Lightning class

The Lightning-class was a courier starship of Orion design, in operation during the late 23rd century. Like many Orion vessels, it was known for its high speed and ability to get to where it was needed, whatever the barriers.

Labelled a Class IV blockade runner by Starfleet for its high speed and small load, the Lightning-class was designed as a courier, intended to be fast, light and to carry small, valuable cargoes (2000 tons). It was no ordinary merchant vessel, but with a small crew, it didn’t make a very good pirate ship either.

It was remarkably well-armed for its size, with six disruptors, with three mounted for forward fire, enabling it to blast out of its way anything it could not outrun. However, its shields were minor, and negligible whether they were up or down. It made up for it with a strong hull and incredible speed, leaving many Orion captains to boast how their dorsal wings got shot up and they still got away.

For speed, it had two warp engines, with a maximum safe cruising speed of warp factor 8 and an emergency speed of warp 10. It was also equipped with fail-safe navigation systems, so that even if main sensors were damaged, accurate guidance was still possible. It had no landing capability however.


 * This was published before a hard limit was set on warp 10, using the 23rd century scale.

Lightnings had a crew of 23, typically diehard spacers who had to stay alive and deliver the cargo if they wanted to get paid. It could accommodate 10 passengers.

This class was designed during the turbulent times of the Four Years War, though the exact date of entering service was unknown. It was estimated that 50 were constructed by the late 23rd century, and it became a popular native Orion design.