Bravo Fleet
Difference between pages "Planet Classification" and "Inquiry Class"

Difference between pages "Planet Classification" and "Inquiry Class"

From Bravo Fleet
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{{Icons|bfc}}
{{Specifications
=Classifications=
| image = [[Image:Inquiry_class.png|275px]]
{|
| name = Inquiry
|-
| affiliation = Starfleet
|[[Image:Yorktown-plaque.png|275px]]
| role = Heavy Cruiser
|
| dateEntered = 2390
==Class A - Geothermal==
| expectedLife = 80 Years
|-
| expectedRefit = 10 Years
|
| timeResupply = 2 Years
|Class A geoactive planets are generally small, barren worlds rife with volcanic activity. This activity traps carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, causing a greenhouse effect that keeps the temperature very hot, regardless of the planet's distance from the sun. When the volcanic activity eventually ceases, the planet 'dies' and usually becomes a Class C world - a few rare cases transform into Class Q geothermal planets. Until that happens, the toxic levels of carbon dioxide make this planet unsuitable to any known life form, though silicon-based life may be able to terraform it to their needs.
| crewComplement = 350
|-
| emergencyCap = 5,000
|
| length = 460 meters
|'''Age:''' 0 - 2 billion years
| width = 210 meters
'''Diameter:''' 1,000 - 10,000 km
| height = 80 meters
| decks = 18
| propulsionSystem = Matter/Antimatter powered warp drive
| cruiseSpeed = Warp 9
| maxSpeed = Warp 9
| emergencySpeed = Warp 9.99 (36 hours)
| energyWeapons =*11x Type-XII Phaser Arrays
| torpLaunchers =*2 forward
* 2 aft
| torpPayload =*200 Photon Torpedoes
*200 Quantum Torpedoes
| shields =Multi-Layered Shielding System
| shuttleBays =2
| shuttles =10
| runabouts =2
}}Designed in response to Starfleet’s defense-oriented turn in the late 2380s, the ''Inquiry''-class heavy cruiser is a fast, well-armed starship deployed in large numbers near the Federation’s borders. As standardization was a focus with the design, they are able to be produced nearly anywhere within the Federation, and so their ubiquity has made them a part of a whole generation of Starfleet officers’ first experiences in the fleet.


'''Location:''' Ecosphere/Cold Zone
=== Science and Exploration ===
Taking cues from ancestors like the ''Constitution'' and contemporaries like the ''Luna'', this heavy cruiser design has a full complement of generalist science labs and sensor arrays, giving it the ability to analyze the wide variety of phenomena it will encounter on its missions. Though ''Inquiry''-class was designed primarily for defensive purposes, it still conducts a full range of scientific and exploratory surveys during the course of its normal duties, making initial discoveries that then get followed up on by science vessels.


'''Surface:''' Partially molten
''Inquiry''-class ships are fully-capable of independent exploration beyond Federation space, though they lack the range of the ''Luna'' or the versatility of the ''Nebula''; Starfleet tends to keep them close to home, though, and anytime they’re found too far from the frontier, it’s a sign that Starfleet is looking for some threat.


'''Atmosphere:''' Primarily hydrogen compounds
=== Diplomacy ===
Like all Starfleet ships of her size, the ''Inquiry'' is capable of a range of diplomatic missions, including multi-party talks and first contact scenarios. As a well-armed and heavily-shielded vessel, the ''Inquiry''-class is ideal for situations where combat may be a result of a failed negotiation but when a larger ship like a ''Sovereign'' would be too conspicuous or threatening to send instead. As on the ''Luna'', diplomatic facilities aboard the ''Inquiry'' are capable of supporting a full range of environments for nearly any known species, which makes it well-suited to missions involving races that can’t tolerate an M-class environment.


'''Evolution:''' Cools to become Class C
=== Engineering ===
Taking the majority of its inspiration from the ''Sovereign''-class and sharing design features from the ''Prometheus'', and ''Akira''-classes, the ''Inquiry''-class is a compact, angular cruiser with a roughly triangular primary hull and a truncated, boxy secondary hull, which is meant to both improve warp field dynamics and to minimize the vessel’s target profile. Compared to other heavy cruisers, the ''Inquiry''-class is more compact, but its systems are no less advanced; it relies on many of the advances in automation developed for the ''Prometheus'' to reduce the need for a large crew, which further allows it to approach the performance of an explorer with a smaller platform.


