[X] Type-2 Gimballed Cannon
The decision to sacrifice power in exchange for a wider firing arc is not easily made, and perhaps in future that will be an inevitable trade off as technology advances. But for the moment the versatile defenses of Federation starships have been useful in assuring their safety. With your advice in mind, tactical moves to put the finishing touches on the design. With the necessity for moving parts, some elements have to be scaled back. The end result is not entirely displeasing.
The Type-2 will be deployed from three-and-a-half meter circular hatches along the hull, doors retracting along the inner surface to allow a lift that mates with the outer hull to deploy the phaser to the surface. The Type-2 consists of a two-and-a-half meter linear focusing assembly that resembles a cannon, fixed by a central beam channel which rises approximately a meter above the surface of the hull to meet the cannon when deployed. The phaser beam itself is generated within the ship and fired up through the channel, which is then deflected by the focusing assembly where the channel meets the cannon to a trajectory that aligns with the barrel. The necessarily limited size of the miniaturized diverter puts an upper threshold of particle density on the phaser beam, with higher energies overwhelming the system and disintegrating the cannon, whereupon the phaser beam simply fires out into space.
To increase the available firing arc, the cannon itself is capable of approximately seventy degrees of vertical movement at the beam diverter, while the entire assembly is mounted on a circular table that provides another seventy degrees of rotation on the horizontal axis in either direction. Movement is not possible when the particle beam is firing, as the particle diverter has a non-symmetrical charge and changes in attitude will result in a skewed phaser beam that intersects with the Type-2's components.
All that being decided, spooling up manufacturing and ironing out any defects will still be the work of years. In the interim the Federation-Kzinti War continues. With Starfleet assembling in force, the first offensives have begun into Kzinti territory. The main stumbling block has not been the various House Fleets that make up their defenses, but the starbases that have been constructed over major worlds to suppress slave populations and centralise control over starship operations. While the Federation also makes use of supply and repair stations, as well as defensive satellites, the kind of monumental "starbases" that combine defensive and logistical functions that the Kzinti have constructed don't have any equal in Federation space.
Having seen first-hand how effective they can be in the advance on Kzinhome, which has now stalled in the outer territories as Starfleet Command reconsiders their strategy, you have been asked to liaise with infrastructural experts on the best design for a standardised Starbase.
But to do that, you first have to define your objectives. The kind of Starbase designed to be thrown up in a small sector and act as a logistics hub doesn't have much crossover with something designed to sit over and defend, say, Earth or Andoria.
You see three possibilities. The first is for a small outpost, one that can supply starships to extend their operational range and act as a hub for civilian traffic. Defensively speaking it would only need to be able to dissuade attack, being strong enough to hold off perhaps a small squadron of enemy vessels. The second possibility is for a larger base, one meant to act as a regional hub and able to supply a small fleet. It would also require a notable (and detectable) investment of starships to destroy, allowing redeployments to support the base before an attack of sufficient force arrives. The third and final base would be for a major installation capable of stalemating even major attack forces and defending key points, such as core member worlds vital to Federation security.
What do you think the Federation has the most pressing need for?
[ ] Small outposts able to project Federation influence on the borders.
[ ] Regional bases for Federation fleet elements and expansion in outer regions.
[ ] Starbases to defend Federation core worlds.
Two Hour Moratorium, Please
