More Advice Required Please?

[Eireann]

Hi everyone again!

Advice/opinions required, pretty please, as to what Enterprise would or could do if they were making First Contact with a friendly alien culture and civil war broke out over cultural differences?

I can't imagine they'd just leave it and run, but on the other hand they're not supposed to interfere (even if they haven't got the Prime Directive yet), so I'm a bit flummoxed as to which way the cat would jump. And I'm in the middle of my latest blockbuster so I don't want to post it up and get a chorus of OH NO THEY WOULDN'T.

So, any thoughts from our resident experts please?

[Alelou]

Usually you solve this problem by making interference the only way to save someone from the ship. So then even though it's breaking the rules, and Archer will agonize over it for some required amount (less than one act), he'll then go ahead and break the rules. It's a fine Star Trek tradition!

[Transwarp]

What Alelou said...

But I'd have to ask if it is instrumental to the plot that Enterprise get involved? If so, then you owe it to your readers to make darn sure we understand WHY Enterprise is coming down on one side versus the other.

Probably any intervention you describe is likely to generate *some* controversy, but we (the readers) will be (mostly) okay as long as there is an underlying reason that's not total nonsense. Some valid reasons might be to save the ship or a crewmember (as Alelou suggested); save an ambassador and staff (whether Human or otherwise); because an act of war was committed (one side attacks Enterprise or Earth's Embassy); because another power (Romulans, Klingons, Orions) is supporting the other side; or even to save alien lives.

That last option (save alien lives) sort of requires that one side be Evil and the other side Good. Enterprise would intervene on behalf of the Good side to thwart the designs of the Evil side, and to prevent the harm that would follow if the Evil side were allowed to triumph. I could get behind this scenario, since I believe that good and evil are universal concepts. I've always had a problem with the whole prime-directive-is-supreme thing, to the point that anything and everything must be permitted to avoid breaking it, no matter how much pain, suffering and death could be prevented by ignoring it.

So before Enterprise rides to the rescue, make sure the crew did their homework, fully understands the situation, and understands the consequences of their action (or lack of action).

If the cultural differences causing the civil war are trivial (such as big-endians v. little-endians) and no one beyond the alien culture is involved or affected by the conflict, then I would expect Enterprise to stay out of it.

Hope this helps.

[Eireann]

Thank you so much, you've given me a lot to think about.

Now I shall go away and reflect on what course my future machinations will take! Looks like it could take a while, though!