If you were stranded in the Delta Quadrant, what in-game ship would you prefer to be in for your long voyage home?
I would pick the Atrox carrier. I have to admit that have a bias because that is what I fly in game, but there are also good reasons for it. Firstly, with three thousand crew, there would be plenty of company for the trip. The size of the ship would also help to avoid cabin fever. The ship's ample science abilities would assist to navigate the unknown expanses of the Delta Quadrant.
I can also see reasons for other ships to make fine choices. The Voth ships, for example, would probably be quite intimidating to many potentially hostile Delta Quadrant species, but I would also be concerned that the Voth might show up at any moment to reclaim their vessel.
What are your ideas?
PS: Yes, I have been streaming Voyager episodes while I play STO. :P
If you were stranded in the Delta Quadrant, what in-game ship would you prefer to be in for your long voyage home?
I would pick the Atrox carrier. I have to admit that have a bias because that is what I fly in game, but there are also good reasons for it. Firstly, with three thousand crew, there would be plenty of company for the trip. The size of the ship would also help to avoid cabin fever. The ship's ample science abilities would assist to navigate the unknown expanses of the Delta quadrant.
I can also see reasons for other ships to make fine choices. The Voth ships, for example, would probably be quite intimidating to many potentially hostile Delta Quadrant species, but I would also be concerned that the Voth might show up at any moment to reclaim their vessel.
What are your ideas?
PS: Yes, I have been streaming Voyager episodes while I play STO. :P
I'd pick the Galaxy or the Vesta. The Galaxy because of its status as a strong cruiser, as well as it's longevity and science facilities. The Vesta because of its great suite of technology, armament, speed, defence and the Quantum slipstream drive which would allow it to cut some time off the 70-year trip.
I would like to be stranded in the delta quadrant with one of those Schimitar warbirds (the one Picard' s clone, Shinzon had). It would be great for hiding from the Borg with its perfect cloaking device. And even if the Borg did find you they would have to go up against the ship's 30 or something disruptor banks and hundered or so torpedo bays plus a whole squadron of scorpion attack fighters. On top of that you get all those nice happy, cherry Reymens to keep you company on your long voyage back.:D
No. The Defiant wasn't meant to go far from home. It was an 'escort' ship, meant to be assigned to short combat missions or to defend installations.
It has no luxuries. Crew had to double up and the sickbay had something like two bio-beds.
Not really ideal for a 70-year trip across the galaxy.
Very good points. The main positive of the Defiant class would be that it could make a meal out most potential opponents.
The small size and lack of amenities, however, knock the ship down my list quite a bit. I would also be concerned about energy supplies and long term durability.
The delta quadrant is the heart of Borg space and we already saw how well the Defiant held up fighting one cube, it got torn to shreds and was a burning piece of metal. The Defiant is not the ideal ship for the delta quadrant.
The delta quadrant is the heart of Borg space and we already saw how well the Defiant held up fighting one cube, it got torn to shreds and was a burning piece of metal. The Defiant is not the ideal ship for the delta quadrant.
I think that if a Defiant class ship were stranded in the Delta Quadrant, avoiding the Borg at all costs would be the best strategy, then.
It's one of the bigger Ships, so you have a good amount of space and company. Packed with the newest technology (just as Voyager was at the time). It also seems very versatile. All in all I'd say well suited for a long-range trip.
I'd pick the Galaxy or the Vesta. The Galaxy because of its status as a strong cruiser, as well as it's longevity and science facilities. The Vesta because of its great suite of technology, armament, speed, defence and the Quantum slipstream drive which would allow it to cut some time off the 70-year trip.
Oh, I really like the Vesta idea. The ability to cut a significant portion of the trip's duration is a huge bonus. For the sake of the crew, who long to return to their families, that might make it the best option.
Very good points. The main positive of the Defiant class would be that it could make a meal out most potential opponents.
The small size and lack of amenities, however, knock the ship down my list quite a bit. I would also be concerned about energy supplies and long term durability.
Not to mention that after a couple of months the crew would be at their wits' end. Can you say 'mutiny'?
In fairness, a lot of Starfleet vessels would have this issue. We saw how the Equinox's crew handled being stranded in the Delta Quadrant, and most of her crew were dead.
