Difference between pages "USS Constitution" and "B'rel class"

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{{Specification
{{Starship
| image = [[Image:Brelclass.png]]
| name = Constitution
| displayName = '''''B'rel'' Class'''
| prefix = USS
| name = B'rel
| image = [[File:Constitution-III-NCC-91700.jpg|center]]
| affiliation = [[Klingon Empire]]
| registry = NCC-91700
| operator = [[Klingon Defense Force]]
| class = Constitution III
| type = Explorer
| affiliation = [[Starfleet]], [[United Federation of Planets]]
| status = Active
| status = Active
| commission = 2400
| role = *Warship
| decommission =  
*Scout
| destroyed =
| type = Bird-of-Prey
| unit =  
| precedingClass = M'Chla
| taskforce = Fourth Fleet Operations
| succeedingClass =  
| taskgroup =  
| dateEntered = 2275
| squadron = Odyssey Squadron
| productionEnd =  
| mothership =  
| retired =  
| homeport =  
| expectedDuration = 80 Years
| role =
| expectedRefit = 10 Years
| co = [[bfms_char:69120|Captain Horatio McCallister]]
| timeResupply = 6 Months
| xo = [[bfms_char:69118|Commander Thaustin]]
| crewComplement = 12
| dedication =  
| emergencyCap = 50
[[File:ConstitutionPlaque.png|center]]
| civilians =
}}
| populationCap =  
{{quote| What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.|'''T.S. Elliot - ''Ship's Dedication Quote'''''}}
| flightCrew =
The '''USS ''Constitution'' (NCC-91700)''' is a [[Constitution III Class|''Constitution III''-class]] [[Federation]] starship and was the prototype for the class. The ''Constitution'' is an explorer and was launched in 2400. Initially she remained at the [[ma: San Francisco Fleet Yards|San Francisco Fleet Yards]] undergoing reviews and tests on her new systems. Though others of her class had been launched, the ''Constitution'' played the role of test-bed until mid-2401. After the fiasco at Frontier Day, Starfleet decided to send off with a permanent captain and crew.  
| passengers =  
| length = 157.76 meters
| width = 181.54 meters
| diameter =
| height = 98.54 meters
| decks = 6
| propulsionSystem = Matter/Antimatter powered warp drive
| cruiseSpeed = Warp 6.5
| maxSpeed = Warp 8.5
| emergencySpeed =  Warp 9.8 (3 hours)
| energyWeapons = 2x wing-mounted disruptor cannons
| torpLaunchers = *1x forward
*1x aft
| torpPayload = 50 photon torpedoes
| shields = *Klingon deflector shields
*Klingon cloaking device
| dockingfacilities =
| shuttleBays =
| shuttles =
| runabouts =
| fighters =
| aux =
| msd =
}}The '''''B'rel''-class bird-of-prey''' has been the premier versatile multi-purpose warship of the [[Klingon Empire]] since its inception in the late 23rd century. Although the overall original design is over a century old, several rounds of system refits and upgrades over the decades and its ease of production have kept this design at the forefront of Klingon military technology. Because of these ongoing upgrades, the ''B'rel'' is one of the most ubiquitous starships in the Klingon Empire.
   
===Exploration and Science===
The ''B'rel'' class is not, by any means, a ship of exploration or science. The primary use of its sensor array is to track down and hunt targets. The ''B'rel'' has limited capabilities to survey astronomic phenomena and would be far more likely to deploy a probe and signal for a more capable vessel to return to the area for a more extensive survey.  


Captain Horatio McCallister was given command of the ship by Fleet Admiral Luke Duncan and ordered to join the [[Odyssey Squadron]]. McCallister had previously command the [[USS Bellerophon|USS ''Bellerophon'']] and was interim captain on the [[USS Triton|USS ''Triton'']]. As both of these vessels suffered heavy damage from the events surrounding Frontier Day, those crewmembers who had survived and were available were assigned to the ''Constitution.''  
===Diplomacy===
Much like exploration, the ''B'rel'' has extremely limited diplomatic facilities or functionality. The ship is, at best, an escort for a larger vessel of diplomacy. Should the need for diplomacy arise, short of having a Klingon general on board, a ''B'rel'' would be most likely to report back to the nearest starbase so that a true diplomatic attachment could be sent in its stead.


