What happened to the Valiant....

Discussion in 'Star Trek - The Original & Animated Series' started by Warped9, Sep 22, 2013.

  1. Warped9

    Warped9 Admiral Admiral

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    I'm presently working on a 3D model based on a design I drew up about twenty years. It's meant to be a pre TOS era cruiser, one of Starfleet's earliest ships. I've even wondered if this ship could be similar to the Republic mentioned in "Courtmartial" as well the Valiant mentioned in "A Taste Of Armageddon," having gone missing without a word fifty years ago in the vicinity of the Eminian star system.

    [​IMG]

    We know the broad strokes of what happened: the Valiant entered the Eniminan system and fell victim to the war existent between Emniar and its sister planet Vendikar. Both Anan 7 and Sar alledge the ship was destroyed because of the ongoing hostilities and that the entire crew was put to death in disintigration booths (or so we assume).

    It could make for an interesting story if fleshed out. Would the Valiant's Captain have surrendered easily or would he have put up resistance as Kirk does fifty years later? Was the ship destroyed in orbit as the Eminians tried to do with the Enterprise or was the ship voluntarily abandoned/surrendered and then the Eminians destroyed it or perhaps even canabalized it? Is it possible not all of the Valiant's crew were killed? Were the planets then broadcasting a warning signal to stay clear of the system (as the Enterprise encountered) or was it not yet in place? Maybe the Emniians started the broadcast after the incident with Valiant in order to avoid any repeats of a similar situation for they couldn't know for sure if the Valiant's authority knew what happened to the ship or if they'd come calling to learn its fate. Could the ship's fate have been precipitated because there's no communication between Emniniar and Vendikar and as such the Vendikarans couldn't know if the ship in orbit over Eminiar was a native ship or alien? If the Eminians let the Valiant leave they could have been afraid the Vendikarans would interpret it as a breach of treaty---which, of course, is what they claim when the Enterprise arrives decades later.

    In "A Taste Of Armageddon" we see a flash on the Eminian war map and Sar exclaims "Look" to Anan 7 who replies that it's just like it happened fifty years ago. We can assume the ship wasn't actually destroyed at that moment based on how subsequent events play out when they try to take Kirk and the Enterprise. In trying to presurre Kirk to surrender easily Anan 7 says the Valiant's crew experienced the exact same fate. Well maybe basically, but it mightn't have gone down as pat as Anan alledges. After the flash on the screen (if it really did happen the same fifty years earlier) we really don't know how things transpired.

    Of course, ultimately it's a downbeat ending because we know the Valiant and its crew never leave the Eminian star system.

    Thoughts anyone?
     
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2013
  2. Dukhat

    Dukhat Admiral Admiral

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    First of all, I really like your ship design, and look forward to having it more fleshed out.

    Second, the impression I got from the episode was that the Valiant was destroyed from orbit. I really don't see an entire Starfleet crew voluntarily going into a disintegration booth, or even forced to without any kind of fight, and just leaving the ship to the Vendikarans.
     
  3. Robert Comsol

    Robert Comsol Commodore Commodore

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    What we do know from the Episode "A Taste of Armageddon":
    • Anan 7 used a device that made his voice sound 98% like Kirk's. He could have done the same trick with the remaining crew aboard USS Valiant to lure them down to the planet and their deaths. But in this case, what happened to the ship? It seemed Anan 7 was conceding not to destroy the Enterprise: "If possible, we shall spare your ship, Captain, but its passengers and crew are already dead." :confused:
    • Scotty had only raised the deflector shields because Kirk and company had been long overdue: "Screens firm, sir. Extremely powerful sonic vibrations. Decibels eighteen to the twelfth power. If those screens weren't up, we'd be totally disrupted by now." The USS Valiant may not have raised its shields in time and became disrupted. Or Anan 7's predecessor opened fire upon the Valiant the moment it was declared a casualty of war.
    Bob
     
  4. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

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    I can't see the picture at work, but I think you have a record here for different ways to misspell Eminiar. :)
     
  5. The Old Mixer

    The Old Mixer Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim. Moderator

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    Shooting sound waves...into space....
     
