In Star Trek (2009), why does Captain Pike ask for officers skilled in hand-to-hand combat from the bridge instead of getting personnel from security to do the job? Why take Sulu away from his important position of flying the ship? What was the rush? He couldn't wait two minutes for some security personnel to meet him on the shuttle?
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2This question could easily be changed to In star trek why do bridge personnel perform away missions instead of a specialized away team?– QuestorCommented Apr 9 at 19:21
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2@Questor simple - FIELD TRIP!!!– user25730Commented Apr 10 at 2:50
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1 Answer
Security staff in this era are primarily enlisted crew. They're certainly drilled in combat operations but Pike needs a lot more than just that. He's after three people who have the mix of skills required to insert onto a swinging platform from orbit, access its controls, plant explosive charges and, if needs be, do this while defending themselves from hostile troops (hence the need for combat training).
That means he needs officers who've been through Starfleet Academy training and can hold their own in a melee fight.
With the aid of shuttlebay technicians, the three men struggled into the semiflexible dropsuits. Lightweight and fashioned of special composites nearly impervious to heat, the suits would keep them from turning into slender human-shaped cinders as they made the plunge into Vulcan’s atmosphere.
At least, Kirk told himself as he waited for a tech to hand him his helmet, that was how it worked in Academy simulations.
Where a suitable planetary surface was available and shuttle or transporter was not, space drop was designed to provide a final opportunity to escape a fatally crippled ship. It was strictly a last-gasp maneuver, akin to jumping off a sinking watercraft with nothing more than an antique life preserver. Everything they would need to survive the drop was integrated into the suits. A gleeful Olson took responsibility for the powerful charges that would be used to destroy the drill housing once they landed on it.
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1Could you clarify what the quote (which is presumably from the novelization of this specific movie, right?) adds to the answer? I don't quite get the relevance as it seems to just be Krik's internal monologue about the mission but nothing about requiring or even anticipating the need for combat skills.– terdonCommented Apr 9 at 16:34
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1@terdon - It highlights the other skills required for the mission (orbital drops, explosives etc), not just the combat abilities– ValorumCommented Apr 9 at 16:40
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1@Valorum All of which are more likely to be had (orbital drops, explosives, etc...) by an enlisted person then a bridge officer... Orbital drops, explosives, hand to hand combat are an extremely diffferent skill set then the skills required to fly a spaceship.– QuestorCommented Apr 9 at 20:00
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1@Questor - As you can see from the linked novelisation, it's clear that Starfleet officers train in orbital drops, hacking, interfacing with alien tech, etc etc. A security officer probably wouldn't have any of those skills and may not have even attended the Academy at all.– ValorumCommented Apr 9 at 20:02
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1@Valorum I agree with Questor because both history and Hollywood tell us endless times that all the qualities listed belong to technical specialists, not to any officer. Did no-one else notice, one of Star Trek's worst failings is that bridge officers in general and captains in particular are happy to skip off on every away mission that comes their way? Did no-one notice, captains skipping off on away missions would be tantamount to dereliction of duty, and in the face of an enemy, deserting their posts? Commented Apr 9 at 20:13