A worker bee was a small auxiliary craft used by the Federation from the mid-23rd century to the late 24th century. Both the USS Shenzhou and her contemporary starship the USS Discovery carried a complement of worker bees.
These small, one-person vehicles were not equipped with auto-pilot, instead operated through the use of a spherical attitude control interface and control panel. The worker bee was characterized by a small cabin with large viewports that also acted as holographic interfaces. The vehicle could be configured for mission-specific tasks and equipped with mechanical arms and/or laser cannons for cutting. These attachments operated through the use of a glove worn by the worker bee's pilot. (DIS: "The Vulcan Hello", "Despite Yourself")
A worker bee equipped with a laser cannon attachment
In 2256, the USS Shenzhou dispatched a worker bee to retrieve a damaged interstellar relay. (DIS: "The Vulcan Hello", "Battle at the Binary Stars")
During the Battle of the Binary Stars, Captain Philippa Georgiou briefly considered arming a worker bee with a photon warhead and piloting it herself in an attempt to disable or destroy the Klingon Ship of the Dead. (DIS: "Battle at the Binary Stars")
A worker bee carrying cargo
In 2257, Lieutenant Ash Tyler piloted a worker bee in an effort to salvage a mirror universe Klingon data core and return it to the USS Discovery. (DIS: "Despite Yourself")
A worker bee was present in Discovery's cargo bay 3 when Me Hani Ika Hali Ka Po emerged from the cargo container she had stowed away in. (ST: "Runaway")
In 3189, worker bees and DOT-7s were used to repair the USS Discovery after it was damaged from a crash landing on the Colony. (DIS: "People of Earth")
Later that year, worker bees were used for retrofitting the USS Discovery. (DIS: "Scavengers")
List of ships[]
- 042
- Unnamed worker bees
Appendices[]
Appearances[]
External link[]
- Worker bee at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works