Vehrian warship

A Vehrian warship was a type of vessel used by the Vehrian empire and, later, by the Inc'Ranas. These vessels are informally referred to as Olympus-class by the Inc'Radi Expedition. 

Specifications
The Olympus-class follows the general design ethic of many other Vehrian ship types. The basic design is that of a single, narrow triangular hull with two blade-like wings aft of this, behind which are located the propulsion systems. The port and starboard entrances to the main fighter bay are forward of the wings in alcoves between them and the main hull, with an additional ventral hangar bay between and slightly forward of these which can accomodate larger vessels. A superstructure is located atop the dorsal hull containing the bridge, mess hall and other crew amenities. ("Olympus", "Divide and Conquer")

Armaments
To be able to hold their own in battle against one or more Borg Hive ships, the Olympus-class boasts a considerable arsenal of advanced weaponry. On the bow there are four energy cannons that discharge continuous beams, primarily for precision attacks and deep penetration of an enemy hull. ("Under Siege, part II")

Lining the command superstructure are eight turrets, four to port and four to starboard, each with two energy cannons. The foremost and aftmost of these are capable of rotating eighty degrees in each direction, leaving very few blind spots for an enemy to exploit. Midway between the bow and the wings on each side is another turret protecting the ventral of the ship. These weapons all fire rapid bolts, designed to destroy areas around precision targeting and prevent regeneration. ("Second Strike")

In addition to the cannons, Olympus-class warships possess three emplacements for the deployment of seeker drones and combat drones. One bay is placed between the forward cannons, and the other two are located at random points across the hull - in different positions depending on the vessel, making it possible to differentiate between multiple ships. ("Olympus Reborn")

Defenses
The entire hull of an Olympus-class is covered in an adaptive armour matrix, which is highly effective at repelling Borg weapons fire. As of 2386, Federation scientists have not been able to determine exactly how this armour functions. ("The Needs of the Many") The Borg have been witnessed overcoming the armour with ease on one occasion - when the Ranas fleet under Major Deran engaged two Hives in the defence of L'Vehris - though it is suspected that this was due to her lack of experience in fighting them. In all other known engagements the armour has held up admirably under extensive bombardment. ("Under Siege, part II")

Conventional energy shields can quickly be erected if need be, though these are understandably less effective than the armour. ("Divide and Conquer")

Propulsion
As is customary with interstellar vessels, Olympus-class ships are equipped with impulse and warp drives, but they are also privy to a system generally considered to be a precursor to the Borg transwarp drive, enabling them to travel up to twenty light-years in less than twelve hours. ("Guerrilla") Manoeuvring thrusters are located at the tips of the wings and other points along the hull. ("Second Strike") Several components of the FTL drives are located within the wings, as well as the protruding aft nacelles. Damage to these can cause the transwarp conduit to collapse. ("Divide and Conquer")

Capacity
The standard crew complement for an Olympus-class is 1700, though their size enables them to carry an additional 15000 personnel, possibly more.

The ships also carry dozens of arrowhead fighters in their port and starboard bays. ("Contact")

Weaknesses
When fully operational, the Olympus-class is virtually indestructible, though recently several flaws in the design have come to light. For instance, the adaptive armour has proven to be vulnerable to weapon frequencies in the upper EM bands, similar to Borg vessels. ("Oblivion")

The fighter bays are also choice targets for the shrewd opponent. When opening the port or starboard bays, a shield normally active around those sections must be lowered to allow the safe passage of the ships. If an enemy targets the bays at the right time, the damage and subsequent chain reactions could result in the destruction of the entire ship. ("Contact")

These ships have also proven to be equally affected by the subspace interference that totally disabled the systems of L'Vehris in 2386. ("The Needs of the Many")

Known ships
To date, only one vessel belonging to the Vehrians has been encountered - the one discovered and named Olympus by the Inc'Radi Expedition in 2385.

Several ships of the same design were later encountered under the control of the Ranas:


 * One - travelled to a point near the Motherworld, before turning back
 * Three - "greeted" the USS Adelphi on her mission to contact the Ranas
 * One - attempted to prevent the Adelphi's departure from the Ranas homeworld, but was destroyed thanks to information supplied by Eyrn Nora'n after his defection
 * Seven - under the command of Major Deran, journeyed to the Motherworld to assist the Expedition and were destroyed shortly after taking out a Borg Hive

It is unknown if these ships were originally Vehrian, of if they were merely constructed by the Ranas after the collapse of the empire.

It is implied, but not stated, that the warship Lantear was of the Olympus-class. Enriss Temaga also commanded a fleet of these ships in her people's last battle with the Borg, twenty-five thousand years ago. ("The Calm Before the Storm")

Appearances
Vehrian warships have appeared in the following episodes:


 * "Olympus"
 * "Fatal Attraction"
 * "Contact"
 * "Under Siege, part I"
 * "Under Siege, part II"
 * "Guerrilla"
 * "Old Friends, New Enemies"
 * "The Calm Before the Storm"
 * "The Needs of the Many"
 * "Second Strike"
 * "Time's Up"
 * "Oblivion"
 * "Divide and Conquer"

Behind the scenes
The design of the Olympus-class is something of an amalgam of the Venator-class Star Destroyers of Star Wars and the Aurora-class battleships of Stargate Atlantis. Several other designs were explored prior to the writing of the class' debut ("Olympus"), including one echoing the original Battlestar Galactica from the series of the same name.