From: YANJUNA@YaleVM.YCC.Yale.Edu
Subject: Re: Rascals - ship taken too easily?
Organization: Yale University
Date: Sat, 07 Nov 92 20:54:20 EST

In article <1992Nov6.082507.11001@uoft02.utoledo.edu>
mneylon@jupiter.cse.utoledo.edu (Michael Neylon) writes:
 
>
>SPOILERS for Rascals......
>
>
>I see lot of people griping about how the Big-E was taken too easily in
>Rascals.  Well, lets look at there situation...
>
>-They're in orbit about a planet, looking for a science team.
>
>-SUDDENLY, two BoPs decloak, and immediately begin firing.
>
>Now just think about it a bit.  First off, no one was prepared (except the
>viewer :) for that attack.  And, I believe that the techophobes can confirm
>that normally, phasors and photon torps are OFF-LINE.
>
>Therefore, Worf immediately threw up the shields, and then got the
>phasors on line.  This process is not instanteous...Therefore, by the
>time they were powered up for one shot, the shields were already down
>to bare minimum.
>
 
   But usually, for the Bird of Prey (though this information is TOS, and
perhaps somewhat out of date, but I don't think so.)  they need time to
come out of cloak, and power their disrupters.  Otherwise, do you think
a race that is violent and imperialistic as the Klingons would not have
attacked the Federation yet?
     The tech manual states that during the "Cruise mode" (normal),
"at least 40% of phaser bank elements and one photon torpedo launcher to
be maintained at cold standby status, available for activation at two
minutes' notice."  Now, I do think the E-D fired a shot around two minutes
after the attack, but this regulation implies E-D should have been able to
fire more than one shot.  (Especially if, as per reputation, E-D has the best
crew in the fleet, and Picard and Riker are indeed the best command team in the
fleet.
 
>Then the Ferengi tported over....note that they tported to various, LOW
>SECURITY sites, such that there would be, at most, 1 security personal to
>overtake (other members of the crew do not normally carry around phasers....)
>Worf never really stood a chance (although he could have taken out one of
>them before he fell....)
>
>
 
    I guess this would be possible, but that would imply that the schematics
and security procedures of E-D were public knowledge.  Obviously, in the 100
or so years between E-(no bloody A B or C) and E-D, Starfleet did not learn
much in terms of internal security.
 
>And before you say that the bridge crew should have rushed them, I dont
>think that the Ferengi's phasers were all set to 'light tap on the
>shoulder'....Although the eps. didnt say, I believe Worf got hurt big-time
>(beyond stun).  Alot the crew would have fallen before even reaching the
>two....this probably happend all over the ship...
>My poin is 1) the Big-E was nowhere close to being ready for the attack, and
>2) the Ferengi were relatively intelligent in their battle plan.  Actually,
>I though this was one of the better take-over plans that I have seen.
>Kudos to the writters for this.  However, I still think it resolved too
>easily  bleah....
>--
 
   I think a straight-forward takeover story ( a staple in TOS) would
have been a better story, with the ambush better worked out.  In fact,
I don't think E-D has ever been fully taken over by a hostile alien.
(Some alien presence mucking up the computers don't count.  I mean a full
boarding of the vessel.)  Making Picard a child sort of distracted the
invasion story for me.  (Else they could have forgone the invasion and
do a character story of how the children adjust to their new size)
 
  Junsok Yang