Summary
- The Mirror Universe in Star Trek offers an alternate reality where heroes are villains and norms are twisted, providing a fun twist for fans.
- The Mirror Universe is home to iconic characters and starships, offering fans high-tech vessels and alternate storylines.
- Mirror Universe versions of starships like the ISS Defiant and ISS Enterprise have played crucial roles in the Terran Rebellion against the oppressive Klingon-Cardassian Alliance.
Star Trek's future is a time of plenty and one where human nature has been replaced by a drive for relentless self-improvement. Yet while this mindset is central to life in the franchise's prime reality, there is a place where things are different: the Mirror Universe. In the Star Trek Mirror Universe, heroes are villains, women's fashion is scandalous, and Spock... Has a beard. All things considered, the dimension isn't exactly coherent, but it's a fun twist on Star Trek's norms.
Indeed, for all its in-built silliness, the Mirror Universe is home to some of the franchise's most iconic characters, storylines, and, of course, starships. From the gigantic IKS Negh'Var to book-exclusive hero ships, the Mirror Universe has plenty to offer for fans of high-tech vessels.
8 Bashir's Raider
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Season 4, Episode 19; Shattered Mirror)
Bashir's raider was a shuttle-like vessel used by the Mirror Universe versions of Julian Bashir and Jadzia Dax in their fight against the Klingon–Cardassian Alliance. Although the raider was relatively small (resembling a mix of a Federation attack fighter and a runabout), it was able to distract Klingon and Cardiassian forces when they attacked Terok Nor in 2373. This distraction bought the rebels vital time to bring their version of USS Defiant into the fight.
Given that co-pilot Jadzia Dax was eventually killed by Alliance forces, it is likely that the raider lacked the defensive capabilities of a larger starship. However, it was still able to pack a punch when it joined the newly launched ISS Defiant in its battle against Regent Worf's flagship.
7 CSS ShiKahr
Star Trek: The Next Generation Novel: Silent Weapons (David Mack, 2012)
The post-Next Generation novels continued the voyages of Jean-Luc Picard and William T. Riker, but they also dipped back into the Mirror Universe to further explore the outcome of Deep Space Nine's Terran Rebellion. Thanks to intervention by the Mirror Universe Spock, the rebellion succeeded in overthrowing the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance in 2378. One of the ships involved in this effort was the CSS ShiKahr, although it suffered a strange fate.
Star Trek: 7 Destroyed Starships
These starships were among the many to have been destroyed in the space-themed world of Star Trek.
Breen operatives attempted to hijack the ShiKahr in 2386, having previously encountered a similar vessel that crashed in the prime universe three years earlier. However, due to an error in the ship's jaunt-drive (a more advanced system than warp drive), the ship exited the Mirror Universe and fell backward in time, becoming the same ship that the Breen had attempted to recover in the past. The ShiKahr, then, became an example of a predestination paradox: the Breen were inspired to steal it because it had crashed, which led again to the initial crash.
6 ISS Enterprise (NX-01)
Star Trek: Enterprise (Season 4, Episodes 18 & 19; In a Mirror, Darkly)
Star Trek: Enterprise continued its attempts to defy cancelation by bringing back several classic tropes, including the Mirror Universe. As well as offering viewers redesigned outfits and evil personas for the regular crew, the episode showed a colorful variation on the Enterprise (NX-01). This version of the Enterprise also carried a Suliban cloaking device, allowing the ship to conceal itself.
The ISS Enterprise (NX-01) was destroyed in 2155 while attempting to recover the Constitution-class USS Defiant from Tholian space. However, many of the crew were able to escape to the advanced Defiant, which they intended to use to take over the Terran Empire.
5 IKS Negh'Var
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Season 4, Episode 19; Shattered Mirror)
The IKS Negh'Var, usually referred to as the Regent's flagship, was a gigantic vessel used by the Klingon Regent Worf in the Mirror Universe. While it resembled the typical Negh'Var warship seen throughout Star Trek, it was far larger in scale, dwarfing Cardassian and Klingon vessels alike. In fact, a larger model of the ship was created by Deep Space Nine's production team in order to properly indicate its scale.
