Ejected Warp Core as a missle weapon?

[AslanC]

If a warp core was about to breech and it was ejected into the flight path of an on coming ship (Romulan Warbird let's say) what would be the effect?

This is going to happen in my game next week and I want to be sure I do it right.

[Dan Gurden]

As an ejected warp core would be travelling quite slowly, far slower than a launched torpedo, and that the ejection routine is designed to help hurl the destabilised core as far away from the ship as possible, thus enabling a non-warp capable ship to escape such a large matter/anti-matter explosion.

Considering these options the move would be of limited use against a pursuer. The Romulan Warbird would also get an opportunity to see and avoid it.

To be honest, if my players used that method on my, I would give the Romulans a chance to avoid the core, launch a torpedo at it while warping to a safe distance, and then alert every ship in the Romulan fleet that the PC's ship isn't going to far.

However from the sound of it, this is being used as a plot device? From your sentence about planning this in advance. Thus as a plot device anything you want can happen, just remember that the explosion is big, but not inescapeable... Watch the destruction of the Enterprise D battle section in Generations for pointers...

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Dan.

"A couple of thoughts from a random mind!"

[This message has been edited by Dan Gurden (edited 01-24-2001).]

[Steve Long]

As Dan points out, using this as a tactic would require some clever planning on the part of the players, since otherwise I expect it would be too easy for the target to avoid the core.

However, the usefulness of the tactic may depend on the type of ship. I recall reading somewhere that Romulan ships eject their cores dorsally and forward, specifically so they can use them as a weapon if need be.

Steve Long

[Wizdoc]

I doubt using the warp core as a missile weapon would work for the reasons mentioned above. The whole thing is way too slow to be used as an effective weapon.

However.

Nothing stops the characters to eject the warp core near the Romulan warbird and detonate it with a well placed photon torpedo. Though I don't think it would cause really that much damage as the warp core is just a mixing chamber for M/A. The antimatter is stored in separate pods (at least in Starfleet vessels).


Wizdoc

[calguard66]

It has been shown that a warp core detonation is a considerable explosion.

If I were the GM using this as a plot device, I would have the ejecting ship pursued and under fire from the Romulans... the ejecting ship could fire a spread of photon torpedoes to momentarily blind the Romulan's sensors, while ejecting the core in the path of the pursuing ship.

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

[Paul]

Using the ejected Warp Core as a missile weapon would be rather impractical from an effectiveness standpoint, as such a weapon has no means of propulsion nor targeting - it would thus be somewhat easy to avoid.

However, as we have seen many times on screen - never let reality get in the way of a good story.

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Diagonally parked in a Parallel Dimension...

[mactavish]

When the Delta Flyer's warp core went off in the episode with the starship race, it required a minimum safe distance of 1,000,000 kilometers to avoid damage, and the DF apparently had enough juice in its thrusters to get far enough away in time

I would imagine that a warp core from a larger ship would most likely increase not only the damage of the explosion but also the area of effect.

Just my $0.02 worth.

mactavish out.

[AslanC]

Okay some very good points...that's why I ask the questions.

So as I see it, two things...

1] They Warbird would have to be right on their ass, so as to have as little maeuvering room as possible.

2] They would have to fire all phasers and torps they could at the Warbird to blind it's sensors to the warp core.

Cool...any other thoughts?

I mean let's say it hits the warbird...whatkind of explosion are we talking about here?

[Sevekk]

Originally posted by AslanC:
I mean let's say it hits the warbird...what kind of explosion are we talking about here?

Depends on the size of the core, of course, but generaly it is considered a "catostrophic" explosion. With all that that implies.

BOOM!!!

Doug Odell

[SIR SIG]

Depending on the size, I'd say 1,000,000 range per ship size or extrapolate from the Delta Flyer's size (2?).

Okay say 500,000 per size.

So say a size 5 ship, that means a safe distance of 2.5 mil km

Typically anything in close proxcimity is vaporised.
So saying a typical ship needs a good 220 (Galaxy) points of damage to destroy it. Then a typically a warp core would do around 25-30 points of damage per size and probably a similar dispersion pattern over range.

Then the damage would roughly disperse at 25 points of damage per 500,000 kms.

Eg. E-D sz 8 with a safe distance range of 4,000,000 kms doing 25*8 damage = 200 points.
At 2 mil kms the damage would be 100 points which most ships can take on their shields and lose some hull (assuming no major explosions).

Note this is the lower end of the scale. I think 30 would be optimal, since 25 wouldn't destroy E-D without some extra explosions.

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SIR SIG a Aussie TREK Narrator

[Paul]

Originally posted by AslanC:
I mean let's say it hits the warbird...whatkind of explosion are we talking about here?

Well...we are talking about an un-controlled mixing of matter and anti-matter, here (which is basically what a Warp Core breach is all about).

We know that 500 grams (TNG ep "Starship Mine" - please tells me if I got this amount wrong) of Trilithium Resin (that toxic and unstable by-product of Warp Cores) is sufficient to totally vaporise a small ship (perhaps Runabout in size?).

So in a Warp Core there is going to be maybe a couple of kilograms of both Matter and Anti-matter sitting waiting to mix...that will make for one hell of an explosion, lots of damage, large area. At the very least, your Warbird's shields will be overloaded if they are close to the Core when it goes boom, with a reasonable amount of internal and systems damage to boot.

Basically - your PCs are the heroes in your series, and they are trying acts of desperation to escape...allow it to work , with all of the cinematic effects and results you've come to expect from the TV shows...

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Diagonally parked in a Parallel Dimension...

[Roxby]

I have to agree with Paul here; cinematic action is paramount. (if you'll excuse the pun)

...and don't forget! if the detonation is close enough to the Warbird, or as a result of collision, then you may have the _Warbird's_ Warp core exploding to contend with too! with all the problems that the collapse of a sigularity implies.

you could make it very good for your players, or very, very bad.

and it could lead to their next adventure; when fooling in quanta, time travel and alternate realities are always lurking...

bwuhahahahahah!

R

[qerlin]

It ain't the size of your warp core...it's how you blow it.

[AslanC]

Okay so then what they will do is attract the attention of one Warbird, get it to follow them towards the USS Saguenay which is about have a core breech. They will fire off a blinding attack on the Warbird, while they force the Saguenay to eject it's warp core right into the Warbird. At the same time they tractor the Saguenay and do a thruster boost to get it out of the way. Should bloody the nose of the Warbird enough to make them reconsider attacking anymore

[Roxby]

Originally posted by qerlin:
It ain't the size of your warp core...it's how you blow it.

oh, querlin... you did NOT say that!!!