What are your unanswered Star Trek questions?

[Silvercrest]

What did the R stand for in Jim Kirk's original name?

Roy.

No, seriously, I've heard someone argue that for his full name to have been "James Roy Kirk" would justify better how Nomad could mistake him for Jackson Roykirk. Doubt that was ever the intention on the show, though. "The Changeling" was a full season later, and I'm certain he would've been canonically established as "James T. Kirk" by then.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Exactly. A variable yield antimatter weapon with a warp-speed launch system, and Starfleet just makes it overnight after hearing about it. And then, they never manage another significant technological advance in shipboard weapons for 200 years.

And they're still using phasers and photon torpedoes in the Disco era, 800 years ahead. This is also the universe where they designed and built a shuttle from scratch in a couple of weeks in Voyager, and a universe over thawed out Khan who designed and built a mile-long deathship in under a year. Realism and Trek part ways at sound in space.

 

[fireproof78]

And they're still using phasers and photon torpedoes in the Disco era, 800 years ahead. This is also the universe where they designed and built a shuttle from scratch in a couple of weeks in Voyager, and a universe over thawed out Khan who designed and built a mile-long deathship in under a year. Realism and Trek part ways at sound in space.

The tech development is not meant as realistic any more. Maybe with TOS, maybe with TNG, but after that? I have more fun reading futurism blogs or tech development sites than expecting reasonable tech development from Trek. I applaud the fans trying to push this 3d peg in to this 2d circle that's not a hole.

 

[The Wormhole]

who was the first Borg?

A Canadian MACO.

 

[Orphalesion]

I got one:

What the hell does "Daughter of the Fifth House" even mean? we never got an explanation.

 

[The Wormhole]

I got one:

What the hell does "Daughter of the Fifth House" even mean? we never got an explanation.

It was just Lwaxana being pretentious.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

yeah, didn't Deanna once say that the "Holy Rings of Betazed" were some moldy artifacts stuffed into a closet and forgotten about?

Another theory is that the Borg are milking us. That is, they just send over one ship. If it succeeds in assimilating the species, fine. If it doesn't, said species will feverishly try to improve their defenses and invent new technologies, that can then be assimilated. Repeat a few times, or for a few centuries, until you have tapped dry their potential (they'll invent no more new tech the Borg don't already have) or they approach the technology level of actually being able to resist successfully. Just short of that point, move in with hundreds or thousands of cubes and start harvesting the entire species.

That's exactly what the Borg were doing with Icheb's people.

 

[Orphalesion]

It was just Lwaxana being pretentious.

Was it? We never learned either way. In Angel One Troi does suggests that the government of Angel One (a constitutional oligarchy with a council of noble women) is "a bit like [her] planet", though she didn't go into details, whether she meant the oligarchy, the matriarchy or both we don't know. If she meant the oligarchy, then it's possible Betazed has something like UK's house of lords where the various "Houses of Betazed" are represented.
And even if Lwaxana overplayed the whole thing (she most likely did), it still must have meant something, and maybe more in the past of the planet. It was never explained, and I would have liked to know.

yeah, didn't Deanna once say that the "Holy Rings of Betazed" were some moldy artifacts stuffed into a closet and forgotten about?

That was the Chalice of Rixx an "old clay pot with mould growing inside of it", nothing about a closet though.
Though even here...was Rixx a person or a place (though apparently Quark had holo programs featuring a "Pleasure Goddess of Rixx" suggesting it's a place.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Where did Voyager get all the surplus torpedoes?

Manufacturing the warheads themselves would be easy. All they'd need would be the antimatter, which they can get from any friendly alien race willing to trade.

And somebody mentioned Ro Laren: THERE's an unanswered question - what exactly the hell went down at Garon II that got her court-martialed? All we know is she disobeyed orders and got eight crewmates killed. We don't know exactly what those orders were, or why she disobeyed them, or indeed anything else that happened there...

Another question that kind of gets me is, how did B'Elanna's parents meet? Her mother is your standard fiery Klingon warrior, yet she marries a nice regular human dude? How did that work? What was it about John Torres that got to Miral? I mean, John seemed like an OK guy, but he definitely didn't seem like the type that a Klingon woman would go for.

 

[The Wormhole]

Was it? We never learned either way.

In addition to the bit about the Chalice of Rixx, I want to say there was a reference about the Houses of Betazed simply being ceremonial and not having any real relevance, though that could have been from a novel.

In Angel One Troi does suggests that the government of Angel One (a constitutional oligarchy with a council of noble women) is "a bit like [her] planet", though she didn't go into details, whether she meant the oligarchy, the matriarchy or both we don't know.

She presumably meant matriarchy.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I once heard it suggested that Betazed's matriarchy even goes so far as to have married men take their wives' last names - explaining why Picard calls Riker "Mr. Troi" in NEM - but PIC seems to have had that theory taken out and shot.

 

[Orphalesion]

In addition to the bit about the Chalice of Rixx, I want to say there was a reference about the Houses of Betazed simply being ceremonial and not having any real relevance, though that could have been from a novel.

I think that's from a novel, and well, that's the novelverse, a different canon and continuity.

She presumably meant matriarchy.

She could have meant both though. Though I seriously doubt that Betazed was quite as matriarchal as Angel I was, I mean I doubt the Federation would tolerate a member world treating one sex the way they were treated on Angel I in that episode (though to be fair, she said it was a "bit" like her planet, so a softer matriarchy, where female dominance in fields like politics is simply the norm, but not enforced, is very likely)
In general it would have been nice if we had learned something about Betazed and its culture.

