USS Valiant (NCC-74210)

The USS Valiant (NCC-74210) was a Defiant-class starship launched from the Antares Ship Yards in 2372. It was assigned as a training ship for the elite cadet corps Red Squadron under the command of Captain Ramirez. In late-2373, the Valiant began a three month training cruise mission to circumnavigate the entire Federation before returning home. The plan was for the cadets to run the ship while the officers aboard observed and critiqued their performance. The ship was transiting the Kepla Sector when the Dominion War began, and subsequently trapped behind enemy lines after a Dominion fleet conquered that sector on the first day. In attempting to return to Federation territory, the Valiant encountered a Cardassian battle cruiser near El-Gatark. In the first fifteen minutes, all seven of the regular officers were killed or critically wounded, including the captain. The Valiant lost main power and was adrift; fortunately the Cardassian cruiser was no better off. The cadets got weapons and impulse engines back on-line within three hours, and were able to destroy that cruiser. The next day, just before Ramirez died, he appointed Cadet Tim Watters to the command. Early in the war, Starfleet ordered the Valiant to track and collect technical data, on a previously unidentified Jem'Hadar battleship that was believed to be operating in the area. However, because the Valiant was operating under complete radio silence and limited to a speed of warp 3.2, Starfleet was unaware that the ship's officers were dead, and Watters decided to undertake the mission. Around Stardate 51825, the Valiant's crew rescued Jake Sisko and Ensign Nog from the runabout Shenandoah, which was fleeing from a Jem'Hadar attack on Starbase 257. Nog assisted the Valiant crew in repairing their warp drive, and the crew finally managed to catch up to the Dominion battleship and obtain detailed intelligence concerning the ship's capabilities. Overconfidence, however, proved to be the Valiant crew's undoing. Rather than returning the valuable information to Starfleet, "Captain" Watters decided to attempt to destroy the battleship by exploiting a perceived flaw in the warship's construction. Vastly outgunned, the Valiant was quickly destroyed by the larger battleship after an unsuccessful attempt to destroy its antimatter storage system primary support braces. Out of a crew of 35 (plus Nog and Jake), only three survived the battle.