Sensors and You
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Contents |
Introduction
The following is an exerpt from Starfleet Academy courses, circa 2365, prior to the Borg invasion.
Settle down, cadets. We'll be covering the various standard scans and sensor operations that are possible on a starship today. As you will recall from our earlier session, passive sensors provide rough information that is easily inferred based on data receieved by the ship's computer, whether it's position, speed, bearing, etc. Active sensors, which have a range of 1/5th your passive sensors, use various means to determine additional information beyond what can be gathered from passive sensors. We'll be covering this in more detail as we go.
Scan
The most commonly used and basic sensor option is scan. This will provide a breakdown of all sensor contacts within range of your ship's passive sensors. A more advanced version, scan <contact> can be used to just get the basic details on one contact. Please note the examples on the holo.
-------------------------------[Sensor Report]-------------------------------- Name Bearing A|F Distance Heading Speed Class -------------------- ------- -|- ------------ ------- ------- ---------------- CCV Azure 360 0 F|D 38949.63 2 -49 None Heavy Cruiser USS Arcade 0 -1 F|A 39800.42 1 -3 None Warbird Blue Planet 0 -1 F|F 39800.52 180 0 None Planet Blue Flag 0 -1 F|A 39800.54 0 0 None Buoy Red Flag 285 89 D|S 289897.24 6 -90 None Buoy Red Planet 225 89 D|V 399813.82 0 0 None Planet ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------[Sensor Report]-------------------------------- Name Bearing A|F Distance Heading Speed Class -------------------- ------- -|- ------------ ------- ------- ---------------- CCV Azure 360 0 F|D 38949.63 2 -49 None Heavy Cruiser ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Passive Scan
Scan provides perfectly adequate information for navigation, but there are times your Captain will want to know just a little more information about a contact. For that, there is pscan. The example is on the holo.
Passive Readings on CCV Azure ------------------------------------------------
Class: United Federation of Planets Constitution-class Heavy Cruiser
Position: 39141.132 -23.347 988.183
Heading: 1.557 -48.994 Bearing: 359.671 1.18
Speed: None Range: 38949.6334903485
Location: Unclaimed Space
Size: 288.6x127.1x72.2 m [600000.0 tons] <2648372.532 m^3>
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This provides additional information about the class of the contact, it's location, detailed heading, detailed bearing, what territory it is currently residing in, and even it's size and mass. The latter is very critical in towing operations, as you wouldn't expect a shuttle to be able to tow a Constitution-class Heavy Cruiser like the one used in our example here.
Docked Scan
We'll now be moving into the realm of active sensors. The dockscan <contact> command will let you see what available landing or docking options there are on the contact. This uses passive sensors. Please note the holo for an example.
Dock Scan of CCV Azure ------------------------------------------------------- Class: United Federation of Planets Constitution-class Heavy Cruiser Position: 39141.132 -23.347 988.183 Heading: 1.557 -48.994 Bearing: 359.671 1.18 Speed: None Range: 38949.6334903485 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Landing Areas: Shuttlebay: <nothing detected by passive sensors> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No detectable docking ports ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In this case, there is only a singular Shuttlebay and no docking ports. Other ships might offer several shuttle bays and even a docking port or two, while stations offer a variety of docking ports and shuttle bays. Knowing what's available will keep a pilot from looking foolish by trying to dock to a ship that has no docking capability, or landing on a ship that has no shuttle bays.
There might be times when you're looking for a specific ship that might be landed or docked. For that, there is an active sensor option: dockscan/active <contact>. Please note the difference on the holo.
Dock Scan of CCV Azure ------------------------------------------------------- Class: United Federation of Planets Constitution-class Heavy Cruiser Position: 39141.132 -23.347 988.183 Heading: 1.557 -48.994 Bearing: 359.671 1.18 Speed: None Range: 38949.6334903485 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Landing Areas: Shuttlebay: nothing ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No detectable docking ports ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In our example, there is nothing landed indicating that the shuttlebay is empty. Now, from the Azure's point of view, they'll have noticed the following:
[Captain's Chair: CCV Maroon has scanned docking facilities.]
Which, if your ship did not warn them, might cause an unfortunate response.
View Scan
The next option, while it uses active sensors, could be considered a passive scan as it does not notify the contact. Some ships just are worth taking a closer look at, while others might be running under a false transponder and that Terellian Freighter might actually be a Breen Cruiser. So, viewscan <contact> is shown on the holo.
Visual scan of CCV Azure -----------------------------------------------------
__________________ _-_ _ _-_ _
\________________|)____.---'---`---.____ _(_).---'---`---.(_)_
|| \----._________.----/ \----._________.----/
|| / ,' `---' `\ `]-[' /'
___||_,--' -._ `\.' _ `./'
/___ ||(- ( (_) )
`---._____-' `._.'
_________________ .-------.
|________________|) .-' `-.
|| / \
|| / \
___||_,--| _.--, |
|_________|______/_.-. | |
|______ | \_`-' | |
|| `--| `--' |
|| \ /
____________||___ \ /
|________________|) `-. .-'
`-------'
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Nice looking Constitution class ship, isn't she?
