USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

The **USS *Enterprise* (NCC-1701)** was a 23rd-century Federation *Constitution*-class starship operated by Starfleet. In the course of its career, the *Enterprise* became the most celebrated starship of its time. It was later identified as "*the original*Enterprise" or "Kirk's ship"

In its forty years of service and discovery, through upgrades and at least two refits, the *Enterprise* took part in numerous first contacts, military engagements, and time-travels. The vessel achieved its most lasting fame from a five-year mission (2265-2270) under the command of Captain James T. Kirk.

The *Enterprise* was destroyed over the Genesis Planet in 2285, when Kirk activated the ship's auto-destruct sequence to prevent the *Enterprise* from falling into the hands of the Klingons

## Ship Specifics

### Commander:

Robert April, Christopher Pike, James Kirk, Spock

## Specifications

### Armaments:

7 dual emitter phaser banks, 2 photon torpedo launchers

### History

Construction and shakedown

The *Enterprise* was the Second *Constitution* class vessel to be authorized and construction began at Starfleet Division, San Francisco Fleet Yards, Earth on July 16, 2242. Overseeing the construction was Captain Robert April, after being appointed by Commodore van Anling, who worked closely with naval architect Lawrence Marvick, chief construction engineer Franz Joseph IV, and their team, which included Bernice Hart and Montgomery Scott.

Construction on the vessel proceeded well, and 2243 saw the introduction of the prototype duotronic computer system developed by Dr. Richard Daystrom. The introduction proved vital to the ship later the following year, when the half-complete ship was ordered on a top secret mission into the Romulan Neutral Zone.

Construction of the *Enterprise* was completed by early 2244, and the *Enterprise* was officially launched on July 4, 2244 by Federation President , and attended by former President Jonathan Archer, who had been the commander of the United Earth ship *Enterprise* (NX-01) nearly a century earlier. Following the launch ceremony, the *Enterprise* began shakedown cruises under the command of Captain April. The shakedown cruises went well and the *Enterprise* was finally commissioned  and began its first five-year mission of exploration.

### Under Captain Robert April(2244-2249)

#### The first five-year mission

In October 2246, the *Enterprise* was the first Federation ship to reach Tarsus IV with food and supplies for the famine-stricken colony; however, interference from the Klingon warship IKS *Kut'luch* meant that the *Enterprise* was too late to stop the execution of 4,000 colonists at the hands of Kodos the Executioner.

### Under Captain Christopher Pike(2249-2264)

The *Enterprise* returned from its first successful five-year mission in June 2250, and Captain April was promoted to commodore. April recommended that Christopher Pike, who at that time commanded the USS *Yorktown*, would be a logical replacement. Pike assumed command and the *Enterprise* embarked on another five-year mission.

Two years into Pike's command, just prior to beginning a long term survey of the Pathiad Nebulatae the *Enterprise*'s science officer was struck down with a bout of virillian toxic fever. At the recommendation of Robert April, Pike enlisted junior officer Spock

In 2254 the *Enterprise* was diverted from its scheduled mission to the Marrat system to investigate some unusual activity. It soon found the culprit when it was attacked by a Ngultor ship which disabled many of the *Enterprise*'s systems and knocked out the crew while it took it into tow to deliver to its mothership. Fortunately the crew were able to restore the Enterprise’s systems in time to break free and destroy the mothership before it consumed them.

Following the Ngultor incident the *Enterprise* proceeded to the Marrat Nebula where it drove off an attack by a local brigand on Starbase 13. It then proceeded to investigate the Pharos siteworld, above which it battled the IKS *Varchas* in defence of the Federation project on the planet. Pike ended the battle by destroying the siteworld.

The *Enterprise* next visited Rigel VII to witness the planet's admission into the Federation. Unfortunately rogue elements began a coup and Enterprise personal were killed and injured. The *Enterprise* proceeded to Vega colony to make use of its advanced medical facilities. En route it answered a distress call from Talos IV and made first contact with the Talosians. Due to their ability to project illusions, Starfleet ships were forbidden to ever again visit the planet. Under General Order 7, such a visit was grounds for the only death penalty left in Starfleet.

The task force soon saw action in defence of Theta Kalyb where four of the other ships in the force were destroyed before the Chakuun retreated. The *Enterprise* and the only other surviving vessel, the USS *Nelson*, went to Starbase 45 to undergo repairs.

#### Refit(2255)

the *Enterprise* entered spacedock for an extensive refit, which completed in 6 months

### Continuing Mission(2255-2264)

During the Federation-Klingon War of 2255-59 the *Enterprise* was ordered to continue its five year mission and remain away from the front lines as Starfleet intended the ship and her crew to be a weapon of last resort. Being forced to remain away from the front lines took a toll on all of the ship's crew.

