I just have to say that I love this ship name. Although it has its Star Trek roots in the classic 1956 sci-fi movie 'Forbidden Planet', and that the name itself originates in Greek Mythology, where he is the mighty warrior that slew the Chimera—amongst many other notable triumphs—after many Google and Wiki searches I still could not find a motto I thought appropriate for the ship based on either. So, after having recently read Arthur Herman's book 'To Rule the Waves: How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World' (not to mention my own exising pride in Her Britannic Majesty's Royal Navy) I decided on going for the most famous Bellerophon of all. From Wiki:
"She fought at the battle of The Glorious First of June, the Battle of the Nile and the Battle of Trafalgar…becoming one of the most famous British ships of the Napoleonic Wars. Having difficulty pronouncing the ship's classical name, her crew affectionately called her the Billy Ruffian. She achieved further fame on July 15, 1815 when Napoleon Bonaparte surrendered to Captain Maitland of the Bellerophon…"
Since the Napoleonic Wars were basically Nelson (& Wellingon) vs. Napoleon, I thought a quote from Nelson was appropriate, and found the perfect one in his "French Principles". Go look it up. I've told you enough here.
This ship, the first to bear the name under Starfleet auspices, contains a tribute to its Next Generation "forebearer's" 'Forbidden Planet' roots, and as such she is among the second batch of new-build Miranda class ships (NCC-1930-73). I could have had her built in the Altair system as a further tribute, but I have to say that if the non-aligned planets Altair-IV and -VI had just made peace in 2267 after a long interplanetary war, they wouldn't be building cutting-edge Federation starships barely 5 years later. This is why only the original canon ST Bellerophon is built there. That may seem pedantic to you, but hey: she's my ship. Go research your own.
The second Miranda class below was of an era with the USS Brattain from TNG:'Night Terrors'. In my STU these ships are built as a relatively quick and cheap way of securing the Federation's new border with the Cardassians while more capable ships are designed and constructed. Whatever ships that survive are relegated to support roles in the Fleet once the more modern ships are delivered.
This Nebula-class ship was introduced in the opening episode of DS9, where she is one of the ships destroyed at the Battle of Wolf 359. I was pleased to see this illustrious name brought into the ranks of Starfleet, and so this plaque contains a tribute to its 'Forbidden Planet' roots. Altair-IV may not have been building cutting-edge Federation starships less than a decade after resolving their interplanetary civil war, but after almost 90 years I think I can have the original canon ST Bellerophon built there.
This is Admiral Ross' Intrepid-class flagship from DS9's Dominion War. I was pleased to see this illustrious name carried forward after the first ever DS9 episode both introduced the name to the ranks of Starfleet and had its bearer destroyed by the Borg. I think an Intrepid class is a good way to garry forward from a Nebula class.
