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I HAVE ALREADY WRITTEN AT LENGTH regarding the strange and often bizarre twists
in the history of the ubiquitous 'Bird of Prey' vessel. (See: Klingon
K-22,
D-32, and
L-42,
as well as the main Romulan and
Klingon
intros.) In fact, it might be argued that the BOP debate is one of the
greatest in all of Star Trek ship lore, with each new appearance of the
BOP throwing another log on the fire. How big is it? How small is
it?? How can it possibly be that this class remains outwardly
identical at all the various sizes??? (see the
Ex Astris Scientia page.)
In game terms, the Romulan S-11 is
pretty much identical (stat-wise) to the Klingon K-22. This makes it one of
the most powerful among all the Romulan scouts, both for its defensive
capabilities and for its offensive punch; augmented by a fore-firing torpedo.
For the most part I have stopped
using this class in scenarios, mainly because official Trek canon has all but
abolished the so-called Klingon/Romulan technology exchange. By ST:TNG
it seems abundantly clear that the Klingons and Romulans find each other
revolting, and our only solid piece of evidence that proves that the Klingons
and Romulans were ever once allied, is the V-11.
There is no official Trek footage that ever shows a BOP design operational with
the Romulan star navy, and the early drafts of Star Trek III that
suggested that Kruge's BOP was stolen from the Romulans, were later
revised so that Kruge's ship was 100% Klingon.
—
BRT
From the FASA Star Trek ROMULAN SHIP RECOGNITION MANUAL, circa 1985
S-11 (Bird of Prey) Class V Scout
Known Sphere Of Operation: Empire-wide use
Data Reliability: C (upgrade)
Major Data Source: Scanned by Project Grey Ghost; Triangle sector intelligence
The improved S-11 (Bird of Prey) is probably the most formidable of all enemy scout ships facing the Federation.
It is the first blending of Klingon and Romulan technologies to come from the exchange
agreements between these powers. The improved power plant is housed in a Klingon-designed compartment made for survivability during combat; the addition of the photon torpedo tube is a direct result of Klingon influence.
The S-11 is believed to be the first scout ship to use the cloaking device for deep-space penetrations of UFP and Klingon territories, which theretofore have been performed only by larger capital ships.
The Romulan High Command apparently now feels that the survival potential of the
S-11 is just as great as for larger vessels, probably because of the scout's size and cloaking ability.
As of this date, only the Type 1 is known to exist.
Consistent with Romulan methods, other types probably are in the making, if not already coming on line.
None of these vessels have passed into the private sector at this time; 82 are known to actively patrol both the Klingon and Federation borders.
The Klingon version of this vessel is in Star Fleet possession, captured by Admiral James T. Kirk.
This design so intrigued the Klingons that, as part of the treaties of Stardate
2/1801, they insisted that a small number of these vessels be exchanged for plans of improved Klingon weaponry.
At the signing of the treaty, seven of these vessels (named Strong Bird by the Klingons) were given to the Klingons, along with a modified version
of the famed cloaking device. Within a year, several larger prototypes of this design
appeared in the Klingon inventory, a mimicry the Romulans do not find flattering.
As the relationship between the Klingons and Romulans has become more strained, Romulan commanders are reported to be increasingly nervous at the fact of having to someday face these giant clones.
The class takes its name from the famed V-8 Class cruiser, because of the similarity in the designs of the two vessels.
It is proving to be worthy of replacing the cruiser's notoriety as a hit-and-run vessel.
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