“When you go home, tell them of us and say: For your tomorrow, we gave our today.” -John Maxwell Edmonds; Epitaph, World War II Allied War Memorial – Kohima, India
The USS Ronin was relaunched on Stardate 2400.09 (2023, September) under the command of Captain Karrod Niac. The Ronin was originally launched back in 2375.11 (1998, November). Today we are joined by Captain Karrod Niac, Commander Toryn Raga, Lt. Commander Kristy Lee Carpenter, Lt. Commander Alieth and Dr. Quentin Beck (Lt. JG) to tell us more about this storied vessel.
Harford: Thank you for joining us. Can you please start by giving us a short overview on the USS Ronin and how it fits into our fleet?
Niac: Absolutely! As an older Akira class design, the Ronin is a venerable warhorse of a ship. She doesn’t have all the newest bells and whistles, but what it lacks in amenities, it more than makes up for in durability and character.
Raga: I concur, having already served on an Akira class before I can say they are an absolute beast and joy to serve on. And hearty. I took a rogue neutron star to crack the last one enough to be put in spacedock.
Why did you choose this class of ship? What was compelling about it?
Niac: When I was offered the opportunity to launch a vessel, I spent a lot of time pouring over the ‘inactive PC ship’ section of the wiki, trying to find something that felt like a compelling storytelling platform that fit well with Karrod as a PC. I spoke to some friends in the fleet who steered me towards the Akira, which was always a favorite design of mine from First Contact, and the rest is history.
What are some of the Akira Class Ship’s greatest strengths? What about the weaknesses of this class?
Niac: I find it interesting that the core strength of the vessel that the ship designer intended was to use it as an armored carrier, which is why it has a huge central shuttebay that basically bisects the ship. This was never demonstrated on screen, but we’ve leveraged it extensively in our missions, and it has added a great sense of character that makes the ship stand out from some other classes in the fleet. As weaknesses go the ship is older, so comes with all the issues an aged and heavily experienced vessel has, plus we don’t have the speed of something like a Vesta class vessel with their integrated quantum slipstream drive.
Raga: Couldn’t have said it better. In addition, being an older workhorse that was built primarily as an anti-Borg, Dominion vessel it’s best in combat or any situation that requires her to withstand a significant beating. This lets her stand up to larger ships. On the other side, she also lacks some of the more scientifically specialized features that some newer ships have.
What makes the Ronin unique? How do you use these unique aspects of your ship in missions?
Niac: More than a technical answer I think, for me at least, the thing that makes the ship unique is how the crew has made it their own. We’ve seen an incredible amount of storytelling come from the simple fact that this is an older vessel that needs that bit of extra TLC, but it always comes through for the crew, and they’ve gone out of their way to keep it afloat. When I launched the ship originally I was given the option, as all new CO’s are, to swap out the vessel at the end of my practical for something of my own choosing but after seeing the home everyone has built aboard the ship in the last year I wouldn’t dream of retiring the old girl.
Raga: Good, because that’s how you end up with a mutiny on your hands. I for one am glad you didn’t, she’s a remarkable ship and this crew has made her something special. Did I mention we have a three deck tall lounge with a Japanese pagoda in the center of it? And don’t get me started on the Catamaran’s book nook.
Carpenter: Though at first glance the Ronin cuts the profile of a warship, I think one of the things that sets us apart is the malleability of story we have been able to employ through our first missions. We have our more action-heavy scenarios, but we’ve balanced that out with just as many exploratory, more science-based missions directly after. And thankfully, we have the facilities and IC equipment to be able to take on both with equal care and measure. It’s been such a treat just as a player to be able to have that sort of freedom while also being able to “play against type” somewhat as we continue to develop her (and The Alpha Isles).
Alieth: I think part of the charm of the Ronin is that it’s a bucket full of nuts and holes that refuses to break down completely, but keeps losing pieces.
That’s kind of what sets the tone for the stories: it’s cutting-edge Starfleet technology? Far from it. Does she have the best crew in the world? Possibly not, but a motley, ragtag group of people with their own traumas and problems to deal with.
