Kumari class

The Kumari-class was a type of Andorian Empire starship, a battlecruiser in the Andorian Imperial Guard service in the 22nd century. The Kumari vessels were combatant vessels on the side of the Coalition of Planets allies during the Earth-Romulan War. The Kumari-class were equipped with tractor beams and particle beam weapons, and had a maximum speed exceeding warp 5. Ships of the class carried the prefix I.G.S. (Imperial Guard Ship).

Following the creation of the United Federation of Planets the Andorian Imperial Guard fleet was absorbed into the newly established Federation Starfleet. While the ships retained their names, was given the prefix of USS before the name and registry number.

In the mirror universe, Kumari-class ships were widely used by rebels against the Terran Empire.

The Kumari-class was still in service, though considerably upgraded, by the early 25th century, and by 2409 had been redesignated an escort vessel. The class had also spawned two variant classes, the Charal and Khyzon classes.

Battlecruiser
The Kumari-class battlecruiser was 360 meters long and had a standard crew complement of 86. The ship was heavily armed, featuring particle cannons, but it lacked torpedo launchers.

The hull was made of duranium alloy. The deflector shields were strong for ships of the era, but the hull was weaker and particularly vulnerable when the shields were down because it lacked hull plating that could be polarized.

Because the empire was on the brink of war with the Tellarites and Vulcans, the battlecruiser was designed for war as part of a strategy of deterrence.

The Kumari-class was technologically advanced and a match for a Vulcan D'Kyr class warship. Five particle cannon emitters were positioned on the fore, port, starboard, ventral and dorsal hulls. Each of the emitters had a 180 degree firing arc. The cannons could be fired as continuous beams and projectile-like bursts. Andorian energy weapons were blue.

The main bridge was crewed by five officers. The commanding officer sat in a command chair. The officer's stations were visible to the commander. The officers included the executive officer, navigators and flight controllers. This efficient bridge design was mirrored in new designs after the founding of Federation Starfleet.

Andorian technology was partially based on Vulcan technology. As a result, Andorian ships were vulnerable to the Romulan telecapture system.

The hull consisted of an engineering section with two weapon/engine pods mounted on wing-like pylons. Shuttle- and cargo bays were placed on the central hull. A dart-like saucer section housed additional crew decks and the main bridge. Off to the bridge was a ready room. In the case of emergency, the crew could avail itself to the Andorian escape pods.

The propulsion system was a matter-antimatter reactor warp core. It allowed the ship to exceed warp 5. In the 2150s, the Kumari-class battlecruisers could travel at high warp. The upper speed limit was below warp 8.

Escort
In 2409, the Andorians produced the Kumari Line, a series of three starship classes based around a heavily redesigned Kumari-class. The Kumari-class escort and the two related designs, Charal and Khyzon classes, were offered to Starfleet to help defend the Federation.

The standard crew complement of the escort was 85. Due to modular design, ships of the class were customizable. Starbases with designated shipyards could improve the design based on the commanding officer's wishes. This included changing hull colors and switching components between the three sister classes.

The standard weapon equipment was phaser-based but modified by the Andorians. These phasers emitted blue energy beams. The standard complement included dual beam banks, cannon and turrets. In addition, Kumari-line starships were outfitted with quantum torpedo launchers. The hull was defended with deflector shields and deflector arrays. The standard equipment of a Kumari-line starship had a mark X rating. The equipment was customizable, however.

These escorts were tier 5 starships and a match for most opponents, including some dreadnoughts. They had a standardized Starfleet interior, although the bridge could be modified to look like the one from the original Kumari-class battlecruiser. Kumari-line escorts could carry any Federation shuttlecraft and were equipped with escape pods.

Due to the technological advancement of the early 25th century, high warp velocities and transwarp speeds were attainable. Starfleet installed quantum slipstream drives on all vessels commanded by an officer ranked Vice Admiral or higher.

Class variations
The design of the Kumari-class escort allowed its commanding officer to choose from four different designs of livery, which could be modified further. The four options were designated Andorian, Charal, Khyzon and Kumari. In addition to the standard hull patterns available for Starfleet ships, the escort's components could be patterned in Kumari A and Kumari B.

Furthermore, the installation of deflector shields from specific factions modified the hull appearance, including shields from the Reman Resistance, the Breen Confederacy and the Dominion.

Early service
The Kumari-class replaced an older type of battlecruiser, which remained in service for colony defense. The class was launched with the prototype IGS Kumari in 2142. The ship was named for the first ice cutter to circumnavigate Andoria.

