Bravo Fleet
Difference between pages "Borg Collective" and "K't'inga class"

Difference between pages "Borg Collective" and "K't'inga class"

From Bravo Fleet
(Difference between pages)
(Amended guidance on writing encounters with Borg)
 
 
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{{icons|bfc}}{{Government
{{Specification
| name = Borg Collective
| image = [[Image:Ktingaclass.jpg]]
| image = [[File:BorgA.png]]
| displayName = '''''K't'inga'' Class'''
| species = Borg; assimilated other species
| name = K't'inga
| homeworld = Unknown
| affiliation = *[[Klingon Empire]]
| founded = Several thousand years ago
*[[Old_Romulan_Star_Empire|Romulan Star Empire]]
| warp =  
| operator = *[[Klingon Defense Force]]
| language = All
*[[Old_Romulan_Star_Empire#Romulan_Star_Navy|Romulan Star Navy]]
| currency = None
| status = Active
| government = Collective Consciousness
| role = Battlecruiser
| leader = None; represented by Borg Queen
| type =
| advancement =  
| precedingClass = Sech
| military = Borg Collective
| succeedingClass = Vor'cha
}}The '''Borg Collective''' is the most formidable enemy the Federation has ever faced, and was considered one of its greatest existential threats of its history - challenged only by the [[Dominion]]. It is a hive network of cybernetic and multi-species people originating and almost exclusively found in the [[:Delta Quadrant]], and purports to be driven by the search for biological and technical perfection.
| dateEntered = 2258
| productionEnd = 2369
| retired =
| expectedDuration = 100 Years
| expectedRefit = 15 Years
| timeResupply = 3 Years
| crewComplement =350
| emergencyCap = 1,500
| civilians =
| populationCap =
| flightCrew =
| passengers =  
| length = 349.54 meters
| width = 251.76 meters
| diameter =
| height = 98.41 meters
| decks = 25
| propulsionSystem = Matter/Antimatter powered warp drive
| cruiseSpeed = Warp 7
| maxSpeed = Warp 9.6
| emergencySpeed =  Warp 9.8 (12 hours)
| energyWeapons = 6x disruptor cannons
| torpLaunchers = *1x forward
*1x aft
| torpPayload = *150 photon torpedoes
*100 plasma torpedoes (Romulan version)
| shields = *Deflector shields
*Cloaking device
| dockingfacilities =  
| shuttleBays =  
| shuttles =  
| runabouts =  
| fighters =  
| aux =
| msd =  
}}The '''''K't'inga''-class battlecruiser''' was historically and prominently the frontline battlecruiser of the [[Klingon Empire]] for the second half of the 23rd century and well into the 24th century. Through various refits and modernizations, the ''K't'inga'' continued service well past her intended design life and into the [[ma:Dominion War|Dominion War]]. Although a much rarer sight in the 25th century with the wide deployment of the [[Vor'cha Class|''Vor'cha''-class]] battlecruiser, the ''K't'inga'' can still be found throughout Klingon space and the frontier as a multi-purposed ship of war.
===Exploration and Science===
Although a ship bred for war and used as a battlecuiser, the ''K't'inga'' is a deceptively adept exploration platform. The original design expectation that the ''K't'inga'' would be forced onto the fringe frontier of Klingon space for months or maybe even years at a time required that the ship be equipped with a suite of sensors to handle the unknown. This served multiple purposes in being able to relay mapping data, both passive and active, back to Klingon command to be analyzed as well as using the ''K't'inga's'' advanced sensor suite in combat situations against perspective targets. Historically, because of the advanced ''K't'inga'' sensors, the ubiquitous nature of the vessel throughout its lifetime, and the data collected over the years, the [[Klingon Defense Force]] was able to passively map out large swaths of the Klingon frontier.


Made up of an unknown number - but believed to number in the trillions - of ‘drones,’ almost every Borg has been physically and psychologically forcibly altered to match the needs of and be mentally connected by subspace link to the Collective, a process referred to as ‘assimilation’ which subsumes, if not outright destroys, their individuality. Once a vast power dominating the Delta Quadrant and a repeated serious risk to the governments of the [[:Alpha Quadrant|Alpha]] and [[:Beta Quadrant|Beta]] Quadrants, in the latter quarter of the 24th century it has come close to collapse. In the 25th century, encounters with the Borg by the [[Federation]] are limited to rumour and evasion at the furthest reaches of its sphere of influence in the Delta Quadrant.
The ''K't'inga'', being the workhorse battlecruiser of the Klingon Empire for almost 100 years, also served as its premier ship of exploration in any sense that the Klingon Empire was interested in such endeavors. Compared to other Klingon vessels of her era, the ''K't'inga'' is the most well-equipped for scientific duties. Although, for a Klingon warship design, that leaves much to be desired. If ever a matter of science or exploration was required, the ''K't'inga'' was the ship that was deployed for such matters during much of its lifetime. In the modern era, ships with more advanced sensor suites such as the ''Vor'cha''-class or [[Negh'Var Class|''Negh'Var''-class]] would primarily be deployed to any exploration assignments of importance.
==History==
===First Encounters===
The true origins of the Borg are unknown to the Federation, though they are believed to originate from deep in the Delta Quadrant. The nature of deep space exploration and colonisation is that on occasion ships will go missing or contact will be lost with whole worlds, with no explanation ever confirmed. This birthed rumours of the Collective’s existence as far back as the early twenty-fourth century, though no Federation investigations found any evidence of substance prior to the 2360s.


