A somewhat trivial but likely novel question concerning the station.

[Cepstrum]

This is not an earth-shattering, weighty matter. Neverthess, I believe it warrants an explanation. I hope someone can provide me with a satisfactory answer — or maybe it was a production oversight with no plausible answer.

Here it is:

When the Cardassians left Bajor, the Bajorans claimed ownership of Terok Nor. The devasted Bajorans, wary of further Cardassian incursions, quickly invited the Federation to administer the station — they were invited by the Bajorans for logistical support, the deterrence factor afforded by a Starfleet presence, and (apparently for some Bajorans in the Provisional Government), to help foster faster admittance of Bajor into the UFP.

It was made clear that Starfleet administered the station at the discretion of the Bajoran government and would have to leave if asked to do so.

With that being said, here's my question:

Why did Starfleet immediately get to rename Terok Nor in keeping with their other far-off stations (ie, Deep Space X) as if they owned the place? I'd think that would put the Bajorans at ill-ease, for it seems like Starfleet is moving in and claiming that station preemptively with their naming it as if it were another Starfleet station.

Why didn't the Bajorans name it, or at least why didn't Starfleet refer to it as "the Bajoran station" and just "the station" when ambiguity is not present.

Yes, that would've caused the show to have a different name, but I'm sure they could've come up with a compelling alternate name, such as using the Bajoran name for it (had they done so).

Ok, I admit this is a dumb question. But it's been bugging me, and I'd be very much indebted to anyone who tajes this seriously and attempts to give me a satisfactory answer.

The only theory I have is that the Bajorans anticipated soon joining the UFP and thus would expect the station to become Starfleet's soon. But this is unsatisfactory, given the initial hostility towards the Federation by many Bajorans (even Major Kira at first.) And this certainly extends to vedek/Kai Winn, as well as influential groups like The Circle and its supporters in the government. The Bajorans at first seemed a little wary of the Federation plopping down into their territory and annexing Bajor outright.

So, any ideas anyone? Thanks for your consideration!

 

[Thestral]

Re: A somewhat trivial but likely novel question concerning the statio

Perhaps, despite knowing what an asset Terok Nor would be for the Provisional Government/Starfleet presence, the station was still such a reminder of Occupation horrors that they didn't want to give it a truly "Bajoran" identity. Maybe there was a hope that eventually a truly Bajoran station could be put up? FWIW, TrekLit's Terok Nor trilogy (covering the Occupation and the events leading up to it) has a scene featuring a much smaller Bajoran station in the first book.

Of course they also didn't want the Cardassian name to remain, so they allowed Starfleet to name it, which would also help with the administrative purposes Starfleet was there to provide. And by the time DS9 became the critical station/port it did, it's identity as Deep Space Nine was already established.

 

[Avon]

Re: A somewhat trivial but likely novel question concerning the statio

Bajor-lon 5?

 

[neozeks]

Re: A somewhat trivial but likely novel question concerning the statio

the deterrence factor afforded by a Starfleet presence

I think this may be the key. It's purely simbolic, but maybe they thought the Cardassians would be more reluctant to mess around with something called Deep Space Nine than [insert Bajoran name], Starfleet presence or not. It was a sign the Federation was there to stay, that it wouldn't abandon Bajor.

 

[Anwar]

Re: A somewhat trivial but likely novel question concerning the statio

And also, anything was better than letting it keep the Cardassian name.

 

[StarryEyed]

Re: A somewhat trivial but likely novel question concerning the statio

It's a good question and I think the posters above have done a good job at answering it. To sum it up:

1. The Cardassian name had to go.
2. It would be inappropriate to attach a Bajoran name to something which was an instrument of Bajoran repression and suffering.
3. A Starfleet name had good intimidation value.

 

[Timo]

Re: A somewhat trivial but likely novel question concerning the statio

All the Bajorans save for Kira were very careful to refer to the place as "the space station", with venom spraying from their mouths. None let slip the UFP name of the installation, and of course none made the mistake of calling it "the Cardassian space station".

Sounds natural enough. They needed some sort of military protection more than they needed administration. But they had to camouflage their request for Starfleet firecover as a request for administrative aid, and the space station was perfect for that - it had previously provided firecover (if for the enemy) and could easily be used that way again (now hopefully against the enemy, but beggars can't be choosers), so it would appear attractive to Starfleet or other such mercenary forces. (No doubt insincere) promises of future Bajoran application for UFP membership would also help. Yet Bajor itself had no real use for the station, not in the "Emissary" situation yet.

