Did they go back and help the aliens they stole from?

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

In one of the later S3 episodes, the NX-01 crew stole a warp coil from Damar's friendly crew, stranding them in the Delphic Expanse. Why didn't they leave them with some kind of transponder or something? Tell them if they survive, they will come back for them and either fix their warp drive or personally fly them all back home? There should have been a S4 episode where the NX-01 found them, their ship badly damaged, some of the crew dead, and had to face the consequences of their actions. I always hated this was never followed up on.

 

[Guy Gardener]

In one of the later S3 episodes, the NX-01 crew stole a warp coil from Damar's friendly crew, stranding them in the Delphic Expanse. Why didn't they leave them with some kind of transponder or something? Tell them if they survive, they will come back for them and either fix their warp drive or personally fly them all back home? There should have been a S4 episode where the NX-01 found them, their ship badly damaged, some of the crew dead, and had to face the consequences of their actions. I always hated this was never followed up on.

In the episode Void, Janeway said that she was up all night rereading the Federation Charter looking for any justification for piracy to save the day. I guess she did not read NX-01 logs.

 

[somebuddyX]

I don't know whether they did I feel like at the least the Xindi might have at Enterprise's request. In the end, I don't want them to be dead so I just hope/assume they got rescued. I think them all dying is too much to put on Archer's character and expect the audience to be sympathetic to him. In a different show you could do that, maybe something like a Battlestar Galactica universe, but they would also go more in depth and explore it more and maybe Archer wouldn't have gotten away with it or Earth would have swept it under the rug. I don't think it needed to be followed up. It's like Sisko in "In The Pale Moonlight. They both did a bad thing and they got away with it.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

I don't know whether they did I feel like at the least the Xindi might have at Enterprise's request. In the end, I don't want them to be dead so I just hope/assume they got rescued. I think them all dying is too much to put on Archer's character and expect the audience to be sympathetic to him. In a different show you could do that, maybe something like a Battlestar Galactica universe, but they would also go more in depth and explore it more and maybe Archer wouldn't have gotten away with it or Earth would have swept it under the rug. I don't think it needed to be followed up. It's like Sisko in "In The Pale Moonlight. They both did a bad thing and they got away with it.

After the Xindi saga, a little dose of "you really screwed those guys over, maybe there should be rules about this" would be sobering and go along with pre-Federation themes of Season 4.

 

[Hopeful Romantic]

The Illyrian ship would have taken a much longer time to get home, but they wouldn't have died. Archer left them a lot of food, and trellium to trade for supplies. Think of Lorian's E2 and how they would have bartered for supplies and food to keep the ship going for over a century.

Rather than just a dressing-down of Archer, it might be more proactive to track down the Illyrians--perhaps with Xindi help, I like that idea from upthread. That could have been part of a longer plotline where everyone dealt with the fallout from the war, not just cram it all into "Home" and be done with it. And while they're out there, revisit North Star. And find E2. All the plots that were mothballed when they saw the writing on the wall that Season 4 was probably the last.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

The Illyrian ship would have taken a much longer time to get home, but they wouldn't have died. Archer left them a lot of food, and trellium to trade for supplies. Think of Lorian's E2 and how they would have bartered for supplies and food to keep the ship going for over a century.

Rather than just a dressing-down of Archer, it might be more proactive to track down the Illyrians--perhaps with Xindi help, I like that idea from upthread. That could have been part of a longer plotline where everyone dealt with the fallout from the war, not just cram it all into "Home" and be done with it. And while they're out there, revisit North Star. And find E2. All the plots that were mothballed when they saw the writing on the wall that Season 4 was probably the last.

"Home" worked with the crew dealing with the Xindi aftermath while the NX-01 got repaired, and boy was she trashed. The Illyrians, thank you. Yes, that episode needed a follow up, because I wanted there to be consequences. As for the western episode, I'd have been content if we had some dialogue about the NX-02 Columbia was going to check that out, kind of chasing after some of the NX-01 encounters. With the NX-01 from "E2," I didn't need a whole episode devoted to it, BUT I'd have loved for us to have learned the fate of the ship. Either reveal it was indeed destroyed, or they made it back to Earth later on. Maybe Starfleet will rechristen it the NX-03 with a new name? That actually would'a been kind'a cool.

I do like what they did in S4, but I feel like the show being renewed last minute to have enough episodes for reruns meant S4 under Coto was all about pre-Federation, not resolving unresolved S1-3 plots.

 

[Guy Gardener]

The Illyrian ship would have taken a much longer time to get home, but they wouldn't have died. Archer left them a lot of food, and trellium to trade for supplies. Think of Lorian's E2 and how they would have bartered for supplies and food to keep the ship going for over a century.

Rather than just a dressing-down of Archer, it might be more proactive to track down the Illyrians--perhaps with Xindi help, I like that idea from upthread. That could have been part of a longer plotline where everyone dealt with the fallout from the war, not just cram it all into "Home" and be done with it. And while they're out there, revisit North Star. And find E2. All the plots that were mothballed when they saw the writing on the wall that Season 4 was probably the last.

Oh? This is the Illyrian episode?

50 years later, the Illyrians are fully assimilated into the Federation, and then superficially faking that they are human seamlessly, and then counterfeiting their documentation to pretend that they are fully human, and not dirty aliens at all.

