Difference between pages "Inquiry Class" and "Nebula Class"

	Nebula Class
	Information
Affiliation	United Federation of Planets
Role	Heavy Cruiser
	Service
Operator	Starfleet
Entered Service	2353
	Endurance
Expected Design Life	100 Years
Expected Refit Cycle	10 Years
Expected Resupply Cycle	3 Years
	Crew Capacity
Standard Complement	750
Emergency Capacity	9,800
	Dimensions
Length	442.23 meters
Width	453 meters
Height	130.43 meters
Decks	34
	Propulsion
Propulsion Systems	Matter/Antimatter powered warp drive
Cruise Speed	Warp 6
Maximum Speed	Warp 9.1
Emergency Speed	Warp 9.6 (12 hours)
	Armaments
Energy Weapons	6x Type-X Phaser Arrays;
Torpedo Launchers	1 forward; 1 aft;
Torpedo Payload	200 Photon Torpedoes; 100 Quantum Torpedoes;
Shields	Multi-Layered Shielding System
	Small Craft
Shuttlebays	2
Shuttles	10
Runabouts	4
	Template:Specification

Revision as of 10:07, 4 July 2022

Designed and built at the same time as the larger and more famous Galaxy-class explorer, the Nebula-class heavy cruiser is a more compact vessel that in its nearly forty years of service has become one of Starfleet’s most reliable workhorses, surpassing the Excelsior-class as the ship-of-choice for most mission profiles. Notable for its interchangeable mission module, the Nebula-class is a highly versatile ship that will be in Starfleet service for at least another four decades.

Exploration and Science

Like the Galaxy-class, the Nebula-class has long bands of lateral sensor arrays on both the primary and secondary hulls. These bands have hundreds of attachment points for discrete sensor pallets, allowing them to carry both generalized, mission-specific, and single-use sensors, which makes them one of the most effective scanning platforms in Starfleet. With the addition of a sensor pod, the Nebula-class can read a newspaper on Cardassia from Bajor, at least according to the Starfleet Corps of Engineers.

The ship has a very large science department, with multiple scientific assignments conducted by both visiting scientists and the ship’s normal crew ongoing at any given time. The Nebula has a research potential of 150% of the Excelsior-class that she replaced, due to her large amounts of mission-configurable lab space. In addition, a full 15% of her internal volume is left empty at launch to be configured for anything that might be necessary during the course of her service, leading to several vessels of this class to sport science departments that rival starbases.

Where the Nebula-class falls behind true explorers is her endurance; the lack of an interconnecting dorsal and thus a smaller deuterium fuel tank and fewer bays for stores means that the ship is limited to three years maximum without support from a starbase with a standard crew complement, versus the ten that a Galaxy-class starship can manage. A select few of these ships have been equipped with additional fuel tanks in place of some of their labs to increase their endurance, but this has a deleterious impact on her oversized science departments.

Diplomatic

The Nebula-class is one of the most commonly-used starships for diplomatic purposes, as it has extensive guest quarters, conference spaces, and recreational amenities to entertain dignitaries of any species. In addition, the large number of holodecks aboard further increases their ability to conduct diplomacy. Due to their combat strength, the Nebula-class is considered a significant display of force for ‘show the flag’ patrols along the Federation’s borders, reassuring colonies and deterring enemies, and thus conducting diplomacy through indirect means.

Nebula-class ships are fully capable of conducting first contact operations, and many have done so on their extended deep-space missions outside of Federation space.

Engineering

While the original configuration of this class had more marked differences from the Galaxy-class, a redesign in the late 2360s has resulted in them sharing over 90% of their components. The primary difference between the two classes is that the Nebula-class lacks an interconnecting dorsal hull between its elliptical saucer section and rounded engineering hull. The nacelles they use are identical, but they are inverted on the Nebula class, hanging under the ship’s superstructure rather than over it. In addition, the distinctive mission pod of this class gives it a significantly different profile.

The class-seven warp drive aboard the Nebula gives the ship solid and impressive cruising speeds, though she does not have the same sprinting abilities that the Galaxy has, due to a slightly smaller warp core. The impulse engine systems are significantly different, as the Nebula uses exhaust diffusers to protect the pod’s superstructure from super-heated plasma. Instead, the ship relies entirely on its subspace driver coils and thrusters to maneuver at sublight.