'''Life Forms:''' None
The Class-9 warp drive employed aboard the ''Inquiry''-class is finely-tuned for its hull geometry and provides the fastest top speed of any heavy cruiser in the fleet, an extremely impressive Warp 9.99. The power generation systems are all reinforced and have been built with added redundancies to increase its combat survivability. Nearly the entire hull is covered with a substantial layer of ablative armor, even to the point of employing an armored grille over the main deflector dish to protect it from harm.


'''Example:''' [[ma:Gothos|Gothos]]
The impulse engines are located in the saucer section and are oversized for a ship of her size, both to increase sublight speed and to take advantage of larger fusion reactors to power other onboard systems.
|-
|[[Image:D-Class.png|link=Special:FilePath/D-Class.png]]
|
==Class B - Ferromorteus==
|-
|
|Class B planets are small, mostly metallic rocky planetoids. Class B worlds exhibit a highly iron-rich crust, with a magnetic core and no mantle. Atmosphere thin to negligible, with little to no heat retention. The surface varies from extremely hot to cold dependent on the position relative to their star, and can exhibit molten surface areas. The night side of the planetoid will fail to retain the heat exhibited on the day side, left a frigid wasteland. These planetoids are inimical to life.
|-
|
|'''Age:''' 0 - 10 billion years


'''Diameter:''' 1,000 - 10,000 km
Auxiliary craft support is provided by a large shuttlebay on the stern capable of handling all manner of shuttles and runabouts, as well as a smaller shuttlebay on the bow of the ship in the saucer, similar to the one found aboard the ''Akira''-class, though there is no conduit within the ship connecting the two bays. While the ''Inquiry''-class does not routinely embark fighters, it was designed to be able to handle a squadron of Valkyrie-class fighters which would deploy from the forward shuttlebay for combat, and then in the event of a retreat could be recovered via the aft shuttlebay under the cover of the ship’s weapons.


'''Location:''' Hot Zone
Two large cargo bays are accessible via hatches on the underside of the saucer, which could easily carry small craft in a pinch, but which are meant to hold vast amounts of cargo for humanitarian projects.


'''Surface:''' Partially molten, high surface temperatures
A unique feature of the ''Inquiry''-class are mission equipment bays on the aft corners under the saucer section. Round, iris-style hatches cover a large internal bay with power and computer connections allowing for the installation of specialized modules such as sensor pods, weapons pods, or other mission-specific options. In addition, these bays can also be used to deploy experimental munitions, such as long-range torpedoes or drones, as well as small craft such as runabouts depending on what the mission calls for.


'''Atmosphere:''' Extremely tenuous, few chemically active gasses
=== Tactical ===
Combat is where the ''Inquiry''-class truly shines, with eleven Type-XII phaser arrays (six dorsal and five ventral) and four burst-fire torpedo launchers (two forward and two aft). The shield generators are borrowed directly from the ''Sovereign''-class and the aforementioned ablative armor covers all critical systems, which gives the ship impressive defensive coverage. In addition, the mission equipment bays give the ship many options for additional offensive and defensive systems. Simply put, this is the strongest combat vessel of all of the Federation’s mid-sized starships, other than dedicated escorts like the ''Manticore'' and ''Prometheus''.


'''Life Forms:''' None
Like the Resolute-class, there are also additional hardpoints around the ship that can be equipped with additional weapons, such as pulse phaser cannons in the bow and micro torpedo launchers on the superstructure of the hull, as are found on the ''Sovereign''-class. This is meant to allow the ship to be easily refit into an even more capable tactical platform in the advent of war, thanks to lessons learned from the Dominion conflict.


