The risk-taking Varley commanded the putative
latter ship, though. Would he have been given one, had he just lost a
Galaxy class vessel to recklessness?
The destruction of the supposed first
Yamato should definitely have been discussed in "Contagion". Catastrophic loss of a
Galaxy class vessel prior to that episode would have been the most important subject to be discussed in that Observation Lounge meeting, right before "Can it happen to us, too?". Even if the first
Yamato was lost to something clear-cut like the skipper committing suicide by flying into a star, leaving a suicide note and everything, the heroes would still have to consider whether the
Galaxy class features a design fault that promotes suicidal behavior somehow...
Timo Saloniemi