h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: 'Star Trek' – the Klingon Bird-of-Prey - A55409088
Author: Galaxy Babe - U128652

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Nice one GB

Quick nit pick follows - there's always an exception that proves the rule:

in ST:VI the Undiscovered Country there was a bird of prey that *could* fire when cloaked (prototype or something) used by Christopher Plummer's charachter (chewing scenery and quoting shakespear with equal delight) to try and maintain the staus quo betweent the Fed & the Empire by starting a war.

I'll have to wait until h5ringer gets back online before tweaking thatsorry

Thanks for the review

I'll try and respond tomorrow night GB

Rockhound is quite right. The Klingon Bird-of-Prey commanded by the conspirator - the Klingon Chief-of-Staff General Chang, who is opposed to the peace negotiations between the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets - is an experimental refit version, with the ability to fire torpedoes while cloaked. It was this unseen ship that fired the photon torpedo at the Klingon flagship stationed alongside the Enterprise.

Spock and McCoy modified a photon torpedo to lock onto the exhaust produced by a ship at impulse speed. The resulting explosion showed up the Bird-of-Prey, which was instantly destroyed by the two Federation starships; General Chang was killed.

No subsequent Birds-of-Prey have had the fire-while-cloaked ability

OK, do you want me to add that to the Entry?

I've added a subheader & paragraph to "The Cloaking Device", is that OK Rockhound?

thanks. No other nit picks, i like it as an entry.

Might be worth mentioning the Bird-of-Prey seems to be the most successful warship when fighting Starfleet, no other class of ship is seen destroying anything like as many ships. Birds-of-Prey are also the most successful class of ship in the Dominion Wars.

Heck, Birds of Prey took out two Enterprises, and one of them was the Federation flagship at the time.

Excellent!


Say, shouldn't there be some description of the insides as well? Steel bunks with no mattresses, probably no infirmary, no need for a fancy kitchen, brawling at all hours...

Good point paily, I get right on it

Don't forget 'the stench' (according to Bones McCoy), and didn't Scotty replace the food replicators on their Bird-of-Prey before they left Vulcan, so they didn't have to suffer Klingon swill?

GB, can we add the following paragraph just before the first sub-header:

Interior
Everything on board a Klingon Bird-of-Prey is designed for one thing and one thing only – battle. Comfort is not a word that figures often in Klingon dialogue, nor did it occur much to the Bird-of-Prey's designers. Everything is functional and to Federation eyes appears to have been assembled from bits foraged from a scrapyard. Rust-brown is the predominant colour and metallic plates the primary décor. Lighting it kept at a very low level, which adds to the feeling of gloom. Crew's quarters are very utilitarian, containing little more then a metal-framed bed with a wire-grid sleeping platform. Most off-duty time is spent in the mess hall, a large space with a long table at which meals are eaten. In the mess hall, crew members can relax, discuss old battles and indulge in one of their favourite pastimes – brawling. Most Klingon food is produced by replicators, although this seems to be done by a process of serially replicating the previous meal, suffering a degree of edibility loss at each stage. After a few thousand such replications, only a Klingon would have the constitution to withstand its taste and smell.

<>

I've put it before the first Header, is that what you meant?

I've added lago's comments to the intro

Excellent work.