Star Trek

I was reading a novel by Jeffrey Lang, STNG: Immortal Coil (2002), and he mentions 2-person escape pods that had a warp core int them.  But, I can't seem to find much information about such pods on the regular sites.

Does anyone know anything about them?

The show never really went into any major detail about the escape pods, but they always gave the vibe that they were very limited. I would assume they only have thrusters or can maybe go Impulse. I'd be surprised if they had warp engines.

You are right.  It seems like the pods would be too small for warp engines.  But, several sources say they have them, and some pods are supposedly equipped to hold 6-8 people for several months!  They don't seem as much like pods as shuttlecraft.

It would probably depend on the type of ship and its expected use/location. I would expect a "local" ship's escape pod, say in the Terran system, would be less powerful because survivors could easily communcate with and be rescued by emergency response personnel within the system. A ship that services deep space would not be guaranteed "immediate" help and would have more powerful engines/supplies/resources to improve survivability over a longer period of time.

I just got to thinking that since escape pods are generally used for dangerous situations, lacking a warp drive would mean that they also lack a warp signature, and would therefore be less detectable to enemies. They are like the cosmic version of longboats -- which although they have oars, are still essentially designed to drift until they are discovered.

Good points.  Except, sometimes you might have to use an escape pod in a natural emergency, rather than a combat situation.  Then, having warp capacity would be a huge benefit.

It would be -- I was thinking more of what might be a part of the reasoning behind not having warp tech. on board.