U.S.S. Voyager
Class: Intrepid Registration N.C.C 74656
Crew Compliment: 141
Cruise Speed: Warp 9.975
Department: Engineering
Engineering is the heart of every starship. It is here that the giant warp drive engines are located and maintained. U.S.S. Voyager's are the most efficient in the Starfleet and are capable of providing a cruise speed of warp 9.975. The enormous power requirement of these engines is provided by colliding matter with antimatter to the cylindrical reaction chambers which run through engineering. The energy is then channelled to the nacelles which create a warped spacetime bubble around the ship allowing it to travel at such large velocities.

Department: Galley
On its long flight back tot he Alpha Quadrant, the U.S.S. Voyager must conserve as much energy as possible. To this end, Neelix converts the Captain's personal dining room into a galley to cook for all of the crew. The is supplied by the hydroponics garden, set up by the Ocampa Kes, to reduce the strain on the ship's replicators.

Department: Tactical/Security
Tactical and Security provides the U.S.S. Voyager with a sound defensive capability. It is controlled from a station on the bridge. This department also enforces discipline, which has become increasingly important as the members of the Maquis are integrated into the Starfleet crew.

Department: Ops
Ops is one of the most important stations on a starship and for this reason is sited on the bridge. It is crewed by the Operations Manager who is responsible for coordinating departmental functions throughout the ship. On board the U.S.S. Voyager, Ops is also used for a significant proportion of scientific analysis and the sensor sweeps which are performed as a matter of course.

Department: Holodecks/Deck 6
Holodecks are now standard equipment on all Federation Starships. They are able to recreate almost any environment in any era, so long as a suitable program exists. This is performed by the complex interplay of three dimensional holographic projections and transporter technology which replicates touchable objects. Holodecks are used extensively for recreation by off-duty personnel, for sport and leisure pursuits. They can also be used for training officers for specific missions.

Department: Computers
From life support systems to engineering and transporters, the crew take the computers' presence for granted. IN the 23rd century Dr Richard Daystrom invented duotronics, which were finally replaced by isolinear optical chips. The U.S.S. Voyager is fitted with a technology which goes beyond even these: bio-neural gel packs, which have the capability to store and communicate data in the fastest possible times.

Department: Sickbay
Sickbay is the medical care centre aboard the U.S.S. Voyager. Formerly staffed by a living human doctor and nurses it is now attended by the emergency holographic doctor on a full time basis. Sickbay features the latest in lifesaving technology. Medical tricorders can swiftly analyse the patient's condition, whatever the race. The intensive care bed provides the ultimate monitoring equipment as the doctor conducts operations and administers treatment.

Transporters
The U.S.S. Voyager's two transporters are located at strategic points within the ship. They allow almost instantaneous transportation of people and objects by converting them from matter into energy and back again. Usually, they are used for the movement of personnel to and from the planetary surfaces and other starships. Transporting is such a common place activity that it is known by the colloquialism 'beaming'.

Department: The Ground Hover Footpad System
Intrepid class starships are capable of maneuvering through a planet's atmosphere and landing on its surface. Antigravity thrusters and a ground hover footpad system are used. This comprises a set of four stabilisation pads which work in concert with the warp engines to suspend the ship. Planet fall is achieved by powering down the suspension field, allowing the entire weight of the ship to be taken on the landing pads.

Warp Drive
To journey across vast distances in space at speeds greater than that travelled by light, starships are fitted with warp engines fuelled by anti matter. Warp factor one is the speed of light. The measure of subspace field stress is a Cochrane and warp factors are computed according to an asymptotic formula. Voyager's normal cruise speed is warp factor six (about 392 times the speed of light) but the ship can reach warp 9.975 , comfortably. Warp Ten is consider the absolute speed limit of the universe.

Power Generation
The power requirements of the U.S.S. Voyager are enormous. The key energy generation facility is the matter/antimatter reaction chamber in Engineering. Within the reactor is a component called a dilithium chamber, which tunes the harmonics of the reaction. Dilithium can be regenerated but another crystal, tellerium, which stabilises the reaction, has to be replaced. Additional energy is generated by a series of fusion reactors on deck 11. These feed the impulse engines and provide auxiliary power for vital system.

The Warp Ten Barrier
The warp factor system used by twenty-fourth century Starfleet vessels is slightly different from the scale used by earlier vessels is slightly different from the scale used by earlier vessels. Instead of a linear scale, the warp factor is now calculated on an asymptotic curve which has meant that travel beyond the warp factor of ten has previously been impossible. This is know as Eugene's limit and to achieve warp factor ten would mean that the starship was travelling infinitely fast and would occupy all points in the universe simultaneously.

Department: The Warp Nacelles
Generating the subspace field which allows the ship to travel at warp velocities, the nacelles are situated either side of the vessel on support struts emanating from the engineering section. Located inside the nacelles are the warp coils, which are supplied with power from the matter-antimatter reaction chamber situated in engineering. The Voyager's nacelles are capable of changing configuration, thus preventing the contamination of subspace, found to occur with conventional warp engines.

For more information of the U.S.S. Voyager, go to the U.S.S. Voyager section.

ALICE
Class: Starship
Crew: One
Pilot Interface: Neurogenic
Weapons Array: Optronic
Named by Ensign Tom Paris for Alice Battisti - a colleague at Starfleet Academy who was "smart, sexy, and wouldn't give me the time of day", the starship Alice is a one-person runabout which Paris claims was sculpted, rather than assembled. As well as being beautiful to behold, Alice is equipped with cutting-edge technology such as an optronic weapons array and a neurogenic interface. The effect of the interface on the mind of the pilot led Alice 's previous owner, an Alconian, to claim the ship was "haunted", an inaccurate, though understandable, assessment.

