STF

Temp Page - Sunlight Fast Frigate

Posted June 26, 2018, 8:52 a.m. by Rear Admiral Robert Archer (Engineering Director) (Robert Archer)

Sunlight - Class

Category: Frigate

Variant: Fast

Designer: Cassia Jackson

Mark I

Draft 4

Date: 21 Nov 2013

HISTORY AND MISSION OVERVIEW

“Come on and write the stupid ticket, officer. The bar closes in twenty minutes.”

In the wake of the Hobus supernova, when the galaxy was finished reeling, Starfleet began going over what data there was to try and find out whether they could have responded better or saved more lives. It was pointed out that the ‘fastest ship’ used to attempt to save Romulus had not been fast enough, and Starfleet R&D realised there was no ship currently in service designed specifically for speed. Starfleet’s core missions of exploration, defence and discovery were served well by the exploration, combat and science vessels currently in service, but Starfleet’s arsenal was missing a ship of pure speed. Such a ship would have to be versatile to respond quickly to all types of emergencies, do high-speed courier work, transport ambassadors, and carry high-security messages or cargo across Federation space - and small and cheap, so as to be everywhere at once.

The counter-proposal was made that building a ship which was not explicitly an exploration, defence or science vessel was not productive, but later that same year the idea was picked up by a group of younger and more entrepreneurial designers and reworked as a versatile exploration vessel with a specialisation on speed and rapid response. Design work was finished in 2388, final approval was given in 2389, and construction of the first ship was started later that year. In 2390, the first Sunlight-class vessels rolled off the assembly lines and were immediately deployed to as many diverse locations as possible, allowing - hopefully - an extremely rapid response to any situation anywhere.

Mission profiles

The Sunlight-class is suited to the following mission profiles:

Rapid, high-speed response to emergencies of all kinds

High speed transport of ambassadors

Exploration and scout work

Courier work for urgent cargo

Transport of high-security messages not trusted to subspace channels

High-speed hit-and-run raids (low-resistance targets only)

Assistance in search and rescue operations; leading small-scale search and rescue operations

STRUCTURE AND CONSTRUCTION

“How on earth did you catch me, officer? I was going at 130mph, you must’ve floored it. Do you know how dangerous that is? There are other people on this road, you know!”

The Sunlight is a very small ship at 9 decks. Often dwarfed by most other ships in Federation service, the reduced size is for the purposes of minimising strain on the ship’s structure and reducing cost. The nacelles, however, are largely out of proportion, spanning the entire length of the ship and necessitating their placement above the hull rather than alongside it. This gives the ship an unusual look not far removed from that of an upside-down sled. The nacelles themselves are harshly angular and the ship’s curves are sharper than an Intrepid’s, giving it a leaner look. Each nacelle is further equipped with primary and secondary warp coils and support systems to maintain higher warp speeds when required.

The ship is constructed as standard, with a triple layered duranium alloy hull, with duranium fillings between each layer. Though it has no armor, the ship’s hull is thicker than most, with 8 cm thick layers, and is well-supported, with internal duranium struts to sustain the ship better at high warp and increased SIF guides. Finally the ship was transporter welded across the whole superstructure to reduce costs and strengthen the ship further.

SCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING SYSTEMS

“Yes, officer, I did see the speed limit sign… I just didn’t see you.”

Sensor Systems

A Sunlight-class uses Type 7 sensors. Its high resolution range is 3.11 light years and its low resolution range is 11 light years. The main deflector dish spans decks 7, 8, and 9 in an oval-shaped depression. Extra computer power is automatically assigned to rendering sensor information coming in quickly, feeding information about oncoming obstacles to helm.

Computer Systems

The Sunlight’s computer system is made up of a pair of isolinear computer cores using the standard Starfleet LCARS OS and MAJEL interface. However, a few modifications were made due to the needs of the Sunlight herself. Quite a few automatic programs and systems were added to this computer by designers, which are detailed in other sections. A Sunlight carries just two computer cores located port and starboard on decks 6 and 7. The port side core is primarily dedicated to the complicated calculations required to maintain the Sunlight’s high speeds in whatever complex manoeuvres become necessary.