  6. Robert Comsol

    Robert Comsol Commodore Commodore

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    Or it tells us that the Enterprise is usually orbiting near the Karman line. Could help explain the unstable orbits in a couple of episodes but yes, using soundwaves to destroy a spaceship is a strange concept rather difficult to believe. :rolleyes:

    Bob
     
  7. CrazyMatt

    CrazyMatt Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    In "Where No Man Has Gone Before," there was an SS Valiant destroyed after breaching the galactic energy barrier...

    In "A Taste of Armageddon," There was a USS Valiant, apparently destroyed in orbit....

    In the DS9 Episode "Valiant," a Defiant-class ship is destroyed on a suicide mission by a bunch of overzealous cadets....

    Is there a ship name more unlucky than 'Valiant' in the Star Trek Universe????
     
  8. Robert Comsol

    Robert Comsol Commodore Commodore

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    Exactly my thoughts.

    HMS Defiant was a (fictional ship) that saw a mutiny because of the sadistic nature of its first officer, everybody aboard the USS Defiant (NCC-1764) got killed because of Interphase Madness before the ship vanished in interspace and Sisko's USS Defiant was destroyed at the beginning of ST VIII. Much better.

    I think HMS Reliant is a fictional ship, too (no disasters to report here), but USS Reliant perished at the end of ST II.

    In general, it doesn't seem to be such a great idea to serve on a Federation ship whose name ends with "...iant". ;)

    Bob
     
  9. The Old Mixer

    The Old Mixer Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim. Moderator

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    I have to wonder if the emitters are shaped like giant tuning forks....
     
  10. CrazyMatt

    CrazyMatt Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    There was an episode of "The Wild Wild West" that did that.

    Season 4, Episode 11 "The Night of the Avaricious Actuary"


    When vibrations from a giant tuning fork destroy the palatial homes of extremely wealthy businessmen, Jim and Artie are called in to investigate.

    If memory serves, that was the episode that Ross Martin broke his leg in a botched stunt. Later that season, he suffered a near-fatal heart attack and had to be replaced by other actors (playing other characters) for about a dozen episodes. After the end of that 4th season, the spotlight on TV violence would lead to TWWW's demise.

    Perhaps the tuning fork started it all....

    Lesson learned: Tuning forks are BAD!:drool:
     
  11. CrazyMatt

    CrazyMatt Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Actually, Sisko's ship survived the battle with the Borg in "First Contact," but it was one of 311 ships destroyed in the DS9 final season episode "The Changing Face Of Evil."
     
  12. Avro Arrow

    Avro Arrow Vice Admiral Moderator

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    Well, there was another "unlucky" name. All these ships had the same name:

    - one was disabled by a Klingon Bird of Prey and had to be scuttled
    - one was damaged by a Klingon Bird of Prey and was then decommissioned
    - one was destroyed by Romulans
    - one was partially destroyed by a Klingon Bird of Prey (again!), and the surviving portion was damaged and had to be scuttled

    I'm speaking, of course, of Enterprise... :lol:
     
  13. Praetor

    Praetor Vice Admiral Admiral

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    And yet they kept building the damn things! :rommie:
     
  14. Dukhat

    Dukhat Admiral Admiral

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    With those odds, who wants to bet that the Enterprise-B was destroyed by a Klingon Bird of Prey too?:lol:
     
  15. Praetor

    Praetor Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Nah. Romulan bird-of-prey. Variety and all. :rommie:
     
  16. BigJake

    BigJake Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Nothing much to say about the episode, I just want to praise Warped9's model design. I hope we get to see the completed version!
     
  17. Warped9

    Warped9 Admiral Admiral

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    Thanks. You can follow the progress of the model here: http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=224998

    It is nearing completion. All the major elements are done and now it's a matter of detailing and painting though the colours aren't finalized yet.

    [​IMG][/QUOTE]
     
  18. Maurice

    Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

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    Isn't this more a Fan Art topic?
     
  19. Warped9

    Warped9 Admiral Admiral

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    My display of the model was meant as a jumping off point for discussion of what might have happened to the Valiant.
     
  20. CrazyMatt

    CrazyMatt Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Whatever version you are referring to, the answer is always the same:

    "She was destroyed!"