USS Tiburon is an experimental cruiser design of about 428.5 meters length. Coming into being a few years after the end of the Dominion War, the design is intended as a general purpose explorer and defensive vessel. The rakish, shark-like lines and unusual warp nacelle shapes are due to post-war cooperation between Federation and Klingon designers, utilizing principles of both factions design ethics. In this image, Tiburon is seen on weapons trials. The two pylon-mounted weapons seen are pulse-phasers derived from the smaller weapons first developed for the USS Defiant class escort ships. Immediately below these energy weapons can be seen the photon/quantum torpedo tubes, two being mounted per side. |
One of Tiburon's first real missions was a bit of a milk run - escorting the diplomatic embassy ship USS Grand Alliance home from a routine conference. Seen here, the two ships rendezvous over Coridan for the trip back to Earth. This aft view shows Tiburan's two small, highly efficient impulse engines, and the oversized shuttlecraft hangar doors. The small dorsal protrusion amidships is the bridge. The round hatch aft of the radiator fins is the warp core jettison hatch. The circular recesses on the forward hull are a pair of starbase umbilical sockets flanking the main docking hatch. On the opposite side of the hull can be seen the golden eye of an experimental Klingon-tech targeting sensor. |
Tiburon's combat trials were an unqualified success. In manuevering tests shown here, her advanced sensors linked to automatic helm controls managed to dodge 85% of the low-power energy beams fired at her, and her advanced shields absorbed sufficient energy to come through each simulation with very little "damage." Here she returns fire at the active target drone that's firing on her. Tiburon's forward phasers are another new type under test, along with most of the rest of the ship's systems. The white polygon under the ship's nose is a wedge-shaped "captain's yacht"-style shuttle. Immediately aft of that is the main transporter emitter. The large round dome is the ship's hi-resolution planetary sensor suite. |
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