by Ben Robinson
COMMUNICATIONS
Communications aboard a Bird-of-Prey involve a wide variety of familiar devices and technologies, from interdeck voice com to subspace exchanges with the heart of the Empire. Simple but robust optical fiber and RF links connect all decks of the ship to each other and to the bridge, with permanent taps for analyzing and archiving crew orders and actions leading into the central computer.
RF links, along with subspace transceivers, are also built into the handheld crew communicators, data pads, and other portable computing devices. Aboard ship, the interdeck system is the primary system, rather than the personal communicators that are carried by all crew members. Typically 1,289 dedicated voice com channels are hardwired through the Bird-of-Prey using multiple pickups and subprocessor nodes in each pressurized crew area.
During planetside operations, up to a range of 25,000 kellicams or 50,000 kilometers, the crew use personal communicators to communicate with the ship. Larger portable com units have RF segments capable of reaching 400,000 kellicams or 800,000 kilometers, well within an acceptable one-way light time of three seconds.
Some 22 RF transceiver nodes are embedded in the hull layers for external communications, mostly as backup in case subspace communications are degraded. The on-board computer automatically switches between RF com and subspace transmissions, making the best use of each signal type depending on environmental conditions, electromagnetic interference, and depth below the surface. Scanning instruments using RF and subspace channels will attempt to transmit data instantly, but can also store that data for later transmissions if conditions prevent normal comms channels from operating properly.
On the Bird-of-Prey subspace communications are achieved using a set of six interlinked FTL transceivers built into the subfloor of Deck 5, just aft of the bridge. Each is powered by redundant plasma nodes and backup energy cells. A majority of the subspace com antennae—some 20 out of the 35 built into the structural hull—are located in the head end of the ship. This is done to minimize the lengths of the signal waveguides as well as to keep them clear of possible interference from the warp reactors.
Subspace voice and data transmissions are vital to the coordination of Klingon battle groups and the planning of strategies and tactics during major campaigns. Bird-of-Prey commanders and their communications officers keep in close contact with other ships in their theaters of operation, even when a direct link to the homeworld Qo’noS is not always possible—or desired.
Klingons are extremely security conscious and often very wary of their allies and even other Klingon ships and, as a result, system access and signal encryption codes are frequently changed.
LIFE SUPPORT
Most deep-space vessels are designed to support environmental conditions approximating the crew’s homeworld. Conditions aboard the Bird-of-Prey do not exactly match those at sea level on Qo’noS, but its systems are adequate in terms of maintaining atmospheric composition, temperature, and gravity, limiting radiation levels, providing foodstuffs and liquids, and handling waste. Most engineers in the Empire would argue for exactly that order in terms of which subsystems would receive support and repair attention.
A breathable atmosphere is the first priority. The Bird-of-Prey atmosphere purification and replenishment system consists of 18 small and six large electrostatic processors designed to remove excess carbon dioxide, liberate oxygen molecules, and balance out trace gases from pressurized tanks. The small units are distributed throughout every deck, and the large units are installed three apiece on Decks 4 and 6 in the aft hull. A separate network of 36 circulation pumps move the air around the ship.
Contingency oxygen and nitrogen tanks, integrated with self-powered CO2 scrubbers, are located on each deck in pressurized compartments that can be sealed off from the central corridors. All processing units are connected to the central computer and plasma power network, and all can operate independently on power cells in the event of a shipboard crisis.
The values in the table below compare conditions at Qo’noS and aboard the Bird-of-Prey
Temperature control, usually in the form of overboard energy dumping, is maintained through a series of liquid ammonia loops. These run through heat exchangers in the hull plating near the wing roots and in the neck. In situations where infrared and other radiation emissions must be kept at a minimum, as in stealth operations, all heat-producing hardware is dropped to minimum power and excess energy is stored temporarily in special chambers in the impulse engine section. In situations where warp core loss could lead to vessel cooling, the Bird-of-Prey is well insulated and can keep a working temperature of 16° using a single fusion generator at low output, and through localized emergency heaters for up to 420 days.
The crew are protected against ionizing radiation by a combination of external hull shielding, internal bulkheads, and medical anti-radiation treatment. Various shipboard systems as well as enemy weapons fire can produce radiation, resulting in everything from long-term genetic damage to burns, organ failure and death if not treated quickly. The typical regimens include hypospray injections of apchelicine and programmable implants dispensing odulenine, both effective in countering tissue breakdown. As a point of reference, the normal background radiation on Qo’noS is measured at 3.2 milliWd per year, compared to the exposure on a ship assignment of 41.6 milliWd per year, easily countered by the medical officer. The baseline 1Wd indicates death within one year if not treated.
Food and liquid storage on a Bird-of-Prey is basically a one-way or ‘open’ system. A typical mission profile makes cargo accommodations for enough live and processed animal products for 36 warriors for a 33-day duty cycle. This amounts to some 2,300 kilograms normally consumed, with an added margin of 600 kilograms for extended time away from a resupply vessel or shipyard. This total of 2,900 kilograms does not include any live targs brought aboard.
