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[QUOTE]Originally posted by The Mighty Monkey of Mim: [QB] Ok, I'm trying to get this mess sorted out, and "show my work" a bit more than the Okudas did. It seems that they drew some major faulty conclusions based on incomplete examination of the evidence. Be prepared for some re-hash. Basic assumptions, with which some might argue: [list] [*]"Where No Man Has Gone Before" takes place in 2265. [i]Icheb mentioned in "Q2" (VGR) that Kirk's 5-year mission ended in 2270, indicating that it began in 2265. Depending on whether or not the episode's stardate indicates it as being over a year into the mission (though of this I am quite dubious) it might actually take place in early 2266, skewing the dates based on this episode.[/i] [*]Cadets generally enroll in the Academy at age 17, the minimum age allowed. [i]This is a bit more aguable, since it is never cited in any episode, but it is established by the TOS writer's guide, and seems to hold true in most (if not all) cases. We know from later references that SFA is generally a four-year institution, though it's possible that certain individuals may graduate early or be held back an extra year depending on their performance.[/i] [/list] <big>[b]2233[/b]</big> [list] [*]Kirk is born in Iowa. [i]His age was given as 34 in "The Deadly Years" (TOS), set in 2267.[/i] [/list] <big>[b]2242[/b]</big> [list] [*]Gary Mitchell is born. [i]His age was given as 23 on his personnel report in "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (TOS).[/i] [/list] <big>[b]2250[/b]</big> [list] [*]Kirk enters Starfleet Academy. [i]Age 17, as established by the TOS writer's guide.[/i] [*]Kirk meets Gary Mitchell. [i]The Okudas failed to completely evaluate the references in WNMHGB on this issue. Kirk says he had known Mitchell for 15 years. However, Mitchell would be only 8 years old at this time, so he certainly wasn't a fellow cadet. More likely Kirk was acquainted with his family or something. In any case, the Okudas were mistaken in assuming they met when Mitchell was Kirk's student. They had already known each other 9 years previously![/i] [*]One of Kirk's instructors as a midshipman is Ben Finney, and the two become close friends. Some years later, One of his instructors as a midshipman is Ben Finney, with whom he becomes close friends. Some years the two will serve together aboard the [i]U.S.S. Republic[/i]. [i]"Court Martial" (TOS). The Okudas seem to have missed the fact that Kirk and Finney's [/i]Republic[i] stint (during which Kirk was an ensign) was [b]some years[/b] after Finney was his instructor. Which means that it needn't necessarily have occurred while he was still at the Academy, though it may have, nonetheless. As Spike mentioned, "Obsession" (TOS) made two specific references; that in 2257 Kirk was a lieutenant aboard the [/i]Farragut[i] under Captain Garrovick, and that Garrovick had been Kirk's commanding officer "from the day...[Kirk]...left the Academy." So it seems possible that Garrovick had commanded the [/i]Republic[i] while Kirk and Finney served on her, and then took command of the [/i]Farragut[i], to which Kirk also transferred. However, there may be a small problem with this. Kirk was already a lieutenant when he conducted a planetary survey of Neural (see below) the same year he graduated. (See below.) Was he aboard the [/i]Republic[i] then, or was he already aboard the [/i]Farragut[i]? The latter seems more likely, because the [/i]Farragut[i] was his "first deep-space assignment" according to "Obsession." So Kirk's graduation and commission to ensign, service aboard the [/i]Republic[i], transfer to the [i]Farragut[/i] under the same CO, and promotion to lieutenant all occurred within one year. Or, alternatively, the [/i]Republic[i] could indeed have been a pre-graduation assignment and Kirk was just special enough to attain rank while still a cadet. It's rather open-ended, but "Whom Gods Destroy" offers some further points that might be helpful.[/i] [/list] Beyond this, things get vague and a bit tricky due to lack of specific dates, but by no means are they impossibly convoluted. Bear with me: <big>[b]2250-2254[/b]</big> [list] [*]Kirk attends the Academy. He and Ben Finney serve aboard the [i]Republic[/i]. [*]Kirk participates in a peace mission to Axanar after Garth of Izar's victory there. Kirk is awarded the Palm Leaf of Axanar. [i]"Whom Gods Destroy" (TOS) and "Court Martial" (TOS), respectively. This assignment was before he received his commission. Could it have been aboard the [/i]Republic[i], and could it help explain how Kirk might attain ensign rank before graduating the Academy? This would be my theory of choice. The conflict at Axanar was apparently or great historical importance and had something to do with Vulcans (or perhaps aliens in general) and humans becoming "brothers." Kirk apparently played a prominent role in the subsequent peace mission (winning the Palm Leaf) and he just may have distinguished himself enough to have pulled off his early promotion.