I think the Negh'Var would be my choice. It is big enough to hold plenty of supplies, capable of holding its own against all those nasty kazon types and has a crew which doesn't constantly waste replicator rations on worthless trinkets for birthdays etc. The cloak would also be useful for when you absolutely must sneak past somebody ie to avoid the Krenim.
I think the Negh'Var would be my choice. It is big enough to hold plenty of supplies, capable of holding its own against all those nasty kazon types and has a crew which doesn't constantly waste replicator rations on worthless trinkets for birthdays etc. The cloak would also be useful for when you absolutely must sneak past somebody ie to avoid the Krenim.
I had not considered the question from the KDF angle. Thank you for adding this.
The Klingon's 'Spartan' ideals would certainly aid in conserving supplies and maintaining the chain of command.
A KDF ship would even find a friendly port of call on the new Klingon homeworld founded by the Klingon religious sect that was looking for the Kuva Magh.
I think the Negh'Var would be my choice. It is big enough to hold plenty of supplies, capable of holding its own against all those nasty kazon types and has a crew which doesn't constantly waste replicator rations on worthless trinkets for birthdays etc. The cloak would also be useful for when you absolutely must sneak past somebody ie to avoid the Krenim.
It would be so uncomfortable, though. Any KDF ship would be, though I suppose BoPs would be the worst. Enjoy sleeping on that metal slab and eating gagh all the way home!
I'm between the Galaxy and Odyssey, for most of the same reasons: Cavernous shuttlebays, massive cargo capacity, maximum space, facilities, and crew size.
Shuttle and cargo space avoid Voyager's biggest problems (since I can't just have my writing staff pretend they aren't problems), by giving space for surplus hardware, supplies, and replacement auxiliary craft. The myriad labs and other facilities make the ships more versatile than space-budgeted ships like Voyager. The sheer amount of space available also offers more options to reconfigure the ship - duplicate labs or facilities that depend on an uplink to Starfleet Command can be dismantled in favor of shuttle assembly, industrial replicators, or additional holodecks.
Crew size is a double edged sword - more people means more mouths to feed and more need to maintain supply surpluses, plus more potential sources of friction to erode morale. However, it also means more flexibility. In stressful times more facilities can be continuously manned, while during safe times shifts can be shortened and staff cut to give more downtime to maintain morale. This is also where having more holodecks becomes useful, and the possibility of installing more is particularly welcome. This also means the ship is capable of absorbing casualties without disrupting operations.
Differences between the two:
The Galaxy has a smaller crew, but higher space-per-crew (the Odyssey is not 2.5 times larger as its crew is), giving it more room for flexibility. The massive holodecks seen in TNG can be dismantled and replaced with several smaller ones of the types seen on Voyager and DS9, which combined with already better comfort should go a long way towards maintaining morale.
The Odyssey is larger, has an advanced slipstream drive to shorten the trip home, and has the Aquarius. The Aquarius brings many of the advantages of the Defiant with none of the disadvantages. You don't sacrifice cargo, shuttles, or living space, because the crew "comes home" to the Odyssey after a deployment. However, you've still got a small, speedy, guns-on-an-engine combat craft for when it's needed.
No. The Defiant wasn't meant to go far from home. It was an 'escort' ship, meant to be assigned to short combat missions or to defend installations.
It has no luxuries. Crew had to double up and the sickbay had something like two bio-beds.
Not really ideal for a 70-year trip across the galaxy.
Good thing the trip didn't end up taking anywhere near 70 years, then.
And they can get over the stupid luxuries. Convert the cargo bay to an auxiliarly sickbay/holodeck facility if they must. With half the crew dead after the Caretaker incident, it might be just the ideal amount of space, plus it would be less to secure from intruders, which happened frequently.
As a tradeoff for these unnecessary luxuries, they get a more nimble, more durable ship that packs a bigger punch, which would have been beneficial in countless incidents.
I'd take the Sovereign refit, it can take a beating and has enough firepower to win most engagements.
On crew comfort, it's holodecks and recreational facilities are good for a long journey, medical facilities was also good for long range.