== Design and Layout ==
===Engineering===
Being the prototype, the ''Constitution'' was designed to try and capture the essence of the original [[Constitution Class|''Constitution-''class]]. A number of her features carry on certain styles from the 2250/60s era with a 25th century twist. One aspect from the original ''Constitution''-class is the colour scheme. The overall aesthetic of the colour scheme incorporated a dominant blend of red-orange hues, which were elegantly contrasted by the light grey panelling. Additionally, a thoughtful touch was added to the interior design with the installation of soft white or multicoloured lights, perfectly placed within the floor, wall panelling, and ceiling to complement and enhance the beauty of the chosen colours.
The ''B'rel'' is a simple design that follows the lineage of the Klingon-designed birds-of-prey dating back to the earliest years of Klingon interstellar travel. The design consists of a central "body", a "neck" with a "head" at the fore, and two "wings" flanking the body. The ship is capable of three configurations, signaled by the positioning of the wings on the ''B'rel'': cruise (wings out), attack (wings down), and landing (wings up). Over the years the design has stayed the same while systems including the warp drive, impulse drive, disruptor cannons, and torpedo launchers have been refitted, upgraded, and even completely replaced throughout the design's history.


=== Shipboard life ===
Like all previous bird-of-prey designs, the ''B'rel'' is capable of atmospheric flight and planet landing. This can increase its ability to stay away from a home port by making planetfall to enact critical repairs. Additionally, the ''B'rel'' can use planets to restock supplies such as foodstuffs or raw materials used to make new spare parts or even additional photon torpedoes.
The ''Constitution'' ran on four duty shifts. Alpha shift started at 0900 hours and finished at 1500 hours. Beta shift started at 1500 hours and finished at 2100 hours. Gamma shift started at 2100 hours and finished at 0300 hours. Finally, Delta Shift began at 0300 hours and ended at 0900 hours.  


All enlisted officers on board the ''Constitution'' were expected to share quarters with three others, while those with the rank of ensign and who weren't department heads would have to share with an officer of a similar position. The senior staff and those ranked from lieutenant junior grade had their own quarters. The ''Constitution'' had no civilians assigned to her, however had room for any specialists if the mission required it.  
Throughout the hundred-plus years of its service, the ''B'rel'' has largely been one of the most well-engineered vessels in the Klingon Defense Force arsenal. While visually identical throughout the years, several subclasses of the ''B'rel'' have sprung up as technological advances are made. As these advances come, the ''B'rel'' continues to get engineering refits class-wide.


As the ''Constitution'' housed both crews from the ''Triton'' and ''Bellerophon'', the former had quite a diverse crew. As such the ship's environmental controls as well as crew support facilities were revamped to support such a variety of races.  
===Tactical===
While typically used as a scout, the ''B'rel'' class is a ship that is still quite dangerous by itself, utilizing its cloaking device to make surprise attack runs on targets. The ''B'rel'' has also proven itself by being used during times of war in packs, or wings, for concentrated attacks against larger, sometimes stationary, targets like capital ships and space stations. Although typically outgunned by cruiser-type vessels, the ''B'rel'' is small, agile, and highly maneuverable while still being able to inflict high amounts of damage. This gives them the ability to hold their own against many other ships that 'outclass' them and also makes them the perfect warship for Klingon attacks on enemy starbases and planetary outposts.


=== Main Bridge, Deck One ===
Armaments employed aboard ''B'rel''-class vessels have varied widely over their long service life, but the most common set of armaments is two forward-firing medium disruptor cannons located on the wingtips, a medium torpedo launcher located forward just beneath the bridge, and a light aft-firing torpedo launcher located just above the impulse engine. These ships are geared towards frontal assaults, followed by repositioning under cloak, and struggle when swarmed or otherwise boxed in by threat vessels. Some vessels of this class have been equipped with disrupter beam emitters on the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the ship to address this deficit, but the majority of Klingon houses have not bothered with doing so, preferring instead to let ''B'rel'' captains prove their worth through guile, instinct, and tactics rather than technology.
[[File:USS Constitution bridge 1.jpg|left|thumb|300x300px|Bridge of the USS Constitution, c. 2400]]
When the ''Constitution'' was built, her bridge design was altered compared to her sister ships. Instead of using the same design used in the [[Sagan Class|''Sagan''-class]], as a nod to its historical lineage, the bridge was design like an original ''Constitution'' class. Though this nostalgic approach was a welcome one, when Captain McCallister took command, he requested a slight modification. He had the platform his chair was on extended and two more command chairs placed either side of it. This was something he was used to from the ''Bellerophon'' and enjoyed from the ''Triton''.  


