K ' normian trading ship A K ' normian trading ship was a type of shuttle built by the K ' normian s for the purpose of ferrying cargo and passengers . The ship ' s power was derived from fuel cell s . In the cockpit , the pilot ' s console was at the front , with the engineering console to the left and the communications console to the right . The ship had no offensive capabilities . Confiscated by Kirk . A ship of this type was confiscated by the crew of the during the Mudd Incident of January 2259 . A month later , the " Enterprise " was in pursuit of John Harrison , who had fled to the Klingon homeworld Qo ' noS . After his ship suffered an unexpected warp core failure near the edge of the Neutral Zone , Captain James Tiberius Kirk was informed by that the time to target was twenty minutes . If the " Enterprise " was detected in Klingon space , this could start an all - out war . The captain decided , instead , that he would take his first officer , communications officer , and two security officer s with him on a mission to Qo ' nos . The five Starfleet officer s , masquerading as K ' normian arms smuggler s , would travel on aboard the unnamed trading ship . Kirk estimated the mission would last two hours . In those two hours , the ship would travel to the planet , their target would be secured , and then the ship would return to the " Enterprise " . If all went to plan , they wouldn ' t be noticed by the Klingons . In Kirk ' s absence , Sulu was given the role of acting captain . As it happened , the craft was detected above a derelict city in the Ketha Province by a fighter . During the pursuit , the trading ship boosted its velocity by using all six of its fuel cells . When that didn ' t work to shake off the pursuing fighter , Kirk piloted the ship between two structures , resulting in minor hull damage . Soon after , the ship was surrounded by three fighters . The lead fighter ordered the trader to land . After the trader landed , there was an unsuccessful attempt at negotiations which culminated in a fight with casualties on both sides . With Harrison ' s aid , the fight went in the direction of Kirk ' s landing party . With Harrison voluntarily surrendering and being secured , the trader returned to the " Enterprise " . ( ) Background information . Development of the K ' normian trading ship began with the realization that a non - Federation craft was required to fill a place in the storyline of " Star Trek Into Darkness " . Remarked co - writer Alex Kurtzman , " " We knew that for the mission that Kirk wants to go on to work , it couldn ' t be a Federation ship . " " Editors Mary Jo Markey and Maryann Brandon described the ship as an homage to Mudd ' s ship in . ( " Star Trek Into Darkness " iTunes enhanced commentary ) A concept illustration of the K ' normian trading ship can be viewed here . The production crew which worked on " Star Trek Into Darkness " constructed an interior and doorway of the K ' normian trading ship . Exterior shots of the vehicle in the " Enterprise " hangar bay were generated by Industrial Light & Magic , whereas CGI views of the craft in the atmosphere of Kronos and on the planet ' s surface were rendered by Pixomondo . ( " Cinefex " , No . 134 , p . 84 ) Pixomondo Visual Effects Supervisor Ben Grossmann thought of the ship as basically " a little sparrow trying to take advantage of its size and move through little cracks and nooks and crannies and be a little more nimble [ than the pursuing Klingon fighter ] . "