Negh'Var class
The Negh'Var-class warship is a mightily impressive and intimidating vessel in the service of the Klingon Empire. Serving as the flagship class of the Klingon Defense Force in the latter half of the 24th century, the Negh'Var is a direct response to the Romulan Star Empire's flagship D'deridex-class warbird. Following its debut during the cold war with the Dominion, the Negh'Var continues to be a vital key within the Klingon fleets into the 25th century and has only recently been displaced as the Klingon flagship very recently by the Bortasqu'-class.
Exploration and Science
The Negh'Var is unique within Klingon shipbuilding in that its sensor suite was developed with a multi-faceted approach in mind. Although, much like the K't'inga and Vor'cha-classes, the sensor suite's primary purpose is tactical with an additional purpose of searching for resources, it was also built with exploration in mind. The Klingon Empire learned over the 24th century from their Federation allies that exploration and scientific discovery can lead to untold and unimaginable advances in all areas of technological advancement. Learning from that, the Negh'Var is more than capable of the scientific duties on par with many Federation ships which allows it to conduct these studies while in deep space. Whereas most other Klingon ship classes would have to send preliminary data back to the nearest outpost so a dedicated science ship could be deployed, the Negh'Var itself would be carrying out these studies and sending comprehensive details back to the nearest outpost for analysis.
Diplomacy
For a Klingon ship, the Negh'Var is leaps and bounds above all but the Bortasqu' in terms of diplomatic capability. The Negh'Var takes its cues directly from the Vor'cha with the increased ability to host dignitaries and spaces for diplomatic talks. It is equipped with full staterooms for Klingon administrators, massive quarters for diplomatic guests of the Klingon Empire, and sizable conference rooms. With the exception of the Bortasqu' , the Negh'Var would be tasked with most diplomatic missions on behalf of the Klingon Empire and would likely fly the flag of the leader of a Great House in any diplomatic overtures, including with other Great Houses. However, much like the Vor'cha, non-Klingons would find these accommodations lacking compared to counterparts such as the Odyssey-class.
Engineering
Much like her predecessors the K't'inga and Vor'cha, the Negh'Var was designed with the idea of a predator stalking its prey in the depths of space. Like the others, the primary hull was almost wing-like, with two nacelles on each side, connecting a long "neck" with a "head" command section. While the Negh'Var was meant to complement the Vor'cha, not replace it, the ship is essentially an improved version of the Vor'cha in every way. The engine capabilities were increased, additional weapon mounts, the addition of siege weaponry built into the design, an advanced sensor suite for both combat and exploration, and even staterooms for diplomacy. Throughout the design process, the Negh'Var was one of the first ships in Klingon history to not be a simplistic engineering design but rather a more advanced one bringing many different efforts together at once.
Tactical
The Negh'Var was the most well-equipped ship in Klingon history at the time of its launch. With more weapons emplacements than any other Klingon ship previous, its seige technology, and torpedo payload the Negh'Var was, for a time, likely the most formidable warship in the Alpha or Beta Quadrants.
The Negh'Var is primarily unique from the previous cruisers in its lineage such as the K't'inga and Vor'cha-classes by the two massive disruptor cannons on the underbelly of the ship. Tactically, these set the Negh'Var apart as being seige weapons against stationary targets be it planetary or starbases. The Negh'Var was the first Klingon ship to have such weaponry built into the design at inception, whereas previous classes would need to have such weaponry specially mounted for a specific mission profile.
Additionally, the Negh'Var includes a hangar deck at the top of the ship in a pod-like structure which allows it to carry several Kivra-class shuttles and multiple wings of To'Duj-class fighters. Tactically, this allows the Negh'Var to serve as a command and control warship on the field of battle coordinating efforts not only as a massive deployment platform itself but also with any escort ships in its battlegroup.
Shipboard Life
Class History
Shortly before the successful deployment of the Vor'cha-class cruiser in 2367, the Romulan Star Empire emerged from its half a century of isolation in their mighty D'deridex-class warbirds. The size and firepower of these newly discovered Romulan vessels worried the Klingon High Council enough that the Vor'cha may be insufficient. As a result, Chancellor Gowron ordered the development of a new warship in secret that could rival the D'deridex-class and, in truth, also the once-enemy-turned-ally Federation's equally impressive Galaxy-class starships in combat.
Over the next few years the Negh'Var underwent development and construction at the highly secure fleet yards located at Ty'Gokor. Over its development, Chancellor Gowron became less suspicious of the Federation and increasingly sought out their assistance in its development.
By 2371, the prototype, the IKS Negh'Var, was ready for launch and was deployed as the flagship of the Klingon Empire. A year later, several other Negh'Var-class ships were put into production with expectation being that the Klingon ship yards would be able to produce several of these vessels per year. The first real test for the class came a year later in 2372 when the IKS Negh'Var herself, now under the command of General Martok served as the Klingon flagship during the Klingon Empire's invasion of Cardassia. This included the siege of Deep Space 9, in which the Negh'Var's incredibly powerful seige disruptors were first seen in action by the Federation. The siege disruptors proved powerful enough to breach the station's shields sufficiently enough to begin mass transport of Klingon ground troops onto the station.
By the time full hostilities broke out between the Dominion and the Federation-Klingon-Romulan Alliance, several Negh'Var-class warships were in full service. Serving as command and control flagships during the Dominion War, the Negh'Var proved more than capable of holding their own against anything the Dominion was throwing at the Klingons. While the older, less advanced Klingon designs were falling in great numbers, the Negh'Var was able to break through Dominion lines in engagements. However, throughout the war, the Klingons were only able to produce five Negh'Var-class ships before the war ended meaning that while impactful, they weren't able to end the war with any expediency on their own.
After the war, the Negh'Var continued to serve as the flagship of the Klingon Empire. The class was produced by all of the Great Houses in the effort put forth by the Klingon Defense Force to rebuild the Klingon fleet. The Negh'Var continued to serve in its capacity as a flagship and strike fear into enemies well into the waning years of the 24th century. In the beginning years of the 25th century, the Negh'Var is still a formidable capital ship in the Klingon fleet. Only in recent years has it begun to be supplanted by the much bigger Bortasqu' -class vessels. However, the deployment of the Bortasqu' has not slowed down the building efforts of the Negh'Var as a ship that appears to be a mainstay in most House fleets as well as the Klingon Defense Force overall.
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