In front of the command pit, the helm station was situated to the right and the operations station to the left. Near the turbolift access were the engineering, security, and tactical stations. Following these were the main viewer, mission ops, communications and the science station. A small aisle, located between the science and communication stations, led to the captain's ready. The bridge had a rounded corridor surrounding it, which led to the main conference room.
===Shipboard Life===
The ''B'rel''-class is a ship that is quintessentially Klingon to its core. With very few amenities, life on a ''B'rel'' is a cramped one of committing to the duty of the ship. The ship is efficiently built with little to no room to spare. Crew quarters are largely barrack style with some double bunks. Very few single cabins exist on the ship and are solely reserved for the captain and select officers. A mess hall exists that can accommodate the entire crew at once and is largely the extent of "recreation" on a ''B'rel''.  


Fitted into the bridge, along with every other section of the ship, are holographic emitters allowing for holo-communication to take place and for the ship's holographic crew to operate.
The standard complement for a ''B'rel'' is 12 crew, but certain mission profiles may call for more. The ''B'rel'', even for a ship its size, can still comfortably (by Klingon standards) crew up to 36 crew members.


=== Support Craft ===
==Class History==
To avoid waiting for Starfleet to build brand new shuttles for the ship, Captain McCallister requested those shuttles and runabouts that survived from the ''Bellerophon'' and ''Triton'' to be assigned to the ''Constitution''.  
The ''B'rel'' first began development in the late 2260s as the first Klingon design to natively include the new and enhanced Klingon cloaking device derived from the Klingon vessel [[ma:Sarcophagus|''Sarcophagus]]; while other Klingon ships had used the cloaking technology in the interim, the ''B'rel'' was the first to be built with it integrated into the design. The ''B'rel'' was the first new bird-of-prey design in a generation and had a direct lineage from its immediate predecessor, the [[M'Chla class|''M'Chla''-class]] bird-of-prey, and its predecessor before that the [[ma:Klingon_Bird-of-Prey_(22nd_century)|''Vo'n'talk''-class]] bird-of-prey. By the 2290s, the ''B'rel'' could be found wide and far throughout Klingon territory used in several different roles. The native inclusion of the new cloaking device allowed the ship to become a dangerous predator in the depths of space. In fact, the first ''B'rel'' encountered by the [[United Federation of Planets]] was during the [[ma:Genesis_(planet)|Genesis Incident]] which indirectly caused the destruction of the [[ma:USS_Enterprise_(NCC-1701)|USS Enterprise]], also resulting in the capture of the ''B'rel'' by Rear Admiral [[ma:James_T._Kirk|James T. Kirk]]. This vessel remains in Starfleet hands at the Fleet Museum over Athan Prime.


He even kept the captain's yacht in memory of Captain Rio Canção, who sacrificed her life for her crew on the ''Triton'' and Federation citizens.  
After that incident, the run-ins with the ''B'rel'' on the frontier against both the Federation and Romulan Star Empire increased exponentially. The ease of construction, adaptability, and versatility of the design allowed the Klingon Empire to mass-produce these vessels at staggering rates. Additionally, many upgrades and customizations to the ''B'rel'' systems allowed for the [[Great Houses]] to customize their own with slight modifications over the coming decades.


