USS Defiant (NCC-1764)
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- For the article on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Defiants, see USS Defiant
| USS Defiant | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | "The Tholian Web" |
| Last appearance | "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part 2" |
| Affiliation | United Federation of Planets Terran Empire |
| General Characteristics | |
| Class | Constitution-class starship |
| Registry | NCC-1764 |
| Armaments | Photon torpedoes Phaser emitters |
| Defences | Deflector shields |
| Propulsion | Impulse engines Warp drive |
| Power | Warp reactor |
In the Star Trek universe, the USS Defiant (NCC-1764) is one of the original twelve Federation Constitution-class starships. The Defiant is seen in the original series episode "The Tholian Web" and in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "In a Mirror, Darkly". The registry is not seen in the original series episode, but is prominently seen in the Enterprise episode, having had this registry in the Star Trek Encyclopedia.
Contents |
[edit] Mainstream universe
In the original series episode "The Tholian Web", set in 2268, Starfleet loses contact with the USS Defiant. The Enterprise (NCC-1701) finds her on the border of Tholian space, drifting in and out of sensor contact. Captain Kirk and a boarding party find the crewmembers of the Defiant dead, and later determine that they killed each other in a fit of insanity.
As their stay aboard the derelict lengthens, the crew of the Enterprise find that the Defiant is fading in and out of reality. The Enterprise transporters become unreliable, and Kirk volunteers to remain behind while the rest of his crew beam back. Defiant then disappears, taking Kirk with her. A Tholian ship then appears, and the Tholian Commander, Loskene, accuses the Enterprise of violating Tholian space. The Tholians soon begin building an energy web around the Enterprise.
Meanwhile, Science Officer Spock finds that the entire area is littered with areas of interphase between universes. Doctor McCoy discovers that the interphase causes a biochemical imbalance, which drove Defiant's crew insane. He is able to synthesize medication to counteract the effects of the interphase.
The Enterprise crew is able to use the interphase to recover Captain Kirk and escape the Tholian trap. Defiant is presumed destroyed while in interphase.
[edit] The Mirror Universe
In the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "In a Mirror, Darkly" the actual fate of the Defiant is revealed. The Tholians of the mirror universe detonate a tri-cobalt device inside a dead star's gravity well. This causes a tear, or interphase, to appear between the regular and mirror universe. Unwilling to send their own vessels through, they send a distress call in the hopes of baiting a ship from the 'normal' Trek universe into crossing over to the mirror universe. The Tholians hope to then capture the ship and use it for an invasion.
The Tholians' gamble pays off when the Defiant becomes caught in the interphase. Eventually the ship slips through interphase, and is not only transported to the mirror universe, but moved 113 years into the past to 2155 as well. The mirror universe's Jonathan Archer learns of the Defiant and is able to force Captain Maximilian Forrest to take the I.S.S. Enterprise (NX-01) on a mission to investigate.
Upon arrival at the dock holding the Defiant, Forrest orders Archer to board the ship, download any information available, and destroy the ship. While the Enterprise boarding party is on the Defiant, the Enterprise is attacked by the Tholians and destroyed. Most of the Enterprise crew is able to leave via escape pods. Archer and his boarding party reactivate the Defiant, which is then able to escape from the dock and recover the escape pods.
Archer then takes the ship back to Earth with the intent of overthrowing the current Emperor. Shortly before arrival, Archer is poisoned by the mirror universe counterpart of Hoshi Sato, who uses the advanced technology found on the Defiant to have herself installed as Empress Sato.
[edit] Remastered Series
The Defiant was featured with its registry number, as well as with new camera angles, in the remastered edition of "The Tholian Web."
[edit] Non-canon appearances
[edit] Novels
In the Lost Era book The Sundered the USS Excelsior briefly sees Defiant while involved in a dangerous situation in Tholian space in 2298. Excelsior is unable to attempt a rescue and Defiant quickly vanishes.
The story of the Defiant is continued in the SCE (Starfleet Corp of Engineers) E-Books 'Interphase, Books One and Two. In 2376, the Defiant reappears in Tholian space. Starfleet dispatches USS da Vinci to retrieve her. A crew beams aboard with a supply of Theragen to make them immune to the effects of Interphase. The crew learns that the Defiant has discovered the Tholians attacked a Klingon colony and was attacked by them to prevent this information from reaching the Klingons. Because the information could prove damaging even 100 years later, the Tholians attack the da Vinci and the Defiant, forcing the latter into interphase with several members of the da Vinci's crew on board. The Defiant is later successfully recovered.
The Defiant appears in the Mirror Universe book Glass Empires, specifically the short story "Age of the Empress." The story continues where In a Mirror, Darkly left off. In addition, the name of one of its shuttlecrafts is revealed: the McCool, named in honor of Space Shuttle Columbia astronaut Willie McCool.
[edit] DC comics
In the "Lost Era" DC Comics story line, Kirk and USS Enterprise-A are sent to retrieve the USS Defiant from interphase. It is revealed that Defiant has an experimental phasing cloak that caused her to slip into interphase. A further development of the cloak allows Enterprise to slip between universes and reach the pocket universe holding Defiant. Defiant is successfully tractored out.
