Raven Class

Derived from plans given to the Romulan Star Empire by Melkor in 2289 as payment for their support in his later Ormong, the Raven is unusual among the KR Series in that she entered service after the adoption of an indigenous design, rather than being replaced by one. Although attempting to move away from Klingon derived technology, the Romulan Star Navy adopted the Raven Class to fill a requirement for additional Battlecruisers during the War of Pacification.

## Development

In 2267, whilst KR Series vessels imported from the Klingon Empire were useful additions to the Romulan Star Navy, there was concern in the Senate that the Star Empire was becoming dependent on Klingon military materiel and neglecting the development of native technology as a result. A new technological programme was launched to provide new, entirely Romulan warships for the RSN. This design programme became known as the Ornith Series, and one of the first designs to be approved was that of a Frigate. This late 2260s design had a number of flaws however, namely that she still relied on fusion power, and lacked any weapon more formidable than the increasingly obsolescent Cohesive Fused Deuterium Irradiation Cannon. Production of the new design was put on hold until a number of concurrent programmes in the fields of weaponry and propulsion could bear fruit.

In 2275 Romulan engineers produced a working, reliable M/AM powered warp drive. Priority was given initially to refitting the Cricket Class Destroyer, resulting in the War Bird Class of 2278. Once this programme neared completion, all effort ways turned to introducing new, powerful, M/AM powered designs. The first of these designs was a revived and updated version of the 2269 Frigate design. An unexpected side effect of M/AM research was that the technology designed for plasma flow to warp nacelles could also be employed to refine and perfect a lighter, less power hungry version of the Plasma Torpedo. Previously, plasma flow had been too inefficient to make a reduced power version viable, but now a torpedo with approximately 1/3rd the yield and power requirements of the standard Plasma Torpedo and capable of being charged in just over half the time. Whilst less efficient overall than the existing Plasma Torpedo, this new Light Plasma Torpedo did allow a weapon of significant power to be fitted to smaller and lighter vessels. In this role, the new Type L Plasma Torpedo Tube came to replace the old CFDIC as the weapon of choice on light Romulan designs.

The Gladius Class Frigate entered service shortly after, albeit with a single Type L Plasma Torpedo Tube and a CFDIC as a back-up weapon. Limited peace-time weapons range experience proved the Light Plasma Torpedo was a reliable and efficient weapon. Using a scaled up Gladius Class hull, and designed with a pair of Type L Plasma Torpedo Tubes as her main offensive weapons, a design for a new Light Cruiser took shape, soon named the Legion Class. The Legion was designed to complement a larger, Battlecruiser-sized design that became known as the Garuda Class. Again using a scaled up Gladius Class hull planform, the Garuda was essentially a much larger "Bird of Prey", much like the older Capsize Class. She was built around a single Type H Plasma Torpedo Tube, the same as the lighter War Bird Class, but she was intended to carry a much heavier Primary Weapons array along with considerably stronger shields and hull armour.

The Garuda entered service in 2282, just in time to serve in the 4th Gorn-Romulan War. Immediately though, combat experience showed there were considerable problems with her design. The single Type H Plasma Torpedo Tube simply wasn't heavy enough armament for a Battlecruiser. Whilst her primary array of five Disruptor Cannons was formidable, extended use of these weapons was counter to the Alpha Strike, hit and fade tactics employed by the Romulan Star Navy, and she simply didn't have the shield strength or armour to slug it out with heavy Gorn warships. Production was halted, and the few ships in service used as command ships and kept away from heavy combat.

The whole debacle left the RSN with an embarrassing problem. The largest and most powerful ships under their command were of Klingon origin; Romulan Capital Ships of a similar size were hopelessly out of date, and although the 4th Gorn-Romulan War had been a stalemate and white peace, the Star Navy was starting to look increasingly obsolete. War was coming, and the RSN desperately needed Capital Ships.

In the short term, additional Condor Class Battleships helped to "plug the gap", but they were of Klingon design and not especially suited to Romulan battle tactics. Romulan warship designers had been toying with conceptual designs for a very large Bird of Prey type vessel since the 2250s, always finding that the lack of an efficient power source was the undoing of such a design. The adoption of M/AM Power in the 2270s finally gave these designs the power they needed. In such a large design, a huge M/AM reactor could be mounted, which would also solve the usual problem of insufficient power reserves for powerful Plasma Torpedo weaponry.

At the same time as this massive Battleship was being designed, a smaller, more nimble design was put forwards to complement her. The War Eagle Class, as the larger design became known, mounted formidable firepower, but such firepower came with a cost; Heavy Plasma Torpedo Tubes required enormous amounts of energy to charge, and even with the reserves available on the War Eagle, the effective rate of fire was still low. She could of course cloak, but this took considerable energy reserves away from the torpedo tubes, and was not always a tactically sound move in a fleet engagement. The Imperium Class was designed deliberately with rate of fire over firepower in mind, initially being armed with four Light Plasma Torpedo Tubes as her Secondary Weapons Array. Then, during the construction of the prototype, a new development was made in Plasma Weaponry.

