TECHNICAL FILE

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BASIC STATISTICS
Class Name       : LICH
Classification   : Dreadnought
Type             : BB (Battleship)
Model Number     : I
Number in Service: 50 (estimated)
Designations     :

PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Length           : 602 m
Beam             : 441 m
Draft            : 126 m
Displacement     : 9,700,000 mt

COMPLEMENT
Total Standard   : 1,800 
Vorta            :    10    
Jem 'Hadar       : 1,790     
  Officers       :    90
  Dedicated Crew :   700
  Shock Troops   : 1,000

PROPULSION SYSTEMS
Supraluminal Propulsion System
Drive Type       : DOM-Dr-BB
     Number      : 3
Main Reactor     : DOM-Reac-BB

Sublight System
Drive Type       : DOM-Thr-BB
     Number      : 4
Secondary Reactor: DOM-Reac2-BB

Velocity (scaled to Federation warp factors - estimated)
     Standard Cruise Speed   : 5.6
     Maximum Cruise Speed    : 8.2
     Sustainable for 12 hours: 8.7
     Maximum Emergency Speed : 9.1
     Core Failure Immenent   : 9.3

ARMAMENT
     Polaron Beam Emitter 
          Number : 12
          Range  : 275,000 km
          Arcs   : 8 forward/port/starboard firing, 4 aft firing

     Heavy Polaron Emitter
          Number : 12 
          Range  : 250,000 km
          Arcs   : 10 forward/port/starboard firing, 2 aft firing
 
     Plasma Cannons
          Number : 4
          Range  : 200,000
          Arcs   : 4 forward

     Compressed Plasma Missiles 
          Number : 12 launchers
          Range  : 4,000,000
          Arcs   : 8 forward firing, 4 aft firing

Deflector System : DOM-Def-BB

OTHER SYSTEMS
Transporters (folded space)
     Standard, 10-man    : 20
     Combat, 20-man      : 20
     Cargo               : 10

Shuttle Bays     :  4

Embarked Craft (Standard, estimated, specific ships may vary)
     Boarding craft          : 30
     Heavy dropships         : 10
     Shuttlepods             : 10
     Heavy Tank              :  2
     Medium Tank             :  4

Notes:

        The LICH is the heaviest known ship in the Dominion Navy.  
First encountered at the Second Battle of GAMMA, these massive 
firepower platforms proved to be fiercely powerful opponents, capable
of decent maneuverability for craft of such size.

        The LICH is armed with an impressive array of weapons, 
ranging from standard polaron beam emitters, to plasma cannons.  
All fields of fire are covered, though the aft portion of the vessel
is relatively bare when compared to the other firing arcs.  
Commanders faced with the undesirable task of engaging these vessels
are encouraged to remain astern of the LICH and to concentrate all 
attacks there.

        These vessels will *never* travel alone.  Rather, they will 
be accompanied by an escort of SPECTRE-class battlecruisers, 
WRAITH-class heavy cruisers, PHANTOM-class destroyers, and 
ZOMBIE-class frigates.  Together, this battleship, and its escorts, 
will comprise a dangerous fighting unit.  Long range sensor scans 
have positively identified seven of these fleets, and it is theorized
that each of the approximately 50 battleships is similarly screened.

        At SBOG, these ships were deadly opponents, capable of 
dishing out and receiving tremendous amounts of punishment.  
After-battle analysis has shown that the plasma cannons on each of 
these ships are about 75% as powerful as the phaser cannons mounted 
on a ZEUS-class battleship, and the compressed plasma missiles are 
somewhat less powerful than a standard quantum torpedo.  The polaron 
beams are similar in power to type X phasers, and the heavy polaron 
beams are about 150% as powerful.  The armor protecting the hulls of 
these craft is extremely tough, and is estimated to be made of a 
tritanium-duranium network, providing superior protection at a 
remarkably low density.

        Housed on the LICH are an estimated 1,000 Jem 'Hadar shock 
troops.  These troops can be beamed through the shields of a target 
by use of the Dominion's standard folded space transporters, and can 
rapidly overwhelm the defenses of the victim ship.  Four Starfleet 
vessels have been reportedly captured by such actions, and numerous 
craft at SBOG were boarded by the Jem 'Hadar.  

        These troops can also be ferried to a target by using the
approximately 50 boarding craft carried in the LICH's cavernous 
shuttlebays.  30 standard boarding craft can hold an estimated 12 
Jem 'Hadar each.  Each standard boarding craft is equipped with a 
defensive screen system and a single, bow-mounted polaron beam.  
Each standard boarding craft is equipped with a respectable arsenal 
of equipment to be utilized in a boarding action.  Additionally, 
these craft are equipped with a folded space transporter to 
facilitate boarding if it appears that attaching to a target ship 
will be difficult.

