Your favorite setting for weaponry control

[Armored Saint]

My goal isn't to talk about the tech aspect or about in-universe explanation about the evolution of these settings. It's more about our preferences as viewers. I exclude here the Journey to Babel case where Chekov fired torpedoes from science station because it's clearly an exception.

We have the original setting we can see in The Corbomite Maneuver and Balance Of Terror. The weaponry is controlled by a specific crew. In Corbomite, they're under the navigator's command and in Balance they're directly obeying to the Captain. It's a naval (or submarine) setting. I find interresting to see Lieutenant Bailey commanding this crew, it gives value to his rank. In Balance, it provided a less bridge centered action, but this episode also shown us how this setting could be inefficient. If Spock haven't returned to the phaser room, nobody would have fired on the Romulan vessel. It's really not an optimal setting and it's quite odd to have an under-automated weaponry on a highly advanced.

We have after that the classical setting for TOS: the weaponry's directly controlled at the helm and the navigation. It's no more a boat or a submarine, it's a fighter aircraft. It's more efficient, but the action becomes really more bridge centered. As we can see in Search for Spock, it's perfect for a skeleton crew. However, I don't think it's the best setting. If the ship needs to use its weapons, it also means it needs to move quickly. The helmsman and the navigator are already highly solicited by their primary task during a battle, I don't think it's a good idea to distract them with the tactical tasks.

And finally, we have the setting introduced in TMP and which became the norm with TNG: a tactical station is operated by an officer of the security department, generally its chief himself. It provides a new perspective on the security team. At least, we know what the officer's doing with its console unlike all those extras (or even Troi in the movies) who are only pushing buttons.

 

[EnriqueH]

When I read the thread title, the first thing that came to my mind was Trelane:


"Ahhh, yes! This won't kill, and this will..."

Back to the topic, if I understand what you're asking, I prefer to see Chekov launching PHOOOOOOTON TOOOOOORPEEEEEDOES.

 

[BillJ]

The tactical tasks performed by the helmsman and the navigator

The most satisfying dramatically.

While I love the Enterprise-D bridge, it always came off as odd to have your tactical officer behind the captain.

 

[Timewalker]

And finally, we have the setting introduced in TMP and which became the norm with TNG: a tactical station is operated by an officer of the security department, generally its chief himself. It provides a new perspective on the security team. At least, we know what the officer's doing with its console unlike all those extras (or even Troi in the movies) who are only pushing buttons.

I remember the scene in Encounter at Farpoint when an alert goes off, and Troi promptly turns to a computer screen and starts pushing buttons. What was she doing - reshuffling her counseling schedule?

While I love the Enterprise-D bridge, it always came off as odd to have your tactical officer behind the captain.

It's a handy location for launching a mutiny if the Captain turns out to either not be the Captain or if his mind is being controlled by the Bad Guys of the Week.

It also gives the tactical officer a quicker exit from the Bridge if he's needed elsewhere in a hurry.

 

[2takesfrakes]

When Chekov utilizes that joystick with the doorbell on the tip to fire Photon Torpedos in STAR TREK I & II, that was best!

 

[HIjol]

I think the Communications Officer should be in charge of firing the weapons. After all, a pretty clear message is being sent!

 

[Hypaspist]

I like it when it works like an actual ship would, like in Balance of Terror.

A tactical bridge officer relays commands and advises the Captain on the status of weapons and enemy ships. A gunnery officer is elsewhere and is responsible solely for the weapons of the ship.

 

[Timo]

I trust there actually isn't any change in TOS at all, in the mechanistic sense - it's always the phaser crews that are in charge of making the phasers go "ping" and the torpedo crews that are responsible for making the torpedoes go "twang".

It's just that they can be told to do so by a variety of means. Voice command is good under certain rules of engagement, mere push of a button under others. And that's not hardware-related: any intercom and any console will do.

In some cases, the skipper will reserve the right to give the firing commands. More typically, he will delegate to the helm console guys, who then between themselves handle targeting and firing according to their training. In special cases, the Science Officer will be needed in the loop to sort out a particularly hairy targeting scenario. The various "settings" are either decided upon by simple voice commands that go unheard because of cuts in the action, or then default to the helm console unless Kirk opens his mouth.

In emergencies, the weapon crews themselves may control the firing, if all contact with the bridge is lost but targeting data still flows. In normal conditions, they just concentrate on keeping the finicky guns from overheating and the torpedo conveyors from jamming, and do not involve themselves in targeting at all.

In this model, reaction time is always roughly the same (although it no doubt gradually improves through drills during the 5-year mission), there being a slight delay between button-push and beam-emergence. It just almost invariably gets lost in the cut from bridge action to external VFX.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Armored Saint]

While I love the Enterprise-D bridge, it always came off as odd to have your tactical officer behind the captain.

And what do you think of the Enterprise-E where the tactical station is at the opposite of the Captain's chair. Damn, I realize I really hate that bridge.

I trust there actually isn't any change in TOS at all, in the mechanistic sense - it's always the phaser crews that are in charge of making the phasers go "ping" and the torpedo crews that are responsible for making the torpedoes go "twang".

The change was at first in the narrative mechanics. The phaser crew disappeared and left way for the (talking) characters on the bridge.

 

[Timo]

Well, sort of. In "Corbomite", the concept of phaser crews was dramatically unrelated to the concept of actually using the phasers - it was just a vehicle to show Kirk as a demanding taskmaster. In "Balance", the crews played a dramatic role. Thereafter, things returned to the "Corbomite" norm despite Angela Martine (under various other surnames) surviving as a character... That is, phaser crews still existed as walla, but played no independently dramatic role.

