Civilians in Treklit

[Relayer1]

Civilians (or at least non Starfleet personnel) are not exactly the lead characters in a lot of Treklit - it is, after all, largely about boldly going, in starships !

There have been some great characters though - Tim Pennington and Quinn in Vanguard, the reporters in The Romulan War, quite a few in Articles Of The Federation, A Singular Destiny and DS9 fares pretty well.

Who are your favourites, would you like more (or less) and who writes them well ?

If you are an author, what is your take on 'civvies' in Treklit ?

 

[Mage]

We certainly need more civvies!! Thankfully, we've been seeing more of them in the last few years. But there was a time when you'd think that every one was either in Starfleet, or a civilian engineer/scientist.

 

[Yevetha]

I liked Quin and Perington too.

Does Gary 7 count as a civilian?

 

[Relayer1]

I liked Quin and Perington too.

Does Gary 7 count as a civilian?

Well he certainly counts as non-Starfleet...

 

[Christopher]

The leads of the Department of Temporal Investigations books are also civilians, I might add. And The Buried Age shows an instance of civilian space exploration as opposed to the usual Starfleet approach.

 

[Relayer1]

The leads of the Department of Temporal Investigations books are also civilians, I might add. And The Buried Age shows an instance of civilian space exploration as opposed to the usual Starfleet approach.

I am aware of your disinterest in military sci-fi and thought of you when I started this thread.

My short term memory being unreliable, who do the DTI report to ? I assumed they were a branch of Starfleet.

 

[zarkon]

From memory they're a federation department. I recall in the book at some point early on it mentions the director having regular briefings with the president.

My favourite civilian who pops up in treklit is Sarek.

 

[Christopher]

I am aware of your disinterest in military sci-fi and thought of you when I started this thread.

Disinterest? In the sense that I have no personal or financial stake in it one way or the other? Yes, you could say that. But if you mean I'm uninterested in military/combat-based SF, that's true, but it has little to do with Trek writing, since Starfleet -- while nominally a military organization -- is usually not a combat organization. I like writing about Starfleet doing the more peaceful things it usually does. I just like writing about civilians too, for the same reason I like writing about background aliens or the post-TMP era or Picard's missing years before TNG or the ancient history of the galaxy: because it's fun and interesting to fill in the aspects of the Trek universe that have been underdeveloped onscreen.

My short term memory being unreliable, who do the DTI report to ? I assumed they were a branch of Starfleet.

See, that assumption is the other main reason I like to remind people that there are civilians in Trek and that Starfleet doesn't run the whole darn civilization. The DTI is a federal law-enforcement agency under the auspices of the Federation Science Council. If Starfleet is analogous to the US Navy (cum Coast Guard cum NASA), the DTI is more along the lines of the ATF or the DEA.

From memory they're a federation department. I recall in the book at some point early on it mentions the director having regular briefings with the president.

The DTI's monthly briefings with the president were first established in A Singular Destiny. I borrowed it for Watching the Clock.

 

[Sho]

That's really a big reason I loved Articles so much: Onscreen Trek always felt so lopsided to me, showing Starfleet as basically having almost unlimited decision-making power and only rarely having to answer to the people. Articles took on really a considerable challenge in trying to rectify that, and made it look easy.

 

[Relayer1]

I think I'd like to see more of the Federation outside Starfleet. People going about their lives, 24th century challenges, what motivates them, what is left to achieve...

 

[Yevetha]

We had Reyes's ex-wife, she was not Starfleet and the Chelon diplomat too.

 

[JoeZhang]

I think the best use of a civilian was Rugal Pa'Dar in The Never-Ending Sacrifice.

 

[CaptPapa]

Sarek is the first non-Starfleet person that came to mind. He's a great character and AC Crispin writes him very well.
Harry Mudd and Gary Seven were also great civilian characters - along with Khan. Khan's been better served in Treklit than Mudd or Seven though.
Spock's son Zar is also a great character, created by AC Crispin.
Personally, I think there are a number of good to great non-Starfleet characters - main and secondary. However, Star Trek is about the explorations of Starfleet vessels and their crews, so I think its appropriate to have most of the leading characters be Starfleet personnel.

 

[Relayer1]

I think the best use of a civilian was Rugal Pa'Dar in The Never-Ending Sacrifice.

I really didn't fancy that book - it didn't sound at all interesting. I just kept putting it off and reading something else instead.

I did eventually read it. Isn't it wonderful ?

 

[ATimson]

I really didn't fancy that book - it didn't sound at all interesting. I just kept putting it off and reading something else instead.

I did eventually read it. Isn't it wonderful ?

Of course it is. It's got a synonym of "wonderful" right on the cover - "Una McCormack".

 

[CaptainDonovin]

I think the best use of a civilian was Rugal Pa'Dar in The Never-Ending Sacrifice.

I really didn't fancy that book - it didn't sound at all interesting. I just kept putting it off and reading something else instead.

I did eventually read it. Isn't it wonderful ?

I wasn't sure on this one either but was glad I read it.

 

[Yevetha]

Quark stories also feature a lot of civilians.