Star Trek: 10 Secrets Of The Enterprise A You Need To Know

Going head to head with the USS Relant in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the refit Enterprise took a severe beating. Over the course of the film, scorching and damaged sections appeared on the Enterprise's hull, consistent with shots scored by Khan and a visual reminder to audience of the toll the battle had taken.

But when the Enterprise reappeared in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, she was even more beat up. While much of the damage the Enterprise sustained in TWOK was focused on the starboard side of the ship, additional damage suddenly appeared on the port side as well as on the top of the saucer section and tips of the warp nacelles.

So what happened?

The real world (aka boring) answer is the producers probably decided it was more dramatic to have a heavily damaged Enterprise limp home to Earth and applied even more damage to emphasize her beaten state. In-universe, that answer's a little trickier.

Though two years had passed between the release of The Wrath of Khan and The Search for Spock, only days transpired in the films themselves and there's no canon backstory to explain the additional damage. We do know that the Enterprise made at least one stop after her departure from the Genesis Planet, dropping off David Marcus, Lieutenant Saavik, and most of the trainee crew. Did she have a run-in with hostile aliens? Or was the damage inflicted by Khan so severe that the Enterprise continued to burn even days after the battle had ended?