40

In the Battle of the Sector 001, when Picard came to Earth to engage Borg after violating his direct order, he had a special coordinate in mind which could blowout the Borg cube and Starfleet had no idea about it.

Then, there's this thing called luck which rolled in the favor of Mankind and Riker was seen saying, "Admiral's ship's been destroyed." After that, Picard wasted no time to broadcast "I am taking command of the fleet." and gave everyone a special coordinate to fire. And, everything went smoothly and quickly. No conflict. No discussion. No thought of conspiracy from Picard (there was a reason why Picard was given orders to stay out of it). How can this happen?

What does protocol say? I don't think Picard was just below the rank of Admiral. Why didn't other seniors object? Specially, when Picard wasn't fit for fighting against the Borg (in the eyes of Starfleet). And, why did everyone follow Picard's order?

Update:
Here’s the Battle of Sector 001 in case you have forgotten:

user931
  • 115,946
  • 150
  • 581
  • 1,075
  • 14
    When I saw the movie I assumed it was simply Picard having a really good reputation, both as a starship captain and as a veteran of Borg fights, coupled with the admiral's death. But now that you mention it there ought to have been a few more admirals there (or officers between captain and admiral) considering they knew the Borg were coming well in advance. Maybe the others simply had no problem with Picard being in charge of that battle. – Ixrec Nov 21 '15 at 17:09
  • 3
    @Ixrec, in most Navies, the next rank following Captain is some form of admiral. In STTNG, Commodore wasn't used after 2364, and in the real world, a Commodore is (usually) an office held by a Captain or Admiral who holds command over a squadron of assets. For instance, my CO on the submarine was a Commander, so his Commodore was a Captain. –  Nov 21 '15 at 18:49
  • 34
    A Captain in motion outranks an Admiral who doesn't know what's going on. – Compro01 Nov 21 '15 at 19:40
  • 2
    @Compro01 Citation? – user931 Nov 21 '15 at 20:06
  • 6
    @SS-3.1415926535897932384626433: It's a reference to the second maxim. – Mason Wheeler Nov 21 '15 at 21:01
  • 9
    By being the captain the flagship of Starfleet, Picard would be the most senior captain present. Only an admiral would outrank him. – HorusKol Nov 21 '15 at 22:21
  • 2
    @MasonWheeler As a side note, that link reads a lot like an aggregation of the brief-sheet version of Roger's Rules and Standing Orders and a few lists of military epigrams I remember floating around the Army (and even later as a contractor). I had to memorize Roger's Rules as recently as 2002. Maxims/epigrams/rules like this are real things, not just pithy lists that exist only in fictional universes. The 3rd maxim in your link is actually a real rule posted on demo ranges (I spent most of my time as an 18C -- so this was my thing). Can't seem to find any links just now, though. – zxq9 Nov 23 '15 at 05:16
  • 2
    Given the amount of damage the fleet had been taking so far, chances are the chain of command was close to shattering already, and in a FUBAR situation it's generally not a bad idea to follow the instructions of the guy who sounds like he knows what he's doing, especially if he and his ship have a reputation for saving the day. – Shadur-don't-feed-the-AI Nov 23 '15 at 06:29
  • 2
    @zxq9: If you're not already familiar with it, it sounds like you would enjoy Schlock Mercenary, the webcomic that generated this list. Warning: it's long. It's a daily strip, it started in 2000, and the author has never missed a single update. Seriously. But it's been consistently funny for 15 years and is often considered one of the best webcomics out there as well as one of the longest. – Mason Wheeler Nov 23 '15 at 09:28
  • 1
    @MasonWheeler Nice! Thanks for the link, I'd never heard of it. :-) – zxq9 Nov 23 '15 at 09:58
  • 3
    While the "tactical superiority rule" is a reasonable reason, I strongly suspect people were already firing on the cube, and being given a reason for a specific spot, regardless of who's providing the spot, doesn't require significant change of plans. They can fire while they consider whether to follow further orders from him, and the firing itself would prove his usefulness or not anyway. – Adam Davis Nov 23 '15 at 13:48
  • @Adam The spot Picard gave was not known to the Starfleet (Data's response say that). Unless it's order, why would you play kid in a serious situation... – user931 Nov 23 '15 at 16:28