This class uses standard isolinear computing systems, with two computer cores in the primary hull and a third in the secondary hull. There are provisions for a fourth core that is occupied by an inert ballast opposite the third core, but few Nebula-class ships have ever been equipped with them, and even then only for extremely special circumstances.

The Nebula-class has extensive cargo transport abilities and small craft hangers, with a large shuttle bay complex under the bridge, and another on the stern of the ship. In addition, there are cargo bays in the undercut of the secondary hull and on the lower levels of the primary hull, all with direct access through hatches to space.

Like the Galaxy-class, the Nebula-class is capable of separating the primary and secondary hulls and reattaching them without starbase support. This functionality is intended to allow the saucer to take the majority of the ship’s company out of danger in an emergency, but some captains have used it in tactical situations as well. Given that the impulse engines are located in the saucer, the stardrive section must rely on thrusters and the warp engines configured to generate a subspace field akin to what the impulse engines’ subspace drivers coils do to sustain sublight flight. This is not particularly efficient and so it is rare for these vessels to separate.

Tactical

The Nebula-class is a solid ship-of-the-line with powerful shielding and large phaser arrays. With both forward and aft torpedo launchers in her stock configuration, she is a major threat to other ships of her size. This power can further be augmented by a mission pod, mounting additional torpedo bays or phaser arrays. During the Dominion War period, nearly all of these vessels were equipped with tactical pods that brought their combat potential to or beyond the Galaxy-class explorer, but the long-range sensor pods have also proven useful in combat for ECM and ECCM duties.

Given her smaller profile than her larger cousin, the Nebula is highly maneuverable at sublight, but her firing arcs are more limited. Due to the position of the nacelles, certain angles from the primary phasers are restricted, and the Nebula lacks arrays that can fire directly aft. Nebula-class captains are trained to favor head-on attacks and strafing runs, rather than relying on extensive phaser coverage through multiple arcs.

Mission Pods

The Nebula-class has several different module options, ranging from a long-range sensor pod, to a tactical pod containing extra torpedo launchers, to hospital pods, to colony pods, and scientific laboratory pods. The limit of this system is generally left to the imagination of her captains, though it can take several days to install a new pod correctly at a starbase, and several weeks for an entirely new pod to be fabricated in the first place.

Standard pods currently available are:

A long-range sensor pod that significantly increases the ship’s scanning range, but which lacks any extra defenses.
A tactical pod containing six forward-firing torpedo launchers and an additional two aft-firing launchers with 200 photon torpedoes.
A colony pod that can detach from the ship and land on a planet’s surface with two-hundred colonists and enough supplies to build a rudimentary colony.
A medical pod with a 100-bed hospital and supplies to construct a further four field hospitals.
A hanger pod, with a forward-aft through-bay that can carry up to eight runabouts or sixteen fighters.

Shipboard Life

The Nebula-class is a comfortable, modern ship with all of the amenities one would expect from a ship of her size and age. With substantial recreational facilities and holodecks, there’s always something to do when off duty aboard a ship of this class. While an older vessel, it is still considered a prestigious assignment. It is especially popular among scientific personnel, as it offers a larger science department than even dedicated science vessels. While not sent on as long of missions as the large explorers, crews can still expect to be together for years on charting and survey missions, which leads to a strong sense of camaraderie for those on board.

Because this is a very common ship, crews tend to go out of their way to make things unique by naming lounges, altering color schemes, and otherwise prizing the tiny differences between a class with over 300 members, which leads to cross-ship rivalries. This increases performance to a degree but sometimes can lead to integration difficulties when crewmembers transfer between ships of this class or join the midway through a mission.

Captains of Nebula-class ships run the gamut from those fresh out of Command School to experienced veterans. In particular, many of the captains of ships of this class are former Excelsior-class captains, who have elected to continue in Starfleet following their original ship being decommissioned.

Class History

Though the venerable Miranda and Excelsior classes of starships had been serving Starfleet’s needs well, and the Ambassador class has provided Starfleet with an incredible long-range exploratory platform in the 2330’s, fleet modernization was on the admiralty’s mind by the early 2340’s. Based on innovations made through the Ambassador project, the Advanced Starship Design Bureau proposed several new designs to take Starfleet into the second half of the 24th Century. Four of these designs (the Springfield, Cheyenne, Challenger, and New Orleans) were slated to begin construction in the 2340’s and 2350’s, to serve as test-beds of the technologies that would be showcased in the Nebula and Galaxy-class explorers to be constructed in the late 2350’s, and they would eventually become companion vessels to their larger cousins.

