Where was the Enterprise during the Dominion War?

...Which raises the question of why Picard isn't allowed to be an explorer.

I mean, his business as usual used to include something he considered "exploration", even back when he was in command of the Federation Flagship that supposedly had major other commitments. Why is "exploration" excluded from the tasks burnened on the E-E?

Is it because at the time, Starfleet in general cannot afford to explore, there being so much else to do to undo the effects of the recent war? Archaeological digs would hardly fit that picture, but then again, that's one thing Picard is being denied here, in favor of brushfire extinguishing.

Or is it because Picard and his crew are receiving special punishment for their prior actions? We don't know the aftermath of ST:FC too intimately yet. Might be Starfleet went all "We were just about to blow the Borg to pieces, thank you very much, and there was no excuse for you to disobey your strict orders to stay out" on them? Telling Picard to do things he's good at but not keen on doing would be the soft punishment, akin to giving Kirk a prestigious wreck to command.

Or is it because the E-E is a ship unsuited for exploration, or uniquely suited for some other role that takes priority now? What that role might be is difficult to tell - she's not tasked with fighting so this is unlikely to be her field of excellence, but OTOH the diplomacy she is tasked with would not appear to call for particularly special specifications.

Or is it because exploration is forbidden by some treaty or policy adopted in the aftermath of the war? Perhaps the leaders feel the war could have been avoided if Starfleet did not boldly go where none had before, and thus apply at least a temporary ban on loitering beyond UFP borders? Perhaps the Dominion only agreed to stop crushing the UFP if the UFP agreed to stop exploring, and the ongoing negotiations try to address this, there being a hiatus in the meantime?

Timo Saloniemi

 

Where is it said Picard isn't allowed to explore anymore??

 

He spells it out himself: "Can anyone remember when we used to be explorers?"

If things are back to normal, why would he make such a lament? He was exploring stuff all through TNG, assessing all-new colony sites in "Emergence", say. And the fact that three-fourths of his missions back then (indeed, throughout TNG) did not entail exploration did not make him lament anything yet.

So something is stopping him. It's just a question of what. Circumstances? Technical or political issues? Something specific to him or the ship, or applying to all of Starfleet?

Timo Saloniemi

 

I never thought it was that he wasn't "allowed" to explore anymore...as in being punished or banned for some reason.

I think other things just keep cropping up. And whether you believe Insurrection was during or after the war, I think it's probably safe to assume the Enterprise was involved in the war and not out exploring.

I took more as a nostalgic line. "Ah, remember when I had that great job a few years back...." It doesn't mean I was banned from doing that job. Just that I have other responsibilities now.

 

The thing is, Picard's previous job was "ace of all trades": there was nothing he would not do, be it exploring, mediating, spying, fighting, supplying, purchasing, destroying, investigating. So again, what changed? Why is exploring now either off the agenda, or reduced so much that it alters his perception of himself as an explorer?

Timo Saloniemi

 

It's not off the agenda. Picard is simply lamenting the fact that he's being sent to "put out another brushfire" and misses the good ol' days of peace and exploration. If this is indeed at the tail end of the Dominion war, then it's a relatable sentiment.

Truth be told, Picard didn't ever really have many missions specifically to go explore. There are a minute number of episodes of the "charting" something. Most of the time they were answering a distress call, or being sent somewhere to do some thing.

 

He was giving that line while technically they were still at war with the Cardassians as well. Picard is a bit of a shill.

 

What good old days, though? Picard was always fighting somebody back in TNG, but fights nobody when ST:INS opens. Conversely, Picard was putting out brush fires in TNG, too. So again, where does the contrast come from?

But if the war is still on, we're back on square one on why the heroes discuss none, but bicker about banquets instead. And if the fighting is over, then the heroes already are back to what they always were... Which is explorers (but then why the lament?) or then is not (but then why pretend they previously were that - for sheer sarcasm?).

Which I guess is good and well for the Flagship. At least Picard was actually sent to negotiate, too - Kirk only ever took over negotiations from the proper diplomats when things went south, and preferred orbital bombardment to eloquence.

Timo Saloniemi

 

Surely Picard is thinking back to his days aboard the Stargazer? Long-duration exploration seems to be the preserve of less important ships, like the Olympia.

 

I've wondered that ever since I saw all episodes of DS9 a year ago. Were they protecting Risa?

Enterprise should at least have been mentioned in some episode or even showed up at the station. It would have been nice to see Riker or someone from TNG show up at the station during the war.

 

I dunno. If you're not going to really use the characters as a main plot of the episode, you probably shouldn't bring them in just for a cameo. Using the stars from another show creates the impression of a smaller galaxy than there actually is. By the Dominion War, Starfleet probably had thousands of starships and thousands of stations. Why should we happen to bump into Enterprise officers at DS9?

 

I just think that it would be nice to see them show up in an episode.

And there should have been at least some talk about the flagship in a conflict like this war.

 

They could've at least mentioned the Enterprise once

 

I agree it would be nice to have an Enterprise cameo or even a mention.

 

I think they already felt they had enough callback to TNG with O'Brien and Worf on the show. They were trying to differentiate themselves from what came before by this point in the series. Dragging the Enterprise in for a cameo would have felt like a step backward rather than forward. I do agree that a mention could have worked, maybe something between Worf and O'Brien who'd have a personal reason to care where the Enterprise was and what it was doing.

 

If I remember correctly, at the beginning of the DS9 series, O'Brien made one last visit to the Enterprise bridge.

 

Correct

At the end of Act III (of the pilot episode), Miles is on the bridge, outside Picard's ready room, and wonders whether he should go in. He decides not to, and heads for transporter room 3, where he asks the transporter chief to beam him to DS9's Ops. Picard then enters, and wishes O'Brien farewell before personally beaming him over to the station.