get off my BRIDGE!!!

[The Borg Queen]

Well we all know that Wesley is Jean-Luc's illegitimate son.

 

[RobertScorpio]

Well we all know that Wesley is Jean-Luc's illegitimate son.

And if that really is ever confirmed, it would really ruin Picard as a character, I think. I know its been rumored, but if it comes out that he slept with Bev, while she was married to jack, and before jack died, then...well...Jean Luc Picard would lose respect in my eyes..

Rob

 

[The Borg Queen]

Haha, of course not. I was joking.

Although it seems fairly obvious that Picard thinks of Welsey as a nephew, at the very least.

 

[T.D. Possum]

Wes was driving the ship because some alien told Picard Wes was like Mozart.

I disagree with that. I always figured Picard was favorable to Wesley because of the history he had with his mother and father.

I think that played into Picard's decision as well, but I was trying to write a pithy reply and couldn't squeeze it in.

 

[SilentP]

The only thing that ever really bothered me was the security chief being on the bridge, esp. being tied to the Tactical station. Two completely different job classes that I'd make certain to split if I ever made a Trek story of some sort.

DS9 kind of solved this when Worf joined. At least when there was fighting on DS9 (especially in 'Way of the Warrior'), Worf was in control of the station's weapons, while Odo was leading the Bajoran and Starfleet Security teams.

 

[C.E. Evans]

The only thing that ever really bothered me was the security chief being on the bridge, esp. being tied to the Tactical station. Two completely different job classes that I'd make certain to split if I ever made a Trek story of some sort.

DS9 kind of solved this when Worf joined. At least when there was fighting on DS9 (especially in 'Way of the Warrior'), Worf was in control of the station's weapons, while Odo was leading the Bajoran and Starfleet Security teams.

Worf was the Strategic Operations Officer on DS9. Aside from commanding the Defiant while Sisko was busy elsewhere, I think he probably was the officer primarily charged with coordinating things between the station and the Starfleet forces in the Bajor Sector.

It seemed as if the station's weapons were slaved to O'Brien's engineering console in Ops though...

 

[USS KG5]

It seemed as if the station's weapons were slaved to O'Brien's engineering console in Ops though...

One of the most clear things you get from Trek, and one of the few that makes sense, is that the bridge stations can be reconfigured to do ANY job and that any system can be controlled from any one of them.

The tech books always said the stations reconfigured depending on what one was doing at the time, so you could press one button one week and fire phasers, the same button next week would scan or open hailing frequencies.

This makes a lot of sense when you look at how modern computer interfaces work, you don't need the button for "copy" to be visible if you have not selected anything you can copy, etc etc.

 

[C.E. Evans]

It seemed as if the station's weapons were slaved to O'Brien's engineering console in Ops though...

One of the most clear things you get from Trek, and one of the few that makes sense, is that the bridge stations can be reconfigured to do ANY job and that any system can be controlled from any one of them.

The tech books always said the stations reconfigured depending on what one was doing at the time, so you could press one button one week and fire phasers, the same button next week would scan or open hailing frequencies.

I know that's typical on the bridge of a Federation starship, but not so much with the Ops center of DS9, IMO (much of the original Cardassian interface systems weren't changed when Starfleet took over, which caused some headaches for O'Brien no doubt). If we go by the DS9 Tech Manual, the Ops engineering station really controlled everything from the fusion reactors, to the weapons and shields, to communications and life-support.

 

[USS KG5]

I know that's typical on the bridge of a Federation starship, but not so much with the Ops center of DS9, IMO (much of the original Cardassian interface systems weren't changed when Starfleet took over, which caused some headaches for O'Brien no doubt). If we go by the DS9 Tech Manual, the Ops engineering station really controlled everything from the fusion reactors, to the weapons and shields, to communications and life-support.

Well it is hard to imagine Cardassian stations being any different - if they were not configurable in the same way as a Fed starship then they literally would not have enough buttons.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I know that's typical on the bridge of a Federation starship, but not so much with the Ops center of DS9, IMO (much of the original Cardassian interface systems weren't changed when Starfleet took over, which caused some headaches for O'Brien no doubt). If we go by the DS9 Tech Manual, the Ops engineering station really controlled everything from the fusion reactors, to the weapons and shields, to communications and life-support.

Well it is hard to imagine Cardassian stations being any different - if they were not configurable in the same way as a Fed starship then they literally would not have enough buttons.

I think it's a case of different cultures with different approaches. The Federation may favor more versatility, whereas the Cardassians may favor more straightforward dedicated systems. The mix-match of the two design philosophies would explain quite a few of the problems that plagued the station when Starfleet took over. As far as not having enough buttons, I think that depends on how simple a command system interface is. Some may not need a whole lot of buttons.

 

[RobertScorpio]

I know that's typical on the bridge of a Federation starship, but not so much with the Ops center of DS9, IMO (much of the original Cardassian interface systems weren't changed when Starfleet took over, which caused some headaches for O'Brien no doubt). If we go by the DS9 Tech Manual, the Ops engineering station really controlled everything from the fusion reactors, to the weapons and shields, to communications and life-support.

Well it is hard to imagine Cardassian stations being any different - if they were not configurable in the same way as a Fed starship then they literally would not have enough buttons.

I think it's a case of different cultures with different approaches. The Federation may favor more versatility, whereas the Cardassians may favor more straightforward dedicated systems. The mix-match of the two design philosophies would explain quite a few of the problems that plagued the station when Starfleet took over. As far as not having enough buttons, I think that depends on how simple a command system interface is. Some may not need a whole lot of buttons.

You may have a point. Alexander seemed about as 'out of place' as Wesley did, and Alexander was on a klingon ship.

Rob

 

[Guartho]

This makes a lot of sense when you look at how modern computer interfaces work, you don't need the button for "copy" to be visible if you have not selected anything you can copy, etc etc.

Indeed. About a year ago I did a series of bare-bones training DVDs for a prison that was being built. With the right passwords, any security computer in any building could take over operations of any building on the campus. They could also lock-out other stations, etc. The maintenance systems were setup similarly. In fact, someone in the state capital can monitor and override the room temperature at the prison here.

But my biggest problem with a person who didn't belong on the bridge of a starship was friggen' Nog.

Here we've got a cadet manning what has to be, given Defiant's limited number of bridge stations, an important position. You're telling there were no ensigns on DS9 who deserved the position more than Nog? What was he doing there? They even went so far as to send him on a mission with the rest of the senior crew in a Dominion Attack Ship. What the hell? He might just as well have gone into the academy as a Lt. Commander by the way he was treated. Aside from "engineering skill" he was never really shown to be anything but a Starfleet "yes man" anyway. So why?


-Withers-
​

Nog has more gifts than just engineering. I'm sure he was well-versed in anything in Federation law resembling affirmative action. He may be a Starfleet officer, but he's still a Ferengi.

 

[USS KG5]

I think that depends on how simple a command system interface is. Some may not need a whole lot of buttons.

Well they would only need fewer buttons if the same button can do several jobs depending on what you are doing. Otherwise even one system would need thousands, unless its basically automatic.