Ju'Day Class
The Ju'Day-class light freighter is a small, ubiquitous transport vessel that has been in service across the Federation since its introductions in the 2320s. While a significant number of these vessels are still operated by the Starfleet Auxiliary, the majority of them are in civilian hands. Indeed, they are a popular choice for less-than-legitimate entrepreneurs, as they make for unobtrusive blockade runners and can be armed relatively easily, thanks to their uncomplicated power systems and well-documented performance characteristics. Notably, they were used widely by the old Maquis in the 2370s and are once again being seen in operation with the New Maquis as raiders.
Engineering
The design of the Ju'day class is a rare example of Federation shipbuilding following Klingon design principles rather than vice versa. During development, the Starfleet Corps of Engineers examined other successful small starship designs and came to the conclusion that the B'Rel-class bird of prey was arguably the most widely produced and successful small vessel type in the galaxy. One of the keys to this success, by their analysis, was the ways in which maintenance had been simplified by closely integrating the warp and impulse propulsion systems, which results in a single power grid. The combined warp and impulse assembly forms wing-like structures to the side of the roughly cylindrical main hull, further extended with folding wing tips that provide additional lift in M-class environments to reduce the need for elaborate anti-grav systems. The forward section of the ship, like in a bird of prey, resembles a head and contains the bridge, deflector array, and crew accomodations. The bulk of the ship's interior is a single cargo bay that takes up almost all of the second and third decks in the center of the ship. Access to this bay is provided by an aft ramp, as well as a ventral cargo hatch. Additional personnel access is provided by two side hatches on deck one and a ladder in the forward landing gear bay.
These vessels are highly automated and easy to maintain, meaning that most have only a single engineer. Unfortunately, the simplicity of this design also means that there is little in the way or redundancy. Should the warp core be knocked offline, the ship would be reduced to battery power and would be immobile until it's brought back into service.
In theory, the cargo area of the Ju'Day can be configured for other purposes relatively easily—such as the raider configuration, which adds additional crew quarters and weapons in this area. Those in Federation service are rarely modified, however, as the larger Raven and Phoenix are much better choices for small multi-mission starships, without significantly higher crew requirements.
Tactical
Stock Ju'day-class vessels are armed with two type-V phaser banks mounted forward of the warp engines. These phasers are barely enough to serve as a deterrent to pirates and are rarely ever used, but given that the Maquis and pirate groups have upgraded the phasers on their vessels significantly, one never knows if one might actually be faced with significantly more firepower than the stock version of this vessel would carry. Ju'Day-class vessels modified as raiders have varying armament, ranging from souped up phaser banks to replacing them with pulse phasers or even disruptors—the only limit being the power output of the ship's warp core. Most Ju'Day-class ships in Maquis service have two additional phaser banks mounted on the wingtips.
The stock version of this class has no torpedo launchers. When modified as a raider, it is possible to add two aft-firing full-size torpedo launchers, one on either side of the boarding ramp. Some have also been observed with forward-firing micro torpedo launchers, externally-mounted missile racks, and other improvised weapons.
In either configuration, Ju'Day-class vessels are highly manuverable at impulse speeds. Freighters will attempt to run, while raiders will use their speed to bring their heaviest weapons to bear as quickly as possible, making strafing runs and then breaking off. Their combat tactics are very similar to those employed by Klingon birds of prey.
Shipboard Life
Ju'Day-class light freighters have a crew of seven, with only the captain having a private rooms. Everyone else bunks together in a dormitory that is also connected to the ship's only lounge, which serves a dual purpose as the mess hall. These cramped quarters are located in the very front of the ship. A typical crew roster will include the captain, first officer (often doubling at operations), an engineer, two pilots, and two cargo specialists, but everyone is expected to pitch in where needed and typically learns to do most of the roles on the ship in the course of their service there. Notably, Ju'Day-class vessels do not have a sickbay or an onboard physician, but have emergency medical kits to help stabilize any wounded until a starship can arrive. These small vessels also lack turbolifts, having stairs instead between each of the three decks. With their limited top speeds, life on these vessels can be quite boring, and crew fatigue is the most important limiting factor in their range. Many of these ships in Federation service still use 22nd-century late-gen S/COMS computer interfaces, as Starfleet has been reluctant to invest resources in a class that is likely nearing the end of its working life anyway, but vessels in private hands have often been upgraded to significantly higher levels of technology. Some privately-owned Ju'Day-class vessels have even been upgraded to operate with just the owner aboard, with upgraded interiors that allow them to be used as yachts. Crews of these ships will become close by necessity. In Starfleet Auxiliary service it is rare for crew to be assigned to a ship of this class for more than a few years, due to the low standards of living.
