Is bigger better?

[Deepcrush]

Intrepid is probably far more cost-effective for less lengthy exploration and/or outrider duty; but if you had to be on one or the other for 7 years, would you pick the GCS or an Intrepid?

Well that all depends... What is the point of the mission? How many missions are we talking about? Do we have places where the a larger starship would be better suited? Do we have GCS to spare?

I'm not saying that there isn't a use for the GCS, I'm saying that I don't feel the need to continue building them. First off we seem to have a fair number of them already. Second, if the mission is just to chart new systems or the likes then I wouldn't waste sending a GCS. If the mission is to cross the DQ, then I would send a GCS. It all depends on the mission. But, again, I would feel the need to justify the cost.

[Aaron]

And it didn't overload?

Nah, it's the only device on the ship with a circuit breaker.

[kostmayer]

I'd always assumed part of the Galaxy class ship's roll was to be big and impressive, although I do agree its just a little too comfy.

Voyager may have lasted on its own for 7 years, but it did so by violating Federation principles, installing alien technology, and it lost a pretty big percentage of its crew. I doubt thats the kind of thing Starfleet Command would want its explorers to have to do in order to survive.

[Deepcrush]

That and their shields, didn't they lose those at least twice per ep... I think it was one of the protocol thingy mabobs...

[Mikey]

Bingo, Kostmayer.

[Deepcrush]

I'd always assumed part of the Galaxy class ship's roll was to be big and impressive, although I do agree its just a little too comfy.

Voyager may have lasted on its own for 7 years, but it did so by violating Federation principles, installing alien technology, and it lost a pretty big percentage of its crew. I doubt thats the kind of thing Starfleet Command would want its explorers to have to do in order to survive.

Oh, that would be like sending the Defiant to study a nebula or maybe sending an Intrepid to hunt down enemy warships in the badlands right???

It still comes down to the Mission. What, where, when, who and why are the keys. Most of the things around UFP space could be handled by Intrepids or Novas. The GCS would be spared for missions that they might in truth be needed for.

[Mikey]

Exactly.

[Deepcrush]

It still comes down to the Mission. What, where, when, who and why are the keys. Most of the things around UFP space could be handled by Intrepids or Novas. The GCS would be spared for missions that they might in truth be needed for.

Sorry, tried to edit this in since it didn't take the first time...

[kostmayer]

Oh, that would be like sending the Defiant to study a nebula or maybe sending an Intrepid to hunt down enemy warships in the badlands right???

Its been a long while since I've seen it, but I seem to remember Tom Paris and Janeway talking about the badlands in the first episode of Voyager. Tom says something about him never seeing a Starship that could navigate the Badlands, and Janeway telling him that he's never seen Voyager. The ship was small, fast and agile, yet still pretty powerful - ideal for going into the Badlands where theres a possibility of a fight.

I'm with you on the Defiant though. They had runabouts for that sort of mission. I just think Sisko liked the Defiant

[Deepcrush]

Yeah, the Defiant would have been much better for hunting in the Badlands.

[Captain Picard's Hair]

But would fare a lot worse once it got thrown across the galaxy. An OOU concession, but a necessary one.

You'd definitely choose a GCS over an Intrepid where you wanted a show of force or needed its vastly greater resources, though all this has already been covered while I was off in class. I'll just toss in the idea that given the choice between an Intrepid and a GCS, you might choose a Nebula with the appropriate mission pod, which would perform better than either.

[Mark]

The GCS is like one big mobile science lab. The Intrepid and Nova are great for short or medium duration missions. Excluding the Janeway factor, those ships SHOULDN'T be out in space for more than a few years at a time. The GCS could concievebly go out for DECADES at a time, without the need for returning to Federation space. Yet for some reason, that class never seemed to be used in that role.

[Mikey]

that class never seemed to be used in that role.

And here we are again.

[Mark]

I love how these things go round, and round, and round, and round, and round.............................................

[Deepcrush]

Leave it at this, SF never uses ships the way they should. End of story.

I agree that the GCS is the best long range explorer. Though, I would most likely have fewer deep space missions going on then not. Most S/E mission would be within a year or two's travel from the UFP borders. You don't need a GCS to run those types of missions. If you want a show of force then you could use the Sov or Prommie. If you have to cool some heads we have the Paladin. The Neb's are the new jack ships, so you would use them to fill in the slots as needed. Seeing how they can do most anything though just not as great as a ship built for a specific task.