Overcrowding should not be an issue either for the 800 crew
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
what ship huh? it would have to be long range to keep from resupplying every week, a small good crew with enough space on the ship to cut down on resources used up while using the extra space to produce food and drink, it must have enough facilities that keeps the crew from going insane from boredem, holodecks, gymnasiums, ten forward and such. must be fast enough to get out of danger, evasive enough to avoid trouble while having the attack power to fight back, cant be too weak, it needs good long range abilities like astrometrics and a powerful sensor array. must have excellent medical technology.
scout ships like the nova and oberth are out on the spot. too week, not meant for long range missions.
dreadnaughts like the galaxy class and sovereign are out as are carriers like the atrox. too large, too many crew members needed meaning supplies are used up more often, and not designed to be long range and they are just meant to protect home, even by exploration if needed (they regularly stop at starbases anyways).
escorts and destroyers are out since they are meant to fight, they have no medical facilities, no holodecks and proper crew quarters no cargo rooms, no real science kit either. escorts or destroyers can be easily overwhelmed as well.
cruisers are capable of it with a few modifications. excelsior is very possible if a third of the crew were dropped off, create some room to convert some space into the ability to have basic food and drink. augment the deflector for long range and such, since the excelsior can take quite a beating and dish equal amounts as well as be mobile enough to get out of trouble, it is a good possibility. same could be said for the akira which should of been designated a heavy cruiser but for some reason is an escort on this game. the miranda class could also do it, take some of the 200 crew away, refit some sections of the ship for long range, augment the warp core, shields and weapons a bit and it can also go out there and be self reliant, clearly the intrepid can do it but ideally it should not of been able to do that journey and it almost didnt a few times.
i would go with the excelsior, that ship maybe old but it is an adaptable piece of engineering.
T6 Miranda Hero Ship FTW. Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
KDF side, I'd pick a Mogh-class, or (if we're sticking with canon non-Cryptic designed ships only) a Negh'var. A BOP wouldn't be able to make it back. Too small.
Fedside, either a retrofitted Excelsior or an Avenger-class. The Avenger has raw firepower, and both are small enough to escape most notice while being large enough to actually enjoy the trip home. I mean, as much as we Klingons hate luxuries, I must admit that a holodeck is helpful for that 70-year return trip. (at least, 70 years before the ratings take a hit and the show gets cut) A Vesta would pwn as well, because of that perfect shield and the superspeed.
Good thing the trip didn't end up taking anywhere near 70 years, then.
And they can get over the stupid luxuries. Convert the cargo bay to an auxiliarly sickbay/holodeck facility if they must. With half the crew dead after the Caretaker incident, it might be just the ideal amount of space, plus it would be less to secure from intruders, which happened frequently.
As a tradeoff for these unnecessary luxuries, they get a more nimble, more durable ship that packs a bigger punch, which would have been beneficial in countless incidents.
With half the crew gone, I'd be surprised if they could even fly the ship effectively. Also, I doubt the ship would have survived 2 years of encounters with the Viidians and Kazon. Consider that one Klingon Vorcha got past the Defiant's ablative armour in minutes, and as I recall, the Defiant's shields weren't particularly strong. The NX Defiant was also the only one with a cloaking device.
Plus, the odds that another ship would encounter the EXACT same circumstances that Voyager did are minute.
And how would they refuel? How would they keep the replicators powered? When the replicators ran out, how would they get food?
KDF side, I'd pick a Mogh-class, or (if we're sticking with canon non-Cryptic designed ships only) a Negh'var. A BOP wouldn't be able to make it back. Too small.
Fedside, either a retrofitted Excelsior or an Avenger-class. The Avenger has raw firepower, and both are small enough to escape most notice while being large enough to actually enjoy the trip home. I mean, as much as we Klingons hate luxuries, I must admit that a holodeck is helpful for that 70-year return trip. (at least, 70 years before the ratings take a hit and the show gets cut) A Vesta would pwn as well, because of that perfect shield and the superspeed.
klingon ships below the size of k't'inga are just too weak to get around effectively and the negh'var is too large. i mean an ancient d7 cruiser managed to get around the galaxy and still could of despite the ancient tech it had. if i were to bet on a klingon ship it would be the vor'cha class attack cruiser since klingons know hardship they should not be underestimated.