Also, some designers, concerned about stress levels on long high-speed voyages in a small ship and crew, made several alterations to the design to attempt to make it more ‘friendly’; among these was a change in the computer’s voice. The voice was made friendlier and less formal and computerised, with a great deal of work going into making it mimic a true human’s voice rather than sounding robotic. The result, which uses contractions and occasionally slang, sounds convincingly like a relaxed human woman from the central part of the English southern coast. It uses the same programming as MAJEL, only with different tones and inflections to the voice. Translators worked hard on achieving the same effect in the other languages common in the Federation, but gave up after they were informed their synthetic Andorian voice was too sing-song and the synthetic Vulcan voice just sounded drunk.

WARP PROPULSION SYSTEM

“No, officer, I don’t know how fast I was going. The little needle stops at 125mph.”

The Sunlight’s warp system is its pride and joy. Capable of amazing feats of speed and endurance, it is the result of years of careful planning and engineering. The Sunlight is unusual in that it is the smallest ship built so far with the Class X warp core. Utilising Mythology-class designs for redundancy and endurance, the Sunlight designers took it one step further and gave it true speed as well.

The core spans the entire aft section, through decks 7, 8, and 9, and feeds two fixed-wing nacelles positioned above the ship. The core has a Cochrane rating of 7,912 and is capable of a standard cruising speed of Warp 7.0 and a maximum sustainable speed of Warp 9.9. It has a maximum velocity of Warp 9.99, sustainable for 12 hours, and an emergency speed of Warp 9.995, sustainable for 4 hours.

IMPULSE PROPULSION SYSTEM

“I wasn’t texting, officer, I was… paying my speeding fine online.”

A Sunlight’s maximum impulse is 0.35c, with its two impulse engines located in the aft section on decks 8 and 9. The Sunlight can reach this speed within 28 seconds and come to a full stop in the same time.

The designers of the Sunlight felt strongly that the ship’s sublight speed should be just as excellent as its warp speed. To achieve this it was given double the normal RCS thruster packets and support systems compared to an average frigate. Its turning speed and radius were also considered important, but with the turning capabilities it was originally given, designers realised that standard inertial dampeners would not be enough to prevent sheer g-forces from killing the crew. The inertial dampeners were given a program that increased their strength sharply when the ship entered a fast manoeuvre and this allowed the ship to safely turn incredibly tightly.

TACTICAL SYSTEMS

“I’m surprised you caught up with me, officer. I robbed the bank almost an hour ago.”

A Sunlight’s main battle tactic is ‘run away really fast’, being a small ship and manned by a small crew. Thus, the weaponry included is only intended to provide a defence in an emergency and give the ship some basic capabilities so it can chase down fugitives or raid badly defended targets such as enemy research outposts or communications arrays.

Defensive Shields

The Sunlight class uses a Type 6 shield system, with emitters placed at key locations over the exterior of the ship so as to cover all angles of attack. Secondary emitters are clustered around the front of the ship and the nacelles to provide superior shielding in those areas during combat or whilst maintaining high warp. The Type 6 system has a maximum graviton load of 1,075 megawatts, with a maximum dissipation rate of 2.92 x 10^5 kilowatts.

Phaser Systems

A Sunlight has 3 Type-VII phaser arrays - one circling the ventral side of the ship with 75 emitters, one circling the dorsal side of the ship with 75 emitters, and one over the nose of the ship with 50 emitters. This gives the ship something of a blind spot directly behind it, but due to its high manoeuvrability this was not considered a major problem. It has a range of 75,000 kilometres and a maximum energy output of 1.3 megawatts.

Torpedo Systems

The Sunlight stocks just 25 photon torpedoes and 20 scientific assorted probes, so anyone firing weapons has to be careful to conserve them. The Sunlight uses two Type 1 torpedo and probe launch systems, one fore and one aft, which can fire a single torpedo or probe every eight seconds. The system has a maximum range of 3,500,000 kilometers.

