Star Trek: Renaissance Technical Manual, Section 2

Written by Chris Edmonds and Dan Carlson

Images by Robert Crosswell and Chris Edmonds

Section 2.0: Command and Control

2.1: Introduction

All the systems on a starship are integral to the continued survival of a starship and her crew, but perhaps the most important component of starship life is Command. Without command, the crew is unorganized, and reaching a goal is much more difficult. Equally important to command is automated control. A computer system on a starship maintains several systems that require constant attention or highly complex and immediate mathematical processing.

2.2: Command Centers

There are normally three areas on a starship that are used for command: A main bridge, usually located at the very top of the saucer, a secondary bridge located deep within the saucer, and main engineering, where ship maintenance is administrated. Main Engineering can also be reorganized to be a makeshift bridge in an emergency as well.

Bridge

The Main Bridge has several primary stations within it. The Flight Control (also known as the “conn” or the “helm”) is where navigation and maneuvering is controlled.

Opposite the Conn is the Ops station, usually manned by the senior operations officer on duty. In front of them is the Main Viewscreen, where vital information is available for all on the bridge to see.

Behind the two forward consoles are the command seats. The commanding officer on duty sits in the largest chair, while the executive officer on duty sits to the right. A third chair for dignitaries or specialists is to the left of the command chair.

Behind the command seats is the Tactical station. All of the ship’s internal security and external weapons are administrated from this station. Tactical works closely with the conn during combat situations. Behind the Tactical station is the user interface for the RRF Command Suite. This is the place where battle group commanders coordinate their operations.

To the left and right are two large enclaves. The starboard side is the Bridge Engineering station, where the bridge liaison to engineering is usually stationed. A four-man crew is stationed there at all times due to the deficiency of automated control over the ship’s cutting-edge hybrid interstellar drive. The Master Systems Display is also located in this enclave.

Opposite the engineering enclave is a triple-use enclave, split between Mission Operations, Environmental Controls, and Science.

To the right of the Flight Control station is the doorway to the Captain’s Ready Room. This is the office space the Captain uses to perform many administrative duties over his or her starship.

The Auxiliary Bridge is rather spartan in design, limited only to the stations absolutely necessary. Conn, Ops, Tactical, and Engineering are the only permanent stations installed, although some multipurpose stations may be activated depending on the ship’s current mission and/or condition.

A view of the main bridge from the aft entrance, showing the command chairs in the center, the consoles and workstations around the edges, and the viewscreen at the front.

An overhead view showing the layout of the bridge, with the command chairs in the center, two slightly angled stations in front facing the viewscreen, behind the command chairs, three steps to a raised upper level lead to a round holographic projector on the floor, surrounded by a railing. On each side are more workstations facing the walls, and a door at the aft middle of the room.

2.3: Departmental Offices

Main Engineering (Engineering Department)

Main Engineering could be considered the heart of the ship. In here lies the Quantum Induction Core, the principal power source for the ship. Also inside are various stations dedicated to maintaining other key systems or remotely diagnosing or repairing a technical problem. The Chief Engineer’s office is located in Main Engineering as well.

Engineering is a long, mostly rectangular, two-level room with workstations lining both sides; in the background, the spherical and translucent quantum indiction core crackles with energy, supported by eight conduits projecting outwards and into the walls. Above the core is a tubular projection.

From the upper level, you can see workstations on both levels, and ladders that allow crew members to quickly access the upper level walkways and workstations.

Near the quantum induction core, an alcove on one side of the room houses the Chief Engineer’s workstation.

Mission Operations (Operations Department)

This is where more hands-on mission operations and ship operations occur. The Astrometrics Display System is also located here, as well as the offices of the Chief of Operations and the Executive Officer. The Operations department handles all the general operation of the ship, such as the computer, various operation consoles for stations throughout the ship, and day-to-day administration of mission progress.

Main Armory (Security Department)

This is located right above the main torpedo magazines, with easy access. Inside is a veritable arsenal of small arms and smaller heavy weapons, as well as the phaser range, and the offices of the Chief of Security and Deputy Chief of Security. Security provides onboard defense against intruders and to provide muscle to quell unruly guests or crewmembers.

Sickbay (Medical Department)

In addition to maintaining their ship, the crew must also maintain themselves. Main Sickbay is where any injuries or illnesses of the crew are treated. It also contains several biobeds, three surgical suites and a synthesis lab for creating concoctions to treat the ailing. The Chief Medical Officer and Chief Nurse have their offices here as well.

Sickbay is a long room with six biobeds on the left side against the wall. To the right, curved, semi-translucent walls separate the treatment and research work spaces.

The Chief Medical Officer’s office is a small room with a desk and chair, a computer terminal on top, and two visitors’ chairs to the side of the entrance. Against the wall is an aquarium, and behind the desk is a painting of an astronomical scene.

In the surgical bay, Doctor Elris treats a patient lying on a biobed, with the scanning panels raised to surround the patient’s torso. Behind the biobed is a work console, and a large computer display on the rear wall shows the patient’s vital signs.

2.4: Computer Systems and Optical Data Network

The Phoenix Class carries one Dyson Corp D4 Bioneural-augmented Isolinear Computer Core, capable of roughly eighty quintillion operations per second, and a storage capacity of approximately two hundred and four teraquads. It spans five decks in the saucer and is roughly twenty-five meters in diameter. The Dyson D4 is considered to be the most advanced computer core ever installed on a starship.

Even the massively powerful Dyson D4 still is sometimes strained under the amount of system resources that maintaining the ship and crew takes. To handle spillover, a smaller Dyson D2 computer core is installed in the stardrive section. This three-deck core is incapable of handling the load that the main core must handle daily, but is capable of maintaining minimal ship homeostatic functions, and limited other uses such as navigation, tactical processing, and others. Both cores use Daystrom LCARS version 4.7 as their operating system. In order for the two cores to communicate, and for them to communicate with various smaller computer systems and terminals on board, a large Optical Data Network spans the ship. There are twelve central hubs: eight in the saucer and four in the stardrive. Any one is capable of handling the full load of vital ship functions, but the other eleven are required for transmission of nonvital data.