But despite all this, she perseveres, endeavours and survives. Her crew strives to work as a team, to use their ingenuity to do the impossible in situations beyond their abilities and means.
The Ronin is an old, damaged, resilient and stubborn ship that refuses to give up, an obsolescent thing from another time that is still out there doing its best, and grunting and grumbling along the way. She really gives it a special charm to the story, her own character, and forces us to fight against the elements… and also against the ship herself. But in the end, we know that she’ll never let us down at the crucial moments.
Beck: The Ronin is one of the older ships in rotation right now and is gifted with equipment that many people would consider obsolete. The computer, for example, is behind at least a few updates and is finicky as hell. Since we don’t always have the most cutting-edge or up-to-date equipment, we often have to rely on ingenuity, which actually seems to be a strong point for pretty much everyone aboard. Sometimes we have to use old equipment in new ways that are way outside the normal parameters. Sometimes we’ve got to slap some duct tape over a hole to keep moving. We’re still kicking.
Harford: What aspects of the Ronin is your crew most excited about? Does the Ronin have any interesting custom rooms or features that your characters enjoy?
Carpenter: From the very start of the launch, both Niac and Raga have allowed us as officers and writers to have a lot of autonomy when it comes to what we might need in a given scene. But even better, they’ve allowed a lot of our own personalities and characterizations to get baked into the sets and personal spaces of our PCs. We have places like the Book Roof, our brand new Stellar Cartography compartment, and a number of training and holosuite facilities and most of those have come directly from us. Either as a written out pitch or development through simming. It’s that level of trust and ability to customize that I think makes us excited to see what else we can add to the ship.
Alieth: I love the fact that in part all the officers are on top of each other. There are a lot of lounges and places where you can meet and have personal or professional moments. The Ronin is a multipurpose ship, and in its constant state of refit allows us a lot of leeway to design what we need ourselves.
In my case I’m especially delighted with what we’ve been developing in the science department: stellar cartography is a marvel, the labs where we’ve studied (or *cough* retained *cough*) the Tholians we’ve encountered have made for some very interesting scenes. Then the Musashi Lounge is something I’m especially proud of and want to keep using (although my plan is that sooner or later we’ll have our own brand of the Brew Continuum on board).
And of course the Bookroof. No self-respecting ship can exist without a Bookroof.
Beck: We are actually in the process of updating and redesigning the deck layout on the wiki – the current setup is from the last time the ship was active, and we’ve definitely made some changes. We have been slowly working on completing the ship’s refit, which wasn’t fully complete when it launched again, and that’s given us some wiggle room to have fun with it. I’ve done a full redesign of the Sickbay Complex, for example, and that’s included coming up with a brand new Xenobiology lab that we intend to use for a number of different research projects from studying Tholian physiology to mapping out the neurological similarities and differences between the races we are already familiar with and any first contacts we make along the way. I am very excited about the avenues this could open for our Science and Medical teams.
Raga: See! I told you the book roof was awesome. But it’s these little quirks and special places that the crew have found ways to add little personality to the ship either as a collective or as just a single idea that others latch onto. The 47 Lounge (the one with the pagoda) is a favorite of many of my characters but even the flight deck has its own charm. Sure, it’s a stock part of the design but we’ve had so much character added to it whenever we sim about it. From the interactions with the CAG and the flight team, to the shuttles and support craft. Plus, you can fly in and out the front or back of the ship as needed. I look forward to what additions we come up with for our perpetually being fixed baby.
Harford: What other interesting things would you like to let readers know about the Ronin?
Niac’s Beard: I’m the real captain. The big guy with the spots is just my ride.
Raga: Called it. Aside from the Tribble puppeteer, we have a lot of shuttles but none so consistently prone to incendiary combustion as the Rhine. The personal pride and joy/Volga runabout of the entire Science department and the shuttle most likely to get the Captain airlocked by the Second Officer because of how often he breaks it.
Thank you so much for your insights on the USS Ronin, Captain Niac, Commander Raga, Lt. Commander Carpenter, Lt. Commander Alieth and Dr. Beck!
You can read more about the USS Ronin on the wiki, here.
