Build:Bridge Systems
8.1 Bridge Systems
(Required)
Cost: 2 x Size (21st century); 4 x Size (22nd & 23rd century); 5 x Size (24th+ century)
Power Requirement: none
If the warp engine is the heart of a starship, the bridge is the brains. Here the captain holds sway, directing the course and actions of the vessel. From the bridge, he and his senior officers can, if they need to, control every system on the ship. On most Starfleet ships, the bridge is located on the very top of the ship (of its saucer section, if it has one).
The basic bridge module occupies 5 x Size in SUs. On most ships it can be removed in toto at a spacedock or similar facility and replaced with a new one, thus facilitating upgrades and maintenance. Because of its importance to the ship, the bridge is always one of a ship’s emergency environmental support shelters, and even if both primary and emergency life support systems fail, the bridge’s separate systems can maintain a Class M environment for 72 hours. Even if a total environmental systems failure occurs, two emergency modules provide lighting and atmosphere for 24 hours.
The major sections of most bridges include the captain’s chair, viewscreen, duty stations, captain’s ready room, and conference room (a.k.a. “Observation Lounge”). Not all ships may have all of these systems; the Danube class vessel has no viewscreen, for example.
Bridge systems on 22nd and 23rd century ships function similarly to those of the 24th century, but are somewhat more fragile, and thus the bridge has a slightly lower SU cost. Ships designed and refitted after 2300 begin to use the 24th century version.
Klingon: Klingon bridges are “crowded”—more tightly packed with equipment and consoles—than most species’s ships. They lack large, open area where crewmembers walk or stand; instead, anyone traversing the bridge has to wind his way past duty stations, banks of control panels, and even girders. Most panels have triangular, rhomboidal, or hexagonal screens which use a red, black, and yellow color scheme, providing a garish glow for the dark and gloomy bridge.
Typically a Klingon commander sits in a chair directly in front of the viewscreen. Behind him and to his sides are the crew’s duty stations: Tactical (weapons, shields, and the cloaking device), Communications, Helm, and Navigation, among others. Note that the Klingons maintain a distinction between Helm and Navigation, much like Star Fleet did in the 23rd century; the Helmsman and Navigator fulfill the functions that the Flight Control and Operations officers do on a Star Fleet ship. The Communications officer can assist them with their duties if necessary (by, for example, taking control of the sensors during a difficult piloting situation.
Most Klingon ships also have a ready room for the captain just off the bridge. Larger vessels also have a war room, where the senior staff can meet with the commander to plan activities and determine the best response to crises.
To reflect the “denser,” more equipment-packed nature of Klingon bridges, they cost slightly more SUs than standard bridges: 5.5 x Size, rather than the usual 5 x Size.
Klingon ships often place their bridges in special “bridge module” superstructures, usually attached at the forward end of the central shaft or along the centerline of the main hull. This does not increase their vulnerability to attack or decrease their SUs in any way.
Planetary Facility: The planetary facility's version of the bridge, the Operations Center ("Ops"), is calculated on the facility's size. Although they can be larger than a starship's bridge, they generally require less control functions.
Cost: 2 x Size (21st century); 4 x Size (22nd & 23rd century); 5 x Size (24th+ century)
Power Requirement: none
SFC Technology Index
Bridge Systems tend to employ modular technology, though they are typically built by the shipwright at the time of initial construction. Because bridge modules are often built as spares, an index is maintained for inventory purposes.
Construction Rules Index
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