The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-C) features in Star Trek: The Next Generation in Season 3, Episode 15 "Yesterday's Enterprise". A time travelling story where a decision must be made on whether to condemn the crew of the "Enterprise-C" to be destroyed by Romulans to save history.
Overview[]
The USS Enterprise, Naval Construction Contract (NCC) 1701-C is the fourth Federation starship to bear the namesake of the Enterprise. As part of Starfleet tradition, as a tribute to the original Constitution-Class Enterprise, the Admiralty of Starfleet made a special dispensation that all future starships named the "Enterprise" would always bear the original ship's registry of NCC-1701 with the last letter would designate the model; in this case the letter C at the end of the construction code.
The Enterprise-C was an Ambassador-Class Starship and as the flagship of Starfleet had an illustrious career, culminating in its heroic last stand in 2344.
Technical Specifications[]
- OVERALL LENGTH: 526 meters (1,725.7 feet)
- OVERALL BEAM: 322 meters (1,056.4 feet)
- OVERALL DRAFT: 128 meters (420 feet)
- MASS: 3,710,000 metric tons
- DISPLACEMENT: 2,350,000 metric tons
- DECKS: 26
- CREW COMPLEMENT: 750
- CRUISING SPEED: Warp 6
- MAXIMUM SPEED: Warp 9.4
Design Features[]
The Enterprise-C follows the classic Starfleet design layout consisting of two separate hulls; the saucer section (also known as the primary hull) and the engineering section (also known as the secondary hull) that is connected by a "neck". The engineering section has pylons connecting the warp nacelles. It was intermediate in size between the Excelsior-Class starships and the later Galaxy-Class starships. It was armed with both phasers and photon torpedoes and is protected by powerful deflector shields.
History[]
The Ambassador-Class Starships were the Federation's heavy cruisers in the early 24th Century and were originally designed to replace the aging Constellation-Class and Excelsior-Class Starships as the premiere capital ships of Starfleet. Commissioned in 2325, the Ambassador-Class was the dominant heavy cruiser for Starfleet for nearly three decades.
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-C)
Even though the design is over sixty years old, Ambassador-Class Starships continue to be built, albeit in lesser numbers and in upgraded designs. This upgrade design actually result in a slightly smaller vessel but greatly improved maneuverability; which was seen as one of the few weaknesses of the Enterprise-C. As a result, these vessels still continue to be a strong visible presence in Starfleet even in the recent Dominion War; a demonstration of the robustness and strength of its design and longevity.
Following the loss of the Enterprise-B in 2329, it was decided to designate an Ambassador-Class starship as the next Enterprise. The Enterprise-C was built and launched at McKinley Station in 2332 and was quickly designated as the new flagship of Starfleet and gained a distinguished record of service for over a decade.
In 2344, despite poor and deteriorating political conditions between the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets at that time; the Enterprise-C under the command of Captain Rachel Garrett immediately responded to a distress call from the Klingon colony on Narendra III. There it engaged four Romulan Warbirds attacking the colony. Despite superior numbers, the Enterprise-C fought valiantly before it was ultimately destroyed. But it was able to hold the Warbirds off until arriving reinforcements caused them to flee which prevented greater civilian causalities. It was assumed that the Enterprise-C was lost with all hands but it was revealed decades later that the Romulans were able to capture a number of them as prisoners of war.
Nevertheless, a considerable number of the the Klingon High Council and the Great Houses were deeply impressed by this act of bravery and self-sacrifice as well as condemning the Romulans for their cowardly action at attacking a civilian target. As a direct result of the Enterprise-C's demonstration of honor and valor, there was a cooling of the tensions between the Empire and the Federation and ultimately, a treaty between the two star nations was forged leading to several decades of peace between the Federation and the Klingon Empire.
In an alternative timeline, the Enterprise-C was not destroyed but lost in a temporal rift above Narendra III and flung forward in time to the year 2366 where it encountered the Enterprise-D, a Galaxy-Class Starship and the immediate successor to the Enterprise-C. Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Enterprise-D revealed that the Federation is currently at war with the Klingon Empire for nearly 20 years and is on the brink of utter defeat. Originally intending to remain in the current time and assist in the war, Picard learns from a close associate of his, Guinan that the Enterprise-C is an anomaly and in the original timeline; 22 years ago, the Enterprise-C had been destroyed with all hands above Narenda III and the honor of their sacrifice averted the current state of war as the Enterprise-C's abrupt disappearance was seen as "cowardly" by the Klingon Empire. As a result, Captain Rachel Garrett decides to return to the past via the temporal rift in the hope that they can avert this current timeline, sacrificing her ship and her crew to save countless billions of lives unknowingly of their gallant sacrifice with the resetting timeline.
However, a temporal anomaly was created as Captain Picard allowed his subordinate, Lieutenant Tasha Yar to stay aboard the Enterprise-C when it went into the rift. Yar had begged for the chance to fight and die in a noble cause as it was revealed that she had been killed meaninglessly in the "correct" timeline and would have simply be "wiped" out. Yar however was one of the survivors of Narendra III and was captured by the Romulans and became the plaything of a Romulan General, ultimately giving birth of a half-Romulan daughter, Sela who would go on to have several memorable encounters with the crew of the Enterprise-D and specifically Jean-Luc Picard.
See Also[]
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