this is a long shot but does anyone remember a 1980's Sci-Fi movie (live-action) about:

1. a group of ships that are sent out at different times and years, on military and Science missions

2. one of the ships crews discover that the other ships can unite together into a larger ship

3. the leader of the 1st ship created them to use the united ship to conquer the planets in the area

4. the one ship that knew the truth fought the others and won the fight at the end

I know it's not:

Battle Star Galatica
Star Wars
Star Trek

It might have been a Major Motion Picture but I think it was a Made For TV Movie (In the days BEFORE SCI-FY Network)

Battle Beyond the Stars?

did the ship unite together in this movie?

because that was the part that i remember the most about it, because i so wanted toys from the movie (but had to make the ships out of Lego bricks)

there was 5 big ships and a small command ship that formed the bridge of the super ship, the hero's ship became a wing (I remember that because the united ship was together in the last fight but missing a wing)