What if Voyager was a Galaxy or Sovereign?

[Ilithi_Dragon]

IceBlade09 made this post in the Intrepid thread, and I thought I'd help him out by making a separate thread for it:

Ok, so I am de-railing this thread for a purpose that I shall explain, reading it made me think of it and the new topic button was broked.    The Intrepid class ship is an interceptor/light cruiser; now put voyager in the delta quadrant.  We saw how it outclassed nearly everything in the delta quadrant (until the borg) so, what I ask is: If a Sovereign or Galaxy class was sent to the delta quadrant would the kazon have cried?

Speculate, discuss, and... be merry?

[Ilithi_Dragon]

And yes, if it had been a Galaxy or Sovereign, the Kazon would have cried.

[MajorD]

I think stories have been written about this. Neither ship would have any trouble except against the strangest and most advanced enemies.

[IceBlade09]

Thank you, I still can't make a topic.... hmmm it's an annoying issue.

[Ilithi_Dragon]

Might be an issue with being 'new' or having a low post count. I can't remember of these forums did that or not, but I know that some do restrict your ability to start new threads based on your post count, to cut down on thread spamming and such.

[Darkthunder]

If Voyager were a Galaxy- or Sovereign-Class, they would've made the return trip from the Delta Quadrant within the first 1-2 episodes. As evidenced by TNG's "Where No One Has Gone Before" and "Q Who?"

Just throwing that out there, as a suggestion. Either one of the ship classes would've fared alot better in the "deep unknown" of the Delta Quadrant, and there would be less drama/tension on the show.

[Ilithi_Dragon]

Of course they would have fared better, but they also would have moved past the more silly little 'enemies' like the Kazon (and their line-on-the-floor jailing system) very quickly, and moved on to more powerful antagonists sooner. The greater significance of the vessel would also have probably led them into greater involvement with the local star nations they were passing through. A lost little cruiser passing through the neighborhood is a lot different than a big heavy cruiser or battleship passing through.

[webxro]

I would classify the Sovereign as a dreadnought , but i agree , it would give hell to any enemies .But if Picard captain , he would just call Q as soon as they got to the gamma quadrant and then get home .

[Black Patriot]

Of course they would have fared better, but they also would have moved past the more silly little 'enemies' like the Kazon (and their line-on-the-floor jailing system) very quickly, and moved on to more powerful antagonists sooner. The greater significance of the vessel would also have probably led them into greater involvement with the local star nations they were passing through. A lost little cruiser passing through the neighborhood is a lot different than a big heavy cruiser or battleship passing through.

It wouldn't have even gotten that far, a Sovereign or Galaxy could have defended the array from the Kazon almost indefinitely, certainly long enough to figure out how to use it to get home safely, the whole series would have been done in 1 episode.

[Ilithi_Dragon]

Perhaps. Pound-for-pound, the Kazon can't compete with Federation ships on any level, but the Kazon carriers/dreadnoughts are massive. As in over 43 times the size of even a Galaxy class. Now, the Kazon are so far behind the Federation that any Federation Heavy Cruiser could probably have wiped the floor with it, let alone a super-sized Heavy Cruiser like the Sovereign or an outright Battleship like the Galaxy, but we don't know how many they had around to bring in.

Barring considerable reinforcements, however, yes, any ship much more powerful than an Intrepid class could probably have held the Kazon off and gotten back home in the first episode. But for the sake of entertainment, lets say that the Kazon did bring in reinforcements, or that even after holding the Kazon off they still couldn't get home.

[AricwithanA]

I disagree that had it been a gal or sov, the series would have been done in one ep.  Picard would have had the same problem as janeway.  What happens when they are gone?  They can only defend things while they are there.  That was the main thing janeway wrestled with.  Since the array isnt local, since the species is intergalactic, the prime directive of noninterference doesnt apply.  That and the caretaker was going to destroy it himself but the kazon attacked because of voyager so no self destruct.  By blowing up the array, they were upholding the prime directive.

Now, while a gal or sov are better tech, I think picard would have had a hard time in the delta quad.  Kirk could have done it and janeway is much like Kirk. 

[joe5]

but if they had had the time they could have just beamed a bunch of torpidos abourd with timed charges.  then used the aray to get home

[AricwithanA]

but if they had had the time they could have just beamed a bunch of torpidos abourd with timed charges.  then used the aray to get home

I dont know if that would be good enough.  While things should go as planned, they'd have no way to verify that they did. 

[Jon Deane]

Barring scenarios involving defending the array from the Kazon, I don't think it would have made a big difference, though it would be easier.  Though the Galaxy is bigger (and likely has much more torpedoes, it's also much older, and slower using the stated max warp values).  But Voyager's main problem was being alone in the quadrant.  Neither a Galaxy nor a Sovereign would be any different in that area, especially since the Galaxy's saucer separation was designed for evacuation and not combat.

[webxro]

How about a Prometheus or something with MVAM ? 

[Tiberius]

In terms of if Voyager were a Galaxy-class (my favorite class of ship  ), I think good points have been made.  However, I feel as if the original intent of the post was to have Janeway and crew (plus the added "generic crew" to make up personnel differences) pilot the starship Voyager, only Voyager was a Galaxy-class instead of an Intrepid-class.  This business of Picard of Kirk being lost in the Delta quadrant really belongs on another thread (of course I say that having gotten off-topic many times myself  ).