5 Answers5

93

Citing the event's of Equinox, we know that

"Starfleet Regulation one hundred ninety one, Article fourteen. In a combat situation involving more than one ship, command falls to the vessel with tactical superiority. I looked it up this morning." - Janeway

In First Contact, we're told that the Enterprise-E is the most advanced ship in the fleet. So that would mean that, the Admiral's ship having been destroyed, command falls to Picard simply by being in command of the most powerful ship present.

Picard first took command of the Stargazer in 2333 and was promoted to Captain some time before 2355, and the Battle of Sector 001 took place in 2373: after at least 18 years as Captain, including 9 of them commanding the flagship, he's one of the most senior and most reputable captains around anyway.

Community
  • 1
Tom
  • 1,034
  • 7
  • 6
  • 1
    "the Enterprise-E is the most advanced ship in the fleet" - whatever this means for the U.S.S. Souvereign. – O. R. Mapper Nov 22 '15 at 12:37
  • @O.R.Mapper Upgrades? Can't have the flagship not be the most advanced ship in the fleet... –  Nov 22 '15 at 16:55
  • 6
    @O.R.Mapper USS Sovereign wasn't present at the battle of sector 001. – Tritium21 Nov 22 '15 at 19:13
  • @Tritium21: Granted, that statement makes sense if "the Enterprise-E is the most advanced ship in the fleet" refers to the particular fleet present during the battle, rather than "the" fleet (the entirety of Starfleet's vessels). – O. R. Mapper Nov 22 '15 at 19:28
  • 1
    @O.R.Mapper The term 'Fleet' is overloaded. Its a collection of ships, usually smaller than a full navy... which in itself is an overloaded term. There was a fleet (lowercase) of StarFleet (uppercase) vessels at the battle. – Tritium21 Nov 22 '15 at 19:31
  • 6
    @O.R.Mapper the quote actually says "tactical superiority." Can't have tactical superiority in a battle you're not in. – Adriano Varoli Piazza Nov 22 '15 at 22:49
  • 8
    @AdrianoVaroliPiazza: One might argue your tactical superiority is absolute in a battle you're not in, if your tactic is to survive ;) – Lightness Races in Orbit Nov 23 '15 at 10:42
  • 1
    @O.R.Mapper - It's not really a stretch. Considering that Sovereign would have been the first vessel of the class, and anything they learned building her would have gone into Enterprise - even if Sovereign was too far along to implement whatever they discovered. – T.J.L. Nov 23 '15 at 13:52
  • @AdrianoVaroliPiazza: I was merely referring to the statement "we're told that the Enterprise-E is the most advanced ship in the fleet", under the (possibly mistaken) impression that "fleet" referred to the entire existing fleet rather than the set of ships present during the battle. – O. R. Mapper Nov 23 '15 at 14:10
  • @O.R.Mapper the last word in the sentence you quoted is "present". – Adriano Varoli Piazza Nov 23 '15 at 14:25
  • @T.J.L.: I'm not sure that's how serial production of Starfleet ships works, though it will be difficult to prove or disprove this. My impression is that the first ship of a class (named like the class) is usually a regular vessel of its class meant for active duty (the Excelsior, Defiant, and Prometheus possibly being rather exceptions in this respect). While slight modifications between ships of a class may take place, I doubt they could be so substantial (let alone without requiring any changes in overall design) as to make each vessel significantly superior to the previously built one. – O. R. Mapper Nov 23 '15 at 14:27
  • @AdrianoVaroliPiazza: I'm not sure what you mean. The sentence reads literally "In First Contact, we're told that the Enterprise-E is the most advanced ship in the fleet." – O. R. Mapper Nov 23 '15 at 14:28
  • 1
    Sorry, the last word in the paragraph is "present", not in the sentence. – Adriano Varoli Piazza Nov 23 '15 at 14:29
  • @O.R.Mapper I made no statement as to the degree of any improvements the Enterprise may have that the Sovereign is lacking. It could be something as simple as Sovereign getting Widget J24601-RevA because the slightly superior RevB was backlogged in production, but was available when the Big E was laid down. It's splitting hairs, but it's a plausible difference. As an aside there's some evidence Excelsior may not have been meant for regular duty as laid down - the NX hull number is a strong indication. Once it was in regular service, the null number was changed to NCC-2000. – T.J.L. Nov 23 '15 at 14:35
  • 2
    "Most advanced" is not the same thing as "most tactically superior". A smaller, weaker, older ship can be in a tactically superior position than the most advanced ship in the fleet if the smaller ship can sneak up behind it and shoot it when its shields are down. While that's normally just an argument for pedants, we're talking about Starfleet Regulations here; semantics are important! – TylerH Nov 23 '15 at 17:14
  • @user11521 The flagship of the US Navy, at least for symbolic purposes, is the USS Constitution. I guarantee you that the Constitution is not the most advanced ship in the US Navy. – Mike Scott Oct 13 '17 at 08:29
  • @O.R.Mapper It's a 3.2 million metric ton, 685 meter long war ship. The odds of building two identical ones are practically nil. They're not mass produced; they're built in shipyards overseen by engineers. – jpmc26 Oct 30 '17 at 23:41
45

