The USS Star Empire (MKC-2331 or NCC-2116) was a Federation starship, the prototype MK-X class I dreadnought in Starfleet service in 2270. (TOS reference: Star Fleet Technical Manual; TOS - Fortunes of War novel: Dreadnought!)
- In Dreadnought!, the finished Star Empire had a registry of MKC-2331, while the Star Fleet Technical Manual mentions the vessel previously had registry NCC-2116 when authorized for construction.
History and specifications
Star Empire was authorized for construction by Starfleet appropriation on stardate 6066 as a Federation-class dreadnought starship with registry NCC-2116. (TOS reference: Star Fleet Technical Manual)
Construction of the USS Star Empire was ordered by the Admiralty two years prior to stardate 8180.2, during a peak uprising and series of border skirmishes with the Klingons while the Empire was undergoing a purge. Construction took place under the supervision of Vice Admiral Vaughan Rittenhouse. One of the ship's designers was Samuel Boma, who developed a phaser-resistant material called quantobirilium which comprised Star Empire's outer hull.
The Star Empire was thirty percent heavier in dead-weight tonnage than standard Federation starships, and her hexagonal primary hull was fifteen decks thick. Equipped with three warp nacelles (the third mounted at the rear of the saucer section), the Star Empire was capable of attaining a maximum burst speed three warp factors faster than the USS Enterprise. Tactical systems included five dual-mount phaser banks, four photon torpedo launchers and triple shielding. Commander Spock commented that the Star Empire "severely outclassed" the Enterprise. The ship was also equipped with a holographic image projector capable of projecting the images of other vessels (including another Dreadnought-class ship) out into space to confuse another ships' sensors. The projector was even capable of altering its projections to mimic damage that would be caused by weapons fire.
In 2270, the Star Empire was stolen on her maiden voyage by a group of suspected terrorists, led by Paul Burch. In truth, Burch stole the Star Empire to prevent Vice Admiral Rittenhouse from using it as part of a plot to take over the Federation. After the conspiracy was thwarted, a Starfleet review board which Captain James T. Kirk was a part of, recommended that Star Empire be decommissioned. (TOS - Fortunes of War novel: Dreadnought!)
Connections
| Federation-class class I dreadnought starships | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In service | Dominion • Entente • Federation • Konkordium • Star Empire |  
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| Proposed/authorized for construction | Affiliation • Alliance • Association • Compactat • Concordat • Confederation • Consortium • Corporation • Directorate • Organization • Star League • Star System • Star Union • Trusteeship • Unificatum | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||