The enterprise...

The name Enterprise comes from a long series of ships. The first was the French frigate L'Entreprise, captured by the British in 1705. The British rechristened the ship HMS Enterprise for use by the Royal Navy. A further nine Royal Navy commissioned warships carried the name "Enterprise". The first United States ship to use the name USS Enterprise was a Revolutionary War-era sloop-of-war. The eighth American ship to bear this name was the world's first nuclear aircraft carrier.

According to The Star Trek Encyclopedia, the registry number "NCC-1701" was devised by Matt Jefferies, art director of the first Star Trek series. Jefferies, who is a pilot, based NCC on 20th century aircraft registration codes. In such 20th century usage, an "N" first letter refers to an aircraft registered in the USA. A "C" for a second letter refers to a civil aircraft. Jefferies added a second "C", just because he thought it looked better."

The Franz Joseph Blueprints and a handful of Star Trek novels state that NCC is an initialism for "Naval Construction Contract".

In Gene Roddenberry's original Star Trek pitch, the starship is described as a "United Space Ship," and in two episodes of the original series (TOS), Kirk refers to the "United Space Ship Enterprise".

Before Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Paramount had planned a new Star Trek television series to have been named Star Trek: Phase II. Early in the production, Ralph McQuarrie had been hired to redesign the ship. The major feature of the redesign was to replace the cigar-shaped secondary hull with a larger, triangle-shaped section. McQuarrie's design was discarded in favor of keeping the general shape of the ship intact.

In the Star Trek universe, there have been a number of starships named Enterprise:

• USS Enterprise (XCV 330) Declaration class (circa 2130s) from art in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and the series Star Trek: Enterprise.
• Enterprise (NX-01) NX class (2151–2161) from the series Star Trek: Enterprise.
• USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) Constitution class (2245–2285) from the original Star Trek series, the first three films and 2009's Star Trek.
• USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A) Constitution (also listed as Enterprise) class (2286–2293) from the films The Voyage Home, The Final Frontier and The Undiscovered Country.
• USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-B) Excelsior class (2293–2320s) from the film Generations.
• USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-C) Ambassador class (2332–2344) from the episode "Yesterday's Enterprise".
• USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) Galaxy class (2363–2371) from the series Star Trek: The Next Generation and film Generations.
• USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E) Sovereign class (2372—) from the films First Contact, Insurrection, and Nemesis
• USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-J) (26th century) from the episode "Azati Prime"

From licensed Star Trek fiction and notable unlicensed films:

• USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-F) (late 24th century) from the novel Imzadi and the Millennium trilogy of Star Trek novels
• USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-M) Constitution class (2306—) a museum ship from the Tim Russ production Star Trek: Of Gods and Men

Ralph McQuarrie's Redesigned Enterprise

Final Phase II Design

This USS Enterprise (XCV 330) appears in Star Trek: The Motion Picture among a series of illustrations depicting ships named Enterprise. The 1979 Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology describes this "first interstellar liner" as a Declaration-class ship launched in 2123

The United Earth Starfleet's Enterprise is the main setting of Star Trek: Enterprise.


The Federation's first Enterprise is the main setting of the original Star Trek series (1966–1969) and The Animated Series (1973–74). A refitted Enterprise appears in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), before being destroyed in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

This ship first appears at the end of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) and is the main setting of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1988) and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991). The ship is ordered decommissioned at the end of The Undiscovered Country. Paperwork included with the model kit indicated the ship was mothballed at the Memory Alpha ship museum, and William Shatner's novel The Ashes of Eden (1996) depicts the Enterprise-A's removal from the mothball fleet before being destroyed defending the planet Chal.

Launched at the start of Star Trek Generations (1994). James T. Kirk goes missing during the ship's maiden voyage. According to Star Trek novels, Demora Sulu becomes captain after Harriman.
This ship appears in the Next Generation episode "Yesterday's Enterprise" (1990). The ship was destroyed attempting to defend the Klingon outpost Narendra III from Romulan attack. Survivors included Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby), whose alternate timeline version from "Yesterday's Enterprise" travels with the ship back in time to the battle over Narendra III. The actions of the Enterprise-C's crew became a catalyst for the alliance between the Federation and the Klingon Empire

The main setting of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994). The Enterprise was lost in 2371 after an attack by a renegade Klingon Bird-of-Prey (commanded by the Duras sisters) caused extensive damage, leading to a warp core breach. Although the saucer section was safely separated before the breach, the shock wave from the explosion forced it into the atmosphere of Veridian III. The ship, however, was not salvageable.

The main setting for the films Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), and Star Trek Nemesis (2002).

The Star Trek: Enterprise episode "In a Mirror, Darkly" features a Mirror Universe version of the NX-01 Enterprise. This ship is equipped with a cloaking device, deflector shields, a tractor beam, a prototype Agony Booth, and different exterior markings. It is commanded by Captain Maximilian Forrest, although for a brief time his first officer, Commander Jonathan Archer, takes command following a mutiny. This Enterprise is destroyed by the Tholians.

A Mirror Universe Enterprise appears in the original Star Trek episode "Mirror, Mirror". The ship is equipped with an agony booth and the mirror Captain Kirk's deadly Tantalus device. The ISS Enterprise was originally the same shooting model as the regular Enterprise. The remastered version of "Mirror, Mirror" includes a CGI version of Enterprise with "ISS" markings on the hull and minor physical differences from USS Enterprise, such as a larger deflector dish, a taller bridge, and altered nacelle details

Measurements for this version's final size range from 610 meters to 910 meters. In an interview in Cinefex magazine #118, Industrial Light & Magic Art Director Alex Jaeger discussed the design's growth in size during early production of the film, saying "The reconfigured ship was a larger vessel than previous manifestations – approximately 1,200 feet (370 m) long compared to the 947 foot (289 m) ship of the original series. Once we got the ship built and started putting it in environments it felt too small. The shuttle bay gave us a clear relative scale – shuttles initially appeared much bigger than we had imagined – so we bumped up the Enterprise scale, which gave her a grander feel and allowed us to include more detail." A special feature on starships in the Blu-ray Disc (BD) version of the movie gives the length as 2,379 feet (725 m).

