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Description

Ported to OBJ from the fan created model made for the Starfleet Command (SFC) series of video games. Based on the original design created by Forest Brown and Dana Knutson for FASA Corporation's various Franchise licensed gaming products back in the day. Preview picture posed in XNALara XPS. NO MODEL DOWNLOAD.

This was one of the closest things to a true "class" of starships used by the Orion pirates back in its day. Code named Lightning by Starfleet Intelligence, this is a late TOS/TAS era Orion merchant type or group of starships that were built for speed above all else. Also classified as a small fast courier by some and as a blockade runner by many others, it was designed to get cargoes to their intended destination as fast as possible while avoiding any hazards or civilian and military starship patrols along the way. It couldn't carry a lot due to its small size, but it could get it there very quickly and more often than not despite the best efforts of local authorities or those along its way at stopping it. Naturally it was also a favorite of the various Orion pirate cartels, who bought a number of them and had them converted with their special double-output warp engine technology for old-fashioned smuggling and gun-running. These were well-armed for their size (more so in Orion pirate version) although its sheer speed was its chief defense. By nature of its intended purpose these were also capable of full planetary landing and takeoff for loading and unloading their cargoes. The earliest versions were spotted in Orion service during the Four Years War with the Klingons (or the Axanar Crisis to you Okuda timeline groupies) and quickly became popular in merchant use both over and under the table with the Orions, who also made a small fortune selling basic stripped-down models on the open market for anyone who could afford them. It proved a very durable design over the long haul, with multiple variants refitted and rebuilt in various ways being used well into the post-TMP era. A few heavily rebuilt models may have made it into the TNG/DS9/VOY era, although their base space frames would be quite old by that time.

The above preview image shows a typical Orion Lightning in its most basic TOS/TAS era form. Bear in mind that there were multiple variants on this design over time, some highly individualized or specialized, although almost all of them generally conform to the above hull form. The only major hull form differences noted among these is either the length of the warp engine support pylon and an infrequent lengthening of the main hull in an effort to carry more cargo. Please consult handbook SIAR 326-OP-17, The Orion Lightning, for additional information on known variants from the TOS/TAS, TMP, and post-TMP eras.

This is semi-canon, as it comes from the FASA gaming continuity.

TRIVIA - That handbook on the Lightining variants is my own fanon BS; however, if any of you want to actually write it .... XD

Description

Ported to OBJ from the fan created model made for the Starfleet Command (SFC) series of video games. Based on the original design created by Forest Brown and Dana Knutson for FASA Corporation's various Franchise licensed gaming products back in the day. Preview picture posed in XNALara XPS. NO MODEL DOWNLOAD.

This was one of the closest things to a true "class" of starships used by the Orion pirates back in its day. Code named Lightning by Starfleet Intelligence, this is a late TOS/TAS era Orion merchant type or group of starships that were built for speed above all else. Also classified as a small fast courier by some and as a blockade runner by many others, it was designed to get cargoes to their intended destination as fast as possible while avoiding any hazards or civilian and military starship patrols along the way. It couldn't carry a lot due to its small size, but it could get it there very quickly and more often than not despite the best efforts of local authorities or those along its way at stopping it. Naturally it was also a favorite of the various Orion pirate cartels, who bought a number of them and had them converted with their special double-output warp engine technology for old-fashioned smuggling and gun-running. These were well-armed for their size (more so in Orion pirate version) although its sheer speed was its chief defense. By nature of its intended purpose these were also capable of full planetary landing and takeoff for loading and unloading their cargoes. The earliest versions were spotted in Orion service during the Four Years War with the Klingons (or the Axanar Crisis to you Okuda timeline groupies) and quickly became popular in merchant use both over and under the table with the Orions, who also made a small fortune selling basic stripped-down models on the open market for anyone who could afford them. It proved a very durable design over the long haul, with multiple variants refitted and rebuilt in various ways being used well into the post-TMP era. A few heavily rebuilt models may have made it into the TNG/DS9/VOY era, although their base space frames would be quite old by that time.

The above preview image shows a typical Orion Lightning in its most basic TOS/TAS era form. Bear in mind that there were multiple variants on this design over time, some highly individualized or specialized, although almost all of them generally conform to the above hull form. The only major hull form differences noted among these is either the length of the warp engine support pylon and an infrequent lengthening of the main hull in an effort to carry more cargo. Please consult handbook SIAR 326-OP-17, The Orion Lightning, for additional information on known variants from the TOS/TAS, TMP, and post-TMP eras.

This is semi-canon, as it comes from the FASA gaming continuity.

TRIVIA - That handbook on the Lightining variants is my own fanon BS; however, if any of you want to actually write it .... XD