Subsequently, the Kumari-class warship saw widespread use in the Andorian Imperial Guard in the 22nd century.

United Earth first encountered Kumari-class starships during a Andorian-Vulcan standoff at the terraformed planetoid Weytahn (named Paan Mokar by the Vulcans), in 2152. The United Earth Starfleet vessel Enterprise (NX-01) was called in to assist in the negotations between Commander Shran and Ambassador Soval. Three Kumari-class ships, serving as troop carriers, participated in the standoff. One of these was Telev's battlecruiser.

In December 2153 and February 2154, the Kumari assisted Enterprise during the Xindi crisis.

Kumari-class starships were part of the Imperial Guard fleet participating in the Battle of Andoria against invading Vulcans.

When the Romulans worked to destabilize local space, a telepresence drone ship disguised as Tellarite vessel destroyed the Kumari. Andorian battlecruisers were part of the multi-species fleet to unmask the Romulans. The repeated cooperation between Commander Shran and Captain Jonathan Archer from Enterprise helped pave they way for the founding of the Coalition of Planets.

Kumari-class ships, including the IGS Ka'Thelan Krotus, participated in the Earth-Romulan War until the Confederacy of Vulcan convinced the Andorian Empire to drop out of the war. The Coalition of Planets was dissolved.

Federation
Kumari-class starships were the mainstay of the Andorian Guard, the Federation Starfleet arm for defense from 2161 onward. In 2163, a task force led by the USS Vinakthen and the Malurian starship Rivgor included several Federation battlecruisers. The task force was formed to deter Vertians from attacking non-Vertian vessels and colonies.

In the 23rd century, some Kumari-class starships were assigned to the Andorian Engineering Corps, based on Starbase 17.

The Kumari line
In the early 25th century, Starfleet produced various new starship classes to defend the Federation against various threat. During the Federation-Klingon War of 2405-2410, the Andorian Empire supplied Starfleet with three escort classes, based on a heavily redesigned Kumari-class. These classes were launched in 2409 and included a more powerful Kumari-class escort, and two subclasses, Charal class and Khyzon class. All three escort types were modular, allowing for sharing pieces among them.

Following the severe attack on Earth Spacedock by the Undine in early 2410, the IGV Kyzon was stationed at Earth.

Mirror universe
In the mirror universe, species oppressed by the Terran Empire formed a rebellion. The Andorians participating in the rebellion supplied Kumari-class battlecruisers. In 2155, a Constitution class starship from the future was captured by the Terrans and used to destroy a rebel fleet.

Andorian, Vulcan and Tellarite ships formed the bulk of the rebel fleet. Other ships, like the Kumari, were loyal to General Thy'lek Shran, who sided with the Empire after the USS Defiant had been acquired by the Terrans.

Alternate timelines
In an alternate timeline where the Vulcans had remained a violent and emotional species, the Andorians went on to form the Interstellar Union. The Imperial Guard relied on military strength to subdue its enemies, including the Xindi and Tellarites. The Kumari's configuration was the basis for the Excelsior class battlecruiser of the 2290s. The Interstellar Guard's flagship was the IUES Kumari II.

In a timeline where the Human civilization fell in the 1960s, the Andorians allied with the Klingons after Andoria was conquered by the Vulcans in the 2150s. Future battlecruisers, like the Klingon-Andorian Compact warship Thorn of Justice from the late 24th century, were Andorian ship designs with strong Klingon influence.

Technical data
The Andorian battle cruiser was considerably more rugged than the designs utilized by contemporary United Earth Starfleet vessels. Like all Andorian combat vessels, the Andorian battle cruiser was constructed using a "significant quantity" of duranium alloy. Despite the vessel's fairly large size, it was crewed by a complement of only eighty-six. In comparison, Starfleet's smaller NX class had a standard compliment of eighty-three.

Physical arrangement
The outboard plan of the Andorian battle cruiser's design consisted of a central "spine" that contained a vertically bifurcated forward hull containing several decks. The central "spine" gradually narrowed toward the aft section of the ship where it connected to two vertically stacked warp nacelles. Located midway down the "spine" were a pair of forward-swept wings which contained the impulse engines and defensive systems.

Defensive systems
The defensive systems utilized by the Andorian battle cruiser included a formidable array of particle cannons composed of multiple forward cannon emplacements, port and starboard wing emitters, as well as dorsal and ventral emitters capable of firing in 180 degree arcs.

