"From: Ensign Ipeia,
Starbase 13 Engineering Department
Stardate 99968.8
As per my thoughts at the Operations Briefing that I attended recently with Captain Tungsten also in attendance, I am forwarding the requested mock-ups of drones that can be used for a single ship to spread a tachyon detection net.
I have ran simulations in my off-duty time, and settled on two variations that I am submitting for approval.
The first is built from the ground up. Emulating the design of a Starfleet probe, it includes a micro-fusion engine that is sized up slightly for its weight in an aerodynamic shell, fueled by deuterium with thrust vectoring capabilities. Maneuvering thrusters have been added to allow for the drone to keep its position with the rest of the “net” more easily. Much of the internal space left is allotted to additional fuel-bays, control and command nodes, a powerful comm array to ensure the best connection we can have at the ranges necessary… and finally the tachyon emitter. It is an active emitter.
This… build will allow for longer flight time, but as it is custom built… will be more intensive on the engineering team preparing them. I have included all of my calculations in an annotated function of the schematic.
The second build is less intensive. It involves stripping all unnecessary parts out of a pair of class 3 probes, balancing the thrust vectoring and engine between both built in systems, building in additional fuel storage and the active tachyon emitter array. On the communications and control side of things, this option requires less time as most of the systems are already onboard, and would simply require tuning. It would however require more refueling by returning to the commanding ship over a long activation of the detection net.
For this reason, if the second build is approved, I would recommend having extras made and a overlapping cycle deployed to keep the net active as drones are recalled for fueling."
-Attached: CB-1301-A2 Schematic, MB-1301-A7 Schematic, Annotation A2, A7.