Federation Starships and Bases
The United Federation of Planets famous Starfleet has been said by some to
be the largest fleet of starships in the quadrant. The primary location of Federation
shipbuilding efforts is the Utopia Planatia shipyards, located on the surface
of Mars. A political preference for multi-purpose vessels keeps the shipyards
very busy -- despite producing larger ships than most other governments, the
Federation's Starfleet is still comperable in size to the strongest governments
in the galaxy. For more information about the United Federation of Planets,
see their website at http://ufp.tos.net.
Military Vessels
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Scouts
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The fuel economy of the starfleet vessels that are categorized as scouts
makes them a favorite for specific and short-term scientific missions.
Their capacity for high warp speeds dramatically reduces the time that
a crew must spend in the field collecting data or exploring. The Federation
has decided to construct fewer of this category of ships than any other,
perhaps because its small size makes it a poor option for the long and
dangerous missions that occupy the most of Starfleet's resources.
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Destroyers
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Like the scouts of Starfleet, the destroyer category is used chiefly
for specific types of missions, usually scientific or military in nature.
Their small design limits their possibilities. The Federation prefers
multi-purpose vessels. While the destroyers are more capable than scouts,
they do not possess the support systems to facilitate multi-year missions.
Despite this, destroyers have found a home in the fleet. Admirals like
the option of deploying a destroyer in place of a scout on certain missions
to take advantage of the greater safety of the vessels and slightly more
equipped designs.
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Cruisers
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Cruisers make up the bulk of Starfleet. Not only are they formidable
weapons of war, but their larger size makes them perfect for extended
missions. Most Federation cruisers have been outfitted with many specialized
departments. From astrometrics observatories to xenobiology labs, these
areas substantially improve the capabilities of a vessel.
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Battleships
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Compared to the rest of the ships in
Starfleet, Federation battleships are enormous. The largest cruisers built
only ring in at two-thirds the size of a typical battleship. Often, battleships
dwarf every vessel nearby. The Federation considers ships of this design
to be weapons of war first, explorers second. Therefore, these ships come
equipped with powerful warp drives, devastating weapons, and multiple battle-redundant
support systems. True to form, however, the Federation has included many
of the labs found on its cruisers to make battleships an asset even in times
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Starbases
Federation
starbases are nothing less than colonies in space. These massive structures
can support all the needs of both Starfleet and the average citizen. This is
important in a society composed of so many different races. Not only must starbases
serve as military centers, they must also cater to the unique needs of every
alien who lives there. The Federation has done a remarkable job. Starbase One,
in orbit around Earth, is said to be favored over the much older Luna colonies
by seventy percent of humanoids surveyed. Amazingly, twenty percent of humans
who live on Earth express an interest to establish at least a part-time residency
there. The other starbases in Federation space enjoy a similar public opinion.
Federation outposts are often just a method of establishing a prepatory presence
in a remote region. They often precede the construction of a full starbase and
are constructed as a way to test the political waters of nearby governments.
Most of the benefits of an outpost are military in nature, making them an unpopular
investment. In a society where its citizens come first and military conquest
second must spend greater energies in domestic affairs to keep its people satisfied.
Nevertheless, some Federation outposts are constructed by Starfleet and even
by certain civilian agencies.
Civilian Vessels
The
United Federation of Planets is a government founded on diversity. It should
come as no surprise, then, that the Federation has the most diverse and numerous
civilian vessels in the galaxy. Constructed by businesses, through technology
transfer agreements, as scientific endeavours, and many other ways, these vessels
come in every shape and size. There are some Federation laws that prohibit the
arming of vessels that are not affiliated with Starfleet, but they are not nearly
as stict as similar provisions set down for the Romulans by the Romulan Senate.
Many parties have been known to equip their tiny ships with crude weapons and
other illegal technological upgrades. This is not a problem to the Federation,
which knows that no ship as small as those in the civilian category could hope
to generate enough power from their warp drives to pose any threat to anyone.
Even those rare vessels large enough to generate enough power for a photon torpedo
launching assembly would require large crews and support staff, not to mention
a source for ammunition and replacement parts. These are resources that are
too difficult to come by.
Of all the civilian vessels in the Federation, the largest vessels tend to
be constructed similarly (thanks to limitations in technology and the laws of
physics). It is then possible to separate these ships into two categories: freighters
and transports. Freighters tend to have a cargo capacity of greater than fifty
percent of the total ship mass, whereas transports have a cargo capacity between
twenty-five and seventy-five percent. This is the only way that the ships can
be compared -- the other systems and core designs are too diversified.
