Honor Among Thieves... why Chief O'Brien?
- Thread starter Gravity
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What I liked about the episode is they really didn't even TRY to explain it - perhaps sensing that any throw-away explanation would just sound ridiculous.
Yes, this was a major suspension of disbelief. And the episode itself was thuddingly predictable.
Still, it had a cool atmosphere. Alas, I would have loved to have seen more episodes dealing with the Dominion/Syndicate alliance - that was the episode's most intriguing part.
Yes, this was a major suspension of disbelief. And the episode itself was thuddingly predictable.
Still, it had a cool atmosphere. Alas, I would have loved to have seen more episodes dealing with the Dominion/Syndicate alliance - that was the episode's most intriguing part.
The Chief while not a professional security man is very clever...as are professional crooks. So he's a natural to fit in with them. Remember he wasn't send in as a James Bond/Jet Li type...his mission was just to make friends and gather information.
Here's my take on why Chief O'Brien
1. He is an excellent Engineer
2. Has seen combat at Setlek III vs Cardassians
3. Has served in Tactical/Engineering
4. No prior intelligence background
5. He's likable (Very important)
I can totally believe that when SI combed the files for candidates, he had the right combination of experience and low profile.
Did I mention that he is very likable.
1. He is an excellent Engineer
2. Has seen combat at Setlek III vs Cardassians
3. Has served in Tactical/Engineering
4. No prior intelligence background
5. He's likable (Very important)
I can totally believe that when SI combed the files for candidates, he had the right combination of experience and low profile.
Did I mention that he is very likable.
That was why I assumed he was recruited. Although I did find that to be a bit implausible. But when you also take into consideration:
Then O'Brien looks like the perfect candidate for the mission.
O'Brien's Handler - a Starfleet Intel Specialist named Chadwick - said in the episode that O'Brien didn't volunteer for the mission. He was selected specifically to find out who the mole was that the Orion Syndicate had in Starfleet.
O'Brien was selected because of his technical knowledge. Chadwick and his personnel managed to eliminate Bilby's tech guy shortly before the episode. They figured that O'Brien would be easily configured into the role of a down on his luck technician that would be interested in joining. With the death of Bilby's Technician, they set O'Brien up to become his Fix it guy. They couldn't use a standard technician because the mole was feeding the Syndicate information about Starfleet Intelligence and - specifically - the personnel assigned to the area on missions against the Syndicate.
O'Brien was selected because of his technical knowledge. Chadwick and his personnel managed to eliminate Bilby's tech guy shortly before the episode. They figured that O'Brien would be easily configured into the role of a down on his luck technician that would be interested in joining. With the death of Bilby's Technician, they set O'Brien up to become his Fix it guy. They couldn't use a standard technician because the mole was feeding the Syndicate information about Starfleet Intelligence and - specifically - the personnel assigned to the area on missions against the Syndicate.
Bingo! Those reasons more than enough to justify his placement in this mission. He was the best fit out of the main characters for this episode (Sisko is too valuable & high ranking). And for best effect you'd need a main character doing this mission, not a recurring character or a new character that we haven't seen before.
Great episode!
^ Like I said in the episode they explained that he was chosen because he was considered a low ranking officer and the Syndicate had infiltrated Starfleet. They sent O'Brien to find out who the traitor was because he was least likely to be expected (for the exact reasons listed here - he wasn't an officer).
Undercover intel work requires a diverse skill set.
First is the ability to deal with whatever situation arises, his tacticall training on the rutledge would cover this.
Second, if he's supposed to be a fix-it guy, he should really know how to fix-it, hence his engineering expertise.
Third, the personal element, the Orion Syndicate has stayed in operation for at least a quarter millenium. They didn't stay in operation without being able to check out their people. O'brien was a natural friend figure who people liked almost right off the bat.
First is the ability to deal with whatever situation arises, his tacticall training on the rutledge would cover this.
Second, if he's supposed to be a fix-it guy, he should really know how to fix-it, hence his engineering expertise.
Third, the personal element, the Orion Syndicate has stayed in operation for at least a quarter millenium. They didn't stay in operation without being able to check out their people. O'brien was a natural friend figure who people liked almost right off the bat.
I think O'Brien was a good choice for this kind of thing, He's so far outside the realm of Starfleet Inteligence, a non-comm , which I think is an asset to the mission, Probably a lot of Starfleet Academy's strongest security experts wind up in Inteligence, he never was in the academy. He is a fix-it man, giving him a very useful skill that could get him in the door of probably almost any organization, No Offense to Colm Meaney, but he doesn't look like a highly trained operative, he looks like a regular guy. And lastly he's a War hero from the Cardassian Wars, long enough ago that any notice of him would have come and gone, but he's still active, so he's obviously got the skills.
By the way, this would have been a favorite for me, if it weren't for the fact that the story was lifted straight from the film "Donnie Brasco", or from whatever D Brasco took their story from.
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