SS Beagle The SS " Beagle " was a 23rd century Federation class 4 survey vessel operated by the Merchant Service . The " Beagle " had a crew of forty - seven and was commanded by Captain R . M . Merik ; his flight officer was William B . Harrison . The " Beagle " was the first ship to survey the star sector where the System 892 was located when it disappeared in 2262 . During its mission , the " Beagle " suffered meteor damage and Captain Merik went ashore to the star ' s fourth planet to obtain iridium ore for repairs . While on the planet , they were met by the local inhabitants , led by Proconsul Claudius Marcus . The Proconsul believed it would be unfair , even ruinous , to his highly conservative society if word of its existence should be carried elsewhere . Merik , convinced that this fine world should not be contaminated , had the remainder of his crew beam down and the " Beagle " was left to be deserted . . Some of the crew took to their new home and became citizens , but the others , who refused to adopt the ways of this society , were thrown in prison . Regarded as captured barbarian s , they were forced to fight as gladiator s . Abandoned , the wreck of the " Beagle " drifted for six years before it was found , approximately 1 / 16th of a parsec away from 892 - IV , leaving behind in its debris field portions of its antimatter nacelle s and the personal effects – but not the bodies – of the crew . Following the discovery of the " Beagle " s debris , the visited 892 - IV to determine their fates . Merik , for one , had done very well for himself , having secured a high place in imperial politics . As for his crew , Merik told the Starfleet landing party that " those who were able to adapt are still alive " . Kirk and Spock , however , witnessing the death of Harrison on Roman television , had heard him sports - commentated as " the last of the barbarians " . Kirk did not press him on this issue . Merik would have been removed from the planet to face charges of violating the Prime Directive had he not died saving the " Enterprise " landing party from Marcus and his machine gun - toting police . ( ) Background information . According to John Kneubuhl ' s draft of the script , this vessel was originally known as the " USS " Intrepid " " . This name was struck by de Forest Research , noting , " " The name " Intrepid " has been used before in " with no implication that she had been lost . A suitable name for star ship " [ sic ] " , suggest : " Resolute " . " " In the same draft , the registry was given as " 37 - SC1 " ; de Forest noted , " " This number does not conform to precedents established in " Star Trek , " and " " suggest : change number to NCC - 1698 . " " Following a rewrite by Kneubuhl and Gene Coon ( dated ) , the name " " Intrepid " " was dumped in favor of the name " USS " Lord Nelson " " . De Forest once again rebuffed the name , noting , " " Star Fleet " [ sic ] " nomenclature has indicated that star ships " [ sic ] " are named for abstract qualities , e . g . " Enterprise " , " Intrepid " , etc . Suggest as per original notes " Resolute " . Personal names are used for shuttlecraft , e . g . " " in " . " " The final rewrite by Coon and Gene Roddenberry ( dated ) replaced the name " " Lord Nelson " " in favor of the name " SS " Beagle " " . While not named the " " Resolute " " , as per de Forest ' s insistence , he was seemingly satisfied with the name change , stating , " " No conflicts for non - government ship . " " The wreckage noted in dialogue from the " Beagle " was added to be seen briefly onscreen in the remastered airing of the episode , consisting of miscellaneous shapes of the outer hull .