Star Trek: Klingon Starships, Explained
The franchise's most iconic proud warrior race comes to battle with a wide variety of spacefaring vessels.
In 2372, it took part in an attempt to wrest back control of Terok Nor from the Terran Rebellion, though it was forced to retreat after an attack by a replica of the USS Defiant. The massive ship was upgraded in 2375 using a cloaking device stolen from the prime universe. However, the device was sabotaged, and both the ship itself and Regent Worf were captured by the Terran rebels.
4 ISS Enterprise
Star Trek: The Original Series (Season 2, Episode 4; Mirror, Mirror)
Following an encounter with an ion storm in 2267, several members of the USS Enterprise's crew found themselves transported to the Mirror Universe, where they emerged aboard the ISS Enterprise, the evil counterpart to their own heroic Constitution-class starship. While visually the ISS Enterprise has much in common with its prime universe iteration, there are several features that set it apart.
The most notable of these were the agony booths, torture devices designed to keep the crew in line. However, although the ISS Enterprise was a place of brutal repression, it also served as the springboard for a hopeful future, as the prime Kirk was able to convince the Mirror Universe version of Spock that the Terran Empire was in need of reforms.
3 CSS Enterprise
Star Trek: Mirror Universe Novel: Rise Like Lions (David Mack, 2011)
Author David Mack resolved the still-dangling threads of Deep Space Nine's Mirror Universe series in 2011's Rise Like Lions, which showed the victory of the Terran Rebellion. Masterminded by the Mirror version of Spock, the rebel victory was made possible by jaunt ships such as the CSS Enterprise, an advanced vessel under the command of the Mirror Jean-Luc Picard.
In 2378, the CSS Enterprise attacked Klingon and Cardassian forces, paving the way for the overthrow of their tyrannical alliance. Eight years later, the ship took part in a diplomatic mission involving the Mirror Universe's Dominion, ensuring peace between the Gamma Quadrant civilization and the Commonwealth. While the CSS Enterprise was destroyed during an encounter with the Devidians in 2387, its storied history rivals that of Prime Picard's own Enterprise.
2 ISS Charon
Star Trek: Discovery (Season 1, Episode 12 Vaulting Ambition)
One of the Star Trek franchise's most visually arresting designs, the ISS Charon served as the headquarters and residence for the ruler of the Terran Empire when the USS Discovery crossed into the dimension in 2256. The city-sized starship drew its energy from a mycelial power core, enabling it to rain down devastation on all who opposed the Terran Empire.
Star Trek: Discovery - What Happened To Prime Gabriel Lorca?
In the heart of Star Trek's multiverse lies a perplexing riddle: where is the real Gabriel Lorca?
The ISS Charon served as the backdrop for an attempted coup by the Mirror Universe version of Gabriel Lorca. Lorca intended to overthrow Emperor Philippa Georgiou, seizing both the ship and the throne. However, his coup was foiled and the ISS Charon was destroyed by the USS Discovery.
1 ISS Defiant
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Season 4, Episode 19; Shattered Mirror)
It is often said that imitiation is the sincerest form of flattery. This was certainly the case for the Terran Rebellion who, impressed by the performance of Starfleet's USS Defiant, stole the schematics of the powerful warship from Deep Space Nine in 2371. Captain Sisko was coerced into re-entering the Mirror Universe to assist in the replica vessel's construction, which the rebels needed to defend Terok Nor from a Klingon–Cardassian counterattack.
The resulting ISS Defiant helped the Terran rebels not only in their defense of Terok Nor but also in the wider conflict against the Klingon–Cardassian Alliance. In 2375, the Defiant captured the gigantic IKS Negh'Var, marking the beginning of the end for Regent Worf's oppressive regime.