[Capt Christopher Donovan]

First, three different classes of Kzinti ships, circa late 2160s:

"Fast, maneuverable, and armed with formidible particle cannons, the Kzinti 'Rrralisash' (Standard translation 'Scream and Leap')-class raider made life miserable for remote Federation colonies in and around the border with the Patriarchy during the decade following the end of the Romulan War. The Starfleet designation for this class is 'Cheetah'."

(The example shown here is seen skimming the surface of an L-class desert planet in Sector 727.)



"Emboldened by the perceived weak response by Earth/Federation forces (who were busy rebuilding and reorganizing Starfleet), the initial wave of raider activity was followed by more serious incursions by larger ships, such as the 'S'ssurrash' ('Lone Hunter')-class cruisers. The Starfleet designation for these ships is 'Tiger'-class."



"Perhaps the pinnacle of Kzinti ship design was the 'R'rrnizharru' ('Patriarch's Pride')-class battleship. It's main armament consisted of fore and aft batteries of particle beam cannons that had the astonishing (for their day) range of nearly 150,000km, and enough power to punch through most Starfleet shields in one volley. Only a handful of these monster (again, by the standard of the day) ships were ever built, and all were scrapped in accordance with the Treaty of Sirius disarmament provisions in 2177. The Starfleet designation for these ships was 'Lion'-class."



"Not every encounter by the newborn Federation Starfleet was hostile, as evidenced by the discovery of the Agorites (a canidoid race) by the USS Magellan on it's maiden voyage in late 2262.

"Seen here is a Stalking Hunter-class vessel.



"Agorite Chaser-class patrol ship, usually encountered operating in groups of 3-5 vessels:"



"Not all species who attain FTL capability begin the starfaring portion of their existence using the S'terisek-Cochrane Gravimetric Space Displacement Manifold as their initial/primary means of propulsion. One of the more elegant, if not the most pracitcal FTL alternatives is the "tachyon sail" drive.

Utilizing a tailored steady-state particle field, the TS drive catches tachyons in the same manner as a physical sail catches the wind on a "wet" (ocean-going) sailing ship or a solar sailer. Since tachyons only exist and move at FTL velocities, the ship is therefore pushed forward at FTL speeds.

The TS drive has the advantage of being highly efficient, as the ship only need expend power to maintain the particle field "sail". However, a TS ship suffers the same limitations as all sailing ships, in that it's speed is limited to that of the prevailing "winds", and direction of travel is likewise restricted.

Space-time conditions and tachyon patterns within the Federation Treaty Zone are such that in the majority of areas, TS sail ships are limited to speeds in the WF4-5 range with a good "following wind", and as low as WF2 if forced to "tack into" the wind.

Here is a good example of a Betazoid Tachyon Sailer from the mid/late 22nd century:"





"Some historical documents suggest that the Orions utilized TS drives in the earliest days of their expansion phase before switching to more conventional warp drive systems.

"Seen here is an artist's representation of what an Orion Tachyon Sailer might have looked like, c~2900 BC (Old Earth Calendar):"