What if Riker accepted his first Captain offer?

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

There are many reasons why any given captain would be the best fit for a ship and mission. A former astrophysics officer, now in the chain of command, would be a good captain for a science ship studying stellar phenomena. A captain with multiple first contacts under their belts at whatever rank would be a good fit for a diplomatic ship. A battle veteran would be a good captain to have in a lawless/border area, even if the mission isn't specifically peacekeeping.

That said, any captain can rise to the occasion or fall short, despite seemingly being ill or well-suited on paper.

 

[Picard1994]

There is Trek precedent for a first officer being Lieutenant Commander in rank, however. We saw that when Data commanded a ship in "Redemption." His XO was a Lieutenant Commander.

And also, in TOS Spock was a Lt. Commander while being the first officer of the Enterprise. He was refered to as such at least three times during the first season.

 

[at Quark's]

I guess that would depend on the mission too or the Captain's expertise or even their prerogative. Starfleet is much faster & more diversified than a navy. A smaller ship & crew could sensibly be given to an inexperienced captain, like Picard's Stargazer, or to an experienced captain, if the mission were in some way critical, like Pressman's Pegasus. I can even imagine a scenario where a smaller ship would be commanded by a quality captain, simply because they just prefer that assignment

Ah, so that's why all those crews stay together without much change in composition for 7 years

 

[Oddish]

- If Riker had taken the Drake, another officer would have been Picard's #1, someone we don’t know. Probably the same with the ship he was offered in "The Icarus Factor".

- If Riker had taken the Melbourne (which would have been lost at Wolf 359, though Riker might have survived), then I expect Shelby would have gotten the job, since she had the admiral's personal recommendation. She would have moved to a higher post after 1-2 years, and Data would probably have been promoted in her place.

 

[at Quark's]

As it is, how did Shelby end up anyway? (Canon, I mean, is anything known?)

 

[Nerys Myk]

As it is, how did Shelby end up anyway? (Canon, I mean, is anything known?)

Spoiler: PICARD Season 3

Not all that well. Might be dead.

 

[Oddish]

Without spoilers, we did see her again, and she had a very successful Starfleet career.

 

[Uxi]

It would have been an outside officer on the command track.

 

[BillJ]

Quentin Stone.

 

[Riley]

If Riker takes his first command offer (or even his second), he remains an intriguing character with an arc instead of the hollow caricature that replaced him after "The Best of Both Worlds."

 

[The Wormhole]

As it is, how did Shelby end up anyway? (Canon, I mean, is anything known?)

She's a Captain in season 2 of Lower Decks and a five-star Fleet Admiral in season 3 of Picard.

 

[Snowdrop82]

I always thought Data would make a good First Officer.

 

[Oddish]

I always thought Data would make a good First Officer.

He ROCKED it when Jellico booted Riker.

 

[somebuddyX]

In the universe the first officer could have been anyone. I'm partial to the idea of a woman XO.
Out of universe, Roddenberry was always going to have an XO in the Decker mold of Phase II, and with those K and R sounds. If you didn't have "William Riker" it might have been "Wilhelm Krekir" or something.

 

[Nerys Myk]

In the universe the first officer could have been anyone. I'm partial to the idea of a woman XO.
Out of universe, Roddenberry was always going to have an XO in the Decker mold of Phase II, and with those K and R sounds. If you didn't have "William Riker" it might have been "Wilhelm Krekir" or something.

Rilliam Wiker

 

[Oddish]

Mailliw Rekir

 

[Finn]

What if Riker accepted his first Captain offer, and left the Enterprise D? Who would become First officer of the Enterprise? How would this affect things from an in-universe perspective?

Janeway

 

[Oddish]

Patrick Stewart and Kate Mulgrew on the bridge together... the mind boggles.

 

[Takeru]

Assuming OP means the first offer while TNG was running Riker would have left during season 2, by that time Tasha and Beverly were gone leaving Deanna as the only woman in the main cast (Diana Muldaur opted to remain a guest star) so it is almost certain they would have hired a woman to be the new first officer with a lack of women in the cast.

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

Diana Muldar as a "guest star" was mostly a legally technicality as she still appeared in at least some of the publicity and appeared in all but two episodes of season 2 (and IIRC was credited for the missing ones).

Whoopi Goldberg, who was the only "special guest star" doesn't seem to have started to appear in publicity until at least season 3 and was only credited in the episodes she appeared in.