight frame, and it's as a last resort rather than your standard combat tactic. If your choices are to rip off an engine manueveuring or get blown to bits then fair enough, but if you have to do that sort of thing just to fight at all? Something's gone horribly wrong.
Notably, our focus on concentrating firepower seemed to pay off here, because even as dodgy as they were, they weren't dodgy enough to keep out of the Shark's phaser arcs with now zippy they were, and the concentrated force means we broke through within two exchanges despite them dodging almost all of the torpedo fire. And our own shields held up long enough to keep the damage relatively surface level, except for the boarding attempt.
And if these fuckers weren't nimble enough to perpetually stern chase despite suicide mode level engineering, I don't think anything currently flying can do so.
To sum up, the Kzinti's lethality and psychopathy make it a hard fight, and but we win when fighting them, and even have the heart to feel bad about it because we have to use the kill setting on our phasers when firing, because stun won't stop them.
And am extra order of twelve more means a total of twenty two. Not bad for the Baby Sharks.
