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File:Uss phoenix.jpg

USS Phoenix

Also see: Phoenix (disambiguation) for similarily referenced terms.

The USS Phoenix (NCC-65420) was a Nebula-class Federation starship, constructed by the Yoyodyne Division at 40 Eridani A Starfleet Construction Yards and commissioned on stardate 40250.5 in 2363. In 2367, the Phoenix was under the command of Captain Benjamin Maxwell.

In 2367, Captain Maxwell turned vigilante with Phoenix, destroying several Cardassian outposts and ships in Sector 21505 seemingly without provocation. He claimed his actions were justified because the Cardassians were preparing to renew hostilities only a year after peace had been settled with the United Federation of Planets. Captain Jean-Luc Picard was assigned to intercept and stop Maxwell. En route to intercept the Phoenix, the Enterprise's sensors revealed that Captain Maxwell was attempting to destroy another supply ship. In an attempt to prevent the further destruction of Cardassian lives and property, Captain Picard gave a nearby Cardassian warship the Phoenix's Prefix code to give the Cardassians an advantage. Despite taking a direct hit with its shields down, the Phoenix still managed to destroy the attacking ship with a salvo of torpedoes.

Ultimately the stand-off ended successfully with no further loss of lives when Chief Miles O'Brien was able to beam over during a 1/50th of a second "window" in the Phoenix's shields caused by its high energy sweeps. Once on board he managed to convince Maxwell to stand down his ship. However, Picard warned Gul Macet that Maxwell's suspicions may have had a basis in truth. (TNG: "The Wounded")

Most likely named for Zefram Cochrane's ship; the Phoenix. However, it is likely that it was the original intent that it was named after the capital of the US state (Arizona), or for the mythological creature of the same name, as the name of Cochrane's ship had not yet been established when "The Wounded" was filmed..
Construction data is taken from the ship's dedication plaque found in Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Continuing Mission; the ship's motto was "No matter where you go, there you are", the same motto found on the plaque of the USS Excelsior.
The Star Fleet Technical Manual by Franz Joseph featured a listing of an earlier Hermes-class Phoenix with the registry NCC-625 (It was of the Cygnus-subclass). The ship was a MK-VIIB courier authorized for appropriation on stardate 5099. While this manual was once considered canon by the producers, it is now mostly apocryphal, save for a few canonically mentioned bits.

Template:NebulaClassStarships

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