Star Trek: The Next Generation/Headscratchers: Difference between revisions
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, 8 years ago→What Measure is a Cardassian?
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* In "The Wounded", the ''Enterprise'' is allegedly "trying everything in its power" to reach Captain Maxwell and the ''Starship Phoenix'' before it can destroy the lives of any more Cardassian citizens. Never mind for now that Picard refuses to give the Cardassians the ship's transponder code so they can track its precise location. When the ''Phoenix'' is bearing down on a Cardassian warship and a freighter, Picard assents to giving the Cardassians the ''Phoenix's'' prefix code to disable the shields, but alas, even unshielded, the Cardassians are no match for Maxwell. Picard then orders an increase in speed to Warp 9-- from the ''Enterprise's'' previous speed of '''WARP 4!''' Why in the world was he previously flying at below the recommended cruising speed?! Is he ''really'' trying his hardest to preserve the peace?! And then when they actually find him and bring him aboard the ''Enterprise,'' rather than place him under arrest they let him return to the ''Phoenix'' with orders to accompany the ''Enterprise'' back to a starbase-- and of ''course'' Maxwell takes off. This episode had a hurricane of bad decisions by Picard.
** I find the speed of ''Enterprise'' constantly problematic. Obviously, you don't want to run your engines ragged, but on more occasions then I can count Picard lets the ''Enterprise'' waddle along like it's a cruise ship, no matter the circumstances. Hey, Captain? Why are you pissing around at Warp 2 (Ten times the speed of light) when you ''could'' be travelling at Warp 9 (One thousand, five hundred and sixteen times the speed of light)? At the former, you'll travel a light year in five weeks; at the latter, '''''six hours'''''. Do you just like taking the scenic route?
*** Yes, taking the scenic route is specifically what they're out there to do. It's a mission of exploration, not a challenge to see who can go the farthest into deep space.
** When he says "everything in its power", the "within reason" is implied. He's not giving the Cardassians the transponder code because he knows the Cardassians will use it to kill Maxwell, and he doesn't want that. He's also not going that fast because he probably doesn't want any other Cardassians saying "Hey, look at this Federation starship tearing around our territory!" and leaving out the details why, until his hand is forced by actually seeing Maxwell commit these crimes. In other words, yes, he's trying to preserve the peace, but he's not hopping to every demand the Cardassians make because he knows they're devious, two-faced bastards that would love to use his acquiescence against the entire Federation. And yes, the decision to leave Maxwell in command wasn't a great one... he thought Maxwell had acquiesced and was trying to preserve what was left of a once great man's dignity. It was a compassionate thing to do, and Maxwell's the asshole for throwing it in his face.
== Not until Tuesday ==
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