That's the most interesting of all, IMHO. I had heard of a rumor about this plaque, but until now we didn't have proof. Does this mean that the Antares class, which was heretofore a conjectural design, now is officially the Xhosa/Norkova design? (Which would make the U.S.S. Hermes from "Redemption" the same style of ship...)
Posted by The Mighty Monkey of Mim (Member # 646) on :
A few musings just as they came out:
Too bad the Antares in the remastered "Charlie X" (TOS) looks nothing like the Xhosa. And don't let's get into the bit about that ship being unconnected, since it's OBVIOUS from the TOS-style plaque and displays of the Xhosa that this is the connection we're supposed to draw. The reference makes no sense otherwise. The only Antares that has anything to do with TOS is the one from "Charlie X".
But yet, even there we may have the key to smoothing over the whole mess. In TOS the Enterprise's plaque said STARSHIP CLASS, clearly a designation that has subsequently been applied to more than one design--even if at the time the Consitution was the only one, or the only one we became aware of during the show. Perhaps, for similar (unrevealed) reasons, ANTARES CLASS CRUISER does not refer to a single specific design but a whole range of them.
In retrospect this actually seems to be borne out by the fact that in various shows we have indeed heard more than one design referred to by this designation. Granted, none of them we've seen have been Federation ships (though the Xhosa's plaque and displays suggest she might have begun as one and it seems the identical Norkova was one) but that rather reinforces the point, doesn't it? Either we have a flurry of different designs in use by various aliens that coincidentally have the same name, or ANTARES CLASS is something SF/UFP uses to refer to a broad category of vessels. I'd definitely prefer to think the latter.
Posted by Dukhat (Member # 341) on :
I sort of have a different take on this subject, based on what we've seen of this model over the years.
First, I'm not even going to take the S.S. Antares from TOS-Remastered into account. Why? Simply because this ship most likely is not the class ship of the Antares class simply because another ship of the same type, the S.S. Yorkshire, has a lower registry number than the Antares does. It's just some non-Starfleet class of ship which happens to have Starfleet components (i.e. the Medusan ship from TOS-R).
Second, I'm not taking ships such as the Bajoran transport, the Talarian freighter or the Corvallen freighter into account either, simply because they are clearly alien ships which happen to have the same class name as a Starfleet ship.
Finally, the Xhosa herself. This type of ship (in this particular configuration) was seen four times in three different Trek series. Its first appearance chronologically was in ENT, where it appeared on the Moon (Luna shipyards, coincidentally?) around the 2150's. It's debatable whether this ship was supposed to represent the Antares class, or if it was just supposed to be a background ship of no consequence.
The second and third appearances were in DS9, with the Norkova and the Xhosa, respectively. Although by this time both ships were classified as freighters and neither ship was under the auspices of Starfleet, they seem to be at least Federation ships. The interesting thing is that outwardly, the ships are the same, but inwardly one has an interior reminiscent of TOS and the other, reminiscent of TNG. So it's apparent that these types of ships are long-lasting.
Finally, there's an Antares class ship in VOY's "Author, Author," and it's definitely a Federation ship, or perhaps even Starfleet, as it's accompanied by an Excelsior class starship.
Here's my take: This type of ship is in fact a Starfleet vessel, originally a cruiser as depicted on the Xhosa's plaque. It was probably commissioned sometime after the Kelvin but before the Constitution class (not taking into account the appearance from ENT). By the time of TNG, these ships were outdated and many were converted to freighters, some being refit with updated tech, some not. However, there are some still serving in a Starfleet capacity (i.e. the Hermes). This type of thing happened with the Miranda class too (the old Lantree serving as a supply ship while newer Mirandas are still serving as ships of the line), so why not the Antares class?
Posted by The Mighty Monkey of Mim (Member # 646) on :
I still find the idea that all these alien races have similarly-purposed vessels that are all referred to by the same designation, and that SF/UFP also has similarly-purposed ships also so designated, all simply out of coincidence, to be implausible.
Posted by Dukhat (Member # 341) on :
So do I, but that's more the fault of the writers being too overly-fond of the name. And when it comes to Star Trek, there's all sorts of things that are implausible. In this case, I'm just chalking it up to coincidence as a real-world explanation, implausible or not, simply because there's really no other way to regard it.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
[ August 10, 2010, 08:06 PM: Message edited by: AndrewR ]
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
That McQuarrie Enterprise sure has a lot of detail for a study model, guess that's why it was used in ST III and in the Qualor Depot. It's a mixed bag though, having the "shape" of a starfleet ship but non of those little details that we find on most Starfleet ships. I can see it more as some sort of transport, freighter, or utility/tug type vessel.
Posted by Dukhat (Member # 341) on :
Actually, it was the other McQuarrie study model that was in Star Trek III, not this one.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
I'll sell you all blocks of painted wood for...we'll say $50. Because we're pals, of course- I cant give that discount to just anyone for painted wooden blocks.
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
I have some wood right now, it's so hard.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
If it's yellow, consult a physician.
Posted by The Mighty Monkey of Mim (Member # 646) on :
(Unless you're asian. If you are, that's all right, then.)
Posted by Amasov Prime (Member # 742) on :
@ Mim and Dukhat:
Xhosa: If the dedication impies that it was a Starfleet vessel, ca TOS era, why not? Maybe the ship was a cruiser design of the era, unseen in TOS. It went through several refits over the years, maybe old hulks were sold off to other planets in- and outside the Federation. Up to that point, I have no trouble explaining the class.
TOS S.S. Antares: The S.S. in combination with the NCC-registry could indicate that the ships are civilian which have been contracted by starfleet or something. In that case, the design could be non-starfleet. Which means the TOS-R ships/TAS cargo drone thing is no Starfleet class of ship anyway. And even if they are of Starfleet origin: the only mention of "Antares-class" in this context comes from a speculativce piece in the encyclopedia. I say let's just ignore it.
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