Operational Crew of 1701

[Cary L. Brown]

Zaranites, which we KNOW serve on Federation ships alongside humans as they are seen among the crew in TMP, are fluorine (which reacts violently with oxygen and hydrogen) breathers. They also wear masks which filter the light as the standard setting for humans is too bright for them.

We don't really know that's how things are normally done.

We see Zaranites on earth wearing the masks, to be sure, but I'm certain that most of their work is done in zaranite-friendly facilities, where the masks are not required. Easy to do if you've got entire cities to deal with, less so when dealing with a relatively small ship.

We do see at least one Zaranite on the Enterprise, but remember, the Enterprise is being launched ahead of schedule and that they're struggling to come up with crew. Perhaps the only person qualified for some job, or the best qualified in any case, happened to be a Zaranite. And that Zaranite would be required to live "in-mask" or the time that the ship would be on this emergency, but would not be permanently assigned. (Later films do, at least by omission, seem to confirm this, don't they?)

Further, we don't know that Zaranites breath fluorine, really, from anything seen on-screen. Nor, for that matter, about the light requirements. I see no major issue with this, mind you, except that for the purposes of ST-TMP, it seems unlikely that they'd have had the opportunity to install that sort of "non-standard environment" prior to the early launch anyway, doesn't it? They were struggling to get the ship flight-worthy... and this crewmember wasn't one of the most critical people on the ship, was he? (I mean, we never MET the guy, after all!) So, I'm not 100% sold on the definition you just gave me, anyway.

But if this WAS the case, this crewer must have been entirely irreplaceable, or they must have set him up in some special "ambassadorial" cabin specifically designed for short-term occupation with "alien environmental needs."

In any case, it remains impractical to have crew assigned who have dramatically different (and incompatible) life support requirements, and all later Trek supported that idea, as we never see another one of these guys on any ship we see.

Ignore, for the moment, what it would mean to this one guy... imagine him serving on the bridge and his fluorine tank springing a leak, causing all the human crew on the bridge to need to evacuate. It just make no sense.

 

[tighr]

Not sure if the tech would have existed in TOS, but on Voyager there were at least two specific instances (both involving Tom Paris, oddly) of a crew member being contained in a forcefield that has been flooded with a non-oxygenated air.

Airlocks wouldn't be necessary for quarters if the quarters could be contained via force field.

 

[Albertese]

...

Airlocks wouldn't be necessary for quarters if the quarters could be contained via force field.

Sure would extra-suck to lose power though. Not only would you have potentially dangerous gases leaking into the oxygen/nitrogen environment, but the poor guy who needs to breath it doesn't have it any more! No, I think if we're going down this road at all, it's gotta include physical airlocks.

--Alex

 

[Pauln6]

We do see at least one Zaranite on the Enterprise, but remember, the Enterprise is being launched ahead of schedule and that they're struggling to come up with crew. Perhaps the only person qualified for some job, or the best qualified in any case, happened to be a Zaranite. And that Zaranite would be required to live "in-mask" or the time that the ship would be on this emergency, but would not be permanently assigned. (Later films do, at least by omission, seem to confirm this, don't they?)

Further, we don't know that Zaranites breath fluorine, really, from anything seen on-screen. Nor, for that matter, about the light requirements. I see no major issue with this, mind you, except that for the purposes of ST-TMP, it seems unlikely that they'd have had the opportunity to install that sort of "non-standard environment" prior to the early launch anyway, doesn't it? They were struggling to get the ship flight-worthy... and this crewmember wasn't one of the most critical people on the ship, was he? (I mean, we never MET the guy, after all!) So, I'm not 100% sold on the definition you just gave me, anyway.

But if this WAS the case, this crewer must have been entirely irreplaceable, or they must have set him up in some special "ambassadorial" cabin specifically designed for short-term occupation with "alien environmental needs."

In any case, it remains impractical to have crew assigned who have dramatically different (and incompatible) life support requirements, and all later Trek supported that idea, as we never see another one of these guys on any ship we see.

Ignore, for the moment, what it would mean to this one guy... imagine him serving on the bridge and his fluorine tank springing a leak, causing all the human crew on the bridge to need to evacuate. It just make no sense.

There were at least three Zaranites on board. We have rules in the UK that require equal oportunities so employers are required to adapt the work environment for disabled employees. This is the 23rd century. If it's possible to adapt, the Federation would. I think they'd have self-contained cabins.