The Nebula design was authorized in 2343, along with the Galaxy design, and the design process continued in tandem until both designs were completed in 2350. The Nebula-class starships were intended to be the more pragmatic sister of the Galaxy, with a more compact design, and provisions to install a mission-specific module on a large pylon. This would give the class the ability to serve in a number of roles. While it also had the mission-specific configurable spaces within the hull, the changeover period was much better than the Galaxy, while providing an external configurable space that the other class did not; tactical and sensor systems, for example, were more easily added in a pod than inside the ship’s hull.

In their base configurations, the Galaxy is the superior tactical platform, as the Nebula class lacks in all-around phaser coverage, due to the position of the pod. This armament limitation was deemed an acceptable trade-off for mission versatility. In addition, the Nebula would have very similar but not identical hull components, with a narrower secondary hull and a primary hull that traded crew quarters and other support systems for extensive cargo bays around the perimeter of the hull.

Construction on the prototype began in mid-2350 at the Beta Antares Fleet Yards. A further 15 units were authorized, for an initial production run of 16. Construction completed in 2356 on Nebula, with Honshu following closely behind her. Shakedown operations ran successfully through 2358, with the class fully-commissioned and in regular service starting in the spring of 2359. By 2363, all 16 units had been completed, with a further 20 ordered, at a rate of five per year. They were popular with their crews, and served with distinction in many capacities. Despite this, the Battle of Wolf 359 dealt the fleet a devastating blow, and Starfleet scrambled to find ways to improve the fleet’s tactical readiness.

In 2367, all of the Nebula-class ships on active duty were recalled to starbase for refit. In studies of the class’ performance over the years, it was discovered that the bifurcated pylon structure that held the mission modules was lacking in stability. All units were modified, instead to use a larger, more robust pylon that was better-designed to withstand warp and combat stresses. This new pylon blocked direct access to the main shuttlebay from the stern, so new approach and departure protocols were developed. The impulse systems were redesigned, with covers installed over the exhaust systems to mask their ion trails and to protect the superstructure from superheated plasma. This refit was completed in record time, thanks to the fervor in the fleet after the Borg invasion, by 2369.

Furthermore, it was decided to standardize the Nebula and Galaxy-class production lines, with additional Galaxy-class ships now being ordered. As such, Nebula-class ships built after 2367 have a secondary hull without the narrow undercuts that the original model did, as well as a saucer identical to the Galaxy-class other than the impulse engine mounts. Further modules were developed, with the most heavily-deployed version being the new Tactical Pod It combined some of the sensor ability of the old sensor pod, with eight forward-firing torpedo launchers, and two rear torpedo launchers, that made the Nebula-class capable of being outfitted as a gunship, while retaining the ability to explore.

At the start of the Dominion War, there were 52 Nebula-class ships in the fleet,. The class served primarily in combat roles, though some units were equipped with medical or troop pods to support the war effort. Several were destroyed and others were heavily damaged, but the vessels served with remarkable combat performance, especially compared to their Excelsior-class cousins. Following the war, they remained in service, with the majority of the Nebula fleet transitioned back to exploratory roles.

Upgrades were scheduled to be completed for the class by the end of 2390, with twenty more units ordered to bring the fleet up to a round 100 units by 2395, making the Nebula class a Starfleet mainstay well into the 25th Century, with every sign of being just as venerable as the Excelsior-class ships that she replaced.

