Captain's ready room

The captain's ready room, also known as the captain's office, was a personal office reserved for the commanding officer of a starship and was typically accessed from the bridge.
Here, the captain could engage in administrative work with all relevant office equipment at hand without interfering with bridge operations while having instant access to the bridge in the event of a crisis. In addition, this room was usually the preferred place where the captain could hold private discussions and/or receive classified communications.
In the absence of the ship's commanding officer, the use of the ready room accordingly fell to whichever officer was in command of the vessel at the time. (, etc.)
== Starship ready rooms ==
=== NX-class ===
On vessels of the 22nd century, the captain's ready room was located starboard of the bridge, directly across from the turbolift. Office space in these early ready rooms was much more cramped than that of 24th century vessels and featured pipes running along the length of the ceiling, which was itself relatively low. The room had one window and one door. ()
A short corridor outside the room was usually used as an access to and from the bridge, although it also led to the starship's network of corridors. () The ready room was located to the aft of an emergency rescue hatch, as an exterior sign indicating this hatch's location was visible immediately below the ready room window. ()
Aboard , Captain Jonathan Archer's ready room was sparse compared to its future counterparts, featuring a desk, small couch and portraits of ships named Enterprise, including a sailing ship, the second aircraft carrier, the orbiter, and the NX-01 itself. () The room was plagued by a persistent squeak that, though seemingly repaired, resurfaced from time to time until it was apparently fixed for good by the automated repair station in 2152. () Two years later, the room was one of numerous areas aboard the ship that were heavily damaged during the Battle of Azati Prime. Thereafter, neither the room's door nor its door chime were functioning. ()
A version of Enterprise from an alternate timeline in which the vessel was sent back 117 years into the past retained its ready room until at least 2154. However, at that point, the room no longer had its sketches of Enterprise, as they had been replaced with various alien-looking artifacts. ()
=== Walker-class ===
The starship featured a ready room to the port side of the bridge. It contained a desk for the captain as well as a conference table with six seats.
The had a ready room in which Captain Philippa Georgiou and first officer Michael Burnham had a heated discussion about how to respond to a Klingon vessel. ()
File:Shenzhou ready room.jpg|The ready room of the USS Shenzhou
File:Shenzhou ready room far wall.jpg|The far wall of the Shenzhous ready room
File:Georgiou in ready room.jpg|Captain Georgiou at her desk
=== Crossfield-class ===
The starship featured a ready room to the port side of the bridge. It was lightly furnished with a standing desk for the captain, a computer, and several large wall-mounted displays.
The had a ready room located to the port side of the main brdge in which Captain and Michael Burnham first met after Burnham's prison shuttle was rescued by the Discovery. ()
When Captain Christopher Pike took command of Discovery, his ready room was set up on a separate part of the ship, disconnected from the bridge. It was larger than Lorca's and contained a large computer table, numerous wall mounted displays, as well as personal effects Pike brought from Mojave. () Both Saru and Michael Burnham retained the use of this room during their respective commands, with the old ready room converted to a science and mission planing room.
File:Lorca's ready room.jpg|The ready room of the USS Discovery
File:Lorca in ready room.jpg|Captain Lorca in his ready room
File:Pike's Discovery ready room.jpg|Captain Pike's ready room (2257)
File:Michael Burnham's ready room.jpg|Captain Burnham's ready room (3190)
=== Constitution-class ===
On the , the ready room's location varied based on the class's configuration. On the starship's configuration in 2245 to 2254, the ready room was not located on the main bridge and was instead on another deck, featuring a table for the senior officers and captain. After the class's first overhaul around the end of 2254, the ready room on the same deck since the bridge had been moved down to deck 2 allowing for the two rooms to be connected. In 2259, the ready room was still located behind the main bridge and featured a desk for the captain, as well as an additional conference table for the crew. ()
File:USS Enterprise ready room, 2259.jpg|Captain Pike's ready room aboard the USS Enterprise
File:USS Enterprise Captain's ready room, 2259.jpg|…and another internal view
=== Galaxy-class ===
On a starship, the captain's ready room was located port of the main bridge, beside the forward-port turbolift. It was approximately seven meters in length. ()
Among the items kept in Captain Jean-Luc Picard's ready room was a copy of The Globe Illustrated Shakespeare: The Complete Works, a model of a Constellation-class starship (registry NCC-7100), a crystal model of a sailing ship, an ancient nautical sextant, a Mintakan tapestry, and the Kurlan naiskos given to Picard by his mentor, Professor , (; ) as well as a saltwater aquarium containing his fish, Livingston.
The room featured a large desk, with a personal computer and three chairs, a couch, a large portrait of the , and, in a side alcove, a food replicator.
