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An interesting ship. With its power disrupting weapon it is a fearsome ship but with out it is is a rather average ship.

If they manage to modify the weapon again so it does still work the ship will be a serious concern for Starfleet.

I like the general ideas of the ship. They seem to fit what we know about the Breen. They aren't considered a major threat and the ships would seem to back this up but they are still respected by the other powers. The small ships would imply a great deal of personal freedom for the captains.

The fact that they are supposedly organic in nature is probably the most interesting thing. Most likely due to the fact metal is rather weak at cold temperatures but what ever the organic material is would seem to be stronger.

Also to my knowledge they only have Torpedoes and the energy weapon. Unusual for a ship not to have any form of beam weapon.

I like the unusual 'T' shape of the Breen vessels, although i would have been even more smiley, had there been other classes shown.
i wonder if the energy dampener, had its origins in the breens' piratical raids for slaves?

That would make the most logical sense. The ships don't seem that powerful so they would need something to give an edge.

But then you have to wonder why the Federation or any of the allies hadn't heard about it. Maybe when ever they used it they left no prisoners.

Well if the Breen ambushed a vessel and energy dampened it, apart from slaying or capturing the crew, couldn't the breen have confiscated the vessel or destroyed it, thus destroying the evidence? In 'indiscretion', the Ferengi 'salvaged' bits of the Ravinok, near Dozaria

They would have to be very careful. They seemed to use it as a shock weapon in one big battle. If the Federation knew about it they would of never gone to battle with the Breen if they could avoid it. To risk it on priate ships seems a bit careless.

perhaps, but if the breen, select their ambushes well, and use their cloaks, then the risk is much reduced

True, but the risk that one ship could get away, or one survivor living to tell the tale, is still enourmous, particularly if you're hoping to win a war due to the surprise factor of such a weapon.

but at what point was the weapon developed? and at what point, did the breen, know that they were going to be engaged in a mainstream war?

It could have been slowly devoloped for sometime and they were waiting for the opertunity to strike. The Dominion offered that moment and once they thought it clear they were going to win they threw their lot in.

During the Klingon Second Empire, Chancellor Mow'ga ordered an entire fleet of Klingon warships to invade and conquer the Breen homeworld. The fleet never returned and was never heard from again. (DS9: "'Til Death Do Us Part") so the energy dampener could have been in the breen armoury and long utilised

If thats the case they may be careful with it. Only deploying it when they feel it is needed and otherwise leaving it off their ships.

That would make far more sense, its a powerfull weapon that nobody knows about. The best idea would be to keep it a secret.

Even if a Breen ambush failed, as a ship was impervious to the energy dampener, the Breen still have other weapons......

Crappy ones though. In a fight with out the energy weapon I doubt a Breen ship could do very well.

It seems likely that the weapon wasn't developed solely for the Dominion War - instead granite's suggestion that it was originally used for piracy, to prevent damage to target ships, and therefore loss of cargo or potential slaves seems plausable. The Fed's lack of familiarity with it wouldn't be due to any particular effort to keep the weapon secret, but to its effectiveness.