The Ring was the nickname given to a massive unnamed generation ship launched near the galactic core by the Ringers several centuries prior to the 23rd century.
Specifications[]
The spacecraft was torus-shaped, with an interior artificial gravity somewhat lower than one G produced via rotation. Life support maintained a constant temperature of 20° Celsius. It had one "deck" terraformed with planetary surface features such as forests, hills, grassy plains, rivers, swamps, and mountains. A primary location inside the ship was a 15x22 kilometer region containing the ship's bridge, one of many stasis chamber vaults, its central capitol, and the Village of Touminio.
- The torus was said to be more than 10 kilometers in diameter. This statement likely was intended to refer to its cross-section, since it contains a region 15 kilometers across. If the region is amid a ring torus, the minimum diameter of the entire spacecraft (a torus with no gap in the center) would be 30 kilometers. The starship probably had a large gap in the middle, large enough for Doctor Leonard McCoy to describe it as a "ring" rather than a donut. If the gap was the same width as the deck, the vessel would be 45 kilometers in diameter. If the gap was twice as wide, it would be 60 kilometers. If the gap was four times as wide, it would be 90 kilometers. It may have been wider. (Torus dimensions caculator at the Geometric Calulators site.)
Service history and disposition[]
The vessel was constructed as an ark when the Ringers found their homeworlds and colonies threatened by multiple supernovas. A genetic repository and stasis chambers were installed in Life Retention Vaults. A large number of their people were put into stasis, including many Ring Masters, while a small crew operated the vessel from the ship's control center. Hoping to refashion their planets elsewhere, the "deck" surface was populated with familiar plants and animals.
Over time, the general populace began to forget they were aboard a spacecraft. Leadership agreed to allow that in order to maintain political stability, and control center residents kept their actual work life secret while mingling in the capitol.
In the mid-21st century, rebels armed with biological weapons seized the capitol and bridge. During the struggle to regain control of The Ring, the vessel's captain and a pilot were killed. Artificial sunlight was disabled during the conflict, leaving the interior in perpetual darkness. A panicked mob destroyed the capitol. Those exposed to the biological weapon suffered from reduced intelligence. Soon, nobody remained who knew who to operate the ship.
By the 23rd century, isolated, fractured survivors had reverted to a barbaric societal stage of development, and most of the vessel's animal life had turned predatory.
In the year 2267, the vessel was first discovered in Federation space by the Starfleet starship USS Enterprise. As the spacecraft was found drifting toward Klingon space, Enterprise crew endeavored to restore navigational control and redirect The Ring toward friendlier territory. (Tsukuda RPG module: The Drifting Ring)
Particulars[]
Starship sections[]
- Ring control center • Life Retention Vault • Ring central capitol • Village of Touminio
Seeded lifeforms[]
- ring beast • ring demon • ring killer • ring monkey
Notable inhabitants[]
- Hadama • Hawana • Kaku • Kanikusu • Nekon • Nonbu • Periu • Pusuru • Ritomo • Samini • Sario • Taan • Taminike • Tasslith • Teperiu • Tosumisu • Tosumisu's wife • Toumi • Touminio • Tsupiu • Tsurisupu
Notable clans[]
- Clan of Hill People • Clan of Nonbu • Periu Clan