T6 Miranda Hero Ship FTW. Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
It would be so uncomfortable, though. Any KDF ship would be, though I suppose BoPs would be the worst. Enjoy sleeping on that metal slab and eating gagh all the way home!
If you're a Klingon, you would enjoy sleeping on a metal slab. As for the gagh issue, a Klingon warrior isn't as queasy as most Starfleet personnel - any planet hosting edible animal life forms can be used to refill the ship's larders.
Good thing the trip didn't end up taking anywhere near 70 years, then.
And they can get over the stupid luxuries. Convert the cargo bay to an auxiliarly sickbay/holodeck facility if they must. With half the crew dead after the Caretaker incident, it might be just the ideal amount of space, plus it would be less to secure from intruders, which happened frequently.
As a tradeoff for these unnecessary luxuries, they get a more nimble, more durable ship that packs a bigger punch, which would have been beneficial in countless incidents.
The hypothetical scenario that I envision does not come with any guarantees of having the same luck that Voyager experienced in the Delta Quadrant, so the trip might still take decades. I'm not counting on lucky breaks here. :eek:
what ship huh? it would have to be long range to keep from resupplying every week, a small good crew with enough space on the ship to cut down on resources used up while using the extra space to produce food and drink, it must have enough facilities that keeps the crew from going insane from boredem, holodecks, gymnasiums, ten forward and such. must be fast enough to get out of danger, evasive enough to avoid trouble while having the attack power to fight back, cant be too weak, it needs good long range abilities like astrometrics and a powerful sensor array. must have excellent medical technology.
scout ships like the nova and oberth are out on the spot. too week, not meant for long range missions.
dreadnaughts like the galaxy class and sovereign are out as are carriers like the atrox. too large, too many crew members needed meaning supplies are used up more often, and not designed to be long range and they are just meant to protect home, even by exploration if needed (they regularly stop at starbases anyways).
escorts and destroyers are out since they are meant to fight, they have no medical facilities, no holodecks and proper crew quarters no cargo rooms, no real science kit either. escorts or destroyers can be easily overwhelmed as well.
cruisers are capable of it with a few modifications. excelsior is very possible if a third of the crew were dropped off, create some room to convert some space into the ability to have basic food and drink. augment the deflector for long range and such, since the excelsior can take quite a beating and dish equal amounts as well as be mobile enough to get out of trouble, it is a good possibility. same could be said for the akira which should of been designated a heavy cruiser but for some reason is an escort on this game. the miranda class could also do it, take some of the 200 crew away, refit some sections of the ship for long range, augment the warp core, shields and weapons a bit and it can also go out there and be self reliant, clearly the intrepid can do it but ideally it should not of been able to do that journey and it almost didnt a few times.
i would go with the excelsior, that ship maybe old but it is an adaptable piece of engineering.
The excelsior is a fine vessel, and is beautiful, as well.
As for just dropping off crew to lighten the load on resources, something about that does not seem right to me. I think that upon return, the families of the crew that were dropped off might insist on a court-marshal of the ship's captain for abandoning their family members.
I also think that the Atrox carrier's ability to send out cloak-enabled Stalker fighters to scout for resources could significantly mitigate the Atrox's need for increased resources. A squad of cloaked Stalker fighters could, in theory, safely cover a lot of space in a search for resources.
Odyssey-class, because of its advanced quantum slipstream drive. All you have to do is hop, hop, hop, all the way home. Based on the VOY: "Hope and Fear" numbers (300 LY in an hour) the QS drive is fast enough that repeated hops reduce Voyager's 75-year voyage to a ten-day jaunt back to the Alpha Quadrant from the Caretaker Array, not counting pauses during which they can keep going at high warp.
As a side note, you can see the corner the VOY writers wrote themselves into. If the QS drive had worked, the show would've been over.
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Wait. Any ship? FIne.. voth citadel ship I might just decide to live out my years in the delta quadrant. I recall the things have transwarp anyways if I need to escape dinos eager to reclaim their ship.
More seriously, probably the Vesta. Large enough with the staying power to make the trip, slipstream to speed it up, and top of the line weapons/science facilities to overcome obstacles.
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That is a fine choice, especially for any combat that you might encounter. Does the Defiant have a holodeck?