In essence, "Balance" was a one-off, much like those cases where the ship suddenly had a galley for the duration of one episode, or a second MD, or engineers other than Scotty. We can assume those things "always" were there in the mechanistic sense, but in the dramatic sense they surfaced only for their forty-five minutes of fame; nothing was different between "before" and "after".

While I love the Enterprise-D bridge, it always came off as odd to have your tactical officer behind the captain.

All the Trek bridges are fairly odd in being built for the needs of television cameras rather than for the needs of the actual users. It doesn't make much sense to put Kirk in the middle so that he needs to turn like a spinning top to see his officers, say; having the skipper at the very back, watching the necks of his team and seeing their consoles and screens over their shoulders, might make the most sense.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[EnriqueH]

I think the Communications Officer should be in charge of firing the weapons. After all, a pretty clear message is being sent!

Niiiiiice.

 

[Armored Saint]

In essence, "Balance" was a one-off, much like those cases where the ship suddenly had a galley for the duration of one episode, or a second MD, or engineers other than Scotty.

Pretty accurate and I've mixed feelings about that. It's great to see something else than Scotty, Chapel or Bones, but it's oftenly unbalanced for a ship with a crew of 450. Sometimes, the medical department seems to be a whole hospital with it's several psychiatrists (Dagger of the Mind) and laboratories outside sickbay (the biopsy lab in the Naked Now). It would take a lot of place on that ship.

I find it quite odd to have the ship carrying full-time weapon operators (according to what Stiles said about his first assignment, it seems to be a full-time job) standing-by in a specific room. It makes more sense for me to have one or two officers on the bridge firing the weapons when it's required. Of course, qualified technicians to peform periodic maintenance and repairs are necessary, but there's the engineering team for that.

It doesn't make much sense to put Kirk in the middle so that he needs to turn like a spinning top to see his officers,

I just realize my favourite local sitcom played a lot with that. It was largely inspired by Star Trek (of course, I already knew that) and the characters were indeed always spinning the Captain's chair.

 

[eyeresist]

It's just that they can be told to do so by a variety of means. Voice command is good under certain rules of engagement,

"Mr. Spock - any more insubordination from you, and you will be FIRED! ... Whoops."

If the ship needs to use its weapons, it also means it needs to move quickly. The helmsman and the navigator are already highly solicited by their primary task during a battle, I don't think it's a good idea to distract them with the tactical tasks.

I think it makes sense in battle for the navigator to acquire targets while the helmsman does the steering. Might as well go one further and have the navvy push the button.

Of course, I don't think that button would be a simple trigger. You'd need a gunnery crew elsewhere, loading and maintaining the weapons. So I think next to the red button on the bridge there is a sign that would occasionally light up "Sorry!" when the crew was getting its ship together.

 

[Timo]

"Mr. Spock - any more insubordination from you, and you will be FIRED! ... Whoops."

This actually happened to a friend of mine. He was doing his mandatory training at coastal artillery, commanding a fortress turret in exercises (supposedly under the supervision of professional soldiers, but in practice leading the team all alone) and, being an engineering student with little patience for nonsense, agreed with his engineer pals in the team on streamlining the command procedure for firing, to improve the rate of fire. Basically, they dropped quite a few back-and-forth checks of the "Ready? Ready!" sort, always a bad idea - and, not quite realizing it, ended up with a procedure where final clearance to fire actually came at a shout of "Atten-hun!".

All good and well, until a Colonel unexpectedly pops in for an inspection... He got a much louder welcome than he was expecting! (It was a clear miss, too.)

You'd need a gunnery crew elsewhere, loading and maintaining the weapons. So I think next to the red button on the bridge there is a sign that would occasionally light up "Sorry!" when the crew was getting its ship together.

"Balance of Terror" makes a good case for this. There's a fairly minimal instance of blind firing, no return fire from the Romulans, and suddenly the phasers overload. And everybody seems to think this is as it should be! Not even the paranoid Stiles suggests sabotage.

Clearly, tending to the phasers is a full-time job...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[eyeresist]

All good and well, until a Colonel unexpectedly pops in for an inspection... He got a much louder welcome than he was expecting! (It was a clear miss, too.)

Loose lips sink ships

 

[Armored Saint]

"Mr. Spock - any more insubordination from you, and you will be FIRED! ... Whoops."

This actually happened to a friend of mine. He was doing his mandatory training at coastal artillery, commanding a fortress turret in exercises (supposedly under the supervision of professional soldiers, but in practice leading the team all alone) and, being an engineering student with little patience for nonsense, agreed with his engineer pals in the team on streamlining the command procedure for firing, to improve the rate of fire. Basically, they dropped quite a few back-and-forth checks of the "Ready? Ready!" sort, always a bad idea - and, not quite realizing it, ended up with a procedure where final clearance to fire actually came at a shout of "Atten-hun!".

All good and well, until a Colonel unexpectedly pops in for an inspection... He got a much louder welcome than he was expecting! (It was a clear miss, too.)

That's why there are procedures in the amy.

 

[Timo]

...And why mandatory service relying on giving at most a year of training to boys in their late teens isn't necessarily the best idea for national security. Although the students and alumni of Starfleet Academy don't necessarily appear superior in that respect.

Artillery requires big firing teams just to get the shells flying, with other teams dedicated to targeting and yet others to tactical leadership. This could well be true of phaser firing, too, even if phasers probably don't feature quite so many moving parts and such reliance on physical strength. Weapons are high-strung machinery, and often are operated under extremely adverse conditions where cheap and flexible manpower often is the best insurance; Star Trek need not be an exception.

Timo Saloniemi