Spoilers Pike, Enterprise and the Klingon War

[Kor]

I put the spoiler tag here because it deals with information revealed in "Brother," which not everyone has had a chance to watch yet.

So it was made clear that Pike and the Enterprise "sat out the war," as they were away on a five-year mission and Starfleet didn't recall the ship to participate in the war.

In hindsight, it was known that the Enterprise "wouldn't have made it in time" if it had been called back. However, at the time the war was raging, the Federation couldn't have anticipated how long it would last. It could have raged on for years and years, leading to continued mayhem and worsening levels of destruction, loss of territory, etc.

So why did Starfleet order the Enterprise to stay away, if the end to the war wasn't in sight?

It was pointed out that the Enterprise is quite a powerful ship ("I've seen its specs; only something catastrophic could knock her out"). In relation to the war, the Enterprise was considered "an instrument of last resort," so it probably would have made short work of the war if it had been involved. Wouldn't it have made sense to call the ship back?

Kor

 

[F. King Daniel]

The impression I got was that she was far beyond Federation space and wouldn't have made it back in time to make any difference. But that doesn't make sense with her being between Earth and Vulcan immediately after the war, unless she was on her way back anyway and just missed the end. I suspect they only had the vaguest idea why Enterprise would be there when season one ended, hence her flying up to Discovery under power and then being immediately retconned to Final Frontier-levels of brokenness (which I suspect was a Spock-planted virus intended to prevent pursuit)

Wasn't the Enteprise-D similarly excluded from the retconned-in-after-the-fact Cardassian war?

 

[Tuskin38]

Maybe they got stuck on the way back

 

[Tuskin38]

immediately after the war,

We don’t know how much time passed between Qo’noS to Paris, might have been a few days, a few weeks or even a month.

 

[BillJ]

The impression I got was that she was far beyond Federation space and wouldn't have made it back in time to make any difference. But that doesn't make sense with her being between Earth and Vulcan immediately after the war, unless she was on her way back anyway and just missed the end. I suspect they only had the vaguest idea why Enterprise would be there when season one ended, hence her flying up to Discovery under power and then being immediately retconned to Final Frontier-levels of brokenness (which I suspect was a Spock-planted virus intended to prevent pursuit)

Best to just not think about it.

 

[Ronald Held]

Too far out with no real time communication with Starfleet?

 

[XCV330]

The impression I got was that she was far beyond Federation space and wouldn't have made it back in time to make any difference. But that doesn't make sense with her being between Earth and Vulcan immediately after the war, unless she was on her way back anyway and just missed the end.

By the end of Will You Take My Appendage, I had the idea the war had been over awhile, at least a few weeks. Rebuilding was going on, and I don't think they would have had the crew come home, given em medals and send them packing again immediately. I could be wrong. Seems like they had some RNR coming.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I think Starfleet knew they were losing the war, so the Enterprise and the Constitution Class ships (and possibly other explorers) were held in reserve to operate behind the lines in case Earth and the Federation government fell.

They could have helped in the ongoing fight as part of the main fleet, but not enough to stop the entire unified Klingon armada, so Starfleet decided they would be used for the spaceborne equivalent of hit-and-run guerilla warfare tactics behind the Klingon lines instead once the main war ended and the Klingon Houses once again returned to infighting without a common enemy to unite them, and with the spoils of war dividing them in greed.

They were designed to be heavily-armed multi-year long-range explorers capable of operating autonomously with little resupply. They were the fastest (conventional) ships in the fleet. They carried the best and brightest of Starfleet personnel. They were ideal platforms to continue the fight and eventually liberate the Federation.

They would rescue outlying colonies and transport their people to safer worlds outside of the warzone. They would relocate key personnel to the war effort and to rebuilding Federation society. They would strike at vulnerable Klingon military and logistical targets. They would serve as arks for rebuilding Federation society from the bottom up by acting as a repository for Federation knowledge on their computer systems and by carrying the best of Starfleet personnel and rescued Federation scientists and leaders and scholars and others. They would act as diplomatic envoys gathering allies among other species.

None of this is specified in the episode other than the "being held in reserve" part, it's just my personal theory.

 

[Mudd]

It's entirely likely that these answers will be offered in upcoming weeks.

 

[Tuskin38]

It's entirely likely that these answers will be offered in upcoming weeks.

I doubt it, since they have commissioned a novel to tell that story.

Unless the novel is using those ideas as a basis.

 

[Kor]

Either way, it's fun to speculate about this stuff.

Kor

 

[BillJ]

I doubt it, since they have commissioned a novel to tell that story.

"The Enterprise War" will get into the details, but I imagine we'll get the broad strokes in the show.

 

[mattman8907]

"The Enterprise War" will get into the details, but I imagine we'll get the broad strokes in the show.

that's one book i plan on reading cover to cover multiple times.

 

[dahj]

The only reason they stayed out was because Data wasn't there to say...

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

The only reason they stayed out was because Data wasn't there to say...

But this guy was there

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[dahj]

But this guy was there

Yeah, but he was young an un-rebellious back then.

 

[Kor]

He was still in his smiling and shouting phase, but he didn't dare question orders.

Kor

 

[LJones41]

I'm still trying to figure out how the Enterprise-D/E crew managed to avoid the Dominion War. There was a TNG movie released during the time the Dominion War was going on in "Deep Space Nine", but that movie had nothing to do with the war.

 

[Tuskin38]

I'm still trying to figure out how the Enterprise-D/E crew managed to avoid the Dominion War. There was a TNG movie released during the time the Dominion War was going on in "Deep Space Nine", but that movie had nothing to do with the war.

They mentioned the Dominion and the fact the Son’a made Ketracel white.

Or was that a deleted scene?

 

[Nerys Myk]

I'm still trying to figure out how the Enterprise-D/E crew managed to avoid the Dominion War. There was a TNG movie released during the time the Dominion War was going on in "Deep Space Nine", but that movie had nothing to do with the war.

Is there a reason it should?