Light Freighter Mission Parameters
In their standard configuration as a freighter, Ju'Day-class vessels are assigned to several common missions in Federation service. The first is outpost and colony resupply, moving medicine, technical equipment, and other small cargos from a sector's primary starbase to outlying areas, often in journeys of two to three weeks, but taking up to a month to cross a whole sector. Unlike Aerie-class transports operating as packet ships, Ju'Day-class ships can't accommodate passengers, unless operating with a smaller crew than normal. In a pinch, a passenger could sleep on the couch in the lounge, but this isn't sanctioned by regulations. These missions also often involve the transport of miscellaneous small packages for individuals: the 25th-century equivalent of a mail ship.
The second mission type undertaken by Ju'Day-class vessels is intrasystem transport runs. Because they can easily take off and land from planetary surfaces, they're well-suited to moving cargo from ground to orbit when transporters aren't available, or for servicing outlying stations in the system.
In private service, they are more often used for longer duration point-to-point cargo missions, either moving goods off of normal trade routes, or providing discrete, secure transport for something valuable enough to crawl through space at warp five for, but which isn't so valuable that it's worth hiring a faster vessel.
Raider Mission Parameters
As a raider, Ju'Day-class vessels serve as mobile bases of operations for their operators, as their robust designs require very little hanger time. Often, they will operate in groups. No one raider modification is alike, but Starfleet has observed vessels with up to 40 troops embarked in addition to their operating crew of seven. In this configuration, crew quarters and additional life support equipment, along with an armory and ship-mounted weapons are installed in the cargo hold. Some are equipped with large transporters as well to beam over raiding parties. Typically, these ships are seen mounting surgical hit-and-run attacks on outlying targets and then fleeting before Starfleet vessels can respond, as they can't hold out long against even the most lightly armed of Starfleet's mainline vessels.
Ju'Day Class History
The Ju'Day-class freighter was developed in the 2320s to provide Starfleet and Federation agencies with a small, easy-to-maintain freighter design to handle missions of a few weeks in duration out of starbases to facilities and colonies within the same sector. The Starfleet Corps of Engineers considered a number of approaches, but decided to adapt design principles learned from their study of the so-called HMS Bounty, a bird of prey captured by James T. Kirk during the Genesis Planet incident. Specifically, a simplified engine arrangement was developed that integrated warp and impulse propulsion into a unified power grid with a single warp reactor powering everything. It was a novel approach that gave the vessel it's bird-like design.
While never considered beautiful, the Ju'Day went into wide-spread production that would last for over 30 years, and there are now thousands of these vessels in service. Because of the sheer number of these small starships and the wide range of their production run, many have been retired or laid up in surplus depots, either to be sold into private hands or stolen by groups like the Maquis. They remain common in the hands of pirates and smugglers, even as Starfleet makes seizing them a priority to avoid the perception that Federation ships are being used for these nefarious purposes.
The most famous vessel of this class was the Val Jean, a Maquis raider under the command of Chakotay. While being pursued by the starship Voyager, it was swept into the Delta Quadrant. It was subsequently destroyed in the battle between the Kazon and Alpha Quadrant forces.
The Ju'Day Class In-Play
- As a freighter, this is a pretty standard small starship type. It's not flashy or exciting, but it would be class seen all over the Federation moving goods around, both in Starfleet Auxiliary service and in civilian hands. A class this old will have significant variation in terms of their condition and equipment.
- As a raider, Ju'Day-class vessels range from being an annoyance to being a true threat, depending on what type of equipment their operators have managed to scrounge up. On their own, even a small mainline ship like a Nova or Grissom would easily be able to defeat one of these raiders, but in groups they could be a threat to smaller starships. Given the right combination of an experienced Ju'Day captain and an inexperienced Starfleet captain, they could wreak significant havoc.
- While the armaments for raiders are intentionally not being specified here—since it's a non-standard design—be realistic when describing these ships. You're not going to find them with a dozen quantum torpedo launchers or heavy, starship-grade phasers, because they're small, old ships. They rely on their impulse speed and luck more than anything.
- On screen, the model for the Maquis raider was used to represent two separate designs: a small attack craft with a crew of two and a larger vessel. This article is about the larger one.
Additional Resources
Credits
The original Maquis raider model was created by Gregory Jein, based on a sketch by Jim Martin. It was later modified by Jein into the larger raider, which is described in this article. The CGI model created for the Official Starships Collection was created by Robert Bonchune.