USS Mekong

USS Mekong
Owner:	United Federation of Planets
Operator:	Starfleet

The USS Mekong was a 24th century Federation Danube-class runabout operated by Starfleet. This ship, a replacement for the USS Ganges, was assigned to Deep Space 9.

In 2370, the Mekong pursued the USS Rio Grande which was being piloted by a Replicant Miles O'Brien created by the Paradan Government. (DS9: "Whispers")

Lieutenant Jadzia Dax takes a Trill initiate Arjin on a trip through the wormhole and back in the Mekong. During the flight, the runabout ran through a subspace interphase pocket. The runabout's starboard nacelle snagged a piece of what was first referred to as "subspace seaweed" but was later discovered to be a protouniverse. (DS9: "Playing God")

Later in the same year, the Mekong, the Rio Grande, and the USS Orinoco fought two Maquis ships at the Bryma colony. (DS9: "The Maquis, Part II")

In late-2370, the Mekong was fitted with additional photon torpedoes and accompanied the USS Odyssey into the Gamma Quadrant in an attempt to rescue Commander Benjamin Sisko, then a prisoner of the Dominion. (DS9: "The Jem'Hadar")

In 2371, returning from consultations at a Bajoran colony, Major Kira Nerys and Odo detected a Maquis attack in progress. They pursued the attacking ship in the Mekong but due to prevailing conditions, the pursuit takes them down to the surface of a moon with an atmosphere that was impenetrable to the Runabouts sensors. (DS9: "Heart of Stone")

Later in the same year, Odo and Elim Garak took Mekong to the Unefra system in search of Enabran Tain. They located him, but were subsequently captured by the warbird commanded by Lovok and Tain, and sequestered in the warbird's shuttlebay on "E" Deck, Section 25. The runabout was then carried into the Gamma Quadrant. The Mekong was abandoned after Odo and Garak, attempting to escape the Battle of the Omarion Nebula, were beamed aboard the USS Defiant. (DS9: "The Die is Cast") The ship's fate is not known, although it was presumably destroyed as a new runabout, USS Rubicon, had been assigned to the station by the end of 2371, and the Mekong was never mentioned again. (DS9: "Family Business")

The Star Trek Encyclopedia (2nd ed., pp. 296, 473) listed two registries for this runabout: NCC-72617 in the main entry and NCC-72917 in the starship chart. The registry was seen briefly, yet not clearly, in "Whispers".

The Encyclopedia noted that the ship was named after the eponymous river in southeast Asia.

Appearances

• DS9:
  • "Whispers"
  • "Playing God"
  • "The Maquis, Part II"
  • "The Jem'Hadar"
  • "Heart of Stone"
  • "Improbable Cause"
  • "The Die is Cast"

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External link

• Template:NCwiki