  1. All the other captains, and definitely not those of lower rank, wouldn't be privy to the rationale behind the orders Picard and the Enterprise were given by the admiralty.

  2. While perhaps not the highest ranking captain by seniority, he would still be recognized as the captain of the flagship. In pragmatic terms, this is a very powerful position. (Frankly, I've often questioned why his rank is only captain. Presumably it's mostly so as not to confuse the audience.)

  3. He's not requesting, he is ordering.

    PICARD: This is Captain Picard of the Enterprise. I am taking command of the fleet.

    and he is invoking the full weight of the names Picard and Enterprise

  4. Possibly, just The fact he's in command of the most powerful and undamaged ship tilts the scales too. Furthermore, As @Tom pointed out, there's later evidence (retcon?) that there's a regulation to this effect.

  5. In a battlefield situation, and especially if other captains are concerned with their crippled ships, no one is going to question an experienced captain filling a leadership vacuum. The captains would recognize that it's more important to act as a coordinated force and follow the leadership of any competent leader than to start questioning chain of command.

Community
  • 1
ThePopMachine
  • 59,504
  • 42
  • 247
  • 519
  • 2
    Yeah i think the reason Picard is still a captain is purely for the audience to see him on the enterprise. As we see in nemesis i believe when janeway get back they toss her right up to admiral which is probably where in reality Picard should be. Being the captain of thr flagship also probably means he is the highest ranked or very close to the highest ranked captain in the fleet as well – Himarm Nov 21 '15 at 18:21
  • 11
    @Himarm - He's still a captain as he chooses to be and Starfeet has no up-or-out policy. "Don't let them promote you. Don't let them transfer you. Don't let them do anything that takes you off the bridge of that ship, because while you're there... you can make a difference." – Compro01 Nov 21 '15 at 19:39
  • 3
    @Compro01, okay, but why the CO of the Enterprise needs to be a captain has no explanation except the one I proffered. – ThePopMachine Nov 22 '15 at 05:36
  • 1
    Is the Enterprise E the fleet's flagship in any authoritative sense? There's still no flag office on board, much like the Enterprise D. See http://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/105263/25379. Also, strictly speaking, there's no indication that the Enterprise needs to be commanded by a Captain. But frankly, Picard has done such a fantastic job in the position, there is no reason to put anyone else there. Combine that with the fact Picard is probably refusing promotion, and the issue of why a captain is not really that big of a mystery. – jpmc26 Nov 22 '15 at 09:59
  • 3
    @jpmc26, all true, but the point being made is that Picard could remain in his position of CO of the Enterprise and still hold a higher rank. Just like Riker could have remained and held the rank of captain. The reason the writers never did this is likely just one of not raising more questions in the unenlightened audience. Compare to how, at least IMO, the timing of Sisko's was promotion to captain was partly so there wouldn't be Cmdr Worf reporting to Cmdr Sisko. – ThePopMachine Nov 22 '15 at 14:03
  • I don't understand why you think that explanation is more likely than they wanted Picard to follow Kirk's in-universe advice as part of the story. Kirk was an admiral, and it didn't seem ton confuse anyone. Why would anyone be confused by Picard getting promoted? I don't see any indication that anyone being confused had anything to do with it. – jpmc26 Nov 22 '15 at 18:50