COMMAND AND SUPPORT SYSTEMS

“I don’t know, officer. Did you pull me over for the pedestrian I ran over, the stolen goods in the back, or the speeding? The speeding? Seriously!?”

Bridge

The Bridge takes up the entirety of Deck one. With a crew of just thirty, of whom (due to the shift system) only ten to twelve will usually be on duty, it was decided to combine all work spaces into one large, open-plan, square shaped area. This area combines the functions of offices, conference lounge, bridge and information centre. The bridge is one of the most spacious rooms aboard a Sunlight, much more so than the bridges of many other ships, due to the many functions it shares. There are enough chairs - bolted to the floor so as not to fly around the room when the ship takes hits - around the various consoles to seat the entire crew, but the crew is divided between shifts and Medical and Engineering staff are usually stationed in Sickbay and Main Engineering, so usually the bridge dwarfs the crew manning it.

The bridge has three chairs in the centre, for the CO, XO and a mission specialist or guest. Directly in front of the CO’s chair in a small depression there is the Helm station. At either side of this depression are the Science station (left) and Intelligence station (right). The Science station faces the viewscreen, whereas the Intelligence/Diplomatic station faces the rest of the room so that the screens face the wall and the officer can access confidential files. Behind these two stations, level with the Captain’s chair, are the Security/Tactical station (left) and the Counselor’s station (right). The Security/Tactical station is L-shaped with screens both in front and to the right of the person sitting at it; one screen shows internal scans of the ship and the location of crew members (and boarders, if applicable), and the other shows tactical data on other ships and weaponry. The screens automatically show the more relevant data on the screen in front of the user, with the less relevant data on the right hand side - so in a ship to ship battle the tactical data would be in front and the ship’s data on the left, but normally the ship’s data would be in front and the tactical data to the right. The Counselor’s station, like Intelligence, faces the rest of the room so the screens face the wall and the Counselor can read confidential files.

Behind all these stations is an open space, the walls of which show various displays and menus. The turbolift doors are set into the back of this curving wall. To their left is a large Engineering station that shows a map of the entire ship with all damage and alerts; this screen has controls for the CE, but they are rarely used as most CEs work from Main Engineering. On the right is a small Medical station where one can (with the proper clearance) call up the stats and vitals of all patients occupying Sickbay biobeds, though again this is rarely used as Medical personnel tend to be in Sickbay itself. Far left is an Astrometrics station showing maps of surrounding galaxies and the course of the ship, and the screen on the far right is usually used to display a more detailed map of the currently occupied system with any unusual sensor readings or hostiles flagged up.

Ready Room

The Captain’s Ready Room aboard a Sunlight is a cramped and low-key affair. The Bridge is used for most meetings and discussions, but it was decided there did need to be some kind of room to hold more confidential or formal meetings and allow the Captain to work and take calls in privacy. Besides, what Captain can survive without a place to put their fish? It contains a desk, a small monitor and console, a comfortable chair behind the desk and two chairs in front of it, and of course the option to turn the wall into a fish tank. Underneath the desk there is a small weapons locker containing three hand phasers.

CNS Office

The CNS is the only senior staff member to have an office, due to the confidential nature of his or her meetings with the crew. In its standard set-up, it is devoid of monitors or screens and contains no desk or tables. It is furnished with several comfortable armchairs and the walls have paintings of stars on them. However, the CNS can choose to alter this set-up at their own personal preference.

Secure Storage Room

To save on space, the designers placed one catch-all secure room in the centre of Deck Four. It is usually used as an armoury, storing twenty-five hand phasers and five type 3 rifles. Any valuable or delicate cargo that cannot simply be stashed in Deck Five is also stored here. The ship does not have a Brig; when one is needed, the room can be split in two by a level 3 forcefield. One half can then be used to store weaponry and cargo and the other half can be used as a brig. The Secure Storage room is three metres by four metres, making the potential brig six metres square and thus suitable for housing anywhere between one and six occupants depending on how comfortable you want them to be.