As the ship was heading to the Delta Quadrant, it was given six [[Starfighters|''Valkyrie-''class]] starfighters to support the large wing assigned to the USS ''Odyssey'' and USS ''Themis.''  
By the 2370s, the ''B'rel'' had been in service to the Empire for a hundred years. There were thousands of these vessels in service, and likely just as many lost over the years in glorious battles. However, the class received its largest litmus test during the [[ma:Dominion_War|Dominion War]] in the 2370s. As the Klingons entered the war against the [[Dominion]], they largely found themselves responsible for counteracting the Dominion's most pervasive warship: the [[:Category:Dominion_Starship_Classes#Jem.27Hadar_Fighter|Dominion attack ship]]. Originally the Dominion attack ships quickly overwhelmed the Klingon ''B'rel''s showing superior weaponry and tactics. However, within only a few weeks of the war, the Klingons were able to develop new techniques for fighting enemies that were so unlike anything they had encountered before. Using Federation shield upgrades on their ships, and a few modifications to their weapons systems, the ''B'rel'' proved to be a match for the Dominion attack ship. Nearly neck-and-neck in every way, the remainder of the encounters during the Dominion War were decided by pure tactics and ship commander experience when the two ships ever came head to head. The ''B'rel'' proved to be very successful against the Dominion attack ships; so much so that the Klingon flagship, the [[ma:IKS_Rotarran|IKS ''Rotarran'']], was a ''B'rel''-class bird-of-prey.


====Support Craft Assigned====
During the Dominion War, the [[Klingon Defense Force]] was hit the hardest of the Alliance in terms of ships lost. Many of these ships for the Klingon Empire were of the ''B'rel'' class. However, because of the ease of construction of the ''B'rel'', hundreds more of these ships have been constructed to recoup the losses of the war and continue production into the 25th century. Additionally, the Klingon Empire has continued to enact persistent overhauls to the internal systems of the ''B'rel'' to keep it on par with the latest technical advances. The ''B'rel'' continues to be in widespread use across the Klingon Empire by all houses, both major and minor, with no end in sight on its production.
*'''Shuttles:'''
**[[Personnel Shuttles#Type-8 Shuttle|Type 8]]: ''Isander, Hippolochus, Laodamia''
**[[Personnel Shuttles#Type 12 Shuttle|Type 12]]: ''Noble, Philonoe, Asteria''
**[[Personnel Shuttles#Type 14 Shuttle|Type 14]]: ''Hark, Cooper''
*'''Cargo Shuttles:'''
**[[Cargo Shuttles#Type-17 Cargo Shuttle|Type 17]]: ''Hydissos, Bronden''
*'''Runabouts:'''
**[[Runabouts#Delta-class runabout|''Delta''-Class]]: ''Adelaide, Chimera''
**[[Runabouts#Volga-class runabout|''Volga-''Class]]: ''Deliades, Jaz''
*'''Other support craft:'''
**Captain’s Yacht: ''Rivière Chanson''


== History ==
===''K'vort''-class===
[[Image:Kvortclass.jpg|thumb|right|The ''K'Vort''-class in attack configuration.]]The ''K'vort''-class bird-of-prey is a wholly different class from the ''B'rel'', but is distinct only in size. Everything about the ''K'vort'' is just a scaled-up ''B'rel''. Originally built in the 2340s as a response to Romulan aggression, the ''K'vort'' serves as a troop transport being able to hold upwards of 400 troops with an additional 150 crew. The sole premise of the vessel is that it uses the original ''B'rel'' design to pack as many troops as possible onto the vessel that can then successfully and safely make planetfall to rapidly deploy troops. Due to its very niche design, the ''K'vort'' is not a common sight in the Empire and is primarily purpose-built with very few exceptions.