  • @jpmc26, the confusing part would be how Picard could hold the rank of admiral yet captain a ship; how Riker could hold the rank of captain yet not be the captain of the ship; what it means that Sisko and Worf are both commanders. They avoided this. Frankly the idea that Kirk would need to take a demotion to gain command of a ship was always odd, but they did it for that same reason. Also, the fact that captains of trivial vessels hold the rank of captain is due to the same reason. – ThePopMachine Nov 22 '15 at 19:24
  • 1
    @jpmc26, I would also add: the fact that you accept an in-universe explanation doesn't mean an out-of-universe doesn't play a part. – ThePopMachine Nov 22 '15 at 19:27
  • 1
    @ThePopMachine: "the timing of Sisko's was promotion to captain was partly so there wouldn't be Cmdr Worf reporting to Cmdr Sisko" Huh, I hadn't thought of that. Nice. – Lightness Races in Orbit Nov 23 '15 at 17:03
  • I'd like to add to all this that there are two separate elements- rank and position. Picard is Captain in both rank and position, but there's no reason why he couldn't have been a fleet admiral and he would still be the crew's Captain. That would have changed the role of the ship, of course, it wouldn't be used to explore strange new worlds. Just to complicate things. – PointlessSpike Nov 24 '15 at 08:30
  • 1
    An admiral has duties and responsibilities. This isn't an RPG where you enough experience and level up. They promote someone because they have a slot to fill. They have duties that need to be done and they need someone with the requisite rank to do them. If Picard refuses to accept the responsibilities that come with a promotion, he doesn't get the privileges that would come with a promotion. So he doesn't get a promotion. – Shane Nov 24 '15 at 16:01
  • Worth noting that moving higher in the command chain and eventually disappearing from the show is exactly what happened in Stargate SG1, with Jack O'Neill. – Maël Nison Nov 25 '15 at 16:04
  • @MaëlNison: Yes, but this was the in-universe explanation for RDA's desire to leave the show (except on special occasions), not the reverse. He could have remained in command of the SGC and still appeared routinely. He could have been promoted to General and still been in command of SG-1. If they had wanted to. – ThePopMachine Jan 12 '16 at 15:29
  • Question on Picard's rank: https://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/31772/25379. – jpmc26 Oct 30 '17 at 23:42
29

As far as exact reasons go, I will offer that we do not know Picard's linear number. In the workings of the U.S. Navy at least, all officers are issued a linear number that is used to determine with finality who is the senior officer between two persons of the same rank. When two submarine commanders get into a dispute (these will always be Commanders unless someone died) the person with the lowest linear number has seniority and can choose to keep or defer command authority in joint endeavors. Linear number 1 is reserved for the President of the United States.

So it is quite possible that Picard actually pulled rank on all other units in the engagement. But of course, the real answer is more nuanced.

These ships are commanded by people, and Picard's trustworthiness had been called into question. The final blow had to be dealt by Picard of course, for the fiction. But what happened in-universe was that, at the very moment all was about to be lost, a single voice delivered an answer, and every single commander responded to that voice with absolute trust.

