K'Vorn VaK'ich Shipyards

2243

It was cold, so cold you could see your breath, and it was not apt to get warmer anytime soon. The ship was so new many of her environmental controls were not yet functional, and she was at present totally dependent on the dock umbilicals for all of her power, artificial gravity, and atmospherics. The air was breathable, but no further thought was given to the comfort of her crew and shipfitters. Right now she was on the dark side of the planet, which made it colder still. The emergency lighting systems (currently the only operational lighting systems on the entire vessel) provided a dim reddish-orange illumination throughout her corridors. Clusters of brighter portable lights illuminated areas currently being worked upon.

At the moment, she was quiet. The work crews were currently in shift rotation, and that was fine with Jorn. Ship construction was rarely a quiet operation, and he savored these rare moments of silence. Shift rotation was a time-consuming process. This ship's design was state of the art, and thus highly classified, and the Klingon Empire was not known for being terribly trusting where military secrets were concerned. All shipfitters and dockyard workers were subjected to intensive security screenings and scans every time they came aboard or left for the day, and this took time. No personal communication or recording devices were allowed on board.

He was heading aft, towards the large secondary hull that housed the ship's warp core, impulse and warp engines and pylons, shuttle bay, and most of her engineering spaces and crew quarters. He was in the long, slender "neck" that connected the bulbous primary hull to the rest of the ship. Portions of the outer hull plating had not yet been installed here, and temporary force fields were all that held the vast emptiness of space at bay. He always found it a bit disconcerting to be in this section, and when traveling here he tried to walk as quickly as possible, not that it made much of a difference. Power interruptions while in the fitting out dock were not unknown or uncommon, and a power interruption to these force fields would have unpleasant consequences for anyone who happened to be in the area at the time.

He passed through enormous airlock doors into the secondary hull and headed to the galley. One thing you could say for the shipyard: they had made sure the galley was one of the first areas to be fully operational on the ship. Food (very good food indeed for a Klingon warship) was always available, and a huge urn of steaming raktajino was always fresh. The replicators were of an entirely new design, and Jorn had to admit that the engineers responsible had done a fine job. Of course, it was probably in their own best interests to do so…

He made his selections at the replicator, then filled a battered metal teacup from the urn and eased awkwardly into a darkened corner table. He sat alone with his meal and studied the mess hall's one attempt at decoration-a stunningly beautiful portrait of Kahless the Unforgettable mounted on the largest bulkhead surface. The artist had earned great honor for his house by being selected to create the artwork. Kahless had been depicted with bat'leth in hand, standing atop the corpse of a defeated enemy, victory and triumph in his eyes. Though he had seen it many times, it never failed to send a thrill through his heart, a fire of fierce pride in his race and heritage.

He listened to the whisper of the atmospherics, the hum of the artificial gravity generator, and all of the ever-present background noise of a starship. This ship would do great things, he mused. Many Klingon officers scoffed at the Federation and its vessels. After all, they did not even call themselves warriors, so they were not even worthy of being taken seriously. Yet no one could deny that the technical specifications of the new Federation starships now entering service were impressive and that such a vessel would indeed be a most worthy adversary in combat.

There were now three of the new Federation starships in service, although the first ship of the class was serving as an engineering test bed to refine and improve the design, and probably would serve in this capacity for some time. The other two, however, were fully operational and deployed to persistent trouble spots near the Neutral Zone. There had not yet (as far as he knew, anyway) been any direct encounters between either of the new starships and any Klingon vessels. Jorn could well imagine how eager the Empire's battle cruiser commanders were to engage the new starships and put them to the test.

There were, however, two rather important deterrents to such an engagement. The first was very simple- the Empire was not at war with the Federation. As eager as the members of the High Council were to learn more about the new ships, it was not worth starting a war over, especially if the Federation vessels proved to be as formidable as they were thought to be. And, while most in the Empire dreamed of the day when such a war existed, the leaders of the High Council knew that this was not yet the time.