File:Picard ready room entrance.jpg|The entrance to the ready room
File:USS Enterprise-D ready room.jpg|The interior of the USS Enterprise-D ready room
File:Ready room window, remastered.jpg|An external view of the USS Enterprise-D ready room
File:Picard's desk.jpg|Captain Picard's desk, with a monitor and personal items
File:Q and Livingston.jpg|Q with Livingston, a lionfish kept by Picard in his ready room
Despite remaining mostly unchanged throughout its service aboard the Enterprise-D, Picard's ready room was temporarily redecorated (most notably, the fish tank removed) when Captain Edward Jellico briefly took command in 2369. ()
In an alternate timeline in 2366 in which the Federation was at war with the Klingon Empire, Picard's ready room was much more austere and contained none of the personal touches seen in the normal timeline. Like the rest of the vessel, it was less brightly lit and contained a monitor showing a map of the conflict. Picard held a briefing with the senior staff here in which he outlined his intention to send the crew of the Enterprise-C back through a temporal rift. ()
In an alternate quantum reality visited by Worf in 2370, William T. Riker was the captain of the Enterprise-D and his trombone was on display in the ready room. ()
A smaller, seldom-used ready room was also incorporated into the battle bridge on the stardrive section of the ship. ()
File:Livingston gone.jpg|Edward Jellico had Livingston removed…
File:Jellico ready room.jpg|…and showcased several of his son's drawings.
File:Galaxy class battle bridge ready room.jpg|The battle bridge ready room…
File:Picard's battle bridge ready room desk.jpg|…included a desk and monitor.
=== Defiant-class ===
Like the other rooms on the , the ready room of the was small and compact.
In 2374, Captain Tim Watters spoke to Nog in the 's ready room. Watters told him of the Valiants mission to destroy a Jem'Hadar battleship.
Watters and Karen Farris later brought Jake Sisko to the ready room to warn him to stay away from Dorian Collins. ()
Several months later, Captain Benjamin Sisko spoke to Captain Lisa Cusak from his ready room. They talked about the Dominion War, Starfleet's attempts to liberate Betazed from the Dominion and his discomfort with having Kasidy Yates aboard. ()
In 2375, Sisko spoke to Ezri Dax on Deep Space 9 from his ready room on the Defiant to tell her they had been unsuccessful in locating Worf and other members of the . ()
=== Intrepid-class ===
On an starship, the captain's ready room was located starboard of the main bridge, beside the tactical station.
The desk, which featured a work area and access console, was the focal point of the room, located in front of the main entrance door. A raised level in the front section of the room featured a small table, a curved couch, and a food replicator.
The bulkhead behind the couch featured three windows facing the bow of the ship. A port-facing door beside the main entrance provided secondary access to the room from a deck 1 corridor. ()
A shelf beside the main work desk allowed the commanding officer to display personal belongings. Captain Kathryn Janeway, of the Intrepid-class , used this shelf to display various historical and archaeological items.
=== Sovereign-class ===
Aboard vessels, the ready room was located to the forward starboard side of the main bridge. It featured a small window looking out into space and a private entrance located off the bridge.
Captain Picard's ready room aboard the featured a desk and small couch. It was decorated with items from the previous Enterprise, including his Mintakan tapestry.
=== California-class ===
Aboard ships, the captain's ready room was located off the bridge, with a single room-wide window to space. The room featured shelving and framing built into the walls, a desk and chairs, a replicator, and bench-style seating along the wall opposite the desk.
Captain Carol Freeman decorated her ready room aboard the with a flag of California, an ammonite fossil, a sword, a service cap, a Starfleet trophy, at least two models, a , a sextant, three beverage bottles, a pineapple, a Gorn action figure, and a Samurai helmet. Freeman also kept a wooden box containing a Bajoran earring atop a folded Federation flag following the death of Shaxs. (, et al.)
=== Dauntless-class ===
The ready room of vessels was divided into two sections. One side featured a desk and chairs and a large wall-mounted screen; the other side featured shelves and a seating area. A window to space spanned one entire side of the compartment. A communicator with a holographic screen was built into the room divider. ()
The location of this room on Deck B was labeled in the master situation display. ()
=== Lamarr-class ===
In 2384, the ready room's location in the was labeled in the ship's master systems display. ()
=== Other ===
Captain Benjamin Maxwell had a ready room aboard the starship in 2367, as did Captain Leyton aboard the during the Tzenkethi War. (; )
Ready rooms have also been included within starships built and used by other spacefaring organizations than Starfleet. The Andorian Imperial Guard, for example, were known to equip their vessels with such a room as early as 2153, when Commander Shran used a ready room on the Andorian battle cruiser Kumari. ()
There was also a ready room aboard the Xindi-Primate Degra's ship, around the same time. ()
There was, as well, a ready room aboard the Romulan vessel Devoras. ()
Similarly, the Klingon Empire constructed ready rooms in some of their Birds-of-Prey; Captain Kurn had a ready room aboard the in 2367 and General Martok had a ready room aboard the in the 2370s, and another while briefly serving as commander of the in 2375. (; ) The attack cruisers were, as well, equipped with ready rooms. ()
== Background information ==
In the for "Redemption", the two ready rooms of the Hegh'ta and the Bortas were described and contrasted. Kurn's ready room was described as emphasizing "the prestige and prowess of the ship's captain. Weapons and trophies are boldly displayed on the wall and the captain's chair is bigger and highter than the other three seats." For Gowron's ready room aboard the Bortas, it was described as having more symbols, befitting the higher rank of Gowron in Klingon society.
