Fun fact: all starfleet ship’s hulls are now constantly polarized, mostly to deflect random space dust, debris, etc. while traveling at sub-light. Not sure if it’s stated in canon when they started doing this, but in a few episodes, before walking on/working with the hull, it gets mentioned that they have to depolarize it first.
Edit: just because the guy below wants to launch an inquisition over the origin of this detail, it shouldn’t ruin everyone else’s fun here.
Not sure if it’s stated in canon when they started doing this
2150s. No, seriously. That’s been a thing since Archer. Hull polarization actually started as the first line of defense before shields became common place and much stronger. The NX Class and the Shuttlepod both had polarized hulls. They even make a mention in one of the episodes that while they’ve been away from Earth for months that Earths polarization tech has improved efficiency by 12%. But when shields started gaining more ground and traction, hull polarization wasn’t needed as much so it slowly slid to the background and was only used when necessary like when Voyager needed more stability or when the Delta Flyer was trying to be located. I remember something else about using it to modulate against a tractor beam too somewhere in DS9.
That being said, I’m not sure where you’re getting the information about constant polarization and deflecting space dust. Typically that’s what the deflector array was for. I’m not saying you’re wrong or anything, it’s Star Trek. There’s tons of inconsistencies and backups and redundancies. I’m just curious so I can add it to my giant folder of useless Star Trek info that’s buried in the back of my brain.
Edit: There is zero source material to back up the claim that the hull polarization reflects space dust and this guy seems to be acting on bad faith. I’m just going to go ahead and take everything he said here with a grain of salt the size of a D’Deridex.
The deflectors are vital at warp speed but they’re still on at sublight speed. I also cannot find a single mention of polarized hull ever being used to repel dust/dirt at any speed. That’s why I asked. Memory Alpha doesn’t address it at all and google is returning zero results. I also cannot think of any recent dialog ever mentioning something to that effect. The closest I can think of is the Cerritos but their hull wasn’t polarized, it was had magnetic shielding.
Not every line of dialogue has a memory alpha citation, and I’m not going to go rewatch almost a thousand episodes and a dozen films to figure out where I heard it just to satisfy your curiosity.
I’m sorry if that’s not good enough for you, but I think I’ve been reasonably patient with your repeated demands for a citation. This isn’t a court of law. I’m here to have a fun, casual conversation, not to be interrogated.
Actually, every line of dialogue does have a Memory Alpha citation. At least if it has any sort of lore impact. Memory Alpha has articles the most random and niche of stuff, including every line of Treknobabble. I also never asked for you to rewatch all the episodes and films. I asked for a general area of where you heard it. Even a series would have been something. I also didn’t demand. I reasonably requested multiple times and then insisted when you outright ignored me everytime. Ignoring someone is not being patient. That is being rude and dismissive. It also heavily undermines your argument because you outright refused to defend yourself when given multiple chances.
This was a fun casual conversation until this random turn. If you had, at any point, said that you weren’t sure where you heard it then that would have been something. Instead you refused to even bother to engage with that in the slightest and ignored me on multiple occasions. That’s just rude but this backhanded snark is far worse.
I’m just going to go ahead and ignore everything you said about hull polarization. There seems to be nothing to back up your case whatsoever and you seem to have zero interest in backing up your claim. I have zero interest in engaging with someone who acts on such bad faith. Goodbye.
If a big magnet protects spaceship earth from cosmic rays, a smaller magnet should protect spaceship enterprise from death rays.
But seriously, my take was always that there was something like an inner and an outer hull, and by polarizing them with opposing charges you might reinforce them so explosions are less likely to blast the outer hull off. Kind of like a magnetic lock around the entire ship.
I appreciate the suggestion, but it still doesn’t show up correctly when I use it like your example.
Used correctly, I see plain text with no hyperlink. Used without the ! I see a hyperlink. Let me know if the embedded gif below works for you. I’ve done it like you suggest.
you almost got it but have to use the direct link of the gif not the giphy page, right click (or press and hold if on mobile) on gif and copy image location
The Prime Directive doesn’t actually stop there. It applies even if they do have FTL. The reason this doesn’t violate the Prime Directive isn’t because they have FTL but because they directly asked for help.
Aiding an independent state at war with another independent state would probably require going through the Federation Council, unless the President can provide military aid through discretionary spending.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen the movie but I vaguely remember something about the Thermians on-board the ship* being the last of their kind, and Wikipedia only describes Sarris as a “warlord” which means both factions may be non-state actors, which could either complicate or simplify things depending on Federation law.
It seems like Starfleet captains have broad discretion in choosing to render humanitarian aid to warp-capable peoples, though.
Well we did see the Enterprise involve itself in various skirmishes without too much oversight or approval so any approval needed might just be a quick message to Starfleet.
You are right on the Thermians saying they’re the last of their kind but they say that after Tim Allen has bundled the first meeting. It’s vaguely implied that they’re the last of their kind because of what Tim Allen did. Not confirmed or anything but it’s how it appears. So you could argue that they’re the last of their people or not.
