- For other uses, see Merian.
The Merian class[3] was a 31st century[1] Federation starship type, a science vessel[3] and tier 6 command science dreadnought[2] class in Starfleet service since before the Burn. (DSC episode: "People of Earth")
History and specifications[]
Origin and development[]
A Merian-class explorer in 2381.
The original Merian-class explorer entered service in the year 2377. The vessels crewed around 70 to 75 officers and crew, and were 10 decks in height. Merian vessels measured 218 meters in length, 46 meters in height and 115 meters in width, and massed around 540,000 metric tons. Their hull consisted of a roughly triangular primary hull with a squared-off aft section, equipped with a dorsal roll bar and a pair of warp nacelles suspended below the saucer. The physical arrangement reminiscent of the 23rd century Reliant-class cruiser. (SOTL calendar: Ships of the Line 2012)
The lead ship of that class was the USS Merian, registered NCC-81904[2]. (ST video game: Trexels)
In the 2380s decade, explorers of this class were equipped with a benamite-powered quantum slipstream drive and assigned to Project Full Circle for a dedicated exploration of the Delta Quadrant. One of the ships in the fleet was the USS Curie (NCC-81890). (VOY novel: Children of the Storm)
25th century[]
The USS Merian-E at Kinjer.
The Khitomer Alliance powers of the 25th century became involved in the Temporal Cold War. The Federation Temporal Agency of the 31st century, which had incorporated the members of the Alliance, provided their forebears with prochronistic technology. (STO - Agents of Yesterday mission: "The Once and Future Agent")
Categorised as a tier 6 command science dreadnought, a combination of command ship and science dreadnought, and represented by the 3180s-era USS Merian (NCC-81904-E), the uptime Merian class entered service in the Allied Fleet Service in the year 2411. (STO website: Shadow's Advance: The Merian Class Joins the Infinity Lock Box!)
31st century[]
A 32nd century Merian in 2411.
A larger version of the Merian class, retaining the general shape of the hull but with a more pentagon bent and an additional pair of warp nacelles in place of the roll bar, was in service by the 3060s decade. (DSC episode: "Die Trying")
- The modern Merian-class was either the result of refitting the original class, or a new class with a legacy name.
The original USS Curie (NCC-81890) in 2382.
A Merian-class ship was 777.24 meters long in total. While Starfleet had employed classes with a quad-nacelle configuration since the 23rd century, the era of detached nacelle technology improved its practical application.
The USS Curie (NCC-81890-J), 11th iteration of the lineage.
One of the modern Merian-class science vessels, the USS Curie (NCC-81890-J), was named for the Human scientist Marie Curie, a medical specialist. The Curie-J carried out missions of a specialist medical nature. (Shipyards reference: Starfleet Ships 2294 - The Future)
It was one of several Federation classes active in the 3060s decade. (DSC episode: "People of Earth")
In 3069[4] at least six ships of this class operated in the sensor range of the unnamed Federation relay station when the Burn occurred and destroyed all starships with an active warp core across the galaxy by destabilizing their dilithium. When the ships' dilithium crystals went inert, matter/antimatter containment failed, and the vessels detonated instantaneously.
32nd century[]
In the year 3188, acting communications chief Aditya Sahil shared his station's sensor logs with Commander Michael Burnham. These included graphics of the Starfleet ship locations and a visualization of their destruction when the Burn was triggered. Burnham reported these findings in a transmission to her ship, the time-displaced USS Discovery on stardate 865211.3. (DSC episode: "People of Earth")
Ships of this type was still in service in the 32nd century. In the 3180s decade, the Curie-J operated from inside the distortion field surrounding the Federation Headquarters space station.
In 3189, the Curie was present as the time-displaced USS Discovery made its way through the distortion field towards Federation HQ. (DSC episode: "Die Trying")
The Curie participated in the battle to defend Federation HQ from the Emerald Chain around stardate 29141429.1. (DSC episode: "That Hope Is You, Part 2")
A Merian in Archer Spacedock.
In 3190, a Merian-class ship was docked inside Archer Spacedock when Federation President Laira Rillak officially opened the Federation shipyard. (DSC episode: "Kobayashi Maru")
A Merian-class ship participated in the evacuation of an Akaali colony when it was threatened by the Dark Matter Anomaly (DMA). (DSC episode: "The Examples")
The USS Mitchell on a rescue mission.
The USS Mitchell single-handedly evacuated the population of the Saturnian moon Titan when the DMA was approaching the 40 Eridani and Sol star systems. Lieutenant Sylvia Tilly of Starfleet Academy convinced Fleet Admiral Charles Vance to redirect the Mitchell to carry refugees from Earth after completing the mission at Titan. The Mitchell saved lives and vacated the area before the DMA drew too close. Fortunately, a diplomatic effort outside the galaxy led by President Rillak ended the DMA threat.
Sometime after, Merian-class ships were present around Federation HQ, which had relocated into Earth's orbit during the evacuation, during a meeting between the President of United Earth and President Rillak, which led to Earth and Titan formally becoming Federation members again. (DSC episode: "Coming Home")
Known vessels[]
- USS Curie (NCC-81890-J)[3]
- USS Merian (NCC-81904-E)[2]
- USS Mitchell (NCC-325027)[6]
- unnamed Merian-class starships
Appendices[]
Connections[]
| Merian-class starships | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| scientific explorers | Bohr • Curie • Hawking • Merian • Planck • unnamed |  
| |
| dreadnoughts | Curie-J • Locherer • Merian-E • Mitchell • unnamed | ||
Appearances and references[]
Appearances[]
- DSC episode: "People of Earth" (first appearance)
- DSC episode: "Die Trying"
- DSC episode: "Scavengers"
- DSC episode: "That Hope Is You, Part 2"
- STU Issue 01: "La Sirena" (promo image, ship first named)
- Shipyards reference: Starfleet Ships 2294 - The Future (class name established)
- DSC episode: "Kobayashi Maru"
- DSC episode: "The Examples"
- DSC episode: "Coming Home"
- STO website: Shadow's Advance: The Merian Class Joins the Infinity Lock Box! (type established)
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 DSC episode: "People of Earth".
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 STO website: Shadow's Advance: The Merian Class Joins the Infinity Lock Box!.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Shipyards reference: Starfleet Ships 2294 - The Future.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 DSC episode: "Die Trying".
- ↑ STO - Shadow's Advance mission: "Welcome to Earth Spacedock".
- ↑ DSC episode: "Coming Home".
External links[]
- Merian class article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Merian-class command science dreadnought article at Star Trek Online Wiki.