A couple of questions that I'm sure have already been addressed

[knowthyself]

Hi everyone. I'm just getting back to posting on this board and I had a couple of questions that I'm sure have been addressed. I've looked and haven't found the answer.

Are we to believe that CADET Kirk is now the Captain of the flagship of the federation? Is he a Captain in rank or like a acting Captain?

Regarding Prime Spock: Does the "reboot" mean that he now has the memories of Quinto Spock? Or did his life happen just as we all know it? I'm thinking specifically of Prime Spock's visit to Vulcan in TMP to do the emotion purge thing Kilonar (however its spelled) and also in TVH when he is relearning to become a Vulcan. Do those things not happen now because Vulcan is gone?

Sorry for the, more than likely, noob questions as I'm sure this has been discussed at length before.
JAMES

 

[Kelso]

Are we to believe that CADET Kirk is now the Captain of the flagship of the federation?

Yes.

Is he a Captain in rank or like a acting Captain?

He's the captain.

Regarding Prime Spock: Does the "reboot" mean that he now has the memories of Quinto Spock?

No.

Or did his life happen just as we all know it?

Yes.

I'm thinking specifically of Prime Spock's visit to Vulcan in TMP to do the emotion purge thing Kilonar (however its spelled) and also in TVH when he is relearning to become a Vulcan. Do those things not happen now because Vulcan is gone?

They happened to Spock-Prime. They won't happen to nuSpock (presumably).

 

[Therin of Andor]

Are we to believe that CADET Kirk is now the Captain of the flagship of the federation? Is he a Captain in rank or like a acting Captain?

A few things were probably lost in the shuffle, and the haste of trying to squeeze so much into two hours.

Maybe they should have specified that the ending of the film was a few years later, but the dialogue is rather non-committal. Kirk is Relieving Captain, with the injured Pike saying that he is "relieved" (tee hee). That could have suggested that Pike might stay aboard for the next film, like Admiral Nelson in "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" stayed aboard the whole of that series but Captain Crane ran the submarine. The writers did want the film to end with the characters of TOS all in their familiar positions, logic be damned.

There was also Spock Prime, in the cave, being surprised that Kirk wasn't the captain. It's almost like he was going to say that Nero can only be defeated in timelines with a Kirk in command. But again, it's barely suggested and then the action takes off again.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Hi everyone. I'm just getting back to posting on this board and I had a couple of questions that I'm sure have been addressed. I've looked and haven't found the answer.

Are we to believe that CADET Kirk is now the Captain of the flagship of the federation? Is he a Captain in rank or like a acting Captain?

He's captain captain now. And, although it is a silly mega-jump in rank, it's worth noting that Cadet Kirk already held the rank of lieutenant prior to graduation (according to a barely-visible on-screen graphic in the transporter room, the novelizaion and the early script on IMSDB), like Uhura, his Prime self and Prime Saavik did. Best of the best of the best and all that.

I have a feeling the pressures of the inexperienced Kirk's early command will play a part in the next movie.

Regarding Prime Spock: Does the "reboot" mean that he now has the memories of Quinto Spock? Or did his life happen just as we all know it? I'm thinking specifically of Prime Spock's visit to Vulcan in TMP to do the emotion purge thing Kilonar (however its spelled) and also in TVH when he is relearning to become a Vulcan. Do those things not happen now because Vulcan is gone?

He's the Spock we all know from The Original Series, the classic movies and the Next Gen episode "Unification", with all his memories and experiences.

 

[TrickyDickie]

I have a feeling the pressures of the inexperienced Kirk's early command will play a part in the next movie.

There is an 'official' re-launch of Enterprise set to take place, with media people on board, etc. A guest on board is John Harriman, who commanded the ship before Pike. The Nexus comes along, Kirk doesn't know what to do, Harriman saves the ship and disappears. Years later, Tom Riker convinces Harriman to get his butt out of the Nexus and help save the day. Sela had wanted to access the Nexus to see her mother Tasha and ends up killing Harriman on Nimbus III.

 

[knowthyself]

Are we to believe that CADET Kirk is now the Captain of the flagship of the federation? Is he a Captain in rank or like a acting Captain?

He's captain captain now. And, although it is a silly mega-jump in rank, it's worth noting that Cadet Kirk already held the rank of lieutenant prior to graduation (according to a barely-visible on-screen graphic in the transporter room, the novelizaion and the early script on IMSDB), like Uhura, his Prime self and Prime Saavik did. Best of the best of the best and all that.

the mega jump in rank is the thing I have the hardest times with. I know, I know, its just a movie with a bunch of fictional characters in it but still... The flagship? I could have even dealt better with the rank jump if they didn't explicitly say in the film that the enterprise was the flagship best ship whatever. sigh...

