Guide:Kahs'khiori
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| Kahs'khiori | |
|---|---|
| Class Overview | |
| Category | Corvette |
| Operational | 1924 - 2196 |
| Constructed | 169 (built 1924 - xxxx) |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 110.0 m |
| Beam | 50.3 m |
| Height | 35.9 m |
| Mass | 12,210 mt |
| Performance | |
| Max Speed | w 3.1 |
| Endurance | 2 years |
| Complement | |
| Officers | 3 |
| Enlisted | 26
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| Tactical Systems | |
| Beam Weapons |
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| Shields |
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| Transporters | 2 GP (3-pad) (select vessels) |
| Canonicity | |
| Design | ENT: "Kir'Shara" |
| Name | Timo |
| History | Timo
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Background: Hobbyist's Guide
Since the days when interstellar pirates preyed on Surak’s first disciples, civilian spacecraft converted for military tasks have played a role in the defense of the Vulcan home system. In those early days, this had been out of practical necessity: like the planet itself, the Vulcan system was poor in resources and what little was available in the form of random asteroids had never excited the fighting factions sufficiently to create a spaceborne element to their aggression. Outside threats thus were met at first by vessels designed for profitable trade rather than triumph in combat.
In the late 21st century, when the first Earth representatives arrived in the Vulcan system, the strength of the space combat forces under Vulcan High Command was undeniable, yet home defenses still utilized converted civilian designs. Now, it was by choice: the large cruisers had been thoroughly optimized for the power projection task that maintained Vulcanian dominance in the interstellar neighborhood, and the local defense mission was seen as an unnecessary evil, even an embarrassment to the general policy of superior-strength pacifism. Apart from aging orbital fortresses and minuscule sublight fightercraft, the Vulcan system was mainly patrolled by corvettes deriving their ancestry from commercial vessels several centuries old.
The most prominent warp corvette type in frontline service at the time was the Kahs'khiori ("shooting star")—the last such type to defend Vulcan before the founding of the joint Federation Star Fleet. The Kahs'khiori featured a classic two-element ring drive for warp 3.1 propulsion. The port and starboard ring elements both extended forward until tapering to points on both sides of the bow. Certain key engineering spaces were situated just inboard of the ring elements, but the main powerplant rode above the central hull, protected by an armored spine cowling. The centerline of the hull had originally been left free for loading of cargo through a series of bow doors into amidships holds. The holds were now largely gone, replaced by military machinery, but the central entry bay still served up to six small fightercraft of, for example, Tshin type.
Main armament for the type consisted of twin heavy particle cannon at the bow. Two additional point defense cannon commanded aft arcs from the extreme stern. The command deck, a horseshoe protrusion atop the bulk of the hull, cradled behind it the bulging cowling of the main reactor. The next three decks were of increasing width, spacious enough as the result of the transport heritage of the vessel, and ideal for crew accommodation as well as the internal elements of the military C3I systems. There were also six large and four smaller dorsal lifeboats for rapid evacuation. Decks 5 through 7 gradually narrowed to a series of ventral hold doors on Deck 8, and mainly featured assorted support systems plus an additional four large and four small lifeboats. The entire lower aft end was dedicated to the impulse propulsion system with its two large field-vectoring nozzles. The forward ends of Deck 5 and 6 held the powerful navigational deflector array, upgraded to military standards, although still flanked by the prongs of the original cargo cranes. Lateral docking ports on Deck 5 allowed for crew transfer or for boarding operations, although the latter were on some select vessels conducted by transporters instead.
Up to six hundred of the old freighters had been built. Just 169 of them had seen conversion to corvette specifications. Most did not engage in interstellar missions after their original deployment runs, as the Vulcanian star empire still had many colonial holdings to defend. A contingent of four six-vessel flotillas was held in readiness at Vulcan during the 2154 altercation with Earth representatives; less than a tenth of the force was sufficient for evicting the UESF heavy cruiser. On the other hand, the 2157 exchange of fire with the Romulan suicide mission resulted in loss of five corvettes, as their armoring was woefully inadequate against modern threats and their targeting systems too slow against the enemies of the day.
After the formation of the United Federation of Planets, its defensive Star Fleet obtained a token contingent of Kahs'khiori vessels. In practice, these continued service in protection of Vulcan assets exclusively. The last four were withdrawn from Hephaistos in 2196, replaced by half their number of Pointer class corvettes. Yet the durability of the design is excellent and isolated examples are known to remain in service as free-traders or mercenary vessels—a fate that can befall ships of the highest-repute origin.
Gallery
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Bow view -
Side View -
Dorsal view -
Ventral view -
Stern view
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Star Fleet Registry
- NCC-L19
- NCC-L25
- NCC-L38
- NCC-L69
- NCC-L74
- NCC-L95
- NCC-L182
- NCC-L183
Alt Sources
- Starship Handbook (Combined) (as Vahklas class)
External Sources
Notes
- Eaglemoss and Memory Alpha both refer to this as the Vahklas class, though it might be more appropriately referred to as the Vahklas-type, since the first one encountered in canon was a Vulcan civilian transport named the Vahklas. An armed variant/similar class is seen (but not identified) in the Enterprise episodes "Awakenings" and "Kir'Shara."
- Timo is clear that the UFP Star Fleet receives a limited number of Kahs'khioris. I've decided eight were transferred to Star Fleet service, starting in 2161. They'll be registered under the NCC-L code.