Perhaps Starfleet also "adapted," and did it better that the Borg ever could. The Borg never struck me as very creative.
We're the only ship in range......
- Thread starter Commander Toby
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Two possibilities I can think of.
1. It's an exaggeration akin to saying "We're the only ship in the ocean."
2. The Galaxy was divided a little differently back then, even allowing for "sector quadrants." With presumably slower ships in the 23rd-Century, the Galaxy might have seemed a much bigger place in Kirk's time and a single sector might have been considered a big region of space to cross back in those days...
In ST2, it's quite explicit that a Quadrant is smaller than a Sector: it was unusual for the Reliant to pop up unannounced in the same Sector as the Enterprise, but even more unusual for it to also be in the same Quadrant:
In TOS, Quadrant also was always a very small segment of space, a means of establishing the location at the accuracy of about one solar system (when a 20lyx20lyx20ly sector could theoretically contain a dozen).
That in mind, Kirk's ship was "the only one in the quadrant" only thrice: "Journey to Babel", "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth" and ST2. In the first one, this was probably by deliberate design: other ships were kept away from the route of the important VIP mission. In the second one, Kirk was clearly going where no man had gone before, so no problem if it wasn't rush hour. In the third one, Kirk was letting Sulu "indulge himself", so they were probably wandering off the beaten path, and Regula I would be away from the rest of Starfleet by design, too.
So, being the only ship in the quadrant should be welcome continuity rather than an annoying contradiction in those episodes and movies.
Let's stop worrying about quadrants, then; they're not relevant to the discussion at hand. Which is, why was Kirk's ship the only one near Earth in TMP and ST:GEN? Those are the only two occasions in Trek history when this happened, to be sure. It happened to Archer once as well, but back then Starfleet was supposedly really small. It never happened to Picard or Sisko or Janeway.
We don't need sweeping explanations. We only need special explanations for two movies.
Timo Saloniemi
In TOS, Quadrant also was always a very small segment of space, a means of establishing the location at the accuracy of about one solar system (when a 20lyx20lyx20ly sector could theoretically contain a dozen).
That in mind, Kirk's ship was "the only one in the quadrant" only thrice: "Journey to Babel", "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth" and ST2. In the first one, this was probably by deliberate design: other ships were kept away from the route of the important VIP mission. In the second one, Kirk was clearly going where no man had gone before, so no problem if it wasn't rush hour. In the third one, Kirk was letting Sulu "indulge himself", so they were probably wandering off the beaten path, and Regula I would be away from the rest of Starfleet by design, too.
So, being the only ship in the quadrant should be welcome continuity rather than an annoying contradiction in those episodes and movies.
Let's stop worrying about quadrants, then; they're not relevant to the discussion at hand. Which is, why was Kirk's ship the only one near Earth in TMP and ST:GEN? Those are the only two occasions in Trek history when this happened, to be sure. It happened to Archer once as well, but back then Starfleet was supposedly really small. It never happened to Picard or Sisko or Janeway.
We don't need sweeping explanations. We only need special explanations for two movies.
Timo Saloniemi
In the specific case of TMP, as I suggested before, it was likely a case of the Enterprise being more the best ship available for the mission, as opposed to the only ship period. Interception and interacting with V'Ger required special capabilities.
GEN is a little harder to figure. First of course the Enterprise Bee was no longer in Earth's orbit when it receive the distress call. The ship had left spacedock for it's maiden voyage some time before, it could have been traveling at cruising warp speed for many hours. That said they must have still been in the core areas on the Federation, basically the Enterprise responded at all solely because they were only three light-years away.
GEN is a little harder to figure. First of course the Enterprise Bee was no longer in Earth's orbit when it receive the distress call. The ship had left spacedock for it's maiden voyage some time before, it could have been traveling at cruising warp speed for many hours. That said they must have still been in the core areas on the Federation, basically the Enterprise responded at all solely because they were only three light-years away.
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^^The Enterprise B wasn't supposed to leave Earth's solar system in Generations. After launch, Captain Harriman says their course will take them past Pluto and back again. "A quick run around the block."
Maybe it is code for "This is another cosmic threat mission, get the Enterprise!"
Agreed that ST:GEN is the only really severe case of "the only starship near Earth" syndrome.
There are intriguing aspects to it, no matter how one looks at it. Two transports are distressed by a phenomenon that follows a known and predictable trajectory through the galaxy, necessarily traveling at high FTL speed to achieve this trajectory. How come they are hit by a known and tracked phenomenon? Are they idiots, or simply "out of town" and ill informed? Or does the high speed of the phenomenon explain how the ships were caught by surprise? And does that then perhaps mean that only high speed starships could be of any assistance, meaning the E-B gets dibs?
Or was the Nexus unknown until 2293? If the Nexus travels on a known path, we probably have to assume the path doesn't go past Earth every cycle, but "precesses" in a predictable manner from cycle to cycle. 2293 might well have been the first time the Nexus went anywhere near Earth, and perhaps the first time it went through UFP territory. That'd explain why there wasn't a flotilla of Earth vessels tracking it, like a horde of professionals and amateurs would track the passage of a known and prominent comet such as Halley. Then again, 80 years later the phenomenon was still within easy UFP/Starfleet reach, and in 2342 it probably intersected UFP space somewhere between Earth and Veridian in a nice and linear manner, rather than doing a funny sidestep to the other side of the galactic core (after all, Soran had his chance for a rematch then). It shouldn't have been very far from Earth in 2254, either, then. Why would it remain unknown to, say, Chris Pike? Why wasn't Starfleet already riding shotgun to it when it intersected Earth shipping lines in 2293?
