USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A)
What is USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A)?
History of USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A)
The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A) was a Constitution II-class vessel operated by Starfleet in the 23rd century. It was the second Federation starship to bear the name Enterprise, and was assigned to the newly-demoted Captain James T. Kirk and his command crew in 2286. In 2286, the Enterprise-A was commissioned at the San Francisco Fleet Yards on stardate 8442.5. It was launched from Spacedock One on the order of the Federation Council in appreciation of Captain James T. Kirk and his crew's efforts to prevent the Whale Probe from devastating Earth. The crew initially thought they were going to be assigned to a "freighter" at best, according to Leonard McCoy, or the USS Excelsior, but the new Enterprise was soon revealed, docked next to the Excelsior. The crew took their stations and the Enterprise left Spacedock on a shakedown cruise. The shakedown did not proceed as planned, and the Enterprise limped back to Spacedock for several weeks of repair under the supervision of Captain Montgomery Scott. Although its warp drive was working perfectly, half the doors on the ship were malfunctioning and several control interfaces did not work. The transporter was also non-operational, requiring shuttles to be used for off-ship missions. Before repairs were complete, Enterprise was returned to active duty to intervene in a hostage situation on Nimbus III. The away team led by Captain Kirk were themselves taken prisoner by the rogue Vulcan Sybok and his followers, with the objective of stealing the Enterprise to aid in their quest to find Sha Ka Ree. On approach to the ship aboard the shuttle Galileo, Commander Hikaru Sulu was forced to make an emergency crash landing into the Enterprise landing bay as the craft was pursued by a Klingon Bird-of-Prey, commanded by Klaa. The Bird-of-Prey would follow the Enterprise to the center of the galaxy. The Bird-of-Prey caught the Enterprise off-guard in orbit of Sha Ka Ree, and disabled it before the crew could raise shields or arm weapons. However, Klingon ambassador Korrd, rescued from Nimbus III, relieved Captain Klaa and ordered the Bird-of-Prey to stand down. The Klingon crew was later invited to a reception following the return of the Enterprise to Kirk's command, and the discovery that Sha Ka Ree was a myth. In 2293, the Enterprise-A was due to be retired along with many of its command crew. However, it was unexpectedly assigned as an escort for Klingon chancellor Gorkon during the initial stages of peace talks that would lead to the Khitomer Accords. The ship rendezvoused with the Klingon flagship, Kronos One, and was to accompany it to Earth. A joint Starfleet, Klingon, and Romulan conspiracy had an operative, Lieutenant Valeris, placed aboard the ship as a relief helmsman. Valeris participated in a plan to implicate the Enterprise and Captain Kirk as rogue assailants in Gorkon's murder, with the goal of derailing the peace process. The Enterprise appeared to fire two photon torpedoes at Kronos One, temporarily disabling its propulsion and gravity systems. Amid the chaos two space-suited Starfleet crew members, Burke and Samno, beamed aboard and assassinated Gorkon. Valeris altered the ship's databank records to make it seem as if two torpedoes had been fired. The torpedoes actually came from a cloaked prototype Bird-of-Prey positioned directly below the Enterprise, which had been modified to fire while cloaked. Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy were arrested and tried for the murder, and sentenced to life imprisonment on the penal colony Rura Penthe. Valeris also provided Kirk's log entries from the Enterprise to the Klingon co-conspirators to further implicate him. The Enterprise was ordered back to Earth, but Spock ignored these orders and began an investigation aboard the ship. He discovered evidence which linked Valeris to the conspiracy, despite her best efforts to sabotage the investigation. The Enterprise then entered Klingon space, masquerading as the freighter Ursva, and rescued Kirk and McCoy. Spock forcibly mind melded with Valeris and learned more about the conspiracy, including details of the Bird-of-Prey and names of those involved. Captain Sulu aboard the USS Excelsior provided Kirk with the new location of the peace conference, and the two ships raced to Khitomer in order to prevent the assassination of the Federation President and the new Klingon chancellor, Azetbur. General Chang was waiting in orbit in his prototype Bird-of-Prey, and the Enterprise was attacked upon arrival. The starship was seriously damaged and suffered a hull breach through its saucer section when it's deflector shields were depleted. The Excelsior, too, was unable to track the cloaked ship, and could only give Chang another target to fire at. However, Spock, McCoy, and Uhura devised a plan to fire a photon torpedo equipped with sensors capable of tracking ionization from the Bird-of-Prey's impulse engines. It successfully impacted Chang's vessel, disabling its cloaking device and leaving it vulnerable to attack from Enterprise and Excelsior. Following the destruction of the Bird-of-Prey, teams from both ships beamed down to the Khitomer Conference and apprehended the conspirators, preventing the assassination. Following the Khitomer mission, the Enterprise was ordered by Starfleet Command to return to Spacedock to be decommissioned. In response, Captain Kirk ordered a course set for the "second star to the right... and straight on 'til morning." Kirk later recorded in his log that this was to be the final cruise of the starship Enterprise under his command, commenting, "This ship and her history will shortly become the care of another crew. To them and their posterity will we commit our future. They will continue the voyages we have begun and journey to all the undiscovered countries, boldly going where no man – where no one – has gone before." Following its decommissioning, the Enterprise-A's battle damage was repaired at Spacedock, and the ship was preserved as a museum exhibit. It would eventually be displayed between the USS Voyager and the USS Excelsior at the Fleet Museum at Athan Prime. Upon seeing the ship in 2401, Jack Crusher identified it as his personal favorite. Calling it "Kirk's Enterprise," he remarked, "All those perfectly clean retro lines. Yep, I'm definitely a Constitution-class man.
