Shakakoun

Named for the shakakoun, a lobster-like creature native to Kharhazad and known for its deadly bite, the Shakakoun is the first warp-capable Dawiar warship, developed to escort the Kurashkag freighters, originally with a secondary role as a shuttle.

The efficient, compact design of this vessel, despite its technological limitations, suggests a keen affinity for craftsmanship among its makers. The engineering section occupies most of the ship's rear, with the dorsal nacelles, lateral ion thrusters, and ventral laser module all accessible via a short climb from the warp core chamber. The rest of the ship is divided into the forward-ventral cargo bays (including the missile lockers, which feed the railguns via conveyor belt), and the forward-dorsal crew quarters, mess hall, hospital, and bridge. Directly below the mess hall is the ship's reliquary, where mementos of every Dawiar crewman to die while assigned to that vessel are kept; this positioning is to allow the dead to take comfort in the presence of the living, and the living to be reminded of their likely fate should they fail to perform their duties. Anterior to the mess hall and accessible from both it and the cargo bays is the ship's escape pod, which also stores the ship's food and water supplies.

The mark-1 Shakakoun was armed with a ventral laser battery, and the twin forward railguns were designed to launch nuclear missiles. After their embarrassing encounter with the USS Sarek, and their subsequent acquisition of Cardassian technology, the Dawiar devoted significant resources to upgrading these vessels. The railguns were modified to launch Cardassian plasma torpedoes, but the lasers were removed in order to make room for the deflector dish, meaning that the mark-2 Shakakoun relies solely on torpedoes for offensive capabilities. The enlarged torpedo magazine cut into cargo space, but with the introduction of transporter technology, the Dawiar no longer needed to use the Shakakoun as a transport shuttle.