Shortly after the end of the war with the Klingons, the *Enterprise* suffered a catastrophic systems failure while on her way to investigate red bursts that had appeared throughout the galaxy. This systems failure forced Captain Pike to send out a priority one distress call. The USS *Discovery* responded to the distress call and rendezvoused with the *Enterprise*. Starfleet made preparations to have *Enterprise* towed back to spacedock for repairs

#### Under Captain James T Kirk(2264-2269)

In 2264, command of the *Enterprise* was passed on to James T. Kirk, the youngest captain at that time, when Pike was promoted to fleet captain and assigned overall control of *Constitution*-class starship operations. The *Enterprise*'s first mission under Kirk wasn't a deep-space exploratory mission or a mission of importance, but to transport the Warp-Speed Classic Vaudeville Company around the Federation Phalanx to Starbase 13. Although Kirk was very reluctant to this first assignment, Admiral Kimitake Noguchi, though he needed the time to work out his command, and ordered him to do it or lose the *Enterprise*. The voyage was far from uneventful, however, after encountering the rebel Klingon Bird-of-Prey *Quundar*, and encountering a generational vessel.

Following several other adventures, the *Enterprise* was finally dispatched on a five-year mission, in which the ship's primary mission was to seek out and contact alien lifeforms. Beyond this primary mission, the *Enterprise* was also charged with defending Federation territory from aggression, aid member worlds in crisis, and provide support for scientific expeditions and colonies that were working in the *Enterprise*'s patrol area.

Over the course of the five-year mission, the *Enterprise* visited many different planets and encountered representatives from dozens of different species. On many occasions the *Enterprise* made first contact with beings that hadn't been encountered by the Federation before, including stellar neighbors, voyagers from outside the Milky Way, and powerful non-corporeal entities.

#### List of first contacts

* 2266
	+ The First Federation
	+ The Thasians
* 2267
	+ The Onlies
	+ Trelane
	+ The Gorn
	+ The Metrons
	+ The Horta
* 2268
	+ The Kelvans
	+ The Melkotians
	+ The Vians
	+ The Fabrini
* 2269
	+ The Zetarians
	+ The Excalbians
	+ The Vendorians

### Refit and further service

In 2269, following the completion of Kirk's historic five-year mission, the *Enterprise* returned to Earth. Originally the ship was going to be decommissioned and dismantled after returning to Earth, but the high profile nature of the *Enterprise* and her crew led Starfleet to reverse that decision.

However, the *Enterprise* was over 20 years old by 2269. Despite undergoing several refits over the years, it became apparent that the technology on the ship was becoming outdated, and that a major refitting of the *Enterprise* would be required. During the final days of Kirk's historic five year mission, new warp technology was being perfected, and Starfleet's Corps of Engineers decided that the *Enterprise* would be an ideal test-bed for the new technology. This decision was also encouraged by Commodore Antonio Delgado, who was interested in the ship's slingshot-capable engines as part of his own efforts to properly research time travel. When the ship arrived at Earth, she was put into dry dock for this major refit, which would take eighteen months to complete.

The original warp nacelles were replaced with newer and larger units, with Delgado and the newly-formed Department of Temporal Investigations discreetly taking 'custody' of the engines to create Timeship One . When it was found that the original pylons would not support the weight of the new nacelles, nor would they be large enough to house the plasma transfer conduits, they were also replaced. A new matter/anti-matter reactor was placed in the secondary hull. The impulse engine deck at the rear of the primary hull was switched out during the refit.

 and a new photon torpedo launching system was added to the connector between the primary and secondary hulls. This updated torpedo deployment method channeled propulsion directly from the matter/antimatter intermix. The bridge module was replaced with a new unit, and the original bridge module was taken and placed on board the USS *Yorktown*.

Docking ports were added at various points to allow secondary craft - such as shuttlecraft and travel pods - to dock with the *Enterprise* without needing to enter the shuttle bay.

When it was found that the main computer would not be powerful enough to handle the new technology - especially the new warp systems, it was replaced. During the course of the refit, Romulan spies managed to infect the new computer systems with a Trojan Horse virus, which was discovered and removed from the computer systems just before the ship launched. It was operated by Mark VII multitronic software.

As the refit of *Enterprise* neared completion, Starfleet decided not to paint the hull with the customary thermocoat that had been applied to vessels previously. Engineers offered to paint the hull of the *Enterprise* following the final outfitting, but Admiral Kirk declined, preferring the appearance of the *Enterprise* without the thermocoat. In fact, on the whole this new look was so favorably received that Starfleet eliminated thermocoats from all ships displacing 90,000 metric tons and above.

### Another five-year mission(2371-2376)

Captain Decker was slated to retain the command of the *Enterprise* upon the ship's relaunch; however, Captain Kirk assumed command in response to the crisis involving the machine entity "V'Ger." Because Decker had become intimately familiar with the redesigned *Enterprise*, Decker remained on board as Kirk's executive officer. Decker was reported missing in action during that mission, and Kirk resumed permanent command of the *Enterprise*.

