B12 qeh'RaL (Cold Fury) Class

Intended as a replacement for the formidable B11 qeyLIS bet'Leth (Sword of Kahless) Class Battleship, the qeh'RaL is currently only a prototype. She is the cutting edge of Klingon technology, pioneering new weaponry as well as combining the best of combat proven technology onto a single spaceframe.

## Development

In 2282, the Tholians unleashed a new class of ship on several Klingon outposts on the Klingon-Tholian border. This large ship was more than a match for the Klingon forces that could be fielded against it at the time. After a period of three months of the enemy’s unbridled rampaging throughout the border area, a massed attack on the ship finally succeeded in destroying it.

The battle was extraordinarily costly in terms of ships and lives and forced Klingon High Command to rethink its battle strategies. The most apparent change to be made was the acquisitions of a large and powerful vessel not only to provide a devastating punch, but also to coordinate the disparate forces
involved in larger battles. Tactics were developed whereby the large ship would salvo an enemy vessel from long range to get the enemy’s attention. When the enemy turned to engage the large ship, the smaller vessels would charge in to attack the enemy’s engines. Once the enemy was immobile, the large ship would then move in for the kill.

Shortly thereafter, the Jevghom Design Bureau submitted the designs for a refit of their existing Puw'Leth Class, which fit this new tactical doctrine perfectly. Because of the speed and perfection of the Jevghom submission, there were many accusations of collusion or complicity with the Tholians in the border attacks. Many were killed in the subsequent honour duels, and none of the accusations were proven. In response to this hullabaloo, the engineers and designers at Jevghom renamed their design for the Puw'Leth Refit to pumwl’ (Accuser).

The new Battleship proved to be a great success, despite the loss of the pumwl’ in an ion storm a few months after entering service. However, strategic planners in the Klingon Defence Force began to run war simulations that indicated that and even larger, even more powerful flagship would be beneficial, especially in a war against the Federation.

At the same time, a political crisis was brewing in the Empire. Several factions within the High Council had been quarrelling over various lucrative and prestigious naval contracts, including that of the new Accuser Class. To complicate matters even further, questions of honour were also being debated as one side would complain bitterly that if the other faction obtained the honour associated with one of these contracts it would upset the status quo in the Klingon political power structure. The bickering soon escalated into something tantamount to a blood feud that threatened to divide the council into two rival factions. This would have crippled the empire by preventing any side from obtaining the necessary majority for major council decisions.

In a savvy political manoeuvre, Chancellor Lorak ordered the design of a new ship, one that would be a symbol for all the Empire. (Only Lorak realised the fact that it could be used as a tool for inducing political stability as well.) Of course, this requirement matched perfectly with the need for a new "Super-Battleship" for the KDF.

One of the factions, led by B’das, son of BoS of House Birok’ken, was responsible for the hull design and engines, while the other, led by Yok’tu, son of QI, provided weapons designs and control systems. Four were ordered, one for each “corner” of the empire, and each would serve as flagship for fleet operations in her sector.

Two shipyards were originally slated to produce two vessels each, but the ChenwI’ Duj Yards was tangled in a scandal of corruption and greed that forced Chancellor Lorak to revoke not only the contract, but the council seat of Yok’tu as well. The vessel they were working on was towed to the newly expanded Klinzhai Shipyards, who fulfilled the remainder of the contract.

The master ship builder Hogh Batlh completed the original designs for the new vessel in 2284. The design boasted formidable firepower, both in her Primary and Secondary Batteries, using the same Heavy Photon Tubes as the pumwl'. In an effort to give the ship a weapon to crack any defensive shields, her hull was designed around an Assault Phaser, the basic design having been developed from the design of the Federation 'Kaminari' Type II Phaser Cannon (having been stolen by agents of the Imperial Intelligence Service‏‎ in the 2250s.)

An unfortunate side effect of the immense size of the new vessel was that engineers were unable to fit a working Cloaking Device. Despite their alliance, the Romulans were unwilling to provide technical information on their latest designs and the science behind their newest generation of Cloaking Device.

