"Fortunate Son" aesop

[Charles Phipps]

Captain Archer is contacted by Admiral Forrest to assist ECS Fortunate, a Y-class freighter. Archer, Lieutenant Reed, Doctor Phlox, and Ensign Mayweather learn from the first officer that the Fortunate was attacked by Nausicaans and that the captain was injured. Enterprise helps repair the Fortunate until sensors show that the 23-member crew has an additional person aboard.

So, yes, the freighter jockeys are holding a pirate hostage and plan on going to attack the Nausicaan pirates. Archer talks them down after they're close to actually defeating them.

I've watched this episode twice and for the life of me, I'm not actually sure what Archer's reasoning is. That's not incredibly unusual but there's usually a train of logic somewhere. Here, Archer believes you shouldn't stand up to pirates attacking you when there's no Starfleet to protect you against them because....why?

I mean, obviously Archer isn't a pacifist because he believes in self-defense.

So, what exactly are they arguing?

 

[sekundant]

I think, it is well known advice from Police "You should give your purse without any resistance, if someone ask you who is holding a weapon. Your first priority is to survive."

Ryan choose another way and took a injured Nausicaan pirate as hostage and torturing him to get the frequencies of Nausicaans to attack them. So far we know Nausicaans are a pirate folk. Ryan would defeat only a group of them, not whole the planet or folk. If he has success with it or not, next attack of Nausicaans on Boomers will be more brutal than in the past. Neither Starfleet, nor Boomer are strong enough to protect all Boomers or ready for a "war".
Archer acts strategically (and ethical) correct, imho.

 

[Charles Phipps]

I'm not sure that, "allow you to remain victims of attacks indefinitely" helps.

 

[sekundant]

I'm not sure that, "allow you to remain victims of attacks indefinitely" helps.

" War is merely the continuation of politics by other means." Carl von Clausewitz 1832
" War is murder unless it is compulsory and vital. " Mustafa Kemal Atatürk 1927

From two great military theorists, who have spent most of their lives at battle field.
So long, you cannot contribute " act of force to compel (y)our enemy to do (y)our will" you shouldn't try with ultimo ratio, but other kind of politics. It doesn't make you weak, but smart. Better you never need a war, but if it is "compulsory" you bought yourself time for being ready and find allies. That is the story of ENT and Archer.

["War is thus an act of force to compel our enemy to do our will." v.Clausewitz]

 

[Charles Phipps]

Funny, Archer may have made that decision but Mayweather makes the opposite one a few episodes later.

 

[sekundant]

Well, Travis was not completely agree with Archer at Fortunate Son, he must be "convinced".
At the Horizon he didn't want to tell Archer what happened, maybe that was the reason.

 

[Charles Phipps]

I admit, I'm comfortable with the idea Archer completely misread the situation with the Nausicaans and Mayweather did a much better solution.

 

[Yanks]

I liked this episode.

...and I don't think Archer or T'Pol were wrong.

There is nothing logical by dealing with this problem by taking a hostage. Especially when 99.9% of the time you are alone and most likely out gunned. Is it a perfect world? No, but throwing gas on the fire when you don't have a bucket of water is dangerous and borderline stupid. Letting the Nausicaans know that Star Fleet was “out here” was the right approach.

No problem with the Archer/Travis conversation in his cabin. Archer's point was valid, but I think he should have brought up future consequences to being the aggressor. Next time it might not be just the cargo they are looking for.

I didn't like this line though:

"ARCHER: Any other orders of mine you'd like to question?"

Pretty snotty there.

I think this episode brings out that not everyone is fit for command as well.

Good "Travis episode". I wish the series had more of these.

No question the Fortunate should have taken some upgrades, I think the Fortunate Captain should have taken some when he was back on his feet.

I thought it was more of a jealousy/envy thing rather than "we are short people" whine. Ryan always talked about "who will be left" etc, but I thought there was something else in his conversations. "boomer life wasn't good enough"... etc.

I enjoyed the conversations between Captains at the end.

Archer should have taken a shot of Drilaxian Whisky. Captains are on call 24/7. The "I'm on duty" cop out would get old. He's not asking him to get plastered.

 

[Timo]

It seems Captain Keene had impeccable timing. By escalating the Boomer/pirate conflict right when Starfleet was starting an escalation spree, he'd be in a pretty good position to force Starfleet to go and kill all the Nausicaans, or at least enough of them to make them cower in fear.

It doesn't seem Starfleet agreed, though, as the Nausicaans are still around centuries later.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Charles Phipps]

It seems Captain Keene had impeccable timing. By escalating the Boomer/pirate conflict right when Starfleet was starting an escalation spree, he'd be in a pretty good position to force Starfleet to go and kill all the Nausicaans, or at least enough of them to make them cower in fear.

It doesn't seem Starfleet agreed, though, as the Nausicaans are still around centuries later.

Timo Saloniemi

I feel like the Nausicaans as a a race are being conflated with Nausicaans as, "This group of murderous pirates here."

 

[Prax]

Well, the only Nausicaans we ever meet or hear about are a)pirates, b)thugs, c)mercenaries, or d)paid thugs, or probably all of the above.

That's why we direct our racial slurs at the Nausicaans.

 

[Timo]

That is also how we direct our anti-piracy measures ITRW. That is, the last time such measures were effective, they consisted of mighty fleets blockading harbors loosely associated with piracy, bombarding them and the connected urban areas with the heaviest in ship-to-shore arsenal, blackmailing with further destruction the governments in the territory of which the pirates operated, and ultimately invading and occupying said territory and turning it into a colonial possession.

Of course, that was a long time ago. But the circumstances in Trek might well be comparable, and the same remedies in Keene's mind potentially effective.

Timo Saloniemi