IRW Khnial

The was the prototype of the, a Romulan battlecruiser in the service of the Tal Shiar in 2409.

The Khnial began service as a warbird, the flagship of Colonel Hakeev of the Tal Shiar, during the assault against the independent Romulan colony of Virinat in early 2409. It was damaged in an attack by a Bird-of-Prey commanded by a Virinat colonist, resulting in the loss of Hakeev's left eye. After Virinat, Hakeev began outfitting the ship with recovered Borg technology, with significant alterations when Hakeev arrived to disrupt a conference between the Federation, the Klingon Empire and the new Romulan Republic on Khitomer. 

Over time, the Khnial was transformed into a veritable battleship, its appearance and armament similar to the mining ship Narada, which had also been radically altered by Borg technology twenty-two years earlier. The commander who had faced Hakeev on Virinat and Khitomer, who was infiltrating the Tal Shiar on behalf of the Republic's intelligence service, boarded the Khnial in the remnants of the Hobus system. The commander was captured and brainwashed by the Tal Shiar, but assisted by allies of the Republic on Hakeev's crew who aided their escape to their ship. The commander set an explosive in the ship's EPS conduits and called in the Republic fleet, which engaged the Khnial and destroyed it. However, Hakeev escaped using an Iconian gateway before the singularity explosion consumed the ship.