USS Bellerophon

From FEInfobase

Two ships named the USS Bellerophon have served Starfleet since 2375.

NCC-74705

The USS Bellerophon (NCC-74705) was an Intrepid Class starship assigned as the personal flagship of Fleet Admiral William Ross. The ship was involved in a number of engagments during both the Dominion War and Borg War, and during the former conflict served as the Federation's envoy on a noted mission to Romulus where a scientific and diplomatic conference was taking place. The vessel was destroyed in 2391.

NCC-74705-A

The USS Bellerophon (NCC-74705-A) was one of the new uprated versions of the Intrepid class launched from Utopia Planitia. Command was given to Claire Sky and the ship was assigned to the First Fleet in 2400. The vessel mainly operated near to the Pluto outer defence region.

In 2402 the Belloreophon escorted the USS Enterprise-F to the San Francisco Shipyards, Captain Sky welcomed Captain Zack Marshall-Bennet and his crew home back to Earth (DS1: "The Miracle Workers").

In mid-2403, the Bellerophon encountered, on escort, mysterious sensor readings from the debris field around Neptune. Sending in a shuttle to investigate, the signal turned out to be nothing but the remnants of some scavengers who had been unable to outwit the debris, but on the way back the shuttle was struck by an asteroid and left drifting. Captain Sky gave the order to send the Bellerophon in directly to retrieve the shuttle and the two pilots.

When the shuttle had been brought back on board, a massive asteroid hit the side of the ship, and caused some intensive hull damage. Twelve crewmembers were killed by the impact, others wounded, and the Bellerophon could only limp back to Earth with the damage she had suffered.

There was an inquiry into the culpability of Captain Sky for her decision that had led to the deaths of twelve of her crewmembers, but ultimately it was decided that the alternative choice, to give up the shuttle and its pilots for lost, would have been yet more morally reprehensible than a mistake which could not have been foreseen.

The Bellerophon was destroyed in late 2403 by Lieutenant Jason McQueen when he stole the prototype shuttle the Epsilon Scout. With the luxury of lowered shields and no defensive procedures, a key shot in a delicate position along the warp coil detonated the ship immediately, with almost no survivors.