'''Example:''' [[ma:Mercury|Mercury]]
The ''Inquiry''-class is highly maneuverable compared not only to her larger cousins but also ships in her own size class, which allows her to literally run circles around threat vessels to take full advantage of her many weapons emplacements. Coupled with her shields and armor which allow her to shrug off most hits, the ''Inquiry'' is an extremely tough ship and a match on her own for nearly anything she would encounter.
|-
|[[Image:D-Class.png|link=Special:FilePath/D-Class.png]]
|
==Class C - Geoinactive==
|-
|
|When all activity on a Class A world ceases, the planet is then considered Class C. Essentially dead, these small, rocky worlds have a cold, barren surface. As their core cooled down, their rotation slowed and eventually their atmosphere dissipated. No life form as any use for these planets, although they do often possess rich mineral deposits from their volcanically-active past.
|-
|
|'''Age:''' 2 - 10 billion years


'''Diameter:''' 1,000 - 10,000 km
=== Shipboard Life ===
While this ship has capabilities approaching the ''Sovereign''-class, automation means that it has less than half the crew complement. This allows the ''Inquiry''-class to have a comfortable standard of accommodations, though certainly not as luxurious of one as large explorers.


'''Location:''' Ecosphere/Cold Zone
A unique ship-board feature is the recreation areas that ring the saucer section. Connected together as a promenade on either side of the ship, these two-story areas provide a sense of space and openness to help address the claustrophobia that can sometimes come from serving aboard a starship, while also providing extra space for triage and refugee accommodations should the need arise. Holographic belts of green space go down the center of the promenade and lounges can be called up as needed for different group sizes. A traditional forward lounge does exist above the forward shuttlebay, though.


'''Surface:''' Low surface temperature
Unlike other starship classes, there are fewer specialized, physical recreation areas. While there are two gymnasia and a handful of mess halls, all sports courts, theaters, salons, and the arboretum have been replaced by holodecks or holosuites, which further gives the ship flexibility in situations where it might need to house refugees or handle other crises.


'''Atmosphere:''' Frozen
Medical facilities are state-of-the-art, but compact, as on the ''Sovereign''-class. Two sickbay modules provide support for the crew in the primary and secondary hulls, with large-scale medical events behind handled through the multiple holographically-configurable spaces available on the ship.


'''Life Forms:''' None
As Starfleet moves into the 25th Century, the ''Inquiry''-class has been produced in large numbers and has become for a generation of Starfleet officers their first experience out of the academy on an actual starship. These ships of the line also represent an era in Starfleet Command’s thinking, so crews coming up on these ships have all been trained with the sense that Starfleet’s primary role is to keep threats outside of the Federation’s borders, while still exploring out and seeking the unknown in the process. So, to have served on one of these ships is to learn a very different ethos than on other heavy cruisers, one of duty and service over curiosity.


'''Example:''' [[ma:Psi_2000|Psi 2000]]
== Class History ==
|-
In 2385, everything changed for Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets with the destruction of their most important shipbuilding facility: Utopia Planitia. This not only ended the Starfleet effort to evacuate Romulus, but also marked a shift for Starfleet from an outward looking, exploratory posture to an inward looking, defensive one. After an evaluation of remaining shipbuilding capacities and fleet needs, Starfleet commissioned the ''Inquiry''-class as a combat-enhanced heavy cruiser design which would shore up the Federation’s borders against the chaos anticipated alongside the imminent destabilization of the Romulan state.
|[[Image:D-Class.png|link=Special:FilePath/D-Class.png]]
|
==D Class - Asteroidal Dwarfs ==
|-
|
|D class planets are most commonly found in the Ecosphere of a system but are not strictly limited to - they are found as well in the Hot and Cold Zones - they range between 5 to 10 thousand kilometres in diameter. They are barren and rocky, often possessing no atmosphere. Animal life is unable to form on D class planets. Depending on their proximity to a star, a D class may be hot and arid or cold and frozen. These planets can be made habitable by terraforming as was the case with Weytahn by the Andorians during the 2050s.


Example: Mercury
The ''Sovereign''-class was identified as Starfleet’s most successful multi-mission tactical design and the ''Inquiry''-class was designed over a shortened period by shrinking this design and increasing its level of automation, resulting in what some at the design bureau called a “pocket battleship,” though that terminology has never been used in official parlance. The brief also called for a starship that could be more easily produced at standard starbases than other medium-sized ships could be. As such, the ''Inquiry''’s components, while advanced, are also ruggedized, simplified versions of the ones found aboard their larger cousin, meaning that they can be more easily mass produced.
|-
|
|'''Age:''' 2 - 10 billion years
'''Diameter:''' 100 - 1,000 km


'''Location:''' Hot Zone/Ecosphere/Cold Zone; found primarily in orbit of larger planets or in asteroid fields/belts
Unlike other classes which are largely dependent on a small number of advanced fleet yards to construct them, the ''Inquiry''-class could and was produced at a large number of facilities across the Federation, allowing for proliferation at a scale not seen above the size of a frigate in Starfleet’s prior history. With their modest crew complements, they were just as easy to deploy as they were to build.