In Play

The Nebula-class is a robust ship of the line. Even after the Galaxy-class stopped production, this remained in service and is essentially the Excelsior-class of the 25th century. With a large crew complement and well-rounded systems, she is fit for most missions.
Being a common sight in Starfleet, this makes a good NPC ship when you need reinforcements or a rescue. Alternatively, you could be the one escorting them.
The mission pods are a major selling point of this class, as they allow the ship to take on the role of a specialist ship with only a few days of change-over. This can allow you to run a game with wildly different missions from episode to episode, with the right amount of planning.
A Nebula-class ship is a large and serious threat to many other vessels in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, but it is not as threatening as the large explorers. For some, this will be an advantage as it will mean that they can avoid being seen as a threat, but for others not being seen as a threat may lead to combat.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{icons|bfc}}
 {{Specification
-| image = [[Image:Inquiry_class.png]]
+| image = [[Image:Nebulaclass.png]]
-| displayName = '''''Inquiry'' Class'''
+| displayName = '''''Nebula'' Class'''
-| name = Inquiry
+| name = Nebula
 | affiliation = [[United Federation of Planets]]
 | operator = [[Starfleet]]
@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 | precedingClass =
 | succeedingClass =
-| dateEntered = 2390
+| dateEntered = 2353
 | productionEnd =
 | retired =
-| expectedDuration = 80 Years
+| expectedDuration = 100 Years
 | expectedRefit = 10 Years
-| timeResupply = 2 Years
+| timeResupply = 3 Years
-| crewComplement = 350
+| crewComplement = 750
-| emergencyCap = 5,000
+| emergencyCap = 9,800
 | civilians =
 | populationCap =
 | flightCrew =
 | passengers =
-| length = 640.1 meters
+| length = 442.23 meters
-| width = 320 meters
+| width = 453 meters
 | diameter =
-| height = 86 meters
+| height = 130.43 meters
-| decks = 24
+| decks = 34
-| propulsionSystem = M/AM Warp Drive
+| propulsionSystem = Matter/Antimatter powered warp drive
-| cruiseSpeed = Warp 9
+| cruiseSpeed = Warp 6
-| maxSpeed = Warp 9
+| maxSpeed = Warp 9.1
-| emergencySpeed = Warp 9.99 (36 hours)
+| emergencySpeed = Warp 9.6 (12 hours)
-| energyWeapons = *11x Type-XII Phaser Arrays
+| energyWeapons = *6x Type-X Phaser Arrays
-| torpLaunchers = *2 forward
+| torpLaunchers = *1 forward
-*2 aft
+*1 aft
 | torpPayload = *200 Photon Torpedoes
-*200 Quantum Torpedoes
+*100 Quantum Torpedoes
 | shields = Multi-Layered Shielding System
 | dockingfacilities =
 | shuttleBays = 2
 | shuttles = 10
-| runabouts = 2
+| runabouts = 4
 | fighters =
 | aux =
 | msd =
 }}
-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.
+Designed and built at the same time as the larger and more famous ''Galaxy''-class explorer, the ''Nebula''-class heavy cruiser is a more compact vessel that in its nearly forty years of service has become one of Starfleet’s most reliable workhorses, surpassing the ''Excelsior''-class as the ship-of-choice for most mission profiles. Notable for its interchangeable mission module, the ''Nebula''-class is a highly versatile ship that will be in Starfleet service for at least another four decades.
-=== Science and Exploration ===
+=== Exploration and Science ===
-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.
+Like the ''Galaxy-''class, the ''Nebula''-class has long bands of lateral sensor arrays on both the primary and secondary hulls. These bands have hundreds of attachment points for discrete sensor pallets, allowing them to carry both generalized, mission-specific, and single-use sensors, which makes them one of the most effective scanning platforms in Starfleet. With the addition of a sensor pod, the ''Nebula''-class can read a newspaper on Cardassia from Bajor, at least according to the Starfleet Corps of Engineers.
-''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.
+The ship has a very large science department, with multiple scientific assignments conducted by both visiting scientists and the ship’s normal crew ongoing at any given time. The ''Nebula'' has a research potential of 150% of the ''Excelsior''-class that she replaced, due to her large amounts of mission-configurable lab space. In addition, a full 15% of her internal volume is left empty at launch to be configured for anything that might be necessary during the course of her service, leading to several vessels of this class to sport science departments that rival starbases.
-=== Diplomacy ===
+Where the ''Nebula''-class falls behind true explorers is her endurance; the lack of an interconnecting dorsal and thus a smaller deuterium fuel tank and fewer bays for stores means that the ship is limited to three years maximum without support from a starbase with a standard crew complement, versus the ten that a ''Galaxy''-class starship can manage. A select few of these ships have been equipped with additional fuel tanks in place of some of their labs to increase their endurance, but this has a deleterious impact on her oversized science departments.
-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 negotiations. 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.
+=== Diplomatic ===