Henry Starling and Bill Gates...

In the Star Trek world we see a couple of examples of current technology being enhanced or even being caused by the interference of 'future' characters.

The most memorable and humorous was James Doohan's part in Star Trek IV, The Voyage Home, where his character, Scotty, gives a 20th century industrial supplier the means to manufacture "transparent aluminium" a product from the future in exchange for 20th century goods.
McCoy asks Scotty about the implications of this to which Scotty replies "How do we know he didn't invent it?"

In a far more sinister storyline is the Voyager episode Futures End (A double episode) where another industrialist, Henry Starling, played by Ed Begly Junior, who in real life bears a remarkable likeness to Bill Gates. Starling's mega company is called "Chronowerx" and there are implied similarities to Gates' company, Microsoft.

We look at fiction and see enlightenment in real life.

The exponential growth of the microelectronics industry was not due to 20th century expertise or even serendipity, it was actuallly a direct result of 29th century intervention, and both Bill Gates and Paul Allen witnessed the crash landing of a 29th century timeship and they used the technology there to form Microsoft...

It all makes perfect sense to me now!

After the series has gone, or before it started?

One of the most annoying things about most TV programs is that we don't know what happens to the characters after the series finishes...

Well not entirely:

• We know that after Star trek Voyager, Janeway leapfrogged Picard to become admiral.
• We know that after The Original Series, Captain Montgomery Scott was being kept alive by a transporter in 'diagnostic mode' on The USS Jenolan.
• We also know that James T Kirk died 70 years after he was presumed to have died on The Enterprise-B, on the planet Veridian III.
• And we know that Spock ends up 130 years in his own past in the 2009 Film Star Trek.
• There are further hints from Nemesis that Data would be re-incarnated within B-4... Who knows

And apart from a few other characters, that is it!

There is an obvious reluctance by Sci Fi production companies to make a "Star Trek Christmas Special" although that is perhaps what the films are just that?



Then we have the dilemma of the "prequel" character of Tom Paris, who was apparently based on the character Nick Lacarno in The Next Generation episode, The First Duty, with Robert McNeill playing both parts. I've read that the reason that there was never an onscreen link between the two was because the producers didn't want to pay a royalty to someone after each and every Voyager episode!

I know I am not alone in my lack of 'fulfilment' sensed after the finale of Voyager, when having arrived in the alpha quadrant, we see nothing more than a two second shot of the homecoming, with Voyager leading a 'flotilla' of 18 plus star ships towards Earth. And although the finale of DS9 was more wholesome, with characters seen talking about their future assignments...

Well perhaps in Star Trek 12 we can have a glimpse of the futures of our Voyager favourites?

Star Trek and Chariots OF Fire... Full Circle.

Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film. It tells the story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew.

The film was written by Colin Welland and directed by Hugh Hudson. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won four, including Best Picture. It is ranked 19th in the British Film Institute's list of Top 100 British films.

The film's title is a reference to the line, "Bring me my chariot of fire," from the William Blake poem adapted into the hymn Jerusalem; the hymn is heard at the end of the film.

In 1919, Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross) enters Cambridge University, where he meets with anti-Semitism from the staff, but enjoys participating in the Gilbert and Sullivan club. He becomes the first person to ever complete the Trinity Great Court run — running around the court in the time it takes for the clock to strike 12. Abrahams achieves an undefeated string of victories in various national running competitions. Although focused on his running, he falls in love with a famous Gilbert and Sullivan soprano, Sybil (Alice Krige).





The cirle starts to close in 1996: Star Trek: First Contact is the eighth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise, released in November 1996 by Paramount Pictures. First Contact is the first film in the franchise to exclusively feature the cast of the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series. The television cast is joined by Alice Krige, Neal McDonough, James Cromwell and Alfre Woodard. The Borg Queen is portrayed by Alice Krige. Casting for the part took time as the actress needed to be sexy, dangerous and mysterious. Frakes cast Krige after finding that she had all of the mentioned qualities, and being impressed by her performance in Ghost Story; the director considers her the sexiest Star Trek villain of all time. Krige suffered a large amount of discomfort filming her role; her costume was too tight, causing blisters, and the painful silver contact lenses she wore could only be kept in for four minutes at a time.





The circle completes in 2009, in Star Trek, a 2009 science fiction film directed by J. J. Abrams, written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is the eleventh film based on the Star Trek franchise and features the main characters of the original Star Trek television series, who are portrayed by a new cast including Ben Cross as Sarek, Spock's father.

Benjamin Sisko

Benjamin Lafayette Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, is the main character of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Born in 2332 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Benjamin is the son of Joseph Sisko, the chef and owner of the restaurant "Sisko's Creole Kitchen," "Sisko's" for short. His birth mother was a human woman named Sarah. However, Sarah was actually possessed by one of the Bajoran Prophets (the life-forms that exist inside the Bajoran wormhole), who manipulated her into marrying Joseph and conceiving Benjamin. Sarah and Joseph were happily married until Sarah disappeared two days after Ben's first birthday, when the life-form left her body. She died in an accident several years later. Joseph eventually met and married another woman who went on to raise Benjamin as her own son. Benjamin remained unaware of these events until well into his adulthood and long after he had otherwise made contact with the Bajoran Prophets. Ben has a sister named Judith, and at least two brothers.

Sisko entered Starfleet Academy in 2350. During his sophomore year, he was in a field-study assignment on Starbase 137. He met a woman named Jennifer in Babylon, New York on Gilgo Beach, shortly after graduating from the Academy. The two eventually wed and had a son named Jake.

