In 2270, the Pompeii, flagship of Vice Admiral Vaughan Rittenhouse, assisted the USS Enterprise, USS Lincoln, USS Hornet, and USS Potemkin in recapturing the stolen dreadnought, USS Star Empire. During the ensuing battle, and after Rittenhouse's plan to carry out a coup d'état at Starfleet Command was discovered, Rittenhouse ordered Pompeii to execute a kamikaze run against Star Empire; however, she was destroyed by Enterprise before she could complete her run. (TOS - Fortunes of War novel: Dreadnought!)