DS9 Stories/News: USS Defiant – Sisko’s Tough Little Ship (3)

During the planning of the invasion of Cardassia Prime some months later, a new Defiant class starship, the USS Sao Paulo (NCC-75633), is assigned to Deep Space Nine. The Starfleet Chief of Operations grants special dispensation to rename the ship Defiant. Although the USS Sao Paulo commissioning plaque gives a registryof “NCC-75633″, in all exterior shots the new ship has the “NX-74205″ registry. This is because most external shots of the new vessel were reused shots of the old one, and the new CG shots subsequently used the same registry number for consistency.

Ron Moore said in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion that the new ship was intended to be designated “Defiant-A”, but it was prohibitive to redo the CG model for one episode because stock shots from earlier episodes had to be used as well for budgetary reasons. Nevertheless Moore stated that as far as he was concerned, the change did happen.

Courtesy of Wiki

The Sao Paulo dedication plaque used the English spelling, without the tilde, instead of São Paulo

In the DS9 episode Shattered Mirror, a Mirror Universe version of the Defiant is seen, constructed by the Terran Rebellion. A computer readout, barely visible onscreen, gives the ship’s name as the ISS Defiant

Pictures Courtesy of TrekCore.com

The USS Defiant, Moscow, Valiant and São Paulo are selectable on the PC game Star Trek: Legacy in The Next Generation era.

The Defiant class is a playable ship class in the MMORPG Star Trek Online.

The USS Sao Paulo was assigned to DS9 to replace the Defiant after its destruction. Captain Sisko was granted special dispensation by the Chief of Starfleet Operations to rename the Sao Paulo to Defiant. (DS9: “The Dogs of War“)

Courtesy of Memory Alpha.org

Unique Characteristics

Ablative armor

The Maquis attack the Defiant

The Defiant was equipped with an ablative armor coating that was designed to disintegrate under enemy fire at a controlled rate. It dissipated the effects of directed energy weapons, decreasing damage to the main hull of the ship and therefore providing an extra layer of defense. As late as 2372, Starfleet wasn’t informed that the Defiant was equipped in that way. (DS9: “Past Tense, Part I“, “The Way of the Warrior“, “Paradise Lost“, “The Changing Face of Evil“)

Cloaking device

The USS Defiant activating its cloaking device

After the Dominion threat emerged in late-2370, a special amendment made to the Treaty of Algeron allowed the Defiant to be equipped with a Romulan cloaking device. In exchange for providing the cloaking device, the Federation agreed to share all of its Dominion intelligence with the Romulan government.

Additionally, the cloak was only authorized for use in the Gamma Quadrant; although Captain Sisko violated this provision on numerous occasions. Use of the cloaking device was initially supervised by Subcommander T’Rul, although the Romulans later discontinued supervision. (DS9: “The Search, Part I“, “Defiant“, “The Way of the Warrior“)

Because of the amount of power the Defiant used, the cloak did not completely hide the ship from Jem’Hadar sensors during normal operation. (DS9: “The Search, Part I“)

Command Crew

The Defiant’s permanent assignment at Deep Space 9 as a support vessel meant that it had no specific or dedicated crew complement. The vessel was manned by station personnel; its crew complement, as well as their assignments, often varied by mission.

Captain Benjamin Sisko – commanding officer (CO) (2371-2375)
Colonel Kira Nerys – executive officer (XO)/tactical officer (2371-2375)
Lieutenant Commander Worf – executive officer (XO)/tactical officer (2372-2375)
Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax – helmsman/science officer – (2371-2374)
Lieutenant Commander Michael Eddington – security chief (2371-2372)
Lieutenant Julian Bashir – chief medical officer (CMO) (2371-2375)
Lieutenant junior grade Ezri Dax – counselor/communications officer (2375)
Ensign Nog – helmsman (2374-2375)
Senior Chief Petty Officer Miles O’Brien – chief engineer (2371-2375)

Although DS9: “Apocalypse Rising” established that Worf was the first officer of the Defiant while Kira was the first officer of the station, there was some inconsistency in this arrangement. Based on DS9: “Sons of Mogh“, DS9: “By Inferno’s Light“, and DS9: “Tears of the Prophets“, it would appear that Kira retained the first officer’s position when the Defiant was operating outside of Federation space, while Worf took the position during operations inside Federation space, although this was not directly clarified on the show so it remains speculation.

The main reason for the creation of the Defiant was that Ira Steven Behr and the writers felt that the Danube-class runabouts would not be able to protect the space station from the Dominion, and that something with more muscle was necessary.

In the second season finale, “The Jem’Hadar“, the Dominion had shown themselves capable of destroying a Galaxy-class starship (the USS Odyssey) and it was felt that viewers would not accept the idea that the Federation‘s first line of defense against such a powerful enemy was three runabouts. As Behr explains, “We had all these plans for this Dominion, not so much the Dominion War yet, but the Dominion as a three-pronged attack, and what were we going to go after them with? Shuttlecrafts? You know, I mean, with the Galileo or whatever the hell those names were? You know, it just seemed ridiculous. So we needed a ship.“

Ira Steven Behr

Similarly, production designer Herman Zimmerman states, “We needed a ship that would give the writers the opportunity to have more direct conflict.” (USS Defiant, DS9 Season 3 DVD special features)

Ronald D. Moore originally wanted to call the Defiant the USS Valiant, but was unable to, as the USS Voyager also began with a “V”. It was three years before Moore was able to name a ship Valiant. The USS Valiant appears in the sixth season episode “Valiant”.