  • 1
    I think this is the right answer. There are multiple references in the show of the Enterprise as "the flagship", whose captain outranks other captains. – Ben Collins Nov 21 '15 at 19:40
  • 2
    @BenCollins, it is true that the Enterprise specifically is a major asset and a one-of-a-kind crew, with all the latest and greatest bells and whistles. It stands to reason that Picard would have considerable seniority to warrant such a mission, but lacking proof of that I personally favor a combination of seniority and trust. Of course we do what Picard says, why would we do anything else? I have personally served under officers I could kick in the crotch; but I have also served under people I would walk through fire for. –  Nov 21 '15 at 19:51
  • "Linear number 1 is reserved for the President of the United States" lol just in case they make him a Navy Commander – Lightness Races in Orbit Nov 23 '15 at 10:40
  • @SeanBoddy: "a one-of-a-kind crew, with all the latest and greatest bells and whistles" - I am not so sure about that statement. I think it's noted in some note in the TNG Technical Manual (?) that the producers acknowledge the show focuses on the Enterprise, but other ships and their crews certainly experience just as interesting adventures. This complies with my thought that certainly, the Enterprise is just one among many vessels, not any more or less special than them. (After all, wouldn't it be quite depressing if the rest of the big universe were boring in comparison to what we see?) – O. R. Mapper Nov 23 '15 at 14:45
  • @Lightness - if you missed it, every officer of any rank has a linear number. This includes everyone from a new Ensign to the saltiest Admiral. –  Nov 23 '15 at 16:03
  • @SeanBoddy: I got that – Lightness Races in Orbit Nov 23 '15 at 16:08
23

Nobody had time to stop and say "hey, wait a minute… we need to contact Starfleet to get their approval for this change in authority!". The ships were in the middle of a huge battle. They had minutes.

So someone steps up, someone reputable, someone known for having been one of the most famous captains in the fleet for the past several decades, rocking up on the Federation flagship, and with intimate knowledge of the Borg to boot.

And there's no Admiral in sight.

You think anybody's going to question Picard when he jumps into the Admiral's chair and takes command? No. He was showing leadership and everyone went along with it because that's precisely what anyone would have done. In that situation, and at a time like that, you'd have to have had a real beef with Jean-Luc Picard to question his de facto authority, especially as being nitpicky enough to be responsible for leaving the fleet without effective leadership for any protracted period of time was likely to get you, and all of your crew, killed.

Lightness Races in Orbit
  • 12,202
  • 3
  • 49
  • 81
  • 2
    And given that the backdrop for this particular fracas is Earth and Starbase One, it's probably even more urgent... – Shadur-don't-feed-the-AI Nov 23 '15 at 06:27
  • @Shadur: Technically, we have no idea whether Starbase One exists in this timeline :) – Lightness Races in Orbit Nov 23 '15 at 17:01
  • 1
    And even if someone had felt justified in objecting to Picard's assumption of command, it would still have been foolish to do so unless that person also had a better idea. – Dan Henderson Nov 23 '15 at 18:41
  • 2
    This is probably the best answer because of the human (or whatever) element. If I'm a captain with my bridge on fire, no leadership or co-ordination in the fleet, I'm gonna answer the first commanding voice I hear with "Aye, sir!". Any plan is better than no plan. – PointlessSpike Nov 24 '15 at 08:40
  • @PointlessSpike: Right! No different from when you're camping and someone randomly decides to take charge. Unless you have a good reason not to, you go along with it. – Lightness Races in Orbit Nov 24 '15 at 11:39
3

Additionally - Riker's statement when they learn they won't be involved in the battle is also indicative:

"Your past experience with the Borg makes you the perfect man to lead this fight"

The other captains (and given the damage to the fleet, it is possible that some captains have died and there are lower ranking officers in command) would know that as well and defer to Picard's experience also.

NKCampbell
  • 39,978
  • 13
  • 149
  • 203
  • 13
    You have to be careful when referencing answers using above and below. Sorting is different for different people and can change with voting. Use the share link of the answer you are referring to and include that in an edit. – Matt Nov 22 '15 at 03:19