Vanguard: USS Sagittarius

[Nathan]

First I want say the Vanguard series is one of the best, if not the best Trek Series that Trek Lit has to offer.

I've read all the books as of date and never disappointed.

I do have a nitpick about the Sagittarius crew. I thought I read in Reap the Whirlwind that the crew complement was 14-16 people and at most 20.

I thought that was a little impractical. How many have to be on-duty to make the ship operational? I thought there was just one Science officer, one helmsman/navigator. I recall there was one doctor and a med tech.

You'd think the ship's crew would be larger. Even if just 2 helmsman/navigators were assigned they'd be doing 12 hour shifts, 7 days a week. Heck, you'd think as a Scout ship there would be more people assigned. What if one helmsman is assigned to an away team, gets sick, needed elsewhere. Is everyone cross-trained for other positions?? Just even on US Navy ships, the Marines (who serve sorta as the MACOs) don’t have the same skill set to drive the ship, work in other departments etc.

I know a barge from sailing from Eastern US to Europe has about 12-20 people assigned and they are just hauling cargo, and the Archer Class scout ship is no cargo ship.

Don't know if it was an oversight by Mack, but I wonder if Mack for plot purposes only wanted a smaller crew, but I guess my gripe is if you are going list the crew complement it has to be more accurate.

Anyway, regardless if my gripe is a legitimate one or not, Reap the Whirlwind was a kick @$$ book and the series as a whole is spectacular.
[FONT=Calibri] [/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri]Nathan[/FONT]

 

[David Mack]

^ It was not an oversight, nor was it a mistake. Normally, I don't "pull back the curtain" to let people see the working documents behind a project, but in this case I'll make an exception and post this short excerpt from a supplement to the Vanguard series "bible" that was written specifically to detail the Sagittarius and her crew:

Because of its limited crew capacity, personnel who serve aboard Archer-class ships must be cross-trained in at least two professional disciplines essential to onboard and mission operations. Duties are often shared by several personnel; one crewmember might serve in two or three departments during the course of a weekly duty cycle.

I went on from there to detail specific areas of cross-training and skill overlap between the various members of the crew, up to and including the captain.

Also remember this is a 23rd-century starship with tons of automation. It was possible for Kirk and his senior officers to steal and operate a Constitution-class starship with only six people in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. It is not that far-fetched that 14 highly trained (and cross-trained) Starfleet personnel can operate a tiny scout ship, especially when most of their assignments entail covert reconnaissance.

 

[BillJ]

Also remember this is a 23rd-century starship with tons of automation. It was possible for Kirk and his senior officers to steal and operate a Constitution-class starship with only six people in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. It is not that far-fetched that 14 highly trained (and cross-trained) Starfleet personnel can operate a tiny scout ship, especially when most of their assignments entail covert reconnaissance.

If you think about it... it only took three people to actually operate the Enterprise. McCoy was along for the ride and we only see Kirk sitting in the captain's chair.

 

[ProwlAlpha]

Don't forget Chekov in his Sound of Music costume.

 

[BillJ]

Don't forget Chekov in his Sound of Music costume.

Three people. Scott, Sulu and Chekov.

 

[Christopher]

And let's remember that Kruge's Bird of Prey had a normal complement of about a dozen.

 

[ProwlAlpha]

Don't forget Data took over the Enterprise-D and went to Soong's planet all by himself.

 

[DGCatAniSiri]

Don't forget Data took over the Enterprise-D and went to Soong's planet all by himself.

But that's DATA, an android. His regular duties are already the tasks of two organic officers, and he can easily take on more.

 

[Nathan]

David Mack, thanks for the "peek behind the curtain" and the thought processes that went behind it. I guess having a crew of under 20 is certainly do-able (citing that 3 folks can operate the Enterprise in Trek 3 and everyone is slotted to operate at least 2 jobs I just say the crew is certainly stretched thin if the recon ops must be conducted for any length of time where almost eveyone is requried at his/her primary post. And if an Away Team is required, one or two folks is sick/injured/killed, duties require him elsewhere, it could jeopardized mission success/operating at peak peformance.

Nevertheless, Reap the Whirlwind was great (and despite my personal nitpick with the crew size), I still found myself glued to the story and the Series as a whole is terrific.

 

[DEWLine]

Christopher, you make a good point about the historical and operational precedents given by Kruge's ship's company in ST III.