Picard's continued support of Calhoun - bewildering?

[Cadet49]

I often find Picard's continued support of Calhoun's captaincy to be bewildering, considering that many of Calhoun's decisions in the his dealings with other cultures seem to be the complete antithesis to Picard's style of command and core beliefs about Starfleet's role (e.g. violence is to be used only as a last resort; avoid interfering in other cultures, etc.)

Spoiler: Spoiler about Missing in Action

(e.g. how Calhoun dealt with Termic and Pontalimus in Missing in Action; I won't spoil the details for people who haven't read the book, but I don't think Picard would have approved of his negotiation tactics, nor the way he ultimately parted company with the two conflicting leaders

.

When Picard has appeared in New Frontier, we see him disapprove of many of Calhoun's actions, but he seems to still ultimately support the unorthodox captain

Spoiler: A minor spoiler about 'Stone and Anvil'

... even when Calhoun orders his crew to target the Enterprise-E's bridge, threatening the lives of Picard's command "family", as he called them in Nemesis

.

Would it be an interesting story arc to see Picard turn his support away from Calhoun, just as we saw Jellico go from not supporting Calhoun to now being a strong avocate of him?

 

[Elias Vaughn]

Picard often supports officers with viewpoints that differ markedly from his.

Look at how long he had Worf working for him.

 

[captcalhoun]

^ and who still is.

i think Picard envies Calhoun's willingness to act in ways he can't or won't...

 

[JoeZhang]

The Peter David books largely seem to occur in a universe that seems almost the same as the mainstream one but in which established existing characters only appear to show how wonderful David's own characters are. So Picard has to support Calhoun because he's wonderful.

If Wolverine appear in a David Star Trek book it would only be so Calhoun could knock him out and then Wolverine could say "he's the best there is!".

 

[DS9Continuing]

^^^ That's pretty much the impression I've always got as well.

.

 

[Christopher]

But Calhoun already is Wolverine!

 

[MatthiasRussell]

Why not? They already have Thor aboard.

 

[MatthiasRussell]

Calhoun is like the Pappy Boyington of Starfleet. Some may not like him or his style but he gets results. They probably keep him in Thalonian space so the admiralty doesn't have to deal with him regularly and they can have deniability.

As for Picard, lets not forget he was reckless in his youth. He probably sees some of that in Calhoun. And Picard has not always agreed with Calhoun, they've faced each other down on a few occasions.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

I know I've said this before, but I've always found myself rather liking the idea of Captain Calhoun, surprisingly enough. Sure, he's ludicrously over the top and we get beaten over the head with him (JoeZhang isn't far off the mark, I'd say), but I find him compelling in spite of it. There aren't too many characters who manage to be so potentially frustrating and yet intriguing. Calhoun's actions and behaviours raise an eyebrow much of the time - sometimes I find myself thinking "is this guy really working for the Federation?". But then I look at him from another angle and see him as an exercise in making the Federation what it should be - boldly taking steps to explore the universe and interacting in mutually productive ways with the people in it. That's a risky business, and Calhoun embodies that risk. Can a Xenexian warlord bring beneficial traits and outlooks to the Federation - or a small part of it - and can the Federation accommodate that warlord and his experience without tearing? (without jeopardizing its ethics and sense of identity). The Federation's a flexible society, or should be anyway. A community that diverse couldn't function if it wasn't. It's also strongly ethical and committed to a moral stance, of course, so finding the balance on what's "acceptable" is a challenge. Picard and the Federation taking a chance on Calhoun seems to me an attempt to incorporate the Xenexian way into galactic society to productive ends, while of course in turn asking that it be "blunted" a bit to keep within the fold of those Federation ideals. That seems very much in character for both the UFP and their noted explorer/diplomat, Picard.

Whether the books fully explore these ideas is questionable, but the potential conflict and the desire - or need - to take the risk does come through in New Frontier (when it's at its best, anyway). There are certainly times when I think Calhoun crosses the line and needs a sharp reminder that this is the Federation, not Xenex (and I do wish Starfleet was harsher on him than they are, hysterical Jellico aside), but there are others where he brings an intriguing and unique perspective. I must say that often his perspective isn't one I'm personally comfortable with, or would condone, but it's all valuable.

I do think Picard and co could do with being presented as harsher on Calhoun than they usually are - some genuine opposition would be nice, rather than just "Oh that crazy Calhoun!", but overall I'm not too bothered by it. I do wish the recent books had stuck with Thallonian space as the primary setting, though, because Calhoun's unique style is somewhat suited to that culture(s). Taking him away from the Thallonian situation seems to be reducing the opportunity to actually demonstrate why the risks pay off.

 

[Cadet49]

Good points.

Do you think Picard would come to regret his initial advocacy for promoting Calhoun to a captaincy? After all, Calhoun had never been a captain before taking command of the Excalibur, so perhaps Picard hadn't realized just HOW unorthodoxed Calhoun's command style was going to be?

 

[Elias Vaughn]

Picard fought long and hard to get a man who murdered a sitting head of state during wartime to stay as his first officer.

I don't think anything Calhoun has done compares.

 

[David cgc]

Calhoun murdered an extremely-recently-deposed head of state immediately post-war. And everyone around tried to give him a medal because he had extremely lucky timing.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Why not? They already have Thor aboard.

We all know that Thor is George Kirk anyway.

 

[Cadet49]

Picard fought long and hard to get a man who murdered a sitting head of state during wartime to stay as his first officer.

I don't think anything Calhoun has done compares.

Are you referring to when Worf killed Weyoun after he threatened Ezri Dax? I wonder if that action was ever revealed to the Federation?

 

[Christopher]

^No, he's referring to Worf's challenge and duel to the death with Gowron in "Tacking Into the Wind." Weyoun was not a head of state, merely a servant of the Founders.

 

[DorkBoy [TM]]

Yes but to the Klingons this was not murder. It was diplomacy.

So they made him an ambassador, duh.

 

[Elias Vaughn]

Yes but to the Klingons this was not murder. It was diplomacy.

So they made him an ambassador, duh.

Picard doesn't care. Remember when Worf killed Duras legally under Klingon law and Picard chewed him out?

 

[DorkBoy [TM]]

Personally, I think the difference is one of motivation.

Worf killed Duras as an act of revenge. Revenge is legally allowed in their culture, but Picard did not approve of it.

The Gowron situation was different. Worf killed Gowron to save both the Klingon empire and the Federation from being overrun by the Dominion, which is what Gowron was risking. (Which is why I said it was an act of "diplomacy" by Klingon standards; it was only sort of a joke.) He didn't really have much of a choice.

 

[vegaslover62]

So what? Calhoun gets the job done.

 

[Claudia]

So what? Calhoun gets the job done.

The end justifies the means? I guess not...