I'd pick the Galaxy or the Vesta. The Galaxy because of its status as a strong cruiser, as well as it's longevity and science facilities. The Vesta because of its great suite of technology, armament, speed, defence and the Quantum slipstream drive which would allow it to cut some time off the 70-year trip.
Trials of Blood and Fire
Moving On Parts 1-3 - Part 4
In Cold Blood
No. The Defiant wasn't meant to go far from home. It was an 'escort' ship, meant to be assigned to short combat missions or to defend installations.
It has no luxuries. Crew had to double up and the sickbay had something like two bio-beds.
Not really ideal for a 70-year trip across the galaxy.
Trials of Blood and Fire
Moving On Parts 1-3 - Part 4
In Cold Blood
Very good points. The main positive of the Defiant class would be that it could make a meal out most potential opponents.
The small size and lack of amenities, however, knock the ship down my list quite a bit. I would also be concerned about energy supplies and long term durability.
I think that if a Defiant class ship were stranded in the Delta Quadrant, avoiding the Borg at all costs would be the best strategy, then.
It's one of the bigger Ships, so you have a good amount of space and company. Packed with the newest technology (just as Voyager was at the time). It also seems very versatile. All in all I'd say well suited for a long-range trip.
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Oh, I really like the Vesta idea. The ability to cut a significant portion of the trip's duration is a huge bonus. For the sake of the crew, who long to return to their families, that might make it the best option.
Not to mention that after a couple of months the crew would be at their wits' end. Can you say 'mutiny'?
In fairness, a lot of Starfleet vessels would have this issue. We saw how the Equinox's crew handled being stranded in the Delta Quadrant, and most of her crew were dead.
Trials of Blood and Fire
Moving On Parts 1-3 - Part 4
In Cold Blood
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I had not considered the question from the KDF angle. Thank you for adding this.
The Klingon's 'Spartan' ideals would certainly aid in conserving supplies and maintaining the chain of command.
A KDF ship would even find a friendly port of call on the new Klingon homeworld founded by the Klingon religious sect that was looking for the Kuva Magh.
I'm biased as well. Yet, it's big enough with enough crew and enough guns to make it back. Transwarp drive should also shorten the trip I would think.
And a limitless supply of torpedoes and shuttles!
It would be so uncomfortable, though. Any KDF ship would be, though I suppose BoPs would be the worst. Enjoy sleeping on that metal slab and eating gagh all the way home!
Shuttle and cargo space avoid Voyager's biggest problems (since I can't just have my writing staff pretend they aren't problems), by giving space for surplus hardware, supplies, and replacement auxiliary craft. The myriad labs and other facilities make the ships more versatile than space-budgeted ships like Voyager. The sheer amount of space available also offers more options to reconfigure the ship - duplicate labs or facilities that depend on an uplink to Starfleet Command can be dismantled in favor of shuttle assembly, industrial replicators, or additional holodecks.
Crew size is a double edged sword - more people means more mouths to feed and more need to maintain supply surpluses, plus more potential sources of friction to erode morale. However, it also means more flexibility. In stressful times more facilities can be continuously manned, while during safe times shifts can be shortened and staff cut to give more downtime to maintain morale. This is also where having more holodecks becomes useful, and the possibility of installing more is particularly welcome. This also means the ship is capable of absorbing casualties without disrupting operations.
Differences between the two:
The Galaxy has a smaller crew, but higher space-per-crew (the Odyssey is not 2.5 times larger as its crew is), giving it more room for flexibility. The massive holodecks seen in TNG can be dismantled and replaced with several smaller ones of the types seen on Voyager and DS9, which combined with already better comfort should go a long way towards maintaining morale.
The Odyssey is larger, has an advanced slipstream drive to shorten the trip home, and has the Aquarius. The Aquarius brings many of the advantages of the Defiant with none of the disadvantages. You don't sacrifice cargo, shuttles, or living space, because the crew "comes home" to the Odyssey after a deployment. However, you've still got a small, speedy, guns-on-an-engine combat craft for when it's needed.
Good thing the trip didn't end up taking anywhere near 70 years, then.