Let's assume the Nexus was unknown to Harriman's Starfleet - the dialogue aboard the E-B suggests as much. The history of the phenomenon might have been extrapolated backward later on, by digging through archives and the like. It's still an intriguing and frightening phenomenon. Why weren't starships sent to intercept it, like the V'Ger cloud was intercepted? V'Ger moved at warp seven; the Nexus might have been a tad faster, but not so fast that the E-B couldn't match speeds with it. Why did the warning come so late in ST:GEN, vs. ST:TMP?
Let's assume Starfleet didn't have the means to easily observe the exotic Nexus, then. Or perhaps it was assumed to be harmless (even though "natural" FTL phenomena always make Starfleet uneasy in ENT and TOS, and sometimes in TNG as well). In that case, we can't argue that the E-B was selected from a range of options because she was the strongest ship around; if there were lesser ships available, say, generic SAR cutters or whatnot, those would have been considered acceptable as well. Yet Starfleet only sent the E-B.
That's a lot of rationalizations scrapped. What do we have left?
"In range" doesn't necessarily mean the E-B would have been the closest ship. Rather, it should logically mean that she would be the first ship to reach the site if dispatched. That's not really difficult to believe, considering the Excelsior class was originally built for superior speed. There could have been a dozen starships wandering around Earth that day, many of them closer to the Nexus than the E-B, but the E-B would still be the first to reach the site.
Could that be translated to "We are the only [ship] in range"? Harriman refers to other starships, asking for the closest one to be dispatched instead of the rescue-incapable E-B. His comms officer might well be telling him that those multiple other ships will be there too late, as the nature of the emergency dictates the response time and thus the range.
But how can she know the nature of the emergency? I just argued that Starfleet knew basically squat about the Nexus and its nasty habits. How can Starfleet know that standard rescue cutters or random starships would arrive too late to be of help?
The crews of the distressed transports might have relayed some information, of course. But communications with them appear sporadic and brief, making it unlikely they could have convinced Starfleet that a specific, tight rescue schedule (which only the superfast E-B could follow) was their only hope.
Any ideas?
Timo Saloniemi
There are intriguing aspects to it, no matter how one looks at it. Two transports are distressed by a phenomenon that follows a known and predictable trajectory through the galaxy, necessarily traveling at high FTL speed to achieve this trajectory. How come they are hit by a known and tracked phenomenon? Are they idiots, or simply "out of town" and ill informed? Or does the high speed of the phenomenon explain how the ships were caught by surprise? And does that then perhaps mean that only high speed starships could be of any assistance, meaning the E-B gets dibs?
Or was the Nexus unknown until 2293? If the Nexus travels on a known path, we probably have to assume the path doesn't go past Earth every cycle, but "precesses" in a predictable manner from cycle to cycle. 2293 might well have been the first time the Nexus went anywhere near Earth, and perhaps the first time it went through UFP territory. That'd explain why there wasn't a flotilla of Earth vessels tracking it, like a horde of professionals and amateurs would track the passage of a known and prominent comet such as Halley. Then again, 80 years later the phenomenon was still within easy UFP/Starfleet reach, and in 2342 it probably intersected UFP space somewhere between Earth and Veridian in a nice and linear manner, rather than doing a funny sidestep to the other side of the galactic core (after all, Soran had his chance for a rematch then). It shouldn't have been very far from Earth in 2254, either, then. Why would it remain unknown to, say, Chris Pike? Why wasn't Starfleet already riding shotgun to it when it intersected Earth shipping lines in 2293?
Let's assume the Nexus was unknown to Harriman's Starfleet - the dialogue aboard the E-B suggests as much. The history of the phenomenon might have been extrapolated backward later on, by digging through archives and the like. It's still an intriguing and frightening phenomenon. Why weren't starships sent to intercept it, like the V'Ger cloud was intercepted? V'Ger moved at warp seven; the Nexus might have been a tad faster, but not so fast that the E-B couldn't match speeds with it. Why did the warning come so late in ST:GEN, vs. ST:TMP?
Let's assume Starfleet didn't have the means to easily observe the exotic Nexus, then. Or perhaps it was assumed to be harmless (even though "natural" FTL phenomena always make Starfleet uneasy in ENT and TOS, and sometimes in TNG as well). In that case, we can't argue that the E-B was selected from a range of options because she was the strongest ship around; if there were lesser ships available, say, generic SAR cutters or whatnot, those would have been considered acceptable as well. Yet Starfleet only sent the E-B.
That's a lot of rationalizations scrapped. What do we have left?
"In range" doesn't necessarily mean the E-B would have been the closest ship. Rather, it should logically mean that she would be the first ship to reach the site if dispatched. That's not really difficult to believe, considering the Excelsior class was originally built for superior speed. There could have been a dozen starships wandering around Earth that day, many of them closer to the Nexus than the E-B, but the E-B would still be the first to reach the site.
Could that be translated to "We are the only [ship] in range"? Harriman refers to other starships, asking for the closest one to be dispatched instead of the rescue-incapable E-B. His comms officer might well be telling him that those multiple other ships will be there too late, as the nature of the emergency dictates the response time and thus the range.
But how can she know the nature of the emergency? I just argued that Starfleet knew basically squat about the Nexus and its nasty habits. How can Starfleet know that standard rescue cutters or random starships would arrive too late to be of help?
The crews of the distressed transports might have relayed some information, of course. But communications with them appear sporadic and brief, making it unlikely they could have convinced Starfleet that a specific, tight rescue schedule (which only the superfast E-B could follow) was their only hope.
Any ideas?
Timo Saloniemi
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