Ru'afo's flagship was a medium-sized starship utilized by the Son'a during the late-24th century.
History
In 2375, Ahdar Ru'afo used this vessel as his flagship during his plan to relocate the Ba'ku from their adopted homeworld in the Briar Patch. Starfleet Vice Admiral Matthew Dougherty also stayed aboard this vessel while working with Ru'afo.
The vessel was later taken over by Jean-Luc Picard, Worf, and Gallatin, after the command crew was beamed from the bridge to a nearby Federation holoship. Once Picard beamed to the collector, the remaining crew retook the ship and captured Worf and Gallatin, though the Enterprise returned and engaged the flagship in combat. With its skeleton crew believing the Enterprise to be employing a ramming attack, the flagship turned and left itself wide open to a close-range attack that knocked out its engines and life support. After the collector was destroyed, the crew unconditionally surrendered; according to Worf, this was mostly because they only had three minutes of air left. (Star Trek: Insurrection)
Design
These vessels were known to be equipped with isolytic subspace weapons, as well as conventional phasers. The aft cargo hold of these vessels are poorly shielded from the effects of thermolytic reactions. These vessels also have subspace transmitter stations located on deck twelve. (Star Trek: Insurrection)
Main bridge
The bridge
The bridge of Ru'afo's flagship featured a large couch in the center of the room, which provided seating for the vessel's commanding officer. Aft of this, to the right and left, were located two identical consoles, of which one controlled the starship's weapon systems. In front of the room, mounted against the forward bulkhead, was located the main viewscreen. To the port- and starboard-side of the viewscreen were additional stations. The bridge provided direct access to the "tactical room" through the doors located directly aft of the captain's chair. (Star Trek: Insurrection)
Background
Ru'afo's flagship was designed by John Eaves, who based it on a horseshoe, flying forks forward. A concept for the internals was inspired while Eaves was visiting a soundstage where Jerry Goldsmith was scoring Star Trek: First Contact; viewing the inside of a grand piano used there inspired the main detailing on all of the Son'a vessels. [1] In an interview appearing on the Star Trek: Insurrection (Special Edition) DVD and Blu-ray, Eaves described the vessel as a battleship. It was intended to be 1160 feet (354 meters) long. [2]
The Star Trek Fact Files (Part 268, 2002) designated Ru´afo´s ship as a Son'a Mission Scout Ship.