The stellar history of the Klingon Empire began as a constant struggle with an ever growing number of neighbors. During this time the Empire was ably served by it's fleet of hundreds of K't'inga-Class battle cruisers, each thought at the time to be the minimum in size and power to maintain the encouragement of hundreds of worlds along the road from hapless neighbor to Klingon subject. As the Empire grew, the dis-economies of size prompted the creation of the Khanst'ntin'pl-Class corvette - a new class of ship, able to maintain the Empirical presence for one third the price and one fourth the complement of a L'ntch-Class frigate. Khanst'ntin'pl's were deployed throughout the Empire, wherever the size and firepower of a L'ntch were deemed unneccesary - where a single photon torpedo launcher and a pair of tight-focussed disruptors outclassed anything in opposition.

Ideally suited to such low-profile missions, the Khanst'ntin'pl was designed to remain on patrol without major maintenance for years at a time. The oversized reactor cooling flanges insured unflagging duty at the edges of its performance envelope, and the sensor suite, extensive for a ship its size, was more than adequate for the task most ship commanders demanded of it - early warning of prey. That it's co-location with the ship's weaponry rendered it much less effective during combat was not considered disadvantagous.

The engines were equally atypical, in that instead of parallel tubes of identical intercoolers, each engine had one large and one narrow tube operating in harmony. In theory, the smaller was for economical propulsion, while the larger provided additional thrust for high-speed sprints. In practice, they both operated constantly, as few missions called for a low-speed loiter capability. Nevertheless, the engines, like the rest of the ship, proved to be virtually indestructible, thus helping to earn for the ship a reputation as a sturdy, dependable, work-a-day craft.

The first 60 Khanst'ntin'pl's were deployed in 2325 to patrol the areas 30 to 100 light years from the center of the Empire, as the L'ntch was kept closer to the political center of the Empire and in the equally volatile outer marches. As early as 2332 their reputation for sturdiness caused most of the subsequent 400 Khanst'ntin'pl's to be dispatched for survey duty, from which most had retired by 2390. Starting in 2335, though, an ever-growing number of ships failed to maintain contact. Not coincidentally during this time there was an increasing number of reports of freebooters and marauders, and not all with Klingon crews.

The eventual size of the Klingon Empire proved a logisitics nightmare. No longer could an outlying colony summon help and have it arrive in time. A ship was needed that with minimal crew could be quickly dispatched to ferry diplomats or elite troops, transport critical cargoes, or counter the growing numbers of Khanst'ntin'pl-armed pirates.

The first of 362 Icht'n'bl-Class Fast-Corvettes was commissioned in 2355. Faster and more maneuverable than the Khanst'ntin'pl, the Icht'n'bl was atmosphere-capable, all at the sacrifice of some sensor capability. The speed was mostly due to the elongated low-profile engines, the last variation on the use of what shortly became old warp technology. Although a few Icht'n'bl variants were made in 2385 with new engines, the small size of the newer engines and resulting component miniaturization made them unreliable without a significant increase in speed.

The relative dependency of the standard engines on routine maintenance, in combination with the ship's speed and frequent contact with Empire authority resulted in only 34 confirmed cases of an Icht'n'bl turning to piracy.

Unlike the L'ntch, these ships never underwent major modifications. A few Khanst'ntin'pl's had the impulse engines uprated either by increasing the chamber housing (and increasing the length noticably), or by decreasing the number of cooling fins and relocating them centrally, leaving room in the wing roots for two impulse engines instead of one. The cooling fins on the Icht'n'bl did not need to be larger, yet on a few models were scaled-up. Little performance improvement was noticed, at the cost of atmospheric flight. The most common upgrade was the installation of two additional forward-firing disruptors, the barrels of which were anchored to stubby wing-like structures midway along the leading edges of the fuselage.

Decoration:
All corvettes started service as varying shades of green. Earlier models started with a base coat similar FS 34079 Dark Green or FS 34092 European I Dark Green, optionally varying it with small amounts of FS 15050 Blue Angel Blue, FS 35237 Medium Gray, and/or FS 35164 Intermediate Blue, overall, or on individual panels. A later Khanst'ntin'pl and most every Icht'n'bl had a base coat similar to FS 34227 Pale Green or the Intermediate Blue. As privateers, they were often garishly painted inorder to enhance their frightening effect on their victims.