What Would The Other Captains Have Done?

[Chris Propst]

I would like to see more stuff about serious threats to planets like Andoria or Tellar. I like that they threw the whole Dominion taking over Betazed thing in DS9. They considered doing that with Vulcan, but decided it would be too big of a deal.

[Teaos]

I would really like to see how they would have handled a planet being taken over. I doubt the would have managed it well.

[Mikey]

The Federation is very ill-equipped to retake a lost planet. It requires something which the Federation doesn't have - an army.

[Sionnach Glic]

Exactly. The best they could ever do is orbital bombardment followed by rapid troop insertion via shuttle (transporters are too easily blocked to be of use here), which means trying to retake a planet with infantry forces armed with rifles only. The damn thing would be a bloodbath. The Federation is damned lucky everyone else in the galaxy is as dumb as they are (with the possible exception of the Cardies).

[Deepcrush]

I think the Bajorans are a fair match in ground combat. They seemed to always have a trick ready for use a trap set for the enemy. They held out a ten year long war against an enemy that was superior on all fronts... Land, air and Space.

[Mark]

It seems to come to the Bajorans instinctively.

[Deepcrush]

I doubt that highly. The ones who learned lived, those who didn't just didn't. Welcome to fighting a terrorist war.

[Teaos]

Fighting a terrorist war is one thing. Could they alo be a effective land army?

[Sionnach Glic]

Exactly. Fighting a guerilla war as the defenders is one thing, particularly when you have the support of the majority of the populace. Invading a planet and engaging in open warfare is another thing entirely.
It's like saying that because the Vietcong held off the US in a guerilla war, they could succesfully invade the US.

[Mark]

Good point. On a related note, I've often wondered about the relative physical strength and stamina of Bajorans. I've heard it mentioned before that they were slightly physically inferior to humans, but I just didn't see that in the show. Thoughts and observations??

[Deepcrush]

I don't think anyone said the Bajorans were going to start invading planets. However their people are skilled in a large number of areas involving combat and its uses. There is always a need for people who can operate without needing a HQ hold their hands. That being the flaw of SF ground troops.

[Sionnach Glic]

Correct, but just how many can they get? It'd be very difficult to deploy them anywhere in any significant strength.

[Captain Seafort]

I don't think anyone said the Bajorans were going to start invading planets. However their people are skilled in a large number of areas involving combat and its uses. There is always a need for people who can operate without needing a HQ hold their hands. That being the flaw of SF ground troops.

The lack of any weapon heavier than a rifle, or anything resembling combined arms, is a far greater problem than any dependency on centralised C2.

As for the Bajorans, they're yet another army of light infantry with no heavier equipment. They've at least got air support, but that can be rendered useless by bad weather. Their saving graces are that their lack of kit is mainly due to being very young as both a military force rather than stupidity, and they have masses of combat experience and are probably extremely good at small-unit tactics.

[The Geek]

(NOTE: I assume that if the Captain does not order the Caretaker destroyed, someone else does, and they have to take Janeway's path anyway. Also, I gave them their "home" ship.)
Kirk: Captain, Admiral and Captain again Kirk had no qualms at all with breaking the rules if he felt the situation warranted. He would make a half- assed attempt at diplomacy, then simply blow his advesary out of the cosmos, find their home planet, and engage in carnal realations with his vanquished foe's woman. That said, I do not think he would survive the trip anyway because how does a Constitution- class fare against even your "standard" Borg cube? She was simply not built to withstand a direct assault from such a powerful enemy. Of course, this could all be for moot anyway, as he would use the Caretaker array to get back home. I have a feeling Spock would advise this action.
Picard: Of all the Captains, Picard sits as master of the Federation's flagship. This applies to both the Galaxy- and Soveriegn- classes. Either one of these ships could have easily made the trip. On a personal level, Picard would of course rely on diplomacy to make the best of the trip, and I think he would also make course corrections to stay out of "restricted" space. I must mention the Borg again, because I believe the Borg Queen, for whatever reason, may want him back in the family. Other than that, Picard and his merry men would make it back safe and sound. Picard would destroy the Caretaker array as he is a bit more of a "big picture" kind of guy.
Sisco: DS9's head honcho cut his command teeth in the Dominion War, therefore he may be more inclined to fight ( and win) whenever confronted. Diplomacy is not his strong point, again because there is little room for diplomatics in the middle of the battlefield. I think that while the mighty Defiant- class could withstand the trip, her lack of size would make for cramped quarters, which would make the crew naturally on edge. (Can you imagine keeping Worf hemmed up like that? He might actually eat a crewmate out of agitation!) He would not destroy the Caretaker's array. He knows all too well the importance of instantaneous interstellar transport.
Archer: I did not soil my optic nerves with that sad ending note to an awesome franchise, I therefore have no opinion on Archer.

[Sionnach Glic]

Welcome to the site.

I think the idea is that all the captains would be on Voyager rather than on their own ships.
If they were all on their own ships, none of them would make it:
The E-A is nowhere near powerful or fast enough.
The E-D would blow up the moment it encountered the Anomaly Of The Week.
The Defiant is too small to carry enough supplies.
The NX has all the problems of the E-A, but multiplied massively.

Archer: I did not soil my optic nerves with that sad ending note to an awesome franchise, I therefore have no opinion on Archer

I think you're gonna fit in just fine here. 8)