        The 10 shuttlepods can transfer 4 Jem 'Hadar each, have 
navigational deflectors, and a pair of light bow-mounted polaron 
beams, and have some equipment stowed aboard.

        The 10 heavy dropships can transport approximately 60 
Jem 'Hadar and an assortment of boarding gear, including personal 
deflectors, hand weapons, grenades (capable of releasing poisonous 
gases or merely exploding), armor suits, and so on.  These heavy 
dropships have quite good acceleration and manueverability, and are 
also equipped with defensive screens and a pair of rapid-firing 
bow-mounted polaron beams.  These craft have two folded space 
transporters to supplement any boarding action, and will rely on 
these systems if it will be difficult or impossible to dock with a 
target.

        In the event that transporters are not used, all boarding 
ships have an advanced hull-penetration mechanism that works by 
attaching a boarding tube to the hull by means of a gravito-magnetic 
interface.  After attachment, the troops inside can either attach 
explosive charges to the hull and blast their way in via a controlled
explosion, or they can (and usually do) activate a micro-cutting 
assembly to carefully and quickly drill through the hull.

        When the hull has been penetrated, the gravito-magnetic field
forms an air-tight seal and the troops can enter the ship.  (Boarding
craft will attempt to board not by merely crashing into a ship, bow 
first, but will endeavor to nestle their underbellies against the 
hull and activate the attachment/penetration systems -- standard 
boarding craft and shuttle pods have one such mechanism, large 
dropships have approximately three).

        The boarding actions not only begin to seize control of a 
ship internally.  And even if the boarders are repelled, the target 
ship will have a two-meter diameter hole in its hull at each point 
that a dropship attached.  These breaches will require energy to be 
expended to drop force fields to maintain hull integrity after the 
dropships et al depart.  In extreme cases, the hull breaches alone 
will have done sufficient structural damage to a target so that it 
will not be able to form a warpfield.  

        Yet, this completely disregards what sort of havoc the 
Jem 'Hadar boarders might wreak while inside the ship, planting 
explosives, killing crew, and blasting everything in sight.

        Boarding actions are *generally* carried out by docking 
mechanism when the primary objective is to cripple a ship, and then 
escape.  However, when transporters are damaged, the docking 
mechanism becomes the only means of boarding a vessel.

        When capturing the target is desired, the transporters will 
be used to beam Jem 'Hadar to sensitive areas of a ship (the bridge, 
engineering, auxilliary control, etcetera), in hopes to rapidly gain 
control of the target.  Alternatively, when it looks like the time 
required to successfully dock with the hull of a target ship will 
result in the destruction of the boarding craft, the transporters are
obviously used.

        When used as a planetary assault platform, the LICH can 
deploy 6 tanks to a planetary surface (2 heavy, 4 medium).  These 
tanks are armed with polaron beams, plasma grenade launchers, and are
shielded.  The 50 boarding vehicles can double as air superiority 
craft, as each of these are armed.

        The LICH also carries in its standard arsenal a large 
assortment of biological weapons, including sterilization bombs, 
death spores, viral warfare clusters, hydrocontaminating toxin bombs,
teratogenic affectors, and so on.  The purpose of these weapons is 
not to decimate a planet by burning off the atmosphere or shattering 
the planetary crust, but, rather, to punish rebellious worlds by 
subjecting them to generation after generation of endless suffering, 
hideous genetic deformities, tainted agriculture, poisoned water 
sources, etcetera -- worlds made an example of by these brutal means 
are frequently powerful enough symbols to quash even the idea
of insurrection on other Dominion planets.  

        These bio weapons can be deployed from orbit, or launched 
from any shuttlecraft.  It is not known whether or not the Dominion 
has antidotes to some or all of these agents.

        The LICH is not a ship to be trifled with.  The major 
weakness of the craft is its relatively low cruise / maximum speeds, 
which will keep Jem 'Hadar fleets cruising at speeds below warp 6.  
This craft alone can not pursue an undamaged opponent and expect to 
catch it - Federation commanders will need to keep this in mind.  At 
present, the top speed of ANY Dominion craft is warp 9.7 - 9.8.  As 
such, engagements *can* be avoided. However, there will be times when
combat is unavoidable due to the constraints of geography, escape 
route vectors, and the potential risks involved with leaving a given 
site undefended.