Hello all, Bit of a dumb topic really but I have been thinking for a while of buying the new TOS novel "The Face of the Unknown" and it suddenly made me wonder what it would be like if the Klingon Empire went to war with the First Federation. I know a little about Klingon technological abilities and strengths from the various shows and games in which their 23th Century ships appeared but I don't know really how strong the First Federation and their ships are as it has been quite a while since I saw "the corbomite maneuver". Would the Klingon Empire be able to take the First Federation on in ship-to-ship battles (I am certain that Klingon warriors would be able to overrun the people of the First Federation in a boarding operation or ground battle)
What a strange scenario! Klingon soldiers in their baggy pants storming the nursery which contains one of Balok's friends or family! Whatever will you think of next? JB
I'll bet the Fesarius could both take and dish out a pretty savage beating. Further, I believe that Balok had every intention of destroying the Enterprise if it's crew failed his test. Indeed, I'm sure other ships have wandered into First Federation space and suffered this fate exactly, which is why Kirk and his crew were in the dark about it: no one had passed the test before. So I feel that in ship-to-ship battles, Klingon tech of the 23rd Century (and the 24th for that matter, Klingon technology seems to have plateaued in the 22nd Century) would not have any kind of parity with the First Federation tech. They'd be squashed like lethargic flies. If, on the other hand, they did somehow manage to board the ship, then I agree they could easily murder the crew. Assunimng the ships doesn't have formidable anti-intruder systems, which we have no reason to know they don't. --Alex
I think the "First Federation", if it even existed, was bluffing by putting its resources into a big guard dog. It may or may not have been capable of destroying one starship, to scare invaders off, but I doubt they have a fleet, or a major one.
We don't really know how many First Federation vessels there but I always assumed that even during the TOS series era the Klingon Empire had hundreds of ships including the D7 type just like Starfleet has more than just "twelve" Constitution class starships.