While a deep-space encounter by the USS ''Enterprise'' in 2365 was the first confirmed encounter with the Borg, an escalation in previous years of missing ships and lost [[Romulan Neutral Zone]] outposts has since been attributed to the Collective. This proved a prelude to invasion, with a single Borg Cube attacking the Federation in 2366. The assimilation of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and their own highly advanced technology enabled this lone ship to devastate and rout [[Starfleet]] at the Battle of Wolf 359. The Borg were stopped only by the USS ''Enterprise''’s rescue of Captain Picard and subsequent use of his connection to the Collective to sabotage and destroy the cube.
===Diplomacy===
===A Decade of Encounters===
Much like exploration, the ''K't'inga''-class was not designed with diplomacy in mind other than through superior firepower against enemy forces. However, the ''K't'inga'' has historically been used by the Klingon Empire as a ship of diplomatic gesture throughout the mid to late 23rd century. To that end, the ''K't'inga'' has been equipped with a limited amount of conference rooms and stately guest quarters for visiting dignitaries.
This invasion left an indelible mark on the psyche of the Federation and, particularly, Starfleet. Aware that they had been technologically out-matched, the next decade of starship development saw a massive increase in militarisation with the hope of stopping the Borg, should they ever return.


While this inadvertently prepared Starfleet better for the threat of the [[Dominion]] a decade later, even the finest technological advances proved no match for the Borg upon their return to the Alpha Quadrant in 2374. Distrust by Starfleet Command of Captain Picard’s potential connection to the Collective saw the veteran commander and his ship side-lined at the start of the invasion, but at the Battle of Sector 001, even Starfleet’s most advanced ships were still ineffective against yet another single Borg Cube. Only the intervention of Picard, disobeying orders to bring his ship to the Sol System where he assumed command of the fleet, and his deployment of his personal knowledge of Borg systems enabled the cube’s destruction.
===Engineering===
A ship [[ma:Federation-Klingon_War_(2256-57)|born out of and bred for war]], the ''K't'inga''-class was an amalgamation of the best parts of the separate [[Great House|Great House's]] designs rolled into one vaguely familiar frame. The ''K't'inga''-class battlecruiser incorporated aspects of the [[M'Chla class|''M'Chla''-class]], [[Chargh class|''Chargh''-class]], and [[Qugh class|''Qugh''-class]], but especially from the [[Sech class|''Sech''-class]] and [[BortaS bir class|''BortaS bir''-class]]. Overall, the design appeared as a predator stalking the depths of space. The primary hull was almost wing-like, with two nacelles on each side, connecting a long "neck" with a "head" command section.


The Dominion War became Starfleet’s military priority after, and only the return of the USS ''Voyager'' in 2378, lost for seven years in the Delta Quadrant, brought new intelligence on the Borg Collective. Not only had ''Voyager'' survived multiple encounters with the Borg, including bringing aboard multiple former drones, but their near-instantaneous journey across tens of thousands of light-years was achieved through use of the Borg’s transwarp network. This daring mission necessitated not only the destruction of a transwarp hub, weakening a transportation system that stretched across vast reaches of the galaxy, but also the infection of the Collective with a neurolytic pathogen. While thought to be devastating, the exact extent of the damage done to the Borg Collective was unknown.
===Tactical===
===The Artifact===
At the time of its deployment, the ''K't'inga''-class battlecruiser was easily the most formidable ship in the Alpha or Beta Quadrants. The ''K't'inga'' excels in combat, boasting an impressive weapons array, a cloaking device, incredibly resilient shields, and a new generation warp drive capable of propelling the ship to sustained speeds of Warp 9. The new warp drive also efficiently routed power through the vessel to its weapons systems, allowing for a more powerful disruptor blast than anything that had been fielded by the Klingons previously. Due to its main weapons array pointing forward from the ship, the thruster design throughout also makes it one of the most maneuverable vessels of its era for its size, able to bring its main weapons to bear against an enemy with ease.
Subsequent encounters with the Borg Collective became much rarer. While a Cube’s incursion into Romulan territory in 2384 led to the assimilation of a scout ship and its twenty-six crewmembers, the vessel suffered a submatrix collapse soon after. The ship and all of its drones lost their connection to the Collective, a catastrophic accident believed made possible by the damage ''Voyager'' had done to the hive mind. The Cube became the property of the [[Romulan Free State]] and was dubbed the [[ma:Artifact (Borg cube)|Artifact]], a focus of research by both the Romulans and the Federation.