Of course, the station would later gain some significance to Bajorans as well. But the basic attitude would remain "we'd rather see that place blown up", not "it's ours now".

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Admiral Shran]

Re: A somewhat trivial but likely novel question concerning the statio

Bajor-lon 5?

har-har

 

[Cepstrum]

Re: A somewhat trivial but likely novel question concerning the statio

It's a good question and I think the posters above have done a good job at answering it. To sum it up:

1. The Cardassian name had to go.
2. It would be inappropriate to attach a Bajoran name to something which was an instrument of Bajoran repression and suffering.
3. A Starfleet name had good intimidation value.

^
You and your predecessors are clearly right. The posters before you stepped up, came up with a satisfactory answer, and you provided a concise summary.

And kudos to Timo as well: I had no idea that on the show, Bajorans rarely referred to the station by name. Makes sense. It be very grating to have the symbol of your oppression remain in your system (at least it was moved from Bajor's orbit to the nearby wormhole, right?)

This has caused me to add a follow-up theory/question. Any help would be appreciated:

Now that I think about it, I wouldn't be surprised if the Bajoran government either asked or considered asking Starfleet to demolish Terok Nor and build a new, possibly hybrid Starfleet-Bajoran station (for eventual Bajoran use). I'm sure Starfleet would turn that down, for it was clear from the beginning that they weren't too serious about committing a large presence at that "backwater", non-Federation location.

In fact, perhaps the Bajoran government didn't even dare to make such a request in fear of dissuading Starfleet from coming at all. I'd guess the principal reason Starfleet agreed to maintain a small presence there was because there existed a ready station for them to move into: there was no assurance that Bajor would join the UFP, and it was far away from the UFP's core, which would mean defending it would be more costly. And if Bajor ended up rejecting membership, Starfleet would've invested in a costly building endeavor for nothing.

In addition, perhaps some Bajorans would be wary of allowing a major power, which for the most part did not help Bajor during the Occupation (AFAIK, they didn't help Bajor at all, as they considered it an internal but "regrettable" Cardassian matter) and now seems mainly interested in getting Bajor to join/submit to the Federation, of having them build a starbase, which would likely be bigger and more powerful than DS9.

Does anyone have thoughts about that theory ^ ?



Regardless, hooray for TrekBBS posters! Many thanks for your help. I'm finally satisfied about this. I'm particularly glad to know there is a good in-universe explanation instead of it being a production gaffe.

And as for "Bajorlon-5".......a perfect classic. I see there's a healthy sense of self-deprecating humor here....

 

[Praxius]

Re: A somewhat trivial but likely novel question concerning the statio

To add my two cents to the original question:

• While it was a Space Station the Bajorans owned, it was the only one they had, thus they really didn't require a Bajoran designation like "Prophet 1" since it'd be the only one they had.

• Starfleet calling the station Deep Space 9 is more of an identifier rather then a name like Terok Nor.... since Starfleet had a number of Deep Space stations with numbers, which they'd use to help identify to their starships, which they've been using for a while now. There's really nothing offensive in the name since it's not something like "New Italy Two" ie: referencing an Earth or Federation location/character, etc. It's a Space Station, to the Federation it's Deep Space.... it's the 9th station they have officers serving on..... there's nothing offensive or wrong with it. It's sorta generic in nature.

• Since Starfleet was helping to rebuild the station and the greater majority of the components of the station would consist of Cardassian and Federation technology (very little Bajoran tech) it would only seem fair for Starfleet being allowed to name the station.

• More importantly, while the space station is very foreign to the average Star Trek viewer who may have seen the typical Starfleet stations:

^ Calling it something like "Prophet 1" would make the show/station even more foreign to the new viewer, thus it was logical to at least use the "Deep Space #" designation to help the viewer identify with the show a bit more and that it wasn't taken too far out of the Star Trek Universe. That, and calling the station something Bajoran like "Prophet 1" or "Celestial 3" would possibly give the new viewer the impression that the show would be entirely spiritual or religious in nature.

At least that's my thoughts on it.

