USS Harrier

The USS Harrier in early 2374
^{Image © Paramount}

The USS Harrier was a Federation Saber class starship operated by Starfleet in the early 2370’s. It was the second command of Commander Carrigan Trent before its destruction in 2374.

This starship command had never been intended to be an easy one. Having spent only a short time in the position of Executive Officer and at the rank of Commander, Trent was considered somewhat inexperienced to take command of a ship even as diminutive as a Saber-class vessel. However, the combination of a captain who had recently retired, a crew who had gotten lazy and a first officer with a tendency to falsify readiness reports led to the Harrier’s ability to operate on the Cardassian border to being severely impeded and Carrigan was deemed to be the most suitable candidate to assume command and shape up a crew that had fallen apart and a ship in shambles.

However, after a complete change of the senior staff and two solid months of grueling drills and extended duty hours, the USS Harrier was once again fit for operations. The imposition of a stark, severe discipline had been the first shock to this crew that had gone lax in every aspect, but combined with the punishing schedule of training and maintenance, the men and women of the Harrier were reminded of who they were and before long, they were imbued with a renewed sense of purpose and a newfound pride in themselves and their ship and morale grew by leaps and bounds.

And it was not long before the Dominion War started they rejoined their task force's operations and resumed their place as a valuable asset on the Cardassian border.

This is when things took a turn for the worst. While providing a security presence for the evacuation of a mining outpost in the DMZ, the Harrier detected a single Jem'Hadar fighter and Trent deemed it a lone scout. And, after convincing his task force commander to allow him to engage and prevent this single ship from getting reinforcements, Trent initiated a combat action, only to fall into a well-planned ambush. In a matter of eight and a quarter minutes from entering effective weapons range, the USS Harrier was adrift and venting atmosphere, a broken hulk. Thankfully she was relieved, the Dominion forces destroyed and her survivors rescued. However, the cost was appalling: from a complement of sixty souls, only twenty seven had survived the onslaught and none were uninjured; a further four would succumb to their wounds. And when Carrigan Trent awoke from stasis, it was to discover his left leg was missing from mid-thigh down and his left arm had suffered the same fate from the elbow.

Known Crew

• Commander Carrigan Trent, Commanding Officer