 

[FlapJoy]

We can also take into account that a lot of ships, crews, and captains were destroyed in the film, leaving plenty of openings and not many replacements for Pike...

Kirk was able to destroy the threat that almost destroyed Earth, and much of Starfleet, and of course Vulcan. I'm sure heroism goes a long way in Starfleet's ranks.

It was a game changing event in the Federation's new history, and Kirk was the hero of that event... it makes it easier to understand his jump in ranks.

 

[FarStrider]

We can also take into account that a lot of ships, crews, and captains were destroyed in the film, leaving plenty of openings and not many replacements for Pike...

Kirk was able to destroy the threat that almost destroyed Earth, and much of Starfleet, and of course Vulcan. I'm sure heroism goes a long way in Starfleet's ranks.

It was a game changing event in the Federation's new history, and Kirk was the hero of that event... it makes it easier to understand his jump in ranks.

^^^^^^^^^^ Exactly. And add to all of that the PR value of Kirk and the young crew of the Enterprise has to Star Fleet. They have just save the entire Federation as well as billions of people on Earth. . .if you are in Command and smart, that is not an asset you waste by breaking them up and putting Kirk on an obscure ship out in the middle of nowhere as a lieutenant under a captain who never had to make the sort of command decision that Kirk just did.

~FS

 

[Gojira]

We can also take into account that a lot of ships, crews, and captains were destroyed in the film, leaving plenty of openings and not many replacements for Pike...

Kirk was able to destroy the threat that almost destroyed Earth, and much of Starfleet, and of course Vulcan. I'm sure heroism goes a long way in Starfleet's ranks.

It was a game changing event in the Federation's new history, and Kirk was the hero of that event... it makes it easier to understand his jump in ranks.

^^^^^^^^^^ Exactly. And add to all of that the PR value of Kirk and the young crew of the Enterprise has to Star Fleet. They have just save the entire Federation as well as billions of people on Earth. . .if you are in Command and smart, that is not an asset you waste by breaking them up and putting Kirk on an obscure ship out in the middle of nowhere as a lieutenant under a captain who never had to make the sort of command decision that Kirk just did.

~FS

I never had a problem with Kirk jumping so much in rank but these two explanations are the best in defense of that action.

 

[knowthyself]

^^^^^^^^^^ Exactly. And add to all of that the PR value of Kirk and the young crew of the Enterprise has to Star Fleet. They have just save the entire Federation as well as billions of people on Earth. . .if you are in Command and smart, that is not an asset you waste by breaking them up and putting Kirk on an obscure ship out in the middle of nowhere as a lieutenant under a captain who never had to make the sort of command decision that Kirk just did.

okay. this does it for me. thanks for the responses everyone!

 

[Timo]

A nuance here...

Are we to believe that CADET Kirk is now the Captain of the flagship of the Federation?

Not necessarily. After all, the Enterprise is merely said to be "our newest flagship", possibly meaning one out of a dozen or so currently in service. That's different from the "flagship of the Federation" title of Picard's ship, then.

So, Kirk has a really big and bad starship to command, and she's built to be a flagship, too. But she need not be unique in Starfleet, or even among the biggest and baddest in Starfleet, or anything like that. And indeed if we're going to see other starships in the next movie(s), those are likely to be comparable to Kirk's, rather than significantly inferior, if the previous hundreds of hours of Star Trek are anything to go by.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[22 Stars]

A nuance here...

Are we to believe that CADET Kirk is now the Captain of the flagship of the Federation?

Not necessarily. After all, the Enterprise is merely said to be "our newest flagship", possibly meaning one out of a dozen or so currently in service. That's different from the "flagship of the Federation" title of Picard's ship, then.

So, Kirk has a really big and bad starship to command, and she's built to be a flagship, too. But she need not be unique in Starfleet, or even among the biggest and baddest in Starfleet, or anything like that. And indeed if we're going to see other starships in the next movie(s), those are likely to be comparable to Kirk's, rather than significantly inferior, if the previous hundreds of hours of Star Trek are anything to go by.

Timo Saloniemi

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the first, largest, fastest, most heavily armed, or, in terms of media coverage, best known.

Russell Meyers

 

[TrickyDickie]

A nuance here...

