Replicating a Warp Core

[Gareth007]

Not sure if this has been previously been discussed, but how the heck do you replace your Warp Core if you eject it? I mean, it's not like you have a spare of something THAT large sitting in a cargo bay somewhere.

So do you carry the constituent pieces in the cargo bay for a second Core, or do you keep the plans for them in the replicators so that you can replicate them as needed.

And are there any non-replicable pieces? I mean, there probably is not any latinum in them, but there could be. Or something else.

So what are the guidelines on this, and how would you handle it in game mechanics?

--G

[calguard66]

AFAIK the only part of the warp core that couldn't be replicated in the dilithium matrix... dilithium is another substance that can't be replicated. Even so, I would expect that a starship would carry one or two spares... and enough pre-replicated spares to build at least one core.

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"I'd rather die standing than live on my knees..."
Shania Twain

[Gemini]

Well, I'd begin by telling the players that their characters have a long walk home.

Seriously, if the ship is still in Federation or allied space, a good bet is to simply call for help. The ship can be towed to a starbase were the core can be replaced.

The technical guide used by the writer's on Voyager mentions a spare warp core on the ship. The spare core is inactive and may be in pieces for more efficent storage. However, the writer's technical guide was created early in the show's history and some of the information has been invalidated by the episodes (most notably, the number of shuttles carried by Voyager).

Replicating a new core is possible. The only component that might be hard to replicate is the dilithium crystal. Voyager spent a large part of its time looking for dilithium, suggesting that they lacked the means to make it.

In either case, the core would need to be assembled from either spare parts or replicated components. This would require a few Moderate or Challenging Engineering (Warp Drive) tests as the core is built and tested. The process would likely take a couple of weeks.

[ArsenicMan]

First off, if your core is ejected and is still intact, you can use a shuttle to retrieve it. Second, only the Intrepid-class is known to have a spare warp core, and even then it's just a collection of spare parts. Otherwise, you're screwed until someone responds to your distress call.

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It's is our last, best hope for peace? We are so screwed.

[ArsenicMan]

The dilithium matrix could be replicated - it's the dilithium itself (the matrix just holds it) that can't be. And starships used to carry spare dilithium, but now that it can be regenerated there's really no need to.

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It's is our last, best hope for peace? We are so screwed.

[calguard66]

Originally posted by ArsenicMan:
The dilithium matrix could be replicated - it's the dilithium itself (the matrix just holds it) that can't be. And starships used to carry spare dilithium, but now that it can be regenerated there's really no need to.

Well... you have to have some dilithium left to regenerate it...

I would argue/ rule that regenerating dilithium crystals aboard ship is like making antimatter aboard ship... possible, but slow and inefficient. Otherwise Geordi would have regenerated the fragments aboard the Hathaway.

Responding to another part of this thread, I would also argue that it is possible to rig the ship to achieve warp without the M/AM reactor... but again it would be slow and inefficient.


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"I'd rather die standing than live on my knees..."
Shania Twain

[SIR SIG]

Hey, you still need some antimatter.
And you'd be hard at it by just replicating the outer casing of the core let alone the inner workings like MA/RA

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SIR SIG a Aussie TREK Narrator

[Keny Suda]

Actually, the antimatter is not stored entirely in the warp core, but in the antimatter pods, which are not necessarily ejected with the core. The core is just the reaction chamber, where matter nad antimatter annihilate each other, releasing vast amounts of energy. So you would have lots of antimatter left to restart and fly home.

[Paul]

That would depend on the nature of the emergency which causes you to eject your Warp Core.

I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't want to have several tons of anti-matter sitting anywhere near a potential disaster like a Warp Core breach...so I'm thinking that anything that warrants a Warp Core ejection should also cause serious thinking to ejecting the Anti-Matter pods...

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Why do banks charge you an "insufficient funds" fee on money they already know you don't have?

[SIR SIG]

In a 'normal' WPS ejection just the core goes. But in extreme situations the antimatter pods go out the door to. TNG TM pg 74 Chp 5.10

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SIR SIG a Aussie TREK Narrator