Editing New Orleans Class (section)

==POD MODULES==

Unique to only a few starship classes in the Federation fleet, mission-specific pods are outboard equipment vessels that are attached to the ship's exterior.

Torpedo Pod: Equipped with both a forward and aft launcher, the torpedo pod was one of the two pod types originally designed for the New Orleans and was the default type equipped to newly launched vessels. Its internal stores are capable of holding 45 photon torpedoes in each pod, and service to the pod can be made by use of a maintenance walkway that allows access to the torpedo stores, elevator and conveyor assembly, as well as manual launch controls.  Torpedo pods are normally deployed either as a set of three or as a pair on the saucer in conjunction with another pod, such as a towing pod when on police patrols of Federation shipping lanes and borders.

Towing Pod: This pod type is equipped with two fusion reactors that power both a forward and aft tractor emitter. In environments that interfere with graviton fields, the tow pod is also equipped with an aft-mounted grappler that has a range of ten kilometers. When having all three pods equipped with towing pods, New Orleans-class vessels have aided in the towing of prefabricated starbase and space station facility components from fleet yard to construction area. In addition, ships equipped with a lower-mounted tractor pod have aided in patrol activities along trade lanes and borders where impounding of vessels most commonly takes place.

Science Pod: The science pod group is actually a suite consisting of two different pod types. The lower-mounted pod consists of specialized planetary survey sensors which can perform geological, biological and meteorological scans of high resolution at faster rates that most Federation starships. The two upper pod emplacements are occupied by long-range sensor systems and lateral scanners designed primarily to assist in investigations of astronomical phenomena, greatly aiding in stellar cartography-related scans. Due to the complexities involved with establishing a stable warp field, usage of the long-range sensors on the pods is only permitted during select situations while the ship is at warp. Should such a situation arise, computer algorithms reshape the warp field surrounding the ship to create two additional holes in the field, allowing only little subspace interference. This process is similar to that of reconfiguring the warp field to allow for use of the bussard collectors.

Cargo Pod:  The cargo pod is basically an enlarged storage facility that accomplishes the same task as shipboard cargo bays. The added advantage of having it detachable is that the cargo pod can easily be loaded on a starbase or station facility. Attachment to a ship, provided that there is an unoccupied pod bay, can be done in as little as two hours, allowing for the craft to depart for its cargo destination in rapid order. A single one-person turbolift allows for maintenance of the pod, which contains onboard backup batteries to power atmospheric processors and coolant for perishable cargo types.  

Colony Pod: Two twin upper pods provide supplemental housing for colonists, allowing for the entire ship to carry some 500 colonists in decent comfort.  Obviously, the ship is capable of transporting even larger numbers, into the thousands though accommodations throughout the ship will be severely taxed.  The lower pod is actually a quick-deploy command center for the new colony and has enough fuel for a controlled automated landing from standard orbit. This command center also contains sufficient supplies for the new colony, though the starship's cargo bays do contain more which is transported down to the surface separately, along with the colonists. Once a permanent colony command hub is constructed, the colony landing pod is usually used for storage and lacks the necessary propulsion systems to reach orbit for another use.

Hospital Pod: Rarely seen outside of major disaster areas, the hospital pod group consists of two large elongated bubble-shaped pressure vessels which house medical facilities for use in emergency operations. Transporter pads are located near the center of the pod where they can easily be reached by medical personnel moving injured into the various triage centers. In addition, the pod is also equipped with stasis chambers to stabilize patients for later care and a morgue facility. Spare living quarters aboard the starship are often used to house treated patients, and emergency medical operations apply during this time. The lower pod is a converted cargo pod filled with various medical supplies for use in emergencies, as well as two large transporter emitters that serve to increase the speed with which injured may be transported aboard. This pod type is designed to be attached to a waiting starship in less than two hours, though calibration of the transporter systems must be performed in route and warp travel is restricted to 8.5 due to the energy requirements of projecting a larger warp field to accommodate the larger pods.

Experimental Pod: Usually custom builds, the experimental pod is a generic label used to describe a large number of pod types used in various experiments.  These range from testing upgraded torpedo launchers and weapons packages to dedicated scientific research pods and beyond. Some contain internal support systems that allow the pod to act as a free-floating craft, and all typically involve some sort of special starship operating mode.