From Jackill's Guide to Light Attack Craft:
This Starfighter was original designed during the service of the Constitution class starship. The Klingons prefer single combat to any other form of combat. Because of this, Klingons have advanced starfighter combat to a fine art form. The Ku'Rist is a very effective fighter that is used by the Klingons to support their larger ships, for ground attack, and for light patrol duties. Even with the replacement of many ship classes, fighters very similar to the Ku'Rist are is still used although they are far improved. The Klingons used fighters to attack Gem-Hadar vessels in packs. When these fighters are engaging other fighters, the Klingon prefer to duel on a one on one basis and disdain teaming against other fighters although this has lost several battles for them. Because the ship does not have enough firepower to fight capital ships by themselves, they do use cooperative tactics when fighter the larger ships.
The fighters have a very narrow height. This creates a potential advance for the fighter in that it is harder to detect. If the pilot can keep the fighter nose or sides facing any hostile ships, the fighter has a very narrow sensor cross section. The fighter is piloted by only one pilot, this means that life support systems require less space but the pilot must act as pilot, weapons officer, and navigator. The cockpit is entered through the top canopy which opens in a similar fashion to modern earth jet fighters. The warp engines sit outstretched on the sides of the fighter and in order to keep the fighter as short as possible, the warp engines are much wider than they are tall.
While the Klingon fighter is not capable of as fast a warp speed as most large ships, it is faster than the Federation Warp Fighter. The ability of the fighter to travel at warp speeds makes the fighter capable of attacking systems distant from the one the fighter was launched from although the distances create a problem for the fighters crews. This problem is further increased because the fighter is more cramped than the Federation fighter. Even Klingons become fatigued if they are in the cockpit for long periods of time.
While the Klingon fighter has equal shields as the Federation Argus Warp Fighter, the Ku'Rist fighter has thinner armor and can take less abuse than the Argus fighter. The warp engines require a huge amount of space, and if removed, the fighter would have vastly improved space for increasing the amount of shields and increasing the armor. The fighter caries about same firepower as the Federation warp fighter. The Ku'Rist carries a light disruptor cannon in the nose of fighter for both fighting other fighters and when all of the of the photon torpedoes have been launched. The fighter carries photon torpedoes launchers under the fighter. The fighter can either use full size photon torpedoes or can use mini-torpedoes. The larger torpedoes allows the fighter to damage much larger ships than itself and the torpedoes are used against targets from corvettes to large immobile fortresses. The smaller torpedoes are useful against both fighters and for pinpoint strike against far larger targets.
This design is written to be able to interact with modified phase world rules. Revised Starship Rules for Phase World. There is a lack of hard detail on this ship. Some materials have suggested accelerations that are simply beyond scope. I have taken a moderate level in writing up this starship for Phase World because otherwise the ship would either be far too powerful or far too weak for Phase World. Warp speeds are far slower than the FTL speeds for Phase World but they are very close to those from the original series and Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual. Also, a note on the mass of starships. The original sources indicated much smaller masses for starships than Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual does and where possible, both masses are listed for the gamers to choose which one seems most appropriate.
Model Type: KWF-12
Vehicle Type: Warp Pursuit/Light Patrol Fighter.
Crew: One
M.D.C. By Location:
Forward Disruptor cannons (2): | 30 each | |
Photon Torpedo Mounts (2): | 10 | |
Impulse Engine: | 160 | |
Warp Nacelles | 120 each | |
Cockpit: | 125 | |
[1] Main Body: | 500 | |
[2] Variable Force Field: | 300 per side (1,800 total) |
Notes:
[1] Depleting the MDC of the main body will put the fighter out of
commission. All internal systems will shut down, including life support
and internal gravity. The ship itself will be an unsalvageable floating
wreck.
[2] Shields positions can be varied and all could be combined in one
shield. Shields regenerate at the rate of 5% (90 MDC) per melee round.
Speed:
Driving on the Ground: Not Possible (Fighter can land on the
ground).
Sublight: Has a special sublight engine that allows the ship
to travel up to 40 percent of the speed of light. Fighter can accelerate/decelerate
at the rate of 1.8 percent of light per melee.
As an alternative, the starship can reach .99 of the speed of light
but is normally restricted to slower speeds so that starship is not effected
severely by time attenuation that occurs at the higher sublight speeds.
Atmospheric Propulsion: Maximum Cruise speed is Mach 10, can
enter an atmosphere because fighter has anti-gravity systems.
Stardrive: Uses a warp engine that allow ship to travel at Warp
Factor 4.9 on cruise (0.01 light years per hour), Warp Factor 5.8 Flank
(0.022 Light Years per hour), and Warp Factor 7.8 Emergency (0.054 Light
Years per Hour). Warp speed is raised to the third power to figure out
how many times the speed of light the ship travels. These speeds are very
slow when compared to Phase World ship, so if used in that universe, they
could be increased enough to operate within Three Galaxy speeds but should
not exceed them.
Maximum Range: Effectively Unlimited by drive system but only
has supplies for pilot for three weeks.
Statistical Data:
Length: 74.2 feet (22.6 meters)
Height: 8.5 feet (2.6 meters)
Width: 38.7 feet (11.8 meters)
Weight: 16 Tons (14.5 metric tons)
Power System: Advanced Micro Fusion with 4 year life span.
Cargo: Minimal Storage Space, place for a rifle, handgun, small
survival kit, signal flares, and food rations.
Market Cost: 68 million to construct.
WEAPON SYSTEMS:
[ Phase World TM, Kreeghor TM, and CAF TM are trademarks owned by Kevin
Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc. ]
[ Rifts® is a registered trademark owned by Kevin Siembieda and
Palladium Books Inc.]
[ Star Trek is copyright © Paramount Pictures. ]
Technical information from Jackill's Guide to Light Attack Craft
By Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune ).
I would like to recognize Henning Rogge as giving assistance with the revision of the Star Trek starships.
Rifts Conversion Copyright © 2000, Kitsune. All rights reserved.