What was Picard and Co. doing during the Dominion War?

Anybody know? Were they involved in battles, diplomacy, patrolling, all of the above?

 

The missions of the ENT-E and crew are covered in various novels, such as the Dominion occupation of Betazed. The ENT-E has a role in liberating the planet. The only on-screen appearance of the TNG crew during the war is Insurrection, which takes place in or near DS9's 7th season.

 

The novels also suggest the Enterprise was heavily involved in the bloody and key Battle of Rigel.

 

Officially though we have no idea what she was doing - other than Insurrection. The novels don't count (despite some of them being very good).

 

These novels and comics provide voyages of the Enterprise-E during the Dominion War (bold indicates the most relevant stories):

The Dominion War: Behind Enemy Lines
The Dominion War: Tunnel Through the Stars (note: these two novels aren't in continuity with some other modern Trek books)
Immortal Coil (note: this has little to nothing to do with the war)
The Q-Continuum trilogy (note: these have little to nothing to do with the war)
The Gorn Crisis
Spectre (note: Shatnerverse not in continuity with any other modern Trek books)
Dark Victory (note: Shatnerverse not in continuity with any other modern Trek books)
The Battle of Betazed
The Sky's the Limit short story: Four Lights
Preserver (note: Shatnerverse not in continuity with any other modern Trek books)
Forgiveness (note: has little to nothing to do with the war)
Tales of the Dominion War short story: Eleven Hours Out

 

Yes, we do have an idea of what the Enterprise E was doing then canon-wise- Remember that little movie between First Contact and Nemesis?

 

Yes, all we know is what she was up to in Insurrection, but it seems clear that she was being kept out of the fight and sent on other sorts of missions; we heard about two such missions, the crew didn't seem depleted or on a war footing, and she didn't show up in any of the war's major battles.

I'm sure the novel writers will end up having her play a crucial role in every single event that was ever mentioned, but that's neither here nor there; I sure didn't get the feeling from Insurrection that she had been in the fight, at least until that point. In fact, no ships of her class were seen fighting at all, so I suppose that could have something to do with it.

 

DELETED double post due to tech issues

 

Starfleet probably wouldn't have sent the Enterprise into any major battles. If the ship had gotten destroyed during the war it would have been a huge blow for many of the officers.

 

Wasn't the 1701E a Flag ship? The 1701D would have been the command ship during a Cardassian incursion into Federation space, as per Chain of Command. It could be reasonable to assume that the 1701E held the same position. So the 1701E could have been involved in any conflicts along the Cardassian border at Minas Korva.

 

The Federation's secret weapon, perhaps? Or sticking close to home in case the Dominion does break through?

 

Or Paramount wanting to keep the Sovereign design movie-exclusive.

 

Question: What was Picard and Co. doing during the Dominion War?


Answer: Inside their trailers.

 

Updated my original post. I was referring to war wise (didn't include Insurrection), but I updated it to include the Ba'Ku. Officially though we don't know if it was involved in battles. Insurrection does seem to suggest that the Enterprise was handling brushfires of a diplomatic nature. Territorial disputes on member worlds, inviting people to join the Federation, etc.

 

What the Ent E was doing or maybe not doing during the Dominion War irritates me a little bit. In Insurrection there doesn't seem to have been much impact on the ship or the crew. We do get a mention of Ketracel White, I believe, and possiby some other passing mention. I understand that the writers probably didn't want to muddy the waters with refs to the Dominion War in their movie script, but as a TNG fan, it would be nice to know that the crew of the flagship had been in there doing their bit for the war effort. I think I'll check out some of the novels mentioned above to find out more.

 

Dumb question I know, but reletive to the TNG movies where did the dominion war take place? Was it between FC and Ins? Or Ins and Nem?

 

It was after ST:FC, stardate-wise. It was well before ST:NEM, both stardate-wise and in terms of plot.

It is hotly debated whether ST:INS took place during or after the war. I say after... The movie has no stardates we could refer to, nor any direct plot points to establish things one way or the other.

Random factors in favor of INS being during the war:

-Worf hasn't become a diplomat, as he supposedly does at the end of the war
-Worf supposedly is reinforcing defenses in some colonial system, a likelier wartime rather than peacetime task
-Our heroes negotiate for new UFP allies, presumably for support against the Dominion

Random factors in favor of INS being after the war:

-Worf is free to travel around, and doesn't mention the war
-All the heroes are free to travel around, and never mention the war
-The hero ship is running errands unrelated to the war, without even attempting to leave time in the schedule for combat assignments
-Federation diplomats are negotiating with the Dominion big time, something that wouldn't happen during the war with this uncompromising enemy
-Starfleet is in cahoots with people it knows were involved in production of Ketracel White, a substance of great significance to the wartime enemy (and probably to nobody else); possible after victory, but highly unlikely before it

Timo Saloniemi

 

I might be wrong on this as I've had very little motivation to watch the movie in recent years - but the party Picard was hosding... I'm sure they mention the war on the way there, something about rushing the random new species into the Federation as they need all the allies they can get?

Even if I've misheard something and twisted it years later, it makes good sense that Picard, who had a career of diplomacy over combat, would be sent to make new allies and reinforce bonds with Federation worlds, doing all the behind the scenes handshaking, as a priority before being sent to the front lines.

It wouldn't match the 'This is the most advanced ship in the fleet' argument Geordie has in First Contact, but I assume they'd need a Picard flying the flag of hope back home.

 

hmmmm, yeah. Potential planets would be more likely to join the UFP if they don't smell the scent of death on the Federation. I could see why it would be a show of strength and confidence to fly the big E-E to all these allies.