I've started writing a new fan fic series (tentatively titled "Inferno") with a Galaxy-class vessel as the "hero" ship, but I'm banging my head against the wall trying to come up with a name for it. I've been leaning towards Discovery, however I've already used that name before, there's another fan fic series that used that name, and Memory Beta lists a Discovery as a Nebula-class ship. I'd prefer a name that has something to do with exploration, as opposed to a place, person, or other ship (unless that ship's name has something to do with exploration, of course). I've been looking over Memory Beta and the Expanded Universe wiki until my eyes bled and haven't found anything that either liked or hasn't been used before, since I prefer to avoid stepping on other people's toes. Any ideas?
How about The Burton in honor of the Victorian explorer? or the Bonestell in honor of the painter(look up the spelling-I could be off) or The Wanderlust or The Cochrane(shouldn't this be a prominent ship name? Heck, our big carrier is the Ronald Reagan, and he didn't open up the stars...) or Resartus or the Carson(for Kit, not johnny) or the Li Po (Chinese history-look him up) well, good luck
Why not go along with "U.S.S. Vonnegut", "U.S.S. Clarke" (after Arthur C. Clarke) or something equally non-battle-centric than a Bravo Fleet simm? [*] "U.S.S. Navajo" [*] "U.S.S. Vladivostok" [*] "U.S.S. Avalon" [*] "U.S.S. Geneva" [*] "U.S.S. Exeter" [*] "U.S.S. Mandela" [*] "U.S.S. Coventry"
Vanguard Sojourner Then there are the more traditional 'big ship' names, taken from the US and Royal navies of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Victory Potemkin Exeter Repulse Lexington Wellington Yorktown Constitution Constellation Farragut
Like I said, I wanted to avoid names of people. I thought about Buran, but since it had only one unmanned space flight, I kind of backed off on that one. Nomad and Traveler sound too much like the Trek characters. Pioneer's already being used by a fan fic series. Pathfinder also sounds too close to Project Pathfinder, plus my search of Memory Beta lists it as an Intrepid-class. Vostok and Shenzhou are the only two that haven't been taken, but I was looking for something more generic rather than ethnocentric. I've also been leaning towards Challenger, which is a canon ship, but other than an appearance in "Endgame," there's nothing else about it in the canon timeline or the current novel timeline. I know it appeared in a Shanterverse novel, but that's outside of the bulk of the Pocket Book stories.
Wasn't Challenger used in the "Belle Terre" mini-series? Yes. http://www.captainmike.org/Galactopedia/c2.html Starship, commanded by Commander Nick Jacob Keller. Challenger was a composite frigate, built from the remains of the combat damaged Federation starship Peleliu by a group of Starfleet personnel from that vessel led by former Pelelieu executive officer Keller. This vessel was the only instrument of Starfleet's authority while the Belle Terre colony was beginning to flourish, and was named by Keller for the historic Terran space vehicle in honor of the sacrifice made by that shuttle's astronauts. ("Chainmail" [Pocket]).
Endeavour's already a canon ship, Nebula-class. The Magellan has been speculated as a Galaxy-class, but like I said, I prefer to avoid naming the ship after a person (or a dog). Courageous is catchy and is listed as a Galaxy-class ship at Memory Beta* thanks to one of the RPGs, but it's also the name of the class ship from the Independence fan fic series. * = It's also listed as an Akira-class, but that's from the Armada game and I tend to discount names from those games because they're randomly assigned and the names are duplicated on different classes.
Roman and Greek mythology are replete with myriad potential names...I should know Or how about something from China or India?
Your universe, your rules. That's the terrific part about fanfic, you can do whatever the hell you want. Name the ship the USS Bitchslap for all I care. Unless you feel absolutely compelled to adhear to canon or the book-series pseudo-canon, you should be free to select any name you like. You've a proven track record for creating compelling, three-dimensional characters, and no one need lecture you on the idea that the crew, not the ship, sets the tone of the series. I'm sure you'll pick a great name and populate the ship with terrific characters.
How about something non-human in origin? The USS Lirpa? I've used that one, but only for a semi reccuring other shup in Vesta.
The crew and other characters are pretty much set in stone; have been for months and through the five or so revisions I've made (ranging from plot details, backstory, and setting). Heck, the ship's class has gone from an Akira to a Defiant and to a Sovereign before I settled on a Galaxy. It's just the little details that have been driving me nuts over the past few weeks. I'm leaning closer to Challenger, mainly because it fits, has a recognizable history, and is tied to the canon. Plus, there's already a model and textures for it in Bridge Commander, so I don't have to pull my hair out fiddling with it in Photoshop.
I've made up my mind. Look for a tease coming within the next few weeks and thanks for all your assistance.