 

[Timo]

Re: A somewhat trivial but likely novel question concerning the statio

I might further ruminate on the issue of Starfleet involvement. It doesn't seem as if the UFP could legitimately have cited "internal matters" on the Bajoran issue, as they had very much made Cardassia a UFP matter by engaging in a war with it. It very much appeared as if Starfleet got serious about it in the late 2350s - early 2360s and made short work of Cardassian resistance. That they stopped short of Bajor could be for reasons similar to why the US stopped short of conquering Kyushu in WWII: the planet might have been too close to Cardassia, too important for them, and an invasion would have resulted in unacceptable bloodshed.

...perhaps some Bajorans would be wary of allowing a major power...

I'd go as far as speculating that the Provisional Government decided that the best and perhaps only way to make people take them seriously was to take control of the former orbital terror facility. Despite the Cardassian scuttling attempts during the withdrawal, it still remained a heavily armed and powerful tool of intimidation - or at least could be restored into one, with a bit of outside help. Significantly, inviting in that outside help would also lift some of the stigma off the shoulders of the government: they would have the old Cardassian weapon to intimidate their enemies with, but they would officially detach themselves from it to the politically necessary degree.

Of course, all that would change when the station left Bajoran orbit... The advantages would evaporate overnight, but the stigma would remain, now boosted with recriminations about handing over not just the station but the wormhole to the Feds.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[StarryEyed]

Re: A somewhat trivial but likely novel question concerning the statio

This has caused me to add a follow-up theory/question. Any help would be appreciated:

Now that I think about it, I wouldn't be surprised if the Bajoran government either asked or considered asking Starfleet to demolish Terok Nor and build a new, possibly hybrid Starfleet-Bajoran station (for eventual Bajoran use).

I can't see that and you already hit on both of the reasons why not.

1. Starfleet would have had no interest prior to the discovery of the wormhole. It's questionable even after if they would invest so much in a politically unstable system which could decide to kick them out at any time.

2. The second reason is probably even more compelling. Remember how furious Kira (and other Bajorans) was at the start when the provisional government invited Starfleet in? And that was just to have them administer a Bajoran-owned station. Invite them in to build their own, much more powerful station? There would have been instant civil war.

When you look at the situation after the Dominion War though, It seems like a given that there would be one of those huge mushroom stations built near the wormhole.

 

[Cepstrum]

Re: A somewhat trivial but likely novel question concerning the statio

This has caused me to add a follow-up theory/question. Any help would be appreciated:

Now that I think about it, I wouldn't be surprised if the Bajoran government either asked or considered asking Starfleet to demolish Terok Nor and build a new, possibly hybrid Starfleet-Bajoran station (for eventual Bajoran use).

I can't see that and you already hit on both of the reasons why not.

1. Starfleet would have had no interest prior to the discovery of the wormhole. It's questionable even after if they would invest so much in a politically unstable system which could decide to kick them out at any time.

2. The second reason is probably even more compelling. Remember how furious Kira (and other Bajorans) was at the start when the provisional government invited Starfleet in? And that was just to have them administer a Bajoran-owned station. Invite them in to build their own, much more powerful station? There would have been instant civil war.

When you look at the situation after the Dominion War though, It seems like a given that there would be one of those huge mushroom stations built near the wormhole.

^ Thanks, Starryeyed, for another sensible answer. Perhaps Starfeet could've considered building one of their massive installations once the Dominion threat/war erupted. But it'd probably be too late by then: it likely takes a very long time to build one, so they mined the wormhole instead.



And Timo and Praxius, thanks for offerring a slightly different take, as well as pointing out why Starfleet, irrespective of the Federation's wishes, was simply not able to dislodge the Cardassians directly; only by essentially defeating them on most other fronts were they able to weaken the Cardassians and indirectly help Bajor rid itself of their oppressors.

Really, if Starfleet had liberating Bajor a priority, it probably would've been a disaster. There would be intense close combat with enourmous casualties (maybe something similar to the US's war in Vietnam or Iraq/Afghanistan, though a better analogy might be the Allied liberation of France in WWII — at least the general populace welcomed the Allies and formed resistance cells as well. Nonetheless, it was a terribly bloody campaign that would've been quite different had the Germans simply withdrawn ahead of time.)

So things probably would've gone far worse for the Bajorans had Starfleet attempted a premature invasion. But given the seeming distaste a lot of Bajorans had for the Federation (at least initially), a lot of them likely felt that the Federation let them down and failed to stop the genocide.

Does that sound reasonable? Thanks again for your helpful insight!