+The ''Nebula''-class is one of the most commonly-used starships for diplomatic purposes, as it has extensive guest quarters, conference spaces, and recreational amenities to entertain dignitaries of any species. In addition, the large number of holodecks aboard further increases their ability to conduct diplomacy. Due to their combat strength, the ''Nebula''-class is considered a significant display of force for ‘show the flag’ patrols along the Federation’s borders, reassuring colonies and deterring enemies, and thus conducting diplomacy through indirect means.
+''Nebula''-class ships are fully capable of conducting first contact operations, and many have done so on their extended deep-space missions outside of Federation space.
 === 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 an 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, like the ''Nebula'' class, is much larger and is nearly the size of an explorer; 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.
+While the original configuration of this class had more marked differences from the ''Galaxy''-class, a redesign in the late 2360s has resulted in them sharing over 90% of their components. The primary difference between the two classes is that the Nebula-class lacks an interconnecting dorsal hull between its elliptical saucer section and rounded engineering hull. The nacelles they use are identical, but they are inverted on the ''Nebula'' class, hanging under the ship’s superstructure rather than over it. In addition, the distinctive mission pod of this class gives it a significantly different profile.
+The class-seven warp drive aboard the ''Nebula'' gives the ship solid and impressive cruising speeds, though she does not have the same sprinting abilities that the ''Galaxy'' has, due to a slightly smaller warp core. The impulse engine systems are significantly different, as the ''Nebula'' uses exhaust diffusers to protect the pod’s superstructure from super-heated plasma. Instead, the ship relies entirely on its subspace driver coils and thrusters to maneuver at sublight.
-The Class-9 warp drive employed aboard the ''Inquiry'' 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.
+This class uses standard isolinear computing systems, with two computer cores in the primary hull and a third in the secondary hull. There are provisions for a fourth core that is occupied by an inert ballast opposite the third core, but few Nebula-class ships have ever been equipped with them, and even then only for extremely special circumstances.
-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.
+The ''Nebula''-class has extensive cargo transport abilities and small craft hangers, with a large shuttle bay complex under the bridge, and another on the stern of the ship. In addition, there are cargo bays in the undercut of the secondary hull and on the lower levels of the primary hull, all with direct access through hatches to space.
-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'' 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 cover of the ship’s weapons.
+Like the ''Galaxy''-class, the ''Nebula''-class is capable of separating the primary and secondary hulls and reattaching them without starbase support. This functionality is intended to allow the saucer to take the majority of the ship’s company out of danger in an emergency, but some captains have used it in tactical situations as well. Given that the impulse engines are located in the saucer, the stardrive section must rely on thrusters and the warp engines configured to generate a subspace field akin to what the impulse engines’ subspace drivers coils do to sustain sublight flight. This is not particularly efficient and so it is rare for these vessels to separate.
-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.
+=== Tactical ===
+The Nebula-class is a solid ship-of-the-line with powerful shielding and large phaser arrays. With both forward and aft torpedo launchers in her stock configuration, she is a major threat to other ships of her size. This power can further be augmented by a mission pod, mounting additional torpedo bays or phaser arrays. During the Dominion War period, nearly all of these vessels were equipped with tactical pods that brought their combat potential to or beyond the ''Galaxy''-class explorer, but the long-range sensor pods have also proven useful in combat for ECM and ECCM duties.
-A unique feature of the ''Inquiry'' is a set of 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.
+Given her smaller profile than her larger cousin, the ''Nebula'' is highly maneuverable at sublight, but her firing arcs are more limited. Due to the position of the nacelles, certain angles from the primary phasers are restricted, and the ''Nebula'' lacks arrays that can fire directly aft. ''Nebula''-class captains are trained to favor head-on attacks and strafing runs, rather than relying on extensive phaser coverage through multiple arcs.
-=== Tactical ===
+=== Mission Pods ===
-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'', 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.
+The ''Nebula''-class has several different module options, ranging from a long-range sensor pod, to a tactical pod containing extra torpedo launchers, to hospital pods, to colony pods, and scientific laboratory pods. The limit of this system is generally left to the imagination of her captains, though it can take several days to install a new pod correctly at a starbase, and several weeks for an entirely new pod to be fabricated in the first place.
-Like other ships of this era, 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 refitted into an even more capable tactical platform in the advent of war, thanks to lessons learned from the Dominion conflict.
+Standard pods currently available are:
