Star Trek: Enterprise's grapplers have fans in Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh and Ensign Brad Boimler, but what is this 22nd century Starfleet technology?
SUMMARY
- Grapplers were a primitive form of technology used on the NX-01 Enterprise in Star Trek: Enterprise, serving as a predecessor to tractor-beams.
- The grapplers were metal cables with a magnetic clamping device used to catch and hold onto other starships or objects in space.
- Grapplers could be used for towing, catching, and even as weapons, showcasing the rough-and-tumble era of Starfleet and the bold spirit of adventure.
Star Trek: Enterprise's grapplers have fans in Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) and Ensign Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid), but what is this 22nd-century Starfleet technology? During the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds crossover with Star Trek:
Lower Decks, the NX-01 Enterprise commanded by Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) was pivotal in sending Ensigns Boimler and Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) back to the 24th century. Mariner and Boimler's knowledge of the NX-01 was the key, and this included the original Enterprise's famed grapplers.
Captain Archer's NX-01 Enterprise was Starfleet's first warp 5-capable starship, allowing humanity to explore deep space for the first time. The NX-01 was equipped with the finest technology the mid-22nd century Starfleet had to offer, including transporters that functioned safely, although Enterprise's crew preferred to avoid beaming on or off the ship.
However, the NX-01 lacked deflector shields and, instead, used polarized hull plating as a defense. The first Enterprise also lacked phasers and photon torpedoes, utilizing precursors called phase cannons and unreliable spatial torpedoes. In addition, the NX-01 had no tractor-beam technology, which is where the infamous grapplers come in.
What Are Grapplers In Star Trek: Enterprise?
Star Trek: Enterprise's grapplers were the NX-01's predecessor to tractor-beam technology, which Starfleet would develop decades later. Extending from the bottom of the NX-01, the grapplers were metal cables with a magnetic clamping device that Enterprise used to catch and hold onto other starships or objects in space. The NX starships were equipped with two sets of grapplers, and Enterprise's shuttlepods also featured grapplers in their aft sections.
In Star Trek: Enterprise's more perilous era of space exploration, grapplers were primitive compared to the tractor-beams to come in future starships, but they could also be used ingeniously. Grapplers not only could be used to catch and tow other ships and celestial objects but Enterprise's Armory Officer Lt. Malcolm Reed (Dominic Keating) could employ them as weapons. In Star Trek: Enterprise season 4, the NX-01 used its grapplers to attack a Klingon battle cruiser's nacelles to disable its ability to go to warp. Even after the 22nd century, grapplers were still employed by other alien species like the Pakleds, who used them on Starfleet ships in Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Why La'an Loves Enterprise's Grapplers In Strange New Worlds
In one of the funniest lines from Strange New Worlds' crossover with Star Trek: Lower Decks, Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh suddenly and hilariously blurted out, "I love grapplers" when Ensigns Boimler and Mariner were explaining how their visit to the NX-01 Enterprise at the Starfleet History Museum could send them back to their proper time. As for why La'an might love grapplers, she is the Security Chief of the USS Enterprise, and she is also a veteran of Star Trek: Discovery's Klingon War. La'an's past Starfleet experiences point to an affinity for weapons and tactics, as well as an appreciation of Starfleet history. Star Trek: Enterprise's grapplers are a symbol and technology of a more rough-and-tumble era of Starfleet, and it makes sense if La'an romanticizes aspects of it just as Boimler does Strange New Worlds' 23rd century.
There is certainly something cool about grapplers, as well as the NX-01 Enterprise as a whole. Captain Pike also admires Archer's NX-01, which is less sleek and powerful than his Constitution Class Enterprise NCC-1701 but still forged into the deepest regions of space as Captain Archer made his historic explorations and First Contacts that led to the founding of the United Federation of Planets. Star Trek: Enterprise's crew were pioneers who braved the dangers of the unknown and paved the way for Starfleet to follow. La'an appreciates this as well, and the NX-01 Enterprise's grapplers point to that bold spirit of adventure and making the best of the technology you have.
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