You are right on the Thermians saying they’re the last of their kind but they say that after Tim Allen has bundled the first meeting. It’s vaguely implied that they’re the last of their kind because of what Tim Allen did.
I remember that now that you say it.
So I think it really depends on whether Mathesar represents continuity of government in Thermian law. If there’s no continuity of government, then at that point they are non-state actors, paramilitary forces in exile.
For sake of argument, let’s say we’re meeting them before their planet is destroyed.
Well we did see the Enterprise involve itself in various skirmishes without too much oversight or approval so any approval needed might just be a quick message to Starfleet.
That really depends on the nature of the conflict and which version of the Enterprise we’re talking about.
I haven’t seen much of TOS so I don’t know what Kirk would do, but if we’re talking TNG era I think that Starfleet would be pretty hesitant to get involved in a conflict they didn’t start.
We also have to consider where in the galaxy we’re meeting the Thermians.
If it’s in the Alpha quadrant near to Federation space, then military intervention isn’t out of the question, especially if they’ve expressed interest in joining the Federation. If they’re in Klingon or Romulan or Breen space, or the Neutral Zone, then Starfleet getting involved could be a real problem. They may still render humanitarian aid and even clandestine military aid, but they’re going to have to tread very carefully.
If they’re in the Gamma quadrant through the wormhole, then Starfleet may be hesitant to commit any significant assets, even if they want to help. It’d especially be an issue once contact with the Dominion is made. Sarris could even be working with them as an enforcer if it’s a remote part of their space they don’t really care about.
If they’re in the Delta quadrant asking Janeway for help, which is the easiest way to slot this conflict into a TNG era Milky Way from a narrative perspective, then it really depends on the size of Sarris’ forces and whether Janeway thinks she can win against him. If it’s an even fight, she might see aiding the Thermians and gaining an ally in the region as worth the risk. If Sarris is too dangerous she might just say “sorry” and move on, maybe leaving behind some medical supplies and assisting with some repairs and upgrades. She’d be really torn about it though, and some of the crew would complain or even clandestinely join the Thermians to help. It’d make for a decent bottle episode.
Yes. And then Tim Allen fucked it up for them and attacked Sarris. That ship was the last line of defense. Also not sure how that’s the limit for incredibly dark when you have the entire “We were lying” scene and the “By Grabthars Hammer” death scene. Also the children aliens who are beating another child to death.
A soon-forgiven liar revealed scene or the suitably mourned and quickly avenged death of a sympathetic character by a villain are not even remotely on the level of the protagonist we’re rooting for causing genocide without remorse or consequences.
Why would the “lying” scene even remotely matter when Tim Allen’s character killed their entire civilization? That’s a much bigger deal than lying about being a space captain! Why would they put him in charge again without even explaining his error?
It’s her best work and you know it! Doesn’t hurt that the year it came out I had a history class and wound up doing a report on Pol Pot as a result.
Your diary must look odd: “Get up in the morning, death, death, death, death, death, death, death – lunch- death, death, death -afternoon tea - death, death, death - quick shower…"
Not going to lie, forgot that Eddie came out as trans. Makes the gif even more succinct. Good for her.
That death line is pretty amazing. There’s one line that I quote pretty frequently. My accent is a fucking disaster. It slips between a Newfie accent, a generic North American accent, and ‘Queens English’ for some fucking reason. When trying to explain the difference between the accents to people who are like “What stroke did you have?” I usually end up quoting Eddie. “Two countries seperated by a common language. You say aluminum we say aluminium, you say centrifugal we say centri-fugal, you say erbs and we say herbs because there’s a fucking H in it”.
Dunno why that was the quote that stuck in my head but it was.
It’s not like he’s the only one that can pilot the ship to/from deep space and isn’t also a loose cannon. Or also the lead engineer. Or probably the only one qualified to fix and/or rebuild the spore drive should anything really bad happen to it. I mean, that would be insane to field a ship with a single point of failure for three critical roles - that would just be irresponsible.
He’s entirely wrong. The dudes from Galaxy Quest figured out the science and built all that shit from scratch based on nothing but a video description. If anything, they’re hypercompetent anti-Pakleds!
Oh I dunno, they get so much screen time in Voyager that anyone who’s watched the series can’t help but remember them. Usually what people remember is how badly written they are as major antagonists. Having read a bit about their origin story, it was a real shit show from start to finish. Uninspired, reactionary garbage.
Oh I dunno, they get so much screen time in Voyager that anyone who’s watched the series can’t help but remember them.
That’s the thing. They really didn’t. They were only in 2 seasons. They had a handful of appearances after that but they were more easter eggs than anything else. They are pretty horrifically written though. That and they’re just shittier Klingons.
Season 2, The Dauphin. Enterprise plays taxi for a new head of state, Wesley does the teenager in love thing, falling for a cute nerd. I just watched this one but had to look up the title.
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