Huge advances were made in knowledge and understanding of Borg technology, but the disconnection of an entire Cube’s complement of drones had a further impact on the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. While many former drones were so traumatised by both their assimilation and separation that they struggled to live independently, remaining on the Cube either dormant or under the care of the Borg Artifact Research Institute, some left to recover their own lives.
The ''K't'inga''-class is also an efficient combat vessel in several other areas including ship-to-ship combat, troop transport and deployment, and orbital or siege bombardment of stationary targets. In fact, compared to its contemporaries at the time, the only real threat to a ''K't'inga''-class battlecruiser in one-on-one combat was the [[Starfleet]] [[Constitution Class|''Constitution''-class]] starship.


Corruption in the Institute led to Borg technology, particularly harvested implants, being sold on the black market along the former Neutral Zone. This stoked the interest of several unscrupulous profiteers, who went so far as to abduct former Borgs - by then known as “xBs” - and murder them for their cybernetics. At this time, Starfleet is unaware of the exact size of this black market in Borg technology.
===Shipboard Life===
The ''K't'inga'' was never built with comfort in mind. With that being said, the vessel was far more comfortable than its previous counterparts or contemporaries. The ship boasted actual leisure facilities; this was specifically unlike the Klingon designs that came before it. Leisure facilities vary between the Klingon and Romulan configurations of the design but largely include a massive mess hall, training facilities including a gym and bat’leth hall, and even limited holo facilities. However, when fully manned with troops for transport, quarters on the ''K't'inga'' are cramped and even the ship's captain would be forced to share accommodations.


In 2399, a Tal Shiar-initiated attempted genocide of the xBs aboard the Artifact led to an uprising by the capable drones aboard, led by former ''Voyager'' crewmember Seven of Nine. Upon seizing control of the Artifact, the crew opened a transwarp conduit and departed Romulan space for the planet [[ma:Coppelius|Coppelius]]. There it fell foul of automated defence systems, and crashed on the surface. After Starfleet protected the synthetic lifeforms of Coppelius from slaughter at the hands of the Romulan Free State, the wrecked Artifact remained, and most surviving xBs embarked on a new life in cooperation with the synth population.
==Class History==
The ''K't'inga''-class battlecruiser first came to life as a design brought forth to the [[ma:Klingon High Council|Klingon High Council]] by [[ma:Klingon Chancellor|Chancellor]] [[ma:L'Rell|L'Rell]] in 2257. The original design within the ''K't'inga''-class, the D7 spaceframe, was an amalgamation of the greatest successes of the different designs that the Great Houses employed through their individual fleets. These designs were disparate from one another, indicative of the fracturing of the Klingon people during this time period in Klingon history, but all derived from much older designs such as the [[ma:Klingon_Bird-of-Prey_(22nd_century)|''Vo'n'talk''-class]], [[ma:D5_class|''Devastator''-class]], and [[ma:Raptor_class|''Raptor''-class]] of centuries past. Chancellor L'Rell saw the new ''K't'inga''-class as a unifier of the Klingon people and ordered its mass production throughout the Great Houses as a symbol of that Klingon unity. The first ''K't'inga's'' were deployed only a few months later in order to assist the [[ma:USS_Enterprise_(NCC-1701)|USS ''Enterprise'']] against a rogue Federation armada. After this battle, the ''K't'inga'' did finally enter mass production as the Chancellor had asked for and quickly became the flagship and backbone of many of the Great Houses, and therefore, the Klingon Defense Force as a whole.  
[[Image:Klingond7.jpg|thumb|left|The original D7 spaceframe of the ''K't'inga''-class firing a torpedo.]]
The first major change to the ''K't'inga'' came in the mid-2260s. By that point, the ''K't'inga'' had been in service for over 5 years and the engineers of the Klingon Defense Force had several suggested refits and remodels for the ship to increase its performance. This lined up with a budding alliance with the [[Romulan Star Empire]], in which the Romulans were incredibly interested in the ''K't'inga'' design. The Klingons, knowing that the original ''K't'inga'' design was about to undergo a significant upgrade, traded the original design to the Romulans in exchange for the Romulans relinquishing all claims to the contested planet of [[ma:Khitomer|Khitomer]], a Klingon stronghold and one of the most strategically important planets in the Empire. Shortly after, the Klingon ''K't'inga's'' were upgraded from the D7 spaceframe to the D7A spaceframe, leaving the Romulans with the older design while the Klingons moved forward.


