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Post by Lt Cmdr Aria Xalot on Oct 22, 2016 18:22:58 GMT -5
I'm trying to imagine what all would be in one. Obviously you have a size constraint but there must be pretty ample supplies to make them viable in a multitude of environments from deep space to landing on all manner of nearby rocky worlds. I'd imagine at least a week of life support and provisions given Worf lasted that long if I recall in a Klingon one and given the Klingon desire for death in battle I'd guess their pods are less well constructed or outfitted than federation ones. Besides those basics that's where the what's inside game comes into play. I'd imagine a small med kit, and engineering kit hidden inside some where, plus a few tri corders for scanning environments seeing if native flora and fauna are edible etc. The item I go back and fourth on is a hand phaser. Besides being a weapon it's also a very useful tool and has been shown on screen used for wilderness survival, from heating rocks to be a heat source(another reason you'd want a tricorder some rocks would respond to rapid extreme heat by exploding) to jordi using one to rough and dirty sand cast some metal climbing spikes. They would also be useful for hunting or fending off predatory creatures. But I also can imagine the federation not putting them in because A) you now have easily accessible hand phasers throughout the ship B) arming survivors of a downed ship can make them more legitimate targets for a hostile who shot them down in the first place to wipe out any survivors as they are still armed and a threat.
What does the fleet think?
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Ensign Sebetharen Adryan
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Post by Ensign Sebetharen Adryan on Oct 22, 2016 18:31:40 GMT -5
Actually it'd likely be the fact a hand phaser or two are in there. While hand-phasers or other weaponry wouldn't be readily available on the ship, because the ship is not filled with combatants but working crew who have a totally different function and security patrols literally every section of each ship, in an emergency situation such as deployment of escape pods everyone becomes a combatant. Engineers secondary role becomes that of an engineer, simply because their ship is gone. It becomes about survival, not whose job is what.
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Post by Lt Cmdr Aria Xalot on Oct 22, 2016 18:49:20 GMT -5
What I meant by easily accessible isn't that everyone always has them on board but that since escape pods by nature are easy to access for fast evac, anyone on board could potentially sneak in a pod and grab one while star fleet seems to like to keep them locked up in armouries and such. That said I am on the yes the pods would have them camp with you.
Oh and another feature I think they would have that I forgot to mention is optionally deployable air bags in case of a liqued landing be it water or a cold world with gases we are used to pooling as liquid. A airbag system would be super easy and lightweight so ideal for a pod since your other alternatives are fire off the thrusters to float till rescue which would require a pretty robust thruster and energy reserve or sinking which would make recovery more difficult and necessitate up armoring the pods so they could survive the extreme pressures they may encounter from sinking. Plus say you land in the equivalent of the pacific ocean would you rather float with the possibility of washing up on a island you can Robinson Crusoe it on or sink to the bottom of a trench where when supplies run out you suffocate or open the door and get crushed by the influx of water?
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Post by Captain Erys Murai on Oct 22, 2016 19:05:40 GMT -5
Keep in mind too that phasers are considered tools as much as they are weapons (especially the type-2 phasers most commonly used as "sidearms"). They would most definitely be available, as they would be useful for making a fire, cutting rocks or tree limbs, or otherwise aiding in survival. As for other things, we can tell from various sources that they would likely carry at least the following:
1. Survival jackets (for cold or rainy weather) 2. Medical Kit 3. Emergency Shelter (self-erecting tent-style) 4. Emergency rations (think ration bars or modern MRE's) 5. Type II phasers (for defense and survival) 6. At least 1 Type III phaser or Compression Rifle (for defense) 7. Emergency transmitter (for distress calls or keeping in touch with other pods)
Keep in mind too, that the pods on Intrepid and Defiant class ships are 6-person pods, so these pods would carry enough supplies for 6 people to survive at least a few weeks. Additionally, the pods themselves can be used as shelters, and have micro-impulse thrusters so they can maneuver at sublight speeds to a habitable planet within range. The pods are probably also equipped with something akin to an airbag system too, but more than likely they'll automatically find something better to land on.
