STARSHIP
USS Star Empire
Class:	Federation-class
Registry:	NCC-2116, MKC-2331
Affiliation:	Federation, Starfleet
Status:	decommissioned for dismantling (2270)

The USS Star Empire (MKC-2331) was a prototype MK-X class I Federation dreadnought starship in service in 2270. (TOS novel: Dreadnought!)

Star Empire was authorized for construction by Starfleet appropriation on stardate 6066 as a Federation-class dreadnought starship with registry NCC-2116. (TOS reference: Star Fleet Technical Manual)

Construction of the USS Star Empire was ordered by the Admiralty two years prior to stardate 8180.2, during a peak uprising and series of border skirmishes with the Klingons while the Empire was undergoing a purge. Construction took place under the supervision of Vice Admiral Vaughan Rittenhouse. One of her designers was Paul Burch.

The Star Empire was thirty percent heavier in deadweight tonnage than standard Federation starships, and her hexagonal primary hull was fifteen decks thick. Equipped with three warp nacelles (the third mounted at the rear of the saucer), the USS Star Empire is capable of attaining maximum burst speed three warp factors faster than the USS Enterprise. Tactical systems include five duel-mount phaser banks, four photon torpedo launchers and triple shielding. Commander Spock commented that the Enterprise was "severely outclassed" against the Star Empire. The ship is equipped with a holographic image projector, capable of projecting the image of other vessels, including another Dreadnought-class ship, to a rival ships' sensors.

In 2270, the Star Empire was stolen on her maiden voyage by a group of suspected terrorists, led by Paul Burch. In truth, Burch stole the Star Empire to prevent Vice Admiral Rittenhouse from using it to take over the Federation. (TOS novel: Dreadnought!)

In Dreadnought!, the Star Empire had a registry of MKC-2331. However, since many other associated references are from the Star Fleet Technical Manual, the ship name was most likely taken from there, too, and is meant to represent the same vessel as the Star Empire NCC-2116 therein. It could then be theorized that one numeration might be a temporary registry that was eventually changed, but this is uncertain.

Federation-class class I dreadnought starships
	Affiliation • Alliance • Association • Compactat • Concordat • Confederation • Consortium • Corporation • Directorate • Dominion • Entente • Federation • Konkordium • Organization • Star Empire • Star League • Star System • Star Union • Trusteeship • Unificatum