While use of and research into Borg technology did not fall under the Federation’s ban on synthetic life, this wariness had hampered its harnessing by Starfleet. As-of April 2400, Starfleet has only begun to expand its use of well-understood Borg technology, and deploy the lessons learnt from it in starship development.
In subsequent decades, the Klingons continued to upgrade the ''K't'inga'' spaceframe. One of the most infamous iterations of a spaceframe appeared in the 2290s when the flagship of the Klingon Chancellor [[ma:Gorkon|Gorkon]], [[ma:Kronos_One|''Kronos One'']], was deployed under the D7E spaceframe. ''Kronos One'' was vitally important to the signing of the [[ma:Khitomer_Accords|Khitomer Accords]], the [[ma:Treaty_of_Alliance|Federation-Klingon Alliance]] that blossomed from those accords, and the future of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants as a whole. Many years later, as a symbol of peace and friendship, the Klingon Empire gifted ''Kronos One'' to the Federation to be displayed in the [[ma:Fleet_Museum|Starfleet Fleet Museum]] over [[ma:Athan_Prime|Athan Prime]].  
==Society & Culture==
[[File:BorgQueen.png|alt=Borg Queen|thumb|There have been many Borg queens over the centuries, and all of those observed by Starfleet have had a phenotype similar to the one observed here.]]
The Borg Collective is made up of trillions of drones that are linked to order via the subspace hive mind. The hive mind is then directed by the Borg Queen. The Borg Queen herself is not believed to be a single individual, but rather a manifestation of some form of overriding consciousness within the Collective that has a finite presence within each unimatrix. The true function and abilities of these specialized drones is not fully known. They have been observed to have more than just a symbolic or unifying role, however, as a queen at Unimatrix 001 was used to distribute the neurolytic pathogen that left the Borg in their current state. Along with this, Borg cubes are known to be equipped with the means to evacuate a Queen, either via an escape sphere or a specialized queencell containing a subspace trajector. This demonstrates that the Borg are unwilling--or at least reluctant--to sacrifice these specialized drones, even though they are quite willing to abandon thousands of standard drones with little provocation.


When a person is assimilated, initially the voices of the collective mind will frighten and overwhelm the new drone. All individuality is stripped from the person with very little distinction between drones. The only designation comes from within a group where a drone could be referred to as something akin to "Fourth of Seven"; the only other form of distinction comes from the primary role of a drone, for example: a tactical drone, a medial/repair drone, a maintenance drone.
The D7E spaceframe continued as the primary deployment of the ''K't'inga''-class until the 2340s, when the D7F spaceframe was deployed as a significant upgrade to the internal systems of the ''K't'inga''-class. The ''K't'inga''-class continued for another 20 years undisturbed until the development and deployment of the ''Vor'cha''-class battlecruiser. Seen as the first significant class in the Empire in over a generation, the ''Vor'cha'' was slated to replace the ''K't'inga'' within a decade as a massive improvement in every aspect. However, as the next decade rolled around and a new enemy came into sight, the lifespan of the ''K't'inga'' was artificially inflated.  


The Borg are efficient and pragmatic in the management of drones. If one is beyond help or repair the Collective will deactivate it and begin salvage operations for reusable parts. Starfleet does not have a clear sense of whether or not the Borg can procreate on their own, but acquiring new drones through anything other than assimilation has never been observed other than in the apparent resurrection of their queens in similar or identical bodies, perhaps through cloning. Upon assimilation of younger humanoids they are placed in maturation chambers until ready to fully join the collective mind, as they have no use for children or adolescents that cannot work.
Hundreds of ''K't'inga's'' in service at the start of the Cold War with the Dominion were slated for decommissioning and scrapping to use their raw materials to build a new fleet of ''Vor'cha's''. However, when the severity of the Changeling infiltration issue was realized by then-Chancellor [[ma:Gowron|Gowron]], the ''K't'inga's'' were instead repurposed back to war as the [[ma:Klingon-Cardassian_War|Klingon Empire invaded the Cardassian Union]] in 2372. When full-scale war broke out between the Dominion, now fully allied with the [[Cardassian Union]], and the Federation-Klingon-Romulan Alliance, the ''K't'inga's'' made up a huge backbone of the Klingon fleet. The designs, while older, were still a fearsome ship of war. The ''K't'inga'' took heavy losses during the war which was on par with the overall heavy losses of the Klingon Empire. However, by wars end, the ''K't'inga'' still numbered in the hundreds. With the decimation that the Klingon fleet took overall, the ''K't'inga'' again had its lifespan artificially increased to allow the Klingon Defense Force to build its own forces.  


The Borg are known to ignore vessel and species that are no threat or whose inclusion in the Collective will not improve it biologically or technologically. This is believed to be why large numbers of Delta Quadrant species to be ignored, particularly in the [[Nacene Reach]]. Communication with the Borg is almost always limited to their signature call for the complete surrender of their enemies, with the warning ‘''Resistance is futile'',’ and negotiation has only ever been heard of on occasions where assimilation cannot give the Collective what it wants. In such cases the Borg may speak through their Queen, or a single drone is chosen and designated as a special liaison.
As the Klingon forces recovered, the ''K't'inga'' began to be slowly phased out by the Great Houses. By the early 25th century, the ''K't'inga''-class continues to serve many of the Houses but is no longer the backbone of most forces and becomes an increasingly dwindling sight in Klingon space.


The Borg are at their most unpredictable when faced with an opponent they cannot defeat through their usual method of force. This was witnessed by ''Voyager'' when they learnt of [[ma:Species 8472|Species 8472]], who were resistant to Borg nanoprobes and immune to assimilation.
==Romulan D7==
==Technology==
[[Image:romuland7.jpg|thumb|left|The Romulan configuration of the ''D7'', easily notable by the feathered wings painted onto the hull.]]During a short alliance between the Klingons and Romulans in the mid-2260s, several deals and accords were struck; this included a swap of the D7 spaceframe design of the ''K't'inga'' from the Klingons to the Romulans. This exchange immediately altered the history of the D7 spaceframe forever by adding the class to the Romulan fleet at the time when the ''K't'inga'' was receiving upgrades within the Klingon fleet.
The Borg develop and advance their technology through assimilation of species, which has enabled them to become one of the most technologically advanced powers in the galaxy. Through this they have proven able to deploy technology such as sophisticated cybernetic implants for their drones and advanced weapon systems to enable assimilation of entire cultures.


