USS Surak (Oberth class)

For other uses, see Surak.

USS Surak
Class:	Oberth-class
Affiliation:	Federation, Starfleet
Launched:	2248
Status:	lost (2285)

The USS Surak was a Federation starship, an Oberth-class research vessel in the 23rd century, entering Starfleet service in the year 2248.

While many top views of the vessel show the standard Oberth-class configuration, inspired by the then-recent debut of that design in The Search for Spock, the side profile of the Surak was drawn with altered detailing, such as lateral grills on the side of the warp nacelles. Exceptionally, the Surak also had an up-down connecting dorsal between the primary hull and secondary hull, where all other Oberth vessels only connected by way of the nacelle struts.

Service history and disposition

Surak.

Over its career, the Surak was commanded by Robert Chapman, John Kousaki, and was eventually lost in 2285 while under the command of Captain Spock. (1st appeared in TOS comic: "Homecoming...")

Editors have noted that TOS comic: "Who's Who in Star Trek, Issue 2" accidentally portrayed the Surak as a Miranda-class vessel in an illustration by Todd McFarlane and (along with USS Reliant) was called "Galaxy"-class in the text. The class name being associated with the Miranda-class vessels was apparently based on this class of vessels being mentioned in TOS - Fortunes of War novel: Dreadnought! and TOS novelization: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The history of the Surak was mentioned in Who's Who, including it being commissioned three years after the USS Enterprise.

The ship was destroyed in the 2280s decade when its crew were infected by a virulent plague that killed most of the crew except an Andorian officer and Spock. Slowly dying, Spock put the ship on a course for the sun in order to destroy the plague to prevent it from infecting others. However, before the ship plunged to its doom, the Andorian crewmember and Spock were rescued by the crew of the USS Excelsior who were unaware of the plague. (TOS - The Doomsday Bug! comic: "Death Ship!")

Personnel

• commanding officers:
  • Captain Robert Chapman
  • Captain John Kousaki
  • Captain Spock (2285)
• first officers:
  • Commander John Kousaki
  • Commander Brinks
• navigator:
  • Kevin McCarthy
• other officers:
  • Doctor Garace
  • Doctor Chu-sa
  • Lieutenant Felicia Mello
  • Lieutenant Corwin
  • see also: unnamed USS Surak personnel

Appendices

Appearances and references

Appearances

• TOS comic: "Homecoming..."
• TOS comic: "Dreamworld"
• TOS comic: "All Those Years Ago..."
• TOS comic: "The Trouble with Transporters!"
• TOS comic: "Vicious Circle!"
• TOS comic: "Death Ship!"

References

• TOS comic: "Who's Who in Star Trek, Issue 2"