Sisko taking his family into battle

[Antonovus]

I've wondered for a while why could they not have Sisko's wife and son take a transport ship before going into battle at Wolf 359? Were they on such short notice that there were no ships available?

For the sake of character development perhaps. Sisko consistently reflects upon his wife's death, signifying that family is priority for him. It gives him a bit more depth and humanizes him IMO, as opposed to the typically lone starship captain portrayed as largely being "married" to her ship.

 

[tharpdevenport]

What's undesirable about the glass shattering? As we saw, the resulting pieces didn't cut anybody. If the glass did not shatter, it would fall in much larger pieces that would crush the victims.

Timo Saloniemi

This only furthers the problem. It propagates the thinking the production had: window glass is exactly the same as it was hundreds of years ago. No, by the 24th century it's not gotten stronger, lighter, or even shatter-proof.

It's a stupid scene used to force dramatic awe down our throats.

Just look at the technological advances in glass we've had in just 30 years. In ten or so years they're predicting scratch-resistant and shatter-resistant glass.

By TNG time I not only expect that glass to not shatter and not crack, but I expect it to not even break free of it's structural surrounding, which in of itself should be material well in advance of what we have today. And if by some miracle it did manage to break free, it shoudl be so light it would be like somebody dropping a Wiffle bat on you (Wile E. Coyote could only dream of such a scenario).

It's one of those cheesy elements of Trek I wish had never happened.

 

[Timo]

This only furthers the problem. It propagates the thinking the production had: window glass is exactly the same as it was hundreds of years ago.

But it isn't - it's safer, because it doesn't cut or crush people.

Then again, so are the boulders of the future...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Tomalak]

I just thought it was a bit daft they had glass at all, having established transparent aluminium very prominently in a previous film!

 

[DonIago]

Why are we assuming that what we saw shattering was glass and not transparent aluminum?

 

[BillJ]

I just thought it was a bit daft they had glass at all, having established transparent aluminium very prominently in a previous film!

But for dramatic purposes, shattered glass works. Just shorthand for the ship getting torn up.

 

[Leviathan]

...related question but why do people get crushed by falling beams so often? "Hey computer, monitor me at all times, if you see something falling on me shut off the gravity `till i say it's cool. Got that?"

 

[Tomalak]

But for dramatic purposes, shattered glass works. Just shorthand for the ship getting torn up.

Of course, just as their consoles always explode because they never bothered to include fuses or surge protectors.

 

[Shikarnov]

I just thought it was a bit daft they had glass at all, having established transparent aluminium very prominently in a previous film!

Who knows. Maybe it's a case of the right tool for the right job. And who can really say that what we saw was simple glass at all? It might have been some other kind of polysiloxane, polymer, or some entirely unknown type of material.

For all we know, the material might even change its characteristics depending on conditions. For example, on contact with a Class M atmosphere, at certain velocities/pressures, the material may have been designed to weaken and shatter -- in order to provide emergency exits for evacuees, entrances for rescue teams from other parts of the ship, breathable air to otherwise isolated areas (since life support systems would probably offline in such a catastrophe), and more.

Or perhaps it's SOP whenever a noob, like Counselor Troi, takes the helm for the ship to prep itself for various doom scenarios.

 

[DonIago]

"Computer, initiate Female Driver Protocol."
"Acknowledged, Structural Integrity Field to Maximum!"

(ducks)

 

[Richard Baker]

The windows in Ten Forward have a direct impact with the planetary surface, both rock and trees as the saucer slides across the landscape. when the saucer comes to a rest we have a close up view of the windows and they are fine- a bit dirty but unbroken.
The windows above Dr. Crusher (and the bridge dome) shattered without anything coming into contact with them. If something had struck them some part of it should have entered the hull as well I would think.
(I also wonder why the good doctor took refuge in a part of the ship which was dangerous- with all that massive interior there was plenty of room in the interior, away from the edges of the hull- IIRC Sickbay itsely was pretty much buried safely inside.

Back to Sisko- I got the feeling his family was with him on that assignment. Jennifer could have been a crewmember and just off duty or a scientist, we never heard. With both parents on a ship it would make sense for their kid to be there as well. The Saratoga may not have been considered a fighting ship- instead of the roll bar weapons pod it had two outrigger sensor dishes. I think Starfleet issued all ships order, regardless of who or what they were. The stupid thing is that they attacked as they arrived instead of waiting for more number and then all attacking at once.

 

[Timo]

IIRC Sickbay itsely was pretty much buried safely inside.

...But apparently the ship had several of those, including one that Crusher had to evacuate in a hurry when the stardrive section was abandoned.

The Saratoga may not have been considered a fighting ship- instead of the roll bar weapons pod it had two outrigger sensor dishes.

They still amounted to the same thing in the end: the Saratoga was credited with "forward torpedo bays" and thus wasn't second to, say, the Reliant in combat potential. Where those bays might have been located is unknown.

The stupid thing is that they attacked as they arrived instead of waiting for more number and then all attacking at once.

I don't think there's any evidence of the fleet arriving piecemeal. Had that happened, there would probably have been survivors, ships that arrived late enough to see that there was no point in fighting.

From the combination of "BoBW" dialogue and "Emissary" visuals, it seems the battle only lasts for a few minutes, as we see the beginning and the end and apparently everything in between in the DS9 pilot.

Timo Saloniemi