Borg vessels normally deploy cutting beam technologies (similar to Starfleet phasers or Klingon/Romulan disruptors in deployment) which is able to, in conjunction with Borg torpedo technology, break down enemy defenses to allow for tractor beam deployment and assimilation. Vessels are in basic shapes such as cubes, spheres or diamonds with highly decentralized systems and no clear command center, engineering or living quarters. They are also equipped with transwarp coils as their primary source of power and propulsion, which allows them to travel at faster-than-warp speeds to cover great distances in much shorter times than other vessels by opening transwarp conduits. The Borg also operate large unimatricies; effectively very large starbase-type unicomplexes in strategically important locations.
By the 2270s, active development and construction of the D7 spaceframe had been discontinued by the Romulans in favor of their own, unique refit design on the platform. Eventually, the Romulans deployed their own improvement in the Stormbird-class.


Drones do not require sleep due to their cybernetics, but instead undergo a regeneration cycle in a Borg alcove. While a drone is physically inert during this period, it is also when the Collective sorts the data downloaded from its active period, and its mental capabilities still continue to contribute to its vessels computations.
The only substantial tactical difference between the Romulan and Klingon versions of the ''K't'inga'' over its production run was the inclusion of plasma torpedoes on the Romulan version.


It is unknown to what extent the Borg continue to develop and advance technology they have procured, and they are slow to adopt or learn to counter technology they have merely observed. While they have proven ruthlessly efficient at incorporating technology from those they have assimilated, there is no evidence of independent research and development by the Collective. This is usually limited to weapon systems, or technology with an obvious and immediate application; while technologies that might support or enrich a culture in other ways are retained as knowledge in the Collective, they are effectively lost if that entire society has been assimilated, discarded as inefficient in the Borg’s pursuit of perfection. This can lead to the Collective experiencing periods of technological stagnation if they do not assimilate a species with new advancements, or which does not force them to adapt.
==Current Status==
The journey of the USS ''Voyager'' confirmed the distant Delta Quadrant to be the seat of the Borg’s power, though their expansionism had been checked on occasion for a myriad of reasons. Most common were stellar phenomena inhibiting travel or communication, such as the region of Chaotic Space in the [[Gradin Belt]]. But for over a decade, the condition of the Collective after ''Voyager’s'' return was unknown to Starfleet.
Only the stabilisation of the [[Barzan Wormhole]] in 2389 and the formation of the [[Delta Exploration Initiative]] allowed the Federation to learn more of what ''Voyager'' had left in her wake. While over the next decade they could claim great advances in negotiation and understanding of Delta Quadrant races, little new has been learnt of the Borg Collective in that time. Locals from various regions have reported, however, that sightings of Borg ships are particularly rare, and there has been no confirmed assimilation of more worlds since ''Voyager’s'' sabotage.
No Starfleet ships have had a notable encounter with the Collective since 2378. Links with the [[Talaxian|Talaxians]] has given reports, including sensor records, of a flotilla’s encounter with a Cube in 2396. Only by abandoning their comrades was a single ship able to escape, and Starfleet’s study of this incident has led them to conclude that while the Collective may on the whole not be the threat it once was, individual Borg ships remain as formidable as they have ever been. Starfleet protocol continues to instruct captains to avoid the Borg under all circumstances; if their ship wants to fight, Starfleet ''will'' lose.
===Former Drones===
Most individuals are never freed from the Collective. Those who do, such as many of the crew of the Artifact, are so traumatised by the recovery of their individuality they require lifelong care. Exceptions are incredibly rare, and the majority of them - apart from well-known figures such as Jean-Luc Picard and Seven of Nine - are former crewmembers of the Artifact, or were on the ship the Collective disconnected in the late-2360s for the presence of [[ma:Hugh|Hugh]], a drone who had begun to develop his own sense of individuality. It was on the Artifact that they developed anything approaching a community, and adopted the term ‘xBs’ - ‘ex Borg’ - for themselves.
Fundamentally, assimilation by peoples of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants over the last two decades has been exceptionally rare, and their recovery even rarer. For example, it is believed the twenty-six crewmembers of the scout ship ''Shaenor'' are the only Romulans ever assimilated. While it is possible that some missing vessels whose fate has never been discovered fell foul of the Borg, no Federation ship bigger than a shuttle is confirmed to have been lost to the Collective since the Battle of Sector 001.
For any of these nearly-unique individuals who have broken free of the Collective and can live independently, existence is hard. They are widely distrusted if not reviled, and treated with apprehension even in the peaceful Federation. In volatile regions such as the old Neutral Zone, they are at risk from unscrupulous individuals who would profit from selling their cybernetic implants - which would almost always entail murder.
====Starfleet Service====
Membership in Starfleet is incredibly difficult for xBs to secure. It is most ‘common’ for those who were officers before their assimilation, and especially those for whom assimilation was brief. They undergo the most scrupulous of examination and evaluation ahead of being cleared for service, a process that might take years.
For example, [[ma:Icheb|Icheb]], a former drone who was liberated by the USS ''Voyager'' was admitted to Starfleet Academy upon the ship’s return to the Alpha Quadrant, but this was the result of years of observation and evaluation that Icheb bore patiently - and that he was an adolescent once freed, finishing his education and training aboard Federation facilities. In contrast, ''Voyager'' crewmember Seven of Nine refused to undergo such a long process of scrutiny and eventually abandoned her pursuit of service in Starfleet. Despite her years of loyal contribution to ''Voyager'', her ironically individualistic attitude and that she had been a drone since childhood contributed to a perhaps more-rigorous vetting process, and one which Seven refused to tolerate as Icheb had.
Any xBs trying to join Starfleet can expect this long and rigorous vetting process, and to be heavily scrutinised throughout their service. They must be whiter than white, more perfect and proving more trustworthy than anyone to be allowed to wear the uniform. This lack of trust in a serving Starfleet officer is unparalleled anywhere else in the organisation, and might be more challenged were xBs not such a miniscule minority; there are possibly no more than a hundred xBs living independently in the galaxy, let alone trying to be in Starfleet.
==In Play==
==In Play==
*The Borg Collective is not the major threat it once was. ''Voyager's'' sabotage in ''Endgame'' has effectively hobbled them; not only do they seem to have stopped expanding, it is possible they have even abandoned territory. This does not mean they are not feared - their absence has possibly enhanced their reputation as the bogeyman - but they are no longer a clear and present danger to the Federation.
*The original D7 spaceframe has long since been retired by the Romulans and isn't a common sight for the Klingons anymore. However, over the years some have been lost, sold, or otherwise unaccounted for. This has led to these ships falling into the hands of civilians and outside of the government’s hands.  
 