Immediately after the crisis with V'Ger the *Enterprise* stopped at a starbase for final outfitting, which included components that had been left out due to the emergency nature of the launch of the refitted *Enterprise*. One of the minor items fixed during this layover was the inclusion of an image of the *Enterprise* NX-01 in the recreation room display of past vessels named *Enterprise*. The starbase crew offered to paint the *Enterprise*, but Kirk declined, preferring the hull unpainted.

Captain Kirk decided to recommend that the science station be returned to its previous location instead of being behind the Captain's chair. At some point prior to 2283 this was done.

One of the first missions of the refitted *Enterprise* was to travel to Lorina when strife broke out amongst the descendants of the Fabrini.

In 2273, the *Enterprise* went to the planet, Cragon V. The *Enterprise* was disabled with the *IKS Ghargh* by the planet’s ruler, Weyland. Three *Enterprise* crewmembers were sent back into time by Weyland. Captain Kirk was able to show that the Federation was honorable and good, and the *Enterprise* crewmembers were returned. The *Enterprise* was able to help Commander Kral regain his vessel and the *Enterprise* was returned to normal by Weyland. The *Enterprise* went to Starbase 42, afterwards.

#### Final Refit

The exterior navigational deflector was replaced with an internal unit, The bridge module was replaced with a new unit, The warp nacelles were replaced again with newer Model units.

### Under Captain Spock(2276-2285)

In 2278, the *Enterprise* stopped at Starbase 18 to pick up supplies to bring to Vestra V. After re-supplying the colony, the *Enterprise* went to planet Akkalla to retrieve a science team. The crew of the *Enterprise* helped discover the true origins of the Akkallan people and stopped the Chorymi from harvesting the Akkallan oceans. The *Enterprise* went to Earth afterwards.

#### Training ship(2282-2285)

In 2282, *Enterprise* was retired from active service, and assigned to Starfleet Academy as a training ship.

The ship was reactivated by Admiral Kirk in 2285 in response to a crisis involving Project Genesis. The *Enterprise* soon encountered the USS *Reliant*, which refused to answer hails as she approached. Even though regulations called for Kirk to assume a defensive posture when the *Reliant* didn't answer their hails, Kirk ignored the regulation. When the *Reliant* pulled up alongside the *Enterprise*, the *Reliant* opened fire, severely damaging the engineering section.

It was then that Khan revealed himself. Kirk was able to use the *Enterprise* computer to lower Khan's shields, damaging the *Reliant* enough to drive her off. The *Enterprise* and *Reliant* faced off against each other in the Mutara Nebula, but Kirk was finally able to disable Khan's hijacked starship and the *Enterprise* disabled the *Reliant*, severing the latter ship's port nacelle from its support pylon. Determined to destroy Kirk, a fatally wounded Khan activated the Genesis Device, which would not only destroy the *Reliant*, but the *Enterprise* as well when it exploded - which did not have a functional warp drive at the time.

Fortunately, just before the Genesis Device exploded, Spock entered the irradiated control chamber and brought the warp drive back online. The *Enterprise* was able to warp away as the Genesis Device exploded, taking the *Reliant* with it. Within a few hours, a new star system had been created, complete with an apparently habitable planet. But in the process, Spock died due to radiation poisoning

### Final days

Shortly after Spock sacrificed himself to save the *Enterprise* and her crew, the ship returned to spacedock. There Kirk and the rest of the crew learned that the *Enterprise* was to be decommissioned - the ship had been in service for 40 years by then. Harry Morrow pointed out to Kirk 20 of those years were manned by the fellow admiral, and his crew.

Dr. McCoy began exhibiting strange behaviors, such as breaking into Spock's quarters and collapsing in Kirk's arms when the Admiral went to confront him. Sarek soon arrived to ask Kirk about Spock's katra, or immortal soul, and it was then the two men learned that Spock had transferred his katra into McCoy.

Starfleet refused to allow Kirk to return to the Genesis Planet to retrieve Spock's body, so Kirk and his senior staff decided to go without Starfleet's approval. Kirk and his staff stole the *Enterprise*, and left for the Genesis Planet. What they didn't know was that a Klingon Bird-of-Prey commanded by Kruge was waiting for them at the planet. When the Klingons managed to disable the *Enterprise*, Kirk activated the ship's auto-destruct device, and the ship was destroyed while in orbit of the Genesis Planet in 2285.

During the final ten seconds of the auto-destruct countdown, the *Enterprise* reflected on the fact that it had possibly become a sentient being. It regretted that it would not know the future, but it was content to sacrifice itself in battle rather than be decommissioned and disassembled.

Kirk and his crew were able to commandeer the Klingon ship, and used it to travel to Vulcan, where Spock's body and katra were reunited.

So significant were the accomplishments of NCC-1701, that Starfleet re-used this registry (with the addition of a letter suffix) for each of the six subsequent starships (to date) to have been christened *Enterprise*.