Minbari Federation Sharlin Class Variants ## Sharlin Class Variants ## Shavtarla Class Star Cruiser The Sharlin hull has been around for quite some time. The Sharaal is a good example of the hull's previous incarnation, however, it wasn't the only one. The Shavtarla was built in the late 19th Century as an exploration ship. It was one of the last explorers built by the Minbari. Not many are left today. Shavtarla Class SCS (Rare) Socartia Class Patrol Cruiser The Socartia Class is a more recent development of the Sharlin type hull. It drops two of the Neutron Cannons and a few fusion beams in favor of a larger sensor array (lacking ELINT abilities). To make up for the lack of the heavy hitting Neutron Cannons, it is armed with a few shock cannnons, as well as additional EP gun emplacements. Socartia Class SCS (Rare) Shargotti Class Battlecruiser This ship doesn't differ from the one in Earth Wars. These were my 2nd and 3rd Sharlins that I tried painting with a different type of paint and color. They didn't turn out quite like I'd hoped, but they'd been repainted so may times, I decided to leave them, and call them "Shargottis". Quick way to get a mini for them since AoG isn't going to make one. Shola Fi Class Dreadnought The Shola Fi (Distant Star) Dreadnought was built as a Worker Caste's experiment. The Warrior Caste had the sole Drala Fi (Black Star) type of Shargotti variant, and the Religious Caste had their Tanis Fi (Shining Star) Class ship, it was decided by Caste elders to build thier own flagship. The Shola Fi was upgunned from a traditional Shargotti, but not as much as the Drala Fi was. It did not take part in the Earth-Minbari War, nor did it take part in the large battles of the Shadow War. The Shola Fi is the sole Minbari dreadnought of the Shargotti type of hull left, as the Drala Fi and Tanis Fi were both destroyed in the E-M War and Shadow War respectively. It served as the Flagship for the newly formed Grey Council after the Shadow War until the Grey Council's Sharlin was repaired, due to damage sustained during the Shadow War. Shola Fi Class Dreadnought (Unique) Tanis Fi Class Dreadnought The Tanis Fi (Shining Star) Dreadnought was built by the Religious caste as their flagship. The Warrior caste began the tradition of each caste having thier own flagship with the commisioning of the Drala Fi. The Tanis Fi continued the Religious Castes' philosophy of ship building that started with the Ashinta Class close escort, ie, very few destructive offensive weapons. The Tanis Fi was equipped with shock cannons, grav nets, as well as the standard neutron lasers and fusion cannons. This ship is easily distinguishable because of its "tail" and enlarged forward gun blisters. Tanis Fi Class Dreadnought (Unique) Shafar Class Expeditionary Cruiser The Sharar Class was built by the Worker caste as an explorer type of vessel that searches areas of space for new minerals and possible new outpost locations for the Minbari Federation. Most of these vessels have been mothballed, as the Minbari have not sought to expand their territory in centuries. A few remain in operation to support distant Worker Caste mining operations. It is the nearest thing the Minbari have to a dedicated Explorer ship. These ships usually form the center of an expeditionary task force, consisting of Leshaths and variants, and support ships. They can be easily identified visually by thier darker colors. Shafar Class Expeditionary Cruiser (Rare) Sharan War Cruiser The Sharan was designed to test bed the new Heavy Neutron Laser. After seeing the performance of the Hyach Spinal Laser, the Minbari wanted their own spinal weapon, which would fit well with the Minbari doctrine of long range dueling. The weapon itself is very powerful, but to mount such a weapon on a Sharlin hull meant that there would be sacrifices in firepower for the ship. The two forward NLs, and both EP Guns were removed and their power rerouted to the HNL. Whilst the HNL was very powerful, it lacked the firepower of two Neutron Lasers and had a slow rate of fire, which was not liked by many of the Warrior Caste. The weapon became typecast; Warriors saw it as a weapon for taking out bases, or orbital bombardment and nothing else. After a dozen or so ships were converted, the programme was cancelled, with most of the hulls going to the Religious and Worker Castes. The Warriors kept three for trials and experimentation, but they are rarely seen. The class's moment of glory came during the 3rd Space Crisis. When a Sharan helped the Army of Light breach the alien artifacts shield with a sustained HNL salvo. The cruiser survived the battle, but was heavily damaged. It was proposed to be converted back to a Sharlin, but this proposal was dropped after reviewing the ships performance in the fight. Other possible uses for the HNL are being looked at, the Workers want to upgrade the Norgath Starbases by fitting one of these weapons on each section (as well as other improvements), whilst there is a design study underway to experiment with a Neshatan mounting three of them in place of all its forward mounted Neutron Lasers. (Note: This class appeared in the Feb/March 2003 Babcom. It was originally suggested by Steve Cross) Sharan Class War Cruiser (Rare)