Overseer-class Research Saucer
From Star Trek: Theurgy Wiki
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| Name: | Overseer-class Research Saucer |
| Model: | KRK-9009 MK IV Overseer |
| Starship Type: | Savi Survey Saucer |
| Production Status: | Decommissioned |
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| Constructed: | Savi Shipyards |
| Commissioned: | Jaunary 1902-January 2045 |
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| Mass (w. Standard Armament): | 29,980 kg |
| Technical Specifications | Advantages
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| 3D Model: |
Lexxiam, rendered by Tsunecomp, edited by Auctor Lucan |
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Overseers were a sturdy class of survey vessels built by the savi for undetected observation, the first iteration 500 years old as of 2381. The KRK-9009 series was built specifically to observe pre-contact species on class H, M, O, and P planets. During the Savi contact with Asurians, many ships in the Flotilla still held Mk IV versions of the ships despite their decommissioning - the Savi already having developed more advanced survey saucers at the time. The Asurians flew these saucers for the purpose of pirating and battle upon their liberation from the Savi.
The Overseer-class was infamous for having started the pop-culture fad of 'flying saucers' on Earth. Savi used the MK IV saucers for observing humans and consequently left an imprint of their ships in human culture. A handful of younger cultures also shared the same cultural phenomenon for the same reasons.
Production History
The Savi (also called the Sheromi by the Asurians) employed a number of research and exploration vessels in their never-ending scientific studies, but dependable engagement spacecraft were scarce. In study of civilizations with primitive weaponry and aircraft, they found that their older ships could not leave fast enough. Often the ship would be damaged, along with the sensitive, fragile instruments inside, or they'd lose the ship altogether. The Overseer-class arose from the need for a quiet, stealthy scientific vessel that would remain largely untouched by the kinetic weaponry of most primitive alien civilizations.
The Overseer-class made its first debut in 1888 as a purely experimental prototype, deployed on a select few pre-sentient planets for the purpose of demonstrating the effectiveness of the new craft. The design proved highly popular, with the only flaws being the high power consumption of the engines and the unusual shape of the craft. Soon, Savi ships employed the use of Overseer class saucers almost universally for the purpose of observation. Their cloaking systems also allowed them to observe without being observed.
Later developments in 1960 and 1985 led to the development of the MK II and MK III Overseers. The MK II Overseer had its RF Cavity Thruster engine replaced with a Gravitic Displacement Engine, giving the Overseer-class its trademark maneuverability and decreasing the amount of power consumed by the engine at any given time. The MK II was also the first class to use the liquid alloy known as Kkrek.
The Mk III received an impulse engine upgrade and was also the first class with a tractor beam tuned specifically for organic matter. As the Savi studied more and more with sentient beings, it became important to develop some means of picking samples, hence the tractor beam.
The Mk IV and the final upgrade before its eventual decommissioning had a basic weapons system to take down potential pursuers and a complete overhaul of the crude navigational beam that previous makes had. Now each ship came equipped with graviton beams of a caliber not yet manufactured by Starfleet. The graviton emitters disrupted shields, and then caused damage via gravimetric shear against the hull and effectively rip it apart. These graviton beams were not akin to traditional weaponry of energy transfer from phasers or disruptors.
Another minor addition was the use of a gentle blue floodlight that activated whenever the short range organic matter (SROM) beam activated, as humans didn't respond to pheromones as well as they did strange lights. This was in addition to the pheromone emitters that all previous makes had. The light could be removed or disabled as needed.
All Overseer saucers were assigned to an Asurian Mothership and remain docked with the Mothership when not in use.
Exterior Features
The Overseer-class carried a few features considered new or unusual compared to Federation starships, since the Savi were not a part of the Federation and did not have contact with them.
Kkrek Alloy
Kkrek was a thin, silver-translucent, non-Newtonian liquid at room temperature, a mixture of both natural and lab-created elements. It was a super-hydrophobic alloy that did not bond easily in the presence of other elements. It hardened permanently when exposed to high heats. The surface of heated Kkrek was extremely smooth and reduced friction to near-zero. It could sometimes feel chilly to the touch.
