Thanks to the Star Trek now has the opportunity to reveal more about one missing era of the USS Enterprise. The Enterprise has been one of Starfleet's most famous ships since Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) set out on the Enterprise NX-01 in 2151, as part of humanity's first interstellar mission of exploration. Since then, several Federation starships have carried the name Enterprise, including the vessels of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart).

While the voyages of Kirk's Enterprise and Picard's Enterprise-D are well documented, there are a few holes throughout the history of ships named Enterprise. After Kirk's original ship was destroyed in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, he took over command of the Enterprise-A for the rest of the Star Trek films. The Enterprise-B made an appearance at the beginning of Star Trek Generations, but its voyages remain mostly a mystery. Even less is known about the Enterprise-C, which only made one appearance in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3, episode 15, "Yesterday's Enterprise."

Rachel Garrett's Return In The Section 31 Movie Can Reveal More About The Enterprise-C Era

Rachel Garrett First Appeared In TNG's "Yesterday's Enterprise"

Although much about the plot of Star Trek: Section 31 remains unknown, the film will take place during Star Trek's "lost era" of the early 24th century. Section 31 centers on Michelle Yeoh's Emperor Philippa Georgiou, as she recruits a team for an important black ops Section 31 mission. Kacey Rohl will be portraying a young Rachel Garrett, who will act as Starfleet's representative on Georgiou's team. As seen in TNG's "Yesterday's Enterprise," Tricia O'Neil's Rachel Garrett will eventually become captain of the USS Enterprise-C.

Much about the history of the Enterprise-C remains unknown, leaving the door open for Star Trek: Section 31 to fill in some of those blanks. Section 31 could reveal when and why the ship was first commissioned and who served as its first captain (presuming there was a different one before Rachel Garrett). As the flagship of the Federation, the Enterprise often participates in Starfleet's most important and dangerous missions, and the Enterprise-C was likely no exception. Whether the Enterprise-C makes an appearance in Section 31, the film could offer insight into some of the ships's earliest missions.

What We Know About The Enterprise-C Based On Star Trek Canon

The Enterprise-C Helped Prevent A Devastating War With The Klingons

In Star Trek: The Next Generation's "Yesterday's Enterprise," the USS Enterprise-D encountered a rift in spacetime. When the battle-damaged Enterprise-C emerged from the wormhole, reality shifted and the Enterprise-D became a warship on the front lines of the Federation's war with the Klingon Empire. In the past, in 2344, the Enterprise-C had engaged four Romulan warbirds after responding to a distress call at a Klingon outpost. When the Enterprise-C drifted through the wormhole, the Klingon outpost was destroyed and war later broke out between the Klingons and the Federation.

Although Captain Rachel Garrett was killed before the Enterprise-C made it back through the wormhole, the ship's heroic sacrifice to protect the Klingon outpost impressed the Klingons.

Thanks to Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg), Captain Picard and his crew realized that the Enterprise-C needed to return to its own time to restore the proper timeline. Although Captain Rachel Garrett was killed before the Enterprise-C made it back through the wormhole, the ship's heroic sacrifice to protect the Klingon outpost impressed the Klingons. This strengthened the alliance between the Federation and the Klingons, which eventually led to a peace treaty. Star Trek: The Next Generation only offered a glimpse into the history of the Enterprise-C, but the Star Trek film could reveal more about the ship and its future captain.