-The ''Inquiry''-class is highly maneuverable and can 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.
+* A long-range sensor pod that significantly increases the ship’s scanning range, but which lacks any extra defenses.
+* A tactical pod containing six forward-firing torpedo launchers and an additional two aft-firing launchers with 200 photon torpedoes.
+* A colony pod that can detach from the ship and land on a planet’s surface with two-hundred colonists and enough supplies to build a rudimentary colony.
+* A medical pod with a 100-bed hospital and supplies to construct a further four field hospitals.
+* A hanger pod, with a forward-aft through-bay that can carry up to eight runabouts or sixteen fighters.
 === Shipboard Life ===
-While this ship has capabilities approaching the ''Sovereign'', 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 explorers, as much of the internal volume is reserved for structural reinforcements, fuel, and munitions.
+The Nebula-class is a comfortable, modern ship with all of the amenities one would expect from a ship of her size and age. With substantial recreational facilities and holodecks, there’s always something to do when off duty aboard a ship of this class. While an older vessel, it is still considered a prestigious assignment. It is especially popular among scientific personnel, as it offers a larger science department than even dedicated science vessels. While not sent on as long of missions as the large explorers, crews can still expect to be together for years on charting and survey missions, which leads to a strong sense of camaraderie for those on board.
+Because this is a very common ship, crews tend to go out of their way to make things unique by naming lounges, altering color schemes, and otherwise prizing the tiny differences between a class with over 300 members, which leads to cross-ship rivalries. This increases performance to a degree but sometimes can lead to integration difficulties when crewmembers transfer between ships of this class or join the midway through a mission.
-A unique shipboard 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.
+Captains of ''Nebula''-class ships run the gamut from those fresh out of Command School to experienced veterans. In particular, many of the captains of ships of this class are former ''Excelsior''-class captains, who have elected to continue in Starfleet following their original ship being decommissioned.
-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.
+== Class History ==
+Though the venerable ''Miranda'' and ''Excelsior'' classes of starships had been serving Starfleet’s needs well, and the ''Ambassador'' class has provided Starfleet with an incredible long-range exploratory platform in the 2330’s, fleet modernization was on the admiralty’s mind by the early 2340’s. Based on innovations made through the ''Ambassador'' project, the Advanced Starship Design Bureau proposed several new designs to take Starfleet into the second half of the 24th Century. Four of these designs (the ''Springfield, Cheyenne, Challenger, and New Orleans'') were slated to begin construction in the 2340’s and 2350’s, to serve as test-beds of the technologies that would be showcased in the ''Nebula'' and ''Galaxy''-class explorers to be constructed in the late 2350’s, and they would eventually become companion vessels to their larger cousins.
-Medical facilities are state-of-the-art, but compact, as in the ''Sovereign'' class. Two sickbay modules provide support for the crew in the primary and secondary hulls, with large-scale medical events being handled through the multiple holographically-configurable spaces available on the ship.
+The ''Nebula'' design was authorized in 2343, along with the ''Galaxy'' design, and the design process continued in tandem until both designs were completed in 2350. The ''Nebula''-class starships were intended to be the more pragmatic sister of the ''Galaxy'', with a more compact design, and provisions to install a mission-specific module on a large pylon. This would give the class the ability to serve in a number of roles. While it also had the mission-specific configurable spaces within the hull, the changeover period was much better than the ''Galaxy'', while providing an external configurable space that the other class did not; tactical and sensor systems, for example, were more easily added in a pod than inside the ship’s hull.
-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.
+In their base configurations, the ''Galaxy'' is the superior tactical platform, as the ''Nebula'' class lacks in all-around phaser coverage, due to the position of the pod. This armament limitation was deemed an acceptable trade-off for mission versatility. In addition, the ''Nebula'' would have very similar but not identical hull components, with a narrower secondary hull and a primary hull that traded crew quarters and other support systems for extensive cargo bays around the perimeter of the hull.
-== Class History ==
+Construction on the prototype began in mid-2350 at the Beta Antares Fleet Yards. A further 15 units were authorized, for an initial production run of 16. Construction completed in 2356 on ''Nebula'', with ''Honshu'' following closely behind her. Shakedown operations ran successfully through 2358, with the class fully-commissioned and in regular service starting in the spring of 2359. By 2363, all 16 units had been completed, with a further 20 ordered, at a rate of five per year. They were popular with their crews, and served with distinction in many capacities. Despite this, the Battle of Wolf 359 dealt the fleet a devastating blow, and Starfleet scrambled to find ways to improve the fleet’s tactical readiness.