 

[danellis]

Well, we know in TNG that shuttlebays worked with forcefields - so that would definitely work as an explanation as to how it works.

I'm not sure whether or not we ever see people in the shuttlebay while the doors are open in TOS.

dJE

 

[Cary L. Brown]

There were at least three Zaranites on board.

How do we know that? I only recall one on the "Rec deck" scene.

We have rules in the UK that require equal oportunities so employers are required to adapt the work environment for disabled employees. This is the 23rd century. If it's possible to adapt, the Federation would. I think they'd have self-contained cabins.

This isn't about political correctness, it's about basic science..

I'm guessing you're not a SCUBA diver, are you? If not, you should get trained... seriously. I'm an expert diver, not a rated "dive master" yet, mind you, but pretty experienced. The idea of carrying my life-support requirements around with me is not just a theoretical concept.

What these folks are doing is basically spending the overwhelming majority of their time in SCUBA gear. Of being totally dependent for their life on a little pack they carry around on their bodies, and which, if it fails in any way, results in their deaths.

And about "airlocked cabins," well, that makes sense IF THE SHIP IS A PASSENGER VESSEL. But for a working starship, where the crew are required to work in-concert, as a unified whole, in a common environment... do you really think this makes sense?

There can be different species assigned together, but they have to have VERY similar life-support requirements in order for that to make sense.

Requiring a wheelchair, or even something much more significant like "blind/deaf support," is a far cry from different LIFE-SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS.

Separate political-correctness from the issue, and just think practically.

What if, say, the Tholians someday join the Federation. It is now established, on-screen, that Tholians require extremely high temperatures, and that if you drop the temperature to a temperature more in line with what humans normally live in, they literally shatter.

Is it "evil discrimination" to say that you would not put a Tholian or a human on the same ship?

How about having a Medusan crewman aboard? Someone who, the mere sight of whom would cause any member of the human crew to go insane? Is that "discrimination" to say that you would not want a Medusan crewmember aboard a ship populated with humans (and Vulcans)?

The difference between what you're talking about and what we're talking about is that EVERY LAW ABOUT EQUAL OPPORTUNITY IN THE REAL WORLD RELATES TO MEMBERS OF A SINGLE SPECIES, FROM A SINGLE WORLD, EXISTING IN A COMMON ENVIRONMENT.

Needing a wheelchair ramp is not even remotely in the same category as needing a different atmosphere.

Why is that hard to see?

 

[Cary L. Brown]

Well, we know in TNG that shuttlebays worked with forcefields - so that would definitely work as an explanation as to how it works.

I'm not sure whether or not we ever see people in the shuttlebay while the doors are open in TOS.

dJE

Never.. largely because we only see a "forced perspective" miniature set.

But, I do believe that there is dialog at some point making reference to the shuttle landing bay depressurizing and/or repressurizing.

Now, by TMP, we know that there is a forcefield. If you look closely at Andrew Probert's painting, you see where this is... and it is not at the door. Rather, it is at the forward wall of the landing bay, just aft of the shuttle elevators. The shuttle landing bay itself was, even for TMP, depressurized. (And he had a "garage door" which could be shut, as well, since a forcefield can fail. The forcefield was only used when you were running cargo into and out of the cargo deck, basically.)

 

[Pauln6]

This isn't about political correctness, it's about basic science..

What these folks are doing is basically spending the overwhelming majority of their time in SCUBA gear. Of being totally dependent for their life on a little pack they carry around on their bodies, and which, if it fails in any way, results in their deaths.

And about "airlocked cabins," well, that makes sense IF THE SHIP IS A PASSENGER VESSEL. But for a working starship, where the crew are required to work in-concert, as a unified whole, in a common environment... do you really think this makes sense?

There can be different species assigned together, but they have to have VERY similar life-support requirements in order for that to make sense.

Requiring a wheelchair, or even something much more significant like "blind/deaf support," is a far cry from different LIFE-SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS.

Separate political-correctness from the issue, and just think practically.

What if, say, the Tholians someday join the Federation. It is now established, on-screen, that Tholians require extremely high temperatures, and that if you drop the temperature to a temperature more in line with what humans normally live in, they literally shatter.

Is it "evil discrimination" to say that you would not put a Tholian or a human on the same ship?

How about having a Medusan crewman aboard? Someone who, the mere sight of whom would cause any member of the human crew to go insane? Is that "discrimination" to say that you would not want a Medusan crewmember aboard a ship populated with humans (and Vulcans)?

