USS Potemkin (NCC-18253)

For other uses, see Potemkin.

USS Potemkin
Class:	Excelsior-class
Registry:	NCC-18253
Affiliation:	Federation, Starfleet
Status:	destroyed (2381)

The USS Potemkin (NCC-18253) was an Excelsior-class explorer starship in service in the Federation Starfleet during the 24th century.

History

Potemkin is known for discovering the rogue planet Newton III and leading the first extensive expedition into interphasic space. (Starships)

In 2361, the Potemkin was the last Federation starship to contact the Turkana IV colony until the USS Enterprise-D's visit in 2367. The crew of the Potemkin were warned that anyone visiting the failed colony would be killed. (TNG episode: "Legacy")

The Potemkin was later assigned to evacuate a research station on Nervala IV. Lieutenant William T. Riker led the team that evacuated the personnel from the station, and was the last person to be transported out, which resulted in some problems due to the atmosphere, but Riker safely made it back. Unknown to anyone until 2369, a second Will Riker had been created by the transporter and beamed back to the surface. (TNG episode: "Second Chances")

During Riker's service on the Potemkin, the ship discovered an abandoned personal craft which had been caught in a natural soliton wave. (DS9 novel: Avatar, Book One)

Riker once attempted an unusual tactic of placing the Potemkin over a planet's magnetic pole and cutting power in order to confuse sensors. (TNG episode: "Peak Performance")

At the time, the Potemkin officers held a regular poker game. (TNG episode: "Lower Decks")

Shortly after the Klingon Civil War in 2368, the Potemkin was engaged by a Romulan Warbird, the Potemkin successfully won the encounter, with the Warbird withdrawing. (TNG - The Captain's Table novel: Dujonian's Hoard)

That same year, the Potemkin transported Dr Toby Russell to the USS Enterprise-D to treat Lt. Worf's spinal injury. (TNG episode: "Ethics")

The Potemkin and Lassiter engaging the Borg at Delta IV.

The Potemkin joined the USS Lassiter in responding to the joint Borg/Cyberman invasion of Delta IV on stardate 45635.2, 2368. The Lassiter was destroyed by a Borg cube almost immediately, while the Potemkin was heavily damaged. (TNG - Assimilation² comic: "Issue 1")

Its commanding officer at the time was Captain Marcus Bertrand, who was assimilated into the Borg Collective. The work of the Enterprise crew and The Doctor and his traveling companions led to the prevention of the Borg/Cyberman alliance, so the events at Delta IV were erased from history beyond the people involved maintained their memories. (TNG - Assimilation² comics: "Assimilation², Issue 6", "Assimilation², Issue 8")

The artwork is very unclear, but appears to show one or both ships being destroyed or taking heavy damage to their saucer sections. Given other references to a Potemkin around this time, the Potemkin mentioned is presumably this ship and it presumably survived the battle.

In 2369, Benjamin Sisko created a holoprogram that included the Potemkin as part of an attempted strategy to defeat the Borg in a recreation of the Battle of Wolf 359. Sisko, theorizing new attack patterns he hoped might change the results of the battle, ordered the Potemkin to concentrate weapons fire with three other starships to allow a boarding party to gain access to Locutus's cube. (DS9 comic: "Program 359")

While the holoprogram mentioned the Potemkin as present at the Battle of Wolf 359 in Sisko's recreation, it seems unlikely it could have been present at the original battle, as the vessel survived to be mentioned again in later sources.

In 2371, the Potemkin, along with the USS Exeter, USS Hood, and IKS N'gat, were dispatched to Deep Space 9 to assist in fighting the Cardassians following the unearthing of a Cardassian tomb on the station. (DS9 novel: Station Rage)

The Potemkin was assigned to the Ninth Fleet during the Dominion War. In 2374, several ships of the Ninth Fleet, including the Potemkin, the USS Akagi, the USS Exeter, and the USS Sutherland, docked at Deep Space 9 for repairs. (DS9 episode: "You Are Cordially Invited")

The Potemkin was still in service in 2378. (TNG video game: Starfleet Command III)

In 2381, the Potemkin was destroyed over Deneva when the Borg attacked the planet. (ST - Destiny novel: Lost Souls)

Appendices

External links

• USS Potemkin (NCC-18253) article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
• USS Potemkin article at Tardis Data Core, the Doctor Who wiki