As a Starfleet officer coming up through the ranks, Sisko was mentored by Curzon Dax, a joined Trill serving as Federation ambassador to the Klingon Empire, when the two were stationed aboard the USS Livingston early in Sisko's career. The symbiotic nature of the joined Trill becomes a significant aspect to Sisko's later relationships with his DS9 science officer Jadzia Dax, who inherited the Dax symbiont from Curzon, and DS9 counselor Ezri Dax, who inherits Dax upon Jadzia's death.

Sisko served aboard the USS Okinawa under Captain Leyton, who saw command potential in the young officer; Leyton promoted Sisko to Lieutenant Commander and made him his executive officer. It was during this assignment that Sisko and Leyton fought in the war between the Federation and the Tzenkethi.

Sisko eventually transferred to the USS Saratoga as its first officer. In early 2367, the Saratoga was one of the Starfleet vessels involved in the Battle of Wolf 359 against the Borg. Locutus, a Borg drone created from the assimilation of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, uses Picard's knowledge of Starfleet tactics to annihilate the Starfleet force; Jennifer Sisko is among the 11,000 casualties.

Afterward, Sisko took a position at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards on Mars, overseeing the development of new ships, including the USS Defiant, which was created specifically to contend with the Borg threat.

In 2369, Sisko is assigned to the Bajoran sector to command Deep Space Nine and to help Bajor's recovery from the recently-concluded Cardassian occupation, shepherding them toward possible membership in the United Federation of Planets. Sisko and his son Jake reluctantly take up residence on the station. Recognizing that the then-decrepit station is not an "ideal environment" in which to raise a son, Sisko contemplates resigning his commission. Adding to Sisko's discomfort is the presence of Jean-Luc Picard, who briefs him on his mission. Sisko continues to harbor resentment toward Picard for his role, however unwilling, in the death of his wife.

Upon Sisko's first visit to Bajor, the Bajoran Kai, Opaka Sulan, labels him "the Emissary of the Prophets" and gives him one of the Tears of the Prophets, a mysterious glowing orb that supposedly comes from Bajor's Prophets. By studying the orb and nearby stellar phenomenon, Jadzia Dax finds a location of unusual activity in the nearby Denorios Belt. Traveling there, Dax and Sisko discover the first known stable wormhole which leads to the Gamma Quadrant, and the mysterious aliens living within it. The devoutly spiritual Bajorans believe them to be their "Celestial Temple" and Prophets, respectively. These aliens live outside linear time. Sisko's first contact with the aliens is awkward and difficult for both parties, but the encounter helps Sisko recognize that he has never allowed himself to move beyond the bitterness and grief of losing his wife, as well as his anger towards Picard. After leaving the wormhole, Sisko embraces the opportunity to move forward and command DS9.

After DS9 is moved to the mouth of the wormhole in order to firmly claim it for Bajor, it becomes a new hub of scientific, commercial and political activity.

The wormhole's discovery cements in Opaka's and other Bajorans' minds the notion that Sisko is the Emissary of the Prophets, a title and set of responsibilities with which Sisko is initially ill at ease. However, Sisko warms up to and eventually embraces his fated role in the Bajoran faith.

When Sisko leads the Defiant into the wormhole to intercept a Dominion fleet, the Prophets intervene. Sisko, at this point, has not fulfilled his destiny; to ensure that he survives, the Prophets erase the Dominion forces from existence.

Sisko plays a critical role in the intrigue of the Alpha Quadrant. His actions prove key in stopping an attempted coup d'état on Earth from his former captain, Admiral Leyton. During the Klingon invasion of Cardassia, he is crucial to exposing the Founder impersonating Klingon general Martok. Sisko's exploits continue during the Dominion's invasion of the Alpha Quadrant, eventually working alongside Vice Admiral William Ross to help plan massive actions against the Dominion and their Cardassian and Breen allies. Sisko's contributions to the war effort are sometimes more surreptitious, such as his clandestine work with Elim Garak to bring the Romulans into, and thus turn the tide of, the war.

Sisko fulfills the Prophets' destiny for him in the series finale, ""What You Leave Behind," by confronting the Kosst Amojan-possessed Gul Dukat. They fight, and Dukat seems to be the winner, but in a last effort, Sisko throws himself and Dukat into the fiery abyss of the Bajoran Fire Caves, and Sisko is pulled into the Prophets' plane of existence to live with and learn from them. Sisko imparts a farewell to his new - and pregnant - wife, Kassidy Yates, informing her that though he does not know when he will be able to return to her, he will eventually return. This is later true in the novel "Unity" when Sisko returns from the Prophet's plane in time to witness the birth of his daughter with Kassidy.

Sisko was first married to Jennifer, with whom he had a son, Jake.

As seen in the pilot episode "Emissary," Sisko harbors a deep anger and dislike towards Jean-Luc Picard due to the fact that it was Picard, as Locutus of Borg, who led the Borg attack against the Federation at the Battle of Wolf 359. Sisko lost his wife, Jennifer, during the Borg attack and this forced Sisko to raise their young son, Jake, as a single parent. In order to take care of Jake, Sisko placed his Starfleet career on hold by taking up a backwater position at the Federation Utopia Planitia shipyard orbiting Mars.

Sisko remained a widower and single parent for many years. Eventually Sisko reluctantly accepted a posting as commander of Deep Space Nine orbiting the planet Bajor, where he eventually married a space freighter captain, Kassidy Yates.

Sisko loves baseball, a sport that has largely disappeared by the 24th century but is kept alive by a small group of aficionados. He keeps a baseball in his office (given to him by a strange alien halfway through the first season) and often clutches it and tosses it around when deep in thought. When the Dominion captures DS9, Sisko leaves the baseball in his office as a message that he intends to return (this can also be seen in the second season three-parter, consisting of "Homecoming," "The Circle" and "The Siege" and also the Season 5 finale, "Call To Arms"). After Jadzia Dax's death in "Tears of the Prophets", he takes the baseball with him to Earth, causing Kira Nerys to worry that he will not return.

