posted
Yet another batch begins with the Prometheus, with a write-up of canon info by Lee. No diagrams with this one, apparantly.
The USS Prometheus prototype was seen in the Voyager episode "Message In A Bottle." This advanced starship had been hijacked by Romulans and was en route to their space for study by the Tal Shiar when two Emergency Medical Holograms managed to regain control.
The Prometheus is an extremely advanced vessel which features a high-warp capacity (it has 4 nacelles, with design reminiscent of the Sovereign type), ablative armour, and Multi-Vector Tactical Assault mode. This last enables the ship to split into three separate (and all warp-capable - the saucer section has a pair of over-and-under retractable mini-nacelles) vessels, which operate in computer-controlled synchronisation, launching a three-pronged attack against enemy targets.
The Prometheus was clearly labelled with the registry NX-59650, which is at odds with both its status as a new experimental ship and the preponderance of 'modern' design features. Allegedly the dedication plaque, however, reads NCC-74913. This opens a can of worms which has yet to be resolved, especially given the appearance of a Nebula-class USS Prometheus (with the registry NCC-71201) only a couple of years previously. One tenuous explanation is that the project was so secret, so black-ops, it was given an unusual name and registry to confuse and obfuscate. Another theory is that the project was put on hold for about 20 years and only now reactivated, after the Nebula namesake had been destroyed.
Known Prometheus-class Ships:
USS Prometheus (NX-59650)
Notes:
Only six people are - were? - qualified to operate the Prometheus, and presumably they were all killed in the hijack. But then, given the high level of computer control required by the Multi-Vector mode, maybe they weren't that essential. . .
Sources:
"Message In A Bottle" (VOY)
-------------------- "Kirito? I killed a thing and now it says I have XPs! Is that bad? Am I dying?"
-Asuna, Episode 2, Sword Art Online Abridged
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
One interesting thing that I never realized until just recently (I love Wikipedia) is that there WERE some circumstances where a fleet would have more than one ship bearing the same name. For example, James Cook's famous Endeavour was actually the HM Bark Endeavour, and was in service at the same time as a warship HMS Endeavour. It was colloquially known as the "Endeavour Bark" to distinguish it from the warship Endeavour. So technically speaking, it might be reasonable to have some rare exceptions of two starships bearing the same name. (Heck, does anyone really think that the names of the various shuttlecraft are really unique to each of the probably-thousands of starships in the fleet? Didn't think so.)
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted
Bark? What, was Cook's ship named after a dog? Or a tree?
Still, I'm none too sure why Starfleet would adopt the practice in light of how confusing it would get. OTOH, should a ship name be famous enough... For example, perhaps in the next three hundred years the city of Melbourne, Florida will be really famous for something. A quick Google search shows it to be close to the path of destruction carved out by that Xindo probe, even...
Also, ever heard of a city called Melbourne, Australia? It's a wee bit bigger than Melbourne, Florida.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted
I still don't see why there can't be a Nebula Class Prometheus and a Prometheus Class Prometheus...
Helm: Sir, there's another ship coming into range...
Captain: Who is it?
Helm: It's... the Prometheus, the Nebula Class Prometheus sir.
Captain: Hail them and see what the hell they are doing here.
-------------------- "It speaks to some basic human needs: that there is a tomorrow, it's not all going to be over with a big splash and a bomb, that the human race is improving, that we have things to be proud of as humans." -Gene Roddenberry about Star Trek
Registered: May 1999
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posted
Mabye it's the same ship and the transforming into a Nebula class is just another gimmick. I want to see it's robot mode. If Trek were still as popular as Star Wars, it would be a reality.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Mark Nguyen: For example, perhaps in the next three hundred years the city of Melbourne, Florida will be really famous for something.
Mark
OMG! LOL! If you didn't have the last name Nguyen, I'd swear you were blonde!!
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
I'm assuming that Mark meant to suggest that 2 ships called Melbourne = 2 cities called Melbourne. If not, he is a silly billy and should be laughed out of Flare forever.
posted
That's exactly what I mean. EVERYONE knows the Australian city. What I'm saying here is that should the Florida city ever do anything worthy of being a starship name, would Starfleet emblazon two ships with the same name, one for each?
Take the shuttlecraft. Names like Galileo and Copernicus are way too cool for be limited to tiny auxiliary craft. There would almost certainly be full-sized starships carrying those proud names.
-------------------- "It speaks to some basic human needs: that there is a tomorrow, it's not all going to be over with a big splash and a bomb, that the human race is improving, that we have things to be proud of as humans." -Gene Roddenberry about Star Trek
Registered: May 1999
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