=== 2400+ ===
==In Play==
Built at the San Francisco Fleet Yards, the ''Constitution'' was the test bed for the new class that it shared a name with. When the ship was completed, Starfleet decided to keep it in the yards to test out new systems and to ensure that the newest ''Constitution'' class can support them. As a result a captain was not selected until after the Frontier Day disaster. Seeing the need to get as many ships 'out there', the ''Constitution'' was assigned to the Fourth Fleet and Fleet Admiral Luke Duncan, the fleet's newest Operations Director, gave command of the ''Constitution'' to Captain Horatio McCallister. McCallister assembled his crew, based on those officers available from his previous command the USS ''Bellerophon'' and the USS ''Triton''. Duncan authorised for the ''Constitution'' to join the Odyssey Squadron once the USS ''Odyssey'' and USS ''Themis'' were repaired.
*The ''B'rel'' is still one of the most common designs in use by the Klingon Empire, even in the 25th century. This is due to the fact that they had to be mass-produced following the Dominion War for the Empire to regain its military capacity after such immense losses.
*Make no mistake - just because the ''B'rel'' is an "old" design doesn't mean it can't still hold its own. The ship has been getting regular refits over the years to keep it in line with other ships in surrounding empires as well as between Great Houses.
*The ''B'rel'' is a dogfighter. Its main tactic is to make runs at targets in their fore, cloak, and reposition themselves for another attack run. Their goal is to always keep their enemy in front of them where they can bring their main weapons to bear.
*The ''B'rel'' is one of the best examples of the Klingons finding a design that works and, true to their militaristic nature, using it until the wheels fall off. The ''B'rel'' won't be fully replaced until a new bird-of-prey design comes out that completely overshadows the ''B'rel''. It's also favored by too many captains who know and trust the design.


==Crew==
{{clear}}
===Command Staff===
*'''Commanding Officer:'''
**Captain [[bfms_char:69120|Horatio McCallister]] ([[ma:Human|Human]] Male) <small>(2401+)</small>
*'''Executive Officer:'''
**Commander [[bfms_char:69118|Thaustin]] ([[ma:Xindi-Primate|Xindi-Primate]] Male) <small>(2401+)</small>
*'''Second Executive Officer:'''
**Commander [[bfms_char:69107|Belire Kazlaf]] ([[ma:Elaysian|Elaysian]] Female) <small>(2401+)</small>
*'''Third Executive Officer:'''
**Lieutenant Commander [[bfms_char:69173|Rubon Jarata]] ([[ma: Risian|Risian]] Male) <small>(2401+)</small>
===Senior Staff/Department Heads===
*'''Chief Flight Control Officer:'''
**Lieutenant Commander Rubon Jarata (Risian Male) <small>(2401+)</small>
*'''Chief Science Officer:'''
**Commander Belire Kazlaf (Elaysian Female) <small>(2401+)</small>
*'''Chief Medical Officer:'''
**Lieutenant Commander [[bfms_char:69114|Kamra Uknare]] ([[ma:Haliian|Haliian]] Female) <small>(2401+)</small>
*'''Chief Counsellor:'''
**Lieutenant [[bfms_char:69110|Naef-Oron]] ([[ma:Brikar|Brikar]] Male) <small>(2401+)</small>
*'''Chief Engineer:'''
**Lieutenant Junior Grade [[bfms_char:69181|T'Penni]] ([[ma:Vulcan|Vulcan]] Female) <small>(2401+)</small>
*'''Chief Operations Officer:'''
**Lieutenant [[bfms_char:69099|Ethav Th'vohless]] (Andorian ''thaan''/male) <small>(2401+)</small>
*'''Chief Security & Tactical Officer:'''
**Lieutenant Junior Grade [[bfms_char:69103|Natima Lonar]] ([[ma:Cardassian|Cardassian]] Female) <small>(2401+)</small>

Revision as of 21:12, 7 March 2024

Brelclass.png
B'rel Class
Information
Affiliation

Klingon Empire

Status

Active

Type

Bird-of-Prey

Role
  • Warship
  • Scout
Lineage
Preceding Class

M'Chla-class

Service
Operator

Klingon Defense Force

Entered Service

2275

Endurance
Expected Design Life

80 Years

Expected Refit Cycle

10 Years

Expected Resupply Cycle

6 Months

Crew Capacity
Standard Complement

12

Emergency Capacity

50

Dimensions
Length

157.76 meters

Width

181.54 meters

Height

98.54 meters

Decks

6

Propulsion
Propulsion Systems

Matter/Antimatter powered warp drive

Cruise Speed

Warp 6.5

Maximum Speed

Warp 8.5

Emergency Speed

Warp 9.8 (3 hours)

Armaments
Energy Weapons

2x wing-mounted disruptor cannons

Torpedo Launchers
  • 1x forward
  • 1x aft
Torpedo Payload

50 photon torpedoes

Shields
  • Klingon deflector shields
  • Klingon cloaking device
Template:Specification

The B'rel-class bird-of-prey has been the premier versatile multi-purpose warship of the Klingon Empire since its inception in the late 23rd century. Although the overall original design is over a century old, several rounds of system refits and upgrades over the decades and its ease of production have kept this design at the forefront of Klingon military technology. Because of these ongoing upgrades, the B'rel is one of the most ubiquitous starships in the Klingon Empire.