Like his father, a chef, Sisko also enjoys cooking. His father owns a restaurant in New Orleans, and specialized in Creole cuisine.

It is also widely known that Sisko wants to become an Admiral; he states this intent to Admiral Ross during his temporary assignment at a starbase under Ross' command.


Sisko can also be identified as two other characters in the Star Trek universe:
Benny Russell

In the episode "Far Beyond the Stars," Sisko considers resigning his commission after losing an old friend during the Dominion War and the Prophets intervene, making Sisko briefly live the life of Benny Russell, a science fiction short story writer in 1950s America. (The other people in Russell's life are usually played by Brooks' DS9 co-stars, in most cases allowing them to appear without the heavy prosthetic makeup of their alien characters and show viewers their true appearance.)

Every day, Russell faces the prejudices of his world; his publisher does not even allow his photograph to be printed. He writes a story called "Deep Space Nine" that takes place in a universe without prejudice and bigotry. However, his publisher refuses to release the story because he makes the commander of the space station a black man. This injustice eventually drives Benny insane; soon after, Sisko finds himself back in the 24th century, understanding his place is aboard the station but questioning the nature of reality.

Later, in "Shadows and Symbols," Sisko experiences more flashbacks to his "life" as Benny Russell, now in a mental institution, obsessively writing the episode, synchronously, on the wall. Although it seems to be left ambiguous as to whether Benny is real or the Prophets' creation, at the end of this episode, the wormhole alien he was hunting says, "The Kosst Amojan tried to stop you with a false vision," implying that the Kosst Amojan (a very powerful Pah-wraith) was implanting the Russell fantasy into Sisko's mind to throw him off his mission.

In a June 2006 interview, former DS9 producer Ira Steven Behr said that he contemplated making the entire Deep Space Nine series a writing of the character Benny Russell.

Gabriel Bell

Due to a time travel incident depicted in "Past Tense," Sisko unintentionally takes the place of Gabriel Bell, an important figure in early 21st century America. The real Bell dies as a result of Sisko's presence, so Sisko takes his place in order to preserve the timeline. "Bell" instigates the Bell Riots, which helped change the course of human history.

Although Sisko is successful in fulfilling Bell's destiny and preserving the timeline, historical images of Bell show Sisko's image; though this, plus the fact that Sisko did not recognize the true Bell until seeing his dead body identified as such, suggests that the whole incident may have been a predestination paradox, and that Sisko was "Bell" all along.


While sharing the same core values of Captains Jean-Luc Picard and Kathryn Janeway, Sisko shows a tendency to compromise those values in extreme situations. The most striking example is in the episode "In the Pale Moonlight", in which Sisko lies, obstructs justice, and is an unwitting accomplice in murder in order to turn the tide in the Dominion War. Afterward, Sisko records a personal log regarding his feelings about the entire affair, lamenting the fact that he appears to feel no remorse for his actions (which, by bringing the Romulans into the war, significantly increase the Federation's chances of survival) before having the computer delete the entire log entry.

Another example of this Machiavellian approach can be found in the episode "For the Uniform," in which Sisko poisons the atmosphere of a Maquis colony in order to catch the traitorous Michael Eddington (to Sisko's credit, he did warn the Maquis far enough in advance for them to avoid being poisoned).

Kathryn Janeway

Kathryn Janeway, played by Kate Mulgrew, is a fictional character in the Star Trek franchise. As the captain of the Starfleet starship USS Voyager, she was the lead character on the television series Star Trek: Voyager, and later, a Starfleet admiral, as seen in the 2002 feature film Star Trek Nemesis. She is the first, and to date, the only female captain to be the lead character in a Star Trek series.

The character was originally called "Elizabeth Janeway", after the famous writer of the same name. However, after Geneviève Bujold was cast, she requested the character to be renamed "Nicole Janeway". Bujold, who had mainly feature film experience but was not prepared for the schedules demanded by series television, dropped out on the second day of filming on the pilot episode "Caretaker". Kate Mulgrew, who had previously auditioned for the role, was brought in. She suggested that the name be changed to "Kathryn". Actresses Erin Gray and Chelsea Field also auditioned for the role.

Janeway's hometown is Bloomington, Indiana.

Captain Janeway took command of the Intrepid-class USS Voyager in 2371. Their first mission was to locate and capture a Maquis vessel last seen in the area of space known as the Badlands. While there, the Maquis ship and Voyager were transported against their will into the Delta Quadrant, 75,000 light-years away, by a massive displacement wave. The Maquis ship is destroyed while fighting the Kazon-Ogla, and although Voyager survives, there are numerous casualties. In order to protect an intelligent species (the Ocampa), Janeway destroys a device, the Caretaker Array, that has the potential to return her crew to Federation space, stranding her ship and crew seven decades' travel from home.

Her first major task is integrating the surviving Maquis and Voyager crews. Chakotay, captain of the Maquis ship, succeeds the deceased Lieutenant Commander Cavit as her first officer. Janeway also grants convicted criminal, former Starfleet officer, and accomplished pilot Tom Paris a field commission, and makes him Voyager's helmsman.

Janeway's other interactions with her crew include helping the ex-Borg Seven of Nine reclaim her individuality and humanity and advocating for the Doctor's status as a sentient being.

Voyager has protracted contact with the Q Continuum and the Borg. With the intervention of a future/alternate version of herself, Janeway leads her crew in using one of the Borg's transwarp conduits to return her ship to Federation space after traveling through the Delta Quadrant for seven years.

During a cameo appearance in the film Star Trek Nemesis, now-Admiral Janeway instructs Captain Jean-Luc Picard to travel to Romulus at the invitation of the film's antagonist.

