this post was submitted on 23 May 2026
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Is that... Not what DS9 is? I mean, obviously only after the Cardassians left? ๐ค
I have seen the show multiple times from start to finish and I still have no idea what Starfleet was smoking when they thought a single space station used as some kind of ore processor turned into a mall could protect the wormhole. Hell, they only even had 1 good combat ship and that was built after they entered a war with the Dominion!
They did upgun the shit out of the station, though, to the point where it was genuinely dangerous in combat. Still not dangerous enough to solo a major invasion fleet but it was a major stumbling block.
Sure, a fleet in being would've been very helpful to deter attackers but combat fleets don't grow on trees. Plus, DS9 had Miles Edward O'Brien, who should have a similar deterrence effect by himself.
Are you talking about the Defiant? That was built after Wolf 359 in response to the Borg threat not the Dominion War.
I think star trek is one of those things where the actual shape of a spacecraft is generally least important to its function.
Granted, it does take some handwaiving technobable to get there.
DS9's shape is actually not bad for a battle station though. It offers quite the advantagious locations for weapons emplacements while offering only a low target profile in relation to possible firing angles, has redundant but easily defendable access and docking ports (instead of the usual central hangar) and compared to most other sci fi designs a relatively little exposed command center.
That pylon design is not that bad.
I can see the argument for it having a good offensive shape. But the thin whispy features all over the place would mean tons of weak points.
Compare that to a borg cube or the BSG, it makes for terrible defenses.
But that's where they bring up things like shields and structural integrity fields.
Well first, yes, shields and stuff.
But second, borg cubes are horrible shapes for defence. They are hard to destroy because of redundancy and size. Their important systems are spread out over the whole giant ass ship and are numerous. But a cube is easy to hit and eats everything you throw at it. DS9 has some redundancy as well (afaik, the six pylons are almost identical) and a far smaller area to hit.
BSG's got a similar approach, trying to present the most compact profile while having a relatively large inside room, but combines that with a sloped surface that virtually thickens the hull against most angles of attack.
The technobabble handwaving: Big Station = Big Guns
IIRC they discovered the wormhole after they got the station. I think it was supposed to just be a frontier post in the edge of Federation space and to watch over Bajor, and only later they realized the strategic importance.
DS9 always reminds me of an international-level airport which, to be fair, is going to be part shopping mall.