The difference between what you're talking about and what we're talking about is that EVERY LAW ABOUT EQUAL OPPORTUNITY IN THE REAL WORLD RELATES TO MEMBERS OF A SINGLE SPECIES, FROM A SINGLE WORLD, EXISTING IN A COMMON ENVIRONMENT.

Needing a wheelchair ramp is not even remotely in the same category as needing a different atmosphere.

I am separating political correctness from practicality. Federation ships DO carry passengers. If those passengers have different requirements, the crew would be trained to modify cabins etc. Further, the Federation IS politically correct and puts in extra effort because of that. The Rec Deck scene has two Zaranites (one is tucked away at the back) but a recent copy of the Star Trek magazine also had a photo showing all three Zaranite crew together so there is a third one hiding in there somewhere!

If three Zaranites want to work on an oxygen ship and it is possible to adapt parts of the vessel, the Federation would be obligated to do so because it IS possible and the Federation IS politically correct. Putting in wheelchair ramp may be no harder than creating airlock cabins for all we know. We know that Zaranites DO work on oxygen-based Federation ships because we have seen them. Therefore we can postulate about what adaptations would have to be made to accommodate them (whether for long-term or short term assignments). Zaranites may not feel the same as way as humans about wearing scuba gear for eight hours plus or they may be allowed to work shorter shifts. If any atmosphere fails anywhere on the ship it ends badly - it's a giant aqualung in a vacuum.

There may be other species where the ships could not be adapted easily or safely, or assignments where alien crewmen are limited to a single room or a single deck of a ship and that would be on a case by case basis. However, Babylon 5 is a space station that operates with different atmospheric zones and Star Trek tech is more advanced than that. I don't think that Starfleet crew would have any difficulties adapting to the presence of atmospheric zones by installing lockers for breathing equipment in turbolift-converted airlocks or some other mechanism. The modifications would be minimal albeit rather interesting to portray.

I don't think that forcefields would be used as a standard mechanism during the TOS period though. TNG became very wasteful of its energy but TMP was quite minimalist. Why bother with standard airlock doors we see at various locations on the plans if the ship is happy with forcefields? I think a standard airlock would be used (like in B5) with forcefield and bulkhead emergency back-ups. I think the shuttlbay is the exception because it is just so large it would be a real pain to keep depressurising and repressurising.

 

[Patrickivan]

I know some people like to call a lot of technology in Star Trek Magic, however in the Star Trek universe almost 300 years from now, how is it not entirely plausible to have a working environment that works in sync with recreational activities (due to the nature of their envrionment), AND have the abilities to quite easily make some on board environments tailor made to other specie's needs?

After all, we're talking about a future where incredible energies are produced, harnessed and manipulated. Giant ships are built for moving hundreds of people across vast distances of incredibly hostile environments (space). People get broken down, beamed through space and re-built! They travel faster than the speed of light...

But it's hard to image a future with all that technology that CAN'T have a couple of rooms, or half a deck, or whatever, to be operational and handle a different atmosphere for some people during specific circumstances?

I mean sure, it's not realistic to have a tholian working on board, but say a Gorn? He gets a bigger room, a heating pad and a giant sun lamp- during the work day he can wear insulated and heated underware and have a larger workstation chair.

 

[tighr]

I think its just as realistic that the majority of galactic life-forms do indeed breathe in oxygen/nitrogen environments as it is that the Federation would be politically correct enough to make concessions for the few species that don't.

I think the only argument against the notion that most species we meet are able to live and breathe in the same atmospheres as humans is just that; it seems implausible. But just because it seems implausible doesn't mean it is. For all we know, all carbon-based life in the entire universe REQUIRES oxygen. And since this is science fiction, that's the set of parameters Star Trek chooses to operate under.

 

[Captain Robert April]

There were at least three Zaranites on board. We have rules in the UK that require equal oportunities so employers are required to adapt the work environment for disabled employees. This is the 23rd century. If it's possible to adapt, the Federation would. I think they'd have self-contained cabins.

One, for all we know, that face mask dispenses JuJuBees.

Two, equal opportunity only means that a given member of a species has the right to starship duty, provided he/she/it is physically capable of doing the job. That right does NOT extend to serving on the starship of his/her/its choice if serving on that starship requires a major disruption to that ship's routine in order to accommodate this person's long term presence on that ship.