Admiral Janeway also appeared in the Borg Invasion 4-D ride at the Star Trek: The Experience venue in Las Vegas, which closed in 2008. In the ride, Janeway leads Voyager to the rescue of ride participants who are ostensibly trapped first on a space station and later on a shuttlecraft that come under attack by a Borg Cube commanded by the Borg Queen. At the ride's end, Janeway tells the participants, "Congratulations. You've defeated the Borg with one thing the Queen can never assimilate: the human spirit. As long as we have that, resistance will never be futile."

Although Paramount considers only the onscreen, live-action Trek episodes and movies to be official canon, Janeway has nonetheless continued as a character in the Star Trek novels. In Peter David's 2007 Star Trek: The Next Generation novel, Before Dishonor, which is set after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis, Janeway is assimilated by a rogue faction of the Borg, and becomes the new Borg Queen. Seven of Nine, with the aid of Ambassador Spock and the Enterprise-E crew, manages to communicate with Janeway's consciousness, buried deep within the Queen's mind. During a brief moment of contact, Janeway helps them destroy the Borg cube, with all hands on board. Although Seven manages to escape, Janeway is killed. Her memorial service sees a vast turnout, and a tall gleaming pillar with a light burning atop it is constructed in tribute to her. The Q female, Lady Q, appears to Janeway's spirit, and tells her that Q and the Q Continuum had taken an interest in her. Telling her that she has a destiny, Lady Q takes Janeway by the hand, and disappears with her into realms unknown. Writer Peter David explained the book was conceived by Pocket Books editorial as one in which Janeway would die, and that he was brought in to write it in order to give her a heroic send-off.

DS9 Babes...

Kira Nerys, played by Nana Visitor, is a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Backstory

Per Bajoran custom, her surname, Kira, precedes her given name, Nerys. She has two brothers (Kira Reon and Kira Pohl), and her parents' names are Kira Taban and Kira Meru.

The back story of the character states that Kira Nerys was born 2343, in Dakhur province, Bajor, during the 50-year Cardassian occupation of the planet. She was raised in a labor camp. Her family were members of the artisan caste. At the age of 12, Kira was recruited into the Shakaar resistance cell, part of an underground movement which carried out guerrilla attacks against Cardassian military and civilians with the ultimate goal of ending the occupation.

Story

In the early episodes of the show, after Cardassia withdrew from Bajor, now at age 26, the recently-ranked Major Kira became an influential figure in Bajor's reconstruction and the politics of the region, due to her assignment to Deep Space Nine, and her closeness to Captain Benjamin Sisko, whom the Bajorans believed to be an emissary from the Bajoran Prophets.

Initially, Kira was opposed to the Federation presence on DS9, feeling that the Bajoran people should have nothing to do with the Federation. Over time, her sentiments changed and she became one of the strongest supporters of Bajor joining the Federation.

Though she is a member of the Bajoran Militia, Kira is an invaluable help to Starfleet, especially during the Dominion War. When the Dominion captures Deep Space Nine at the start of the war, Kira remains aboard the station as liaison officer, as part of Bajor's non-aggression pact with the Dominion. Her role allows her to organize a resistance cell, including Rom, Quark, and Jake Sisko. They smuggle intelligence to Starfleet which indicates that the Dominion has begun to dismantle the minefield preventing Dominion reinforcements from the Gamma Quadrant. She also manages to sabotage weapons systems, which then allows Starfleet to retake Deep Space Nine.

Kira's experience in the Bajoran Resistance earned her a Starfleet field commission as Commander in order to assist the Cardassian Resistance against the Dominion. Kira, Odo and Garak are smuggled into Cardassia to teach Damar the tactics of organizing a resistance movement with a decentralized command. Their resistance cell manages to infiltrate a Dominion shipyard and steal the Breen weapon that Federation ships were defenseless against. Their actions allowed Starfleet engineers to develop shields that could counter the weapon. At the conclusion of the war, Kira takes command of DS9 after the disappearance of Sisko. She is promoted to Colonel sometime earlier in 2374.

With the help of Vic Fontaine, Kira forms a romantic relationship with Odo, who had pined after her for years. They remain involved even after Odo leaves to rejoin the Great Link - he returns to the station during the events depicted in the novel "Unity" disguised as a Trelian woman named Wex. Having revealed himself to Kira during a conflict at one of the temples on Bajor, the two pick up where they left off even when Odo has to leave again.

Depiction after the series

Following the conclusion of the TV series Star Trek Deep Space Nine, the character of Kira Nerys takes charge of the Deep Space Nine space station as its permanent commanding officer. With the conclusion of the first wave of Deep Space Nine novels in "Unity", Bajor finally joins the Federation, and Kira is given the Starfleet rank of Captain. In "Unity," Kira opens every Bajoran Orb simultaneously in a sacred place in order to defeat a monstrous enemy, announcing, "You want Bajor? Here it is." This also caused the return of Benjamin Sisko from the Celestial Temple to the corporeal world.

Alternate universe

The character of Kira Nerys also exists in the mirror universe. In the DS9 episode "Crossover," Kira encounters her mirror self, who is Intendant of Terok Nor, with Garak as her first officer. Kira convinces the mirror-Sisko to rebel against the Intendant-Kira and start the Terran Resistance. This group is later successful in taking command of Terok Nor and capturing the Intendant, but she manages to escape with the help of mirror-Nog. Eventually the escaped Intendant convinces the alternate universe's Bareil Antos to travel to the regular universe in order to obtain an Orb of the Prophets. The mirror Kira falls in love with her double from the other universe. At the time Nana Visitor dismissed the concept of bisexuality, saying that she intended to portray this as "total narcissism on her part. It had nothing to do with sexuality." However, later episodes continued to show her surrounded by a mixed-gender harem, and eventually depicted her being in a romantic relationship with her universe's version of Ezri Tigan.