Naturally, this room is one of the most secure on the ship, with its own backup transporter-scrambling mechanisms, forcefields at the door, and access limited to the COS and those of rank Lt Cmdr or above. Environmental conditions can be configured within the same limits as the VIP quarters (-100 degrees Celsius up to 1000 Celsius and 0.1g up to 3.0g) to allow for transport of any kind of prisoner and any kind of cargo.

Main Engineering

All three of the lower, smaller, offset decks (the ‘engineering hull’) are devoted to Engineering. The warp core itself is nine metres high and is placed at the centre of the room, cutting through all three decks. Effectively, the lowest deck is the floor and the other two are simply circular balconies around the warp core, overlooking the lowest deck.

The two balcony decks have various consoles, cupboards and monitoring devices, and are also equipped with safety ropes attached to the walls for the use of any engineer worried about being flung from the balconies in a battle. It’s the lowest floor that is really the Engineer’s playground; a Sunlight’s fantastic warp core takes quite some maintaining and the equipment and consoles are of the highest quality the Federation can afford to produce.

In the event of a surprise warp core breach, to protect the tiny ship from the force of such a huge explosion, the ejection system is designed to fling the warp core away with maximum force, using smaller but survivable explosions to achieve this.

Science Laboratories

There are no dedicated science laboratories aboard a Sunlight. If the scientists want to test out some explosions, it is usually suggested that they use the large open space in Deck Five. Simulations can be run from the bridge or the holosuites. Replicators can provide basic equipment from Petri dishes to thermometers.

UTILITY SYSTEMS

“It’s not my fault I was speeding, officer. The garage couldn’t fix my brakes, so they just made my horn louder.”

Deck Five

The entire of Deck Five is a gigantic open space, half again the height of an ordinary deck. It doubles as a cargo bay and shuttle bay. Both the starboard and port sides have huge doors (5 m tall and 7m wide) which can be opened into space; when these doors are open, a Level 3 forcefield automatically prevents the bay from venting into space, with only the CO or XO able to override this forcefield.

The Sunlight’s single shuttle is usually parked by the starboard doors. The rest of the space is used for storage of cargo and probes. It’s also the only large uncluttered space on board, so it’s used for anything requiring large amounts of space, such as fitness training or explosion tests or scientific experiments. The huge amounts of antimatter needed for some of a Sunlight’s longer runs mean that sometimes Deck Five is used for extra storage space; thus it is constructed with all the stasis fields and forcefields necessary for such. The transporter pads, of which there are twelve, are located in a neat row on the aft wall of this room.

Tractor Beams

The tractor systems aboard a Sunlight are located at points just above the doors into Deck Five, both starboard and port, to allow objects to be tractored directly through those doors. They have the standard range and power expected of a ship of this size.

CREW SUPPORT SYSTEMS

“I know I was speeding. I’m sorry. I’m on my way to hospital to get the lead removed from my foot.”

The nature of a Sunlight’s missions will often take it into uncharted territory or difficult diplomatic situations, or require it to handle matters of the greatest delicacy as a matter of urgency. For this reason, all Sunlight-class vessels have either an intelligence officer or a junior diplomatic advisor.

Quarters

Due to the fear of cabin fever that permeates the design of the Sunlight, quarters are brightly and cheerfully furnished. Officers have the choice of changing wall and carpet colour at any Starbase. A potted plant and painting of a star comes as standard in all officers’ quarters, but those who serve aboard Sunlights joke that the actual potted plant you receive is determined by a mixture of pot luck and a list of weird plants made by a bored engineering cadet - they range from cacti, rose bushes and bonsai to beautiful lily-like Vulcan plants to small carnivorous Klingon trees.

