F5U pIH (Suspicious) Class

Built to fulfil a need for a scouting in the Klingon Defence Force, the pIH was designed by designed by Hogh Batlh, later the designer of the B11 qeyLIS bet'Leth (Sword of Kahless) Class Battleship, as a cheap, cookie-cutter ship, and easy to mass-produce. But because Hogh Batlh was such a skilled designer she is surprisingly good. Her interiors are highly modular allowing
for easy construction and reconfiguring, which is one reason why this particular class has so many variants. This modularity also makes for easy repairs, which allow her to be serviced and returned to duty in a minimal amount of time.

## Development

In the various border skirmishes that had occurred between the Klingon Empire and the Federation in the 2230s, a requirement emerged for a vessel that could serve as the eyes and ears of the larger Cruisers. This was further highlighted in the disastrous raids of 2244, officially denounced as the actions of rogue Captains. A design soon emerged, essentially a shrunken D5A Qa'HoS (Relentless) Class Light Cruiser. This continued the traditional "boom and wing" design of the larger Cruisers, although a problem arose in that the ship was too small to mount the usual Photon Torpedo armament. This was not considered much of a concern, as she would be largely used for scouting rather than direct combat. (not that this was a concern either, given the high honour that the Klingons put on dying in battle).

Instead, the pIH Class was fitted with four Disruptors, for attacking lightly defended targets, and powerful impulse engines, giving her an impressive turn of speed. Warp capability was provided by a single nacelle on the centreline of the ship.

In 2249, the Klingon Empire under the leadership of Chancellor Durak, signed the Treaty of Korvat with the Federation, a treaty that both powers knew was temporary at best. This led to an arms race, with production of all ships increasing greatly. The introduction of the pIH Class began in earnest in the following year. In 2258, after the acquisition of Cloaking Technology from the Romulan Star Empire, the pIH was refit to include a Cloaking Device and given the new designation of F5A.

Starting in 2260, the pIH Class hull was modified into several variants, taking advantage of the modular nature of the design. The first of these variants was the F5Q pIH (Suspicious) Class, designed to fulfil a requirement for a fast combat transport, for both cargo and Marines, and as a boarding and assault ship. The basic pIH design was fitted with dorsal-mounted modular cargo container clamps, which surprisingly did not adversely affect her performance to any appreciable degree.

In 2269, following recommendations given during the 4-Day War and other minor skirmishes fought by the Klingon Defence Force, the F5Q Cargo Frigate was modified further into a Fleet Repair Frigate classified as the F5U. This essentially involved a semi-permanent fitting of a Molecular Repair Beam Emitter in the internal and external cargo bays of the F5Q. A few other minor modifications were required, but being based on a tried and tested design, the pIH-U entered service the following year.

## Operational History

In the years after the Organian Peace Treaty was forced upon the Empire, no ship, Klingon, Federation or Romulan was to be detected violating the Neutral Zone, although many did under cloak or using other methods to hide their presence. During the long Cold War between the Empire and the Federation, the pIH-U saw no combat experience, other than KDF fleet exercises. She was first bloodied in the Organian Conflict that began in 2285. Klingon warships ranged deep into Federation territory, and the F5U went with them, patching up combat damage and allowing the offensive to continue.

During the Ormong of 2291, the pIH fought on all sides and as a result, combat losses for the type were high. One utility of the pIH design was that all her variants could be quickly be converted into any other variant, and so numbers of the Battle Frigate generally decreased as the need for more Science and Cargo Frigates rose.

In the General War that followed Melkor's seizing of power, production of the pIH-U Fleet Repair Frigate was restarted to help make up for losses taken and to bolster the number of warships under his command. These were ultimately outclassed by their Gorn opponents, but the type remained in service after the end of hostilities and the return of Chancellor Gorkon to power.

## Apocrypha

By the signing of the Khitomer Accords in 2293, the pIH was beginning to show her age. The rapid advances in starship design during the Organian Conflict and beyond had outpaced her, and the lighter and cheaper E12 B'Rel (Bird of Prey) Class and the larger and more powerful F15 QuD (Insurrection) Class took over her duties, with the Battle Frigate variant being withdrawn in the 2310s. The pIH-U Fleet Repair Frigate variant remained in service until the 2320s, by which time she was obsolete.

## Specifications

* **Class:** Fleet Repair Frigate
* **Hull Type Designation:** KFR
* **Length:** 153m
* **Crew:** 35
* **Warp Nacelles:** 1

* **Maximum Sublight Speed:** 4200 k/s (42 Mk/s)
* **Cruise** **Warp Factor Speed:** wf 7.0
* **Safe** **Maximum Warp Factor Speed:** wf 8.5
* **Hull Rating:** 170 HSF
* **Shield Rating:** 317 FSP

* **Sensor Rating:** 600 SRU

* **Armament and Equipment:**
	+ Primary
		- 4 × Disruptor Cannon
	+ Secondary
		- None
	+ Heavy
		- None
	+ Advanced
		- None
	+ Equipment
		- Molecular Repair Beam Emitter
		- Tractor Beam Emitter
		- Klingon-Type Cloaking Device

## Ships in Service (2292)

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