Build:Consumables
5.9 Consumables
(Required)
Cost: 1 x Size per year’s worth of basic consumables; 2 x Size for vessels without replicator technology; additional years beyond first + 1.2 SUs
Power Requirement: none
Starships carry a lot of consumables—antimatter, deuterium, replicator raw materials, and the like. (Most ships have the capacity to generate or collect small amounts of vital materials, but that’s an emergency measure and will not sustain the ship for long.) Storing this material pending use requires a significant amount of space. (Shuttles and similar small craft are assumed to have a week’s worth of consumables—restocked from the mother ship—at no SU cost.) Each year’s amount increase enlarges the storage area (and cost) equally. Of course, a ship that is planning an extended mission can take on extra supplies, storing them in the cargo holds. But, due to the varied nature of the consumables (and their storage requirements), each year’s extension (and use of cargo hold space) requires 1.2 SUs worth of space.
Ships not equipped with replicator technology include completed food units as part of the consumables. Storage size, therefore, is increased by 50%.
Consumables does not include the vessel’s supply of dilithium.
The accompanying table indicates the standard consumables loadout carried by various ship types.
Tables
| Ship Type | Consumables Carried |
|---|---|
| Courier | 1 year |
| Cruiser | 3 years |
| Escort | 1 year |
| Explorer | 3 years |
| Frigate | 2 years |
| Medical | 2 years |
| Research | 2 years |
| Scout | 1 year |
| Surveyor | 2 years |
| Transport | 1 year |
SFC Technology Index
Consumables represent more of storage requirement than a technological status and, as such, have no index.