The CO’s quarters, XO’s quarters and the two VIP quarters contain a small reception/lounge area, a bathroom and a bedroom. The reception/lounge area has two comfortable chairs and a low table and the bedroom contains a bed and bedside table. VIP quarters can be configured to almost any environment, within the limits of what will not damage the ship itself. They can be heated up to a thousand degrees Celsius or cooled to minus one hundred, and support any g from 0.1 to 3.0. It takes the Captain’s authorization to change the environmental conditions beyond M-class or beyond 0.9-1.1 g - in order to prevent some idiot cooking the guests.

All other quarters - both senior and junior officers’ - are comprised of just a main room and a bathroom, with the main room containing a bed, desk and chair. All bathrooms contain a sonic shower, toilet, sink and cupboard. Any and all other furnishings have to be requisitioned at a Starbase by the officer occupying the quarters.

Because of the lack of offices aboard a Sunlight-class, it is possible for the senior staff to perform most actions from their quarters that they could from the bridge, after inputting the correct clearance codes. This means that in a pinch, senior staff quarters can be used as offices. It also allows the senior staff to work from their quarters without making the dangerous journey to the bridge if the ship is boarded. Because of this, security is even more vital than usual and every room is locked down when its occupant is absent.

Despite housing junior officers in pairs being more efficient and generally acceptable, it was decided that on such a small, crowded ship each officer should be given their own personal space, even if that meant those spaces had to be cramped. Junior officers’ quarters have the same basic layout as senior officers’.

Family quarters do not exist aboard a Sunlight; however, joint quarters can be arranged - all it takes is for the Chief Engineer to knock down a wall between two JO quarters - and an officer could probably fit a son’s or daughter’s bed inside their quarters if they didn’t mind not having much floor space. Pets and/or children are not encouraged on board a Sunlight - space and resources are too limited - and the Captain’s permission would be required to bring them aboard.

Crew Lounge

The crew lounge is located on Deck Four and known alternately as Four Starboard, the Mess, or the Lounge. It curves around the starboard side of Deck Four’s hull and as such has an arc shape. As well as being where the crew comes to eat, it’s a place to socialise. It’s also where things like concerts or parties would usually be held if somebody decided to arrange one. It contains three small tables, with four chairs arranged around each. There is no chef or wait staff, simply a replicator set into the wall reachable from each table. The chairs are comfortable, each table has a lava lamp in the middle, and the lights are tuned down - from white to a softer yellow - to create a friendly atmosphere. For a special event where all the crew might be present, it’s possible to slide the tables together and fit seventeen more chairs in around the room’s edges.

Sickbay

Sickbay curves around the port side of Deck Four’s hull, giving it an arc shape. It is divided into a small ‘lobby’ area full of cupboards and microscopes and a larger treatment area with five bio beds. The walls are a comforting pale blue colour.

Holosuites

Though originally it was thought it would be impractical to include any form of holographic recreation facilities, Starfleet insisted that on such a ship, a little entertainment and stress relief was absolutely vital to prevent all the officers ending up killing each other. Thus two holosuites were included. However, they are automatically switched off when the ship is travelling at top speed, as all power possible is necessary to maintain that speed. It can only be reactivated from the bridge. As there are only two holosuites, the ship’s computer contains a virtual sign-up sheet, and officers can book time in them. As well as being used for recreational purposes, they can be used for training or to run complicated simulations.

Replicators

To save on power and encourage crew interactions, there are no replicators in crew quarters. Three replicators are located in Four Starboard, a fourth is located on the bridge, a fifth in the CNS Office, a sixth in the Captain’s Ready Room, and a seventh in Sickbay. In addition, the VIP quarters each have their own replicator.

AUXILIARY SPACECRAFT SYSTEMS

“I’m not drunk, officer. I just have a very persuasive drunk backseat driver.”

The ship contains a single Armadillo-class shuttlecraft, parked near the starboard doors in Deck Five. Deck Five is capable of fitting more shuttlecraft in, provided its other contents were emptied out first and somebody parked them very carefully, but they do not come as standard and would be provided on a mission-by-mission basis.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

“If you think I’m speeding now, you should see me play Mario Kart.”

