Summary
Star Trekis a utopia. It depicts a vast universe of systems and planets, with many of them working peacefully toward common goals of exploration and peace. Thus, it’s every Trekkie’s dream to be aboard one of the iconic ships, but these vessels aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Some of them come with grueling challenges, usually out of the crew’s control. Granted, this danger goes with the territory of the great unknown, but that doesn’t mean people have to like it.
Such unexpected tribulations would make any ship into an unpleasant workplace. At best, members of the crew feel disillusioned by their experiences. At worst, they might die. Never knowing which day is their last might be a sign of a not-so-great work environment. Maybe humans should just stay on the ground. At least they’d be safe.
Here’s a mission that no one signed up for. TheVoyagerdeparts for a standard roundup job: arrest a band of Maquis rebels. Unfortunately, an energy phenomenon strands both parties in an entirely different quadrant. This section of space has gone unexplored until now.That would normally be exciting, but calculations predict it will take 75 years to get back to Federation space. Thus, the crew and the Maquis must reluctantly work together to survive. While other ships strive to “go where no man has gone before,” these wayward travelers just want to get home.
Being stranded anywhere is stressful. Any safety nets or feelings of control – normally present on Starfleet ships – are nonexistent. No contact with family or friends means the crew has no life away from the ship. Worse, that ship is now in a hostile environment. The officers have to share space with their enemies. Each side would easily kill the other over ideological differences. Maybe some people even change their allegiances. Given these factors, it’s a wonder how anyone aboard the Voyager stays sane. It must be a credit toCaptain Janeway’s disciplined leadership.
Debuting inStar Trek: Resurgence, theResoluteis a science vessel, so it should be free of warfare. Sadly, it suffers from poor leadership: a captain more concerned with his career than his crew. This mindset leads him to take unnecessary risks with no mind for opposing counsel. Prior to the game’s events, his actions inadvertently destroy a chunk of the ship and kill several people. The grueling travails should end here, but it’s only the beginning.
The Resolutesoon finds itself in conflict with the Tkon: an ancient race of beings with technology more advanced than anything seen since. That’s bad enough, but their deadliest weapon involves bio-morphing. They code their essence into a crystal and inject it into a new host. This process gradually overwrites the victim’s personality and genetic makeup. Once the Tkon use it on the Resolute, its members no longer know whom to trust.The enemy is in their midst, and they have to fight their closest friends. They can never look at their fellow officers the same way again.
Here, the lack of trust stems from an entirely different reason. TheDiscoverysuffers from the malady of some modernStar Trekwriting: the characters have a habit of acting like idiots. These officers act on emotion instead of logic or reason. There’s also no professionalism or respect for the chain of command. Someone would naturally want to prioritize these concepts if they want a ship to function properly.
Their absence inevitably gets the Discovery into trouble. Its crew members regularly violate the Prime Directive because they feel like it. This behavior breeds hostility with the very cultures that they’re meant to make peace with. This, in turn, leads to bombastic battles, widespread destruction, and death all around. To be fair, danger is part of the job when exploring the unknown, butthese crises are easily avoidable. Such issues make it frustrating and borderline suicidal to board the Discovery.
Youth is an incredible boon, but it can also create a host of problems. TheValiantepitomizes those problems. This ship isn’t even manned by Starfleet officers; its crew consists of cadets known as “Red Squad.” Granted, they are at the top of their class, but they’re still kids. They lack the experience and perspective needed for the responsibility. They’ve never even functioned on a ship outside of wartime. As such, they have no concept of the Federation’s core mission and the peaceful mindset that its officers should have. Instead, they’re incredibly trigger-happy and always plunging into the next battle.
The risks of this approach speak for themselves. It’s easy for people to think themselves untouchable until they run into a tougher opponent or get in over their heads. Since they keep winning, though, these cadets pay no heed to those risks. Their age and success give them an over-inflated opinion of their own skills. What’s more is that this attitude births a cult-like confidence in their leader, who continues stroking their egos while taking them on endless campaigns. Newcomers to this vessel would be afraid to even speak out, and that silence means that they never see their homes again. It just goes to show that academic knowledge doesn’t equate to field expertise.
This Romulan mining vessel certainly looks imposing inthe 2009 reboot flick, but one has to pity the poor souls onboard. TheNaradais actually from over a hundred years in the future. Its crew members have just seen their world destroyed by a spontaneous supernova (don’t ask), and their captain wants revenge on Spock for his failed rescue plan. This scheme involves waiting for the Vulcan to come through the same time-travel black hole that they emerged from. That wait takes over two decades.
Yes, these Romulans sit on their hands and do nothing productive for over two decades. It’s a wonder none of them go stir-crazy. It’s especially difficult considering their home, as they know it, is gone. The ship itself doesn’t do much to ease that pain.
Not only is the vessel not a comforting environment, butit’s a death trap. Darkness engulfs every room, with the only light being the occasional green glow. These elements create an oppressive atmosphere that would demoralize the bravest souls. Not to mention, it’s very easy to fall…right into one of the bottomless pits lining the paths. Safety and basic convenience were clearly not in the builders' repertoire. Spending just five minutes here would be a nightmare, let alone twenty years. It’s a miracle that the Romulans don’t revolt. To coin a phrase from their Vulcan brethren, it’s the only logical option.
