Flare Sci-Fi Forums: Antares from "Charlie X"...

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Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

I've just posted this in a message over at Sternbach's Usenet group, but I thought I'd put it here, too. In a discussion about the Apollo class, the Antares came up, too. Anyway, here's the relevant part of my message:

"... I've never seen "Charlie X", so can someone tell me if they ever actually used the "USS" prefix w/ the name of the ship? Because, in the encyclopedia, in the pictures of the various insignia, they show the Enterprise "delta", the Constellation "pretzel", the Intrepid rectangular thing, and the Antares... something-or-other... Anyhow, my point is, the Antares insignia doesn't have the Starfleet star on it, like all the others. This, in addition to the fact that neither encyclopedia gives a registry (while other ships have made-up ones) and the fact that they refer to it as a Federation ship, and not a Starfleet ship, I don't think it was a Starfleet ship at all. Has anyone else thought of this?"

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[This message was edited by TSN on April 05, 1999.]

Posted by Captain Stark (Member # 70) on :

I'll have to check to see if I have the video at home. However I know that both the Captain and XO who beamed onboard the Enterprise wore Starfleet Uniforms.

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Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Never having seen the ep, I didn't realize that. That is a problem...

Can anyone think of an example of a non-Starfleet ship crewed by Starfleet officers?

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"About as useful as a narcoleptic rickshaw driver."
-James Lileks

Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :

As I told TSN, the evidence is a bit hazy. However, here would be my major objections, were I to raise them. Not including the fact that the two officers from the ship were wearing Starfleet uniforms.

1.) TOS had only one non-Starfleet Federation ship, the SS Aurora. Precedence suggests the Antares was meant to be a Starfleet vessel.

2.) The encyclopedia describes the USS Antares as a Federation science vessel. This is also how the USS Raman, Tsiolkovsky, and Grissom are described. All of them Starfleet vessels. (Actually, the exact text for the Grissom says "Starfleet science vessel.")

I've just had an interesting thought. Is it possible that the Antares was an Oberth class vessel? The description fits, and the time period fits. The only problem is that the Oberth is considered to have a registry of NCC-602, while the Antares is suggested to be NCC-501. However, this certainly isn't the first time registries were off in TOS. Also, I'm not entirely sure that the registry was given in "Charlie X." I might have it on tape, so I'll check. In the meantime, I'm seriously considering promoted the ship to an Oberth position on my list. What do you think?

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Posted by Aethelwer (Member # 36) on :

The Antares is Antares-class in the encyc. The reg was not in the ep. I like abbrev.

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Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :

Obviously.

I know what the encyclopedia says. But that's just a guess, as Okuda himself says in the text. The idea of an Oberth showing up in TOS appeals to me. So there.

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Posted by Bernd (Member # 6) on :

The Antares crew had Starfleet uniforms and a badge similar to the Enterprise, but with five indentations.

The registry was not mentioned in the episode, but made up for the Encyclopedia, maybe due to "popular demand", and so was the classification as Antares class.

I don't want an Oberth in the TOS era, for I think it's a design contemporary to the Excelsior. The registries might be explained otherwise.

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Posted by The359 (Member # 37) on :

Well, there appears to be mistakes throughout "Charlie X", since Antares is listed as both Science AND Freighter. Now, since Oberths are science and freighter as well, a conjectural design I have for Antares is based off of the Oberth. It also works well for the refit Hermes

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Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :

Would you be so kind as to post your design, The359??

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Erm... Oberths are freighters?

And I need to know something. In the TNG ep "Hero Worship", the... Vico, I think?... has an NAR registry (at least, according to the encyclopedia). What I need to know is whether or not anyone or anything in the ep ever suggested or directly stated that the kid's parents or anyone else on the ship were Starfleet. If so, this caould be an example to prove that non-SF ships can be run by SF personell...

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"About as useful as a narcoleptic rickshaw driver."
-James Lileks

Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :

TSN, it isn't going to happen!

I'm pretty sure no such allusions were made, but let me do a little more looking before I make a final claim.

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"And though I once prefered a human being's company, they pale before the monolith that towers over me."
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They Might Be Giants

Posted by Identity Crisis (Member # 67) on :

I'd always thought that the Antares was a freighter of some sort, or at least a supply ship but that it was carrying supplies to research outpost and thus was operating under the auspices of the Starfleet's science command or whatever. Not sure where I got that impression from but it seems to fit most of the facts.

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-->Identity Crisis<--

Posted by Bernd (Member # 6) on :

The USS Antares was supposed to be a freighter, something like that is mentioned in the episode, and also stated in the Encyclopedia. I think this is why many people confuse it with the civilian/alien Antares.

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Oh, well. If no-one can find a reference to SF officers on a non-SF ship, I guess I can abandon this theory. I was really only using it as a way around people's suspicion than the Antares and Hermes are not the same class. Personally, I never had a problem w/ that, but I thought I might be able to end it, anyway...

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"About as useful as a narcoleptic rickshaw driver."
-James Lileks