Capt. Data story idea; help wanted flushing it out

[Bry_Sinclair]

On the Sutherland, why not have Commander Shelby as Data's Number One? She was a great character, had a solid working relationship with Data, keep tactical mind, and would be well worth bringing back (it'd also be a nice tip of the hat, as we know someone called Shelby later commanded the ship).

 

[Sgt_G]

A good captain should have a second in command who offsets their own weaknesses, or as I said in a recent fiction, "find a Yin to your Yang". Data already understands tactics and science, but he doesn't understand people or diplomacy.

 

[Little_kingsfan]

A good captain should have a second in command who offsets their own weaknesses, or as I said in a recent fiction, "find a Yin to your Yang". Data already understands tactics and science, but he doesn't understand people or diplomacy.

This was my primary reason for thinking of having Counselor (Lt. Cmdr.) Troi be the Enterprise officer to transfer over with Data, as I feel she'd be optimal for helping Data interact with his brand-new crew, almost all of whom have never met or served with him before, and helping said crew adapt to their android captain. And while Deanna would of course be the ship's (primary if not only) counselor, she would also serve as a First Contact Specialist and possibly as the Diplomatic/Protocol Officer as well.

As for First Officer, I do kinda like the idea of Cmdr. Shelby, but it might also be a good plan to keep Lt. Cmdr. Hobson to keep improving his relationship with his new Captain.

 

[Tenacity]

On the Sutherland, why not have Commander Shelby as Data's Number One?

Depends on how many previously established character the OP wants to bring to their story, verses completely new characters who can be created from scratch. The first officer is usually an important character, lot's of "screen time,"

Shelby while not fully realized does have a certain amount of pre-existing development. You can't just do anything with her and still have her be Shelby.

 

[votez]

As for the adventures of Captain Data, with Geordi along for the ride then you have two pre-established and prominent characters, so there wouldn't be any need for anyone else, as such you could create a whole new crew. Geordi would replace Christopher Hobson, whilst the only other identified crewmembers were Ensign Keith Craig at the conn and Crewman Terry either of whom could be replaced as they were really just names.

 

[Sgt_G]

But why would you replace Hobson at all? He's come to respect Data as a commanding officer, but there are still openings for conflict on a personal level, or rather, on a Human level to explore.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

As for the adventures of Captain Data, with Geordi along for the ride then you have two pre-established and prominent characters, so there wouldn't be any need for anyone else, as such you could create a whole new crew. Geordi would replace Christopher Hobson, whilst the only other identified crewmembers were Ensign Keith Craig at the conn and Crewman Terry either of whom could be replaced as they were really just names.

You might want to get to grips with the Reply/Quote functions, to acknowledge those who made remarks earlier as well as adding your own thoughts about them.

 

[Little_kingsfan]

What if, instead of having this story take place in the aftermath of the Klingon Civil War (TNG Season 5), it takes place after the destruction of the Enterprise-D? Especially if Starfleet Command (for whatever arbitrary reason) decrees that Captain Picard can only take command of the new Enterprise-E if his Enterprise-D staff (with maybe one or two exceptions like Cmdr. (Dr.) Crusher or Cmdr. (Counselor) Troi) have to take other billets. Now, Data is a brand-new Captain, with a brand-new emotion chip, commanding a ship full of strangers with maybe only a handful of officers and crew from the Enterprise-D. Would he try to bring Counselor Troi or Lt. Cmdr. La Forge with him?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

It would be an interesting time for Data, definitely one of great growth and change, so there would be plenty to explore with the character, especially when he takes on a new role. Would he still be on the Sutherland or would be be offered another ship? Perhaps it could be Captain Data of the Intrepid or Voyager?

 

[Jayson1]

I have a few idea's. One is maybe Data and the Sutherland are able to figure out how to beam down to that one planet and they are the ones who discover Thomas Riker so he becomes the ships pilot. Bring Selar along as doctor because you can get drama by showcasing the difference between having no emotion and a Vulcan with suppressed emotions. Also Sela is punished by the Romulans after Data defeats her and she defects and becomes a asset to Data and his crew and Data sort of get to meet and know Tasha's daughter and Sela gets to discover her humanity and things in life that are important that she never could explore because of just how bad her life has been and the pressures living in that society. Everything from racism to people not trusting her as she rose up the ranks.

Also I would use this chance in part because of Data is a machine to show various robots that we have never seen in Trek. Also I would make the ship's mission to explore a alternate universe. Starfleet figures out how to do it and Data and the ship explore a universe were humanity and most of the humanoid races never evolved. We find out this universe though is were the aliens who trained Gary Seven live and they would play a major role in your stories. Maybe they want Data to train with them in order to return someday to help the Prime Universe in ways even he can't imagine.

Jason

 

[DarKush]

Just skimming through here. Some interesting ideas. I really love the idea of Data taking over as captain after Generations. I mean, that's like a couple years between Generations and First Contact that we don't know what the character was up to. There's also space to explore after Insurrection, and you could play around with the aftermath of the Dominion War if you went that route.

While I would be tempted to have Geordi and Troi on the Sutherland with Data, I like the idea of Hobson more. Hobson is already established, he can be a respectful foil, and still someone that challenges Data, but also is challenged by Data. There's more there when it comes to interpersonal conflict and drama with Hobson as the first officer.

If you did want to have other TNG characters in your series, I would look at the supporting characters. I mean, where are the "Lower Decks" characters at? Or Taitt or Barnaby from "Descent"? TNG had a lot of interesting supporting characters that it would be nice to see get more spotlight.

For stories, why not look at revisiting

Spoiler

Bruce Maddox

, Sela, and Lore? Thus far, we don't know what happened with Lore and Sela, and there's still a lot we don't know about

Spoiler

Maddox

as well.