[/i] [/list] <big>[b]2254[/b]</big> [list] [*]Kirk graduates the Academy. [i]See notes above. Personally, I think he had already attained ensign rank at this point and had been serving on the [/i]Republic[i].[/i] [*]Promoted to lieutenant, Kirk conducts a planetary survey on Neural and befriends a hunter named Tyree. [i]13 years prior to "A Private Little War" (TOS). As reasoned above, he was (probably) already aboard the [/i]Farragut[i] at this point, under the command of Captain Garrovick.[/i] [/list] <big>[b]2257[/b]</big> [list] [*]Lt. Kirk is serving on the [i]Farragut[/i], when it is attacked by a dikironium cloud creature. 200 people, half the ship's crew, are killed, including Captain Garrovick. Kirk had been operating the ship's phasers at the time of the incident, and blamed himself for having hesitated when firing on the creature, though in fact his momentary delay had no effect on the outcome of the attack. [i]Eleven years prior to "Obsession" (TOS).[/i] [/list] At some point after this, Lt. Kirk left shipboard assignments and became an instructor at Starfleet Academy. [i]I would suggest that it was soon after, and that it was direct result of his guilt over the incident.[/i] <big>[b]2259[/b]</big> [list] [*]Gary Mitchell enters Starfleet Academy. One of his instructors is Kirk, whom he had already known since his adolescence. [i]Assumes Mitchell was 17 at the time of entrance.[/i] [/list] At some point between this and 2264-65 (depending on when Kirk took command of the [i]Enterprise[/i] in relation to when the 5-year mission started) Kirk gets back on the command track and is promoted to Captain. [i]According to the TOS writer's guide, he was the youngest Captain in Starfleet at the time, and his first command (during which he asks for Mitchell to serve under him, and we may presume the incident on Dimorus described in WNMHGB occurred) was a destroyer-type vessel.[/i] Ahh, there we go. Playing historian is aggravating but fun at the same time. ;) As to Worf and the [i]Hawk[/i], there are basically four scenarios I can think of: [list] [*][b]Scenario 1[/b] Worf began his Starfleet career early due to his accelerated Klingon development and served on the [i]Hawk[/i] after being commissioned as an ensign. [b]Pros:[/b] Consistent with what we've seen of Klingon growth patterns. [b]Cons:[/b] Inconsistent with SFA's minimum age requirement as established in TOS writer's guide and with Worf's personnel report that was created for and may or may not have been seen in "Conundrum" (TNG). [*][b]Scenario 2[/b] Worf somehow attained ensign rank while still a cadet and served on the [i]Hawk[/i] as part of his Academy training. [b]Pros:[/b] Consistent with age requirement and biographical data, and is precedented to some extent by one interpretation of Kirk's record as presented above. (Though admittedly, Kirk probably didn't get his rank in his freshman year.) [b]Cons:[/b] Improbable without the aid of [i]very[/i] liberal dose of Suspension of Disbelief<sup>TM</sup>. [*][b]Scenario 3[/b] When Worf says he was "[b][i]serving[/i][/b] as an ensign aboard the [i]U.S.S. Hawk[/i]," he is referring either to some sort of field commission or situation such as we saw with Wesley Crusher on the [i]Enterprise[/i]-D. He wasn't yet a commissioned officer, but was referring to his position rather than actual rank. [b]Pros:[/b] Consitent with age requirement and biographical data, and is perhaps precedented by Nog's field commission to ensign or Wesley's "acting ensign" role. [b]Cons:[/b] Nothing particularly big except it takes some creative thinking to come up with circumstances that might justify it. (The Cardassian Wars were ongoing at this point, perhaps the [i]Hawk[/i] was a cadet ship that got caught in combat and Worf saved they day? Just one possibility.) I think my money is on this one. It's more likely than #2. [*][b]Scenario 4[/b] Worf was simply drunk, and either misquoted his age or exaggerated his rank as part of his "mostly true" story. [b]Pros:[/b] Seems like a possibility given the situation as described by Futurama Guy, but I'm sure it would have to be his rank that he embellished. I can't really see Worf being touchy about his age and trying to make himself look younger... :p [b]Cons:[/b] Can anyone say [i]cop-out[/i]!? [/list] -[b]MMoM[/b] :D [/QB][/QUOTE]
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