Star Trek: Discovery is upon us, and I’ve spent a big chunk of this weekend tuning in and out of a Trek marathon on BBC America. After seeing Kirk and Spock handle the Horta, Picard and Riker handle the jackassery of the Duras sisters and remembering Sisko and Garak’s manipulations to bring the Romulans into the Dominion War (DS9, sadly, was not part of the marathon), I began wondering who would be the most handy person to have as your second-in-command. Would you want the brilliance of Spock? The resourcefulness of Riker? Perhaps Kira’s implacable determination? Heck, you could even get Scotty to serve if you had enough of his favorite booze (“Et’s greeeen!”), though taking him out of his engine room would be a great disservice, leading to today’s engaging query…
The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) would like Dr. Beverly Crusher, but to be honest, I’d probably just end up being her Number One, asking: Which existing Star Trek character of any era would you choose to be your Second-In-Command?
6 Comments
Assuming I don’t have to pick from only Starfleet officers, General Martok. I would pick Garak, but you can never be *absolutely* certain of his loyalties.
If I have to pick Starfleet… I want Cmdr Charles “Trip” Tucker III
I think that Garak would be great, so long as you had something that he wanted…
I’ll second the choice of Trip, who is oddly one of my all-time favorite Trek characters despite appearing on my least favorite series of the franchise. Not choosing him because he’s one of my favorites, but because aside from his engineering genius, he’s still pretty smart (maybe not a typical genius, but he’s got a healthy mix of intelligence and sense) and a quick thinker. I also suspect he is someone I would get along well with, like his friendship with Archer. Knowing how someone thinks but being able to offer a different view on the topic would be extremely beneficial, and I’ll need someone I can trust without hesitation.
Data. But I would call him Data.
It would be tight contest with Spock & Data. Guess I’d have to go with Spock.
Man, no contest, Spock, hands down!