I once heard it suggested that Betazed's matriarchy even goes so far as to have married men take their wives' last names - explaining why Picard calls Riker "Mr. Troi" in NEM - but PIC seems to have had that theory taken out and shot.

But that's nothing that unusual on present day Earth anymore. I though I presume historically it was the norm in Betazed, while on Earth the opposite was true historically.

 

[The Wormhole]

but PIC seems to have had that theory taken out and shot.

Not necessarily. Their kids' names are Troi-Riker. Hyphenated names on Earth usually place the father's name first, then the mother's The fact Kestra and Thad have their mother's name before their father's could be because of Betazed's matriarchal culture.

 

[Orphalesion]

One thing that I think originates from either the novelverse or one of the game books, I like is the suggestion that Betazed became a matriarchal society because female Betazoids tended to be stronger telepaths then males were. That I think would fit very well into the continuity of the shows.

 

[FederationHistorian]

How the hell did Enterprise NX-01 get their hands on photon torpedoes?

They got them from the VIssians. Particularly when Reed was romancing the Vissian tactical officer. Enterprise was aware of photon torpedoes before, but only the Vissians were willing to help them get some.

My question: what prevents a mutiny involving the use of only transporters?

If a Federation ship has a few transporters rooms onboard. And each transporter room can lock onto multiple signals at once. Then what stops a small group of mutineers to coordinate a mutiny where they use the transporters to lock on to the senior staff on the bridge, in engineering, and sickbay, and beam them all into space? And then maybe any security team that attempts to respond? Seems like an easy way to take over a ship.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

And somebody mentioned Ro Laren: THERE's an unanswered question - what exactly the hell went down at Garon II that got her court-martialed? All we know is she disobeyed orders and got eight crewmates killed. We don't know exactly what those orders were, or why she disobeyed them, or indeed anything else that happened there...

Canonically, not much is known:

One of Ro's early assignments was aboard the USS Wellington. During that assignment in the mid-2360s, Ro was a member of the disastrous away team mission to Garon II. During the mission, Ro disobeyed direct orders, causing the eight other members of the away team to die. Ro was court-martialed for her actions and refused to speak in her own defense. With little alternative, the court found Ro guilty and sentenced her to imprisonment in the stockade on Jaros II. (TNG: "Ensign Ro") Jean-Luc Picard felt that, had Ro not lost her rank following her court martial, she could have been a lieutenant commander by late 2368. (TNG: "The Next Phase")

Picard also noted that the incident took place on "Garon IV" rather than "Garon II."

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Ro_Laren

Though apparently Starfleet forgot how to count planets again like in TWoK, so maybe they intended to beam down to a benign planet and wound up beaming down to planet of the anus-burrowing bloodworms.

If you're wiling to accept non-canonical sources, there is a short story called Flash Point by E. Catherine Tobler in Strange New Worlds IV that does include a few vague details about the disastrous mission to Garon II. I will only include some brief excerpts pertaining to that so as not to discourage people from buying it or run afoul of copyright. Just to explain the format and why it says "Flash____", the narrative jumps between Ro's childhood during the Occupation to the mission of Garon II to her imprisonment on Jaros II (II too many 2 planets).

Flashthen. Garon II. A hundred lifetimes away and yet close enough to hold against my heart. Cupped in my hand, eight souls which I tossed into the gloom without looking b

Then—Garon II. Weapons boxed like toys and I can’t go any further. The walls are low, the passages narrow. It’s like a palukoo trap and already I can reach up and touch the rock. It’s damp under my fingers. No, I can’t go in there—not with the steam hissing like skewered hara cats. It smells like a storm—can’t you taste the air? No—orders don’t matter—I can’t, I can’t.

Flashthere. Shoulders too big to fit; no, I can’t and I don’t care about a damn court-martial. Stop it, no. Phaser—I don’t want—The grip is slick and I can’t go in there. I don’t— Look how narrow it is, and the light, look at the light! James, don’t you see? Don’t!

Ro Laren died on Garon II; I don’t care what they tell you. Should have, would have, she did. I couldn’t go in the room. James went—didn’t listen to me. No one listened. No one saw the steam, the thin line of light. Lia’s sleeve whispered through my fingers as she passed—a second later they were all gone. No one listened. Nine went in, one came out. Blood on my uniform—and other things, too. Screams echo, you know. Then, the smell of fresh rain—broken clouds and lightning. Mission complete? Weapons bunker confirmed . . . aye, sir. Aye, sir.

Flashnow. The walls of this cell are those colors, the black, the red, the sugar. Too warm in here, but I don’t complain. Laren isn’t happy, but Laren died years ago on Garon II. I don’t think this helps, this therapy. You can tell me watching my father’s death made me panic in that bunker, you can, but I don’t know that I’ll ever believe it. I want to be alone. You don’t want to hear about it all again . . . do you?

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

We're still a couple of months away from openly posting Picard spoilers, and that was a big one. There's a reason the person you quoted used a spoiler tag, right?

Apologies for forgetting spoiler tags.

 

[Oddish]

They got them from the VIssians. Particularly when Reed was romancing the Vissian tactical officer. Enterprise was aware of photon torpedoes before, but only the Vissians were willing to help them get some.

Either the Vissians were very forgiving, or Reed was really good in the sack.

 

[Silvercrest]

That was the Chalice of Rixx an "old clay pot with mould growing inside of it", nothing about a closet though.
Though even here...was Rixx a person or a place (though apparently Quark had holo programs featuring a "Pleasure Goddess of Rixx" suggesting it's a place.

Quark probably picked those up from Barclay. Guess who the Goddess of Empathy was in those scenarios?

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Either the Vissians were very forgiving, or Reed was really good in the sack.

Why not both?