'''Surface:''' Barren and cratered
Mass production, however, meant standardization. While many other starship classes had variants as the years progressed (with some varying month-to-month as new equipment came online) the ''Inquiry''-class was kept to a much more regimented standard. While most ''Odyssey''-class ships were quite different from one another due to their long construction times, ''Inquiry''-class ships could be built in a year and were identical to one another within distinct “block” of subclasses, which kept production simple. The ''Inquiry''-class (Block I) itself was first launched in 2390, with the Block II units led by the ''Ride'' coming online in 2395, followed by the Block III units led by the ''Zheng He'' in 2399. Each of these blocks represented incremental, defined improvements over the original, rather than the more fluid differences found in other starship classes.


'''Atmosphere:''' None or very tenuous
The starship class has proven to be effective in service, with remarkably few design-related flaws discovered during the course of their service, due to so much of the design being derived from older, proven classes. A contemporary with the ''Resolute''-class heavy cruiser, the two designs tend to be sent on very different missions: the ''Resolute'' staying largely close to the core and the ''Inquiry'' sent to the borders; there are currently many more ''Inquiry''-class ships in the fleet than ''Resolute''-class ones.


'''Life Forms:''' None
== In Play ==


'''Example:''' [[ma:Luna|Luna]], [[wikipedia:Ceres_(dwarf_planet)|Ceres]]
* As described by Captain Riker, this is Starfleet’s “toughest, fastest ship,” though factoring in a little bluster we can amend that to being Starfleet’s toughest, fastest ship in this size range. Broadly speaking, it’s a smaller version of the Sovereign-class and has similar capabilities.
|-
* These ships are pretty common, given their large production run, so if your character entered service somewhere between 2390 and the present, it’s very likely that they’ve served aboard one of these ships.
|[[Image:H-Class.png|link=Special:FilePath/H-Class.png]]
* Because there are so many of them, ''Inquiry''-class captains range from relative novices to grizzled veterans.
|
==H Class 'Desert' ==
|-
|
| H class worlds are found in the Ecosphere of a system and range between 5 to 15 thousand kilometres in diameter. Their atmospheres may be rich in oxygen, carbon dioxide, or another common gas. The planet holds little to no surface water; the entire world a sea of dunes and sand and is sustained to be very dry, hot, and barren. Little life is known to inhabit these worlds. They are inhabitable by either pressure domes or colonies, depending on the atmospheric content, through supply replenishment; use of aquifiers is necessary.  


Example: Tau Cygna V
[[Category:Federation starship classes]]
|-
[[Category:Heavy Cruisers]]
|[[Image:J-Class.png|link=Special:FilePath/J-Class.png]]
|
==J Class 'Gas Giant' ==
|-
|
|Typically located in a system's Cold Zone, J classes are uninhabitable. Also known as Gas Giants due to their general lack of a solid surface, their dense atmospheres are most commonly made of gases such as ammonia, ethane, fluorine, helium, hydrogen, and methane. Windspeeds average 2000 kilometres per hour, however the USS Defiant in 2372 recorded windspeeds of 10 thousand kilometres per hour on an unnamed J class when rescuing a Karemma vessel. The diameter of a J class ranges between 50 and 140 thousand kilometres, therefore they possess a very strong gravitational pull which results in dozens to hundreds of planetoid moons in their orbits. Rings made up of spacial debris caused by lunar collisions and the collection of space dust and ice are common.
As observed by the USS Enterprise-D in 2369, the collision of two J class planets can ignite the birth of a star. A single J class does not have sufficient resources or energy to cause fission resulting the creation of a star, however when two collide their combined resources is enough to do so.
 
