Random musings about slipstream.....

[Jeff]

I was thinking more about slipstream drive, and a thought occurred to me: If the Federation shared the technology with the Klingons, they would have to design a completely new class of ship from the ground up to be compatible with the drive, since there would be no way you could refit say a Negh'var or a Vor'cha with a slipstream drive.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Snap the wings off a bird-of-prey and it'll work fine.

 

[ryan123450]

I guess I don't get it. What's the problem?

 

[F. King Daniel]

According to the novels, ships have to be long and quite cylindrical to travel down a slipstream corridor (take a look at the USS Aventine, for example). Klingon ships are big, boxy and bulky, and have wings.

 

[Karnbeln]

In the novel continuity, hull shape matters for slipstream. There must be smooth edges and the ship can't be wide. There's also a mass limit.

Typical Klingon ships don't meet these requirements. They tend to have wings and sharp edges and stuff.

 

[David cgc]

In the books, the working assumption that when it comes to ships flying in slipstream, pointier and sleeker is better. It's sort of an aerodynamics thing.

 

[Christopher]

Not an aerodynamics thing, really. Slipstream conduits are cylindrical corridors, and the wider the conduit, the exponentially more computing power it takes to maintain it and the more unstable it is.

 

[bterrik]

Didn't they refit some Nebula-class starships with slipstream for Voyager's return to the DQ? I wouldn't exactly call those thin and narrow, like the Aventine! So, I would say Christopher is spot on - it's obviously possible to install slipstream on less sleek starships, just apparently disadvantageous.

 

[Dancing Doctor]

All this of course assumes the Federation shared slipstream technology.

 

[JD]

I'm pretty sure Bacco made a comment in one of the books about not being ready to share the Slipstream tech yet.

 

[Christopher]

Didn't they refit some Nebula-class starships with slipstream for Voyager's return to the DQ? I wouldn't exactly call those thin and narrow, like the Aventine!

I gather that's incorrect. The last time this came up, Clawhammer (who designed the Aventine) told us that there aren't actually any Nebulas in the Voyager fleet, though the actual composition of the fleet won't be revealed until the next novel comes out, I think.

 

[Mage]

Didn't they refit some Nebula-class starships with slipstream for Voyager's return to the DQ? I wouldn't exactly call those thin and narrow, like the Aventine!

I gather that's incorrect. The last time this came up, Clawhammer (who designed the Aventine) told us that there aren't actually any Nebulas in the Voyager fleet, though the actual composition of the fleet won't be revealed until the next novel comes out, I think.

Is Clawhammer Mark Rademaker? I understood he's actually redesigning Voyager as part of a refit to make the ship more modern and Slipstream capable?


http://mark-rademaker.blogspot.com/2010/08/voy-update.html

 

[Dancing Doctor]

I'm pretty sure Bacco made a comment in one of the books about not being ready to share the Slipstream tech yet.

I think I remember the same line. (Not sure which book, though).

But it makes sense. Slipping into "Koll Azernal"-mode for a second, the Klingons are fractious and fractured, have pulled themselves out of the Khitomer Accords (Twice, if we count both during DS9 and Star Trek Online), the Council is still divided between pro-Martok and anti-Martok forces, and it's reasonable to assume that there are still some ties to the Romulans among some Klingons houses. Unless we were to pick and choose which Klingons got slipstream, it makes sense to not share it, with anyone. It's too important to lose. The reason why the Federation shouldn't share slipstream is also why the nadion-pulse cannons were installed: as an insurance policy.

(takes off "Koll Azernal" hat)

However, I am surprised that there hasn't been a bigger deal made by the Klingons about not getting slipstream.

 

[JB2005]

^ Presumably if we ever get another AOtF (which would have been a good move IMO for the Typhon Pact series) then it would be explored?

 

[Dancing Doctor]

^ Presumably if we ever get another AOtF (which would have been a good move IMO for the Typhon Pact series) then it would be explored?

I would assume so.

I mean, even the most pro-Federation Klingons couldn't be too happy about stuff being kept from them.

 

[Christopher]

the Council is still divided between pro-Martok and anti-Martok forces

I thought the anti-Martok forces were pretty much rendered moot as a political force during Destiny, both because Martok rallied everyone behind him to fight the Borg and because some of Martok's most prominent rivals were killed.

 

[JB2005]

^ There'll always be more rivals that will emerge, such is the nature of politics. The KE is in something of a political void at the minute, but eventually the council will reform and Martok will face opposition again

 

[Dancing Doctor]

the Council is still divided between pro-Martok and anti-Martok forces

I thought the anti-Martok forces were pretty much rendered moot as a political force during Destiny, both because Martok rallied everyone behind him to fight the Borg and because some of Martok's most prominent rivals were killed.

Nothing is ever rendered moot as a political force. It may quiet down or appear to go away, but it just gets revived further down the road.

Plus, the conditions in the post-Destiny universe are rife for even further strain on the Khitomer Accords. The Federation didn't have its capital world essentially destroyed, and the Klingons probably had more ships lost than the Federation, due to the already ongoing conflicts with the Kinshaya and Romulans. And, there are going to be Klingons, not just those on the High Council, who will blame the Federation for causing the Borg Conflict (especially since it will be argued that the Klingon High Council had ruled it an internal matter to begin with, and the fact that the Tholians and other groups who didn't join with the Federation were also left alone).

 

[Christopher]

^Well, yes, of course any government has opposition, but my point is that Martok's position is now much more solidified; he has broader, stronger support and is in a much less tenuous position of leadership than he was before. So there's substantially less risk of some militant faction overthrowing him than there was before Destiny. Waiting until there's zero opposition is absurd because it will never happen, nor should it. A state with no opposition is an absolute dictatorship. What you want is stability, and that's what Martok's government has now, more than it did before.

Also, the way the UFP and the Klingons fought together against the Borg has resolidified their ties. The Klingon people now see Martok as their victorious champion and the Federation as their stalwart partners in the struggle. Any lingering anti-Federation faction would have a hell of a hard time winning support for a coup. It's foolish to go up against a war hero, especially in a society that esteems warriors so highly.

and the fact that the Tholians and other groups who didn't join with the Federation were also left alone

That's not true. The Borg expanded outward from their entry point and slaughtered indiscriminately, regardless of allegiance. Nonaligned worlds fell too -- including the first two casualties, Acamar and Barolia.

 

[Clawhammer]

I gather that's incorrect. The last time this came up, Clawhammer (who designed the Aventine) told us that there aren't actually any Nebulas in the Voyager fleet, though the actual composition of the fleet won't be revealed until the next novel comes out, I think.

That is correct indeed!