The Dauntless-type was a starship built and operated by Species 116 during the late 24th century. In 2374, a ship of this type was disguised as a "Dauntless-class" experimental Starfleet vessel, sent to the Delta Quadrant to bring the crew of the USS Voyager home sooner, however, was created with the nefarious intent to trap the crew for eventual assimilation at the hands of the Borg. (VOY: "Hope and Fear")
History[]
In mid-2374, while still stranded in the Delta Quadrant, the USS Voyager received a transmission from Starfleet Command via the ancient Hirogen communications network. Although the message contained a number of unencoded personal messages, there was also an encrypted file that the Voyager crew was unable to open. (VOY: "Hunters")
On Stardate 51978, Voyager encountered an alien named Arturis who had a gift for translating languages, both verbal and visual. He easily decrypted the mysterious message, which gave a set of coordinates near their current location. Upon arrival, the Voyager crew discovered the USS Dauntless, a supposed experimental vessel constructed by Starfleet for the purpose of bringing the Voyager crew home. (VOY: "Hope and Fear")
Technical data[]
Physical arrangement[]
Real bridge without the use of particle synthesis
Although created by alien technology, this ship was made to resemble Federation starships on the interior and exterior by the means of particle synthesis. The darker alien interior was modified to a more familiar Federation color palate, and LCARS interfaces. The exterior of the vessel maintained a typical Starfleet layout, which included a clear Primary hull, and Secondary hull layout, with two nacelles on each side of the secondary hull. The outside hull was also modified with familiar Federation livery and the ship's name and registry. (VOY: "Hope and Fear")
Interior design[]
The bridge disguised in Starfleet livery
By Starfleet standards, the original Dauntless was considered to be relatively minimalist, possessing only one transporter and no replicators, holodecks, or shuttlecraft. (VOY: "Hope and Fear")
Quantum slipstream[]
Quantum slipstream core
The only known example of this type was equipped with a quantum slipstream drive that allowed it to go faster than the standard Starfleet warp scale at the time.
According to the ship's data, it could travel sixty thousand light years in three months, and in practice, demonstrated the ability to travel over fifteen light years in only a short time, a distance that otherwise took the USS Voyager two days to cover at high warp. (VOY: "Hope and Fear")
Starfleet reverse engineering[]
By 2375, the crew of the USS Voyager had been able to reverse engineer and create their own quantum slipstream drive, with the help of Borg modifications for use on Voyager. This technology proved to be unreliable, and was later disassembled, but not before shaving ten years off their journey home. (VOY: "Timeless")
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USS Dauntless NCC-80816
Later in the 2380s, Starfleet reverse engineered the technology and went on to build and commission the Dauntless-class USS Dauntless. (PRO: "A Moral Star, Part 2")
Alternate timelines[]
The Dauntless-type in the 26th century
In a possible future, a ship of this type was involved in the pivotal Battle of Procyon V in the 26th century, alongside the USS Enterprise-J and other allied starships. This timeline was negated with the destruction of the Delphic Expanse, and the Sphere-Builders by the NX-01 Enterprise in 2154. (ENT: "Azati Prime")
Ships in class[]
- Named
Appendices[]
Appearances[]
- ENT:
- VOY:
- "Hope and Fear" (first appearance)
Background information[]
Studio model[]
A foam core mock-up concept model of the bridge of the Dauntless was sold in the It's A Wrap! sale and auction of 9 March 2007 as Lot#2034(X). The model measuring 22"×36"×7.5" sold for US$876.
Apocrypha[]
Though not originally a Starfleet design, ships matching the configuration of the Dauntless appear in the 25th century timeline of Star Trek Online as the Dauntless-class "Experimental Science Vessel", featuring a special device that mimics the effects of particle synthesis to distract enemies and confuse their targeting.
External link[]
- USS Dauntless (NX-01-A) at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works