Casting

In the early stages of planning Deep Space Nine, the show's creators wanted to bring the character of Ensign Ro Laren (from Star Trek: The Next Generation.) Michelle Forbes turned down the offer, so a new Bajoran character was created. Nana Visitor had just given birth to a baby boy barely a couple of months before she was called to audition for the role of Kira Nerys, and her becoming a mother actually shaped her decision process for accepting or turning down roles. With the character of Kira Nerys, Visitor felt "completely engaged on every level by the part."

Scholarly reception

The Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis finds the character of Kira "emotionally difficult" (D. V. Forest, 2005 2005, vol. 33, no 1 (11 ref.), pp. 71-82 [12 page(s) (article)]). In Star Trek and Sacred Ground: Explorations of Star Trek, Religion, and American Culture (ed. Jennifer Porter, 1999), it is noted that Kira was not shown worshipping privately until the 1997 episode Ties of Blood and Water.

Jadzia Dax, played by Terry Farrell, was a main character during the first six seasons of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. She is the station's chief science officer, and is close friends with commander Benjamin Sisko and Bajoran first officer Kira Nerys. Later in the series, she becomes involved with the Klingon character Worf, and they marry during the sixth season of the show. Her character is killed by Gul Dukat during the sixth season finale (due to Terry Farrell's desire to pursue a role on the upcoming TV Show Becker with Ted Danson). The character of Dax re-emerges in the seventh season premiere in the form of Ezri Dax.

Jadzia Dax is a joined Trill. Though she appears to be a young woman, Jadzia lives in symbiosis with a wise and long-lived creature, known as a symbiont, named Dax. The two share a single, conscious mind, and her personality is a blending of the characteristics of both the host and the symbiont. As such, Dax has access to all the skills and memories of the symbiont's seven previous hosts.

At the beginning of the series, Jadzia has just recently been joined with the symbiont Dax after the natural death of the previous host, Curzon Dax. Curzon had been a friend and mentor to station Commander Benjamin Sisko, and Jadzia and Sisko continue this friendship despite the change in circumstances. Throughout the series, Sisko refers to Dax by the affectionate nickname "Old Man." She begins the series at the rank of Lieutenant; at the start of the fourth season, she becomes a Lieutenant Commander and remains one until her death in the sixth-season finale.

During the first few seasons, Dax is pursued romantically by Dr. Julian Bashir. Dax consistently but politely rebuffs him, though she later admits that she somewhat enjoyed the attention (cf. "Starship Down"). After Jadzia's death, Dax's new host Ezri begins dating Bashir.

During the first season of the show, Dax is often portrayed as somewhat reserved and aloof. In the early second season episode "The Siege", she is ill-at-ease in the spider-filled caverns of a Bajoran moon, and is later disoriented by Kira's reckless piloting of a Bajoran starfighter. The writers' portrayal of the character begins to change in the second season, as they emphasize Dax's gusto for life and extensive knowledge of other cultures:

• The second-season episode "Rules of Acquisition" begins with a scene in which Dax plays tongo with a group of Ferengi. She seems surprisingly at home in this setting, calmly ignoring their sexist overtures and showing considerable skill at the game. Later in the episode, she remarks that the Ferengi are among the most interesting races she has encountered.
• Later that season, Dax joins a group of Klingons in a revenge quest ("Blood Oath"). In this episode, it is revealed the Curzon Dax was a Federation diplomat to the Klingon Empire, and swore a blood oath against "the Albino" with the Klingons Kang, Koloth, and Kor. Jadzia takes up the blood oath, and against Sisko's wishes she travels to the Albino's planet and participates in the revenge killing of the Albino and his minions.

Jadzia's connection to the Klingon culture would become increasingly important as the series progressed, especially after the fourth-season arrival of Worf. In the episode "The Sword of Kahless", Dax joins Worf and Kor in the search for the titular Klingon artifact. In "Sons of Mogh", she supports Worf's attempt to kill his brother Kurn, and in "Soldiers of the Empire" she and Worf go on a tense mission aboard a Klingon ship. Jadzia would eventually marry Worf and join him as a member of the Klingon House of Martok.

Joined nature

See also: Dax (Star Trek)

Jadzia Dax is a joined Trill. "Jadzia" is the name of the young Trill woman, while "Dax" refers to a slug-like symbiont that resides in her abdomen. (Jadzia's actual family name was never revealed on the show. In the novels, her original name is said to be Jadzia Idaris.) While Jadzia is only twenty-eight years old at the beginning of the series, the creature Dax is hundreds of years old, having previously been hosted by seven other Trill. As a result, Dax may be considered the oldest crewmate on Deep Space Nine.

Prior to Jadzia, the Dax symbiont had been hosted by Lela, Tobin, Emony, Audrid, Torias, Joran, and Curzon.

The burden of seven lifetimes' worth of memories is not always a positive one; several episodes of Deep Space Nine focus on Dax's struggle with her dual nature:

• In the extended pilot episode, when Jadzia touches an Orb, a brief scene shows the symbiont being removed from Curzon and being placed into Jadzia. She (presumably) sees Curzon die.
• In the first-season episode "Dax", the previous host Curzon Dax is accused of murder. This leads to an extradition hearing to determine whether Jadzia can be held responsible for crimes committed during another lifetime. The issue is resolved when evidence arises of Curzon's innocence.
• In the second-season episode "Invasive Procedures", an unjoined Trill named Verad attempts to steal the Dax symbiont. Verad is upset that his application for a joining has been rejected by the Trill Symbiosis Commission, and he plans to steal the Dax symbiont and escape into the Gamma quadrant. He manages to remove the Dax symbiont from Jadzia and partially join with it before his escape is thwarted.
• Later that season, Dax mentors a Trill initiate in the episode "Playing God". Dax is responsible for training the young Trill, and for evaluating his suitability for joining. During the episode, Jadzia and Sisko discuss her own training under Curzon Dax, as well as the role that joining plays in Trill society.
• In the third-season episode "Equilibrium", Dax begins to experience unsettling mental problems. She travels back to the Trill to discover the source of the problems. On her homeworld, she visits the "Caves of Mak'ala", a place on Trill where unjoined symbionts swim in pools carefully and lovingly tended by Trill Guardians. Eventually, she learns that Dax had previously been joined with an unsuitable host known as Joran, and that her memories of this trauma had been suppressed. Her mental problems subside after the other Trill help her to regain these memories.
• Later that season in the episode "Facets", Jadzia encounters each of Dax's previous hosts in the Trill "rite of closure", including the insane Joran. This episode reveals much of the back story for the Dax character, and explores the relationship between Jadzia Dax, Curzon Dax, and Benjamin Sisko.
• In the fourth season episode "Rejoined", Jadzia encounters Lenara Kahn, who had been the wife of Torias Dax as a previous host (Nilani Kahn). Because Torias died suddenly, Dax's relationship with Kahn's previous host was never resolved, and the two struggle in the episode with their feelings towards one another. This is complicated by a taboo in Trill culture against romantic relationships with partners of previous hosts. This episode features one of the first televised kisses between two female characters.

