Sharp-kun wrote:Pax Britannia wrote:I dont know why they didnt take the opporunity to write a few good books about the Enterprise's exploits during the Dominon War. That would surely clear things up a bit.
In the two Dominion Wars books it was in it was in a few skirmishes then spent the rest of the books in spacedock for repairs.
I guess that fits in with the idea that the Dominion would try to destroy her as a blow to Federation morale, making Starfleet wary of sending her back out to the front by the time of Insurrection. Then:
Deathstalker wrote:It could be that the E-E had been fighting the war, went in for a refit or to repair damage, and given diplomatic/exploring duties while conducting a shakedown cruise, during a lull in the fighting as evidenced by the Dominion negotiations. When events fo the Briar patch flared up, the E-E was of course the only ship around to handle it.
Now, the 'waving the flag' idea has been refuted since the E-E's combat abilities are wasted and another ship could do the job. Other missions where this applies are seeking out useful/advanced/niche tech from dead/degenerate civilisations (possibly the purpose of the archeological expedition) and from new allies (who might even be powerful enough to tip the balance). Picard's first-contact experience and diplomatic skills would be useful though.
For the 'freeing up ships' idea, it may be that the latest Starfleet military doctrine is that a small number of ships, fast enough to patrol several potential trouble spots and strong enough to deter incursions (the 'brushfire' idea), is better than tying up many slower, weaker ships that would be needed to repel a Falklands War that may never happen. The territorial dispute of the nouveau-warp aliens could have destabilised a known trouble area, that might have resulted in small factions attempting to capitalise on the Federation's strain. (alternatively, they could have had a useful technology which they would only share with the Federation after they helped resolve the dispute.)
After the events of Insurrection and the failure of Dominion negotiations they could have decided to keep the E-E out there for this reason. Picard's diplomatic skills (including recent success with the midget aliens) may have been a factor in choosing the E-E for these 'peacekeeping' duties. There might even have been some bureaucratic controversy over the decision.
So really, i see four possible reasons for keeping the E-E away:
- 1. Dominion propaganda victory. (Previous incident)
2. Freeing-up ships e.g. from brushfire duty. (Strategic doctrine)
3. Acquiring useful tech and making new, strong allies. (Picard's skills)
4. Politico-military screw-up. (Close call controversy)