While Klingon nutritional scientists factor all potable liquids into their life-support calculations, they know full well that the beverage of choice is Klingon bloodwine, chosen by the commander and presented to his—or her—crew as symbolic payment for their services and loyalty. The usual load transferred to a departing Bird-of-Prey can be as many as 30 barrels to last the entire mission. Bottles of various other Klingon drinks are usually found in the ship’s stores or the commander’s cabin, including Mot’loch, Bahgol, Chech’tluh, and Warnog. In addition to the above, 300 gallons of Raktajino are typically consumed during a single mission, when warriors need to stay sharply focused.
The recycling of foodstuffs and both potable liquids and water for various shipboard purposes has almost never been been practiced on the B’rel-class, though the equipment does exist on Decks 5 and 6 in the event it becomes necessary to do so. Most ships in distress have been recovered before a quarter of their emergency rations, normally 320 small daily containers, run out. Simulations indicate that ships adrift with minimal power can supply their crews with recycled nutrients for another 380 days beyond the end of the rations.
QO’NOS
BIRD-OF-PREY
Nitrogen
77.20%
Nitrogen
78.11%
Oxygen
19.60%
Oxygen
18.80%
Neon
1.70%
Neon
1.90%
Xenon
1.41%
Xenon
1.01%
Carbon Dioxide
0.05%
Carbon Dioxide
0.08%
Trace Gases
0.04%
Trace Gases
0.10%
GRAVITY
Gravity aboard a Bird-of-Prey is produced by a network of overlapping field generators that are built into the floor of every deck. The generators, which are installed both singly and in groups of six, are energized by small power taps from the EPS (electroplasma) conduits that run throughout the ship.
The majority of generators are mounted inside the deck
floor, which has a hollow structure with an average height of 43.6cm. The standard generator measures 29.14cm in diameter and is 10.52cm tall. The combined groups of six generators, which include a central controller hub, span 90.37cm. The generators are attached to the deck base plates or gratings, facing upward. Servicing or replacement can be done through local decking access hatches. Additional generators are fitted to the walls of the ship to create a correctly balanced gravity field.
The generators work by exposing a small liquid-grown sphere of crystal direkkasine fluorite—typically 2.33cm in diameter—to high-frequency plasma pulses. The crystal lattice structure alters the incoming plasma, breaking the streams into millions of discrete subatomic packets and creating a spray of gravitons, elementary particles that create gravity. These are dispersed in all directions radiating from each generator, and create a gravity field that pulls everything the gravitons touch back towards their source. Because the gravitons are not polarized as in Starfleet vessels, each generator is backed by a carbonitrium shield disk that absorbs downward firing gravitons and effectively drops them into subspace. This prevents the gravity field in one deck from pulling objects and personnel to the ceiling of the deck below.
A superconducting ring is built into the generator disk to keep the graviton emitter running for up to 3.5 hours in the event of a plasma shutdown, decreasing the perceived gravity slowly over the final few minutes. However, it is not unheard of for ships to lose gravity if the EPS system is overloaded.
The strength of gravity on board the ship is controlled by the ship’s lower computer core, which can address individual generators as well as the group hubs. The Qo’noS normal surface acceleration is equivalent to 1.2g Earth gravity, but Klingons often make adjustments to the gravity in localised areas of the ship. Lighter gravity can be helpful in moving certain cargo loads, assisting injured warriors in the medical bay, and in making some types of repairs in the engineering spaces. Heavier gravity, while also helpful with engineering problems, is mainly used during warrior combat training.
Gravity on board a Bird-of-Prey is created by a series of graviton emitters built into the deck plating.
1 Graviton Emitter Crystal
2 Graviton Diffusion Arrays
3 Carbonitrium Blocking Disk
4 Superconducting Power Backup
5 Generator Support Strut
6 Generator Cluster Controller Hub
MAIN COMPUTER
Like all other interstellar space vessels the Bird-of-Prey relies heavily on computerized systems to manage every aspect of ship operations, including propulsion, navigation, weapons systems, transporter functions, environmental control, and communications.
The Bird-of-Prey has a single central computer core that consists of two highly redundant cylindrical processor module decks and a lower section designed primarily for rapid mass data storage and retrieval.
The stack is a substantial module that is more than 6m tall and reaches from the top of Deck 5L to the bottom of Deck 6. Bands of sensors, identical to those surrounding Deck 5, ring the hull just outside the core and specialized instruments make up the bulk of the lower sensor cap.
Both processor decks are 11.42m in diameter and 2.3m in height. The storage and retrieval deck is also 11.42m across but slightly shorter at 1.56m.
Like almost all advanced species, Klingons use isolinear circuitry to store data.
All the core framing structures are fabricated from densified duranium foam bonded with hafnium titanide and include integral power and data channels. Connections to the plasma power nodes and the ship’s systems can be made quickly during installation. During repair yard layovers the entire core can be swapped out robotically in less than two hours.
