Describing Trek ships [HELP NEEDED]

Shroom Man 777 · Post by **Shroom Man 777** » 2004-03-17 04:38am

In my fic, I will have ships bearing striking resemblance to Trek ships, your normal Trek ships like the Galaxy, Akira, Defiant and whatever.

I'd highly appreciate it if anyone could tell me how to describe a UFP ship. And I need more than one type of description, so I won't get repetitive.

Stofsk · Post by **Stofsk** » 2004-03-17 05:05am

Colour:

"The ivory hull of Enterprise was punctuated with the scars of battle; the Jem'hadar had been ruthless."

"The ship was obviously dead in space. Her warp nacelles - usually glowing with a bluish hue - were nonexistent."

Structure:

"The Borg cube locked a tractor beam onto the USS Melbourne. It's saucer section, home to the ship's bridge and crew quarters, was sheared off in two. They didn't have a chance."

"The Defiant was a departure from Starfleet's classic design: gone were the saucer section and the twin warp nacelles of previous ships. It was a relatively compact design, and enjoyed armour protection."

"The Akira design has many trademarks of classic Starfleet - it has a saucer section as well as warp nacelles - however it makes a departure by not including a bulky secondary hull, which cuts down it's cargo space. This is a worthwhile tradeoff, as the Akira's purpose is not to seek out new life and civilisations, but to protect it's civilisation from the desires of old enemies."

"The USS Lexington had been outfitted for battle. It's upper hull sensor pod, which had been useful in exploring the intricacies of the Mutara nebula - had been replaced at Starbase 357 with a multiple torpedo launcher."

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Mention a ship's prominant features: most ships will have a saucer section, so show that. Most ships will have warp nacelles, which glow blue, and have bussard collectors that glow red. Some ships will have unique properties and features: mention the Defiant's ablative armour, the Nebula's modular pod, the Akira's "catamaran" style hull. Also descriptions will vary depending on what has happened to the ship as well as what type of ship it is. When a nacelle get's sheered off by phaser fire, what happens? When a photon torpedo hits the hull, does it leave a scorch mark? Show this shit.

The Aliens · Post by **The Aliens** » 2004-03-17 09:48pm

Imagine you're telling someone to paint a picture of the ship, and give them the necessary information. Not measurements, but a rough idea of length, hull texture, colour, and the way it moves are vital. Try and compare it to things tht are commonplace on Earth now, like styles of boats and plates of lasagna or something.

airBiscuit · Post by **airBiscuit** » 2004-03-18 12:01pm

I think a lot of your descriptiveness will need to be subjective as well, and this depends on the point of view of the person/creature you are writing about. The Galaxy class explorer is an immense ship, and someone from a less-advanced civilization will be awed by its immensity. Yet, there might be other races, like the Borg, who would view it as a puny insect, ripe for assimilation.

Whereas the older Trek ships indeed have a white or grey thermocoat, as you get into the motion pictures and then the next generation, a lot of the ships have a more flat metallic look to them. Of course, this will also depend on the lighting of the ship at the time. In the dark shadow of a planet, it looks like a large floating city, lit only in selected places.

The warp nacelles could be equated to wings, if you really abstract things. The Enterprise looks like a bird of sorts, with its hull profile. However, you would get a different sense from a Nova class ship in terms of its shape.

Darth Fanboy · Post by **Darth Fanboy** » 2004-03-20 09:41pm

Well, the E-D could be described as a Mullet, "Business in the Front and Party in the Back"

Isolder74 · Post by **Isolder74** » 2004-03-20 10:09pm

Darth Fanboy wrote:Well, the E-D could be described as a Mullet, "Business in the Front and Party in the Back"

Scratch that reverse it

Patrick Degan · Post by **Patrick Degan** » 2004-03-30 06:38am

Shroom Man 777 wrote:I'd highly appreciate it if anyone could tell me how to describe a UFP ship.

Target.

Sarevok · Post by **Sarevok** » 2004-03-31 05:09am

Patrick Degan wrote:
Shroom Man 777 wrote:I'd highly appreciate it if anyone could tell me how to describe a UFP ship.
Target.

Target practice.

Jawawithagun · Post by **Jawawithagun** » 2004-03-31 05:09pm

lead duck in space

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2004-03-31 05:23pm

evilcat4000 wrote:
Patrick Degan wrote:
Shroom Man 777 wrote:I'd highly appreciate it if anyone could tell me how to describe a UFP ship.
Target.
Target practice.

it doesn't become target practice until you actually start shooting at it. until then it's just a target.

Isolder74 · Post by **Isolder74** » 2004-03-31 06:21pm

come on guys that is quite enough