posted
I think the chronology gives a date of 2347. Will check later but I believe there is a discussion there of the problems with O'Brian's timeline.
Registered: Feb 2002
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As already hinted, the story here is that this Boone guy was captured by Cardassians at Setlik III in an incident that basically has to be the same one O'Brien describes in "The Wounded". He was later released, and then left Starfleet some eight years before the episode "Tribunal". Except that in reality, this "Boone" was just a Cardassian impostor, sent out to wreak havoc under the Boone guise.
And the controversy lies in two time estimates: 1) how long did Boone spend in a Cardassian jail, and 2) how long did it take for Boone to be kicked out of Starfleet after his release? If he was released and kicked out "soon", then Setlik III must have happened in the 2360s. However, if he spent fifteen years in jail, or perhaps less than ten years in jail but almost ten years in Starfleet before being fired, the 2347 date could hold true.
The last time we argued about this, I remember checking that the time between "Boone's" return and firing was specified as short in the episode. However, the time of his imprisonment was not defined. I'd be quite willing to believe in fifteen years... That would also explain his supposed alienation from his family and friends, and thus make Boone a good cover identity for the Cardassian agent - better, say, than the Crewman Doe captured a week ago, or the Captain Smith from the 2364 harvest.
In any case, Setlik III was explained by the Cardassians as a tragic mistake. If there was a war going on from 2347 on, why would the Cardassians feel the need to explain anything? It seems more likely that such strikes were performed *before* the war, again and again and again, until one side or the other went for open warfare. Each individual Setlik-type raid would probably only have had a moderate death toll, or else the Cardassians wouldn't have been able to explain themselves out of those.
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