A discussion on Facebook got me thinking. What if the original plan for the E-D had not been nixed by Roddenberry? What if the crew complement really was 6000+ and it went on to explore the Cygnus Reach beyond Deneb IV?
Here's what I imagine:
If we say we only need about 1,000 regular crew to actually run the ship, then we have 5,000 others, which I guess would break down as follows:
3,000 family members (spouses, children, etc.)
A full ambassadorial staff
A full JAG staff
A full SCIS team (Starfleet Criminal Investigative Service, agents and support staff, all civilian, like the real NCIS)
Civilian scientists
I would envision other things differently, too. Split security chief and tactical officer roles. Security watches monitors in common areas all day. Site to site transport for emergencies instead of taking turbolifts and running down corridors, and so on.
No Q or star jellies. The Bandi are an ancient and nomadic spacefaring species with a network of ancient space stations expanding into the Cygnus Reach. Their empire collapsed centuries ago, and now they're just traders. Deneb IV is not their homeworld, merely their furthest outpost, which is why they call it Farpoint Station.
It is jointly operated by the Bandi and Starfleet (like DS9 will be) and the Enterprise explores the area since much of the Bandi's knowledge was lost. At some point they'll leave the Bandi network behind and be in truly uncharted space.
There would be all new species (no budget so they can look as alien as possible), and no specific antagonist. It would be episodic.
Here's what I imagine:
If we say we only need about 1,000 regular crew to actually run the ship, then we have 5,000 others, which I guess would break down as follows:
3,000 family members (spouses, children, etc.)
A full ambassadorial staff
A full JAG staff
A full SCIS team (Starfleet Criminal Investigative Service, agents and support staff, all civilian, like the real NCIS)
Civilian scientists
I would envision other things differently, too. Split security chief and tactical officer roles. Security watches monitors in common areas all day. Site to site transport for emergencies instead of taking turbolifts and running down corridors, and so on.
No Q or star jellies. The Bandi are an ancient and nomadic spacefaring species with a network of ancient space stations expanding into the Cygnus Reach. Their empire collapsed centuries ago, and now they're just traders. Deneb IV is not their homeworld, merely their furthest outpost, which is why they call it Farpoint Station.
It is jointly operated by the Bandi and Starfleet (like DS9 will be) and the Enterprise explores the area since much of the Bandi's knowledge was lost. At some point they'll leave the Bandi network behind and be in truly uncharted space.
There would be all new species (no budget so they can look as alien as possible), and no specific antagonist. It would be episodic.