*Although these ships are antiquated by 2401, they are still a formidable opponent that should not be underestimated.
*Even in the Delta Quadrant, encounters with the Borg by Starfleet are exceptionally rare, and limited to near-misses and narrow escapes. Even in member canon, it's more appropriate to keep stories about the Borg limited to ships and drones disconnected from the Collective, or indirect encounters rather than direct confrontations.
*The Romulan configuration is most likely to be found in the hands of petty warlords or regional overlords that have popped up within Romulan space since the fall of Romulus.
 
*Despite this, individual Borg ships and drones remain as formidable as they ever have. ''Perhaps'' a fleet could now defeat a Cube, but this is untested. Such ships are only spotted far from Federation borders, where only lone Starfleet vessels would encounter them. Protocol still tells Starfleet not to engage.
 
*The Borg, as such, cannot be defeated by force of arms. This is never the story Star Trek has told about them as an enemy. Don’t meet them in a straight-up fight. They will win.
 
*Anything once of the Borg has been treated with enormous suspicion the past quarter-century. This includes technology; while Starfleet does study it, they presently prefer to learn how to best it if possible. In short, Starfleet ships aren’t packing Borg-derived superweapons; there’s still too much fear of what’s not known about this technology, or the risk the Collective might use it against them.


*This goes perhaps more so for former drones, or xBs. They are perhaps the most despised people in the galaxy, and live hard and lonely lives. Former Borg Starfleet officers must be exceptional individuals, be exceptionally well-behaved, and also have perhaps-unprecedented restrictions on their personal liberty to be allowed to serve.
==Additional Information==
*Due to the mention of the ''K't'inga'' by Captain Pike by name in SNW: Supspace Rhapsody which is set in 2259, Bravo Fleet has taken the stance that all of the ships were of the ''K't'inga''-class and that the "D7" is the specific variant of the class that changes over time. A real world example of such a thing would be the [[wikipedia:Arleigh_Burke-class_destroyer#Variants|''Arleigh Burke''-class destroyer variants]] in the real world US Navy. The ships are outwardly identical or similar overall but have significant upgrades to technology over the years.


*There remains a blossoming black market in the dark corners of the quadrants for Borg technology. This includes cybernetic implants from former drones - who have almost certainly been murdered for them to be acquired.
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[[Category:Delta Quadrant]]

Revision as of 21:15, 7 March 2024

Ktingaclass.jpg
K't'inga Class
Information
Affiliation
Status

Active

Role

Battlecruiser

Lineage
Preceding Class

Sech-class

Succeeding Class Vor'cha-class
Service
Operator
Entered Service

2258

Production Ended

2369

Endurance
Expected Design Life

100 Years

Expected Refit Cycle

15 Years

Expected Resupply Cycle

3 Years

Crew Capacity
Standard Complement

350

Emergency Capacity

1,500

Dimensions
Length

349.54 meters

Width

251.76 meters

Height

98.41 meters

Decks

25

Propulsion
Propulsion Systems

Matter/Antimatter powered warp drive

Cruise Speed

Warp 7

Maximum Speed

Warp 9.6

Emergency Speed

Warp 9.8 (12 hours)

