After stealing the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 to rescue Captain Spock and then ordering the starships destruction in the process, Admiral James T. Kirk and his command crew faced court martial. Their actions in saving the planet Earth from destruction by an alien probe saw them largely exonerated of the most serious charges, with Kirk’s ‘punishment’ being a demotion back to the rank of Captain and command of a starship. 

Expecting to be assigned to the U.S.S. Excelsior NCC-2000, the crew were instead delighted and surprised to find themselves aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-A. Her shakedown cruise led to the need for repairs back at Earth, but before completion the ship was urgently sent out to resolve a hostage situation on Nimbus III. 

It emerged this was a ruse by Sybok, Spock’s Vulcan half-brother, to hijack a starship and take it to the centre of the galaxy to find the mythic planet Sha Ka Ree and the potentially divine presence that inhabited it – which ultimately turned out to be hostile, to Sybok’s cost.

By 2293, the Enterprise-A was due for retirement, in part thanks to the success of the Excelsior-class. Her final mission occurred when the energy producing Klingon moon of Praxis suddenly exploded, leading to a crisis within the Empire and the unexpected offer of peace talks. 

Kirk and his crew were chosen to mediate thanks to the involvement of Captain Spock, and despite attempts by a conspiracy to derail any chance of peace, the Enterprise was instrumental in the signing of the Khitomer Accords and the eventual alliance between the Federation and Klingon Empire. 

The Enterprise-A was later preserved at the Starfleet Museum in tribute to the legacy of James T. Kirk and his illustrious crew. Her successor, the Excelsior-class U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-B, was launched later in 2293.