Planetside - Ships of the Fleet

Ships of the Fleet

Last Updated June 24, 2007

Sskura Heavy Cruiser

Owner	Gorn Alliance
Class	Heavy Combat Vessel
Availability	Unlimited Deployment
In Service	2287
Out of Service	n/a
Source	Starfleet Academy
Author	Tyrel Lohr
Last Updated	February 3, 2005

Description:

By the 2280s, the Gorn were lagging far behind their neighbors in areas of advanced starship technologies. Continued advancements in construction science ensured the Alliance in edge in gross production efficiency, but this advantage was negated by their ships’ lesser effective combat abilities.

In an attempt to rectify this situation, the Gorn initiated a heavily funded fleet reorganization campaign aimed at modernizing the Gorn fleet. This ambitious project’s goal was to replace the bulk of the Alliance’s space fleet with entirely new construction craft, equal in quality to that of their neighbors, by the end of the century.

One of the first new starships to come out of this project was the Sskura Heavy Cruiser. The ship was intended to be able to go toe-to-toe with the next-generation starships of the Romulan, Klingon, and Federation empires with an average chance of success. To this end, the Sskura Heavy Cruiser was the first full production hull to be equipped with the new plasma driver weapon. Though inaccurate at range, the close-in punch of the weapon allowed the Sskura to rip through enemy armor, once the enemy’s shields were drained.

Large numbers of Sskura cruisers were built at orbital shipyard complexes throughout Gorn space. Their modular nature was appreciated by the design teams, who used the Sskura’s basic spaceframe for numerous other variant and derivative hulls. This allowed for faster turnaround times and lower construction costs. Soon the Gorn Alliance was fielding a substantial number of these potent warships.

Unfortunately for Gorn military architects, the Sskura Heavy Cruiser was not the equal of the cutting-edge ships coming out of the major alien dockyards. The Excelsior and Komo Val Battleships were both far superior to the Sskura, and even ships likes the Constellation were able to best the Sskura in combat, if kept at arm’s length during the fight. The Gorn were slightly distraught over this lamentable set of circumstances. Despite their best efforts, the Gorn military remained a second-rate power at best.

The Sskura Heavy Cruisers saw extensive service during the Romulan incursions in the early half of the 24th Century and proved themselves a dependable ship, even if outmatched by newer Romulan warships.

Ship Control Sheet(s):

	Sskura Heavy Cruiser - SCS
	Unlimited Deployment

	Thrulskruta Bulk Cruiser - SCS
	Common Variant

Related Entries:

No Related Entries

Design Notes:

No Design Notes Available

Questions, comments, or suggestions? Please contact Tyrel Lohr at contact@tyrellohr.com.