Romantic Interests

Jadzia Dax was initially pursued by Dr. Julian Bashir aboard the station. The Ferengi bar owner, Quark, also has a special affection for the Trill scientist, even after the Dax symbiont was transferred to Ezri. However, her most notable and serious suitors include

• Deral, played by Brett Cullen, a prominent member of the recurring planet Meridian
• Dr. Lenara Kahn, played by Susanna Thompson, a Trill theoretical quantum physicist and the current host of Nilani Kahn, the widow of Torias Dax
• Lt. Commander Worf, a Klingon

Dax and Worf

In the fourth season, Michael Dorn joins the cast of Deep Space Nine as the Klingon character Worf. Perhaps because of her past interactions with Klingons, Dax is fairly flirtatious with Worf. Worf appears at first to be oblivious to this attention, and in the fifth-season episode "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" he becomes enamored with a female Klingon named Grilka. This is resolved by the end of the episode, with Quark ironically winning the heart of Grilka, and Worf becoming romantically involved with Dax.

In the beginning, their relationship is very sexual, with the strong implication that their encounters are somewhat rough (the above episode ends with Worf and Dax visiting the infirmary with various bruises and other injuries). In the season 5 finale "Call to Arms", the station is overrun by Dominion forces, and Dax and Worf are assigned to different starships for the Dominion War. Near the end of the episode, they agree to get married after the war is over. Worf and Dax's marriage is the centerpiece of season 6 episode "You Are Cordially Invited...". During the episode, Dax must obtain permission from the lady Sirella to join the House of Martok. At first Dax is loath to pay Sirella the required respect, and the lady is unwilling to accede to Dax's request. The situation is resolved by the conclusion, with Sirella admitting during the ceremony that nothing can stand between "the beating of two Klingon hearts".

Death

Jadzia is killed in "Tears of the Prophets", the finale of the sixth season. She and Worf had been trying to conceive, despite the doubts of Dr. Bashir that such a pregnancy was possible. After Major Kira tells Jadzia she has been praying for a conception, Jadzia receives encouraging test results from Julian, and goes to the station's temple to thank the Prophets. It now appears a pregnancy will be possible. The Cardassian Dukat arrives, possessed by a Pah-wraith, with the intention of destroying the orb-like Bajoran artifacts known as the Tears of the Prophets. Jadzia is no match for Dukat while he is infused with the Pah-wraith; he kills Jadzia and destroys the orbs. Upon her death in the infirmary, an agonized Worf screams out a Klingon wail of sorrow for his beloved or to let the Klingon afterworld know a warrior was on the way (Heart of Glory). Her untimely death shakes the crew to its core: by the beginning of season 7, Sisko has left the station in despair, and Worf has been risking his life on increasingly dangerous missions.

Though the host Jadzia is dead, the symbiont Dax survives and is implanted in a Trill named Ezri Tigan. The resulting joined Trill Ezri Dax becomes a main character during the seventh and last season of the series. Several episodes focus on Ezri Dax resolving her relationship with Worf, and the subsequent development of a romantic relationship with Dr. Julian Bashir.

Ezri Dax (played by Nicole de Boer) is a counselor aboard Deep Space Nine in the seventh season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

The role of Ezri Tigan Dax was created when Terry Farrell (who played Jadzia Dax) decided to leave the show and her character was killed by Dukat.

When Nicole de Boer read for the role in 1998, she was considered "one of the busiest actresses in Canada but a relative unknown south of the border". She used her own camera to tape her audition. DeBoer admits that prior to being called to the show she did not know what a Trill was. But she made sure to study, and watched previous shows, though careful not "to watch a whole bunch of Jadzia stuff."

Story overview

Ezri Dax was introduced in the first episode of season seven. The back story states that Ensign Ezri Tigan, a Trill Starfleet officer, upon leaving Starfleet Academy was assigned to the USS Destiny as assistant ship's counselor. She had no interest in becoming joined with a Trill symbiont.

After Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax is killed aboard Deep Space Nine, the Dax symbiont is saved by Dr. Julian Bashir and sent to Trill. However, the symbiont becomes gravely ill during its journey on the Destiny and, as the only Trill on board, Ezri is asked to join with Dax in order to save its life. Ezri is Dax's ninth host.

Upon joining, Ezri is assigned to Deep Space Nine and promoted early, because of her extensive Starfleet experience and knowledge from the Dax symbiont, to lieutenant, junior grade. She serves as counselor.

Jadzia was married to Lieutenant Commander Worf, who at first refuses to speak to Ezri, convinced that Jadzia has gone on to Sto-Vo-Kor and can no longer exist through the Dax symbiont. However, the two later become friends and, briefly, lovers.

Toward the end of the series, Ezri begins a romance with Dr. Julian Bashir.

