Gorn starship
From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference
| Gorn starship | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Affiliation: | Gorn |
| Type: | Raider |
| Speed: | Warp 7+ |
| Armament: | 2+ phaser emitters |
| Defenses: | Deflector shields |
A Gorn starship was a type of vessel utilized by the Gorn Hegemony during the mid-23rd century for conducting raids. The Gorn ship was designed with four nacelles, and its class configuration was unfamiliar to the Federation prior to the late 2260s.
In 2267, a Gorn starship approached the Earth outpost on Cestus III at space-normal speed using the outpost's regular approach route. Before the outpost knew what hit them, the Gorn ship knocked out the outpost's phaser batteries with their first salvo, leaving the outpost defenseless. The weapon used was described by a survivor as being "like phasers, only worse." The Gorn ship continued to assault the outpost, until it was obliterated.
The Gorn starship later attacked the USS Enterprise, which had been lured to the colony by false signals. The Enterprise's counterattack with full phaser and photon torpedo banks proved ineffective against the deflector screen of the Gorn ship, which was located just outside visual range.
After the Gorn ship retrieved its landing party via transporter, it withdrew from Cestus III, and attempted to flee into an area uncharted by the Federation at that time. The Enterprise pursued, and eventually overtook the Gorn ship at Warp 8, before both ships were immobilized by the Metrons. (TOS: "Arena")
[edit] Background
The Gorn ship did not appear in the original version of the episode, but rather, was conceived for the remastered episode that aired in 2006. Startrek.com cites the reason for this to be partially because the producers were given "a certain amount of leeway, given time and budget considerations, to be a bit creative." Designed by Niel Wray, the site describes a design that "reinforces the concept that to achieve warp speed capabilities, nacelle-type structures are required and that a dorsal command center/bridge is also standard." The ship was only shown at a distance, both the viewscreen and in space afar from the Enterprise "to stay consistent with the original story intent." [1] The CGI rendering of this ship itself was not "skinned" because the ship was never shown up close. [2]
