by Ben Robinson
This cloaking field acts to mask the presence of the Bird-of-Prey through quantum teleportation, by actively transporting matter and energy from outside the envelope to the other side almost entirely unchanged and detectable only with the fastest and most sensitive instruments. Matter and energy produced inside the envelope, from sources like the ship’s impulse engines, are temporarily stored within the field. An extremely small fraction of the total energy flux from local space, approximately 0.003 per cent, penetrates the cloak to allow for sub-light navigation.
An EM field produced by the emitter on the ship’s exterior performs the actual cloaking by way of a complex spatial phasing of most incoming radiation. This phasing involves the short-range, almost instantaneous, quantum teleportation of radiation and particles through the cloak envelope as well as the ship itself. While the process is not 100 per cent efficient, it works well in the majority of situations a Bird-of-Prey is likely to encounter. The only major limitation it suffers from is that tachyons pass through the quantum teleportation envelope, and can therefore be used to detect the ship.
The cloaking generator occupies the outer areas of Deck 5L, below the bridge, with plasma conduits and other utilities straddling the photon torpedo launcher equipment built into Deck 6. Technically, the system uses two independent generators that are interconnected for redundancy. Each generator unit is built up from a set of seven major subassemblies, all of which are energized by superheated plasma from the dual warp cores.
The major components in a single cloaking system include a plasma manifold, plasma frequency conditioner, a cloak quantum teleport waveform accelerator, defensive shield energy diverter, emitter monitor, and the actual cloak field emitter. The final essential piece of equipment is a blast debris catcher ahead of the accelerator, which is designed to minimize damage to the plasma system if there is an internal structural failure.
The entire assembly measures 12.31 meters in length by 2.17 meters maximum diameter, and most of the equipment housings are currently forged from tritanium and kellendide.
The plasma manifold delivers energy to the cloak from the warp engines, which are 100 meters aft. The plasma itself runs through conduits in the Deck 5L flooring. The system must be finely tuned at all times and in order to ensure the energy levels stay balanced, automatic gate valves control the flow of plasma through a lateral connector between the twin generators. The frequency conditioner adjusts the plasma energy to an optimal range for the quantum teleport subsystem, in much the same way that dilithium controls plasma frequencies in the engine core.
Within the teleport waveform accelerator, a series of 35 hollow energy raceways constructed of duranium proteanide speed up discrete plasma streams and synchronize their waveforms for eventual release through the emitter.
The shield energy diverter channels a portion of the system energy to the defensive shield grid embedded in the hull plating, and can also create a shield layer through the cloak emitter, though this shielding is usually confined to a smaller envelope than that produced by the cloak and is nowhere near as effective as the full shield system used when the ship has decloaked.
The bronze colored cloaking emitter runs around the perimeter of the bridge module.
The cloak emitter, a sealed tube 63.4 meters long and packed with temekenite waveguides and compression coils, essentially ‘overloads’ at an optimum frequency of 4265.2 pulses per second, continuously replenishing a thin wall space-time bubble around the ship.
The cloaking field has the obvious advantage of rendering the Bird-of-Prey virtually invisible in short-term stealth reconnaissance and combat missions. Most adversaries do not have the time nor the sensor capabilities to counter the cloak, and so most known shortcomings do not affect the statistical outcomes.
Subspace transmissions can be made from within the cloaking field, but they can be detected by enemy ships so when the cloaking device is active, it normally moves to silent running and all communications are banned. However, many commanders are willing to risk limited subspace communications when they are confident that the ship is not in immediate danger of detection.
More seriously, the Bird-of-Prey must decloak in order to fire weapons. This results from the unique properties of the cloaking field, in that any beam or projectile weapon fired from inside the field will interact in unpredictable ways, from disappearing and rematerializing thousands of kilometers away, to dimensionally ‘smearing’ within the envelope, only to exit back inside and strike the ship. In practice, this means that any commander who is foolish enough to fire while cloaked is almost certain not to hit his target and is likely to end up destroying his own ship. As a result the designers of the Bird-of-Prey installed a software routine that disables the weapons systems while the ship is cloaked thus preventing more enthusiastic commanders from risking their crew’s lives.
