Archer's decision to strand civilians in Delphic Expanse

[Godless Raven]

When the Enterprise was in the Delphic Expanse, Archer encountered a civilian ship and stripped them of a critical engine part, leaving them unable to travel to their home world, in order to fix the Enterprise and continue on their mission.In the Delphic Expanse, this was acknowledged as a death warrant to the civilians.

Did Archer make the right decision? Does the fact that his mission (with low chance of success) succeeded play into this?

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Highly improbable mission? Do you think he just pulled this mission out of his ass and took the crew on a joyride through the expanse?

 

[Godless Raven]

Highly improbable mission? Do you think he just pulled this mission out of his ass and took the crew on a joyride through the expanse?

I merely meant that the mission had a low chance of success. Didn't phrase it right. Thanks for the clarification! Any opinion on the question?

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I don't remember the death warrant part.

By reducing himself to piracy Archer compromised the very thing he was so desperate to save: humanity.

That's Star Trek piety. Enjoy.

 

[R. Star]

I actually liked the double bind scenario they set up there. Uphold your principles and let your homeworld get destroyed, or compromise them just for a chance to avert that destruction.

It's a crappy situation, but as Kirk pointed out, sometimes a captain faces a no-win scenario. Sure it sucks he had to do that, but... what alternative did he have?

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Are you sure you want to use Kirk as your example of how to face a no win scenario?

 

[R. Star]

I just quoted him, I didn't point out an example.

 

[Use of Time]

I pretty much took it as him sacrificing his own conscience for all of Earth. It wasn't right and he knew it wasn't right but Archer was essentially taking one for the team, (being the bad guy) in order to drive on with the mission. The Xindi mission was one that would change him for the rest of his life.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I think Damage was an Enterprise high point. If they had had Archer change his mind and make some crappy speech about it I would have cried.

 

[Use of Time]

Yeah, spot on. The stuff they went through in the expense would no doubt lead a person of responsibility like Archer down the path towards a mental breakdown. I would imagine PTSD would be running rampant through that ship by the time they got back to Earth for refit.

 

[Hartzilla2007]

Yeah, spot on. The stuff they went through in the expense would no doubt lead a person of responsibility like Archer down the path towards a mental breakdown. I would imagine PTSD would be running rampant through that ship by the time they got back to Earth for refit.

And all of this because the future of the well future is apparently populated by dicks that think history is their personal toy to play with.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

If we had that ability we would play with it too.

 

[BillJ]

He could always swing back by after the mission was complete and give them a lift home.

 

[R. Star]

He could always swing back by after the mission was complete and give them a lift home.

By all accounts that aquatic ship carried them all the way home. And they definitely never went back into the expanse because the Xindi were never heard from again.

 

[BillJ]

He could always swing back by after the mission was complete and give them a lift home.

By all accounts that aquatic ship carried them all the way home. And they definitely never went back into the expanse because the Xindi were never heard from again.

But what I was trying to point out was there were different scenarios where those folks maybe weren't totally screwed. Starfleet could've sent a ship later to pick them up or notified the Andorians or Vulcans about the stranded crew or even sent a warp probe to their homeworld to notify them of the distressed crew.

 

[Use of Time]

I thought the actors did a good job of portraying the crushing sense of responsibility that their mission entailed as well as the somewhat panicky decision making. Contrary to other people's opinion, I liked Archers character. He seemed more realistic than the other Captains who always seemed to have an answer for everything.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I'd go so far as to say it's the only time in Trek we saw that kind of "panicky decision making". Very realistic.

 

[jespah]

I would have liked a small piece of closure, say, one of the aliens at the TATV scene (as there was a Xindi Reptilian there) or the like. But it also does make sense - Archer did this, and it sits horribly with him, and then no one knows what happened, and you are forced to assume that those aliens lost their lives.

I agree re PTSD galloping through the crew. I write E2 stories with most of the crew suffering from clinical depression, and the drugs not always working, or people sometimes outright refusing treatment. I don't think that will go away.

 

[E-DUB]

Maybe the ramifications of that decision couold be addressed, noncanonically, in the novelverse.

 

[lurok]

Stripping ships? Hmmm. Sounds like Cain and BSG.

Oh wait...