STSTCSOLD&A | D-9 "Seeker" Class ● Cruiser ● Klingon Empire

I ALWAYS LIKED THE ORIGINAL D-9's LOOKS. Small forward profile, forward-sweeping wing body, and traditional pod-on-boom neck assembly. This ship looks like something from the Star Trek II era, not the ST:TOS era. But the ship's history suggests that it arose during the apocryphal "Four Years War"—a time before Captain Kirk's command of the Enterprise, at least where FASA is concerned. The ship's history is also interesting in that it makes this vessel out to be a science ship. Yes, believe it or not, a Klingon science vessel. Now, that makes perfect sense from a practical standpoint. Even the rabid Klingons need to get out into the boondocks and turn over a few rocks now and again. Like the Federation, the Klingon Empire can't conduct exploration without ships explicitly dedicated to the role.
        Still, it always seemed somewhat odd to me that the D-9—a ship whose numerical sequence places it as a descendent of the D-7—would have no torpedo weaponry. Thus when I attempted a re-draw in 2007 I decided to equip the class with a torpedo in the forward arc, which dramatically improves its combat performance during game play.
        Moreover, the re-draw itself proved interesting in that the original D-9 stats state that the vessel is mass VIII, with a length just 72% of the D-7 K'tinga class. Scaled to this percentage, the D-9 command pod and warp nacelles are ridiculously small, thus I had to make a decision: scrap the stats, or keep the nacelles and command pod scaled to the original size, in which case the overall length of the craft far outstrips the D-7, and many other craft as well.
        I opted to believe the stats, thus the command pod and nacelles wound up much larger, on the re-draw, than anticipated, which lead to a series of alterations on all three views which yielded a design much different from the original. Overall, I am pleased with the results, as the original D-9's neck boom was spindly, even for Klingon aesthetic standards, and the angle of the nacelles on the original did not match between the forward view and the dorsal view; the former slanted inward whereas the latter was slanted outward.
        And as mentioned before, I opted to add a torpedo; simply to give the D-9 more punch as a playing piece.

— BRT

From the FASA Star Trek KLINGON SHIP RECOGNITION MANUAL, circa 1985
D-9 (Seeker) Class VIII Cruiser
Known Sphere Of Operation: Spinward and Federation Borders
Data Reliability: C
Major Data Source: Klingon Sector Intelligence
       The D-9 cruiser was brought into service during the Four Years War to act as a research vessel. For years, the Klingon Empire had been halted in its attempts at expansion. To the rimward lay the Federation; towards the trailing arm were the Romulans; and it has been speculated that to the core-ward lay some unknown power able to hold the Klingons in check. This left the spinward area, as yet not fully explored. Expansion into this void had been slow due to the great distances from the homeworld of Klinzhai and the apparent lack of suitable worlds for conquest, but the desire to outflank the Federation altered that. The newly constructed D-9 cruiser was intended to lead this effort.
       The D-9A prototype was considered to be undergunned and was dropped from production even before it had been commissioned. An upgunned version, the D-9B with mainly defensive weaponry, was commissioned on Stardate 1/9704 and was immediately sent into the new expansion area. These ships and their accompanying scout ships were to map new areas and evaluate the cultural levels of any races encountered. The war with the Federation ended one year after the D-9Bs entered service, and the sense of urgency for the flanking expansion effort diminished. The flanking movement is portrayed in a Star Fleet commanders test known as Operation Armageddon.
       After the end of the Four Years War, most of the facilities set up to produce these research cruisers were converted over to warship designs, accounting for the small number produced. The D-9, named "Seeker" from the Klingon "z’gal", is manufactured at Gnuu Re, with production at three per year. These vessels are still operating in the spinward areas. Of the 82 D-9s built, 68 remain in active service, 9 have been destroyed, 3 are listed as missing, and 2 have been sold to private interests in the Triangle.

Construction Data: Model Numbers- Ship Class- Date Entering Service- Number Constructed	B VIII 1/9704 82	C * VIII unknown unknown
Hull Data: Superstructure Points- Damage Chart- Size Length- Width- Height- Weight- Cargo Cargo Units- Cargo Capacity- Landing Capability-	20 C 160 meters 110 meters 24 meters 100,500 tons 100 units 5,000 tons None	23 C 160 meters 110 meters 24 meters 112,230 tons 100 units 5,000 tons None
Equipment Data: Control Computer Type- Transporters- Standard 6-person- Combat 22-person- Emergency 18-person- cargo- Cloaking Device Type- Power Requirement-	ZD-5 4 none 2 2 None None	ZD-5BX 4 none 2 2 None None
Other Data: Crew- Troops- Passengers- Shuttlecraft-	380 40 None 4	395 40 None 4
Engines and Power Data: Total Power Units Available- Movement Point Ratio- Warp Core Type- Power Units Available- Stress Charts- Maximum Safe Cruising Speed- Emergency Speed- Impulse Engine Type- Power Units Available-	38 4/1 KWD-1 36 L/N Warp 6 Warp 8 KIB-2 2	38 4/1 KWD-1 36 L/N Warp 6 Warp 8 KIB-2 2
Weapons and Firing Data: Beam Weapon Type- Number- Firing Arcs- Firing Chart- Maximum Power- Damage Modifiers +3 +2 +1 Beam Weapon Type- Number- Firing Arcs- Firing Chart- Maximum Power- Damage Modifiers +3 +2 +1 Missile Weapon Type- Number- Firing Arcs- Firing Chart- Power To Arm- Damage-	KD-5 4 1p, 2f, 1s P 4 (1 - 10) (11 - 18) KD-4 1 1a J 4 (1 - 10) (1 - 10)	KD-5 4 1p, 2f, 1s P 4 (1 - 10) (11 - 18) KD-4 1 1a J 4 (1 - 10) (1 - 10) KP-2 2 1f H 1 10
Shields Data: Deflector Shield Type- Shield Point Ratio- Maximum Shield Power-	KSF 2/3 9	KSF 2/3 9
Defense Factor- Weapon Damage Factor-	61.6 14.4	unknown unknown

* Denotes completely hypothetical model number and stats, devised by Brad R. Torgersen.