Help name a starship?

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction' started by Kuri, Jul 13, 2016.

  1. Avro Arrow

    Avro Arrow Vice Admiral Moderator

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    No worries, none taken, just joking around. :)

    While I would agree with that for the fighter, if Kuri went with the runabout, we know that Starfleet, for better or for worse, gives individual names to their runabouts.
     
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  2. Sgt_G

    Sgt_G Commodore Commodore

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    Starfleet, for better or for worse, gives individual names to their runabouts.​

    That never made sense to me. There must be thousands of runabouts and only so many rivers to use as names.
     
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  3. Joel_Kirk

    Joel_Kirk Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Here are some names I've used for some of my ships (starships and shuttlecraft) in Star Trek Online:

    For starships:
    *USS Octavia Butler (based on the late author)
    *USS Malcolm X (for one of my heroes). I've also created the USS Malcolm X - II
    *USS Benjamin Sisko (for my Luna class vessel).
    *USS Space Hawk (for my Constitution class vessel commanded by my 23rd century toon)
    *USS Kochiyama (based on the activist Yuri Kochiyama, who also knew Malcolm X).
    *USS Harriet Tubman

    For my shuttlecraft:
    *USS Kochiyama (where I first used the name of the aforementioned activist).
     
    Last edited: Jul 14, 2016
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  4. psCargile

    psCargile Captain Captain

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    I like to pull from Greek mythology, and choose a name that has something to do with the story. I avoid Jeopardy subjects like "Famous People from the 20th Century" because it's an obvious nod to the reader.
     
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  5. SPCTRE

    SPCTRE Badass Admiral

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    SPCTRE
    USS Shippy McShipface
     
  6. Bry_Sinclair

    Bry_Sinclair Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Scotland
    Best. Ship. Name. Ever :bolian:
     
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  7. Admiral2

    Admiral2 Admiral Admiral

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    Langley
    Exactly!
    I know, which is why the first words of my first post were "Do Something Different." The writers of canon Trek didn't always make the most sensible decisions. Naming every damn flying piece of equipment was one of the least sensible ones.
     
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  8. TheLoneRedshirt

    TheLoneRedshirt Commodore Commodore

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    I agree that naming runabouts (or shuttle craft) is silly but, alas, it is consistent with Star Trek practice. Using a tail (hull) number and call sign makes more sense.

    The Bluefin's Star Stallions (over-size, heavy-duty shuttles) do not have names. They are simply called Stallion Oh-One and Stallion Oh-Two.
     
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  9. Kuri

    Kuri Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    Update. Thanks for all the suggestions. They've been tossed into the pressure cooker at the back of my head to see how much juice comes out. This is my current thinking: I'll use a class name (which may just be Gryphon) rather than individual vessel name. However, the characters will give it a nickname.

    Actually, @SPCTRE one of my characters is loosely inspired by "Private Joker" from Full Metal Jacket, and I can see him naming it something like that just to annoy the CO.:lol:

    Which leads me to yet another idea :brickwall:. Each character calls it something different. When Joker got tasked with registering it he "accidentally" put in Shippy McShipface, which forces the CO to use the tag-code when communicating with other vessels/bases. Another character always uses the class name, a third just calls it "the ship" or "the mule", while yet another has some affectionate nickname.

    Sailing round places like Portsmouth and Plymouth, I've see hundreds (thousands?) of boats, every single one of them (even little dinghys) with some personal name. And it often tells me more about the owner than the vessel itself - like a psych profile.

    It's really interesting looking at all your different naming conventions, too. Thanks for sharing.
     
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  10. Admiral2

    Admiral2 Admiral Admiral

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    Well, don't take it too far. Even if everybody makes up a name the CO's pick gets priority. Besides, having every character call it by a different name is an easy way to confuse the bejeesus out of your readers. Let the CO pick the name.

    Which means he wouldn't be forced into anything. He would have the authority to change the nickname to whatever he liked
     
  11. Kuri

    Kuri Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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  12. Laura Cynthia Chambers

    Laura Cynthia Chambers Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I've thought the Credit would be a good name for a runabout.
    Derived from a river named after cooperation between two people groups. What could be more Trek than that? (It runs through my hometown, Mississauga.)

    I suppose the USS Missinihe would be nice, too, if a tongue twister.
     
    Last edited: Sep 29, 2016