Lost in the Tholian Web

by Matthew Zinno, Staff Writer

18th November 2016

Finally we have the Defiant!  Not Sisko's U.S.S. Defiant, not Smiley's mirror Defiant, but the first ship of that name ... the 23rd-Century Starship Defiant, which Kirk lost in the Tholian Web. As befits its status and story prior to its loss, it's a ship, comparable to other Constitution-class vessels, with staffing and attributes in the 5-6 range. It should fit in a deck quite nicely, as a second unique (AQ) Constitution-class.  

Of course, that wasn't the end of its career ... and we see that story told on other cards in the set. After it disappeared from 2268, it appeared in 2155 in the mirror universe, at the Vintaak Drydock Station. Seeding this time location means you also must download the Starship Defiant here. It's (and vulnerable to Kavok) but uncontrolled. Just like the similarly uncontrolled Empok Nor, in order to use the ship you'll need to commandeer it just like Mirror Archer did, with 2 ENGINEER, OFFICER, SECURITY, and STRENGTH > 50 aboard (and unopposed). Once you do, it will become yours, and change from to the affiliation of one of your personnel (perhaps ).  

At that point, you'll want to use the ship's special download of Terran Flagship, specifically, this set's Terran Flagship: Predator (recently revealed on Twitter). This will change the staffing from to ... handy, because you probably didn't commandeer it with anyone with an icon. You also get an attribute boost and some dilemma nullification in the bargain. And though the card seems designed for the Vintaak scenario, you can use it on other ships as well, as long as it's a unique ship without the icon, somewhere in the Mirror Quadrant.   

Interestingly, this is our first timeline location which is in space, rather than at a planet! And of course, in order to seed it, you must also seed its corresponding spaceline location, the new mission Observe Spatial Coordinates. 

And ... oh, it looks like my turn is over. That means I flip the card over ... and the article too!  
 

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