The Andorian battle cruiser enjoyed an advantage over other less advanced vessels of this era due to its utilization of deflector shield technology. Nevertheless, this class was somewhat susceptible to attacks directed towards its shield generator. The shield generator itself was located distantly from the vessel's power grid, leaving it vulnerable to damage. By the 24th century Kumari class battle cruisers were refited with new technology and new weapons. The Kumari class was refited with disruptor cannons, photon torpedoes and more powerful particle cannons and more powerful shields along with a stronger shield generator.

During the 2150s, Andorian technology was considered to be more advanced than analogous Tellarite technology. One Tellarite cruiser was said to not be able to "stand a chance" against two Andorian warships. The Andorian battle cruiser had a level of firepower comparable to the Xindi-Reptilian warship and the Vulcan D'Kyr combat cruiser.

In the mirror universe, this class proved significantly inferior to a mid-23rd century Federation Constitution class starship. This was clearly illustrated when the USS Defiant, defending the Terran warship ISS Avenger from rebel attack, engaged and destroyed one Andorian battle cruiser within seconds and inflicted heavy damage to a second before allowing it to escape.

Propulsion systems
Andorian battle cruisers utilized warp drive technology that was more advanced than Starfleet's warp five engine, allowing Andorian vessels to be "considerably faster" than Earth's NX class starship. These vessels could travel at speeds that were described at the time as "high warp."

One of the technological innovations contributing to the high performance of the ship's warp drive was the utilization of advanced antimatter injectors with variable compression nozzles. In 2153, knowledge of this of "sophisticated piece of technology" was still considered to be "rather sensitive information."

Additional systems
The long-range sensors utilized on board the Andorian battle cruiser were more sophisticated than those utilized on board Starfleet's NX-class. These sensors were capable of scanning a star system from a distance without betraying the vessel's presence. Conversely, usage of its short-range sensors was detectable by vessels that were being scanned by them. Commander Shran attempted to innocently explain away these sensors to Degra as being "omni-directional" during a ruse to scan the second prototype of the Xindi superweapon during its test in the Calindra system in 2153.

Much like Vulcan ships of the era, Andorian battle cruisers were equipped with a tractor beam. The tractor emitter was located on the ship's forward ventral section.

Additionally, these warships were equipped with transporters capable of performing site-to-site transport. Use of these transporters was only detectable by internal sensors as a brief energy surge.

Auxiliary craft
The Andorian battle cruiser housed at least one shuttle. They also carried multiple escape pods.

Bridge
Capable of operating with a crew of five, the bridge of the Andorian battle cruiser directly supervised all primary mission operations and coordinated all departmental activities. Its design was not unlike the layouts used aboard Earth and Klingon vessels of that era, and of Federation starships of later eras. The most significant difference was the placement of the wall consoles, which faced away from the captain rather than towards him.

The layout consisted of an inverted "half-moon"-shaped viewscreen located on the forward bulkhead, directly in front of the ship's side-by-side helm and navigation console.

In the center of the bridge was the captain's chair, with two large convex dishes on either side of the chair. A semi-circle of four station consoles, each with its own stool, surrounded the captain's chair, one each to port and starboard, and two near the aft. All four consoles were each attached to a support column which braced the bridge's vaulted ceiling.

Along the rear bulkhead were several display monitors, separating the entry way to the captain's ready room on the port side from the entryway to the bridge on the starboard side.

Ready room
The ready room was located adjacent to the bridge and provided the commanding officer with a private place to conduct ship's business. The ready room on board the Kumarihad a large viewscreen located on the bulkhead opposite the entryway and a desk and chair located between the entryway and the viewscreen. Behind the commander's desk was a shelving display that contained the officer's personal effects.

Interrogation room
The interrogation room was a small area that contained an interrogation chair located opposite of the entryway and a free standing control console located in the corner, near the door. The interrogation technology utilized a machine that created a neuro-synaptic field which caused the victim's emotional threshold to be lowered rather than causing physical discomfort.

Cargo bays
The Andorian battle cruiser contained at least three cargo bays, with the third being located on the ventral section of the ship, near the center of the vessel. These cargo bays were shielded against potential radiation by use of a force field.

Ships of the class

 * Kumari-class battlecruisers:
 * IGS Docana
 * IGS Ka'Thelan Krotus
 * IGS Kumari - Destroyed (2154)
 * IGS Shran
 * IGS Kumari (II)
 * Kumari (mirror)
 * USS Vinakthen
 * unnamed:
 * Telev's battlecruiser
 * Kumari-class escorts:
 * USS Kumari
 * Charal-subclass:
 * USS Charal
 * Khyzon-subclass:
 * USS Khyzon
 * IGV Kyzon