 

[Cary L. Brown]

But it's hard to image a future with all that technology that CAN'T have a couple of rooms, or half a deck, or whatever, to be operational and handle a different atmosphere for some people during specific circumstances?

Except that's not what we're talking about. We are talking about pretty much the entire SHIP needing that.

What duty stations can someone who can't breath oxygen, and who requires fluorine (which is toxic to humans), occupy? Yes, we can set that individual up with QUARTERS, in theory, but how much of their day will they spend in-quarters? They have to spend at least one full duty shift outside of their quarters, don't they?

And then they have to have access to medical support, foodstuffs, appropriate recreational facilities, etc.

Even Vulcans, who are essentially just humans with pointy ears and green blood, have a hard time... as shown by "Amok Time."

As a passenger-carrier, it's reasonable to have cabins that can support other environments. For a short run, say a couple of weeks, max, it wouldn't be too bad to be stuck in a cabin, unless you were wearing "SCUBA gear." But if you had to WORK in the ship, it would simply be impractical.

You guys keep missing that part. If you want to treat this as a "human analogy," think of it as a situation where you all aliens have to "sit in the back of the bus" and "drink from the special water fountain" and so forth, by necessity. Not because of prejudice, but rather because of biological necessity.

I mean sure, it's not realistic to have a tholian working on board, but say a Gorn? He gets a bigger room, a heating pad and a giant sun lamp- during the work day he can wear insulated and heated underware and have a larger workstation chair.

Well, from what little we know about Gorns, they have the same atmospheric requirements as humans do, including mix and temperature.

But, what about cultural issues? What if Gorn only eat live food? What if a gorn's meal involves ripping flesh from a live goat (or the Gorn equivalent). And what if another species on that ship is utterly repulsed by any carnivorous behavior whatsoever (even beyond Vulcan distaste for it, I mean). Do you force the "vegetarian" species and the "live carnivore" species to eat in the same mess facility?

We know that assigning Deltans to human-crewed starships is atypical. Why? Because of Deltan sexual characteristics and behaviors. Again, going back to the idea that the Enterprise, in TMP, was staffed on an "emergency availability" basis, they didn't even know who the navigator was until she'd arrived on board. And in order to serve on a human vessel, she was forced to take an "oath of celibacy," wasn't she?

Think about that... she was forced to deny a very real aspect of who she was, both biologically and behaviorally, in order to serve on that mission. How offensive, in real life, would that be? Wouldn't it make more sense to have a ship populated by Deltans, living by Deltan norms?

And Deltans look just like us, in every way, and seem to have the exact same biology except for that one area.

I know I'm not going to convince any of you who still can't see through the logic of this, so I'll drop it now. But honestly, if you still cling to the "lets just through the most ludicrous possible hoops in order to put biologically-incompatible species together on a single ship," I think you've been brainwashed.

 

[Albertese]

I don't think I'll include any option for crew with these needs, however, I think I will have a couple compartments with convertible quarters specifically for passengers. Maybe one section in the saucer and another closer to the shuttlebay. This would allow the aliens to be closer to their own craft in case they did arrive by small craft rather than transporter.

As to the Zaranites in TMP; their presence is canon but their air supply is not. I think it's safe to assume that extra-canonical references to fluorine shouldn't necessarily bind our thinking on this. There is never any on-screen reference to fluorine or, for that matter, that these things are even called Zaranites. Memory Beta suggests that they breath oxygen but must also ingest fluorine rich microorganisms (atmospheric extras, like Benzites do) which is from a TOS novel called Ex Machina. As far as I'm conscerned, this carries equal weight with the totally conflicting notion from the FASA RPG material which describes the Zaranites as having parasitic insects on their skin that are killed by normal atmospheres so they have to wear gear to filter out the harmful bits. If that's the case (or some other explanation which allows them to more or less exist along side us with out mutually fatal gases in the mix) then this whole argument is moot.

--Alex

 

[Captain Robert April]

The FASA game also described the Enterprise-D as being equipped with "ultrawarp drive", something above and beyond transwarp drive, and that the Enterprise-C was an Alaska class starship, which bore virtually no resemblence to the Ambassador class ship we eventually saw (for that matter, it didn't look much like the sculpture in the briefing lounge).

In other words, you'd be better off quoting from a Gold Key comic book.

 

[Pauln6]

One, for all we know, that face mask dispenses JuJuBees.

