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What if the Val Jean had been the ship to lead the series?

I always thought the Maquis were outnumbered by Starfleet 4:1

Oh, You're right
-> Chakotay's crew was supposed to be composed by something like 20-25 while Starfleet crew was something between 120-130 officers.

Anyway, the USS Val Jean wasn't enough big to welcome everyone, for sure... and plus, it was surely less powerful and sub-equipped in weapons.

latest
 
But what would have happened if the Val jean hadn't crashed into that Kazon cruiser? I guess that Voyager would have had to tow it through the Delta Quadrant, no way that Janeway had abandoned them in the middle orf nowhere. Then we would have had a different scenario with two crews and two ships.
Neat idea. I've always wondered about different AU scenarios in regards to what ships were in the Delta quadrant but hadn't considered this one. Another one is what if the Val Jean was the only ship in the DQ, with Chakotay, Tuvok, B'Elanna, Seska et al all stuck on that small ship.
As to the original question, if the Voyager crew are able to plan it, maybe they still have all their shuttles and Neelix's ship before the ship is destroyed. Then the Maquis ship might have to be their protector for the short term until they can work up a solution, like stealing a Kazon ship.
 
What if that cardassian ship pursuing the Val Jean had been stranded with Voyager and the Val Jean?
I have a feeling that the Cardassians would have been a lot more uncooperative than what the Maquis crew was when it came to cooperate in order to get home. It could have ended in a situation where Voyager would have had to destroy Gul Evek's ship.
 
Agreed. I doubt there was anyway at all a cardassian crew and a maquis crew would work together. Even starfleet people don't like them
 
Now, I think the Val Jean was actually going to be a larger vessel. Some of what would be the Nova class concepts and early variable geometry designs were looked at:

http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Variable_geometry_pylon
http://www.starbase400.org/avalon/starship-midway.htm
http://www.markkingsnorth.com/category/starships/insignia-class-starship/page/2/

I wonder
http://fsd.trekships.org/art/images/dee-6.gif
http://www.foundation3d.com/uploads/general/2013/01/349-06-464035.jpg

I think one of the old Trek mags said that they went for the typical raider
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Maquis_raider
 
Suppose for a moment that instead of a show called Star Trek: Voyager, we ended up with Star Trek: Val Jean. When USS Voyager and the Val Jean were teleported to the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker, what if Voyager was destroyed instead?

Would Janeway have become first officer to Chakotay? Would the Starfleet crew now live by Maquis rules?

What else would be different on that show?

(Incidentally has there been any comics or novels written with this idea as I'd love to see that.)

From what I remember the Val Jean was so small, everyone would be sitting in each other's laps. It'd make for a very ... ahem, close knitted group, if anything else. Had the two ships been of a similar size however, then yeah, theoretically the Starfleet crew would follow the Maquis rules.
 
I'm pretty sure Starfleet would have clear-cut regulations stating that if they ever come across a spacecraft operated by criminals, they're to take over said spacecraft and make it a Starfleet asset. Even if it means getting a few folks killed on both sides.

I also doubt the Maquis would have rules mirroring these. They're entitled to some flexibility, Starfleet ain't. So the initial fight might be a bit fiercer than the one we got. And I doubt there'd be any following of rules or other agreement afterwards.

Timo Saloniemi
 
There's also a factor that some of the Maquis people are former Starfleet people. They're not just violent criminals. Most of them are reasonable people fighting for a cause.
 
In contrast, did anybody in Janeway's Starfleet team ever so sympathy to the Maquis cause? It's not a situation of great symmetry by any means.

Timo Saloniemi
 
What if that cardassian ship pursuing the Val Jean had been stranded with Voyager and the Val Jean?

Well, they would have played a game of cat and mouse, playing on diverse associations, depending on the situation: Janeway/Cardassians vs Maquis at the beginning then, noticing that their "unnatural allies" didn't respect rules and Starfleet policy (and her moral values), she would have chosen to collaborate with Chakotay's Maquis to fight Cardassians (because more respectable: even if occupants of Val Jean are considered like outlaws by the Federation and that she was missioned to catch them, some of them were former Starfleet officers = a more natural association!), who would have chosen to backfire them, treating Starfleet & Maquis in the same way, Starfleet and Maquis, so as ennemies of Cardassian Empire.
(It is doubtless in my mind, that our Neelix would have finished by joining Janeway, who would have offered him her protection in exchange of his knowledge of the quadrant delta)

In the end, we would have had a similar pattern/plan that the one proposed in the show (but with more fight scenes & exciting stories! :techman:) : Janeway / Chakotay and their repsective crews forced to work together (but both commanding officers would have kept their own crews & vessels) to fight Cardassians and all other ennemies met, then they would have become friends & even more (B'Elena/Tom and even Janeway/Chakotay was possible). And Neelix would have helped them to navigate in an unknown quadrant. But not sure that he would have cooked for them but would it really have been a loss?! :p
 
Everyone gets down on Neelix's cooking but it really was a asset to the crew. In the beginning they complained about the food but that was because he cooked based on a Talaxian palate. As the show went on the comlaints about is food became less and less as he learned the non Talaxian food preferences.
 
I think a lot of the cooking jokes were endearing. By the third season, everyone probably loved Neelix and his cooking.
 
Didn't Tom say something along the lines of "soon we won't even notice the explosions in our stomachs?" It was in one of the very first episodes where Janeway walked in on him and Harry having a meal. I think it was the infamous "There's coffee in that nebula" episode.

Or their stomaches were more solid! :lol:
 
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