Running a series in dry dock

[Argyle]

I was quoting from memory and it's been a while since I played/read the manual. It's probable that I have remembered it wrong. The problem might have cropped up in post-commisioning trials as you say, which makes sense. Or the game authors just made a mistake. Neither would surprise me much.

Okay, I just downloaded the manual and re-read the story. The manual says they sent her back for a refit without ever getting commisioned. The game folks made the goof. If the trouble was found out during the post-commisioning shakedown cruise then it all works out. They say she spent a lot of time as a test-bed for new technologies, so maybe she got commissioned after being declared spaceworthy but before being ready for active service.

Anyway, it looks like I remembered (mostly) correctly. Your point is valid though. The story needs a little tweaking to work out right. It's all non-canon, so I wouldn't get too bent out of shape about it, in any case.

The second Sovereign was going to be Honorious, but they did the ol' name switcheroo when 1701-D went down on Veridian III. Can't have a Starfleet without an Enterprise!

[Commander Ramey]

Heh Ty I like that. I appriciate the info though. I am thinking of throwing something in there like a group of peace activists or something that the crew has to deal with peacefully. So far they haven't fired a shot in anger (which is very appropriate for this setting so far) and I'd like for them to have a shot at something like this.

[JALU3]

Or how about Independence , you can call her the Indy.

[Owen E Oulton]

"It's all non-canon, so I wouldn't get too bent out of shape about it, in any case. "

There is that... On the other tentacle, the minor tweak makes it work. Besides, a ship usually isn't completely ready for active duty at commissioning - look at the Enterprise-B. The ship was spaceworthy, but many items of equipment were yet to be installed. This is true in real life, too. The [i]Yorktown{/i]... er, Enterprise-A suffered a number of problems during her post-commissioning trials.

The same sort of thing happens in other SF offerings - in David Weber's Honor Harrington novels, one of the title character's ships developed a crack in a reactor housing right out of the yards, necessitating replacement before before joining its first fleet assignment.

Any of these scenarios could be applicable later in the campaign, so this side discussion ism't completely off topic.

[Commander Ramey]

You know my players call me the "Evil Gm that makes being evil great" and you guys are giving me some help when I had hit Narrator's block! Thanks!!! Keep em coming if anyone has input! I'll take everything I can haha. I really like that last one about a malfunction after the yard. Hadn't thought about that - thanks Owen E Oulton.

[Argyle]

I want to see everyone's eyes go wide when you tell them that there's a crack in the warp core.

[Commander Ramey]

Yeah, I bet they'll be ready to float back to Earth in a space suit at that point!

[Liz Not Beth]

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[Sea Tyger]

Originally posted by Owen E Oulton
Something might happen in post-commissioning trials to require a refit, but the scenario you quote doesn't hold hydrogen oxide.

Uhh....shouldn't that be dihydrogen oxide? Although, if it can't hold dihydrogen oxide, it's also a safe bet that it can't hold hydrogen oxide (which is commonly called hydrogen peroxide ), either.

In the modern Navy, rarely is the second ship of the class produced so quickly after the lead ship. Usually, the lead ship has been commissioned and through trials before further ships are laid down. So, there's no real RL evidence to support either theory. My personal opinion is that it would follow that the first ship commissioned would be the lead ship in the class, although it's possible that the second ship enters "active duty" first should a major problem be discovered on the prototype.

So, the Sovereign would have been commissioned first, but was forced back into spacedock to correct a major design flaw (such as the shield grid, as was suggested by someone), and that the Enterprise (having the benefit of the design flaw discovered and corrected while it was still being constructed) entered active service first. That would make the most sense.

Also, some people might be confusing the term "commissioning" with "christening." Christening in the naval sense is the formal naming of a ship. In the modern Navy, a ship is christened first before it's completed (the hull is finished, but most of the ship's equipment has yet to be installed), then commissioned at a later date, when it's ready for sea trials and such.

It seems to me, at least, that the Star Trek universe compresses "christening" and "commissioning" together. The bottle of champange is supposed to be broken against the hull as part of the christening ceremony (at least in modern times), but we see it as part of the Enterprise-B commissioning ceremony in Star Trek VII.

(In a modern commissioning ceremony, the crew is ordered to "man their stations" at the end, and they run up the brow onto the ship and man the rails in front of the audience. It's really an awesome sight to see.)

[Argyle]

Originally posted by Sea Tyger
So, the Sovereign would have been commissioned first, but was forced back into spacedock to correct a major design flaw (such as the shield grid, as was suggested by someone), and that the Enterprise (having the benefit of the design flaw discovered and corrected while it was still being constructed) entered active service first. That would make the most sense.

That's what we thought too.

Originally posted by Sea Tyger
It seems to me, at least, that the Star Trek universe compresses "christening" and "commissioning" together. The bottle of champange is supposed to be broken against the hull as part of the christening ceremony (at least in modern times), but we see it as part of the Enterprise-B commissioning ceremony in Star Trek VII.

Maybe not. I think we witnessed the christening ceremony; she was still missing a lot of gear. I bet she was getting commissioned... on Tuesday!

[Liz Not Beth]

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poster

[Captain Leana Craig]

How about every time the phasers are powered up to full strength, every EPS relay is blown on several decks. Just replacing them will not fix the problem.

[Owen E Oulton]

Just let me deal with this one aside, and we'll get back to making your players miserable...

"Uhh....shouldn't that be dihydrogen oxide? Although, if it can't hold dihydrogen oxide, it's also a safe bet that it can't hold hydrogen oxide (which is commonly called hydrogen peroxide), either. "

No. Wrong-o! Very common misconception.

H₂O is hydrogen oxide, also known as water or, in its solid mineral form, ice. Hydrogen peroxide is the correct chemical name of H₂O₂.

Here's a mineralogy site which deals with oxides: http://mineral.galleries.com/minerals/oxides/class.htm

Okay, all done! Back to the topic.

[marty4286]

Originally posted by Owen E Oulton
Just let me deal with this one aside, and we'll get back to making your players miserable...

"Uhh....shouldn't that be dihydrogen oxide? Although, if it can't hold dihydrogen oxide, it's also a safe bet that it can't hold hydrogen oxide (which is commonly called hydrogen peroxide), either. "

No. Wrong-o! Very common misconception.

H₂O is hydrogen oxide, also known as water or, in its solid mineral form, ice. Hydrogen peroxide is the correct chemical name of H₂O₂.

Here's a mineralogy site which deals with oxides: http://mineral.galleries.com/minerals/oxides/class.htm

Okay, all done! Back to the topic.

I could swear it was Dihydromonoxide... There was even a parody site sensationalizing the "Dihydromonoxide pollution".

"99% of the water you drink CONTAINS DIHYDROMONOXIDE!"

[Argyle]

Originally posted by Captain Leana Craig
How about every time the phasers are powered up to full strength, every EPS relay is blown on several decks. Just replacing them will not fix the problem.

Nice one. You could run a session a little like TNG: "Disaster" since the power would be out everywhere and there would be plenty of Exploding Consoles of Doom to cause more problems than just having the lights go out.