The first ship, the IKS qeyLIS bet'Leth (Sword of Kahless) was launched in 2288, delayed by the need for shipyard space for ship repairs during the Organian Conflict. Proving to be superior to most Starfleet vessels encountered, the Sword of Kahless was soon followed into service by her sister ship, the IKS wo’ HubwI (Defender of the Empire). Their success, along with the introduction of the War Eagle Class by the Romulan Star Empire, led to the pumwl' Class being redesignated as a Dreadnought. The age of the Super-Battleship had begun.

The sisters saw combat again during the War of Pacification. A third ship, the IKS yejquv ghop (Hand of the High Council) was launched to try and stem the tide of the ISC advance.

During the Ormong of 2291, the final ship of the original four ordered, the IKS qeqToQ'cHa (Glorious Victory) was completed, and was briefly under the command of forces loyal to Melkor. A surgical strike by forces loyal to Gorkon recaptured her before she could be fitted out for battle. The IKS wo’ HubwI was also used as a command ship by Melkor, with her sister, the IKS qeyLIS bet'Leth being used as a flagship by General Chang after the operational loss of the IKS VoD'leH.

During this time, the Imperial Intelligence Service had learned of the development of the new Yamato Class and Imperial Hawk Class Battleships. Both these designs threatened to eclipse the capabilities of the Sword of Kahless Class, and a new design was called for that could match or exceed the rumoured performance levels of these new warships.

The design quickly took shape, with the prototype being under construction by the outbreak of the General War. This unfortunately caused severe delays in finishing the warship, which did not leave for her shakedown cruise until after the return of Chancellor Gorkon to power. Her design was familiar, yet pushed the boundaries of Klingon warship design. As with her predecessors, she required multiple warp nacelles, although these were of a brand new type considerably more powerful than those used on the Sword of Kahless Class and so the new Battleship only required four. Her designers rejected the powerful but flawed Assault Phaser in favour of the Anti-Matter Field Projector (AMFP). This kept power requirements reasonable whilst still giving the new design a powerful main gun. In addition she mounted two completely new weapons, the Beam Disruptor Cannon. These were intended to combine the best attributes of Disruptor and Phaser technology, producing a tightly collimated beam of Disruptor energy.

## Operational History

The B12 qeh'RaL (Cold Fury), as she was named, launched in the closing months of 2292 under the command of Captain Torlek, a renowned Captain who graduated top of his class at the KDF Elite Command Academy and had recently gained much honour fighting for General Chang in Melkors Ormongs. She launched too late to see combat in the General War, although combat trials showed she was a very capable and successful design.

## Apocrypha

Unfortunately, history got in the way of the qeh'RaL.

The loss of the Tal'Ihnor Gates System and the explosion of the moon Praxis left the Empire with a critical energy shortage. The ecological damage wrought to the homeworld of Qo'noS also put a halt to any plans for the further construction of larger Klingon warship designs. Construction of many older designs such as the C9A pumwI' (Accuser) Class and B11 qeyLIS bet'Leth (Sword of Kahless) Class was halted, and the only designs allowed to be built were smaller, more economical designs. This of course curtailed the construction and deployment of any further qeh'RaLs in the 23rd Century.

However, the story of the qeh'RaL did not end there. As the Empire got back on her feet in the 2310s and 2320s, the need for a modern Battleship returned. The qeh'RaL design was resurrected, albeit with some modernisations, and she later went on to be a stalwart of KDF campaigns in the 2330s and beyond.

## Specifications

* **Class:** Battleship
* **Hull Type Designation:** KBB
* **Length:** 686m
* **Crew:** 730
* **Warp Nacelles:** 4

* **Maximum Sublight Speed:** 2825 k/s (28.25 Mk/s)
* **Cruise** **Warp Factor Speed:** wf 8.5
* **Safe** **Maximum Warp Factor Speed:** wf 9.8
* **Hull Rating:** 1000 HSF
* **Shield Rating:** 1400 FSP

* **Sensor Rating:** 600 SRU

* **Armament and Equipment:**
	+ Primary
		- 4 × Disruptor Cannon
	+ Secondary
		- 4 × Heavy Photon Torpedo Tube
	+ Heavy
		- 2 × Beam Disruptor Cannon
	+ Advanced
		- 1 × Anti-Matter Field Projector (AMFP)
	+ Equipment
		- Tractor Beam Emitter
		- Probes
		- 3 × D'ktagh (Dagger) Shuttle