Depiction after the series

In Pocket Books' non-canon DS9 Relaunch novels, Ezri remains on Deep Space Nine but moves from counseling to command, receiving a promotion to lieutenant and becoming executive officer of the USS Defiant. Following a mission on the Trill homeworld, she and Bashir end their romance but decide to remain close friends. In the Star Trek: Destiny trilogy Dax has become captain of the Vesta class ship USS Aventine.

Reception

Compared to Jadzia, Ezri comes across as very insecure. Some fans derided Ezri Dax as "Ally McTrill" (in reference to the title character on Ally McBeal), and one TV Guide reviewer took a cue from the fans. Nicole de Boer, however, took this as a compliment.

Ezri Dax was the only member of the main cast not to be made into an action figure by Playmates Toys.

USS Voyager

The fictional Intrepid-class starship USS Voyager is the primary setting of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager. It is commanded by Captain Kathryn Janeway. Voyager was designed by Star Trek: Voyager production designer Richard D. James and illustrator Rick Sternbach. Most of the ship's on-screen appearances result from computer-generated imagery, although Tony Meinenger built a model used in the series. The principal model of Voyager used for filming sold at Christie's auction 6 October 2006 for USD $132,000.

Voyager was launched in 2371, with a crew of 141, and her first orders were to track down a Maquis ship in "the Badlands". An alien force called the Caretaker transports both Voyager and the Maquis vessel across 70,000 light-years to the Delta Quadrant, damaging Voyager and killing several crewmembers (including first officer Lt. Cmdr. Cavit, chief medical officer Dr. Fitzgerald and the rest of the medical staff, helm officer Stadi, and the chief engineer). In order to prevent a genocide of the Ocampans, Janeway orders the destruction of a device that could transport Voyager and the Maquis vessel home. Stranded, and with the Maquis ship also destroyed, both crews must integrate and work together for the anticipated 75-year journey home.

Starfleet Command eventually becomes aware of the ship's presence in the Delta Quadrant and is later able to establish regular communication. After a seven-year journey, the ship returns to the Alpha Quadrant via a Borg transwarp conduit with the aid of the time-traveling Admiral Kathryn Janeway (former Captain of Voyager) from an alternate future.

USS Voyager was launched with 141 crew on board. After being flung to the Delta Quadrant, a number of crew were killed including several senior officers, namely Lt. Commander Cavit, the first officer, Chief Medical Officer Fitzgerald and Lieutenant Stadi, the Betazoid Helm Officer and also the chief engineer.

As of 2377, the crew compliment was at 146, having gained some crew from the Maquis, the Equinox and several liberated Borg drones, including Seven of Nine and Icheb.

The senior staff of Voyager include Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), who commands the ship, Commander (field commission) Chakotay (Robert Beltran), her first officer who joined from the Maquis, Lt. Tuvok (Tim Russ) (later rising to the rank of Lieutenant Commander) the Security/Tactical officer, Ensign Harry Kim (Garrett Wang), the Operations Officer, Lt. (field commission) B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson), Chief Engineer, Lt. junior grade (rising in rank later to full lieutenant) Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeil), Helm Officer, as well as several non-commissioned personnel, the Emergency Medical Hologram (Robert Picardo) as the Chief Medical Officer, Neelix (Ethan Phillips) as the ship's cook and later Voyager's ambassador, Kes (Jennifer Lien) as the EMH's Medical Assistant and Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) who plays several roles, generally in Astrometrics or Engineering.

Several recurring characters include, Naomi Wildman, daughter of Ensign Samantha Wildman, who is the Captain's Assistant, and the Borg children, Icheb, Mezoti, Azan and Rebi.

The 15-deck (257 rooms), 700,000 metric-ton Voyager was built at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards, and launched from Earth Station McKinley.

Voyager is equipped with bio-neural gel packs, designed to increase processing speed and better organize processed information, that supplement the ship's isolinear optical chips. The ship also has two holodecks. Voyager was the first ship to be equipped with a class-9 warp drive, which they were intended to test in deep space, allowing for a maximum sustainable speed of Warp 9.975. Variable geometry pylons allow Voyager and other Intrepid class ships to exceed warp 5 without damaging subspace. The Voyager has the capability to land on a planet's surface.

Voyager includes an Emergency Medical Hologram programmed with a library of more than 5 million different medical treatments from 2,000 medical references and 47 physicians. The hologram itself is generated by a series of holographic emitters installed in sickbay. Voyager's EMH is eventually able to leave sickbay due to a piece of 29th century technology commonly referred to as the mobile emitter.

The ship is initially equipped with 38 photon torpedos with type VI warheads (Quantum torpedoes were also compatible with Voyager's launchers, with some modification.), two tricobalt devices, both of which are used to destroy the Caretaker's array. Voyager housed five standard torpedo launchers (two fore and two aft, and one on the dorsal side of the ship ("Resolutions" episode)) able to fire 4 torpedoes per launcher. An alternate future Kathryn Janeway equips the ship with transphasic torpedoes and ablative hull armor.

During the years in the Delta Quadrant, the ship is augmented with custom, non-spec upgrades and modifications, some of which are modified from technology of other cultures, an example being Seven of Nine's alcoves and the Delta Flyer which both utilize modified Borg technology. Several pieces of technology from the future were also installed, courtesy of Admiral Janeway who went back in time to bring Voyager home. Some of the adaptive solutions are to compensate for the disadvantages of being 70,000 light years from port, such as the airponics bay and the transformation of the Captain's dining room for a kitchen, and later acquires enhancements from aliens in the Void that massively increases replicator efficiency.

The Borg are a major source of technological upgrades conducted on Voyager. Cargo Bay 2 is equipped with several Borg alcoves when Captain Janeway forms an alliance with the Borg, and several Borg are forced to work aboard Voyager during the alliance. Seven of Nine and Harry Kim build an astrometrics lab from scratch with Borg-enhanced sensors, knowledge of which Seven of Nine retained from the Borg. Additionally, the crew design and build the Delta Flyer support craft, at the behest of Tom Paris.