The Malinche after she was disabled by the Maquis.
The USS Malinche (NCC-38997) was an Excelsior-class Federation starship in the 24th century.
In 2373, the Malinche was commanded by Captain Sanders, and assigned to patrol the Demilitarized Zone, near the Gamma Seven outpost. The Malinche helped to intercept a Maquis raider commanded by Starfleet traitor Michael Eddington with the USS Defiant; unfortunately, Eddington managed to escape after disabling the Defiant with a planted computer virus.
Following the incident, Captain Sanders was given the duty of apprehending Eddington. However, Sanders would have no more luck at the task than Benjamin Sisko had. When the Malinche responded to a distress signal from a Cardassian freighter, it was discovered that the freighter was actually a booby trap left by the Maquis; a focused particle beam punched through the ship's gyro-shielding, and three Maquis raiders then attacked and disabled the ship.
The barely-functional Defiant responded to the Malinche's distress call, and provided material assistance for repairs before continuing the search for Eddington. (DS9: "For the Uniform").
- The ship was probably named for La Malinche, the Mexican woman who assisted Cortés in his conquest of Mexico.