Printable View
Star Fleet is the flag bearer for the United Federation of Planets . I am thinking there are smaller space services that people can join .
Here are a few that I can think of off the top my head .
Vulcan Science service . the fleet mission is to explore space for Vulcan research .
federation merchant fleet .
Uhh... various planetary defence forces, probably. plenty of independant science, transport or prospecting vessels to serve on.
I expect there is also a few civilian transport companies (I don't remember whether the merchant marine could also transport passengers).
And as already said, each Federation member probably has a few fleets of its own (defense, merchant, science...).
Here are few ideas for Federation Fleets outside of Star fleets
The Vulcan Science Fleet . The Vulcan government decided to keep present in space outside of Star Fleet . The Vulcan Style of Ship can still seen in their Ship . A needle like main body with in round ring warp drive system . The scanners used on their ships are more advance then what Star Fleet uses .
Tellarites Mining Scout Core . The Tellarites love for building has lead them to search for natural resources off world . The ships are slow moving ore processor . A fleet of Tellaritan ships have been known to simply state a claim on planet , moon or asteroid belt . The refining start right after that .
The Federation has stepped in many times , to stop a small war from breaking out on this practice .
Free Human Merchant League . The group was formed shortly after Earth's nations united under one government. The humans felt that their freedoms would be lost from a united Earth governments . The Merchant League settled in the Ross 154 9.7 light years from Sol. The System has two Class L worlds.
Free Human Merchant League ships are trader , cargo and few scouts . Their ships are pretty equal to the Federation. The major different is that the weapon systems are much less powerful . They can installed more advance weapon but decline to . They do not want to be see as warlike . A captain of a Merchant ship have full and total command and most will always help when asked . The ships will not enter combat unless it is very dire straights.
They are not official part of the Federation but has many treaties of freindship , trade and data sharing .
Also, there will be a lot of space faring worlds within Federation space that are not members. Either because they doesn't qualify for a membership, or because they decided to stay outside of it. I have always envisioned the two planets in "The outrageous Okona" to be surrounded by the UFP. :)
I think that a lot of worlds who joined the Federation would by necessity have had their own warp capable ships and fleets. Many of those would have been subsumed with in Starfleet, but many would not. Some planets would maintain their own defence fleet (if they live close to an antagonistic neighbour) exploration and mining fleets, and of course just general transport: it's just difficult to create exciting adventures around the interplanetary bus-ship, other than one off adventures :)
Science is also another good angle. Looking at Wrath of Khan, that was a Federation funded science and exploration mission, but not part of starfleet. The Hansens ship was a Federation ship, but again not Starfleet, they just received a funding grant and technology to carry out their work. Again these types of missions tend to have a specific focus, rather than flinging themselves off in some random direction every week, but they could give you a lot of story potential, and I can think of quite a few episodes where they had something like this! I think of Vash, and her mission across many sectors, hitching rides, begging and stealing. She was technically illegitimate, but you can imagine someone not quite so dodgy doing that for real: Not everyone gets a huge grant and a nice large starship to ferry them round! :)
There are thousands of worlds which come under the status of 'protectorate' where they exist within Federation space, and the Federation is obliged to protect them, even though they are not members, especially pre-warp cultures. There are also likely to be dozens of post-warp cultures who for their own reasons have stayed out of the Federation, but remain on very good terms, allowing for transfers of personnel, technology and information (the Federation will always be angling for them to join so it will likely be as helpful as possible to those ends) Bajor is a good example of that (post occupation).
I understand about star fleet being the big boy on the block . I just figure some worlds would still want to explore and meet other aliens . Maybe some worlds in the federation has close cultural ties to another interstellar goverment outside the UFP. The Planet "X" ships are welcomed to their worlds but Star Fleet needs to stay out .
Another reason that I started this post was get some ideas for another fleets travel with in the federation . I think it adds favor to the game , like having new stories or letters from home .
Example
Your ship USS Drake enter orbit over a planet . Long Range scans show a Vulcan Science ship Tapol or the Andorian Colony ship . The other ship may lead to adventure or just a matter of fact encounter.
The movies are a bad example. The Hansens however are spot on.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tobian
re. the Wrath of Khan. While the mission was Federation sponsored and part of a civilian science group, it was heavily supported by Starfleet. The USS Reliant was a Starfleet vessel assigned to the mission.
And the Starfleet corps of Engineers did the work hollowing out the asteroid.
And again in the follow-up the Search for Spock, the USS Grissom was also a Starfleet vessel, albeit with a Civilian mission specialist onboard.
Actually there is the ideal vessel. The Oberth class, hardly any shields or weapons, ideal for non-Starfleet usage with Civilian Science and Medical crews. I recall a comic (so very non-canon) which had an Oberth operating as a human civilian medical ship operating a neutral standing in delivering aid. So perhaps thats another group (which I once developed into the Federation Peace Corps, which I am glad to say I still have a copy of... for ICON usage).
I have chosen to implement a Federation that doesn't necessarily lay claim to the space between member worlds. It watches the "borders" by which I mean those areas where member worlds are near hostile polities, and it makes sure hostile ships stay out. But non-members who travel between worlds are not generally harassed unless they start trouble.
That view would likely change if someone tried building their own polity contained wholly or partially within the Federation, i.e. one could draw a convex polyhedron around most or all of it by connecting various Federation worlds to form the vertexes. But most such worlds remain independent because they're not "joiners" for one reason or another, not because they'd prefer someone else.
Thus, there can be independent worlds within Federation space, but not worlds actively allied with the Romulans.
But how would the Federation *prevent* that? Fly up and announce that they'll shoot down any ships they suspect might be traveling to Romulan space?Quote:
Originally Posted by Balok
good question , the federation want to protect their worlds but repect non federtaion worlds with in their space . Maybe have scout ships moving along the border of the non fed world ? Trying to open trade or some kind of interaction with those worlds ? Send in spies to watch what is going on ?
Our real world has this same problem between nations. This has to be good idea for adventure or two .
Mhm. The Federation can probably provide significant economic carrots to convince nearby worlds to make contact/exchange with Federation hostiles a mutually-enforced illegal activity. But if, say, the government of Barolia says "Screw your industrial replicators, the Romulans' disruptors are what we need," then the very mutuality that the Federation is dependant on would prevent them from making purely strategic claims on intervening space.Quote:
Originally Posted by toadmage
Even if they did make, say, transit by third parties through the Federation side of the Neutral Zone illegal (not necessarily a bad idea, even in a pseudoutopian society) space is still big, and policing that would take a lot of ships and resources. If they can narrow it down to policing specific targeted areas, like solar systems that would be recipients of specific illegal Romulan goods, then they will probably do so.