design from STARDATE MAGAZINE, 1987, courtesy of contributor Jeff Rients
NOTES:
Known Sphere Of Operation: Triangle and Klingon borders
Data Reliability: E
Major Data Source: Triangle Sector Intelligence
SFIC [Star Fleet Intelligence Corps] operatives stationed in the Mantiev Colonial Association, assigned to keeping track of the current civil war between the Loyal States Alliance and the Chanviev Alliance, have transmitted reports of Loyalist raids on rebel positions on Kallendeva, using spacecraft that eluded all known detection methods. The Loyalist government has denied all involvement in these raids, and there are no survivors to confirm these reports.
In truth, but not yet known by SFIC, the LSA was not involved in this attack at all; the Romulans are using the MCA civil war to field-test new equipment, regardless of any support they are giving to the LSA. This role parallels that of the old Soviet Union during the Spanish Civil War on Terra in the mid-20th century (-1/36 to -1/39), in which the Soviets sent material support to the Spanish Republicans (while the Germans and Italians supported the rebels), but did not necessarily lend a helping hand where it was needed and field-tested their weapons just to see how they would perform in battle.
The P-8 is the first Romulan ship of this type equipped with a cloaking device. Even without it, detection of this vessel promises to be extremely difficult due to the use of only a single warp engine. It uses a fixed-wing structure, which enables it to glide for long periods in an atmosphere, and evenly distributes stress throughout the ship whether in normal flight or in combat.
Although Romulan Sector Intelligence has not yet reported sighting this vessel along the Neutral Zone, Star Fleet Command feels that the P-8 will eventually be deployed to support X-3 Class defense outposts and Q-4 Class monitors throughout the Star Empire. This corvette will likely be the natural opponent of the recently-commissioned Scorpio class.
The P-8 is named for an insect native to Gorwah with a poisonous sting that is particularly nasty to the Gorwah but fatal to Romulans, who call it sehin_morlatta, or “stinger of death”.
| Construction Data: | |||
| Model Number — | Type-1 | Type-2 | Type-4 |
| Ship Class — | II | II | II |
| Date Entering Service — | 2287 | 2293 | 2306 |
| Number Constructed — | 177 | 127 | 80 |
| Hull Data: | |||
| Superstructure Points — | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Damage Chart — | C | C | C |
| Size: | |||
| Length — | 28 m | 28 m | 28 m |
| Width — | 28 m | 28 m | 28 m |
| Height — | 8 m | 8 m | 8 m |
| Weight — | 10,358 mt | 11,368 mt | 14,298 mt |
| Cargo: | |||
| Cargo Units — | 1 SCU | 1 SCU | 1 SCU |
| Cargo Capacity — | 5,50 mt | 5,50 mt | 5,50 mt |
| Landing Capacity — | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Equipment Date: | |||
| Control Computer Type — | R-2M | R-2M | R-3M |
| Cloaking Device Type — | RCA | RCA | RCA |
| Power Requirements — | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Other Data: | |||
| Crew — | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Engines And Power Data: | |||
| Total Power Units Available — | 10 | 11 | 11 |
| Movement Point Ratio — | 1/1 | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| Warp Engine Type — | RWA-2 | RWA-2 | RWA-2 |
| Number — | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Power Units Available — | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Stress Charts — | J/L | J/L | J/L |
| Max Safe Cruising Speed — | Warp 6 | Warp 6 | Warp 6 |
| Emergency Speed — | Warp 7 | Warp 7 | Warp 7 |
| Impulse Engine Type — | RIA-2 | RIA-3 | RIA-3 |
| Power Units Available — | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Weapons And Firing Data: | |||
| Beam Weapon Type — | RB-1 | RB-7a | RB-7a |
| Number — | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Firing Arcs — | 2 f | 2 f | 2 f |
| Firing Chart — | G | M | M |
| Maximum Power — | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Damage Modifiers: | |||
| +3 | (-) | (1-3) | (1-3) |
| +2 | (-) | (4-9) | (4-9) |
| +1 | (-) | (10-14) | (10-14) |
| Torpedo Weapon Type — | RP-1 | RP-1 | RP-5 |
| Number — | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Firing Arcs — | 1 f | 1 f | 1 f |
| Firing Chart — | F | F | R |
| Power to Arm — | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Damage — | 6 | 6 | 15 |
| Shield Data: | |||
| Deflector Shield Type — | RSB | RSC | RSE |
| Shield Point Ratio — | 1/1 | 1/2 | 1/2 |
| Maximum Shield Power — | 8 | 10 | 13 |
| Combat Efficiency: | |||
| D — | 31.7 | 50.7 | 56.2 |
| WDF — | 2.5 | 7.1 | 14.5 |