Examples: Jupiter, Saturn, Betelgeuse III
|-
|[[Image:6-Class.png|link=Special:FilePath/6-Class.png]]
|
==Class 6 'Ice Giant'==
|-
|
|Similar to a J class, the Class 6 is distinctly different in that is has a global ocean composed of liquid gases beneath its layered atmosphere. These oceans are known to be made of water-ammonia and hydrogen-methane.
 
Examples: Uranus, Neptune
|-
|[[Image:K-Class.png|link=Special:FilePath/K-Class.png]]
|
==K Class 'Adaptable'==
|-
|
|K class planets are located within the Ecosphere of a system and range 5 to 15 thousand kilometres in diameter. They have very thin atmospheres usually composed of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and/or argon. Their weak magnetic fields allow large quantities of solar radiation to reach the surface and heat to escape back into space. K class surfaces are barren, often cold, and cannot support animal life as there is commonly no liquid water or too little to sustain vegetation. Colonisation is possible by the use of pressure domes.
 
Examples: Mars, Mudd
|-
|[[Image:L-Class.png|link=Special:FilePath/L-Class.png]]
|
==L Class 'Marginal'==
|-
|
|L class planets are located within the Ecosphere of a system and range between 10 to 15 thousand kilometres in diameter. The atmosphere is mostly made up of oxygen and argon but also has a very high concentration of carbon dioxide. Unlike the M class, the L class has little water and vegetation, but it could thrive if conditions were set properly. Life tends to be predominantly plant life with few animals. Most L classes are suitable for humanoid colonisation.
 
Example: Indri III
|-
|[[Image:M-Class.png|link=Special:FilePath/M-Class.png]]
|
==M Class 'Terrestrial'==
|-
|
| M class planets are located within the Habitable Zone of a system and range between 10 to 15 thousand kilometres in diameter; they are the rarest class of planet. Their atmospheres are rich in nitrogen and oxygen. Water and animal lifeforms are very common due to an overabundance of marine and surface vegetation which thrive on the planet's temperate climate. M class planets are home to the vast majority of sentient and technologically advanced species, especially humanoids. At least 75% of the planet is covered in liquid water.
 
Examples: Earth, Vulcan, Romulus, Cardassia Prime, Bajor, Qo'Nos
|-
|[[Image:N-Class.png|link=Special:FilePath/N-Class.png]]
|
==N Class 'Reducing'==
|-
|
|N class planets are located within the Ecosphere of a system and range 5 to 15 thousand kilometres in diameter. They have very thick, dense, atmospheres carbon dioxide as well as sulfides that stage an irreversible and constantly worsening greenhouse effect. This causes an extremely high surface temperature that enables water to exist only in the form of vapour. Abundant volcanism is very common. Animal life is unable to exist and colonization is not possible.
 
Examples: Venus
|-
|[[Image:P-Class.png|link=Special:FilePath/P-Class.png]]
|
==P Class 'Glaciated'==
|-
|
|P class planets are found in the Ecosphere of a system and range between 10 to 15 thousand kilometres in diameter. A planet falls under this classification when its surface is 80%+ water ice and its atmosphere mainly consists of nitrogen and oxygen. Animal and humanoid life forms are usually common and so is rugged tundra-like vegetation.
 
Examples: Andor, Exo III
|-
|[[Image:T-Class.png|link=Special:FilePath/T-Class.png]]
|
==T Class 'Super/Ultra Giant' ==
|-
|
|The T class Super or Ultra Giant is a Gas Giant on the verge of becoming a star. It may also be the immediate result of two colliding J class planets if star birth does not immediately occur thereafter. These planets are hot enough to appear to be molten or burning and produce their own dim light. Moons orbiting this planet may become globules of liquid if once frozen or may singe their atmospheres. These extreme heats, however, only occur in the final stages of a Super Giant's. Before becoming a star it is also known as a Brown Dwarf. The Super Giant is the largest of all known planetary classes, homing in with a diameter anywhere between 350 to 700 thousand kilometres.
 
In 2375, the USS Voyager encountered a Super Giant in the Delta Quadrant that had radiogenic rings.
|-
|[[Image:Y-Class.png|link=Special:FilePath/Y-Class.png]]
|
==Y Class 'Demon'==
|-
|
|Y class planets can be found anywhere within a system and they range between 10 to 15 thousand kilometres in diameter. A planet is classified as a Demon when their atmospheres are toxic, temperatures are above 500 Kelvin, and they give off bursts of thermionic radiation. Entering orbit of a Y class planet can be harmful to crew and ship alike.
 