The crew access the outer hatches of all three sections of the stack using a set of circular catwalks and ladders that were moved into place after the core was installed. Access to the open center of the stack for maintenance tasks is made through a pressure hatch in the floor of Deck 5, just aft of the bridge. The open well also leads down to an equipment and torpedo transport tunnel that can provide emergency exit from the ship through the torpedo launcher cowling on Deck 6.
Isolinear memory and processing technology is widespread across the Alpha and Beta Quadrants of the Galaxy, though it is implemented differently by different races. Klingon use of isolinear circuits is distinguished by a marked difference in the sizes and densities of the crystal cells manufactured for space vessels and those used in most every other sector of Klingon society.
Advanced isolinear research on Qo’noS has yielded some of the smallest crystal cells ever seen, almost too small to hold information reliably at ~9nm, but the stability is reinforced by a pulsed subspace field that imparts no changes to the data. However, the ruggedized isolinear chips installed in the Bird-of-Prey’s computer cores have relatively large crystal cells at 23nm and measure 10.8cm x 5.8cm x 0.9cm. Each chip can hold approximately 62.7 kiloquads of data. The total quantities of chips, protective racks, and data connections can vary widely depending on the individual Bird-of-Prey and its key missions, but the complete base computer core accommodates upwards of 15,000 chips, equalling a capacity of some 940,000 kiloquads.
The circuit pathways impressed on the isolinear slabs and the organization of the plug-in racks closely mimic Klingon cortical cells and larger brain structures. The interconnections within the core are designed to be as short as possible, using a combination of nanopulse optical fiber as well as a conductive carbon ribbon as a backup pathway. Signal switching nodes, mounted inboard of the chip racks, perform all of the AI data routing tasks within the core as well as handling all incoming sensor inputs and shipboard systems upkeep.
The computer core is linked to all ship systems, including remote terminals, by additional bundles of optical fiber and carbon ribbon, with RF connectivity as a backup. The total length of physical fiber on the ship is nearly 2,500km.
The lower processor deck typically takes on the management of the majority of basic ship systems while the upper deck, closer to the bridge, is primarily concerned with combat maneuvers and weapons. Both decks interact, comparing readings and making decisions on flight operations, power allocations, communications, and other mission parameters, and both decks record and extract data from the lower storage section.
In the event of a catastrophic failure within the core, usually from battle, artificial intelligence routines will automatically determine the severity of the damage and reconfigure all healthy processors to prioritize tasks, according to the ship’s situation and in concert with commands from the bridge crew.
Damaged isolinear elements and switching nodes can be swapped out as opportunities allow, and the core can work around the remaining damaged circuits.
The Bird-of-Prey can typically function with as little as 15 per cent of the computer ‘awake’ and transfer authority to major systems such as the warp and impulse engines, whose smaller dedicated computer modules are capable of executing basic flight commands from the bridge.
A functioning Bird-of-Prey with at least 45 per cent overall computer capacity can, in an after-battle scenario, fly in formation with a more damaged vessel, taking over many of the latter’s functions via a subspace connection.
As with most Klingon spacecraft, the Bird-of-Prey has been designed to operate for at least a century with little change in the basic configuration. In the hundred years or so that the current design of Bird-of-Prey has been in service, internal systems including the computer core have undergone periodic, though still limited, upgrades. This allows Klingon shipyards to build vessels at a rapid rate when needed and ensures that standard spares will fit and function.
The main computer core consists of three decks that run from Deck 5 to the area beneath Deck 6 in the head of the Bird-of-Prey.
1 Upper Processor Module
2 Lower Processor Module
3 Data Storage & Retrieval Module
4 Torpedo & Equipment Transfer Track
5 Torpedo & Equipment Transfer Tunnel
6 Transfer Tunnel Control Console
7 Data Storage Inventory Control
8 Isolinear Chip Racks (1400)
9 Isolinear Storage Access Hatch (24)
10 Processor Module Monitor Alcove (8)
11 Special-Purpose Processor Racks (96)
12 Outer Processor Rack Storage (32)
13 Processor Rack Storage (104)
14 Duranium Titanide Framing
15 Power & Data Channel Connectors (24)
16 Deck 5 Core Access Well
17 Processor Systems Monitor Panel (8)
18 Computer Core Cooling Duct (4)
19 Optical Fiber Connector (4)
TRANSPORTER SYSTEMS
Matter transporters have been a standard part of Klingon space vessels for at least the last two centuries. Constant improvements in transporter subsystems have been made across the fleet, while preserving the basic hardware standards for energy connections, phase transition coils, pattern buffers, and computer controls. The Bird-of-Prey makes efficient use of large transporter assemblies on Decks 4 and 5 linked together in the aft hull as well as smaller units located forward in the head structure. The shipboard system can transport personnel and cargo at high resolution up to 49,000 kilometers or some 24,500 kellicams using line-of-sight targeting through vacuum or atmosphere. Beaming through unshielded solid objects can be accomplished only if the material thickness in meters, divided by the density in grams per cubic centimeter, is less than 200. This factor allows for transport through roughly a kilometer of planetary rock and, by contrast, a few meters of refined metals and composites. This still results in an appreciable capability to move warriors and their gear in a wide range of scenarios.