1 Plasma Manifold
2 Warp Core Plasma Tap
3 Transverse Plasma Conduit
4 Plasma Conduit Scuff Pads
5 Plasma Connector
6 Frequency Conditioner Inlet
7 Frequency Conditioner
8 Blast Debris Shield
9 First-stage Teleport Waveform Accelerator
10 Axial Waveform Bypass Conduit
11 Photon Spill Window
12 Second-stage Teleport Waveform Accelerator
13 Shield Energy Diverter
14 Diverter Ion Sensor
15 Cloaking Field Emitter Monitor
16 Emitter Waveform Compressor
17 Cloaking Field Emitter
18 Structural Support Frames
SHIELDS AND ARMOR PLATING
For the last few centuries, the Klingon Empire has had the capability to construct many different types of interstellar ships. Ground-based and orbital shipyards, initially located at the homeworld of Qo’noS, were eventually replicated as the Empire’s expansion included additional star systems. With those systems came additional habitable worlds and their natural resources, as well as all of the asteroidal materials and gas giant planets that could be stripped of useful metals and fuels.
The B’rel-class Bird-of-Prey is the result of transforming those natural materials into a physical structure that could move between stars, one that surrounds and shields its crew. While built up of a number of seemingly incompatible alloy layers by a largely automated system, the basic framework and skin are deceptively simple in design. This has produced a ship that, once constructed and launched, can be repaired at most any Klingon-controlled yard and even those belonging to neighboring allies.
Many internal components are installed by robotic manipulators and remotely operated antigravs, but the majority of the critical systems that are to be used directly by warriors are installed manually and repeatedly checked throughout the construction period. It is a sign of trust and loyalty when a warrior crew accepts a new vessel, putting their lives in the hands of those who built it.
The preliminary shaping of a Bird-of-Prey involves seven separate major assembly jigs, two for the head, one for the neck, one for each wing, and two for the aft hull. Pre-formed frames and stringers are moved into place and gamma welded together, after which the alloy sheets for the inner pressure hull, also pre-formed, are electromechanically aligned and bonded.
The first layer is a 5.6cm thick sheet of kar’dasnoth attached to the open frame with baakten melt fasteners. All initial penetrations for conduits, structural reinforcements, waveguides, or other interlayer connections are made using computer-controlled beam cutters, and these openings will serve as templates for cutting through successive layers.
The second pressure hull layer is a 9.1cm shell of duranium and baakten composite that is bonded to the base kar’dasnoth shell. A 3mm sheet of conductive myltanine gadrium is sandwiched between the two; when this is energized by a narrow stream of matter-antimatter plasma, it permanently melts the surfaces together, intermixing the alloys to a depth of 0.8cm. Joins between plates are sealed the same way.
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sp; At this point, the pressure hull is some 12 times as strong as the first layer alone. The final structural layer is a 5.6cm shell of duranium titanide, which is energized and swirl-melted as before. This completes the basic hull, giving it a final thickness of 20.3cm.
For B’rel-class vessels constructed at the orbital yards at Dek’go’kor, major warp and impulse engine components such as reaction chambers and fuel tankage are secured to their interior locations while the hull is still open. The seven separate hull segments are integrated in a special microgravity fixture that keeps them in perfect three axis alignment while structural couplers are installed and welded together.
The hull of a Bird-of-Prey is designed to withstand as much impact as possible and consists of multiple layers of hardened materials that give it an average thickness of over 20cm.