I'll also point out that most (if not all) crew aboard a starship have an issued sidearm or access to the weapons locker. On most ships, access to the weapons locker is set at Level 1, which is the lowest level of security clearance (source: DS9: "Tribunal"). I would imagine escape pods have a similar restriction, or require some kind of release (similar to how you can't just launch a life raft from most ships, they have to be released by a crew member).
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Post by Lt Cmdr Billie Jo Spencer MD on Oct 23, 2016 6:10:29 GMT -5
It is hard to speculate on what sort of equipment would be on a Starfleet life pod. It seems clear it would contain whatever was needed to survive for a reasonable length of time until rescue. Erys' list seems reasonable to me. One more item that would be included would be some source of drinking water. There would either be bottles of water or some means of generating drinkable water. Example on the space shuttle hydrogen fuel cells generates drinkable water as a by-product.
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Post by Kossuth on Oct 23, 2016 6:42:22 GMT -5
A life pod (at least, the lifepods on the Ark Royal and the Pilgrim) would have everything Erys described and more. I would imagine that they would carry water purifiers/filters as well. Basically, everything you would need to survive an extended stay in the wilderness.
I'm also glad Erys pointed out something that's often overlooked, which is that phasers are considered just as much tools as they are weapons. Access to a phaser (at least, the hand phasers) is tremendously easy to get. I think the weapons closets will open for pretty much any Starfleet officer. They're secured mostly to keep guests/civilians/enemies from getting to them, not to keep them away from Starfleet personnel.
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Post by Lt Cmdr Therese Xylvarenn on Oct 23, 2016 9:07:02 GMT -5
Considering what kind of events and consequences of such an event that usually results in the use of a escape pod, Do you think there would be advanced medical equipment aboard?
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Post by Lt Cmdr Billie Jo Spencer MD on Oct 23, 2016 9:38:48 GMT -5
The answer sort of depends on what you mean by "advanced medical equipment." In the final analysis how much you can fit into an escape pod is limited. The more equipment and supplies you fit into an escape pod either limits the number of people who would fit into it, or it limits the available space you have on board your ship for normal operations. I would imagine that any medical equipment on board would be more than a simple first aid kit, but much less than a fully stocked sick bay. The rule pretty much applies to anything placed on board an escape pod. Due to limited space, the survivors would be forced to make due with the bare minimum.
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Post by Ensign Sebetharen Adryan on Oct 23, 2016 10:08:27 GMT -5
I'd imagine that the medical supplies around enough for minor field surgery and stabilization. And yeah, I'd wager that the supplies on an escape pod probably couldn't be touched without activation of the pod or an authorized person accessing it. Simply for the same reason all hand phasers and rifles are stowed in lockers: To prevent unlawful use or tampering.
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Ensign Sebetharen Adryan
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Post by Ensign Sebetharen Adryan on Oct 23, 2016 10:10:27 GMT -5
But I think all in all, the majority answer to your question thus far is Yes. There'd be some kind of phaser on an escape pod. Erys's list seems comprehensive enough.
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Post by Captain Erys Murai on Oct 23, 2016 12:52:43 GMT -5
The answer sort of depends on what you mean by "advanced medical equipment." In the final analysis how much you can fit into an escape pod is limited. The more equipment and supplies you fit into an escape pod either limits the number of people who would fit into it, or it limits the available space you have on board your ship for normal operations. I would imagine that any medical equipment on board would be more than a simple first aid kit, but much less than a fully stocked sick bay. The rule pretty much applies to anything placed on board an escape pod. Due to limited space, the survivors would be forced to make due with the bare minimum. I would assume all escape pods would carry at least one medkit, if not more than one. According to Memory Alpha, the contents of a medkit tends to vary depending on the year, but they seemed to get progressively better. See below. In the 2260s a medkit was carried separately from the medical tricorder as a supplement. It contained a hypospray preloaded with up to six drugs in suspension, such as cordrazine, Masiform D, a neural paralyzer/melenex, and tri-ox compound. Also included was a spray applicator, a medical scanner, and a palm-sized reader tube. In the 2370s, the kits were more complex, containing a medical tricorder, a hypospray, a dermal regenerator, and a trauma kit for emergency medical situations. I would imagine kits of the 2410's would have at least those items, if not more.
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