Multi-species crews...how realistic?

[Warped9]

There is a matter of becoming acclimated to a new environment. Also although we know Vulcans are stronger on average than humans doesn't automatically mean their strength puts them on a superhero scale in comparison. For them to be of similar size and form as humans than the gravity of Vulcan likely isn't that much more than Earth's. Spock and any other Vulcans would have become acclimated rather quickly to new environments not long after leaving Vulcan. Amanda Grayson was also able to cope with living on Vulcan for decades, something that would have been extremely difficult if the gravity and environment had been too different from Earth's.

The Klingons seen in TOS were really no stronger than humans or Vulcans. It's in the films and spinoffs series that idea was put across. But in hand-to-hand combat the Klingons didn't impress me as being much more dangerous than a well-trained human. The Klingons (after TOS) look more fierce and dangerous, but so do Hell's Angels bikers yet that doesn't make them any stronger or more dangerous on average than trained police or military personnel. Indeed a well trained U.S. Marine should likely wipe the floor with most any given Hell's Angel.

 

[Timo]

For them to be of similar size and form as humans than the gravity of Vulcan likely isn't that much more than Earth's.

Or then we can blame it on whatever genetic engineering tomfoolery it is that forces the wildest lifeforms into the strict humanoid mold, apparently completely regardless of environmental pressures.

Vulcans might actually have layers of that: first they are victims to the billions of years of Ancient influence on their "evolution", then Sargon's folks transplant them to a desert world and perhaps give them the necessary adaptations (inner eyelids, telepathically forced marriages to avoid interbreeding in isolated desert villages, perhaps even their constant anger), and then Surak comes along and creates an ideal many might try to follow by modifying themselves with modern technologies...

The Klingons seen in TOS were really no stronger than humans or Vulcans. It's in the films and spinoffs series that idea was put across.

Where, exactly? Kruge was quite the muscleman - but he impressed his own crew with his silly worm-strangling antics! That was just his thing, helping him stand out as a villain the way certain James Bond adversaries rely on their "DDR-inherited muscles" or "blood tears" or "inability to feel pain" to distinguish themselves.

Worf was credited with "warrior fierceness" but never with great strength as such. OTOH, he was trained in Starfleet martial arts and obsessively practiced the Klingon ones, while the average Klingon warrior might be far less professional in his training regime!

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Warped9]

The idea of superior Klingon strength was put across in the films, TNG and so on, although from what we actually saw the Klingons didn't really seem to be stronger. They just looked stronger mostly because they looked fierce and menacing. Hell, if we can see little Kira Nerys besting a Klingon (or Cardassian) then they can't be that strong.

Mind you in the real world mass doesn't always equate with superior strength or superior ability. You might be able to bench press 500 lbs. but what kind of stamina do you have? It simply means you have the strength for that one specific task or something similar. You might be able to hit someone really hard, but against a trained fighter you better hope you hit them first real good.

Knowing how to use what strength and abilities you have most effectively might give you an upper hand. I can imagine that as Starfleet encountered other species that could pose a threat to its personnel and the Federation as a whole they adapted their training to be prepared for possible scenarios where they might have to engage in hand-to-hand fighting with these new alien threats.

The Klingons might have automatically assumed the newly encountered humans would be pushovers--and the initial encounters might have reinforced that notion--but then humans adapted and were pushovers no longer.


More back on topic we know that starship personnel can adjust the environmental conditions of their quarters separately from the rest of the ship (re: "The Deadly Years") and that's fine if you're the lone occupant, but what if you have to bunk with someone else? When Spock was at the Academy and during his early years of Starfleet service he probably had to share accommodations with someone else before eventual promotions granted him a cabin all to himself. As such he and his cabin mate would have had to compromise unless it were possible for Spock to have roomed with another Vulcan.

Now this could be feasible on a small scale but how would it work on a large scale with a multi-species crew each with verying environmental preferences? Is anyone going to be truly comfortable or is someone always going to feel it's a bit too ccol, too warm, too dry, too humid, too bright, too dim, the gravity a bit too high or too low or whatever else. It's one thing to tolerate with such variances short term, but what about extended durations? We all have a comfort zone that if we stray out of for too long can really start to grate on our nerves--we see that very thing amongst our own species.

And, of course, that doesn't yet address cultural differences where some are willing to bend (to a point) while others are not.

 

[Timo]

The idea of superior Klingon strength was put across

Okay, so the menacing looks were put across. But as you say, the "average-build motorcycle gang look" matches the evidence just fine. And since dialogue references are lacking, it seems our heroes never fell for it...

what if you have to bunk with someone else?

Another can of worms there - I like to believe in bunk beds as shown in ST6, but TOS shows single cabins for officers down to Ensign rank. Perhaps minority aliens get segregated by breveting them to officer status?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Leviathan]

I'd always assumed they had very few multi-species ships based on bathroom logistics alone.

The Klingon poop ritual is...disturbing.

 

[Nebusj]

Worf was credited with "warrior fierceness" but never with great strength as such. OTOH, he was trained in Starfleet martial arts and obsessively practiced the Klingon ones, while the average Klingon warrior might be far less professional in his training regime!

Be kind of a kick if, for all their belligerence, the average Klingon was about as strong as a middle-school girl, though, wouldn't it?

 

[Ithekro]

The Enterprise-D was suppose to have the ablity to carry aquatic mammalian crew members.

 

[Timo]

Or aquatic mammals, at any rate. Perhaps the dolphins were kept for variety in the menu?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Warped9]

I would think there would have to be some reasonably close similarities between species for them to coexist day-to-day even within the Trek universe to be at least somewhat credible. Certainly humans would unlikely be able to serve/coexist with Hortas or even something Gorn like on a daily basis. Some of the other exotic aliens we saw on TOS and TAS would be questionable as well such as Melkot, Medusans, Vendorians, Phylosians, Skorr and Lactrans. I doubt most anyone could get along with Tellarites given how argumentative they seem to be.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Much of this is explored/assumed by Diane Duane, in her earlier TOS novels, Christopher Bennett's TMP followup ("Ex Machina") and the 24th century-set series, "Titan".

 

[Timo]

Certainly humans would unlikely be able to serve/coexist with Hortas or even something Gorn like on a daily basis.

Humans being able to serve/coexist with humans is already pretty unlikely. Yet our species can adjust to remarkably challenging conditions, such as serving aboard a ship (just about as hostile an environment to our biological and sociological nature as one can imagine).

If the other species were less flexible, but a pressing reason existed, humans could no doubt serve with any one of them. The problems would only come when two or more of those inflexible species were brought together...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Marsden]

I doubt most anyone could get along with Tellarites given how argumentative they seem to be.

That's speciest. We've only seen three Tellerites and only 1 was argumentative. Maybe that's why the one was in the insane asylum, he didn't argue, but Gav's assistant also didn't seem argumentative, only Gav himself. And being an ambassador, that seems to be more to do with career than species.

 

[Warped9]

I doubt most anyone could get along with Tellarites given how argumentative they seem to be.

That's speciest. We've only seen three Tellerites and only 1 was argumentative. Maybe that's why the one was in the insane asylum, he didn't argue, but Gav's assistant also didn't seem argumentative, only Gav himself. And being an ambassador, that seems to be more to do with career than species.

They also fart while they eat and it smells like rotten eggs. So sue me.

And Sarek himself stated they were argumentative. Why would a Vulcan be given to exaggeration?