Guide:Mo'Kal

Mo'kal
Class Overview
Category	light fleet tug
Operational	2260-2307 Mark I (2260-xxxx) Mark II (2270-2307)
Constructed	136 total: Mk I: 90 (built 2259-2268) Mk II: 78 (46 built 2269-xxxx; 32 refitted xxxx-xxxx)
Dimensions
Length	Mk I: 140.0 m (155.0 m, grapple extended) Mk II: 155.0 m (175.0 m, grapple extended)
Beam	Mk I: 100.5 m Mk II: 121.2 m (Mk II)
Height	Mk I: 20.0 m Mk II: 25.4 m
Mass	Mk I: 235,200 mt Mk II: 206,900 mt
Performance
Cruise Speed	Mk I: w 6 Mk II: w 8
Tow Speed	w 5
Max Speed	Mk I: w 8 Mk II: w 9
Endurance	2 years
Complement
Officers	4
Enlisted	Mk I: 24 Mk II: 26
Cargo	Mk I 2x 121,600 mt (standard cargo pod arrangement), or 255,000 mt (maximum non-pod load) Mk II 4x 121,600 mt (standard cargo pod arrangement), or 550,000 mt (maximum non-pod load), or 7x empty standard cargo pods
Tactical Systems
Shields	1-layer conformal forcefield 2x navigational deflectors (port/stbd)
Transporters	Mk I 1x GP (6-pad), Mk II Mk II 1x GP (6-pad), Mk III
Auxiliary Craft	4x cargo maneuvering drones
Historical
Ships of Note	USS Dacian (NCC-F841) USS Mo'Kal
Canonicity
Design	FASA (dimensions corrected for Mk II)
Name	FASA
History	FASA, own

Mk I pushing a load.

A somewhat frivolous example of the versatility of the Mo’Kal Mk II. The optimal configuration for the warp field erected by the two LN-61 units remained a classic monospindle projected dead ahead of the vessel, but this broader symmetric arrangement for fully laden containers was also practicable, and demonstrates both the strength of the manipulator arm and the effectiveness of the modern warp field in reducing inertial stresses on the load. The image also provides a twofold answer to why Star Fleet never opted to arm the tugs: an engine this capable would certainly make evasion the best combat tactic available, while a cargo configuration like this would severely limit the fields of fire for defensive weaponry.

Mk II pushing a load.

The early successes of the Ohio light tug program only whetted the appetite of Logistics Command. A few years of data gathering and number-crunching resulted in the case being made for a parallel program of two-engined tugs. Doubling of engine power would enable either doubling of load or a significant increase in acceleration while hauling a single container, even if the tow speed could not be improved beyond the warp five of the Ohio class. More significantly, a propulsion system featuring two PB-35E engines would allow the unloaded tugs to be deployed to their assignments much faster – a major advantage for a vessel type intended to compensate for the inflexibilities of heavier container tug operations by repositioning empty or lightly laden containers as needed.

Improving of cruise speed by a full warp factor was a real possibility, even if PB-35 had so far failed to exceed warp five in combat starship applications. The powerplant of a warp tug propulsion system, intended to cope with massively varying loads, inherently had excess output capacity of a sort that could never be affordably built into the reactor of a fighting vessel. By the same token, dash speed could also be greatly increased with application of brute power; the usual issues of bottleneck weaknesses in the power chain, wear and tear of systems, or concerns of warp signature were irrelevant to the scenario of brief maximum speed evasion from an attack.

While warp engineers began searching for the optimal way to install and tune the engine pair, work proceeded on the overall design. More onboard space was naturally needed than in the Ohio, not just for accommodating the larger power systems, but also for hosting a quartet of cargo handling drones now deemed vital for flexible operations. The saucer thus quickly grew to 85 meter diameter and sprouted two trailing segments, each with a hangar for two drones, a fuel tank, an impulse engine assembly, plus mountings for a dorsal warp engine pylon. Between the segments lay a grappling system similar to the Ohio one for holding a standard container securely underneath the vessel. A second grappling cradle was mounted at the bow, and a heavy duty manipulator moved on rails along the bow cradle to grab and position one or two containers beneath the ship. The manipulator itself was strong enough to support a single container in flight as well, but it was uncommon to push loads ahead of the tug in this manner.

