Where was the Enterprise during the Dominion War?
- Thread starter Trekkie27
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Farting about on Ba'ku
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marlboro
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There are a few novels that feature TNG during the Dominion war. Behind Enemy Lines, Tunnel Through the Stars, The Battle of Betazed, and Tales of the Dominion War are all worth checking out, imo.
...We should not forget that during the war, the vicinity of DS9 was an uninteresting backwater with zero strategic significance. A bit like Washington or Richmond during the Civil War!
That is, the wormhole became utterly worthless after the Prophets intervened; after that, there were no battles for the control of this place. On the other hand, Bajor and Cardassia were next-door neighbors, but still all the battles took place elsewhere - until it was time to deliver a death blow to the Dominion/Cardassian alliance, at which point a lot of ships once again gathered at Bajor and then sailed from there to the neighboring system. By that time, the E-E might have fought herself to exhaustion already, in those other battlefields where the war was actually fought.
Timo Saloniemi
That is, the wormhole became utterly worthless after the Prophets intervened; after that, there were no battles for the control of this place. On the other hand, Bajor and Cardassia were next-door neighbors, but still all the battles took place elsewhere - until it was time to deliver a death blow to the Dominion/Cardassian alliance, at which point a lot of ships once again gathered at Bajor and then sailed from there to the neighboring system. By that time, the E-E might have fought herself to exhaustion already, in those other battlefields where the war was actually fought.
Timo Saloniemi
...It took quite a while for them to discuss any past conflict, be it Cardassian or Talarian or Romulan or whatever. Wars just aren't popular conversation topics in Starfleet.
Heck, it took them great effort to discuss even an ongoing conflict. The first we hear of the Cardassian War is "The Wounded" where we learn the war was on for all the previous seasons of TNG, with zero mention. Not that TOS would have been much different: Klingon hostility was "unremitting", but the first we hear of this "constant" arch-enemy is when they choose to go for a major offensive, in "Errand of Mercy".
Is the Dominion conflict ongoing or in the past during ST:Insurrection? Given the above, it's impossible to tell. And there's no stardate to help us out there. We do learn that there are diplomatic negotiations with the Dominion in progress, which doesn't sound at all probable during the war ("Statistical Probabilities" would have weaned the Feds out of believing in negotiating, and the Founders grew too fanatical to allow for negotiations towards the end). Also, Worf has some free time, which again wouldn't work with his warrior ethos were the war ongoing - the only times he took time off were for Klingon Rituals (TM). OTOH, Worf isn't a diplomatic envoy - but quite possibly he never was, having sobered up just in time and declined the absurd proposal.
Timo Saloniemi
Heck, it took them great effort to discuss even an ongoing conflict. The first we hear of the Cardassian War is "The Wounded" where we learn the war was on for all the previous seasons of TNG, with zero mention. Not that TOS would have been much different: Klingon hostility was "unremitting", but the first we hear of this "constant" arch-enemy is when they choose to go for a major offensive, in "Errand of Mercy".
Is the Dominion conflict ongoing or in the past during ST:Insurrection? Given the above, it's impossible to tell. And there's no stardate to help us out there. We do learn that there are diplomatic negotiations with the Dominion in progress, which doesn't sound at all probable during the war ("Statistical Probabilities" would have weaned the Feds out of believing in negotiating, and the Founders grew too fanatical to allow for negotiations towards the end). Also, Worf has some free time, which again wouldn't work with his warrior ethos were the war ongoing - the only times he took time off were for Klingon Rituals (TM). OTOH, Worf isn't a diplomatic envoy - but quite possibly he never was, having sobered up just in time and declined the absurd proposal.
Timo Saloniemi
I understand why they kept the war out of the TNG movies (for the most part).
But I still think one of the bigger missed opportunity’s of that era in Trek history was to not make Insurrection a grand, WW2/Greatest Generation style war movie.
It’s not true to Trek but it could have been a worthy follow up to First Contact, given Stewart the action he desired and the potential space battle spectacle could have been off the charts.
But I still think one of the bigger missed opportunity’s of that era in Trek history was to not make Insurrection a grand, WW2/Greatest Generation style war movie.
It’s not true to Trek but it could have been a worthy follow up to First Contact, given Stewart the action he desired and the potential space battle spectacle could have been off the charts.
Since the Dominion appreciated symbolism - as shown in the destruction of the USS Odyssey - it could be argued that if the Enterprise entered the battle, every Dominion ship would've flung itself at the flagship of Starfleet until it was totally destroyed to demoralize the Federation and claim a very symbolic victory for the Dominion (similar to what Tomalak was seeking for Romulus in "The Defector").
...Unless, of course, she was totally wrecked by the Borg in ST:FC and could not make a combat sortie without spontaneously sprouting Borg nodes all over Deck 13½.
Also, she had been running trials for a full year as ST:FC opened. Picard's previous ship ran trials for a full season that involved actual operations, not meaningless loitering that would have frustrated the command crew. Perhaps there was something seriously wrong with the E-E from the get-go, and she had to be rebuilt before she could be used in combat (including making all those changes that took place out-universe between the movies)?
Timo Saloniemi
Also, she had been running trials for a full year as ST:FC opened. Picard's previous ship ran trials for a full season that involved actual operations, not meaningless loitering that would have frustrated the command crew. Perhaps there was something seriously wrong with the E-E from the get-go, and she had to be rebuilt before she could be used in combat (including making all those changes that took place out-universe between the movies)?
Timo Saloniemi
Yes it did.
While I don't think there's an official word as to why the Enterprise herself didn't show in DS9, the reason no Sovereign classes showed up was that someone higher up was worried that audiences would confuse them with the Enterprise.
Yeah they really thought that fans where idiots
The novels are not canon, so, yes, the Enterprise may have been involved, but there's no canon film or episode telling that story. As for the Dominion throwing everything at the E-E as a symbolic gesture, maybe, just as the British wanted to sink the Bismarck and the Americans the Yamato, but that did not mean the E-E would stay out of the conflict.
The Dominion War is casually referenced in Insurrection. Seems like- from the opening of the movie- The Enterprise's role in the war seemed to be more diplomatic, seeking allies for the Federation Alliance
More than that, though - the heroes made it very clear that they had no intention of fighting in the war whatsoever. Their next assignment was season-long archaeology or whatnot, their desire to return to action explicated as a desire to return to exploration.
Timo Saloniemi
Timo Saloniemi
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