[DRAFT] Overview of The Federation Naval Patrol

[Paul Wessex]

BACKGROUND TO THE FEDERATION NAVAL PATROL

The Naval Patrol is a distinct operational agency within the United Federation of Planets, tasked specifically with the exploration, policing and, when necessary, defence of Member Worlds' varied oceanic environments.

As one would imagine, the origins of the Federation Naval Patrol (FNP, or more commonly "˜NavPat') stretches back, at least functionally, to the early days of the United Earth government, with those roots entrenched even deeper, and have inherited the history of similar organisations across the Member Worlds, such as those of Andoria, where legendary icebreakers formed the first patrol flotillas of that frozen world, and the ancient solar-divers of Vulcan.

It is an uncomfortable, even shameful, reality that in the late 21st Century, distinct Earth sovereign naval forces were instrumental in the cataclysmic events of World War III, as at the time these assets had become nothing more than terrible roving, undetectable, weapon platforms carrying firepower hitherto unthinkable a century earlier. It were these vehicles that had largely been the primary method of obliteration in that near-extinction-level conflict; subsurface naval battles became as widespread as land engagements as allies and enemies fought for marine territories and resources even then untapped.

As the fires of war finally diminished, these mighty predators remained; spent but still potent machines of war, some undertaking a new life of piracy, some (yet fewer) keeping to their bloodied oath of duty and operating with some remaining vestige of responsibility to the peoples they swore to protect. It was a brutal time, and the scales were acutely tipped in the favour of the lawless.

Nevertheless, as the New Age of Enlightment dawned upon the traumatised world, supported by First Contact, Humanity began to realise their world was a precious orb, its blue oceans something to be treasured and protected. Finally united in their goals, Earth looked to those stalwart survivors, calling upon their sense of duty, commitment and dedication to eventually lead the way in a new United Earth Navy (UEN).

Even so, the very First Contact miracle that kindled a new drive and hope in the spirit of Humans drew close attention to the very stars that their extra-planetary mentors had descended from, buoyed in the imagination by the startling discovery of warp travel by Dr Cochrane. A new frontier for Earth's peoples spelt the beginning of a new chapter in the story of Earth conversely the beginning of the end of the usefulness of a purely naval organisation. Be that as it may, those days were - and perhaps still are - a day not reached.

Early United Earth Navy vessels were remarkable feats of engineering, incorporating all new discoveries and technologies provided by the Vulcans, who seemed to be more open to sharing such sciences for applications not concerning interplanetary exploration. Structural Integrity Fields, energised hull plating - even sensor processing software "" all these, now synonymous withthe earliest Starfleet starships, first cut their proverbial teeth in the UEN. And, surprisingly, these applications have not changed significantly in NavPat since the 2150s; certainly not in terms technical expertise, or some lack of technological advancement, but purely because such other highly-advanced affectations (graviton shields, impulse thrust engines, static navigational deflectors) are unnecessary and, more importantly, utterly unworkable in subsurface environments. Indeed, the differences in engineering priorities between a starship, operating in negative-pressures, to a FNP subship which must routinely endure positive, external pressures well in excess of 60,000 atmospheres (or 880,000psi) for purely 'standard' salt water oceans, is a stark reminder that there is a world of difference "" literally "" between space and marine exploration challenges.

The overriding concern that all NavPat vessels are made both ecologically safe to the environments they operate within, and to all peoples beneath the waves. Instead, structural integrity fields and polarised plating have been improved upon to levels that would make even the hardiest of starships today envious, and waste-neutral cold fusion reactors replace the otherwise irresponsible Matter-Antimatter Reactors of their spacefaring cousins.

Coupled with this desire for personal & ecological safety, is the sad realisation that, at some point, an armed engagement might become necessary "" either ship-to-ship or in closer, more intimate, quarters "" during a subship's duty. The simplification of technologies continue to weapons, and the more commonly known, such as phasers, have been eschewed in place of safer or more energy-efficient alternatives: for example, plasma sidearms continue to be the standard, stylistically and practically differing little from the venerable EM-33 of two centuries ago; if more potent firepower is necessary, heavier alternatives can be drawn from the ship's lockers, but even these are designed to ensure little risks puncturing the hull during policing actions.

Even subsurface combat requires different answers to more commonly understood situations. Phaser arrays are useless in environments which are nothing more than matter-dense regions; phasers interact with matter by virtue of their nuclear-decoupling process, and therefore vaporise liquid at the very point of emission. To force a phaser beam towards an intended target even 2000m away requires energy expenditure four thousand times the same effort of a starship. This, of course, does not even begin to account for refraction, bloom, and global heating of the local environment.

Experiments with Annual Confinement Beams were initially hopefully, but it soon became apparent that even the most competent weapons officer, with targeting assistance, had to account for two contacts with an opposing hull: one for the ACB, and one for the actual energy stream sent a fraction of a second later, after which the intended target had moved to a degree that risked turning disabling of an engine into complete hull puncturing.

