Best Captain in Starfleet
Best Captain in Starfleet
Yeah, I’m reminded of one of the things the Emissary himself tried to explain to the Prophets. In this case, however, the past experience guiding Pike’s choices in the present is already in the future…
Prophet - OPS OFFICER: You have no regard for the consequences of your acts.
SISKO: That’s not true. We’re aware that every choice we make has a consequence.
Prophet - CAPTAIN: But you claim you do not know what it will be.
SISKO: We don’t.
Prophet - JAKE: Then how can you take responsibility for your actions?
Sisko: We use past experiences to help guide us. For Jennifer and me, all the experiences in our lives prepared us for the day we met on the beach, helped us recognize that we had a future together. When we married, we accepted all the consequences of that act, whatever they might be, including the consequences of you.
Cited from: www.chakoteya.net/DS9/401.htm
By my accounting Pike has four chances to walk away from his fate. Chronologically:
Basically it’s a story of principles. He won’t let others suffer for his personal comfort, and even tells Spock (via beep chair) not to risk his career for him.
No matter when/how this show ends, it’ll be the same way, and it’ll be far too soon.
Also: is Pike aware that he’s functionally immortal until the clock runs out? There’s ample evidence that his future is unavoidable, so he’d have to come to this conclusion by now, right?
He might have best captain in starfleet down, but I submit someone else for best captain in Trek:
RIP to Jeffery Hunter the actor who played the original Christopher Pike … I’m actually watching The Original Series with my wife (which is a small miracle) and as we watch, we research and look up little fact and details about the show. Jeffery Hunter at the time was a handsome leading man with a great career in film and television. He had a stunt accident in 1969 which injured him and led to his death shortly after - five years after making his appearance as the first Star Trek captain in 1964. He would never know his important place in Star Trek fandom almost 60 years later.