Two, equal opportunity only means that a given member of a species has the right to starship duty, provided he/she/it is physically capable of doing the job. That right does NOT extend to serving on the starship of his/her/its choice if serving on that starship requires a major disruption to that ship's routine in order to accommodate this person's long term presence on that ship.

It's true, since nothing is mentioned on screen you can make up what you like about Zaranites. I've always stuck with Robert Fletcher's background notes as much as possible because I think they are more interesting (from Memory Alpha):

"Zaranites could not breath oxygen. In order to survive on Class-M worlds, they used breathing masks and backpacks that supplied them with fluorine gas. The jewelry they wore was made from horns of the Berbbotjahaa; the top part of the necklace indicated their family, while the bottom identified each individual."

To me it's surprising that anybody would want to take one of the few aliens that are different and make them MORE like the other bumpy-headed aliens of the week! That Zaranites struggle to function in an oxygen atmosphere but still want to contribute is part of their charm. Like Geordi LaForge, they must overcome their 'disability'. LeVar Burton accepted that his character was an inspiration to disabled people and what you seem to be saying is that a person with this disability has no place on a ship because they would find it harder to function (like people with any disability) and because the other crew would be inconvenienced (as they might be by working with people with a 'real world' disability) . We know they have technology that could help overcome this disability but this would be too much bother.

That is EXACTLY the approach that leads employers to be fined under current disability legislation. I don't doubt that you think you are right on this issue but so do those employers. I don't think the Federation would view the adjustments to their ships as an inconvenience. They would view it as an opportunity to diversify their crew, despite the difficulties.

But it's hard to image a future with all that technology that CAN'T have a couple of rooms, or half a deck, or whatever, to be operational and handle a different atmosphere for some people during specific circumstances?

Except that's not what we're talking about. We are talking about pretty much the entire SHIP needing that.

What duty stations can someone who can't breath oxygen, and who requires fluorine (which is toxic to humans), occupy? Yes, we can set that individual up with QUARTERS, in theory, but how much of their day will they spend in-quarters? They have to spend at least one full duty shift outside of their quarters, don't they?

And then they have to have access to medical support, foodstuffs, appropriate recreational facilities, etc.

I don't view a leaking fluorine tank as any more of an unacceptable risk than a damaged plasma conduit or a containment failure. Flying in space carries these risks.

Personally, I love Zaranites, fluorine tanks and all. Any suggestion that they would be unable to do their jobs must be wrong; since they are shown as members of the crew, whatever job they are doing, they must be doing it just fine. Non-canon abilities of zaranites includes sensitivity to magnetic fields, superior sensitivity to light and motion, and exceptional mathematical skills. There are many jobs on a ship that they could carry out far better than a human. I even featured one as a main character in my dodgy Youtube comic where his breather was important to the plot. Maybe it's that I would not view the accommodation of 'disabled' people as political correctness but rather a laudible goal, with benefits for both sides. As far as I'm concerned, if Zaranites are on the crew, alterations would have to be made to accommodate them and Starfleet would be happy to do so.

 

[Patrickivan]

One, for all we know, that face mask dispenses JuJuBees.

Two, equal opportunity only means that a given member of a species has the right to starship duty, provided he/she/it is physically capable of doing the job. That right does NOT extend to serving on the starship of his/her/its choice if serving on that starship requires a major disruption to that ship's routine in order to accommodate this person's long term presence on that ship.

It's true, since nothing is mentioned on screen you can make up what you like about Zaranites. I've always stuck with Robert Fletcher's background notes as much as possible because I think they are more interesting (from Memory Alpha):

"Zaranites could not breath oxygen. In order to survive on Class-M worlds, they used breathing masks and backpacks that supplied them with fluorine gas. The jewelry they wore was made from horns of the Berbbotjahaa; the top part of the necklace indicated their family, while the bottom identified each individual."

To me it's surprising that anybody would want to take one of the few aliens that are different and make them MORE like the other bumpy-headed aliens of the week! That Zaranites struggle to function in an oxygen atmosphere but still want to contribute is part of their charm. Like Geordi LaForge, they must overcome their 'disability'. LeVar Burton accepted that his character was an inspiration to disabled people and what you seem to be saying is that a person with this disability has no place on a ship because they would find it harder to function (like people with any disability) and because the other crew would be inconvenienced (as they might be by working with people with a 'real world' disability) . We know they have technology that could help overcome this disability but this would be too much bother.