Those Sol and Morena yards not tied up with Remora and Hellespont construction could now start bolting PB-35E nacelles to the tug spaceframes. The warp envelope was gradually expanded during early operations, until warp six cruising, unloaded, could be offered to potential commercial buyers. For a rare once, notable civilian interest emerged, and between 2260 and 2270, hundreds of commercial tugs were completed with either the military super-engines or a variety of off-the-shelf alternatives; unit costs for Star Fleet dropped as the result. More significantly, PB-35 technology finally reached an affordability plateau of sorts: benefits of mass production began to balance costs of product improvement, maintenance and creeping obsolescence. Support types once produced piecemeal could now have been greatly multiplied in number, but Star Fleet concentrated its funds on the most modern types – and the new Mo’Kal light tug was a prime candidate. A highly satisfactory fleet of 234 Mo’Kal type vessels was in operation by 2268, ninety of these in Star Fleet registry.

The versatile little pusher was now Star Fleet Merchant Marine’s principal container asset. While Logistics Command only ran twenty-eight of the vessels, their double capacity and swift reaction time made them by far the Command’s fore-running cargo tug. Their self-loading prowess also contributed to Star Fleet shunning any further procurement of the smaller and more limited, if also quite a bit more affordable, Ohio type.

The seventies brought on a change that upset the balance of logistics strategy. Linear excitation warp engine technology was famed for the extra speed and cruise economy it gave to large combat starships, but it also greatly increased the flexibility of warp field generation overall, including the generation of cargo-encompassing fields so important to tugships. When LN-61 became available, Logistics Command immediately saw the immense potential for Mo’Kal upgrade. Not only could the tug be made faster in cruise, dash and towing alike, but her warp field could now encompass trains of containers, rather than just firmly grappled pairs. The procurement of a second batch of tugs, originally only intended to feature a stronger and lighter hull and some navigational gear refinements, now was rethought and came to feature a pair of linear warp nacelles, somewhat more widely separated than the original circumferential excitation pair. The two cargo cradles were retained, but rarely put to use. Instead, the powerful warp field created by the new engines could be extended far forward to encompass up to six cargo containers docked into a train – or, say, a hexagonal bundle of seven, not to mention assorted more exotic loads. The field could only compensate for the mass of up to four fully laden containers, though, and this became a standard outbound load for Star Fleet’s own Mo’Kal Mk II tugs. Inward legs usually involved pushing completely empty containers left over from previous Mo’Kal runs or from priority shipments carried by the faster Ptolemy family vessels, demonstrating the principal weakness of the container logistics system.

The Mk II, too, gained civilian users, and production eventually reached 126 hulls. Logistics Command took charge of 78 units, of which 46 were newbuilds. Yet in parallel with this project, an all-new single-nacelle light tug was introduced: the Kethkin, a puller rather than pusher design, could match Mo’Kal Mk II almost blow by blow with half the warp engine acquisition costs or operating expenses. The newcomer was falling short only on total mass carried (325 rather than 550 kilotons) – and on cruise speed, which the two-nacelle configuration could ramp up to an impressive warp eight (versus the humdrum warp five of the Kethkin), guaranteeing Mo’Kal a central role in container logistics until the early 24th century. Nevertheless, by the 2290s, several of the twin-engine tugs had been scrapped for fatigue or damage accrued, six had been destroyed in action, and one relegated to training duty.

After Khitomer, Star Fleet began liquidating its assets to a wanting civilian market. At that point, the Mo’Kal fleet was already reduced to operating in the inner regions of the UFP, a realm where the Kethkin was a fierce rival and ultimate winner in Logistics Command’s game of favorites. In commercial sales, however, the swift twin-engined tug triumphed. Examples of both originally civilian and ex-Star Fleet Mk II tugs survive today in active commercial operations, some with modern engines but many with the original LN-61 pairs.

Gallery

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  Mo'Kal class
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  Mo'Kal refit
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Notes

• To clarify: the Mk I ship generally cradles one or two containers under the hull. The manipulator could also push one container⁠—even at warp⁠—if so desired, though that prevented any containers from being slung under. However, the warp field coverage on the Mk II allowed the manipulator to grasp one container above the ship, with another one attached astern, for a total load of 4 containers. Or, 6 partially-loaded containers could be pushed (as a train) ahead of the ship, and up to 7 in a hexagonal pattern, if they were all empty. Both variants have two cradles installed on the ventral hull.

• Sixty-two (62) of the Mk I ships went directly to the Star Fleet Merchant Marine, with 28 to Star Fleet's Logistics Command.

• Logistics Command received a total of 78 Mk IIs, 46 as new-builds.

• 2270 was chosen as the introduction of the Mk II, as it was "in parallel" with the Kethkin class.

Alt Sources

• STSTCSOLDA

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