1 Duranium Titanide Layer
2 Duranium/Baakten Composite Layer
3 Kar’dasnoth Inner Structural Layer
4 Duranium Frame/Data Channel Carrier
5 Baakten Melt Fasteners
6 Duranium Stringer/Plasma Power Conduit
7 Refractory Carbon Thermal Isolation Pad
8 Hull Condition Sensor Node
9 Optical Fiber Conduit
10 Computer Subsystems Housings
11 Inner Compartment Wall
12 Vessel Systems Monitor
13 Compartment Wall Reinforcement
14 Systems Monitor Optical Fiber Conduit
The Bird-of-Prey is in a basic spaceworthy condition at this stage, but the Klingons now apply the armor layers that make it fit for combat. With each new alloy thickness, the ship gains strength, bringing it a step closer to full battle capability.
The first layer is a series of 17.65cm thick flanges and webs of kar’dasnoth, fastened to the duranium titanide hull. The webs provide an open standoff space that will slow fragments of projectile weapons. Structural integrity and defensive shield grid energy permeate the open volumes and minimize damage to the pressure hull.
The actual waveguides for the defensive shield are built into the second layer of armor plating—a 13.1cm layer of ur hargol and carbonitrium swirl-melted to the outer kar’dasnoth flanges.
The third armor layer consists of 7.9cm of foamed kovenium monoteserite, the same alloy used in the warp core. A solid layer of the metal over the entire ship would have proven too heavy for efficient impulse maneuvering, so a compromise was achieved by bonding together billions of hollow argon-filled kovenium microspheres. The result provides a balance between mass and impact and energy resistance.
Finally a 4.2cm layer of kar’dasnoth alloy is bonded to the hull. This layer, plus the 1.6cm surface ablation coating, are initial defense layers, designed to take hits and be replaced as combat repair items.
All armor layers require defensive grid and structural integrity field energy to be truly effective in countering enemy weapons, and few if any spacefaring cultures have come up with a scheme that works better. In the Bird-of-Prey, two primary defensive shield generators are installed on Deck 5 in the aft hull, connected to emitters and waveguides that course through the entire vessel. A set of six smaller field amplifiers boost the shield coverage from Deck 6 in the head, under the bridge. Standard plasma power and data conduits service the shield generators, and the central computer monitors all possible hazards to the hull, not just under battle conditions.
Shield strength for different sectors of the ship can be ramped up and down depending on threat proximity, velocity, and incoming weapon energy, as well as available power and real-time ship maneuvers. Shield and structural integrity field generators can be overloaded, where the energy being dissipated is less than that being poured into the system from incoming weapons fire, explosions, or physical debris swarms.
Klingon military engineers have studied the combat experiences of Birds-of-Prey against numerous Starfleet, Romulan, Cardassian, Jem’Hadar, and other ships, often encountering weapons that initially seemed impossible to defeat. They have studied the data, made modifications, and continue to improve the defensive capabilities of the class.
1 Primary Ablative Coating
2 Outer Kar’dasnoth Support Layer
3 Foamed Kovenium Monoteserite Layer
4 Ur Hargol/Carbonitrium Layer—Defensive Shield Waveguides
5 Inner Kar’dasnoth Support Flange Layer
6 Kar’dasnoth Web
7 Inner Kar’dasnoth Flange
8 Baakten Melt Fastener
9 Surface-Mount Sensor Conduit
10 Klingon Empire Insignia
11 Energy Weapon Damage
12 Hull Damage Patch
13 Standard Melt Fastener
PROPULSION AND NAVIGATION
The warp propulsion system of a B’rel-class vessel, and indeed of any ship in a proud Klingon battle group, is its warrior’s heart. It is supplemented by a capable set of impulse engines for sub-light speeds, as well as reaction control thrusters that will pivot the Bird-of-Prey about like a soldier wielding a bat’leth. Guiding each ship through its moves are the Empire’s most advanced computing and navigating systems, responding to the commander’s orders promptly and efficiently.
The dual interconnected warp cores in Main Engineering blaze with high-temperature plasma, created by matter-antimatter reactions well understood by Klingon engineers for many centuries and enhanced by technical secrets appropriated from various space-faring cultures. Like Klingon physiology with its redundant organs, the Bird-of-Prey internal systems are duplicated and interconnected for the maximum number of options. A single warp core can move a Bird-of-Prey at FTL speeds if the other is offline. Impulse reactors can help get a ship to warp in a dire emergency. Backup fusion reactors can add engine power, and keep shields and other critical systems active.
