Mist Badger class Scoutship

The Mist Badger class scoutship is a small type of space vessel employed by the Tailed Wind Demons, specifically their nation of Stormsphere to survey planets. It was conceived, behind the scenes, to use vaguely Star Trekish technology, albiet at a very primitive level. While the Wind Demons think very highly of this vessel and its equipment, most other races would not agree with their assessment.

Physical Description

A Mist Badger scout is shaped like an elongated teardrop with an annuar warp drive looping around it. An antimatter-powered warp core is stuck near the tail, with antimatter pods behind it (both are ejectable). Sublight drives are mounted in the ship's midsection, a navigational deflector is at the front, and everything else is between those two components. The ships can be painted in a variety of colors, depending on the whims of their maker.

(The MistBadger class scoutship Wandering Dream; picture created by Rhinara)

Unlike Star Trek ships, only a small fraction of the ship's space is taken up with provisions for the crew. The rest is taken up with fuel, spare parts, sensor equipment, ship systems, and other materials intended to keep the ship working over several years of travel. The decks on the ship are "stacked" vertically, so the bow of the ship is always toward the ceiling.

Despite its small size, the ship contains at least two copies of every important system, except for the warp core. The ship has exceptional endurance, and all systems are well constructed, reliable, and relatively easy to repair, if primitive. Were the Wind Demons a guest race on Star Trek, they would probably condemn the Federation for shoddy engineering practices, then go into business selling consoles that won't explode.

The Wind Demons do not have tractor beams, transporters, holodecks, or replicators; the crew's diet consists mainly of recycled algae. There's a small shuttlebay that contains a sort of space-gig, and a couple of workbee-like engineering pods (think of the little work-spheres on 2001: a Space Odyssey). The ship is not designed to land on planets, and wouldn't bother to anyway. The ship devotes quite a lot of space to sensors and scientific equipment, but lab space is practically non-existant. Mist Badgers are designed as survey craft, not full-fledged research vessels.

The scout has no conventional ablative shields, though it can pervert its warp bubble into a crude deflector field, bending shots away from the ship. While 'deflecting', the ship is slowed down a bit, and the bubble at best will only blunt advanced military grade weaponry. This ability is a side-effect of the People of the Wind's methods used for engine design, and was developed as an engineering afterthought. The ship also has navigational deflectors, which are robust enough to prevent beaming. Despite its redundant design, the little ship will probably blow up pretty quickly if someone starts shooting at it. The Wandering Dream itself is unarmed, although it carries a pair of probe launchers that could conceivably be mistaken for missile tubes. The launchers can deploy both scientific probes and Warp-5 message torpedos.

Specifications

length: ~ 55 meters

hull diameter: ~15 meters

warp ring diameter: ~ 30 meters

Recommended Cruising Speed: warp 3 (27 lightspeed)

Maximum Safe Speed: warp 4 (64 lightspeed)

Hauling-Ass-Trying-To-Run-Away-Speed: ~warp 4.8 (110.6 lightspeed) (note: old school Star Trek scale)

Endurance: ~ 8 earth years.

Crew: 6 (captain/pilot, medic, two scientists, two engineers)

Notable Ships

The Wandering Dream