Uhura: Mr. Scott, another distress call from the U.S.S. Carolina.
Scott: Ignore it.
Uhura: The Carolina is registered in the sector.
Scott: Ignore it.
What can be learned
-the U.S.S. Carolina is a not a starship
-the U.S.S. Carolina is an active duty ship of Starfleet
-she is on mission near the Klingon Empire
What can be inferred-
-the U.S.S. Carolina can not be Daedalus Class or Constitution Class. If she is either, then Uhura would have identified the U.S.S. Carolina as starship U.S.S. Carolina. U.S.S. Horizon is identified as starship in "A Piece of the Action".
-the ship is a support ship of the Starship Class.
-the ship could be either a scout (TMP) or a freighter (Charlie X) or something else
I have removed the USS Carolina from my list of Constitution Class starships.
I perceive that Mr. Okuda decided not to invent a new ship class, so he used an existing ship class. Unfortunately, he picked a ship class that wouldn't be operational in the 2260's. The registry for the U.S.S. Carolina (NCC-160) is based on inaccurate information and I have disregarded the registry as well as the class.
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takeoffs are optional; landings are mandatory
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"I suppose it's possible my mother is a product of my imagination, but that raises more questions than it solves, really."
-Simon Sizer, 4-Dec-2000
U.S.S. Carolina is accepted by no one, even me now, as a Enterprise-type starship. And for you to suggest that the ship is of this type, isn't this contrary to what you have been saying?
So, the U.S.S. Carolina remains an unknown.
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takeoffs are optional; landings are mandatory
USS Carolina NCC-160 is just some starship that was mentioned and we know nothing else about. Simple as that. Everything else is a GUESS, an OPINION. Leave it at that already!
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Me: "Why don't you live in Hong Kong?"
Rachel Roberts: "Hong Kong? Nah. Oh, but we can live in China! Yeah, China has great Chinese food!"
(discussion with fellow classmate, 9/5/00)
Mustang Class Starship Development Project
Your theory is full of holes.
Just because a type of ship is identified as a "starship" in one episode does not mean that it will be identified as such in another.
Presumably, if the Carolina was on border patrol near the Enterprise, the senior staff would know this, and know that the Carolina is indeed a "starship" (using your definition).
And have you considered that Scott ignores the distress call because he considers that a Constitution-Class starship should have no problem fending off a Klingon threat (if the Cap'n would get off his ass, sir, and use the ship the right way...)?
See? There's a perfectly logical explanation for why the Carolina is Constitution-Class ...
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Star Trek Gamma Quadrant
Average Rated 7.5 out of 10 Smileys by Fabrux
***
Shop Smart -- Shop "S"-Mart
[This message has been edited by JeffKardde (edited December 06, 2000).]
I am willing to admit that I am wrong. I did so with the U.S.S. Carolina, which is not even identified as a Constitution Class starship by the creative team.
At a later time, I will include the quote from this named book. And the arguments will begin again.
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takeoffs are optional; landings are mandatory
Also, by the time of TOS, "starship" seemed to have taken on its generic meaning. There evidence that it was a more specific term at an earlier time, but, every mention of the word "starship" in TOS cannot be automatically construed as "Constitution-class starship".
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"I suppose it's possible my mother is a product of my imagination, but that raises more questions than it solves, really."
-Simon Sizer, 4-Dec-2000
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Well, it's done, yes, the deed is done.
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Predict the unpredictable, but how do you unpredict the unpredictable?
Obviously, a name like "Carolina" is too good to be wasted on a mere freighter. The names of the States were usually used as a battleship name pool in the USN, and it was the ships from cruisers down that got obscure names.
In Starfleet, big ships are apparently named after historical big ships. So the name pool still consists mostly of US State names and US historical battle sites and commanders, with a couple of international references thrown in. I'd expect a freighter or other humble vessel to be named after something a bit "smaller", like SS Huron.
Or was the Carolina named after the hamburger or something?
Timo Saloniemi