Delta Flyer, The
Name: The Delta Flyer
Description: Specialised Shuttlecraft
Designer: Thomas Eugene Paris
Status: In Active Use
Constructed to rescue a space probe from its position 10,000 km below the outer atmosphere of a gas giant, lodged in a deep layer of liquid hydrogen and methane, the Delta Flyer represented an improvement over Voyager's standard-issue Class 2 shuttlecraft in many different ways. Given the restrictive size of the Class 2 shuttlecraft, which often induced a condition referred to as "Class 2 Claustrophobia", the Delta Flyer was specifically designed by Lt Tom Paris to be "bigger and better" than the standard shuttle. The Flyer's original specifications included ultra aerodynamic contours, retractable nacelles (for more efficient warp drive), parametallic hull plating, unimatrix shielding based on Tuvok's design for the multispacial probe, and a Borg-inspired weapons system which included lethal photonic missiles. To this specification, Ensign Harry Kim added isomagntic EPS conduits in the plasma manifold to maximise power distribution, producing a fast, maneuverable new vessel.

Interior and Exterior
Paris ' original vision was to make the Delta Flyer into "a 24th century, warp-powered, ultra-responsive hot rod", his argument being that if the vessel had an aggressive appearance, other ships would think twice before engaging it in combat. However, although this vision included the addition of dynametric "hot rod" tail fins to the warp nacelles, these were removed during the construction process on Tuvok's instructions. The interior of the Flyer was also constructed according to Lt. Paris' desires, using anachronistic knobs and levers as controls rather than the standard Starfleet touch panels. Paris said that he wanted to "feel" the ship, although others have unkindly hinted that his real motivation was to live out an old "Captain Proton" fantasy. Perhaps the only design flaw in the original specification was the hull composition: Lt Torres' choice of titanium rather than more complex and flexible alloys meant the ship had a tendency to develop dangerous micro-fractures at extreme pressures.

THE U.S.S. EXCELSIOR, NCC-2000
The U.S.S. Excelsior was the pioneering vessel of an eponemously named class of starships, first launched circa stardate 8210.3. Originally designed as a testbed for the transwarp drive capability, it would have allowed the starship to travel faster than warp ten. Termed 'The Great Experiment', the starship's drive system failed and it was then outfitted with more conventional warp drive system. Under the command of Captain Hikaru Sulu, the starship completed a three year mapping exercise of planetary atmospheric anomalies before playing a pivotal role in the defense of the Federation-Klingon peace conference at Khitomer.

U.S.S PROMETHEUS
An experimental prototype designed for deep space operations, the U.S.S. Prometheus enjoys some modifications which improve on the standard Starfleet models. As well as the upgraded Emergency Medical Hologram, the Prometheus is equipped with regenerative shielding and ablative armour. Most unique, however, is the offensive capability known as multi-vector assault mode. Tested first in anger by Romulan hijackers rather than by Starfleet personnel, the multi-vector assault mode allows the Prometheus to split into three separate parts, all of which carry independent maneuvering and attack capabilities, effectively transforming one large ship into three smaller, faster attack vessels. The first test of the multi-vector assault mode resulted in the destruction of the target ship, which was unfortunately a Starfleet vessel.

OTHER SHIP FACTS

Ship's Central Database
The vital system of every Starfleet vessel are supported at the most fundamental level by a central computer, which holds the ship's information in various ways. Much of the vital but generic information about eh ship is stored in a central database which holds records of the ship's design and capabilities, including details of weapons and other relevant operating technologies. Also stored are details of various Starfleet properties, including uniforms, insignia, and of course the ship's log. Although the central database can contain many kiloquads of information, it can be completely downloaded to an appropriate handheld device in around two minutes.

Dilithium Crystals
Dilithium crystals are some of the most important components of warp drive engines. They are used to regulate and control the matter antimatter reaction. It is the only material known to be non-reactive to antimatter, given the right conditions. Decay of the crystal structure. Is inevitable through use.

Impulse Drive
A propulsion system using conventional Newtonian reaction generate thrust, the Starfleet impulse drive is typically powered by one or more fusion reactors that employ deuterium fuel, yielding high plasma and enormous power. As full impulse is normally equal to one-quarter light speed, ships using impulse drive are limited to slower-than-light speeds. Although this is adequate for interplanetary travel, it is inadequate for travel between solar systems, where warp drive is more usual. Although a ship at full impulse travels 270 million kilometres per hour, it would take 20 years to reach even a nearby star only 5 light year distant.

Deuterium and Warp Drive
Deuterium is an isotope of hydrogen consisting of one proton and on neutron in the nucleus, around which circles a single electron. Employed for over a hundred years as a component of starship fuel, deuterium has fuelled both the fusion reactors of impulse engines and the cores of warp drives throughout the Federation. In warp engines, deuterium ("matter") is brought into contact with anti-hydrogen ("anti-matter") to produce high levels of plasma energy which are then channelled by the starship's warp nacelles to produce an asymmetrical subspace bubble which helps propel the ship through space. Warp drive without deuterium is possible, but not without major modification.

Protons
Protons are minuscule subatomic particles, so small that billions of them would fit onto the head of a pin. Individually, one constitutes the nucleus of a hydrogen atom but in other chemical elements they are joined in the nucleus by other protons and neutrons. Protons are positively charged and so can be steered with magnetic fields. They are composed of three, even smaller particles known as quarks.