Ha ha, silly 21st century savage, we have a more evolved sensibility in our time. We've progressed beyond the need for monetary denomination.
The same sequence order and hierarchy of components assembled into different configurations Starfleet technology, so that different functions and tools to make the phrase a different meaning.
One idea I've been playing around with is less new tech and more old tech reengineered. _________________________________________ Multiplex Warp Drives. Essentially two (or rarely, more) smaller warp cores operating in concert with each other through a warp crossover matrix. Similar to the multiple cylinders of an internal combustion engine. There are several advantages to this setup. • Reliability. Each core is operating at a lower frequency to achieve the same warp factor as a single, larger core. This puts less strain on each core and dilithium matrix, resulting in greater operational reliability, safer operation and longer service life. Further, each core can be shut down individually for maintenance and repairs without sacrificing warp capability, albeit at reduced speeds, facilitating more frequent maintenance opportunities. • Safety. As mentioned above, the system is safer overall due to each core being operated at reduced loads, decreasing the risk of failures. In the even of a breach or overload, each core can be isolated and either shut down or ejected without sacrificing warp capability. • Cleaner operation. Due to each core operating at a lower output, fewer waste products are produced. Further, due to the design of the crossover, overall emissions are significantly reduced, resulting in a smaller, more easily concealed warp signature. Lastly, the design causes less subspace shearing at high warp factors (the warp speed limit thing) There are some disadvantages to multiplex warp drives. They are much more complex and require specialized training to maintain and repair, moreson than standard warp drives. They are much more difficult to build, requiring more time and resources. They also eat up more dilithium and antimatter, but not by a significant margin. _________________________________________ Other things with which I've powdered my headcannon: Isolated passive internal shielding to suppliment security forcefields. Small internal shield generators on independent power supplies covering sensitive areas (bridge, engineering, weapons, etc) to prevent boarding parties from directly beaming aboard in the event the main shielding fails. They activate automatically at yellow alert or higher and can be modulated to allow access by authorized personnel. Each one has enough power to operate for up to two hours after complete power failure. Hybrid Transwarp drives. Essentially a blend of standard warp drive systems with Borg derived Transwarp technology. Safer and easier to build than quantum slipstream drives, though not as efficient. Utilizes multiple transwarp coils arranged into a nacelle configuration fed directly by warp plasma. Imperfect, causes a noticable wake and shockwave upon use. Cannot be used within a star system, not recommend for use within the galaxy proper, mostly used for inter galactic transit.
Go-Z-Lamp: a lamp on the captain's chair which can be illuminated from a command button on the Science Officer's console. It serves as a non-embarrassing reminder that the ship can manouevre vertically on the z-axis. AutoCanon: a computer algorithm that alerts the crew if the action they are about to take violates existing canon. Parachute: a wonderfabric canopy deployed from a shuttlecraft when it is damaged and hurtling towards the surface of a planet. Assures a gentle, level touchdown without throwing the crew through the windscreen. DeBabbler(TM): an essential aid for the 23rd-century crewman who falls through a temporal vortex and arrives on Voyager. Replaces all technobabble verbs and nouns respectively with 'lick' and 'sausage'. 'Captain, I suggest that we lick the main deflector to emit a stream of sausages which will destabilise their sausage-core'.
My take on Federation tech would be the practical application of all the tech we’ve already seen, but which disappeared to the Indiana Jones warehouse. Given that the Q continuum exists and can redefine gravity on a whim, there must be a research budget there for anyone with a viable theory fur cracking the how. Maybe the Daystrom institute is working on them. Uploading consciousness in to the main computer, for example, transferring life energy from one person to another, crossing the gulf between worlds as the iconians did, going anywhere in time as the guardian does, phasing matter, mirror universes, parallel universes, reversing aging, curing rainy days, mind control, converting nebula into stars (Mutara), reigniting dead stars, destroying stars, harnessing singularities, travelling to the end/beginning of the universe, recognising the correlation between between thought and matter, accelerating and reversing evolution (wtf), achieving warp 10, miniaturisation, dehydrating and rehydrating people, skirts for men. Personal transporter devices, Mannheim’s breakthroughs on higher dimensions.
Mind blown. Section 31 is actually the Breen... You, my friend, just broke my brain (but in a good way lol).