Number One, captain of the Enterprise

[dahj]

Since the news was announced that Pike will be extending his stay as captain of the Discovery for at least this entire season, if not longer, and we haven't seen Number One in the trailer beaming aboard with him it's safe to assume that she'll be in command of the Enterprise during this time.

We don't know if Pike will make his captaincy of the Discovery permanent or if Season 3 will continue the revolving door tradition in the big chair, but I'm slightly intrigued by the idea of making Number One a canon captain of the Enterprise between Pike and Kirk.

How would you feel if Pike doesn't return to the Enterprise after this assignment? How about if one of the 19 spin-offs is an Enterprise show with Number One as captain and Spock's first first officer job?

 

[Timo]

Well, Trek in general has been good at tying together loose ends sometimes decades after they were left loose. It may not fall upon DSC to explain how Pike can hand over the ship to Kirk if Pike in fact abandons the ship in 2257 or so already. But it's one of those things I'd obsess about as a nitpicking fan.

Not that I'd disagree with having more skippers than just April, Pike and Kirk. Revolving door is more realistic than decades-long commands anyway. So...

Does Kirk's "I took over the Enterprise from him" mean

1) Kirk temporarily took her over from Pike at some point before 2257 (Kirk is a famed ex-warrior in TOS after all - perhaps he briefly commanded a starship during Burnham's war, at the rank of Lieutenant!)?
2) Pike presided over the ceremony where Kirk took the command and Captain I. Nevahurd Nowan relinquished it (Pike is a Fleet Captain after all - perhaps the special rank is associated with special ceremonial duties!)?
3) Pike tried his mettle with other ships, but in the end was sent back to the Enterprise (such punitive action is standard for Enterprise captain's after all, on the strength of one example!)?

As for Number One commanding the ship, fine, as long as they don't pretend she lacks a proper name...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[TrickyDickie]

If the character is as strong as Rachel Garrett, of the Enterprise-C, I would highly welcome the idea.

 

[KennyB]

How about if one of the 19 spin-offs is an Enterprise show with Number One as captain and Spock's first first officer job?

I have thought the Pike/Enterprise popping up was a backdoor pilot since they turned up. It wasn't Spock's job back then so I have no problem with it. Number One is Commander Una in the Discovery tie in novel by David Mack.

 

[BillJ]

Number One is Commander Una in the Discovery tie in novel by David Mack.

I must not have made it that far, I didn't remember her having a name.

I do remember the name from the Captain to Captain series Pocket Books did.

 

[Dukhat]

I must not have made it that far, I didn't remember her having a name.

I do remember the name from the Captain to Captain series Pocket Books did.

She’s also Morgan Lefler, Robin Lefler’s mom, an immortal being, in Peter David’s novels...a direct contradiction to the above. I also believe there was another novel with a third backstory for her.

 

[BillJ]

She’s also Morgan Lefler, Robin Lefler’s mom, an immortal being, in Peter David’s novels...a direct contradiction to the above. I also believe there was another novel with a third backstory for her.

Yeah, I remember her from some of the New Frontier novels. Which I just started rereading.

 

[KennyB]

She’s also Morgan Lefler, Robin Lefler’s mom, an immortal being, in Peter David’s novels...a direct contradiction to the above. I also believe there was another novel with a third backstory for her.

However Mack had to have everything approved by production for Discovery...…….so I feel like they will carry on with that. Could be wrong. We will see.

 

[ITDUDE]

Call her Una Chapel, sister of Christine Chapel. That will make the collective fandom piss their pants, won't it

 

[Ronald Held]

Seems a Canon violation to have Number One be the official Captain of the Enterprise, even of Pike return to its command.

 

[WarpFactorZ]

Maybe Number One will be promoted to captain of the Discovery at the end of the season, and Pike will return to Spock and the Enterprise for the spinoff series.

 

[Kane_Steel]

The Enterprise needs to go into Drydock for a few years, for Refit.

While Pike is in command of Discovery.

It also seems Spock may be joining Discovery. They've already cast him.


All of this lines up with Kurtzman's goal to "Bend canon without breaking it"


Definitely against Number One becoming Captain. She was never a long-term Captain of the Enterprise.


Plus, Pike will retake command of Enterprise in the early to mid 2260s before handing it over to Kirk.

 

[Tuskin38]

Seems a Canon violation to have Number One be the official Captain of the Enterprise,

It isn't a violation. Nothing in canon has said she wasn't acting captain for a short period of time.

Maybe the Enterprise is laid up in spacedock during the period Pike is on the Discovery in which case no one is in any real command of her.

 

[Kane_Steel]

It's believable that Enterprise went through a refit

 

[Tuskin38]

Looks like they just changed the paint scheme. Everything is still laid out the same and of the same design.

 

[Lord Garth]

I think some people are looking for any excuse to scream "Canon Violation!"

Riker was in command of the Enterprise while Picard was on Romulus in "Unification". Riker was in command while Picard was missing in "Gambit, Part I". You can have the First Officer in command while the Captain is unavailable.

And, outside of "The Cage" we don't know a thing about Pike's adventures with the Enterprise. But maybe I'm wrong. If so, please point out all the episodes with Pike's Enterprise Crew that I've somehow missed in the almost 30 years I've been a fan so I know where the Canon Violations are.

 

[fireproof78]

I think some people are looking for any excuse to scream "Canon Violation!"

Riker was in command of the Enterprise while Picard was on Romulus in "Unification". Riker was in command while Picard was missing in "Gambit, Part I". You can have the First Officer in command while the Captain is unavailable.

And, outside of "The Cage" we don't know a thing about Pike's adventures with the Enterprise. But maybe I'm wrong. If so, please point out all the episodes with Pike's Enterprise Crew that I've somehow missed in the almost 30 years I've been a fan so I know where the Canon Violations are.

That's actually a part of the character outline for Number One.

 

[Mudd]

Seems a Canon violation to have Number One be the official Captain of the Enterprise, even of Pike return to its command.

What canon does it violate?

What's the canonical source that precludes Number One being the long-term captain of any ship?

All that which violates fannish assumptions, expectations or their sense of the plausible is not necessarily a violation of established continuity.

 

[Lord Garth]

Hell froze over. As seen in the posts above, Serveaux and I are in agreement. Let that sink in for a moment.

So, yeah. I reiterate: there's nothing that says Number One couldn't have been in Command.

 

[Kemaiku]

A woman in command on the Enterprise, I think half the fandom just had an aneurism.

Good.