quote:Originally posted by Sol System: Sisko arguably ruined any chance the Federation had of finding a diplomatic solution to the Odyssey incident and the destruction of the Bajoran colonies when he took a heavily armed experimental starship into the heart of the Dominion looking for the homeworld of its notoriously secretive rulers. Gosh, I can't imagine how they might misinterpret that.
This is a problem with the story as presented, though, and not really a mistake Sisko the character made.
Well, gosh! I don't think sending another GCS into the Gamma quadrant would have done any better either! How else could Starfleet have scouted the situation and attempted to reach the Founders? Remember that doing nothing was just not an option: Thousands of colonists had already been killed without the Dominion warning anyone about their supposed "territory". The systems directly around the Gamma entrance to the wormhole (Idran) are not part of the Dominion so Sisko going there should not really be a big provocation to war. I'm sure the Bajorans would have foolishly started sending ships to investigate their lost colonies if Starfleet had not sent the Defiant on behalf of both the Federation and the Romulans.
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Registered: Aug 2002
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Exactly. We were poking around over there for over a year and a half before we even started getting hints of the Dominion's existence. Then they delivered their ultimatum, and Sisko's reaction was to use the best tool he could to try to contact the Founders in hopes that diplomacy might win out. We all know how that turned out, though.
--Jonah
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Registered: Feb 2001
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Im not sure you can say that Sisko ruined any chances of preventing a war just because he took the Defiant into their space. Its not as if he stole the ship and went into Dominion space hellbent for glory. The Federation gave it to him as well as their blessing for the mission upon a bit of pursuation, for that matter the Romulans are equally guilty. The Dominion fired the first shot, and were clearly the aggressors from the get-go. Sisko may have been scouting out where he shouldnt have been, but really, Dukat is the one who let the dogs out, and he should be the one indirectly implicated here.
[ May 12, 2003, 01:40 PM: Message edited by: Futurama Guy ]
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Registered: Jan 2003
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Here's an idea: Maybe send a highly visible and well announced diplomatic mission staffed with the very best diplomats and first contact specialists available instead of an invisible experimental warship. Even better, don't physically send anyone at all, just chat up known Dominion worlds via subspace radio while making sure the Bajor system is suitably defended.
Anyway, this isn't a huge deal to me, but it is a bit of a peeve.
Registered: Mar 1999
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Not to mention the Dominion also told him, "hey, stay the fuck out of our space", and he went in there every chance he got.
Hey, the Founders wanted order - their type of 'order'. They'd done it to the Gamma Quadrant - The Wormhole and Sisko opened their eyes to just another Quadrant of disorder that had to be ordered.
-------------------- "Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica." - Jim Halpert. (The Office)
quote:Originally posted by Sol System: Here's an idea: Maybe send a highly visible and well announced diplomatic mission staffed with the very best diplomats and first contact specialists available instead of an invisible experimental warship.
Sure! Send them in an Oberth class starship while you're at it!
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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Also, let's check something. The Dominion said "We claim this space, it is ours, you are not allowed in it."
Now, when the Romulans say this, the Federation say "Okay, we won't go in. Except for sweeps episodes, or something".
The Dominion say it, and Starfleet (and specifically Dax) says "Fuck you! We're going to go exploring there no matter what you say."
And then, they send in the invisible warship with the big fuck off guns to talk to the very very paranoid shoot-first enemy.
Honestly, Federation diplomats are a bit silly at the best of times, but here? They were retards of the highest order.
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Registered: Mar 1999
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At LEAST the Defiant still had to investigate the lost colonies and determine their fate. ...or would you just take the word of a single unknown alien (the Jemmie officer) just because he had a Padd from one of your colonies?
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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The colony was right by the wormhole. Have a runabout stick it's nose through, do a quick scan, and then retreat. Or send a probe. But DON'T send in an invisible warship with Mighty, Mighty Bossguns.
-------------------- Yes, you're despicable, and... and picable... and... and you're definitely, definitely despicable. How a person can get so despicable in one lifetime is beyond me. It isn't as though I haven't met a lot of people. Goodness knows it isn't that. It isn't just that... it isn't... it's... it's despicable.
Registered: Mar 1999
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quote:Originally posted by PsyLiam: The colony was right by the wormhole. Have a runabout stick it's nose through, do a quick scan, and then retreat. Or send a probe. But DON'T send in an invisible warship with Mighty, Mighty Bossguns.
I believe the technical term is "Gonzo Phasers".
Registered: Jan 2003
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Hmm... now what WAS the Idran end of the wormhole doing out in the middle of nowhere, anyway? I mean, the Prophets are of Bajor and all that crap, but why the other end in nowhere'sville, GQ?
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Registered: Mar 1999
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