NX-01 sister ships in lit?

[Timo]

As I'm badly lagging in ENT novels, I have little idea of how the authors have treated the NX class construction program there. On screen (and outside the Mirror Universe), we only saw two ships of the class, the Columbia being a somewhat improved model differing from the original blueprints.

Have those original plans for four ships of the class come to fruition in the books? Or did Starfleet decide on a different, more advanced class, now that they had a better idea of what they wanted and what they could achieve? Or was the design just accepted in the "NX-01.1" or NX-02 guise, and far more than the originally planned four ships are now on the procurement list?

Just curious. Also, do the novels explicate the existence of sister ships to the old Intrepid, or the Sarajevo? Are new classes introduced? Any other tech candy of note there?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[DarkHorizon]

IIRC, NX-03 Challenger is mentioned as under construction in Kobayashi Maru.

 

[Rowan Sjet]

Well, I hope they hurry it up on the ship production. The Romulan War is coming up soon and while I'm fine with retconning the "Earth" part out of that title seeing as it's not just us but a coalition of worlds that (I assume) will be fighting, it'd still be a bit odd for only one or two of our ships to participate in what's supposed to be one of the bloodiest wars until the Dominion War comes along.

 

[Mike Winters]

Well, I hope they hurry it up on the ship production. The Romulan War is coming up soon and while I'm fine with retconning the "Earth" part out of that title seeing as it's not just us but a coalition of worlds that (I assume) will be fighting, it'd still be a bit odd for only one or two of our ships to participate in what's supposed to be one of the bloodiest wars until the Dominion War comes along.

Keep in mind that the NX Class is only one class of starship. Earth could have dozens and dozens of ships in other classes but who were not Warp 5 Capable. The NX is just the current fastest ship in the fleet.

If you recall, there was an episode where the Enterprise was defended from a Klingon attack by other Earth Vessels.

Mike

 

[Sci]

Well, I hope they hurry it up on the ship production. The Romulan War is coming up soon and while I'm fine with retconning the "Earth" part out of that title seeing as it's not just us but a coalition of worlds that (I assume) will be fighting, it'd still be a bit odd for only one or two of our ships to participate in what's supposed to be one of the bloodiest wars until the Dominion War comes along.

1) It wouldn't be retconning to include the Coalition, because Spock in "Balance of Terror" made reference to Earth as having allies during the war.

2) We don't know that it's "supposed to be one of the bloodiest wars until the Dominion War." We know it's bad, we know it solidified Earth as an interstellar power, we know it apparently led to the formation of the UFP. That's not the same thing. I mean, hell, a war can be bad without being "one of the bloodiest;" there have been far fewer deaths in Iraq than Vietnam at this point in the Vietnam War's history for instance.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

We don't know that it's "supposed to be one of the bloodiest wars until the Dominion War." We know it's bad, we know it solidified Earth as an interstellar power, we know it apparently led to the formation of the UFP. That's not the same thing. I mean, hell, a war can be bad without being "one of the bloodiest;" there have been far fewer deaths in Iraq than Vietnam at this point in the Vietnam War's history for instance.

Although it raises a point: Were there ever any ground battles? Or was it solely a starship-based war?

 

[DimesDan]

Although it raises a point: Were there ever any ground battles? Or was it solely a starship-based war?

From what is said in Balance of Terror (tis been a hell of a long time since I watched it on BBC2 so I might be wrong) regarding contact between Coalition and Romulan Forces, I don't think ground based battles would have occurred.

 

[MargaretClark]

As I'm badly lagging in ENT novels, I have little idea of how the authors have treated the NX class construction program there. On screen (and outside the Mirror Universe), we only saw two ships of the class, the Columbia being a somewhat improved model differing from the original blueprints.

Have those original plans for four ships of the class come to fruition in the books? tech candy of note there?

It was rumored that if there had been other NX ships shown the ENT producers were going to name them after the NASA orbiters....

I can tell you the books are carrying that idea forward.

We do see the Challenger, Discovery, and the Atlantis in THE ROMULAN WAR.

As to the other ships of Earth's Starfleet...now that would be telling.


Margaret

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

We do see the Challenger, Discovery, and the Atlantis in THE ROMULAN WAR.

Really? Cool.

From what is said in Balance of Terror (tis been a hell of a long time since I watched it on BBC2 so I might be wrong) regarding contact between Coalition and Romulan Forces, I don't think ground based battles would have occurred.

Wasn't there a line in Nemesis about Reman troops being used?

 

[DGCatAniSiri]

Although it raises a point: Were there ever any ground battles? Or was it solely a starship-based war?