Tactical Scan
Now for the most commonly used active scan. You're coming up on a vessel which is showing signs of hostility and your Captain wants to know what kind of threat it is. For that, there is tacscan <contact>. Please note the holo for the results.
Tactical Scan of CCV Azure ---------------------------------------------------
Shield Status: UP (400.0/400.0) Life Signs: 1/1 (active/total)
Target: Nothing
Weapon Power: 0.0 (0.0%)
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Num Name Recycle Yield Range Arcs Armed Mount Type
--- -------------------- ------- ------- ----- ------ ----- ------------------
2x Phaser Banks Never 20.0 20.0 FAPSVD 0 Omni-Directional
3x Torpedo Tubes Never --- --- FAPSVD 0 Omni-Directional
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In this case, the contact's shields are up at full power, their weapons are not powered, and they have 2 Phaser Banks and 3 Torpedo Tubes, all covering every firing arc. They are not currently targetting anyone. Their Phasers only have a range of 20 kliks, and have a yield rating of about 20. The shields have a rating of about 400, all typical for a first generation Constitution class. Detailed analysis will be covered in the Tactics courses for those interested in learning more.
The contact will have seen the following:
[Captain's Chair: Incoming tactical scan from CCV Maroon]
Alerting them to your scan.
Engineering Scans
There are a number of Engineering related scans available. The first, which has tactical implications as well as humanitarian uses, is damscan <contact>. If you'll note the holo, you'll see our Constitution-class ship has taken some damage.
Scan of CCV Azure ------------------------------------------------------------ Class: United Federation of Planets Constitution-class Heavy Cruiser Position: 39141.132 -23.347 988.183 Heading: 1.557 -48.994 Bearing: 359.671 1.18 Speed: None Range: 70.3259324067704 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Warp Core 98.30% ( 195.12) Fusion Generators 85.86% ( 127.30) Hull 99.91% ( 4.27) Armor 33.31% ( 3334.32) Warp Drive 97.42% ( 25.82) Impulse Drive 0.00% ( 10.00) Sensors 99.90% ( 1.81) Shields 0.00% ( 400.00) Weapons 97.26% ( 16.41) Communications 72.63% ( 27.37) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You'll notice that their impulse engines are destroyed as are their shields, with armor being the next most damaged item. That information can be useful for deploying workbees to do repairs, or even knowing whether it's safe to tow the vessel to the nearest starbase. In a combat situation, your Captain would most likely be a bit more judicious in their choice of attack to prevent destroying the target outright, though that will be covered in the Tactics courses for those so inclined.
The next scan option is to determine the fuel status of the target. If you receive a mayday from a ship out of fuel and find that it's a Breen Cruiser or Romulan Warbird, you might be dealing with a trojan horse. So your Captain would most likely request a fuelscan <contact> which'll return the results on the holo.
Scan of CCV Azure ------------------------------------------------------------ Class: United Federation of Planets Constitution-class Heavy Cruiser Position: 39141.132 -23.347 988.183 Heading: 1.557 -48.994 Bearing: 359.671 1.18 Speed: None Range: 38949.6334903485 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Antimatter: 149.86844/150.0 (99.91) Deuterium: 149.81582/150.0 (99.88) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In this example, the contact is nearly full on fuel.
The last engineering scan is engscan <contact>. This outlines the power being generated by the contact. Seldom used, yet still useful in situations where your Captain might be dealing with a trojan horse. Please note the results on the holo.
Scan of CCV Azure ------------------------------------------------------------
Class: United Federation of Planets Constitution-class Heavy Cruiser
Position: 39141.132 -23.347 988.183
Heading: 1.557 -48.994 Bearing: 359.671 1.18
Speed: None Range: 38949.6334903485
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Output Max Output Percent
------ ---------- -------
Warp Core: 11500.0 GW 11500.0 GW 100.0%
Fusion Generators: 900.0 GW 900.0 GW 100.0%
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System Name Op % Damage
-------------------- ------- -------------------------------------------------
This is also an alternative to the damage scan, in that it'll provide a breakdown on the damage experienced by the contact.
All three of these engineering scans notify the contact with the following:
[Captain's Chair: Incoming scans from CCV Maroon]
Cargo Scan
The final scan option is to scan a contact's cargo. Commonly used by Border Patrol, and ships dealing with smuggling operations, this provides you with a detailed breakdown of what a ship is hauling.
Cargo Scan of CCV Azure ------------------------------------------------------ Cargo Bay One Commodity Amount ------------------------------ ---------- Foods 3750 Cargo Bay Two Commodity Amount ------------------------------ ---------- Foods 3750 Cargo Bay Three Commodity Amount ------------------------------ ---------- Foods 3750 Cargo Bay Four Commodity Amount ------------------------------ ---------- Foods 3750 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In our example, they're hauling Food in 4 different cargo bays. And, like most active scans, it provided the contact with the following:
[Captain's Chair: CCV Maroon has scanned the cargo sections.]
Conclusion
Thus ends our lecture on sensors and commonly used scans.