Are we to believe that CADET Kirk is now the Captain of the flagship of the Federation?

Not necessarily. After all, the Enterprise is merely said to be "our newest flagship", possibly meaning one out of a dozen or so currently in service. That's different from the "flagship of the Federation" title of Picard's ship, then.

So, Kirk has a really big and bad starship to command, and she's built to be a flagship, too. But she need not be unique in Starfleet, or even among the biggest and baddest in Starfleet, or anything like that. And indeed if we're going to see other starships in the next movie(s), those are likely to be comparable to Kirk's, rather than significantly inferior, if the previous hundreds of hours of Star Trek are anything to go by.

Timo Saloniemi

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the first, largest, fastest, most heavily armed, or, in terms of media coverage, best known.

Russell Meyers

How does 'class' ship fit in here? The 1701 was Constitution-class. After the refit, it was Intrepid-class (after the first ship of that design). The 1701-B was Excelsior-class. Picard's 1701-D was Galaxy-class.

Is it that the first ship of a design is not necessarily automatically designated as a 'flagship' ?

As an aside, which one of our aircraft carriers is the 'flagship' of our fleet? And, has that changed over time? Nimitz was the first of her class, but has she been the 'flagship' ever since?

Interesting topic!

 

[Dukhat]

The 1701 was Constitution-class. After the refit, it was Intrepid-class (after the first ship of that design).

No, after the refit, it was still a Constitution class vessel. Not sure where you got "Intrepid" from.

Is it that the first ship of a design is not necessarily automatically designated as a 'flagship' ?

A flagship can be any vessel, regardless of class or production. The Enterprise-D was verbally stated to be the Federation's flagship during TNG, but it wasn't the class ship. The Galaxy was.

 

[F. King Daniel]

I thought the refitted Enterprise was Enterprise-class. That's what the TMP blueprints, Mr Scott's Guide to the Enterprise and a load of other pretty diagram-packed Trek books say.

As for "flagship", I'd assume Pike meant the Enterprise was the flagship of the fleet, replacing whichever retired/lost/destroyed vessel previously held that distinction.

Buuuuut, the Star Trek D.A.C. game listed the Enterprise as "Flagship class", which, possibly owing to the increased size over the classic Enterprise, could be some ship type designation. The old Enterprise was "Heavy Cruiser class" (289 meters long), this one could be the super duluxe "Flagship class" (725m long). And thus "our newest flagship" could mean "newest ship of this design"

 

[Dukhat]

I thought the refitted Enterprise was Enterprise-class. That's what the TMP blueprints, Mr Scott's Guide to the Enterprise and a load of other pretty diagram-packed Trek books say.

There's also a sign on the Kobayashi Maru simulation room that says "Enterprise class." However, none of these examples are in any way definitive. IIRC, the only canon reference to the refit also being Constitution class is a computer diagram in season 1 of TNG.

Buuuuut, the Star Trek D.A.C. game listed the Enterprise as "Flagship class", which, possibly owing to the increased size over the classic Enterprise, could be some ship type designation. The old Enterprise was "Heavy Cruiser class" (289 meters long), this one could be the super duluxe "Flagship class" (725m long). And thus "our newest flagship" could mean "newest ship of this design"

The nuEnt's own dedication plaque lists it as "Starship class," just like it said on the TOS plaque.

 

[F. King Daniel]

But doesn't that plaque say the ship was built in San Fransisco when the film explicitly showed her being built in Riverside, Iowa? I'm not saying info from a little-known game should be any more binding, tho.

 

[Dukhat]

But doesn't that plaque say the ship was built in San Fransisco when the film explicitly showed her being built in Riverside, Iowa? I'm not saying info from a little-known game should be any more binding, tho.

They obviously made the plaque before they made the ship

 

[F. King Daniel]

PIKE: "We've really gotta update that thing!"

 

[M'Sharak]

But doesn't that plaque say the ship was built in San Fransisco when the film explicitly showed her being built in Riverside, Iowa? I'm not saying info from a little-known game should be any more binding, tho.

I just figure that "San Francisco Fleet Yards" must be a designation encompassing all Starfleet shipbuilding and maintenance facilities at Earth, with the facility at Riverside being "Shipyard 2-1A" of the San Francisco Yards. It's nice, it's tidy, and I don't care to get bothered about it any further than that until Starfleet shipyard continuity porn actually becomes important as a plot point somewhere.

**cue heads exploding in 3... 2... 1... **