I've been rewatching TNG, and I just saw "The Defector." For the first time, something struck me. At the end of the episode, Picard orders the Enterprise to head back to Federation space. As they turn around, a bunch of Romulan warbirds decloak and block their path.
Here’s what I don’t get: If there’s no “left or right” in space—as Tom Paris once pointed out—then there definitely isn’t an “up or down,” right? So how does a ship even block another ship’s path? I mean, aside from dramatic effect (it is a TV show, after all), couldn't the Enterprise have just warped out in literally any other direction?
It got me thinking, and now I’m curious—what do you all think?
Here’s what I don’t get: If there’s no “left or right” in space—as Tom Paris once pointed out—then there definitely isn’t an “up or down,” right? So how does a ship even block another ship’s path? I mean, aside from dramatic effect (it is a TV show, after all), couldn't the Enterprise have just warped out in literally any other direction?
It got me thinking, and now I’m curious—what do you all think?