USS Orinoco
The USS Orinoco was a 24th century Federation  runabout operated by Starfleet. This ship, a replacement for , was assigned to Deep Space 9. It was outfitted with a sensor pod during most of its missions.

History 
In 2370, the Orinoco was assigned to Deep Space 9, meant as a replacement for the previously destroyed . It was used to evacuate the station of all non-Bajoran personnel. ()

During a plasma disruption that forced the evacuation of DS9, the Orinoco was at Landing Pad C in case the skeleton crew had to leave in a hurry. Later, Verad planned to use the runabout to make his escape. ()

Lieutenant Jadzia Dax and Ensign Melora Pazlar used the Orinoco to travel to the Gamma Quadrant where they conducted a survey of an unknown sector of space. The runabout was later hijacked by Fallit Kot, but Melora was able to subdue him by deactivating the artificial gravity. ()

Shortly after stardate 47573.1, Major Kira Nerys and Jadzia used the Orinoco to track down the , which had been reported traveling at warp 2, unpiloted, in Sector 401. When the Orinoco caught up with the Rio Grande, Dax used an old "Hopi rope-trick" with the Orinocos tractor beam to force the Rio Grande out of warp. The Orinoco was later towed back to the Orellius system by the Rio Grande. ()

Later, on stardate 47603.3, Jadzia and Odo used the Orinoco to investigate a particle field in the Gamma Quadrant. They later detected omicron particles from Rurigan's hologenerator. ()

Later that year, the Orinoco, the Rio Grande, and the  held a defensive position meant to prevent the Maquis from attacking Bryma, a Cardassian colony in the Demilitarized Zone. Kira and Dax piloted the Orinoco during the blockade. The Orinoco was attacked by one of the Maquis ships, which sheared off its navigational array with phasers. Chief O'Brien, aboard the Mekong, later assisted in the repairs of the Orinoco. ()

In late 2370, Chief O'Brien outfitted the Orinoco with extra banks of photon torpedoes. It was piloted by Kira and Doctor Julian Bashir while it assisted the  during its rescue attempt of Commander Benjamin Sisko, who was being held prisoner by the Dominion in the Gamma Quadrant. During the ensuing battle, the Orinoco helped lay down covering fire for the nearly-disabled Mekong, and later attempted to intercept the kamikaze Jem'Hadar attack ship that destroyed the Odyssey. ()

The Orinoco was destroyed by the Cardassian terrorist group the True Way in 2372. The True Way had sabotaged the vessel by removing the warp core ejection system. Sisko, Kira, Worf, Dax and O'Brien were transported off the runabout in time. ()

Appendices

Appearances

Background information 
The  listed this runabout with registry number NCC-72905. The reference work stated that the Orinoco was named after the  river which, with a length of 2,410 kilometers, was one of the largest rivers of South America.

In a draft of , O'Brien looks for evidence that someone has tampered with the Orinoco with the intent of stealing it at a later time. (The Making of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

In an article in Billboard in June 1994, an article writer speculated that the Orinoco might have also been named after Orinoco Flow, a song by Enya: "According to those who should know, Enya may remain on the chart well into the 24th century. One of the runabouts on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" is named the Orinoco. Yes, it's after the river, but surely the writers were inspired by Enya's first Hot 100 single, 'Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)'". 

In 1994, Playmates Toys issued a toy runabout Orinoco along with their line of  action figures. The Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection released the Orinoco as the Danube-class model of the magazine.

Apocrypha 
The Orinoco was featured at the start of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Harbinger.

External link 
 

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Orinoco