In terms of my two cents, I think that if Voyager were a Galaxy-class, we'd see a whole different journey back home.  Voyager often tried to avoid encounters with alien ships/settlements/territories so as to avoid capture/damage.  150ish people repairing a ship takes longer than 1000ish.  A Galaxy-class wouldn't have to worry as much about missing these encounters, but, as Ilithi_Dragon pointed out, the larger ship would attract more attention, leading to different encounters.

A Galaxy-class would also not have to be as concerned with supplies running out, and Neelix would not have to create an Aeroponics Bay, as a Galaxy-class already has an Arboretum (some slight modification may still be in order).

Another thing to consider is, as far as I know, a Galaxy-class does not have an EMH system (it could be retro-fitted, I suppose, but if we're talking just strictly in a "the-Enterprise-D-is-our-reference-as-to-what-the-Galaxy-class-looks-like" manner, then it does not have an EMH).  This being the case, 1) if the Chief Medical Officer on Voyager dies, there are several other doctors aboard ship who could fulfill that role.  2) if the entire medical staff were to die (perhaps heavy damage in Sick Bay), then Voyager-as-a-Galaxy-class would be in trouble.  I really don't think Tom Paris could handle everything by himself, even with a crew of 150.  Voyager-as-a-Galaxy-class has over 1000 souls aboard (hence the larger medical staff).

[IceBlade09]

In terms of if Voyager were a Galaxy-class (my favorite class of ship  ), I think good points have been made.  However, I feel as if the original intent of the post was to have Janeway and crew (plus the added "generic crew" to make up personnel differences) pilot the starship Voyager, only Voyager was a Galaxy-class instead of an Intrepid-class.  This business of Picard of Kirk being lost in the Delta quadrant really belongs on another thread (of course I say that having gotten off-topic many times myself  ).

That is exactly intended.  Also for arguments sake lets imagine that any either also has the EMH.  (cant get rid of the doctor, who would sing to us then?)

[Ilithi_Dragon]

The EMH system is basically just an extra computer subprocessor loaded with a specific program, and connected to some holoprojectors scattered around the med bay. In all reality, a GCS probably has holoprojectors scattered around the med bay to start with, since they would be handy for displays and such. The impression that we got between VOY and the work we saw done on the EMH in DS9 is that it was a standard-issue technology equipped to all starships after it was introduced (and it would only be a trivial 'upgrade' to the med bay, not even worth calling a refit).


I think a GCS would have the best overall performance in just about any given situation encountered on the way home. Extended, independent operations in deep space are what it's DESIGNED for, and it's fully equipped for such roles (we didn't see that so much in TNG because the E-D was the flagship of the fleet, and so wouldn't have strayed far into deep space very often, so she could be on hand to 'show the flag' and such).

The Sovereign would be an interesting alternative, though. She can't go toe-to-toe with a Galaxy class - the Sovereign's only 40% the size of a Galaxy and she's a Heavy Cruiser not a Battleship, but she is Starfleet's premier Heavy Cruiser, intended to replace the Excelsior as the workhorse of the fleet and face of Starfleet, and she is one monster of a Heavy Cruiser (the closest real-world analogue would be the Alaska class Large Cruiser built at the end of WWII - both aren't large enough or powerful enough to be classed as Battlecruisers, but they're considerably larger and more powerful than other Heavy Cruisers). The Sovereign also has a critical advantage over the Galaxy: Speed. We know the Intrepid and Prometheus classes are the two fastest ships in the fleet (the Intrepid can sprint a little faster, but her nacelles can't bear the strain, and the Prometheus has an insanely high sustainable warp speed), but the Sovereign probably comes in at a close third place. I'm fairly confident, with her over-sized warp core and over-sized nacelles, that the Sovereign would be able to sprint faster than a GCS and sustain a faster warp speed than a GCS. Given that the intent is to get home as quickly as possible, and that there will be many situations where even a GCS isn't enough to win, the Sovereign's ability to run faster may well be the critical advantage.

[MajorD]

I disagree that had it been a gal or sov, the series would have been done in one ep.  Picard would have had the same problem as janeway.  What happens when they are gone?  They can only defend things while they are there.  That was the main thing janeway wrestled with.  Since the array isnt local, since the species is intergalactic, the prime directive of noninterference doesnt apply.  That and the caretaker was going to destroy it himself but the kazon attacked because of voyager so no self destruct.  By blowing up the array, they were upholding the prime directive.

On the contrary, the Prime Directive would tell them not to interfere with the array, Kazon, and Ocompa, for the same reason the Federation didn't interfere with the Cardassians and Bajorans. Those aren't Federation matters, they're internal affairs of foreign civilizations.  By caring what happened to the Okompa, Janeway, broke the rule.

[AricwithanA]

On the contrary, the Prime Directive would tell them not to interfere with the array, Kazon, and Ocompa, for the same reason the Federation didn't interfere with the Cardassians and Bajorans. Those aren't Federation matters, they're internal affairs of foreign civilizations.  By caring what happened to the Okompa, Janeway, broke the rule.

It is Janeways fault/problem that the Kazon were attacking at that very specific moment.  Lets just say Voyager didn't get pulled all the way across.  Or MQ for that matter.  Within the next couple days, the Caretaker dies and would have blown up the array.  It is because of the variable, Voyager, that the Kazon attacked right at that critical moment.  That is why Janeway says they were already involved.

By destroying the array, Janeway put things back to the way they would have been and she, the ship and the entire crew not been there in the first place.  Wrestling with that decision is the basis of the entire series.

That is what I get from it.  lol