In 2374, the USS Voyager was forced to land on a Y class planet on its return voyage from the Delta Quadrant to retrieve desperately needed deuterium. It was discovered that the deuterium was inside a bio mimetic lifeform called 'Silver Blood' which created a duplicate of Voyager and its crew. The duplicate was ultimately destroyed a year later in 2375.
|-
|
|
==Z Class 'Tachyon' ==
|-
|
|The class Z planet is a rare, and until recently, completely unknown phenomena. Z class planet's are unique for their tachyon core's which cause them to rotate indifferently than the rest of the planet's in the galaxy. This causes a huge differential in fabric of space time which causes time on the planet to pass immensely more quickly, or in one case, much slower than the rest of the universe.
 
This type of planet was first encountered by the Federation in 2374 dangerously close to the galactic core. The ''USS Voyager'' also encountered a similar planet in the Delta Quadrant in 2376 during it's return journey home. Two other planet's are known to exist. All distribute very similar properties, with only the one encountered by ''Voyager'' being inhabited, and one of the planet's displacing time much slower than the rest of the universe.
 
The largely unknown, unique, and somewhat unpredictable properties of these type of planets make them nearly impossible to properly explore and investigate without causing the loss of a starship. With the exception of ''Voyager'', all research on these type of planets have been done from afar which causes the data to be incomplete. On large, the known planets of this type are avoided by all who are aware of it's properties.
|}
 
=Planetary Zone Classification Map=
[[Image:PlanetaryZoneClassificationMap.png|Planetary Zone Classifications Map|link=Special:FilePath/PlanetaryZoneClassificationMap.png]]
 
=Credits=
 
Descriptions, Icons, and Map created by and used with permission from '''Schmidt'''. Information originally created/gathered for the USS Fitzgerald, Star Trek Roleplaying Game. Information concerning granting of permission can be obtained via your CO or TFCO. Should specific topic be archived, please contact the Administrator.

Revision as of 11:38, 22 February 2021

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Inquiry class.png
Inquiry
Information
Affiliation

Starfleet

Role

Heavy Cruiser

Date Entered Service

2390

Expected Refit Cycle

10 Years

Time Between Resupply

2 Years

Crew Capacity
Standard Complement

350

Emergency Capacity

5,000

Dimensions
Length

460 meters

Width

210 meters

Height

80 meters

Decks

18

Propulsion
Propulsion System

Matter/Antimatter powered warp drive

Cruising Speed

Warp 9

Maximum Speed

Warp 9

Emergency Speed

Warp 9.99 (36 hours)

Armaments
Energy Weapons
  • 11x Type-XII Phaser Arrays
Torpedo Launchers
  • 2 forward
  • 2 aft
Torpedo Payload
  • 200 Photon Torpedoes
  • 200 Quantum Torpedoes
Shields

Multi-Layered Shielding System

Auxiliary Craft
Shuttle Bays

2

Shuttles

10

Runabouts

2

Template:Specifications

Designed in response to Starfleet’s defense-oriented turn in the late 2380s, the Inquiry-class heavy cruiser is a fast, well-armed starship deployed in large numbers near the Federation’s borders. As standardization was a focus with the design, they are able to be produced nearly anywhere within the Federation, and so their ubiquity has made them a part of a whole generation of Starfleet officers’ first experiences in the fleet.

Science and Exploration

Taking cues from ancestors like the Constitution and contemporaries like the Luna, this heavy cruiser design has a full complement of generalist science labs and sensor arrays, giving it the ability to analyze the wide variety of phenomena it will encounter on its missions. Though Inquiry-class was designed primarily for defensive purposes, it still conducts a full range of scientific and exploratory surveys during the course of its normal duties, making initial discoveries that then get followed up on by science vessels.

Inquiry-class ships are fully-capable of independent exploration beyond Federation space, though they lack the range of the Luna or the versatility of the Nebula; Starfleet tends to keep them close to home, though, and anytime they’re found too far from the frontier, it’s a sign that Starfleet is looking for some threat.