Given that the Romulans remain faceless to the Earth forces, since they didn't know that Vulcans and Romulans looked alike until 'Balance of Terror,' I would think there were no ground battles, since those have a greater chance of leaving identifiable bodies.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Although it raises a point: Were there ever any ground battles? Or was it solely a starship-based war?

Given that the Romulans remain faceless to the Earth forces, since they didn't know that Vulcans and Romulans looked alike until 'Balance of Terror,' I would think there were no ground battles, since those have a greater chance of leaving identifiable bodies.

They could have used full-face helmets, designed to self destruct if tampered with.

 

[Corran Horn]

We do see the Challenger, Discovery, and the Atlantis in THE ROMULAN WAR.

Really? Cool.

From what is said in Balance of Terror (tis been a hell of a long time since I watched it on BBC2 so I might be wrong) regarding contact between Coalition and Romulan Forces, I don't think ground based battles would have occurred.

Wasn't there a line in Nemesis about Reman troops being used?

That was in the Dominion War, IIRC.

 

[Trent Roman]

Wasn't there a line in Nemesis about Reman troops being used?

That was in the Dominion War. Though we saw Reman bodyguards in ENT, there's nothing to say the conscript (convict?) army itself existed back in that time period.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[Timo]

We do see the Challenger, Discovery, and the Atlantis in THE ROMULAN WAR.

As to the other ships of Earth's Starfleet...now that would be telling.

And the above wasn't? Thanks!

(What's gonna happen when one runs out of the STS names used in "our" timeline? Will ENT-lit branch off to famous fictional orbiters? Mayflower, Odyssey and so forth?)

Timo Saloniemi

 

[BrotherBenny]

We do see the Challenger, Discovery, and the Atlantis in THE ROMULAN WAR.

As to the other ships of Earth's Starfleet...now that would be telling.

And the above wasn't? Thanks!

(What's gonna happen when one runs out of the STS names used in "our" timeline? Will ENT-lit branch off to famous fictional orbiters? Mayflower, Odyssey and so forth?)

Timo Saloniemi

I think there will only be six NX-class ships. They'll be retired at the end of the war, those that survive, because once the UFP is founded, there'll be warp seven ships with vertical warp cores which the NX-class can't accommodate. I'm betting the Daedalus-class (which already exists at this time according to KM) will be adapted for the vertical cores and become the workhorses of the fleet until their retired in 2196, by which time a new as-yet-unnamed (I think) class will take over.

 

[David cgc]

(What's gonna happen when one runs out of the STS names used in "our" timeline? Will ENT-lit branch off to famous fictional orbiters? Mayflower, Odyssey and so forth?)

They could break with Enterprise's not-quite-intentional opening-credits parochialism with NX-07 Buran. NX-08 could be Ptichka, or Avenger in the interest of maintaining the vast and inexplicable web of connections that join us and the mirror universe.

 

[fleetcaptain]

Yes your right Xeris. There was 2 Daedalus's mentioned in KM and also one by Chang in Last Full Measure. Plus I have seen the Save Enterprise videos and they even had Daedalus's in them.

 

[Timo]

But if the Encyclopedia comparison charts are to be believed, the Daedalus class is a rowboat in comparison with the Enterprise class. The design probably couldn't accommodate a modern warp core horizontally, vertically, sideways or half shunted into an alternate dimension.

That is, if Daedalus is the sphere-and-cylinder ship that all these noncanon reference books suggest. Perhaps she's a mighty two-saucers-and-three-cylinders-and-a-cone-to-boot design instead?

Nothing in canon or books seems to require the Daedalus to be a "workhorse" for the early Federation, AFAIK. Unless we consider Starfleet: Year One, which seems to have been so badly trampled by ENT and the ENT books that the bits there that refer to the Daedalus class probably need to be "reinterpreted" just as thoroughly as all the other bits. In general, the Daedalus seems more like the Oberth of the 22nd century: always getting into trouble, seldom capable of extricating herself. And she is a rather old design, predating NX-01 by a decade or so according to the ENT novels (and perhaps by the novel Daedalus). She'll probably get retired before the Enterprise class, then, even if NX-01 herself has to go in 2160-61 already.

I really hope this class doesn't get promoted as the next big thing for Starfleet in the upcoming ENT books, and that some degree of creativity is thrown in instead...

As for the warp seven ships of "TatV" fame, it's far from said that Starfleet will get those. After all, if it refers to top speed, Vulcan ships from before the 2150s were already capable of that. But if it refers to sustainable speed, Kirk's ship still wasn't up to it!

Timo Saloniemi

 

[JD]

Enterprise class?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Enterprise class?

He means NX class.