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The Annihilator class starship is the largest starship class in the Federation Starfleet, essentially its crown jewel. It is one of only two ship classes exclusively built for war, the other being the Defiant class, whereas all other Federation ships are well-rounded, built also for defense, exploration and scientific research.
Since the Federation rarely is involved in wars with its neighbors and starting none, only a maximum of two Annihilator class ships will be built. Construction takes seven years, though the process can be hastened in times of war to thirty-six months. Contrary to most Federation ship designs which generally swing the engine nacelles up and behind the vessel, the enormous nacelles which provide 80% of the ships operating power, is built into the side of the ship. The ship has a maximum capacity of 2100 crew, approximately half of which man the 1050 one-man attack shuttles in the spacious cargo/shuttle bay on the lower decks. These attack shuttles serve to harass, destroy, but most of all, occupy and distract enemy ships while the correctly named Annihilator performs its grim duty. Its armaments include: (higher the type number, higher the energy)
[Fore Weapons] 48 type-22 pulse phasers, 5 type-13 phaser strips, 62 type-20 pulse phasers, 12 type-13 pulse phasers, 10 type-30 phaser cannons and 75 Quantum Torpedo launchers.
[Aft Weapons] 36 type-22 pulse phasers, 1 type-13 phaser strips, 62 type-20 pulse phasers, 12 type-30 phaser cannons and 2 type-40 swivel phaser cannons.
[Lateral Weapons] 11 type-13 phaser strips.
[Bottom Weapons] 5 type-13 phaser strips.
The ship, though large, has the majority of its internal space dedicated to energy production, storage as well as weapon systems and controls. Nonetheless, it can accommodate a large crew packed in 500 cramped and extremely spartan quarters. The Annihilator class starship is also equipped with seven transporter rooms to beam boarding parties or marines onto enemy vessels swiftly. Due to the enormous energy usage of the weapons in battle, the ship must come out of warp to reroute power to shields and weapons. All nonessential systems are shut down in battle to conserve energy. Six impulse engine reactors provide locomotive power for the ship, also satisfying the rest of the ship's energy needs, and when necessary, acting as a supplementary power source for the weapons systems.
To protect its otherwise weak aft (rear) defense, the Annihilator class has two type-40 phaser cannons. The cannons help to make the vessel a formidible opponent, even against a large fleet of regular (Remember, this thing is HUGE in comparison!) ships. A single, heavily armored Borg tactical cube would still be outgunned 40-to-1. The ship has a maximum velocity of Warp 9.97, which it can sustain for up to three hours. It has a normal cruising speed of Warp 8.5. Annihilator class starships also have extremely powerful deflector shields and adequate physical armor plating. The shield array is recessed into the top of the cargo/shuttle bay and also serves as the deflector as well as the communication arrays. There is no other known ship in the Trek universe that can defeat the Annihilator.
