- First employed on Earth by the British Royal Navy in World War I, Q-ships, also known as decoy vessels, special service ships, or mystery ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open fire and sink them. Their codename referred to the vessels' home port, Queenstown, in Ireland. Modern Q-ships are similarly deployed against Pirates and enemy raiders, with the same goal. They are also deployed by Starfleet Intelligence as covert intelligence assets.
The Type Q is a research vessel specially built for Star Fleet Intelligence Command. Though they appear to be identical to visual and casual sensors scan, these ships use a different warp and impulse drive system that allows them to travel at considerably higher warp speeds and gives them a more efficient manuever capability than the standard model. To get this increase in the vessel's performance, sacrifices were made in the cargo capacity and in some crew comforts. This model carries a bank of two phasers mounted in the bow and disguised in the forward sensor array; this mounting is so well concealed that it is virtually impossible to detect on a sensor scan unless the weapon is operational. Though considered by some to be 'a wolf in sheep's clothing,' the Tavares is hardly that, considering its weak superstructure and lack of extensive armament.
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