I've seen it proposed that pirate ships in the Trek universe would need to have strong tractor beams to prevent their quarry from escaping, and strong enough weapons to force down the prey's shields before beaming out cargo (or components, or crew) of the other ship.
I'd add to this a cloaking device, both to sneak up on prey and to avoid capture by the powers that be. Potentially energy dampening weapons might also be useful, to immobilize the enemy ships. I'd imagine that having weapons normally contained within one's hull, that pop-up Ala the NX-01, would also be beneficial. Ships would also want to be careful to control their power emissions so as not to give away their weapons signatures.
Given that historically pirate ships are civilian designs fitted with weapons, I suspect that the same holds true for Star Trek. So the Orion Pirate ships we see ought to be converted freighters or science ships, really. Given that, I do wonder however if torpedoes are rarer than disruptors or phasers on pirate ships, since torpedoes require not only the fitment of tubes to fire them (unless maybe they are carried aircraft\torpedo boat style?) and the space to store them... space that might otherwise hold supplies or booty. Though, I suppose if the Maquis can do it...
A combination of phasers and disruptors might be ideal, since it seems like disruptors pack a bigger wallop but are less controllable than phasers... yet both are beam weapons so aside from running a power conduit to them install is a little easier than engineering in a torpedo bay to a converted ship.
I'm not sure if a Trek version of a "Q Ship" would be any different, as a practical matter, from Pirate ships. They might optimize for even more firepower, and perhaps less stealth than an out right pirate. I'd compare this to the Maquis' ships, but really they are neither, since the Maquis seem more interested in destroying supply ships than pirates probably would be and their ships don't seem to be designed to disguise their intentions like a Q Ship would. They're more militia ships which have had whatever weapons could be procured bolted on to them. I suppose in someway the Ferengi Marauder is a Q Ship, in the sense that it's a bulk freighter pretending to be a warship that has a pretty powerful party trick up its sleeve if you get too close, but in the end it's a paper tiger.
I'd love to hear others takes on this... is there anything I might have missed?
I'd add to this a cloaking device, both to sneak up on prey and to avoid capture by the powers that be. Potentially energy dampening weapons might also be useful, to immobilize the enemy ships. I'd imagine that having weapons normally contained within one's hull, that pop-up Ala the NX-01, would also be beneficial. Ships would also want to be careful to control their power emissions so as not to give away their weapons signatures.
Given that historically pirate ships are civilian designs fitted with weapons, I suspect that the same holds true for Star Trek. So the Orion Pirate ships we see ought to be converted freighters or science ships, really. Given that, I do wonder however if torpedoes are rarer than disruptors or phasers on pirate ships, since torpedoes require not only the fitment of tubes to fire them (unless maybe they are carried aircraft\torpedo boat style?) and the space to store them... space that might otherwise hold supplies or booty. Though, I suppose if the Maquis can do it...
A combination of phasers and disruptors might be ideal, since it seems like disruptors pack a bigger wallop but are less controllable than phasers... yet both are beam weapons so aside from running a power conduit to them install is a little easier than engineering in a torpedo bay to a converted ship.
I'm not sure if a Trek version of a "Q Ship" would be any different, as a practical matter, from Pirate ships. They might optimize for even more firepower, and perhaps less stealth than an out right pirate. I'd compare this to the Maquis' ships, but really they are neither, since the Maquis seem more interested in destroying supply ships than pirates probably would be and their ships don't seem to be designed to disguise their intentions like a Q Ship would. They're more militia ships which have had whatever weapons could be procured bolted on to them. I suppose in someway the Ferengi Marauder is a Q Ship, in the sense that it's a bulk freighter pretending to be a warship that has a pretty powerful party trick up its sleeve if you get too close, but in the end it's a paper tiger.
I'd love to hear others takes on this... is there anything I might have missed?
