The mission scout in ST: Insurrection has the registry NCC-75227, but neither the CGI model as seen in the movie itself nor the depiction in Star Trek: The Magazine shows any sign of a name on the hull. Three possible explanations: 1) Small ships (runabouts and scouts) don't have individual names. Pro: - There are probably thousands of them and a lot of people in Starfleet Headquarters would waste their time finding names. - There is no evidence that all runabouts - besides those at DS9 - have individual names. Contra: - The DS9 runabouts have individual names, so why shouldn't this apply to all other runabouts as well, considering it is the Danube class? - The individual NCC number implies that the ship has an individual and unique name, while names of shuttles assigned to starships or starbases might be used multiple times. Anyway, the scout must have a name. - Choosing a name is no big deal. Maybe it's not necessarily up to Starfleet, but the commander can choose a name as long as it complies with certain standards (not offensive or such) and is unique. 2) The ship was brand new (NCC-75***) and a name has not been assigned so far. Contra: - A ship with no name cannot be regarded as complete (naval tradition, regardless what the DS9TM says about the incomplete kitbash ships). Pro: - The people at the fleet yards could leave the christening ceremony to the ship's commander, and there has been no time for it. 3) The name was printed so small it was not visible. Pro: This could be similar as with 20th century fighetr planes whose names or pilot's names are printed very small compared to the registry. Contra: There is no reason to make the registry big and the name small. After all, even the small ships would be rather identified by their name than their number ("This is the Federation scout ship Tigershark" rather than "This is ... NCC-75227").
------------------ "The past, the present and the future, they exist as one, they breathe together." (Annorax, VOY: "The Year of Hell") Ex Astris Scientia
[This message has been edited by Bernd (edited June 28, 1999).]
Posted by The First One (Member # 35) on :
Of course, there is one other thing - how do we know that Runabouts usually have names? Remember that Sisko chose their names himself, so it may have been for their own convenience just as Benrd says, rather than using the registry. The Scout Ship is just an outsize shuttle, and since all the Starfleet personnel were based on the Son'a ships, they didn't feel the need to give it a name.
Posted by Elim Garak (Member # 14) on :
Lee has a good point with the runabouts. The only ones we have seen are the ones at DS9, with the exception of the "Timescape" runabout which... was given no name!
------------------ Doctor: "Run along. I'll reattach any severed limbs. Just don't misplace them." (Voyager: "The Killing Game")
Posted by Bernd (Member # 6) on :
Argument "runabouts don't necessarily have individual names" included above.
------------------ "The past, the present and the future, they exist as one, they breathe together." (Annorax, VOY: "The Year of Hell") Ex Astris Scientia
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Um... SF almost invariably prints the registry number larger than the name. What SF ship have we seen that had a larger name than registry?
------------------ "You! Are you smarter than this one?" -Ambassador Byleth to LaForge regarding Worf, TNG's "Liasons"
[This message has been edited by TSN (edited June 28, 1999).]
Posted by Bernd (Member # 6) on :
There would have been enough space beside or below the number for a readable name.
Posted by Trinculo on :
The scout ship had more registrys labeled on its hull than any other ship. There are the four registries on the wings (dorsal, ventral) and the frame (starboard, port). There is writing aft of the starboard window. However, the writing is unreadable.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Hm... Rather than having Data sing Gilbert and Sullivan, he should have sung America. "I've been through the desert in a scout with no name..."
*ducks and runs out when people start throwing stuff at him*
------------------ "You! Are you smarter than this one?" -Ambassador Byleth to LaForge regarding Worf, TNG's "Liasons"
Posted by Hobbes (Member # 138) on :
It occured to me that the scout ship might not be a class. Instead it belongs to a ship, and that ship's registry is NCC-75227. In fact NCC-75227 could be the registry of Admiral Dougherty ship outside the Briar Patch, assuming he had one. Ships after all had to be refitted for travel inside that area. And since 75227 would imply it's a new and possibly advanced ship it also makes since an admiral might want it as his command. Of course if this were true, the scout ship should still bear the name of its mother ship. This is just a possibly theory, for the time I still believe that the scout ship is its own class.