USS Rubicon
Class:	Danube-class
Registry:	NCC-72936
Owner:	United Federation of Planets
Operator:	Starfleet
Status:	Active (2374)

The USS Rubicon (NCC-72936) was a Danube-class runabout assigned to Deep Space 9. The Rubicon was a replacement for the USS Mekong, and commenced operations in late 2371. Commander Benjamin Sisko suggested the name for the new runabout. (DS9: "Family Business")

In early 2372, the Rubicon, carrying Doctor Julian Bashir and Chief Miles O'Brien, was forced down on Bopak III by a subspace magneton pulse. It was discovered that the pulse had been sent by a group of Jem'Hadar on the planet's surface, who were seeking help to combat withdrawal symptoms from their ketracel-white addiction. (DS9: "Hippocratic Oath")

Later that year, Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax asked Captain Sisko for his permission to send a science team to a trinary star system. Sisko told her they could take the Rubicon. (DS9: "Accession")

On stardate 51474.2, the Rubicon was used to investigate a rare subspace compression anomaly. Due to unexpected circumstances, the Rubicon, with a crew of three (Dax, O'Brien and Bashir), was forced to re-enter normal space by an alternate path, resulting in the vessel shrinking to a length of 6.5cm. It was later safely reverted to its original size after helping to thwart a Jem'Hadar takeover of the USS Defiant. (DS9: "One Little Ship")

Danube-class runabouts
USS Gander • USS Ganges • USS Mekong • USS Orinoco • USS Rio Grande • USS Rubicon • USS Shenandoah • USS Volga • USS Yangtzee Kiang • USS Yukon • NCC-73918 • Unnamed

Appendices Edit

Appearances Edit

• DS9:
  • "Family Business" (referenced)
  • "Hippocratic Oath"
  • "One Little Ship"

Background information Edit

After Sisko tells Kira Nerys to name the ship the Rubicon, Kira remarks that "at the rate we go through runabouts, it's a good thing Earth has a lot of rivers." This is the first dialogue reference to the fact that all the runabouts seen on Star Trek are named after Earth rivers.

Named for the Rubicon, the river in northern Italy. The Rubicon is most famous for marking the boundary between Italy and the rest of the Roman Empire during the early Republic, which Julius Caesar crossed to invade Italy and commence the civil war with the Roman Senate. (Star Trek Encyclopedia 2nd ed., p. 422)

The studio model of the Rubicon was featured in the Christie's 40 Years of Star Trek: The Collection, which sold from US$28,000 ($33,600 with premium). [1]

Apocrypha Edit

The Rubicon is used by Benjamin Sisko and Elim Garak to travel to Earth in the novel Hollow Men.

External link Edit

• USS Rubicon (NCC-72936) at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works