User:Teylasramar/Sandbox/Rahhae class

The Rahhae-class science vessel is a planetary surveyor designed and built by the Romulan Republic to support its colonization and resource development efforts. Unlike the warbirds that dominate much of the Republic fleet, the Rahhae was conceived solely for exploration and scientific analysis, specializing in the detailed study of newly charted worlds. Equipped with advanced sensor arrays, geoscience laboratories, and extremely advanced atmospheric probes, the Rahhae provides comprehensive planetary surveys to assess habitability, resource potential, and strategic value. Small, efficient, and dedicated to peaceful exploration, the Rahhae represents a new era of purpose-built science ships within the Republic Navy, ensuring that the Republic can make informed choices about its future colonies and resource infrastructure.

Exploration and Science

The Rahhae-class is not a multi-purpose exploration vessel like the Vastam-class warbird, but rather a specialized survey ship designed to follow in the wake of such vessels. Once a new world has been identified, the Republic dispatches a Rahhae to conduct a detailed planetary survey, fully charting the surface, atmosphere, and underlying geology. Outfitted with some of the most advanced scientific equipment available to the Romulan Republic, the Rahhae is purpose-built to evaluate a planet's suitability for colonization and/or resource exploitation.

To aid in its mission, the Rahhae possesses the ability to land and take off from a planet's surface, allowing its crew to conduct in-situ studies that go beyond what orbital scans can provide. Its laboratories and survey teams are equipped to analyze mineral and energy resources, assess tectonic stability, and probe atmospheric, chemical, and biological conditions for long-term habitability. This makes the class indispensable to the Republic's expansion efforts, ensuring that new colonies are placed on stable and resource-rich worlds.

The crew composition reflects this scientific focus, with the majority of its complement drawn from engineers, geologists, chemists, biologists, and atmospheric scientists rather than soldiers or career tacticians. Together, they represent the cutting edge of the Republic's technical expertise, supporting the young state's need for accurate data and reliable science as it charts its future among the stars.

Diplomacy

The Rahhae-class is not designed for diplomacy in any meaningful sense. Its limited conference facilities are intended for use by the ship’s officers and scientific teams, and while they could be adapted to host small-scale diplomatic discussions in an emergency, the vessel lacks the space, amenities, and staff to support high-level negotiations. As the worlds surveyed by the Rahhae are expected to be uninhabited, the class is not assigned to first contact or diplomatic missions.

In the event that survey operations unexpectedly encounter an intelligent species, Republic policy would require a call for a more capable warbird to be dispatched to conduct proper diplomatic proceedings. This ensures that the Rahhae remains focused on its core mission of planetary analysis while leaving formal relations to vessels better equipped for such delicate responsibilities.

Engineering

The Rahhae-class is a compact vessel, but one whose entire design is centered around supporting its scientific mission. A significant portion of its power generation is dedicated to sustaining its extensive laboratories and extremely powerful sensor array, giving the ship the capability to perform high-resolution scans across multiple disciplines simultaneously. This focus ensures that the Rahhae can deliver comprehensive data on planetary environments, from crustal composition to atmospheric chemistry, without reliance on external facilities.

Despite its scientific orientation, the Rahhae is deceptively fast and agile. Its warp drive is capable of reaching speeds up to warp 9.5, allowing for rapid deployment to newly charted systems, while its impulse engines grant it excellent maneuverability within star systems. This mobility allows the ship to quickly reposition for orbital passes, in-situ probe deployment, or planetary landings, ensuring that survey operations can be conducted efficiently and thoroughly.

Though the Rahhae is a technically complex piece of machinery designed for an equally complex mission profile, the Republic places strong emphasis on crew readiness before deployment. Even standard crew members are versed in supporting the ship's specialized systems.

Tactical

The Rahhae-class is not a combat vessel and is not intended for frontline engagement. It is purpose-built for science and survey work; as such, its tactical systems are almost strictly defensive and utilitarian. The ship carries standard Romulan disruptor arrays primarily configured for point defense and tool-like uses (e.g., cutting debris, clearing landing approaches, or disabling small hostile craft), rather than sustained offensive action. However, they can be reconfigured for limited combat but lack a substantial power plant behind them due to the rest of the ship's systems. While the ship does carry a complement of plasma torpedoes as its principal offensive option, the torpedo loadout is limited by the vessel's compact size; these weapons are regarded as last-resort measures for self-defense or to create an opening for withdrawal.

Shields aboard the Rahhae are robust for a ship of its size, but are tuned for protection and mission support rather than prolonged combat. Their modulation systems are often used during survey operations to stabilize plasma environments, attenuate hazardous atmospheric effects, or protect landing parties during surface operations.

Operational doctrine for the Rahhae emphasizes avoidance and preservation over confrontation. When threatened, a Rahhae will use its cloaking capability to disengage; this allows for withdrawal to rendezvous with escorting warbirds rather than standing and fighting. In practice, Rahhae deployments to potentially hazardous systems are accompanied by escort elements when intelligence indicates elevated risk, ensuring the ship can complete its scientific mission without undue exposure to combat.

Shipboard Life

Life aboard the Rahhae-class is deceptively comfortable for a vessel of its modest size, making it a sought-after posting among the Republic's scientists and engineers. Senior officers and command staff enjoy private quarters, while junior officers typically share accommodations with one or two roommates. All quarters are outfitted with personal climate controls and small workstations, reflecting the ship's focus on research and analysis.

The class is equipped with a variety of amenities to support crew well-being during long-duration survey missions. Recreational facilities include a gymnasium, holodecks for both leisure and training purposes, and a communal mess hall offering replicated and prepared meals by a cooking staff. This arboretum doubles as a working botany laboratory, allowing scientists to study plant growth in controlled environments while providing the crew with a serene green space for relaxation.