Enterprise-A Questions

[Blip]

I like to think the old girl had a few years left in her, and that yes, without the damage wrought by Khan she would have been eligible for minor refit (bringing her internal systems up to at least be on a par with the Saratoga's internals in TVH) and then yes, send her out again, be it for another five year mission or even a role closer to home, if the SF Operations felt they needed to minimise wear and tear on a 40yr old hull.

ETA: The idea of an alternate timeline resulting from a diversion at this point in history is a fascinating one, it would have implications for the entire quadrant and beyond...

 

[Ithekro]

Something as simple as Chekov noting the planetary oddity in the Ceti Alpha system and not beaming down to the planet, recalling Khan might be down there, and Reliant going on to the next system for Project Genesis. Maybe there is still a need to call in the Enterprise for something on that training cruise that gets Kirk out of his funk without losing Spock or damage to the ship.

Such a timeline would also leave open the question about what would happen to whatever ship or parts that would have become the Enterprise-A?

 

[Blip]

Tbh I expect if such a divergence  were to be depicted then the whereabouts of materials originally ending up as the Ent-A would be among the very last of things on everyone's minds

I think the idea would make for an awesome new thread, as there's bound to be plenty of events folks can suggest would be impacted.

 

[DSG2k]

As a hypothetical, what would have been the plan for the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) and her crew had they not gone to investigate Khan?

Frankly, I think this deserves its own thread thanks to the crew aspect.

The ship is easy enough to ponder . . . she was a training ship with a grand history and there never would have been an Enterprise-A (well, unless Kirk snatched the training ship Enterprise for something else grand at some point, but one would think that harder to do for most other movie plots as we saw.

The Whale Probe needed someone from outside the system . . . maybe Kirk could've been aboard a training cruise and taken her to the past, though the movie would've played out much differently. If we're still trying to destroy the ship, then we just crash the Enterprise into the ocean and blow the shuttlebay doors. A big tank in the cargo bay from TMP is all good. (A cargo bay in the saucer would be better for a nice separation scene, but would make less sense.)

ST5 wouldn't make much sense with a training ship, nor would ST6. However, the Nexus event from Generations could work, especially if she wasn't carrying live torpedoes. (What the hell was a training ship doing with live torpedoes, anyway?)