Dimensions & Structure:

  • Length: 63 meters

  • Beam (Width): 44 meters

  • Height: 39.8 meters

  • Decks: 9

Crew Complement:

  • Officers and Crew: 30

  • Visiting Personnel: 5

  • Maximum Evacuation Limit: 700

Computer Systems:

  • Core: Isolinear data core x2

  • Software: Starfleet Library Computer Access and Retrieval System (LCARS)

Warp Systems:

  • Cochrane rating: 7912+

  • Power Plant: Warp Core Mk X

  • Cruising Velocity: Warp 7

  • Max. Sustainable Velocity: Warp 9.9

  • Max. Velocity: Warp 9.99 (12 hours)

  • Emergency Speed: Warp 9.995 (4 hours)

Impulse Systems:

  • Full Impulse: 0.35c

  • Zero-0.35c: 28 seconds

  • 0.35c-Zero: 28 seconds

Defensive Systems:

  • Shield Maximum Graviton Load (Continuous): 1,075 MegaWatts

  • Shield Maximum Energy Dissipation Rate: 2.92x10^5 kiloWatts

Offensive Systems:

  • Torpedo tubes (x1)

** Standard payload: 25 photon torpedoes

Maximum rate of fire: 1 torpedo/probe every 8 seconds
Range: 3, 500, 000 km

  • Phaser systems

3 Type-VII phaser strips (two with 75 emitters, one with 50)
Range: 75, 000 km
** Maximum Energy Output: 1.3 MegaWatts

DECK LAYOUT

“Alright, officer, so I hit a tree, but it was self defence. It was coming at me rather fast.”

Deck 1:

  • Bridge

Deck 2:

  • Ready Room

  • CNS Office

  • CO’s Quarters

  • XO’s Quarters

Deck 3:

  • Senior Staff and JO Quarters

  • 2x VIP quarters

Deck 4:

  • Lounge

  • Sickbay

  • Holosuite x2

  • Secure Storage Room

Deck 5:

  • Open space (Cargo bay / Shuttle bay / Storage / Transporter room)

Deck 6:

  • Antimatter storage

  • Torpedo storage

  • Computer core

Decks 7, 8 and 9 (spanning):

  • Main Engineering

  • Warp Core

  • Impulse Engines

SHIPS OF CLASS

“It’s not my fault, officer. My tires got dizzy.”

All Sunlight class ships are named for things that go fast.

  • USS Sunlight [Class Ship], NCC-19301
  • USS Moonlight [Sister Ship], NCC-19302
  • USS Peregrine, NCC-19303
  • USS Jet, NCC-19304
  • USS Hermes, NCC-19305
  • USS Mercury, NCC-19306
  • USS Quicksilver, NCC-19307
  • USS Arrow, NCC-19308
  • USS Lightning, NCC-19309
  • USS Tachyon, NCC-19310

In addition, the following names are reserved for NPC use:

USS Gazelle, NCC-19311
USS Intuition, NCC-19312
USS Bolt, NCC-19313
USS Cheetah, NCC-19314
USS Craze, NCC-19315
USS Semiquaver, NCC-19316
USS Choree, NCC-19317
USS Javelin, NCC-19318
USS Velocity, NCC-19319
USS Chariot, NCC-19320

CONCLUSION

“Do you know why you pulled me over? Okay. Just so one of us knows.”

Sunlight-class vessels are small and not particularly powerful, but they really are quick. They can outrun any fugitive, escape any pursuer, and foray into enemy space safe in the knowledge that they’re too fast to be caught. They deliver emergency cargo, transport ambassadors, help evacuate settlements, and are home in time for tea. To do this they had to be kept small; they cannot fight like a destroyer or scan like a researcher, but they can get to a planet in time to defend it or get to a solar flare to observe it before it is over. They are designed to be as friendly as possible to stop the crew ending up hating each other in such a confined space. As the current fastest ship available, they will continue to be useful tools in Starfleet’s inventory for many years to come.


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