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What would Shran have done on the Enterprise crew?

F. King Daniel

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It's often said that had Enterprise continued for a fifth season, Shran would have joined the NX-01 crew.

It would have been great, but what would he have done? I can't see Captain Shran being very happy taking orders from Archer, despite them being friends (unless of course they were planning on bumping Archer to Admiral and putting Shran in charge of the ship!)

The only job I can see Shran really being suited to on the NX-01 would be replacing Malcolm at the weapons station, and leading the security teams and MACOs. Or maybe they'd make him first officer and bump science officer T'Pol a notch down the chain of command?
 
Maybe he would have taken over as head of the MACOs, since we really didn't see that they had any since Hayes' death in Season Three.

Though, that would bring up the situation of Shran having to serve under Archer AND Reed.

However, if the Andorian government cashiered from the Imperial Guard for losing the Kumari, he'd probably be glad to take any job he could in order to stay in the military.
 
I would assume the Imperial Guard demoted Shran after the loss of the Kumari, and they might give him a suitably humiliating position serving on an Earth ship as penance. Perhaps he would start out as a "liaison" of some sort, and then join the crew, as T'Pol was.

Maybe with the new Coalition and rumblings of war on the horizon, Reed's role as tactical/security officer would have been split up, and Reed would continue as Tactical/Weapons officer, while Shran became Security Chief. Or vice versa.

Whatever Shran's role on Enterprise, he would have been clashing with Archer and bickering with T'Pol, so it would be a major win no matter what. :biggrin:
 
I would imagine either head of the MACO's, a Liaison to The Andorian High Command Maybe as a start, Possibly if the mission where he joined would take Enterprise into Andorian Territory. I personally would not be pleased if he took on any of Malcolms responsibilities. It would be like if Odo had been removed as Chief of Security when Worf joined DS9.
 
I couldn't remember why Shran left the Imperial Guard, so I paid a visit to CBS and watched as little of This Ain't The Valentine as I could to find out why he left.

Far as I can tell, he left because Jahmel had a baby.

So, perhaps he joined Enterprise because Archer's primary mission is exploration -- whereas the Imperial Guard's mission is to wage war. The loss of the Kumari and nearly his entire crew, along with the death of Talas, would have made him more acutely aware of the dangers of being a warrior.

Following the signing of the coalition agreement in Terra Prime, he might have felt that he needed a less hazardous line of work so he could be there for Jahmel and his unborn child.

Jahmel settles on Earth and Shran signs up with Starfleet. He takes charge of tactical (freeing up Malcolm to take full responsibility of the SF security team and the Macos).
 
Perhaps if the NX-01 had gotten that refit ala the Ships of the Line 2011 refit (I don't know if that was ever actually going to happen or not), obviously the ship would have had a big increase in crew size and security needs. Maybe that, plus perhaps new and more complex weapons systems, would have made it too much of a hassle for just one officer to run both the security and the weapons (I also like to think that helm and navigation also get split up for the same reason).

So Malcolm stays on as Weapons Officer, and Shran, who, let's say, was forced into leaving the Imperial Guard because he lost the Kumari, ends up joining Earth's MACO forces and becomes Chief of Security aboard Enterprise.
 
I'm not sure exactly what he would have done, but it probably would have involved saying "pinkskin" and glowering quite a bit.

Do you think he'd really want to serve on the Enterprise anyway (I'm talking in-universe here)? After all, it was where the woman he loved was murdered. Probably some bad memories there.
 
Do you think he'd really want to serve on the Enterprise anyway (I'm talking in-universe here)? After all, it was where the woman he loved was murdered. Probably some bad memories there.

Shran wouldn't mind serving on the NX-01, because Archer is a close friend of his. They've fought side by side and Shran knows Archer can be trusted.

As long as Shran can have something concrete to do, such as lead the MACOs, I think he'd be fine there.
 
They would possibly make him 2nd in command after Archer, bumping T'Pol to pure science officer. Give Shran the role of Ops Officer, oversight over the functioning and efficiency of all departments while acting as mentor to Capt. Pinkskin, errr Archer, regarding certain species they encounter, etc...
 
I think his biggest role would be to antagonize the Vulcans and change the dynamics of the Vulcan/Human relations. In the first 4 seasons Vulcans were the loan source of guidance, pushing their superiority and holding back. With Andorians giving advice the Vulcans would have to loosen up or step aside.

Two is company, three is a crowd....
 
Yeah, a liaison officer but also in command of a team of Andorian Guard. And, I would have made it clear from the beginning that it was a temp position he was using to rebuild his credibility. Maybe at the end of the season, he gets a new ship or something. Redemption arcs are always interesting.
 
The more I think about it, the more I like this scenario....

Shran gets kicked out of the Imperial Guard for the loss of the Kumari. Since he's spent his whole life in the military he's willing to do anything to get back into some military unit, even if it means begging Earth's government for a place in Starfleet or the MACOs.

Archer gets word that Shran is looking for a job from Earth and offers him a position on the Enterprise. Shran agrees, as long as he can either be Weapons Officer or head of the MACOs.

Starfleet is willing to allow Shran to serve on the NX-01, but the MACO command structure insists that a Human lead the MACOs onboard. As such, Reed voluntarily gives up the job as Weapons Officer and takes over as full-time head of the MACOs. That way, both Shran and Reed answer directly to Archer.

Shran is at first upset that he has to take a demotion from commanding officer and serve under Archer, but realizes he has no other choice. Over time, he comes to acclimate to his new role, even coming to love it the same way T'Pol came to love her position with Starfleet.
 
I think killing a character off would be effective here. The obvious choice in my opinion is Mayweather. Shran, a part time character, got more development than Mayweather. Have a final episode focusing on Mayweather, perhaps in a battle with an "unknown" Romulan ship, he would sacrifice himself for another crew member, or the ship itself. Shran is transferred under Archers command after his demotion from the loss of his ship, as part of an officer exchange program to promote friendlier relations between Earth and Andor, but with the secret mission of getting any intel he can on Vulcan, whom Andor still doesn't fully trust. Shran is promised his command back if he accomplishes this mission. Than have an episode later where Shran has to make a choice between his friend Archer and his loyalty to his homeworld.
 
Oh, sure, kill off the black guy in a sci-fi movie...er...show.

Star Trek: Enterprise Season 5: BLUE IS THE NEW BLACK!

Sharn could replace Chef. ;)
 
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