For other uses, see Merchant class.

The Merchant-class was a type of transport starship used by the Vulcan National Merchant Fleet for transporting cargo and passengers in the 24th century. Merchant-class vessels were partially constructed with dentarium alloys. (CCG set: Q-Continuum)

In early 2368, fragments from the navigational deflector array of a Merchant-class vessel was recovered in the Hanolin asteroid belt from a crashed Ferengi cargo ship. After the crew of the USS Enterprise-D ran a molecular pattern trace, they determined it was from the T'Pau.

The T'Pau and two other Merchant-class vessels had been stolen by the Romulans and used to launch the invasion of Vulcan while masquerading as "peace envoys". Following Starfleet's discovery of the invasion plan, the Enterprise moved to intercept the ships at the Romulan Neutral Zone, but a D'deridex-class warbird decloaked and destroyed the transports, killing all two thousand troops aboard the three vessels. (TNG episode & novelization: Unification)

Contents 1 Appendices 1.1 Background 1.2 Connections 1.3 External link

AppendicesEdit

BackgroundEdit

• This class of starship went unnamed during its sole appearance in TNG episode: "Unification". The second and third editions of the Star Trek Encyclopedia later identified the T'Pau as an Apollo-class, however the other Apollo's stated were in service to Starfleet and fit a different mission profile.
• The Merchant-class name was attached to the T'Pau and her two unnamed sister ships in the Star Trek: Customizable Card Game pack, Q-Continuum.

ConnectionsEdit

Starship classes of the Confederacy of Vulcan
By name	D'Kyr • D'Vahl • Maymora • Merchant • Suurok • T'Plana-Hath • Tal'Kyr • Toj Lol
By type	Vahklas type • Vulcan survey ship

External linkEdit

• T'Pau type article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.