That is EXACTLY the approach that leads employers to be fined under current disability legislation. I don't doubt that you think you are right on this issue but so do those employers. I don't think the Federation would view the adjustments to their ships as an inconvenience. They would view it as an opportunity to diversify their crew, despite the difficulties.

But it's hard to image a future with all that technology that CAN'T have a couple of rooms, or half a deck, or whatever, to be operational and handle a different atmosphere for some people during specific circumstances?

Except that's not what we're talking about. We are talking about pretty much the entire SHIP needing that.

What duty stations can someone who can't breath oxygen, and who requires fluorine (which is toxic to humans), occupy? Yes, we can set that individual up with QUARTERS, in theory, but how much of their day will they spend in-quarters? They have to spend at least one full duty shift outside of their quarters, don't they?

And then they have to have access to medical support, foodstuffs, appropriate recreational facilities, etc.

I don't view a leaking fluorine tank as any more of an unacceptable risk than a damaged plasma conduit or a containment failure. Flying in space carries these risks.

Personally, I love Zaranites, fluorine tanks and all. Any suggestion that they would be unable to do their jobs must be wrong; since they are shown as members of the crew, whatever job they are doing, they must be doing it just fine. Non-canon abilities of zaranites includes sensitivity to magnetic fields, superior sensitivity to light and motion, and exceptional mathematical skills. There are many jobs on a ship that they could carry out far better than a human. I even featured one as a main character in my dodgy Youtube comic where his breather was important to the plot. Maybe it's that I would not view the accommodation of 'disabled' people as political correctness but rather a laudible goal, with benefits for both sides. As far as I'm concerned, if Zaranites are on the crew, alterations would have to be made to accommodate them and Starfleet would be happy to do so.

And THAT all makes rational and logical sense. That a race that CAN have the ability to function in our environment with some modifations or assistance, BE able to do so. Despite some who think that they are the lone voice of logic here.

Hence my statement about a Tholian not being a reasonable race to be crewed. The requirements for general work/ recreation would be too great to be realistic.

Though exceptions to visiting dignitaries can no doubt in my mind be made. With the technology used at the time, I can see a great number of very special needs races having heavily modified areas of the ship. Even if they're meeting with others seperated by forcefields or clear partitions. It gives them an opportunity to meet in person.

A/am control, warp fields, FTL, gravity manipulation, teleportation, sub-space radio, shields, force fields, PHASERS, food replication/ synthesizing, et c... IF they can do all that in the Star Trek future, then large areas of ship modifications are not unrealistic and probably a lot easier then it would be using today's engineering mind...

And there's a difference between a race that requires minor changes, versus a large scale diplotatic mission that requires special mission temporary modifications. Let's not confuse the two.

 

[Pauln6]

And more importantly, the physiological differences make fertile ground for story ideas.

 

[Albertese]

The FASA game also described the Enterprise-D as being equipped with "ultrawarp drive", something above and beyond transwarp drive, and that the Enterprise-C was an Alaska class starship, which bore virtually no resemblence to the Ambassador class ship we eventually saw (for that matter, it didn't look much like the sculpture in the briefing lounge).

In other words, you'd be better off quoting from a Gold Key comic book.

It's true that the TNG Sourcebook was a hopeless pile of junk, but their earlier TOS-ST4 stuff wasn't too bad. It stuck more or less with the established continuity of the show and actually did tie in a lot of the surrounding fiction (back in the day when there was some effort put into keeping the novels consistent). They even inferred the Space Flight Chronology. In fact, just about the only thing they didn't really include was the FJ TM stuff, as SFB already had the green light for that stuff. Personally, I think that FASA's (pre-TNG) Trek stuff is the coolest non-canon version of the setting.

However, I digress. The point is that NONE of it is canon so we shouldn't get too worked up over what exactly those two or three guys in the Rec Room on TMP were breathing.

--Alex

 

[Unicron]

In FASA's defense, they only had info from the first season to go on. The class of the C hadn't yet been established, nor did anyone know what the Ambassador class looked like. FASA made up their own design based on the singular dialogue reference in "Conspiracy."

 

[Captain Robert April]

They could've found out the same way I did at the time, write a letter to Richard Arnold at Paramount; he told me, while the first season was still airing, that the E-C was an Ambassador Class starship, that the E-D was equipped with standard warp drive, and transwarp was a flop, so this ultrawarp idea was nonsense. I'm pretty sure I've still got the letter.