Guide:Talion
| |
| Talion | |
|---|---|
| Class Overview | |
| Category | sublight fightercraft |
| Operational | 2242 - 2276 |
| Constructed | 420 |
| Dimensions | |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 4.7 m |
| Height | 2.6 m |
| Mass |
|
| Performance | |
| Max Speed | 0.8 c |
| Endurance | 2 days |
| Complement | |
| Crew |
|
| Tactical Systems | |
| Beam Weapons | Talion
Torch
|
| Missile Weapons | Torch
|
| Shields |
|
| Canonicity | |
| Design | Carmen Carter, “Dreams of the Raven”; FASA |
| Name | Timo, Tennet: Carmen Carter, “Dreams of the Raven” |
| History | Carmen Carter, “Dreams of the Raven”; Timo
|
The multi-thousand-ton cutters, scoutcraft, and runabouts of the early 23rd century did not quite represent the state of the art in miniaturization. In theory, even smaller warp vessels could have been built—but as long as these still exceeded the maximum size for practical starship auxiliaries, nothing concrete could be achieved by the effort. The craft in use aboard both general starships and dedicated carriers thus tended to remain warp-incapable, and operating doctrines were formulated accordingly.
Lacking alternatives, Star Fleet steadfastly refused to accept the failure of the sublight fightercraft as an anti-ship weapon. Lack of warp drive meant short engagements where the initiative was on the side of the warp aggressor. Yet new phaser weaponry could give Class Five fighters enough destructive power to triumph even in a brief melee, and offered a limited warp response as well.
Rather than just bolt phaser IV emitters onto heritage craft, Star Fleet initiated the development of dedicated platforms. Still preferring the shape of the Romulan War era fighters, it picked the Genchi Talion, a seven-meter silver dart with a single impulse engine, four mass-masking coils and three aerodynamic fins clustered at the stem. The single pilot would sit in a faceted-window cockpit just ahead of the engine compartment, with the modest protection of a light shield generator in front of him. On the lower bow would be the three phaser cannon; on the upper bow, their targeting sensors.
The Talion was meant to be primarily flown from the Valkyr and Titan carriers, yet was flexible enough to be operated out of other ship types or even surface bases. Small numbers could be carried aboard cruisers if needed, yet this did not fit Star Fleet doctrine of the time. Genchi was contracted for just 300 craft, to replace the Class Five arsenals of the Valkyrs and Titans. The Regulan manufacturer secured parallel deals with a broad Federation clientele, however, and had completed more than 1,100 craft by the time Star Fleet in 2242 declared its first wings operational.
It was interstellar demand that prompted Genchi to develop a heavier variant, armed with two additional lateral phaser cannon. While Star Fleet did not opt for the design, dubbed "Tasran" by the main Frunalian[1] operator, the subsequent upgrade did attract its attention. The type split her pair of phasers to lateral bows, leaving the ventral surface for the carriage of up to four minitorpedoes, or alternately a sensor array. These twin-seat fighters were potent raiders and siege machines, despite their short range and lack of independence. Under the service name Torch, ten dozen were added to Star Fleet arsenal for these roles in 2246, shortly prior to after the final Axanar confrontation. Another Class Five twin-seater with phaser IV-P units, the CF-268E Tennet, was later fielded, but again only for non-Star Fleet markets.
The Talions and Torches opened an unfortunate chapter in Federation history, however. Their diminishing role in Star Fleet operations led to fleet disinterest in controlling their proliferation. By the late 2250s, extra-Federation governments ranging from unsavory to savage were in possession of the phaser-armed raiders, and pirates began operating carrier vessels that could arrogantly mount fightercraft ambushes deep inside the Kashishowa perimeters of trade port systems. True "pirate copies" of the original designs ensured continuing proliferation even after stricter control measures were slapped onto technology exports.
Tactically speaking, in-system fighter attacks were not a particularly difficult threat to countermand. Dispatching of modern corvettes to the systems under pirate siege usually made short work of the attackers, although starships of at least frigate size were needed to render the heavily armed carriers harmless. Nevertheless, this new mode of pirate operations tied down valuable Star Fleet resources. Like the Klingon raids, it can be argued to have delayed the fleet’s great exploration program by two decades, so that only in the 2260s were significant benefits reaped from Project Starship and its spinoffs.
Despite their agility, the Talions never were much good in anti-fighter operations. The austerity of their sensors and targeting systems, combined with lack of endurance and need for extensive support systems, made them quite dependent on motherships—and the modern cruisers and heavy frigates would actually fare better against fightercraft if not encumbered with craft of their own. The anti-ship capabilities of the Torches were mainly theoretical; Star Fleet withdrew the last twin-seaters from training use in 2276.
Gallery
Notes
- The textual description suggests a Viper (from Battlestar Galactica).
- I designated the Talion as CF-268, wherein "CF" stands for Class Five" and "268" was randomly generated. The suffix "A" indicates the Torch was the first Talion variant. The suffix "E" indicates the Tennet was the export variant.
- Timo indicated the Torches were delivered "shortly prior" to the Axanar confrontation. Since SFC has determined the initial confrontation was five years prior (in 2241), the delivery is now tied to the post-Axanar period.
- I added "late" to the reference to proliferation in the 2250s. That still seems rather early for operational fighters to be sold off, but I'm going to chalk that up to a developing policy shift away from sublight fighters,
- 2273 seems like a good point to remove all of both variants from operational service; the Torches will continue on in training roles for another three years.
References