Technical Enterprise Question

[Koken]

Hey guys,
I guess this question might not come as a surprise, but in the course of writting a fic I got Archer, T'Pol, Trip and Malcolm all off of enterprise and into trouble. Now...it isn't until I'm a good bit into this fic did i think to myself "Well, Who the heck is running Enterprise?!"

So this is where I need some suggestions. The only 'main bridge crew' left are Hoshi and Travis but they are Ensigns and I am under the assumption that there are plenty of higher ranking officers on the ship. My first thought was Phlox, but I don't think he's actually a member of star fleet, just the part of the medical exchange. Although I would normally think the CMO would be next in line, I don't think Phlox qualifys.

Any thoughts? Ideas? Opinions? Or am I looking and making up an extremely nervous Beta shift Lt. _____ who is the highest rank left on the ship but has never really even been on the bridge...

Hoshi: "Um, sir, your supposed to sit in the chair"
OC: "O_O"
Hoshi: "The one in the middle, sir."
OC: "O_O"
Travis: "Who's next on the list?"
Hoshi: "Chef..."
Travis: "That might work..."

.....help...don't let my fic turn into crack!

-koken

[THE Rigil Kent]

What about Hess, Tucker's #2? Out of the two ensigns, I'd probably have Travis be next in line since he's Operations dept and Hoshi is Science, but that's just me.

Logically, you're right - they'd need beta and gamma and delta watch officers - modern navies actually don't have the CO and XO standing watches together ever, I think - but Trek sometimes gets a little wonky. I think the ENT books created a LT JG watch officer but I can't remember the name. Started with a D?

[bluetiger]

The only thing I'm sure of is that Trip had a second in engineering. From the Enterprise transcripts.

ARCHER: Who's in charge of Engineering while Trip's away?
T'POL: Lieutenant Hess.
ARCHER: Tell her to get a team working on a new starboard door for launch bay two.

Edit: Rigil got in ahead of me

[Kathy Rose]

Well, there were a couple of episodes where either Travis or Hoshi was in charge of the bridge, I believe. Early on, Travis dealt with the aliens who had been offended by the Enterprise crew, but the others were still on the ship. In a Season 4 episode, Hoshi was in charge, and didn't she refuse to do something the Earth leader wanted done?

That said, I thought it was strange that Archer left ensigns in charge, but obviously he trusted them, or those of higher rank were busy with even more important tasks. (Or the vagaries of TV -- utilize the main actors.) But surely there are others higher ranking officers on board. Trip and T'Pol can't be the only commander(s), and there some other lieutenants. So...

Either you have to make up a new character of a higher rank, or have a viable reason for Archer leaving Travis or Hoshi in charge. As far as Phlox, he's part of the Interspecies Medical Exchange, so while he may be CMO, he isn't a Starfleet officer.

Don't know if this helps.

[Aquarius]

Though Travis and Hoshi are ensigns, they are also bridge officers, which make them uniquely qualified to assume command over those who are not. Whether or not someone can assume command isn't just about rank, it's also about whether or not they've had command training. Keep in mind, Phlox is a civilian, so while he can "pull rank" for medical reasons, he could hardly displace Hoshi or anyone else in terms of running the ship.

If you wanted to, you might use Trip or Malcolm's second in commands in their departments, but I think it's reasonable that all bridge officers have to log time in the Big Chair, so it wouldn't be unreasonable to leave Hoshi or Travis in charge. Plus, I think there's precedent, I believe Hoshi was running the bridge during Trip and T'Pol's rescue on mars during the "Demons"/ "Terra Prime" episodes.

Hope that helps.

[lfvoy]

I think the ENT books created a LT JG watch officer but I can't remember the name. Started with a D?

Lieutenant Donna O'Neill, commonly called "D.O." Who actually takes command briefly in some of the books. I believe she's named after someone at Pocket Books.

She doesn't like the idea of being in command -- Archer promoted her out of another function -- but she's competent and talks back to people with some regularity. I'm not sure she'd be a good fit for this particular fanfic.

[ETA] D.O. has a profile at Memory Beta - http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Donna_O%27Neill

[Kathy Rose]

I liked D.O.

I'm not sure I'd use a character created by another author in a novel, though. But that might just be me. I'd feel more comfortable creating a new character of my own. For one thing, there's not that big a base for referencing characterization as there is with a regular in the series.

[ladyrainbow]

There are two kinds of officers: line officers and staff officers. Line officers are available for command, staff officers aren't.

Here's how I saw the CoC (Chain of Command) of the senior staff: Captain Archer, Commander T'Pol, Commander Tucker, Lt. Reed, Ens. Mayweather, Ens. Sato.

Phlox, as Chief Medical Officer, would be considered a staff officer and not eligible for command. Even if he wasn't a civilian with the IME. There are exceptions, like Beverly Crusher taking the night bridge watch for experience. But that isn't usual.

[Koken]

AWESOME! Oh my gosh thanks for the help guys!

I think the ENT books created a LT JG watch officer but I can't remember the name. Started with a D?

Lieutenant Donna O'Neill, commonly called "D.O." Who actually takes command briefly in some of the books. I believe she's named after someone at Pocket Books.

She doesn't like the idea of being in command -- Archer promoted her out of another function -- but she's competent and talks back to people with some regularity. I'm not sure she'd be a good fit for this particular fanfic.

[ETA] D.O. has a profile at Memory Beta - http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Donna_O%27Neill

AHAHAH! That is perfect! Thank you lfvoy, Thank you Rigil, Cookies for you, this is what I was hoping for!

Phlox, as Chief Medical Officer, would be considered a staff officer and not eligible for command. Even if he wasn't a civilian with the IME. There are exceptions, like Beverly Crusher taking the night bridge watch for experience. But that isn't usual.

Thanks! ladyrainbow, that makes perfect sense to me and through the way the present things in Star Trek, I just didn't really know the regulations. I know that on the original, and NG the CMO could, and did, assume command in a situation without another sr. officer was not, even voyager has the holographic CMO take over, but he had a command program and was a star fleet officer. The line officers and staff officers, I'll try to remember that.

I noticed that in the series they did use the chain of command on alpha shift for running the bridge, but generally that is only with the Captain on board and on call. This is very good, thank you everyone!

-Koken

[paulinem]

I know I'm coming into the conversation late in the piece, and you probably have your answer, but I can think of two episodes where Travis was in charge, albeit in one episode only for a short time.

In Cold Front, Malcolm gave him the bridge, and in Extinction, Trip left Travis in charge, so there is a precedence to leave Travis in charge.