Rick Berman was originally against the idea of the ship having a cloaking device because one of the tenets of Gene Roddenberry’s universe was that Starfleet “did not believe in sneaking around.” However, Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe were able to convince Berman that the Defiant was a unique ship in a unique situation and, with the added stipulation that the cloak could only be used in the Gamma Quadrant, Berman agreed. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)

DS9 Stories/News: Deep Space Nine: Star Trek’s Darkest Chapter

Source: http://gregory-breen.suite101.com/deep-space-nine-star-treks-darkest-chapter-a263985

Jul 30, 2010, Gregory Breen

In 1993, Star Trek opened a chapter of political intrigue, action, drama and war for Gene Roddenberry’s extended universe.

Bajor

Gene Roddenberry created a whole universe with his simple idea of “a wagon train to the stars” back in 1964. Following his death in 1995, Rick Berman took over running that universe and kept it expanding. Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) was a success and they wanted to keep the shows coming. Using some storylines first hinted at TNG, producers Berman and Michael Piller created Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9). Set in the same time period as TNG, DS9 would be a darker, more violent and politically muddy place. The first thing to change was the setting. Now on a space station instead of a starship, the characters were not all honest, dignified, and honorable Starfleet officers. The station was positioned at the edge of a stable wormhole that led to the mysterious Gamma Quadrant, and the wormhole was also the living place of non-corporeal beings believed to be gods by the Bajoran people.

The Wormhole

For 50 years, the Cardassian Union occupied the planet Bajor. Now the Bajor Resistance drove Cardassians from their planet, and the new provisional government petitioned the Federation for membership. To help smooth the transition Starfleet took control of the space station Terok Nor, renaming it Deep Space Nine.

Filling out the Deep Space Nine Crew

Taking command is Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) a widowed father who simply wants to take care of his son. He was a reluctant commander, biding his time. The crew was made up of both Starfleet personal and people from the new Bajorian militia. The first officer of the station is Major Kira Neyrs (Nana Visitor) a former member of the Bajorian resistance. She is a great character with a troubled background and a refreshingly cynical view of Starfleet—something never before seen in a Star Trek main character.

DS9 Crew

The science officer is Lieutenant (later Lt. Commander) Jadzia Dax, a Trill. The Trill race first appeared in a TNG episode, “The Host.” They are a joined race of host (humanoid) and simbiant (slug.) Dax has the memories of all previous hosts, including Curzon, a former friend and mentor to Commander Sisko. Doctor Julian Bashir, played by Alexander Siddig, is an excited young man on the station for the same reason we are watching; it’s cool! Colm Meany moved from TNG to DS9, as Chief Miles O’Brien. On the Enterprise he was transporter chief, now he is Chief of Operations, basically the chief engineer of the station. Rene Auberjonois played security chief Odo, a shapeshifter from an unknown race who once worked for the Cardassians. He keeps order on the station like an old style sheriff in a western town. Armin Shimerman’s Quark fills out the cast. He is the owner of the station’s bar, a Ferengi businessman who enjoys running “extra-legal” activities to build on his substantial fortune. The rivalry between Odo and Quark became one of the true joys of the show as it progressed over several seasons.

Sisko with his son, Jake

Deep Space Nine: Seasons One and Two

Deep Space Nine began in January 1993 while The Next Generation was still on the air. They did a couple of crossover episodes. For instance, the Maguis, a terrorist group made up of Federation citizens at war with Cardassia began as a result of events in the TNG episode, Journey’s End. The Maquis then became a firm part of the DS9 universe.

Seasons one and two focus on the aftermath of the Cardassian occupation of Bajor and how both cultures dealt with it. It also delved into the pasts of its characters with the episode “Necessary Evil” showing the murky beginnings to Odo and Kira’s complicated relationship in dark flashbacks. In several episodes, people exploring the Gamma Quadrant mention the mysterious Dominion. In the final episode of season two they appear as a military force that rules most of the other side of the wormhole.

The Dominion are Introduced

The Dominion War

In season three, the threat of war was heightened as the Dominion continued to threaten the Federation and its allies. Also introduced was the USS Defiant, a heavily armed starship assigned for defense. This allowed the crew to leave the station and gave the writers the chance to produce more classic exploration-style episodes. In season four Michael Dorn came aboard the station as Lt. Commander Worf, the Strategic operations officer. It seemed like a cynical move to bring in an established character from TNG, but Worf fit the style and form of the show better here then he ever did on the Enterprise.

Throughout season five, the political landscape of the Star Trek universe changed with the Federation warring with the Klingons, and then Cardassia becoming a part of the Dominion. Even as this wider political climate changed, the show still did wonderful single story episodes. The original series crossover episode Trails and Tribble-ations is a great example. Deep Space Nine also made excellent use of the Star Trek mirror universe from the original episode “Mirror Mirror.” Various members of the DS9 crew visited the universe and we saw the results of our Spock’s conversations with the barbaric Mirror Kirk.

Garak

Deep Space Nine’s ace up its sleeve was its long list of brilliant recurring characters. Andrew Robison’s Garak was possibly the best Star Trek character ever. He was a Cardassian exiled from home for some unknown crime. He used to work for Cardassian intelligence and now made a living as a tailor. His grey view on the universe and suspicious friendship with Bashir led to convincing dialogue and engaging storylines.

The show also did great work with cliffhanger episodes, moving away from the classic 45-minute story and leaving episodes with unresolved endings—even finishing sequels to stories seasons later.

DS9 was a darker show and the drama was better executed. While it never found the mainstream acclaim of TNG or the original series, it was still cleverly put together and remains a classic chapter in the now debunked original Star Trek universe.

Seasons 1-7 of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are available on DVD

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