Kkrek alloy coating deteriorated over the span of several centuries, though hard strikes to the surface of the alloy could sometimes break the coating, leaving the surface below open to damage. Although rain and wind slid right off the alloy, hail could sometimes cause hairpin cracks that would reduce the coating's overall effectiveness, and large meteors could sometimes tear off chunks of coating all together.
It was possible to strip and re-coat a saucer, but it took a few days to complete.
Deflector Dishes & Graviton Beam Emitters
Each Overseer was outfitted with four or six deflector dishes across the widest part of the saucer. Each deflector dish had the same capabilities as all the others. It was possible to operate one dish at a time or to sync all dishes. Losing a dish did not hinder the others, but sometimes reduced the allowed range of certain abilities.
Most of the ship's offensive capabilities came from the deflector dishes. The deflectors were also the graviton emitters. The aquamarine beams disrupted enemy shields, and once it pierced the shields, it would cause damage through the resulting gravimetric shear. They were considered one of the most important parts on the ship and, when Overseers were in production, it was a requirement to constantly monitor and repair the dishes. If shields were ever broken, the dishes were usually the first to go due to their size.
Gravitational Forcefield
Saucers carried two kinds of shielding by default, both stemming from the deflector dishes. Overseer deflector shielding was similar to Starfleet deflector shielding.
The Overseer gravitational force field was a separate shielding system used specifically to deflect pre-warp weaponry, such as missiles, bullets, arrows, and rocks.
The kinetic shielding was a powerful force spread out over an area just a little larger than the deflector shielding. It was capable of exerting approximately 30-50 tons of force on a given area, depending on how much power was routed to the kinetic shielding.
While the ship was moving, it was possible for the ship to run into another mass, using this force field. A saucer moving 50 MPH with kinetics at 30 tons would exert about the damage one would expect from a very heavy thing moving very fast. Liftoff from the ground with kinetics on would leave an imprint on the ground. This led observers to believe the ship itself was 30 tons.
Kinetics and deflector shielding could both be active at the same time, but neither could be at full power while the other was operating.
Organic Tractor Beam
The organic tractor beam (OTB, or sometimes SROM beam, for short range organic matter) was a subtype of tractor beam meant specifically for attracting organic matter. Standard tractor beams were built for pulling synthetic matter. Common targets included asteroids, debris, and other ships. It was generally used to hold, push, or pull. The gravitonic pressure exerted by the standard tractor beam was enough to crush or tear apart the average organic being. The OTB was meant to be used to freeze and lift organic beings into the hull of the ship for tag/release, experimental, or probing purposes.
It is important to note that the OTB was a separate feature from the standard tractor beam. Only one beam could work at a time. The OTB included pheromone emitters and floodlights that typically activated with the beam, the standard tractor beam lacked these features.
Savi in general did not use transporters for the purpose of capturing targets on the Overseer-class ships due to the complex installation that a transporter system required. In terms of cost-effectiveness and power usage, using an already existing feature was more efficient.
Ventrak Cloaking
Ventrak Cloaking was a type of cloaking device developed by the Savi for the purpose of remaining unseen while observing.
An Overseer's shields dropped automatically on activation of the cloaking device. This left the Overseer vulnerable for a second before the cloaking field forms, and a half second after it dropped.
While cloaking, the ship's movement did not set off any motion tracking sensors, nor did light 'shimmer' around it. Most modern day sensors couldn't pick up on a Ventrak cloaked object, and Ventrak cloaking did not leave behind any particles to detect it, making it a nearly 'perfect' cloaking device.
Overseers did not produce enough energy to power weapons and shielding while cloaked. To do so required the cloaking to be dropped. Occasionally, computer analysis of large chunks of data would cause the cloak to flicker for a moment.
Entry Ramp
In addition to teleportation technology, Saucers all used an entry/exit ramp located on the underside of their hull. When on ground, this ramp could be used to load people and goods on and off. The ramp also slid aside to allow in persons or objects being 'abducted'
Interior Features
Overseers were short-range craft, and although crew quarters could be added in at the expense of lab or holding cell space, they did not come standard with crew quarters.