Traversing tens or hundreds of lightyears is accomplished by the integration of redundant computer cores, mass memory devices, three-axis nav software, and short- and long-range external sensor bundles. Birds-of-Prey obtain constantly refreshed stellar position data by automated subspace beacons and compare that information with the sensor bundle input. Six crystal gyro rings and six backup micro-beam accelerometers transmit realtime attitude data to the main computer for routine flight calculations and battle-driven trajectories. As part of their helm position training, Klingon warriors are expected to be able to orient the ship and fly between waypoints using nav computer sound cues alone with all visual screens blacked out.
Klingon ships rarely lose their way in the Galaxy.
WARP ENGINES
Main Engineering is the largest single part of a B’rel-class Bird-of-Prey. It runs almost the entire width of the ship and spans the full height of Decks 3 to 6. It is 34.9m wide or abeam, 12.8m long fore to aft, and 15.6m tall. It is dominated by two large matter-antimatter reactors running through all four decks, almost the entire height of the ship. These twin reactors, commonly referred to as warp cores, are connected by a transverse plasma transfer conduit that combines energy from the cores and channels it to the warp wings.
The warp cores are controlled by a dedicated engineering computer node, which consists of four assemblies that are built into the decks and connected by an optical communications channel.
Main Engineering is the beating heart of the vessel, and is a center of constant activity, with warriors and equipment specialists keeping the hardware in perfect running order. Every component in this area, as well as in the adjoining impulse section, is expected to function under emergency conditions in ways even the original designers could only have considered for fleeting moments.
The twin warp cores work by combining streams of matter, in the form of deuterium, with streams of antimatter, in the form of anti-deuterium, to generate superheated plasma, which provides an enormously powerful energy source. The deuterium is held in a large insulated storage tank on Deck 4, which is refilled from other tanks on other decks, while the anti-deuterium is kept in anti-matter pods on Deck 6. The deuterium is injected directly
into the reaction chambers at the top of each warp core, while the antimatter passes through antimatter manifolds that control the exact amount of antimatter in the system before it is injected into the bottom of the core.
Whenever matter and antimatter touch they create enormous amounts of energy, so it is vital that they only make contact inside the warp core where the reaction can be controlled. (At all other times, antimatter is kept suspended in a magnetic field that prevents it from coming into contact with any form of matter.) The warp engine harnesses a carefully controlled reaction to generate superheated plasma. This plasma is modified by dilithium crystals, which alter its frequency to make it suitable for use. The plasma is then channeled to a variety of ship’s systems, the most important of which are the warp panels in the wings.
The sources of energy required to propel a Bird-of-Prey are gathered far from its normal patrol routes, far from any large-scale battles for the glory of the Empire, and often long before some ships are even constructed. Production plants in different Klingon-held star systems toil to refine and chill down cryogenic deuterium and tritium, compressing and storing thousands of cubic meters of what was once the atmosphere of gas giant planets or the seas of more habitable worlds.
Other facilities burn vast quantities of those cryogenic ices in fusion reactors, powering exotic generators to change a small fraction of even more deuterium into antimatter. In a never-ending process, the Empire supplies the fuels every ship requires to become a living machine, to cross interstellar distances, and carry out the wishes of its commander.
Nowhere on a Bird-of-Prey is the power of matter and antimatter more evident than in Main Engineering. The twin cores are the central elements of a closed, pressurized system that funnels matter and antimatter together and distributes the vast amount of resulting energy from bow to stern. They work together, using gate valves and EM irises to ensure a proper balance of plasma flow from both reactor cores to the warp wings. If one of the cores isn’t functioning properly, additional plasma can be distributed from the other core to keep the system operating. A Bird-of-Prey can function even if one of the cores is completely knocked out, though it will not be able to achieve high warp speeds.
