North Star

North Star, as viewed from a distance

For the ENT episode of the same name, please see "North Star".

North Star was the name of a town on a Skagaran colony planet in the Delphic Expanse. It approximated Earth's Ancient West of the 19th century. Charles Tucker III believed the town looked "pretty authentic [...] right down to the spittoons." However, the town's residents included not only Humans but also Skagarans, though Bethany, a school teacher living in the town, believed some Humans would prefer the town to include none of the aliens. The entire town was constructed out of materials that were indigenous to the planet. North Star's assortment of buildings included a cemetery, a stable, a saloon, a school, a jail, and a barber shop. The town was one of multiple settlements which were clustered a few hundred kilometers from each other; North Star was situated far from the next town over. Skag town was located on the outskirts of North Star. The town was also relatively near a range of mountains.

In 2153, North Star was visited by Starfleet Captain Jonathan Archer, who initially posed as a resident of a distant town and used a cover story that he was "just passing through town." Sheriff MacReady told Deputy Bennings to ensure Archer left North Star. When Archer didn't, the deputy commented that he should have taken the opportunity to leave, as both Archer and Bethany were then jailed by Bennings. Sheriff MacReady, after releasing Archer, gave him an ultimatum of leaving town within the next hour. Archer instead orchestrated a jailbreak to free Bethany from the jail and advised her to switch towns, though she believed North Star's legal circumstances were the same as any other town in the region. They attempted to ride out of North Star together but, when Bethany was shot by Bennings, Archer called Enterprise NX-01 to request an emergency beam-out that the ship complied with.

Making a return visit to North Star, Archer led a joint Starfleet-MACO away team which flew over the town in Shuttlepod 1 before the shuttlepod landed; this was the townsfolk's First Contact with contemporary Humans from Earth, and with the Vulcan T'Pol, who accompanied the rest of the away team into the town. However, the town subsequently became the site of an elaborate firefight between the away team and a group of cowboys led by Bennings. Once the cowboys were all defeated apart from Bennings himself, Lieutenant Malcolm Reed instructed the MACOs who were present to "secure the area." After the captain managed to single-handedly defeat Bennings, the away team and Bethany departed from the town. Aboard Enterprise, Archer pointed North Star out to Bethany from a window in the ship's mess hall while the vessel orbited the planet, though the town couldn't be seen from that distance. The craft's stay at the planet heralded a change in the town's laws; they became less strict in regards to North Star's Skagaran residents. (ENT: "North Star")

This town is not named on screen; its designation as "North Star" comes from the final draft script of the episode "North Star".

Inhabitants

• See: North Star inhabitants

External link

North Star at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works