Overseers generally had three rooms. The aft-most room was for holding cells and miscellaneous storage, the center-most room was the lab, and the forward-most room was the cockpit.
Due to the compact nature of a saucer, it was difficult to access engineering. There were a few compartments, similar to jeffries tubes, in the walls of the lab that could be used to access the warp core and other features of the ship, but they were narrow entryways and working in engineering was cramped.
Laboratory
As a primarily scientific vessel, all Overseers had a laboratory of some sort. The majority of the saucer's square footage was dedicated to the laboratory, typically decked out with an examination table that retracted into the ceiling, modular equipment, and holding cells.
Modular Lab Equipment
Almost all lab equipment in a Saucer, regardless of make, was removable. As science and technology sped along the road of progress, the Savi did not want to create a saucer that would be obsolete within the next five years simply because the equipment within the lab was outdated. The simplest solution was to make all scientific equipment within the lab removable and replaceable.
This also added the option of customization for each saucer. A saucer dedicated purely to catch/release could remove any equipment not related to their mission and replace it, if need be.
The sensor suite on any Overseer-class was also removable and replaceable, however replacing the sensor suite was slightly more difficult and time consuming due to the compact wiring of the Overseer class.
Holding Cells
It is important to note that holding cells, in this context, do not refer to a brig of any sort. Holding cells were used for short term containment of test subjects. They were kept in a room near the aft of the saucer, out of view of the laboratory. The cell walls were all energy-based, so size and shape of a holding cell could be customized. Each cell was given its own environmental system to provide the optimal environment for the subject.
Transporters
Overseer class saucers did not have a transporter pad by default. Instead, each crew member was given a handheld, one way, one-time-use transporter device, typically set to teleport the user to the transporter room aboard the Saucer's Mothership. The devices could be reprogrammed to teleport elsewhere.
Major Differences in Savi Saucers and Asurian-Commandeered saucers
Out of all still-existing Overseer-class ships, the Asurians had 96 functioning saucers in total. The saucers with six dishes were allotted to Asurian leaders in the defence force. Each one had a pilot, and occasionally a gunman. Although Overseers were a compact ship and difficult to alter, the Asurians altered them anyways. Each one had individual differences, but in general, the Asurian people chose to alter their ships in these ways.
Most additions to Asurian saucers came from previous raids. Most stolen technology was not actually compatible with Savi technology.
Weaponry
All standard weaponry on Asurian Overseers was kept aboard and consoles to use them left untouched. They were too complex to remove without Savi knowledge.
Almost the entire lab and related components, with the exception of sensors, were removed from the center of the Saucer, creating a large open area. This area was occasionally used for storing hand weapons or large projectiles from previous pirating encounters. Before going on a raid, Asurians emptied this area out to pack it full of things to carry back. The added advantage to this was that all the power that may have been routed to the labs was now routed to weaponry.
Because of the difficulty of changing out weaponry in an Overseer, attempts at attaching stolen weaponry to a Saucer generally failed.
When it was advantageous, Asurians occasionally used the lab to store garbage and debris, included explosives stolen from other ships. Multiple saucers dumped all the garbage directly in the path of or around their target ship, with the explosives hidden with the debris. For larger ships, this was mostly just an annoyance, but for smaller or less capable ships, it could decide the fate of battle. Even if deflectors on small ships would push the debris away, the explosives would be triggered, and smaller ships would get caught in the blast.
Defense
Thanks to the removed lab, more power flowed to the defensive systems as well. Asurians favored the kinetic shielding the most.
Asurians managed to weaponize the kinetic shielding. By routing more power to that system, the gravitational force field of an Asurian Overseer was strengthened. Generally, Asurians used this to ram into other ships when their shields were down. This could damage the hull of a ship, sometimes piercing it altogether in the cases of older ships.
At high enough speeds, with kinetic shielding at full power, Asurian pilots sometimes reported a 'loss of time' or similar distortions.
