Poll Geordi vs Miles...who'd be YOUR Chief Engineer?

If you are the head honcho, who would you pick? Could be star-ship or station.

I would take Chief O by a thread.

 

That's a tough call. I guess it depends what my mission is. Geordi is better at tricking out weird science, but Miles is probably better at getting conventional science working exceptionally well.

Geordi for the science mission, Miles for the combat mission.

 

Scotty!

 

Knew somebody would bring up Scotty almost immediately.

I don't know. As a Captain do you want somebody who's going to lie to you about how long everything takes?

 

O'Brien is the obvious choice. A lot more experience, very hands-n and not afraid to get crap under his fingernails. Doesn't whine anywhere as much as LaForge tends to do. Plus as a former sergeant, I 've got a soft-spot for a fellow NCO.

 

Chief fought in battle against the Bloody ...that's brownie points right there

 

I would take Geordi

resume wise, there must be a reason he was chief engineer on the flagship while miles was a lowly transporter operator.

Not that i don't like miles, i'd actually prefer to have him on my staff from a personality standpoint but i have to take the more qualified/proficient person from a professional standpoint

 

Why isn't this a poll?

Miles O'Brien

 

Scotty.

Can I just mention that TNG should have had a chief engineer from Episode 1, not added one as an afterthought halfway through season 1? And Miles should have been commissioned straight off. He's in charge of three shifts and two radically different systems of engineering and he still has to call Cadet Nog sir? What's wrong with this picture? Engineers don't get enough respect on Star Trek, except the original series.

 

Geordi seemed to know everything there was to know about engineering and science so he'd be the best choice. O'Brien would be a lot more fun to work with though.

If Scotty was in the mix then he gets the job based on skill and personality.

 

O'brien was old school and supposedly turned down commissions, more than likely didn't want the paperwork side of things and just preferred to get his hands dirty.

Even though he called nog sir as formality, i'm pretty sure he was well respected

 

I'd probably take O'Brien as my Chief of Engineering and La Forge as my Operations Manager.

 

I loved how, in one of the novels, someone describes Geordi as an amazing engineer, but not one of those Starfleet miracle-workers, who are great under pressure and very resourcefull with limited options.

And yeah, I kinda feel that's true. While Miles needed to make a mining station that was turned into a starbase not fall from orbit, using old alien parts and new Starfleet parts.

So, it depends on the mission I guess. Do I need to keep a normal Starfleet starship going on a long mission of exploration? Geordi. Do I need someone who's good under pressure and think on his feet? Miles.

 

Geordi has a wealth of knowledge and is a good problem solver and manager. But he's easily distracted and annoyed by people, and then he gets super annoying when he's annoyed, which isn't good for the people under and around him (or the audience).

Miles seems to be a jack of all trades, a Mr. Fix It who can handle both being in charge and getting his hands blistered up by doing things the hard way if needed. He is also super smart and can come up with some crazy solutions at a moment's notice, as we saw in the pilot episode (moving the whole freaking station at a super fast speed). He's also a good mentor. And he's congenial and only tends to get annoyed for good reason (Bashir was definitely obnoxious early on, and his wife was also annoying at times). He gets more upset at himself than at others, which shows me he cares about his performance and takes his work seriously. Plus, he's the sort of guy you can have a beer with, and that's important to me as Captain. I'd generally feel more comfortable and confident having Miles around than Geordi.

Throw Scotty in the mix and I'd have a tougher time deciding.

Probably my ranking would be:

1 - TOS Scott
2 - nuScott
3 - O'Brien
4 - LaForge
5 - Tucker
6 - Tyrol
7 - Torres

 

O'Brien and LaFroge as his assistant

 

O'Brien has a McGyver twist about him. Remember Empok Nor.

Of course Geordi has too. Remember him being stuck on that planet with the Romulan. Did his bit of diplomacy and both as blind as a bat got that gizmo going so that they both could be rescued.

It's a tough call actually.

 

Geordi when I'm heading into a strange nebula, O'Brien when I'm heading into combat.

 

Miles, because I find him more interesting.

Clearly I'd be a bad captain.

 

Depends on the type of ship.

Sovereign, Galaxy, or Nebula class? Geordi all the way. He is suited to shiny, new ships and finely tuning them. The Galaxy class, especially since he seemed very attached to the Enterprise-D, and in at least one alternate reality, commanded the Challenger.

Excelsior, Constellation, or Ambassador class, I'd have to go with the Chief. He's got experience on his side, and seems more suited to take older equipment, and making it work when it shouldn't. Plus, those are likely the ships he cut his teeth on, so I would likely know those systems well.