Traditional explosive warheads, needing to be powerful enough to defeat adamantine hulls of craft deep within a planet's ocean, became nothing more than massive shockwave generators, threatening not only the craft being fired upon, but the ship that fired, and the surrounding ecosystem. This is especially true of anti-matter payloads, which would exponentially utilise a matter rich environment until scant remained for several hundred nautical miles.

The adopted solution, therefore, is a hybrid of both. The Vajra-class torpedo is a self-guided, self-propelled warhead that contains a scalable single-use heavy phaser pulse generator. Upon direct collision with its intended target, the internal mechanism initiates a powerful shaped-charge burst of rapid nadions outward, serving to disable, or if necessary outright destroy, its objective be it an engine, sensor pod, or even a pressure hull, yet ensuring all energies are transferred across the intended vector.

In all, despite the advancements that Earth "" and the Federation "" have made since its founding, it is fair to say the Federation Naval Patrol has changed the least, but only doing so proudly and with respect for the past; their fidelity to heritage extends to even the uniforms, which continues to harken back to the early United Earth forces, most commonly seen in StarFleet during the Earth-Romulan War but worn by all members of the exploratory and defensive agencies of the time. For while StarFleet have changed their duty attire many times over the centuries, there is something fitting in the unchanging image of the FNP "" as constant as the oceans themselves.

This steadfast adherence to tradition informs part of the half-serious rivalry between the FNP and StarFleet- the latter being much more (perhaps correctly) widely known, better respected, and better resourced than their world-bound ancestors, and there are annual crew contests between the two to demonstrate their respective expertise against the other in matters not limited to their operational spheres. Yet NavPat is respectfully referred to as the Senior Service, and their commanders perhaps the finest the Federation has to offer; at least, their examinations are acknowledged to be the toughest command-level course in the UFP. In addition, the once-MACO forces remain part of FNP, surviving in some manner as NavPat Marines, where Starfleet opted for the expansion of their own, specialised, Security forces.

Despite the clear distinction between their modus operandi and remit, the FNP often rebukes StarFleet over its constant, even ill-disguised, attempts to 'muscle in' on oceanic operations, suggesting that perhaps they, in return, should start exploring spatial anomalies to redress the balance. Often, the retort is 'if you need help getting up here, let us know'. While the smile within the message is genuine, the message itself has an unmistakable edge, especially as while the FNP have a small cadre of huge starflight transports- loaned by Starfleet and crewed by ex-Starfleet personnel who wish for a less brisk life - to carry particularly adptable subships from one duty world to another, it is more common practice to fabricate and launch new vessels at every new world; that way, each ship is customised to operate with distinction within that specific ecosystem.

With its Headquarters on Earth, fittingly, based at Portsmouth, England, with the venerable HMS Victory as its centrepiece in the main lobby (this itself is remarkable - not only to its age (being to date, over 630 years old) but also that she survived the nuclear fires of war) it is this testimony to the indomitable endurance and tireless history that those serving the Federation Naval Patrol looks to for motivation and inspiration.

Ceremonial anthem of the Federation Naval Patrol

https://youtu.be/HQkhtqw9DmY

[Paul Wessex]

[NAME]-class Naval Patrol Subship

Draft specifications of an example of a FNP subship.

[Paul Wessex]

Federation Naval Patrol Armoury

Examples of sidearms and other personal ordnance used by the Federation Naval Patrol.

EM-2400 Plasma Pistol

Standard 'light' sidearm for NavPat personnel. Designed to truly look like a firearm to press upon the user the serious responsibility of using such weapons, rather than past 'downplayed', short-cut-use ergonomics of a Starfleet phaser.

Starfleet, since the late 2360s, have also gradually moved from a less inconspicuous 'multi-purpose tool' designs towards a more truthful handset, in recognition of the same psychological reinforcement.

EM-2390D Heavy Plasma Rifle

Standard heavy weapon for more strenuous combat situations.

[Paul Wessex]

Uniforms of the Federation Naval Patrol

Examples of duty and formal attire within the FNP. Stylistically very similar to early Earth forces, 2160s. Name-tags ostensibly for convenience, but discreetly - if not morbidly - understood by all FNP crew be used to identify bodies after a catastrophic ship disaster.

Duty uniform (departmental denotation still in draft)

[Paul Wessex]

FNP Classifications of Oceanic Environments.

Type-F: H3O (hydroxonium) composition.

Type-O: Earth-normal. H20 composition. Salinity 1%-3.5%. Density at 1 atmosphere is 1023.6  kg/m3.

Type-H: Heavy saline environment. H20 composition. Salinity from 3.6% - 10%. Density at 1 atmosphere from 1024kg/m3 to [X]

Type-M: Liquid methane environment.

Type-A: Liquid nitrogen environment.

Type-D: Acidic (carbolic et al)

[Paul Wessex]

USS Varuna NX-110745. First of her class.

In 2393 Starfleet successfully tested its first subsurface-to-orbit starship,  capable of both warp-flight and oceanic operations at extreme depths, overcoming long-challenging issues of managing positive and negative structural integrity pressures. If the class is moved to mass-production, it could spell the beginning of the end of the Federation Naval Patrol's existence.