Armaments
Energy Weapons

6x disruptor cannons

Torpedo Launchers
  • 1x forward
  • 1x aft
Torpedo Payload
  • 150 photon torpedoes
  • 100 plasma torpedoes (Romulan version)
Shields
  • Deflector shields
  • Cloaking device
Template:Specification

The K't'inga-class battlecruiser was historically and prominently the frontline battlecruiser of the Klingon Empire for the second half of the 23rd century and well into the 24th century. Through various refits and modernizations, the K't'inga continued service well past her intended design life and into the Dominion War. Although a much rarer sight in the 25th century with the wide deployment of the Vor'cha-class battlecruiser, the K't'inga can still be found throughout Klingon space and the frontier as a multi-purposed ship of war.

Exploration and Science

Although a ship bred for war and used as a battlecuiser, the K't'inga is a deceptively adept exploration platform. The original design expectation that the K't'inga would be forced onto the fringe frontier of Klingon space for months or maybe even years at a time required that the ship be equipped with a suite of sensors to handle the unknown. This served multiple purposes in being able to relay mapping data, both passive and active, back to Klingon command to be analyzed as well as using the K't'inga's advanced sensor suite in combat situations against perspective targets. Historically, because of the advanced K't'inga sensors, the ubiquitous nature of the vessel throughout its lifetime, and the data collected over the years, the Klingon Defense Force was able to passively map out large swaths of the Klingon frontier.

The K't'inga, being the workhorse battlecruiser of the Klingon Empire for almost 100 years, also served as its premier ship of exploration in any sense that the Klingon Empire was interested in such endeavors. Compared to other Klingon vessels of her era, the K't'inga is the most well-equipped for scientific duties. Although, for a Klingon warship design, that leaves much to be desired. If ever a matter of science or exploration was required, the K't'inga was the ship that was deployed for such matters during much of its lifetime. In the modern era, ships with more advanced sensor suites such as the Vor'cha-class or Negh'Var-class would primarily be deployed to any exploration assignments of importance.

Diplomacy

Much like exploration, the K't'inga-class was not designed with diplomacy in mind other than through superior firepower against enemy forces. However, the K't'inga has historically been used by the Klingon Empire as a ship of diplomatic gesture throughout the mid to late 23rd century. To that end, the K't'inga has been equipped with a limited amount of conference rooms and stately guest quarters for visiting dignitaries.

Engineering

A ship born out of and bred for war, the K't'inga-class was an amalgamation of the best parts of the separate Great House's designs rolled into one vaguely familiar frame. The K't'inga-class battlecruiser incorporated aspects of the M'Chla-class, Chargh-class, and Qugh-class, but especially from the Sech-class and BortaS bir-class. Overall, the design appeared as a predator stalking the depths of space. The primary hull was almost wing-like, with two nacelles on each side, connecting a long "neck" with a "head" command section.

Tactical

At the time of its deployment, the K't'inga-class battlecruiser was easily the most formidable ship in the Alpha or Beta Quadrants. The K't'inga excels in combat, boasting an impressive weapons array, a cloaking device, incredibly resilient shields, and a new generation warp drive capable of propelling the ship to sustained speeds of Warp 9. The new warp drive also efficiently routed power through the vessel to its weapons systems, allowing for a more powerful disruptor blast than anything that had been fielded by the Klingons previously. Due to its main weapons array pointing forward from the ship, the thruster design throughout also makes it one of the most maneuverable vessels of its era for its size, able to bring its main weapons to bear against an enemy with ease.

The K't'inga-class is also an efficient combat vessel in several other areas including ship-to-ship combat, troop transport and deployment, and orbital or siege bombardment of stationary targets. In fact, compared to its contemporaries at the time, the only real threat to a K't'inga-class battlecruiser in one-on-one combat was the Starfleet Constitution-class starship.

Shipboard Life

The K't'inga was never built with comfort in mind. With that being said, the vessel was far more comfortable than its previous counterparts or contemporaries. The ship boasted actual leisure facilities; this was specifically unlike the Klingon designs that came before it. Leisure facilities vary between the Klingon and Romulan configurations of the design but largely include a massive mess hall, training facilities including a gym and bat’leth hall, and even limited holo facilities. However, when fully manned with troops for transport, quarters on the K't'inga are cramped and even the ship's captain would be forced to share accommodations.

Class History

The K't'inga-class battlecruiser first came to life as a design brought forth to the Klingon High Council by Chancellor L'Rell in 2257. The original design within the K't'inga-class, the D7 spaceframe, was an amalgamation of the greatest successes of the different designs that the Great Houses employed through their individual fleets. These designs were disparate from one another, indicative of the fracturing of the Klingon people during this time period in Klingon history, but all derived from much older designs such as the Vo'n'talk-class, Devastator-class, and Raptor-class of centuries past. Chancellor L'Rell saw the new K't'inga-class as a unifier of the Klingon people and ordered its mass production throughout the Great Houses as a symbol of that Klingon unity. The first K't'inga's were deployed only a few months later in order to assist the USS Enterprise against a rogue Federation armada. After this battle, the K't'inga did finally enter mass production as the Chancellor had asked for and quickly became the flagship and backbone of many of the Great Houses, and therefore, the Klingon Defense Force as a whole.