Exploration and Science

The B'rel class is not, by any means, a ship of exploration or science. The primary use of its sensor array is to track down and hunt targets. The B'rel has limited capabilities to survey astronomic phenomena and would be far more likely to deploy a probe and signal for a more capable vessel to return to the area for a more extensive survey.

Diplomacy

Much like exploration, the B'rel has extremely limited diplomatic facilities or functionality. The ship is, at best, an escort for a larger vessel of diplomacy. Should the need for diplomacy arise, short of having a Klingon general on board, a B'rel would be most likely to report back to the nearest starbase so that a true diplomatic attachment could be sent in its stead.

Engineering

The B'rel is a simple design that follows the lineage of the Klingon-designed birds-of-prey dating back to the earliest years of Klingon interstellar travel. The design consists of a central "body", a "neck" with a "head" at the fore, and two "wings" flanking the body. The ship is capable of three configurations, signaled by the positioning of the wings on the B'rel: cruise (wings out), attack (wings down), and landing (wings up). Over the years the design has stayed the same while systems including the warp drive, impulse drive, disruptor cannons, and torpedo launchers have been refitted, upgraded, and even completely replaced throughout the design's history.

Like all previous bird-of-prey designs, the B'rel is capable of atmospheric flight and planet landing. This can increase its ability to stay away from a home port by making planetfall to enact critical repairs. Additionally, the B'rel can use planets to restock supplies such as foodstuffs or raw materials used to make new spare parts or even additional photon torpedoes.

Throughout the hundred-plus years of its service, the B'rel has largely been one of the most well-engineered vessels in the Klingon Defense Force arsenal. While visually identical throughout the years, several subclasses of the B'rel have sprung up as technological advances are made. As these advances come, the B'rel continues to get engineering refits class-wide.

Tactical

While typically used as a scout, the B'rel class is a ship that is still quite dangerous by itself, utilizing its cloaking device to make surprise attack runs on targets. The B'rel has also proven itself by being used during times of war in packs, or wings, for concentrated attacks against larger, sometimes stationary, targets like capital ships and space stations. Although typically outgunned by cruiser-type vessels, the B'rel is small, agile, and highly maneuverable while still being able to inflict high amounts of damage. This gives them the ability to hold their own against many other ships that 'outclass' them and also makes them the perfect warship for Klingon attacks on enemy starbases and planetary outposts.

Armaments employed aboard B'rel-class vessels have varied widely over their long service life, but the most common set of armaments is two forward-firing medium disruptor cannons located on the wingtips, a medium torpedo launcher located forward just beneath the bridge, and a light aft-firing torpedo launcher located just above the impulse engine. These ships are geared towards frontal assaults, followed by repositioning under cloak, and struggle when swarmed or otherwise boxed in by threat vessels. Some vessels of this class have been equipped with disrupter beam emitters on the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the ship to address this deficit, but the majority of Klingon houses have not bothered with doing so, preferring instead to let B'rel captains prove their worth through guile, instinct, and tactics rather than technology.

Shipboard Life

The B'rel-class is a ship that is quintessentially Klingon to its core. With very few amenities, life on a B'rel is a cramped one of committing to the duty of the ship. The ship is efficiently built with little to no room to spare. Crew quarters are largely barrack style with some double bunks. Very few single cabins exist on the ship and are solely reserved for the captain and select officers. A mess hall exists that can accommodate the entire crew at once and is largely the extent of "recreation" on a B'rel.

The standard complement for a B'rel is 12 crew, but certain mission profiles may call for more. The B'rel, even for a ship its size, can still comfortably (by Klingon standards) crew up to 36 crew members.

