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For other uses, see Whorfin.

The Whorfin class was a 23rd century[2] Federation starship type, a transport class in civilian[1] and El-Aurian[2] service in the 2290s[1] decade. (TNG movie & novelization: Generations, The Official Starships Collection Issue 162: "SS Lakul")

History and specifications[]

Like Starfleet's Miranda-class[3] USS Whorfin[4], the civilian Whorfin class was named after[2] the 22nd century Human John Whorfin, who commanded the SS Buckaroo Banzai on a mission in the Ficus sector in 2137.[5] (TOS movie: The Undiscovered Country, TNG episode: "Up the Long Ladder", The Official Starships Collection Issue 162: "SS Lakul")

The Whorfin class was 270 meters long. A ship of this class was operated by a crew of 12, and could host up to 250 passengers for a period of weeks. The maximum speed was a lowly warp factor 4, due to the old-fashioned Yoyodyne pulse fusion propulsion system installed. (The Official Starships Collection Issue 162: "SS Lakul")

The spaceframe consisted of a blocky, angular secondary hull, fronted with a barrel-shaped primary hull for crew operations.[2] A warp nacelle was mounted at the end of a thin nacelle pylon on either side of the vessel. (TNG movie: Generations)

The El-Aurians lost their homeworld El-Auria[6] to the Borg in 2265 and scattered across the Milky Way Galaxy. (TNG episode: "Q Who")

In the 2290s decade, El-Aurian survivors acquired[2] a pair of Whorfins, named the SS Lakul and SS Robert Fox.[1] These ships could hold passengers for up to a few weeks.[2] In the year] 2293, the two Whorfins passed near Sol when they were engulfed by the nonlinear temporal phenomenon Nexus. Unable to free themselves, the El-Aurians issued a distress call.

The call was answered by the brand-new Excelsior-class starship USS Enterprise-B, which had been about to leave its Federation shipyard at Earth for its maiden voyage to dwarf planet Pluto.

Lakul Nexus

Lakul in the Nexus.

When the Enterprise-B arrived, 150 people were still alive on the Lakul, and 265 on the Robert Fox. With only rudimentary systems installed on the Enterprise, Captain John Harriman and visiting dignitary Captain James T. Kirk embarked on a daring endeavor to rescue the survivors. The Lakul exploded first, then the Nexus energy ribbon hid the Robert Fox. The Enterprise only managed to rescue 47 out of the 386 El-Aurian passengers and crew aboard the Whorfins. (TNG movie & novelization: Generations)

Appendices[]

Connections[]

Federation Whorfin-class starships
SS LakulSS Robert Fox Emblem of the United Federation of Planets image.

Background[]

Whorfin class concept

Livery concept art.

  • The Whorfin-class ships SS Lakul and SS Robert Fox were designed by a team at Industrial Light and Magic (ILM). Artist Mark Moore drew up three livery options, of which the middle one (pictured) made it on screen. (The Official Starships Collection Issue 162: "SS Lakul")

References[]

External link[]

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