It was a training mission. Maybe there was no XO, just instructors and a Captain. The cadets were expected to fill various roles as part of the training. Then...KHAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Who was Spock's XO?
- Thread starter Sketcher
- Start date
Spock's half-brother Spocko was his XO.
Wasn't Saavik a JG? I think the most likely explanation for the training she's getting in the movie is that she's in some kind of post-graduate program.
It seems really unlikely that a commander or at least a lieutenant commander couldn't be found for 2iC, and they reached down to a JG or lieutenant. Could be that there was some unknown XO who was busy offscreen and was assigned other duties while Kirk took command.
Weren’t they just on a training mission that stayed fairly close to Earth?
Starfleet Command may have decided a lieutenant or a JG was enough.
Regarding Saavik’s rank, as soon as I commit those TWOK thru TUC rank insignias to memory, I instantly forget what ranks they signify.
Starfleet Command may have decided a lieutenant or a JG was enough.
Regarding Saavik’s rank, as soon as I commit those TWOK thru TUC rank insignias to memory, I instantly forget what ranks they signify.
Why would he need one on a training mission? There was no indication that Spock was the captain of a fully active USS Enterprise. But even if he was, whoever his XO might have been could have been on shore leave with the rest of the regulars. It didn't have to be one of the main cast. And suggesting Scotty at this point doesn't fit as well in the movies as the TV series. He spent no real time working on the bridge until he was part of the tiny group stealing it in TSFS.
I think there is some flexibility of when to take the Kobayashi Maru. If you are a command track cadet you take it at the Academy before graduation. If you are a sciences or engineering cadet that later decides to switch to command you have to go back for post graduate command school, and that's when you take the test.
Still would need a second-in-command to be clearly defined in case an accident took the captain out of action.
It was a three hour tour. Lt. Gilligan was the XO.
In an emergency, it would just go to the next ranking officer. Sulu is right there. Uhura also is a commander by then. Since it is again just a training mission, barring an escaped madman hunting them down, the worst case scenario would just need someone to get them back to Earth.
To compartmentalize;
1. By order of deduction, in the event the Training Cruise encountered a situation outside of its parameters(which, as we know, did happen), the Command Structure would revert to the Standard form, on basis of Seniority. This would leave Kirk in command, with Spock sliding back to his old XO role. That said, if Kirk were to decline(and Spock choosing not to persuade him otherwise), then the process of elimination would give the exec role to Sulu. He would make the most sense as, in both TOS and in TMP he had been next man up("Mr. Sulu... you have the conn.") and even with Scott assuming a bigger role in Season 2 onward he had at least one moment in the chair. Uhura would be next up in the order and from there it probably falls to Saavik or other trainees, as you would need Scott to hold things together down in engineering, especially with trainees on hand.
2. Within Parameters, a 'simulation' of a command structure may be assembled as part of the course. This would mean the Senior Officers(whether this would include Spock would depend on the scenario) would be relegated to their established Observer/Instructor roles while the trainees took charge. Here, CO or XO duties(again, dependent on Spock) would most likely fall to Saavik. An XO for Saavik isn't known, but would've probably been that blonde guy manning Tactical(him being the only other seen Bridge Officer with an important role).
3. Side Note; I tend to regard Saavik's Lt. JG rank as something of an exemplary accomplishment. By that I mean, I think of it as a Cadet having such an excellent record that he/she jumps a rank or two when they graduate. Something reserved for Heads of the Class, so to speak.
4. Finally, for the remainder of the Training Cruise, involving elements that don't require an actual structure as part of the testing, I can see Spock in sole Command without an immediate exec. In that setting, he would simply command, letting the trainees learn and the instructors teach, himself included, as Saavik is most obviously his star pupil.
1. By order of deduction, in the event the Training Cruise encountered a situation outside of its parameters(which, as we know, did happen), the Command Structure would revert to the Standard form, on basis of Seniority. This would leave Kirk in command, with Spock sliding back to his old XO role. That said, if Kirk were to decline(and Spock choosing not to persuade him otherwise), then the process of elimination would give the exec role to Sulu. He would make the most sense as, in both TOS and in TMP he had been next man up("Mr. Sulu... you have the conn.") and even with Scott assuming a bigger role in Season 2 onward he had at least one moment in the chair. Uhura would be next up in the order and from there it probably falls to Saavik or other trainees, as you would need Scott to hold things together down in engineering, especially with trainees on hand.
2. Within Parameters, a 'simulation' of a command structure may be assembled as part of the course. This would mean the Senior Officers(whether this would include Spock would depend on the scenario) would be relegated to their established Observer/Instructor roles while the trainees took charge. Here, CO or XO duties(again, dependent on Spock) would most likely fall to Saavik. An XO for Saavik isn't known, but would've probably been that blonde guy manning Tactical(him being the only other seen Bridge Officer with an important role).
3. Side Note; I tend to regard Saavik's Lt. JG rank as something of an exemplary accomplishment. By that I mean, I think of it as a Cadet having such an excellent record that he/she jumps a rank or two when they graduate. Something reserved for Heads of the Class, so to speak.
4. Finally, for the remainder of the Training Cruise, involving elements that don't require an actual structure as part of the testing, I can see Spock in sole Command without an immediate exec. In that setting, he would simply command, letting the trainees learn and the instructors teach, himself included, as Saavik is most obviously his star pupil.
Maybe John Harriman? But he wasn't due 'til Tuesday. Then some things happened, etc.
"Trainees to the briefing room."
IIRC, press releases of the day suggested that Saavik was in Command School, having completed her initial Academy training. There was a similarly-attired blond male (named Croy in the novelization) at the navigation post during Saavik's Kobayashi Maru test. Their red collars showed that they were both still in training, but were more advanced than the cadets in the jumpsuits.
But Saavik didn't leave when Spock gave that order. Instead, she hung around to talk to Kirk.
Yes, which I took to be an example of her impulsiveness.
Realistically, there would have to be at least a skeleton crew of trained personnel to run the ship, otherwise you run the risk of a disaster like Valiant on DS9. When I was in the Air Force back in the mid-80s, we had a group of Academy cadets visit the base for a few weeks of training. The guidance we got from our squadron flat out told us not to take any guff from these kids (and they were kids, barely in their 20s at most). Our branch chief told us that, even as junior enlisted, we were more valuable to the service than any of them because we were out doing our real job in the real air force. The cadets were at the "learned enough to be dangerous" stage. Something similar should have been the case in TWOK (although it would have made for a less interesting movie).
I'm not sure a Starfleet cadet deciding "ignore your commanding officer so you can tell the admiral that his test is stupid" is the kind of impulsiveness that would normally get rewarded...
(But, then again, I still maintain the only explanation that makes sense is that Saavik was not a cadet.)
I'm fairly confident it's Sulu.
Spock likely had his own five year mission after Kirk’s two five year missions (TOS TV and TMP).
During that time, his relationship with Sulu could've been like Picard and Riker.
But Sulu came aboard with Kirk and they discussed how he was just there for three weeks.
