Archon

The NX-71 Archon was a pre-Federation starship made in the early days before the official formation of the United Federation of Planets. Around 2167, it disappeared in the Beta System (known for its six M-class planets, including Betazed, the homeworld of the Betazoids); it was not until one hundred years later that the USS Enterprise under the command of James T. Kirk discovered what had happened to it.

Disappearance in Beta System
The Archon was supposed to make First Contact with an empathic race of humanoids in the Beta System February 14th, 2167. However, the ship encountered an ion storm that caused it to take shelter on a planet classified as Beta III.

The ruler of this planet was an enigmatic figure known as Landru. His religious beliefs clashed with the demands of the captain of the Archon, and Landru was killed. However, his memory lived on. An old Artificial Intelligence Matrix, called L-1, takes control of the humanoid inhabitants of Beta III, calling it "the Body". Seeing the crew of the Archon as a threat, L-1 creates the "Lawgivers", a group of holy-men who assimilate others into "the Body". The crew of the Archon, called "Archons" by the people of the planet, are either assimilated, go into hiding or are killed off one by one. The Archons are integrated into "the Body" and some of their surviving descendants live today.

The "Archons" who escaped tried to repair their ship. Their attempts were futile, but they were able to send a distress signal to the only ship that picked it up: the NX-01 Enterprise. However, Jonathan Archer was preoccupied with his current mission, and the distress signal was logged away to be examined when the ship was decommissioned.

See |The Return of the Archons