I know this is not system related but I hope someone can help. My players were thinking of picking the Steamrunner as their ship. Looking online the engineering section is in the aft behind the warp nacelles. So the question is… how does anyone get there? Do they use a Transporter? I would think that is not the safest way. And if so, why? Thanks in advance.
Depending on the source of your diagrams its either that or navigational deflectors and torpedo launchers accessible via Jefferies tubes on deck 2.
I have seem some (non-canon) Steamrunner deck plans where a turbo lift shaft goes from the saucer section through the nacelles to the engineering/deflector section.
Such a goofy design.
I feel like it would be pretty dangerous to try and traverse the nacelles while the ship was at warp, but if the plasma stream isn’t active than both TNG and ENT have depicted them as being fairly open concept. In ENT the characters could travel the length of the nacelle along a catwalk that ran through the middle of it.
When the ship is at warp though…maybe a couple of dedicated transporter pads that only beam to and from the secondary hull? I mean, obviously the could be reconfigured to act as regular transporters if the situation called for it, but day to day they wouldn’t even need an operator; just step on the pad, push a button, and your in…whatever is supposed to be back there.
It might seem dangerous, but as Geordi says to Barclay in ‘Realm of Fear’ transporting is the safest way to travel. Sure, only a handful of episodes earlier Geordi got to attend his own memorial service because he and Ro were rendered cloaked and phased because of a transporter accident, but that just tells you all those shuttles we see crash or get blowed up are the norm, not the exception.
Of course, a similar issue applies to the Oberth (those pylons are technically too narrow for a turbolift) and the Miranda and Akira (the weapons pod supports are again very narrow!).
I tend to assume that the pods are generally unmanned and that engineers are transported in (and life support powered up) only when necessary. Not so much a dedicated transporter, but a routine function on the transporters. It’s even possible that the “matter stream” is beamed via cable for maximum reliability.
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Well I look at the varius types of ships
- Akria
- Miranda
- Oberth
- Streamrunner (which is verry ugly)
And I sea no problem.
The Pylons on the first three seem to be big enough to house Turbolifts for crew transportation.
The Warp Nascells of the Steamrunner look big enough to have Corridors to reach the Engineering Section.
There is a TNG Eppisode were Troi and Worf investigate a suicide of an Engineer, which indicates that there is regularly personal serving in the Warp Nascells.
In the case of the Galaxy-class nacelle tube the only space that appeared to be accessible during flight was the control room isolated from the plasma injectors by a heavy door. Making a logical deduction based upon the progress from the NX-class starship to the Galaxy-class, it’s very likely either a heavily shielded corridor or access tube exists on the interior sides of the nacelles. In the event of spatial anomaly or power fluctuations relying on even the safest mode of transport could be a bit risky.
The deck plans for the Akira shows a transporter pad in the torpedo pod, and basically a lounge area & toilet. The booms do house some crew, but the pod is not a living space.
The Steamrunner is similar, but I think has a little more space to the underslung pod, so turbolifts may be possible.
The Oberth has crawlspaces (not even Jefferies tubes!) between the main saucer (inc engineering) and the mission pod. I seem to remember reading somewhere that the pod is mostly automated or sensors, but I’m happy to be wrong.
The Miranda is also a mission pod, depending on the spec of the ship, so I think it doesn’t regularly need to have the pod manned?
The deckplans I have seen for the Steamrunner class put engineering in the main hull.
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The best deckplans I’ve seen (the old Strategic Designs ones) show that section as a weapons and deflector pod. They have an eight person transporter hardlined to the primary hull in there.
Sorry for the necro.
Main engineering level is on Deck 4 of a Steamrunner
Good Deckplan
People underestimate the Steamrunner’s size due to it not having a ‘neck’ and seperate engineering hull with the nacells. She comes in at 375M which is 31M longer than Voyager and MUCH wider across the saucer section, and 3 decks ‘thicker’ as well.
Which is just a bit about saying. “She’s bigger than she looks” and those nacells are THIICK.
There’s very likely just turbolift tubes down the interior or exterior ridge of each nacell. The things have their own internal dampeners so you step in, it goes oen way and then ‘sideways’ and zips you own down the nacell and into the pod at the back.
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