The original D7 spaceframe of the K't'inga-class firing a torpedo.

The first major change to the K't'inga came in the mid-2260s. By that point, the K't'inga had been in service for over 5 years and the engineers of the Klingon Defense Force had several suggested refits and remodels for the ship to increase its performance. This lined up with a budding alliance with the Romulan Star Empire, in which the Romulans were incredibly interested in the K't'inga design. The Klingons, knowing that the original K't'inga design was about to undergo a significant upgrade, traded the original design to the Romulans in exchange for the Romulans relinquishing all claims to the contested planet of Khitomer, a Klingon stronghold and one of the most strategically important planets in the Empire. Shortly after, the Klingon K't'inga's were upgraded from the D7 spaceframe to the D7A spaceframe, leaving the Romulans with the older design while the Klingons moved forward.

In subsequent decades, the Klingons continued to upgrade the K't'inga spaceframe. One of the most infamous iterations of a spaceframe appeared in the 2290s when the flagship of the Klingon Chancellor Gorkon, Kronos One, was deployed under the D7E spaceframe. Kronos One was vitally important to the signing of the Khitomer Accords, the Federation-Klingon Alliance that blossomed from those accords, and the future of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants as a whole. Many years later, as a symbol of peace and friendship, the Klingon Empire gifted Kronos One to the Federation to be displayed in the Starfleet Fleet Museum over Athan Prime.

The D7E spaceframe continued as the primary deployment of the K't'inga-class until the 2340s, when the D7F spaceframe was deployed as a significant upgrade to the internal systems of the K't'inga-class. The K't'inga-class continued for another 20 years undisturbed until the development and deployment of the Vor'cha-class battlecruiser. Seen as the first significant class in the Empire in over a generation, the Vor'cha was slated to replace the K't'inga within a decade as a massive improvement in every aspect. However, as the next decade rolled around and a new enemy came into sight, the lifespan of the K't'inga was artificially inflated.

Hundreds of K't'inga's in service at the start of the Cold War with the Dominion were slated for decommissioning and scrapping to use their raw materials to build a new fleet of Vor'cha's. However, when the severity of the Changeling infiltration issue was realized by then-Chancellor Gowron, the K't'inga's were instead repurposed back to war as the Klingon Empire invaded the Cardassian Union in 2372. When full-scale war broke out between the Dominion, now fully allied with the Cardassian Union, and the Federation-Klingon-Romulan Alliance, the K't'inga's made up a huge backbone of the Klingon fleet. The designs, while older, were still a fearsome ship of war. The K't'inga took heavy losses during the war which was on par with the overall heavy losses of the Klingon Empire. However, by wars end, the K't'inga still numbered in the hundreds. With the decimation that the Klingon fleet took overall, the K't'inga again had its lifespan artificially increased to allow the Klingon Defense Force to build its own forces.

As the Klingon forces recovered, the K't'inga began to be slowly phased out by the Great Houses. By the early 25th century, the K't'inga-class continues to serve many of the Houses but is no longer the backbone of most forces and becomes an increasingly dwindling sight in Klingon space.

Romulan D7

The Romulan configuration of the D7, easily notable by the feathered wings painted onto the hull.

During a short alliance between the Klingons and Romulans in the mid-2260s, several deals and accords were struck; this included a swap of the D7 spaceframe design of the K't'inga from the Klingons to the Romulans. This exchange immediately altered the history of the D7 spaceframe forever by adding the class to the Romulan fleet at the time when the K't'inga was receiving upgrades within the Klingon fleet.

By the 2270s, active development and construction of the D7 spaceframe had been discontinued by the Romulans in favor of their own, unique refit design on the platform. Eventually, the Romulans deployed their own improvement in the Stormbird-class.

The only substantial tactical difference between the Romulan and Klingon versions of the K't'inga over its production run was the inclusion of plasma torpedoes on the Romulan version.

In Play

  • The original D7 spaceframe has long since been retired by the Romulans and isn't a common sight for the Klingons anymore. However, over the years some have been lost, sold, or otherwise unaccounted for. This has led to these ships falling into the hands of civilians and outside of the government’s hands.
  • Although these ships are antiquated by 2401, they are still a formidable opponent that should not be underestimated.
  • The Romulan configuration is most likely to be found in the hands of petty warlords or regional overlords that have popped up within Romulan space since the fall of Romulus.

Additional Information

  • Due to the mention of the K't'inga by Captain Pike by name in SNW: Supspace Rhapsody which is set in 2259, Bravo Fleet has taken the stance that all of the ships were of the K't'inga-class and that the "D7" is the specific variant of the class that changes over time. A real world example of such a thing would be the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer variants in the real world US Navy. The ships are outwardly identical or similar overall but have significant upgrades to technology over the years.
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