Flare Sci-Fi Forums: Star Cruiser

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Posted by colin (Member # 217) on :

What is the definition of star cruiser? I have heard this term applied to the USS Valiant ("A Taste of Armageddon") and the USS Hathaway NCC-2593 ("Peak Performance").

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Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :

Alternate term for a starship of basic cruiser specifications. Like calling a frigate a blue-water surface combatant.

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Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :

But not all water is blue...

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Posted by Mikey T (Member # 144) on :

nor a green ooze color...

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Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :

It's not the bloody buggery color of the water that matteres...the point is that the term "blue-water surface combatant" could mean frigate, destroyer, cruiser, carrier, battleship....& so "star cruiser" could be a cruiser, an explorer, a frigate...

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"Do you know how much YOU'RE worth??.....2.5 million Woolongs. THAT'S your bounty. I SAID you were small fry..." --Spike Spiegel

Posted by Timo (Member # 245) on :

I think the "star" part in the designation could be taken to indicate a ship capable of interstellar travel. Starfleet would not use such terminology, since all its relevant ships are warp-capable - but the primitives of Eminiar or the insufferable Kolrami could be using this nonstandard terminology, being more familiar with sublight non-interstellar space warfare than Starfleet is.

So Constellation class would in Starfleet parlance be a cruiser of some sort (a light cruiser, hopefully, if the Ambassadors are officially heavy cruisers and appeared shortly after the Constellations). Zakdorns would add the "star" modifier, but probably wouldn't change the original designation. A Saladin would be a star destroyer, then . A Galaxy might be a plain explorer even for a Zakdorn, since there would be no "non-star" explorers.

Even the early Starfleet could have divided its ships into "starships" and "spaceships" along some unknown lines (a subject of another discussion), so that only "starship class" ship classes and types would get the "star" modifier. TNG-era Starfleeters always speak of starships only, though, and not of spaceships any more. So perhaps an old Constellation could have had the modifier in its designation, but a TNG-era cruiser would never be called a star cruiser.

Timo Saloniemi

Posted by Alpha Centauri (Member # 338) on :

And not to forget the S.S. Aurora (it was in some TOS episode), which also was called 'star cruiser', I believe.

So 'star cruiser' is not necessarily Eminiarian (what a word!). I think it's Starfleet's TOS-era term for 'explorer' (because of the 'star'). Far-fetched, but logical in my point of view.

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Posted by Matrix (Member # 376) on :

I think it means long term exploratory or combatant ships. I think the Stargazer was once called that. I'm not sure though. If I am right about the Stargazer then I am right again. Becuase the Stargazer was assigned to long term assignments.

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Posted by Masao (Member # 232) on :

Just being pedantic: The color is actually important. "Blue water" refers to sea-going ships. "Brown water" was used in Vietnam (and maybe in other wars) to refer to boats operating in costal areas and along rivers. In star trek a similar distinction might apply to interplanetary (intrasystem) vs interstellar ships.

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Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :

That's true...which is why I specified "blue-water." The point being "blue-water"="star" & "surface combatant"="cruiser."

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"Do you know how much YOU'RE worth??.....2.5 million Woolongs. THAT'S your bounty. I SAID you were small fry..." --Spike Spiegel