Diplomacy

Like all Starfleet ships of her size, the Inquiry is capable of a range of diplomatic missions, including multi-party talks and first contact scenarios. As a well-armed and heavily-shielded vessel, the Inquiry-class is ideal for situations where combat may be a result of a failed negotiation but when a larger ship like a Sovereign would be too conspicuous or threatening to send instead. As on the Luna, diplomatic facilities aboard the Inquiry are capable of supporting a full range of environments for nearly any known species, which makes it well-suited to missions involving races that can’t tolerate an M-class environment.

Engineering

Taking the majority of its inspiration from the Sovereign-class and sharing design features from the Prometheus, and Akira-classes, the Inquiry-class is a compact, angular cruiser with a roughly triangular primary hull and a truncated, boxy secondary hull, which is meant to both improve warp field dynamics and to minimize the vessel’s target profile. Compared to other heavy cruisers, the Inquiry-class is more compact, but its systems are no less advanced; it relies on many of the advances in automation developed for the Prometheus to reduce the need for a large crew, which further allows it to approach the performance of an explorer with a smaller platform.

The Class-9 warp drive employed aboard the Inquiry-class is finely-tuned for its hull geometry and provides the fastest top speed of any heavy cruiser in the fleet, an extremely impressive Warp 9.99. The power generation systems are all reinforced and have been built with added redundancies to increase its combat survivability. Nearly the entire hull is covered with a substantial layer of ablative armor, even to the point of employing an armored grille over the main deflector dish to protect it from harm.

The impulse engines are located in the saucer section and are oversized for a ship of her size, both to increase sublight speed and to take advantage of larger fusion reactors to power other onboard systems.

Auxiliary craft support is provided by a large shuttlebay on the stern capable of handling all manner of shuttles and runabouts, as well as a smaller shuttlebay on the bow of the ship in the saucer, similar to the one found aboard the Akira-class, though there is no conduit within the ship connecting the two bays. While the Inquiry-class does not routinely embark fighters, it was designed to be able to handle a squadron of Valkyrie-class fighters which would deploy from the forward shuttlebay for combat, and then in the event of a retreat could be recovered via the aft shuttlebay under the cover of the ship’s weapons.

Two large cargo bays are accessible via hatches on the underside of the saucer, which could easily carry small craft in a pinch, but which are meant to hold vast amounts of cargo for humanitarian projects.

A unique feature of the Inquiry-class are mission equipment bays on the aft corners under the saucer section. Round, iris-style hatches cover a large internal bay with power and computer connections allowing for the installation of specialized modules such as sensor pods, weapons pods, or other mission-specific options. In addition, these bays can also be used to deploy experimental munitions, such as long-range torpedoes or drones, as well as small craft such as runabouts depending on what the mission calls for.

Tactical

Combat is where the Inquiry-class truly shines, with eleven Type-XII phaser arrays (six dorsal and five ventral) and four burst-fire torpedo launchers (two forward and two aft). The shield generators are borrowed directly from the Sovereign-class and the aforementioned ablative armor covers all critical systems, which gives the ship impressive defensive coverage. In addition, the mission equipment bays give the ship many options for additional offensive and defensive systems. Simply put, this is the strongest combat vessel of all of the Federation’s mid-sized starships, other than dedicated escorts like the Manticore and Prometheus.

Like the Resolute-class, there are also additional hardpoints around the ship that can be equipped with additional weapons, such as pulse phaser cannons in the bow and micro torpedo launchers on the superstructure of the hull, as are found on the Sovereign-class. This is meant to allow the ship to be easily refit into an even more capable tactical platform in the advent of war, thanks to lessons learned from the Dominion conflict.

The Inquiry-class is highly maneuverable compared not only to her larger cousins but also ships in her own size class, which allows her to literally run circles around threat vessels to take full advantage of her many weapons emplacements. Coupled with her shields and armor which allow her to shrug off most hits, the Inquiry is an extremely tough ship and a match on her own for nearly anything she would encounter.

Shipboard Life

While this ship has capabilities approaching the Sovereign-class, automation means that it has less than half the crew complement. This allows the Inquiry-class to have a comfortable standard of accommodations, though certainly not as luxurious of one as large explorers.