The Imperium Class entered service in 2287, and although excelling at her original role as a complement to the larger War Eagle, she had soon proven adept in small adhoc Battlecruiser squadrons. Despite her victories in the Organian Conflict, she was always overshadowed by her larger sister, perhaps unfairly. The near loss of the RSE War Eagle showed that without support, the great Battleship was still vulnerable to smaller ships en masse.

Although a reliable and capable design, the Imperium Class was not available in sufficient numbers once the War of Pacification began. Fortunately, a solution had already been presented that solved this very problem. Earlier that year, in preparation for his Ormong (later delayed to 2291 due to the war), Melkor sought the support of the Romulan Star Empire. In return for military support in overthrowing Chancellor Lorak, Melkor offered (amongst other things) the plans for the C8B VoD'leH (Emperor) Class Heavy Battlecruiser. Initially the RSN studied the plans only to ascertain tactical weaknesses; Relations between the two allies were already strained, and of course any military involvement in Melkors Ormong would involve fighting the latest Klingon warships.

However, once the War of Pacification began, RSN planners realised that the designs could be modified to create a Battlecruiser version of the Stormbird Class. This design would be easier and quicker to produce than the otherwise excellent Imperium, but required a greater crew complement and as with all KR Series designs, compromised Secondary firepower for a larger Primary Weapons Array. The main changes from the Klingon plans were the fitting of a Heavy Plasma Torpedo Tube in place of the original Heavy Photon Torpedo Tube, and the replacement of the Heavy Disruptors (of the original plans) with CFDICs.

The process was completed in record time, experience with the Stormbird Class aiding significantly. Although derived from the Emperor Class, the Raven was slightly larger and was not as advanced as her Klingon sister.

## Operational History

The Raven entered service in late 2289 and was immediately thrown into the maelstrom of the War of Pacification. Although less capable than the Imperium Class, she was significantly faster at warp and impulse speeds, and found great success in hit and fade attacks where this advantage could best be put to use.

Given their status as KR Series warships, they were relegated to the Gorn frontier after the end of anti-ISC operations, missing the border war with the Klingon Empire in 2290. No Raven Class warships were sent to aid Melkor in 2291, an irony given the manner of their conception.

The next combat outing of the Raven came with the outbreak of the General War in 2292. She saw considerable action against the Gorn Royal Navy during the conflict, although her limitations were soon becoming apparent.

## Apocrypha

After her involvement in the Praxis Incident of 2293 was revealed, the Romulan Star Empire began to once again withdraw behind her borders, withdrawing from galactic affairs again all together in the aftermath of the Tomed Incident in 2311. Even before this time, Romulan tactics had begun to turn away from fleet engagements and back to single "lone wolf" warships, now of a gargantuan size dwarfing the Crickets and Capsize Classes of old. The Raven was an interim solution when she was introduced, and had begun to be withdrawn with the introduction of the new Senator Class and by the early 2310s she (along with most other KR Series designs ) had been withdrawn.

## Specifications

* **Class:** Battlecruiser
* **Hull Type Designation:** RBKC
* **Length:** 427m
* **Crew:** 505
* **Warp Nacelles:** 4

* **Maximum Sublight Speed:** 3075 k/s (30.75 Mk/s)
* **Cruise** **Warp Factor Speed:** wf 7.9
* **Safe** **Maximum Warp Factor Speed:** wf 8.8
* **Hull Rating:** 370 HSF
* **Shield Rating:** 500 FSP

* **Sensor Rating:** 1000 SRU

* **Armament and Equipment:**
	+ Primary
		- 4 × Disruptor Cannon
	+ Secondary
		- 1 × Type H Plasma Torpedo Tube
	+ Heavy
		- 2 × Cohesive Fused Deuterium Irradiation Cannon (CFDIC)
	+ Advanced
		- None
	+ Equipment
		- Tractor Beam Emitter
		- Romulan-Type Cloaking Device
		- Probes

## Ships in Service (2292)

RSE Raven

RSE Iaeparvm

RSE Crow

RSE Magpie

RSE Veratra

RSE Terraedaere

RSE Moredsar

RSE Infector

RSE Balneator

RSE Infinitvs

RSE Derixia

RSE Daninivs

RSE Flapillia

RSE Insolitvs

RSE Mvreivs

RSE Ferociter

RSE Illarvm

RSE Ater

RSE Cliximnvs

RSE Fenivs