The reason it was not yet the time was also simple- the front line D-6 cruisers now in use by the Empire were hopelessly outclassed and outgunned by the new Federation ships. Such an encounter would be futile as there could be only one outcome. Sure, a fleet of D-6s might stand a chance against one of the Constitution class ships, but there would be little honor in that. There was no glory to be had in overwhelming an enemy by sheer numbers-indeed, such a victory would be a shameful one.

The D-6 had served the empire well, but it was merely the last in a long line of upgraded versions of a now far outdated design. Warp drive technology had advanced significantly in the last decade, and now the new engines were capable of far greater speed than the structural integrity of the hull of a D-6 could tolerate. The forces involved were staggering, and problems with resonant frequency and inertial dampening could not be overcome using the existing D-6 design.

Weapons design and shield development had been vastly improved as well, and the D-6 was simply not capable of producing the sustained power output the new systems demanded. The High Council had been reluctant at first to procure the enormous development costs of an entirely new design, but the Federation's Constitution-class had, in effect, forced their hand.

The result of all this was the ship Jorn now called home. She was the first of what would come to be known as the D-7, and though she was in effect the prototype, she would nonetheless deploy to front line service as soon as possible. The Empire could not afford for her to languish for years as a developmental platform, not with two of the Constitution class vessels now operational, and more under construction at the Utopia Planitia Shipyards.

The D-7 was the Empire's answer to the new Federation starships. She was a magnificent design; to their credit, once the High Council had decided to fund the development of the new vessel, they had spared no expense. They had designed her around her engineering plant, warp core, and weapons systems instead of trying to fit these systems into a fixed hull design. They had looked ahead, as well; she was engineered with an eye towards future development and upgrades, and there was plenty of space in her hull for additional equipment. She was much stronger than she needed to be for the loads that would be imposed upon her by her planned engine designs. Her structural integrity would allow for decades of advancements in engine technology.

Klingons did not waste time and effort trying to convince anyone that they were peaceful explorers. This was a warship, and she served no other purpose. She was built to withstand serious battle damage and still remain fully functional. Critical systems were quadruple redundant in places and separated as much as was possible so that no one hit could take out a system completely. Many of the massive structural support fixtures throughout the hull were of a telescoping impact absorbing design, and would "give" upon impact, as opposed to a rigid structure that might fracture.

Her shields were to be the most powerful ever developed and were of a new multi-layered design. Conventional shields would envelop an entire vessel in a barrier of defensive energy, but it was an equal level of protection around the perimeter of the vessel. Much energy was wasted shielding areas of the vessels not in danger of attack.

The new shields would concentrate the shielding only in areas it was needed. For example, if the D-7 was engaging a vessel off her starboard bow, the shields would only deploy in those areas vulnerable to a hit from that angle. As a result, the concentrated shielding was much stronger than a thin layer over the entire vessel. This, in turn, would also leave more power available for weapons or maneuvering.

She was magnificent, and Jorn was still amazed that he had been asked to serve upon her and serve the Empire by helping to oversee her fitting out & trials. Jorn's father and three older brothers had, of course, served in the Klingon military, and all had died gloriously in combat. They now sailed forever in the Black Fleet and drank blood wine by the keg alongside the many warriors who had given their lives in the service of the Empire. For a time, Jorn had been ashamed that he himself still lived, and that had never actually seen combat, but that all changed when he was assigned to the D-7 program.

He realized that his contribution to the Empire might well be found in the glorious victories the D-7s were certain to attain. The galaxy was full of enemies who plotted against the Empire, but fortunately, the High Council was diligent about keeping the Klingon people informed of these threats to their homes, families, and way of life. Only by maintaining a massive military force could the Empire protect itself, and Jorn was honored to be a part of it.

Jorn once again was stricken by how lucky he was to be here serving on the newest and finest ship in the fleet. Very lucky indeed...