Class History

The B'rel first began development in the late 2260s as the first Klingon design to natively include the new and enhanced Klingon cloaking device derived from the Klingon vessel Sarcophagus; while other Klingon ships had used the cloaking technology in the interim, the B'rel was the first to be built with it integrated into the design. The B'rel was the first new bird-of-prey design in a generation and had a direct lineage from its immediate predecessor, the M'Chla-class bird-of-prey, and its predecessor before that the Vo'n'talk-class bird-of-prey. By the 2290s, the B'rel could be found wide and far throughout Klingon territory used in several different roles. The native inclusion of the new cloaking device allowed the ship to become a dangerous predator in the depths of space. In fact, the first B'rel encountered by the United Federation of Planets was during the Genesis Incident which indirectly caused the destruction of the USS Enterprise, also resulting in the capture of the B'rel by Rear Admiral James T. Kirk. This vessel remains in Starfleet hands at the Fleet Museum over Athan Prime.

After that incident, the run-ins with the B'rel on the frontier against both the Federation and Romulan Star Empire increased exponentially. The ease of construction, adaptability, and versatility of the design allowed the Klingon Empire to mass-produce these vessels at staggering rates. Additionally, many upgrades and customizations to the B'rel systems allowed for the Great Houses to customize their own with slight modifications over the coming decades.

By the 2370s, the B'rel had been in service to the Empire for a hundred years. There were thousands of these vessels in service, and likely just as many lost over the years in glorious battles. However, the class received its largest litmus test during the Dominion War in the 2370s. As the Klingons entered the war against the Dominion, they largely found themselves responsible for counteracting the Dominion's most pervasive warship: the Dominion attack ship. Originally the Dominion attack ships quickly overwhelmed the Klingon B'rels showing superior weaponry and tactics. However, within only a few weeks of the war, the Klingons were able to develop new techniques for fighting enemies that were so unlike anything they had encountered before. Using Federation shield upgrades on their ships, and a few modifications to their weapons systems, the B'rel proved to be a match for the Dominion attack ship. Nearly neck-and-neck in every way, the remainder of the encounters during the Dominion War were decided by pure tactics and ship commander experience when the two ships ever came head to head. The B'rel proved to be very successful against the Dominion attack ships; so much so that the Klingon flagship, the IKS Rotarran, was a B'rel-class bird-of-prey.

During the Dominion War, the Klingon Defense Force was hit the hardest of the Alliance in terms of ships lost. Many of these ships for the Klingon Empire were of the B'rel class. However, because of the ease of construction of the B'rel, hundreds more of these ships have been constructed to recoup the losses of the war and continue production into the 25th century. Additionally, the Klingon Empire has continued to enact persistent overhauls to the internal systems of the B'rel to keep it on par with the latest technical advances. The B'rel continues to be in widespread use across the Klingon Empire by all houses, both major and minor, with no end in sight on its production.

K'vort-class

The K'Vort-class in attack configuration.

The K'vort-class bird-of-prey is a wholly different class from the B'rel, but is distinct only in size. Everything about the K'vort is just a scaled-up B'rel. Originally built in the 2340s as a response to Romulan aggression, the K'vort serves as a troop transport being able to hold upwards of 400 troops with an additional 150 crew. The sole premise of the vessel is that it uses the original B'rel design to pack as many troops as possible onto the vessel that can then successfully and safely make planetfall to rapidly deploy troops. Due to its very niche design, the K'vort is not a common sight in the Empire and is primarily purpose-built with very few exceptions.

In Play

  • The B'rel is still one of the most common designs in use by the Klingon Empire, even in the 25th century. This is due to the fact that they had to be mass-produced following the Dominion War for the Empire to regain its military capacity after such immense losses.
  • Make no mistake - just because the B'rel is an "old" design doesn't mean it can't still hold its own. The ship has been getting regular refits over the years to keep it in line with other ships in surrounding empires as well as between Great Houses.
  • The B'rel is a dogfighter. Its main tactic is to make runs at targets in their fore, cloak, and reposition themselves for another attack run. Their goal is to always keep their enemy in front of them where they can bring their main weapons to bear.
  • The B'rel is one of the best examples of the Klingons finding a design that works and, true to their militaristic nature, using it until the wheels fall off. The B'rel won't be fully replaced until a new bird-of-prey design comes out that completely overshadows the B'rel. It's also favored by too many captains who know and trust the design.