And they can get over the stupid luxuries. Convert the cargo bay to an auxiliarly sickbay/holodeck facility if they must. With half the crew dead after the Caretaker incident, it might be just the ideal amount of space, plus it would be less to secure from intruders, which happened frequently.
As a tradeoff for these unnecessary luxuries, they get a more nimble, more durable ship that packs a bigger punch, which would have been beneficial in countless incidents.
On crew comfort, it's holodecks and recreational facilities are good for a long journey, medical facilities was also good for long range.
Overcrowding should not be an issue either for the 800 crew
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
scout ships like the nova and oberth are out on the spot. too week, not meant for long range missions.
dreadnaughts like the galaxy class and sovereign are out as are carriers like the atrox. too large, too many crew members needed meaning supplies are used up more often, and not designed to be long range and they are just meant to protect home, even by exploration if needed (they regularly stop at starbases anyways).
escorts and destroyers are out since they are meant to fight, they have no medical facilities, no holodecks and proper crew quarters no cargo rooms, no real science kit either. escorts or destroyers can be easily overwhelmed as well.
cruisers are capable of it with a few modifications. excelsior is very possible if a third of the crew were dropped off, create some room to convert some space into the ability to have basic food and drink. augment the deflector for long range and such, since the excelsior can take quite a beating and dish equal amounts as well as be mobile enough to get out of trouble, it is a good possibility. same could be said for the akira which should of been designated a heavy cruiser but for some reason is an escort on this game. the miranda class could also do it, take some of the 200 crew away, refit some sections of the ship for long range, augment the warp core, shields and weapons a bit and it can also go out there and be self reliant, clearly the intrepid can do it but ideally it should not of been able to do that journey and it almost didnt a few times.
i would go with the excelsior, that ship maybe old but it is an adaptable piece of engineering.
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
KDF side, I'd pick a Mogh-class, or (if we're sticking with canon non-Cryptic designed ships only) a Negh'var. A BOP wouldn't be able to make it back. Too small.
Fedside, either a retrofitted Excelsior or an Avenger-class. The Avenger has raw firepower, and both are small enough to escape most notice while being large enough to actually enjoy the trip home. I mean, as much as we Klingons hate luxuries, I must admit that a holodeck is helpful for that 70-year return trip. (at least, 70 years before the ratings take a hit and the show gets cut) A Vesta would pwn as well, because of that perfect shield and the superspeed.
With half the crew gone, I'd be surprised if they could even fly the ship effectively. Also, I doubt the ship would have survived 2 years of encounters with the Viidians and Kazon. Consider that one Klingon Vorcha got past the Defiant's ablative armour in minutes, and as I recall, the Defiant's shields weren't particularly strong. The NX Defiant was also the only one with a cloaking device.
Plus, the odds that another ship would encounter the EXACT same circumstances that Voyager did are minute.
And how would they refuel? How would they keep the replicators powered? When the replicators ran out, how would they get food?
Trials of Blood and Fire
Moving On Parts 1-3 - Part 4
In Cold Blood
klingon ships below the size of k't'inga are just too weak to get around effectively and the negh'var is too large. i mean an ancient d7 cruiser managed to get around the galaxy and still could of despite the ancient tech it had. if i were to bet on a klingon ship it would be the vor'cha class attack cruiser since klingons know hardship they should not be underestimated.
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
The hypothetical scenario that I envision does not come with any guarantees of having the same luck that Voyager experienced in the Delta Quadrant, so the trip might still take decades. I'm not counting on lucky breaks here. :eek:
The excelsior is a fine vessel, and is beautiful, as well.
As for just dropping off crew to lighten the load on resources, something about that does not seem right to me. I think that upon return, the families of the crew that were dropped off might insist on a court-marshal of the ship's captain for abandoning their family members.
I also think that the Atrox carrier's ability to send out cloak-enabled Stalker fighters to scout for resources could significantly mitigate the Atrox's need for increased resources. A squad of cloaked Stalker fighters could, in theory, safely cover a lot of space in a search for resources.
As a side note, you can see the corner the VOY writers wrote themselves into. If the QS drive had worked, the show would've been over.
— Sabaton, "Great War"
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More seriously, probably the Vesta. Large enough with the staying power to make the trip, slipstream to speed it up, and top of the line weapons/science facilities to overcome obstacles.