Archer screwed them so bad, that they must have guilted humans into lifting them up from back water obscurity, still figuring out how to crack warp 3, and became equal partners in a great galactic alliance without bringing a lot to the table, while still being mostly a poisonous liability because of their bad habits of endlessly illegally genetically modifying themselves.

This heavy handed exchange only seems fair if everyone on Dumar's ship died.

Also the Trellium was almost immediately worthless, when the expanse collapsed, which also means that their subluminal drive was no longed based on usable science and their navigation methods were bunk because space was now obscenely "normal" thereafter.

 

[Frontis]

I already said that before, I didn't always like Archer's decisions..

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

I already said that before, I didn't always like Archer's decisions..

I actually like that he sometimes made bad decisions, especially during the Xindi saga. He doesn't have the benefit of reflecting on what the other Captains did. He's the first. Before him, all the other Starfleet Captains are likely just planetary defense and transports.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I've always suspected that Archer DID arrange for the Illyrians' warp reactor to be returned to them, but that he sent someone else to do it, thinking that the Illyrians hated him so much for what he did to them (the Illyrians either not understanding or not caring WHY he did it, you know, Earth's survival being at stake and all that) that they would refuse any offer of help from him personally, and/or flat out blowing him out of the sky for even making the attempt.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

I've always suspected that Archer DID arrange for the Illyrians' warp reactor to be returned to them, but that he sent someone else to do it, thinking that the Illyrians hated him so much for what he did to them (the Illyrians either not understanding or not caring WHY he did it, you know, Earth's survival being at stake and all that) that they would refuse any offer of help from him personally, and/or flat out blowing him out of the sky for even trying.

The Xindi Aquatics could have swallowed up their ship and just flown them home.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

It does explain certain aspects of the Illyrians' attitude towards the Federation in SNW.

Like deliberately engineering one of their planets so that the atmosphere is toxic to humans, just to keep Federation visitors away.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

It does explain certain aspects of the Illyrians' attitude towards the Federation in SNW.

Like deliberately engineering one of their planets so that the atmosphere is toxic to humans, just to keep Federation visitors away.

Wait, does toxic to humans mean toxic to all Federation-ers? What if some species like it?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Wait, does toxic to humans mean toxic to all Federation-ers?

Probably.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

Probably.

Toxic to Tholians? What about Borg shields? What about the lava momma monster from TOS?

I am just poking fun, don't be mad.

 

[Guy Gardener]

I actually like that he sometimes made bad decisions, especially during the Xindi saga. He doesn't have the benefit of reflecting on what the other Captains did. He's the first. Before him, all the other Starfleet Captains are likely just planetary defense and transports.

Captain Cook, famed 18th century explorer was brutally murdered by uptight Hawaiians because he just assumed that these Polynesians would think that he was an immortal god to be fearful of, because he had a huge boat.

 

[Guy Gardener]

I've always suspected that Archer DID arrange for the Illyrians' warp reactor to be returned to them, but that he sent someone else to do it, thinking that the Illyrians hated him so much for what he did to them (the Illyrians either not understanding or not caring WHY he did it, you know, Earth's survival being at stake and all that) that they would refuse any offer of help from him personally, and/or flat out blowing him out of the sky for even making the attempt.

Lorian could have shown up a month earlier and given Dumar 6 high density spare coils.

Humans (and Vulcans) suck at time management.

 

[lkmi]

What about the lava momma monster from TOS?

A rare thing TOS shared with "Doctor Who" - really cheezy monsters...

 

[at Quark's]

In one of the later S3 episodes, the NX-01 crew stole a warp coil from Damar's friendly crew, stranding them in the Delphic Expanse. Why didn't they leave them with some kind of transponder or something? Tell them if they survive, they will come back for them and either fix their warp drive or personally fly them all back home? There should have been a S4 episode where the NX-01 found them, their ship badly damaged, some of the crew dead, and had to face the consequences of their actions. I always hated this was never followed up on.

Even if that that S4 episode had arrived, I would have felt heavy pangs of guilt had I been Archer, but I'd still have felt I did the right thing, condemning a few hundred people to death to save billions.

<Captain Jean-Luc Picard pops in>: I refuse to let arithmetic decide questions like that.

Well, that's too bad for you, Jean-Luc, because I would. Simply because I cannot not decide what to do (even refusing to decide is still deciding for one of those two options in effect, after all, I either steal the warp coil or not) and can think of no better at least somewhat objective criterion.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

Even if that that S4 episode had arrived, I would have felt heavy pangs of guilt had I been Archer, but I'd still have felt I did the right thing, condemning a few hundred people to death to save billions.

<Captain Jean-Luc Picard pops in>: I refuse to let arithmetic decide questions like that.

Well, that's too bad for you, Jean-Luc, because I would. Simply because I cannot not decide what to do (even refusing to decide is still deciding for one of those two options in effect, after all, I either steal the warp coil or not) and can think of no better at least somewhat objective criterion.

Archer was wrong to steal from and strand the Illyrians. I do not believe the ends justify the means. However, with Earth and humanity in the balance, and Archer needing to fix his ship's warp drive, he made committed piracy to continue his mission. When the Illyrians Captain was explaining that Archer is standing them far from home, Archer could have given some optimism, we'll come looking for you when this is over, take you home ourselves if we have to.

As it is, sometimes our Star Trek characters do horrible things in the name of survival, giving us the occasional dark episode. I just wanted a follow up episode given UPN was allowing the show to be serialized now.