USS Equinox (NCC-72381)

The USS Equinox was a Nova-class starship, commissioned by Starfleet in 2370 and remained missing, but in service, during the 2370s. During this time, the Equinox was under the command of Captain Rudolph Ransom.

Like most Nova-class starships, the Equinox was built for short-term scientific missions, like planetary expeditions. At its launch, the Equinox had a crew of 78.

The Caretaker used his array to pull the Equinox to the Delta Quadrant in 2371 while exploring an unknown system's asteroid belt. With the Equinox poorly-equipped to handle an approximate 150-year journey back to the Alpha Quadrant, the crew -- severely diminished after on-going conflicts with the Krowtonan Guard through Krowtonan space killed half the crew -- turned to somewhat unethical actions to get back home. One such severe action included using sentient nucleogenic lifeforms -- at first only dead ones and later on live ones -- as a source of fuel, enhancing the ship's warp drive.

The nucleogenic lifeforms, however, responded by attacking back, extensively damaging the Equinox. In late 2375, emitting a now-frequent distress call, the Equinox crew discovered they were not alone; the USS Voyager responded to the call. By this time, the Equinox crew numbered no more than a dozen.

After discovering the true nature of the Equinox experiments on the nucleogenic lifeforms, Voyager captain Kathryn Janeway attempted to apprehend the Equinox crew. With the Equinox severely damaged and under another attack, with more officers including the first officer falling victim to the lifeforms, Ransom allowed his remaining crew to beam aboard Voyager as he steered the damaged ship away. The Equinox was destroyed by a warp core breach.

Janeway integrated the remaining five Equinox crew into the Voyager crew. (VOY: "Equinox", "Equinox, Part II")

External links

• USS Equinox article at Memory Alpha, the canon Star Trek wiki.
• USS Equinox article at Memory Beta, the non-canon Star Trek wiki.

Nova-class starships
Prototype: USS Nova
USS Aurora - USS Binary - USS Eclipse - USS Equinox - USS Explorer - USS Nova - USS Pulsar - USS Quasar - USS Solstice
Quebec subclass (2375): USS Quebec - USS Rhode Island
Cleared for Departure: USS Envoy - Dark Territory: USS Chevalier - Harry Potter and the Fountain of Possibilities: USS Jacqueline Dorsey
Last Unicorn Games: USS Aurora - USS Binary - USS Helix - USS K'shal - USS Nadir - USS Pulsar - USS Solstice - USS VanDenBroeck
Starfleet International: USS Cuchulain - USS Nomad - Starfleet: Special Ops: USS Mercury
Star Trek: Abandoned: USS Beltane - Star Trek Adventures: USS Fiat Lux - Star Trek: Crusader/Star Trek: Generation Fleet: USS Expedition - Star Trek: Dark Armada/Star Trek: Hidden Frontier: USS Batavia - USS Penumbra - USS Perihelion - Star Trek: Gibraltar: USS Chevalier - USS Sojourner - Star Trek: Immortal Coil: USS Blade - Star Trek: Parallels: USS Vitality - Star Trek: Pendragon: USS Silverlight - Star Trek: Phoenix-X: USS Shark - Star Trek: Pioneer: USS Pioneer - Star Trek: Pretoria: SS Kentaurus - Star Trek: Remington: USS New York - Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: USS Koru - Star Trek: The Nomad Frontier: USS Polaris
Trekmania: USS Alice Springs - USS Archon - USS Cepheid - USS Clarke - USS Corona - USS Cosmos - USS DeMorra - USS Florida - USS Gerrard - USS Havana - USS Hubble - USS Icarus - USS John Paul Jones - USS Kraken - USS Meridian - USS Partridge - USS Ranger - USS Solaris - USS Star - USS Stuttgart - USS Tuscany - USS Victoria - USS Wallsey - USS Zodiac