A unique ship-board feature is the recreation areas that ring the saucer section. Connected together as a promenade on either side of the ship, these two-story areas provide a sense of space and openness to help address the claustrophobia that can sometimes come from serving aboard a starship, while also providing extra space for triage and refugee accommodations should the need arise. Holographic belts of green space go down the center of the promenade and lounges can be called up as needed for different group sizes. A traditional forward lounge does exist above the forward shuttlebay, though.

Unlike other starship classes, there are fewer specialized, physical recreation areas. While there are two gymnasia and a handful of mess halls, all sports courts, theaters, salons, and the arboretum have been replaced by holodecks or holosuites, which further gives the ship flexibility in situations where it might need to house refugees or handle other crises.

Medical facilities are state-of-the-art, but compact, as on the Sovereign-class. Two sickbay modules provide support for the crew in the primary and secondary hulls, with large-scale medical events behind handled through the multiple holographically-configurable spaces available on the ship.

As Starfleet moves into the 25th Century, the Inquiry-class has been produced in large numbers and has become for a generation of Starfleet officers their first experience out of the academy on an actual starship. These ships of the line also represent an era in Starfleet Command’s thinking, so crews coming up on these ships have all been trained with the sense that Starfleet’s primary role is to keep threats outside of the Federation’s borders, while still exploring out and seeking the unknown in the process. So, to have served on one of these ships is to learn a very different ethos than on other heavy cruisers, one of duty and service over curiosity.

Class History

In 2385, everything changed for Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets with the destruction of their most important shipbuilding facility: Utopia Planitia. This not only ended the Starfleet effort to evacuate Romulus, but also marked a shift for Starfleet from an outward looking, exploratory posture to an inward looking, defensive one. After an evaluation of remaining shipbuilding capacities and fleet needs, Starfleet commissioned the Inquiry-class as a combat-enhanced heavy cruiser design which would shore up the Federation’s borders against the chaos anticipated alongside the imminent destabilization of the Romulan state.

The Sovereign-class was identified as Starfleet’s most successful multi-mission tactical design and the Inquiry-class was designed over a shortened period by shrinking this design and increasing its level of automation, resulting in what some at the design bureau called a “pocket battleship,” though that terminology has never been used in official parlance. The brief also called for a starship that could be more easily produced at standard starbases than other medium-sized ships could be. As such, the Inquiry’s components, while advanced, are also ruggedized, simplified versions of the ones found aboard their larger cousin, meaning that they can be more easily mass produced.

Unlike other classes which are largely dependent on a small number of advanced fleet yards to construct them, the Inquiry-class could and was produced at a large number of facilities across the Federation, allowing for proliferation at a scale not seen above the size of a frigate in Starfleet’s prior history. With their modest crew complements, they were just as easy to deploy as they were to build.

Mass production, however, meant standardization. While many other starship classes had variants as the years progressed (with some varying month-to-month as new equipment came online) the Inquiry-class was kept to a much more regimented standard. While most Odyssey-class ships were quite different from one another due to their long construction times, Inquiry-class ships could be built in a year and were identical to one another within distinct “block” of subclasses, which kept production simple. The Inquiry-class (Block I) itself was first launched in 2390, with the Block II units led by the Ride coming online in 2395, followed by the Block III units led by the Zheng He in 2399. Each of these blocks represented incremental, defined improvements over the original, rather than the more fluid differences found in other starship classes.

The starship class has proven to be effective in service, with remarkably few design-related flaws discovered during the course of their service, due to so much of the design being derived from older, proven classes. A contemporary with the Resolute-class heavy cruiser, the two designs tend to be sent on very different missions: the Resolute staying largely close to the core and the Inquiry sent to the borders; there are currently many more Inquiry-class ships in the fleet than Resolute-class ones.

In Play

  • As described by Captain Riker, this is Starfleet’s “toughest, fastest ship,” though factoring in a little bluster we can amend that to being Starfleet’s toughest, fastest ship in this size range. Broadly speaking, it’s a smaller version of the Sovereign-class and has similar capabilities.
  • These ships are pretty common, given their large production run, so if your character entered service somewhere between 2390 and the present, it’s very likely that they’ve served aboard one of these ships.
  • Because there are so many of them, Inquiry-class captains range from relative novices to grizzled veterans.
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