-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 that 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'' was designed over a shortened period by eliminating unnecessary systems 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 large-sized ships could be. As such, the ''Inquiry''’s components, while advanced, are also ruggedized, simplified versions of the ones found aboard their more prestigious cousin, meaning that they can be more easily mass produced.
+In 2367, all of the ''Nebula''-class ships on active duty were recalled to starbase for refit. In studies of the class’ performance over the years, it was discovered that the bifurcated pylon structure that held the mission modules was lacking in stability. All units were modified, instead to use a larger, more robust pylon that was better-designed to withstand warp and combat stresses. This new pylon blocked direct access to the main shuttlebay from the stern, so new approach and departure protocols were developed. The impulse systems were redesigned, with covers installed over the exhaust systems to mask their ion trails and to protect the superstructure from superheated plasma. This refit was completed in record time, thanks to the fervor in the fleet after the Borg invasion, by 2369.
-Unlike other classes, which are largely dependent on a small number of advanced fleet yards to construct them, the ''Inquiry'' could be 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.
+Furthermore, it was decided to standardize the ''Nebula'' and ''Galaxy''-class production lines, with additional Galaxy-class ships now being ordered. As such, ''Nebula''-class ships built after 2367 have a secondary hull without the narrow undercuts that the original model did, as well as a saucer identical to the ''Galaxy''-class other than the impulse engine mounts. Further modules were developed, with the most heavily-deployed version being the new Tactical Pod It combined some of the sensor ability of the old sensor pod, with eight forward-firing torpedo launchers, and two rear torpedo launchers, that made the ''Nebula''-class capable of being outfitted as a gunship, while retaining the ability to explore.
-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'' 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.
+At the start of the Dominion War, there were 52 ''Nebula''-class ships in the fleet,. The class served primarily in combat roles, though some units were equipped with medical or troop pods to support the war effort. Several were destroyed and others were heavily damaged, but the vessels served with remarkable combat performance, especially compared to their ''Excelsior''-class cousins. Following the war, they remained in service, with the majority of the ''Nebula'' fleet transitioned back to exploratory roles.
-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.
+Upgrades were scheduled to be completed for the class by the end of 2390, with twenty more units ordered to bring the fleet up to a round 100 units by 2395, making the ''Nebula'' class a Starfleet mainstay well into the 25th Century, with every sign of being just as venerable as the ''Excelsior''-class ships that she replaced.
 == 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 similar in capabilities to a Sovereign-class explorer, but without the redundant systems that would make it suited to long-distance independent exploration.
+* The Nebula-class is a robust ship of the line. Even after the Galaxy-class stopped production, this remained in service and is essentially the Excelsior-class of the 25th century. With a large crew complement and well-rounded systems, she is fit for most missions.
-* 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.
+* Being a common sight in Starfleet, this makes a good NPC ship when you need reinforcements or a rescue. Alternatively, you could be the one escorting them.
-* Because there are so many of them, ''Inquiry''-class captains range from relative novices to grizzled veterans.
+* The mission pods are a major selling point of this class, as they allow the ship to take on the role of a specialist ship with only a few days of change-over. This can allow you to run a game with wildly different missions from episode to episode, with the right amount of planning.
+* A Nebula-class ship is a large and serious threat to many other vessels in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, but it is not as threatening as the large explorers. For some, this will be an advantage as it will mean that they can avoid being seen as a threat, but for others not being seen as a threat may lead to combat.
 {{clear}}
 [[Category:Federation Starship Classes]]
 [[Category:Heavy Cruisers]]


Nebula Class
Information
Affiliation	United Federation of Planets
Role	Heavy Cruiser
Service
Operator	Starfleet
Entered Service	2353
Endurance
Expected Design Life	100 Years
Expected Refit Cycle	10 Years
Expected Resupply Cycle	3 Years
Crew Capacity
Standard Complement	750
Emergency Capacity	9,800
Dimensions
Length	442.23 meters
Width	453 meters
Height	130.43 meters
Decks	34
Propulsion
Propulsion Systems	Matter/Antimatter powered warp drive
Cruise Speed	Warp 6
Maximum Speed	Warp 9.1
Emergency Speed	Warp 9.6 (12 hours)
Armaments
Energy Weapons	6x Type-X Phaser Arrays
Torpedo Launchers	1 forward 1 aft
Torpedo Payload	200 Photon Torpedoes 100 Quantum Torpedoes
Shields	Multi-Layered Shielding System
Small Craft
Shuttlebays	2
Shuttles	10
Runabouts	4
Template:Specification