You are the captain #6

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

You have been the captain of a small science ship for three years. Your next mission is to catalogue the features of the nebula you discovered four months ago, an assignment lasting for a duration of nine months. You only made preliminary scans of the region, but you and your crew are more familiar with it than anyone.

The Sebausians made first contact with the Federation a year ago, and little is known about their biology and culture among the general public, aside from diplomatic circles. Starfleet has informed you that your starship will be participating in an experimental program to foster cooperation between the fleet and the Sebausian Discovery Corps.

To that end, half of your crew will now consist of Sebausians, including your new first officer. Multiple members of your crew, including your current first officer, will be transferred to make room for these new personnel.

Here's the dilemma: do you accept the mission parameters as given to you? Or do you fight to maintain your original crew complement? Alternately, is there a compromise?

 

[Nerys Myk]

Orders are orders.

 

[JLA]

Demand a bigger ship and keep the lot

 

[kkt]

Wow. It seems like a very strange way to order the mission. I'd be very nervous having a large part of my crew replaced by people who don't share Starfleet Academy training or experience. Exchanging a few officers at a time seems like a much better idea.

 

[at Quark's]

So they made first contact a year ago and we're already doing this? Sounds awfully quickly. Early TNG had the primer of a single Starfleet officer serving on a Klingon vessel for the first time in history (at least, that Riker and Picard knew) (and Worf apparently being the first Klingon to serve on a Starfleet vessel and he wasn't even a 'klingon' Klingon), and that was after, what, 2 centuries of contact? (Granted, relations with the Klingons were strained for a large part of the time which need not be the case with this new species, but still). And even in those cases, we were talking about exchanging single officers, not half of the crew.

Other than that, I think it would mostly depend on how much autonomy a captain gets in cases such as these. Could be anything ranging from 'orders are orders, and if you don't like it you're out of the captain's chair', till 'the Captain gets to pick his own crew'. So, I can't really tell.

 

[Dr Helen Noel]

Thanks for making another one of these.

I would accept, but insist on a buddy system where each Starfleet member of crew was paired with a Sebausian member.

I would also clarify how much access they should have. Are they more advanced than humans, like Vulcans in Enterprise, and therefore we will be the ones learning from them?

How much of a cultural difference will there be? Will this affect some crew races more than others?

 

[at Quark's]

Oh, and thanks for coming up with these, too!

I appreciate they (probably) take time and effort to think up.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

You're welcome. Hoping the original poster of these games shows up again sometime. And if you haven't already, check out the previous editions of this game.

 

[Phily B]

Protest your concerns in writing.

Demand the crew complement is reduced to 1/4 because of safety and security.

Then use it as an opportunity to rid myself of the inefficient crew members and people I don't like.

Log any suspicious activity or mistakes they make so I can tell Starfleet I told them so.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Yeah, you could probably haggle the percentage, I imagine - and it might be useful to get crew input on who would like to be among the transferred crew, and who would be okay with being shuffled around to another department if it means they get to stay.

And the current first officer might get a promotion out of this (not because they agreed to leave, but because they're now available and there are always positions open they wouldn't be considered for otherwise.)

 

[FredH]

You have been the captain of a small science ship for three years. Your next mission is to catalogue the features of the nebula you discovered four months ago, an assignment lasting for a duration of nine months. You only made preliminary scans of the region, but you and your crew are more familiar with it than anyone.

The Sebausians made first contact with the Federation a year ago, and little is known about their biology and culture among the general public, aside from diplomatic circles. Starfleet has informed you that your starship will be participating in an experimental program to foster cooperation between the fleet and the Sebausian Discovery Corps.

To that end, half of your crew will now consist of Sebausians, including your new first officer. Multiple members of your crew, including your current first officer, will be transferred to make room for these new personnel.

Here's the dilemma: do you accept the mission parameters as given to you? Or do you fight to maintain your original crew complement? Alternately, is there a compromise?

I’m not sure I see the problem here. Starfleet’s given me orders, and they seem perfectly in keeping with Starfleet’s mission.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

@FredH Two things:

1) You're bound to lose crew who are as knowledgeable as possible about this newly found region you've discovered in the transfer, and you may not get to choose all those who you keep.

2) Having to juggle both the new challenges of this nebula and having half a crew about whom you know little to none, personally and species-wise - it's like two missions in one, both likely out of range of assistance.

 

[FederationHistorian]

The most sensible option to me is an exchange program, and send the first officer and perhaps several other officers/enlisted crew from different departments (medical, security, engineering, science, hospitality) to the Sebausian Discovery Corps, while taking in several Sebausins in the same departments. And have the Sebausians buddy up with an officer.

That way, orders aren’t being disobeyed, and I can keep most of my crew.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

I suppose you could also request a second ship to accompany you on a parallel course, to be crewed by your remaining crew members.

 

[Jedi Marso]

Half the crew seems excessive. I'd try to get Starfleet to bite off on a limited exchange, perhaps a dozen or so. Not the XO, either, but one department head would be okay.

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

Not the XO, either,

OTOH, of the three "exchange officers" we've seen on the show (at least classically, LD might have added others?) two of them were the XO.

 

[Jedi Marso]

OTOH, of the three "exchange officers" we've seen on the show (at least classically, LD might have added others?) two of them were the XO.

I'm just telling how I'd like to roll with it- other captains will have their own preferences.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I would decline the mission.

No way am I allowing all those crew exchanges with a species I know next to nothing about.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

I assume you would be provided with a dossier on what little is known of them, and appropriate background checks.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I assume you would be provided with a dossier on what little is known of them, and appropriate background checks.

Seems a bit dodgy.