A section of the script for takes place inside the ready room of the , but the same scene in the final version of the episode seems to take place on the ship's bridge. The Okinawas ready room was mentioned in that episode but never appeared.|Worf and Martok are the only characters who were seen using both the ready rooms aboard the Rotarran and the Ch'Tang.
In the final draft script of "Proving Ground", the Andorian ready room was described as "a small compartment aboard Shran's ship, decorated with personal memorabilia from Shran's career in the Imperial Guard." The room was additionally described as including "a work area" at which the room's occupant could sit and "a small monitor".
In the final draft script of "The Forgotten", Degra's ready room was simply described as "A small private compartment on board Degra's ship."
Gates McFadden once joked that the ready room of the could have contained a damaged memento from the Enterprise-D's ready room, suggesting either the lionfish, now skewered, or Picard's book of Shakespeare, ripped in half. (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 306)
File:Kumari ready room.jpg|Commander Shran's ready room aboard the Andorian battle cruiser Kumari
File:Degra's shuttle - ready room.jpg|Degra's ready room aboard his shuttle
File:USS Phoenix ready room.jpg|Captain Benjamin Maxwell's ready room aboard the Federation starship 
File:IKS Ch'Tang's ready room.jpg|General Martok's ready room aboard the , a Klingon Bird-of-Prey
File:Cardassian ready room.jpg|Weyoun's ready room aboard a Cardassian starship
File:Annorax's ready room.jpg|Annorax' ready room aboard the Krenim weapon ship
== See also ==
* Command chair
* Captain's yacht
== Appendices ==
=== Background information ===
The concept of a ready room was first conceived by Robert H. Justman, who proposed the creation of such a room in a memo dated . () Years later, he recalled, "I suggested to Gene [Roddenberry] that we should have a captain's ready room, for what we both considered as a dramatic necessity. In a show like Star Trek, you need to have a place where the star, or the captain, can go to have a privileged conversation with someone else, without the possibility of being overheard. To me, the ready room was the perfect place to have that." () Justman took the idea from Navy experience he himself had had. The ready room was therefore in accordance with Roddenberry wanting to adhere to naval custom. ()
James Mees was of the opinion that the identity of a ready room's occupant should inform how the room itself looks. "My question is this: Does a ready room always have to have a desk, a chair, and a place for someone else to sit, or does the form and function of the room vary between races?" Mees asked. "To me, it seems clear that different people need different spaces. For instance, Degra's Ready Room is more a working laboratory than an office, because that's what he wants and needs." ()
David A. Goodman picked fault with the captain's ready rooms whose walls featured Enterprise pictures, such as the ready room aboard the Enterprise and the equivalent room on the Enterprise. He thought it unrealistic that a person's office aboard an active spacecraft would have images depicting outer space, rather than trees or other more down-to-earth imagery. Although Chris Black countered that each captain couldn't see their respective spacecraft from the outside, Goodman noted each vessel's external appearance was nonetheless known by its commanding officer. Black settled the debate by reminding Goodman he meanwhile had a picture of his office building on a wall in his own office. ( audio commentary, ENT Season 3 Blu-ray special features)
The practice of using ready rooms seemed to have fallen into disuse by the mid-23rd century, as the original did not appear to have an area specifically designed to serve as a ready room – at least none that was shown in the entire run of The Original Series. Captains instead received a small office area in their quarters, as seen aboard the Enterprise refit in and . Although space station Deep Space 9 likewise didn't feature a captain's ready room, it nonetheless had an office for the facility's commanding officer and Production Designer Herman Zimmerman likened it to a captain's ready room. ("The Deep Space Nine Scrapbook", DS9 Season 1 DVD special features; Trek: Deepspace Nine, p. 57)
=== Apocrypha ===
The Pocket TOS novel The Captain's Oath explains that James T. Kirk has no ready room aboard the because he did not need one; his yeoman would handle paperwork in an office adjacent to Kirk's quarters instead. Author Christopher L. Bennett attributed the reasoning for this to a TrekBBS member's answer. 
A scene in The Modala Imperative shows Admiral McCoy and Ambassador Spock touring the Enterprise-D and, when they get to Picard's ready room, McCoy states that, if Kirk had had such an office, they would have never gotten him off the bridge.
=== External links ===
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de:Bereitschaftsraum
fr:Bureau du capitaine
ja:艦長待機室
pl:Pokój gotowości
Category:Spacecraft sections