USS Jefferson Randolph Smith

The USS Jefferson Randolph Smith (NCC 29407), named after Old West Confidence man, `Soapy Smith', is a Sulek-Class prospector, a small starship whose primary mission it to seek out... no, not new worlds and new civilizations... but Dilithium, what the Klingons call cha'puj.

Its crew is comprised of three Starfleet officers; Captain Tatyana Trofimov, First Officer Tellihu, a winged Withiki, and Vulcan science officer, T'Vau... whom Captain Trofimov describes as `a slob'.

The computer, Smith, is a J-2 Duotronic unit which suffered a major glitch after T'Vau (rather clumsy for a Vulcan) `accidentally' spilled a N'gaan-flavored milkshake into the unit. This accident caused Smith to behave erratically, and manifested itself as a very paranoid personality, afraid that T'Vau was out to kill it (him).

The Jefferson Randolph Smith came across a planet with a high yield of Hecht radiation, signifying the presence of vast amounts of Dilithium coming from a planet called Pi Pharosi 2, Direidi. Unfortunately, at the same time, the Klingon battlecruiser IKS Fire Blossom found the small surveyor.

Fearing destruction or capture, the crew of the Jefferson Randolph Smith, on Smith's suggestion, launched in an escape pod, down to the planet surface. Just as the larger vessel was closing in, the small surveyor tore out of orbit at breakaway speed, which would have been fatal if the crew was still present, as `Fractional-orbit breakaway would produce an effective fifty-one standard gravities within the ship, after all compensation effects'.

The Smith found rescue when it came across the USS Enterprise 9NCC-1701), which was engaged in a test involving a near-duplicate, inflatable starship mock-up, a Deployable practice target.

As Montgomery Scott stated, on the Smith's size, "Aye, we can do it, but only just. She'll fill the whole hangar deck, an' there won't be an inch t' spare through the doors. We'd have to do it all under… computer control."

As it approached the Enterprise's hangar, it pierced the rear of the practice target's lower hull, which caused the `balloon' to shoot shot away on escaping gas, shrinking, tearing, spiraling as it collapsed, just like any punctured balloon.

Soon afterwards, the IKS Fire Blossom arrived just in time to see the second starship on their screens disappear, leaving just the Enterprise and the Smith.

Fearing reprisals from the Lightbulbs, the Organians, the Klingons ceased pursuit.