My Dream Star Trek Bridge Crew

[Oliviarfrias]

As promised a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I'm now writing part 2 in my series of Star Trek posts. (And yes, I know the previous reference was Star Wars, but I couldn't resist.)Today I will be picking my dream crew, based not on my personal feelings about the characters, but based on how good I think they would actually be at the job.

A lot of people talk about who their favorite Star Trek captain is (in the immortal words of Weird Al Yankovic, "Do you like Kirk or do you like Picard?”). Yet, there seems to be less consideration for how good would these captains actually be at their job. Same with the rest of the crew. So without further ado, here is my dream Trek bridge crew, selected for actual competence.

Captain - Benjamin Sisko (DS9)
It might be surprising to see that I chose neither Kirk nor Picard for the top honors. Kirk is a highly charismatic and inspiring leader, but he solves too many of his problems by punching. Likewise, Picard is an excellent peacetime diplomat, but he makes terrible decisions in times of war. Allowing the Crystalline Entity to destroy a planet just because it was alive? Refusing to upload the virus that could destroy the Borg into Hugh's brain because he was becoming conscious? On one hand, these seem like compassionate decisions, but on the other hand he is allowing the needs of the few to outweigh the needs of the many. Something my top choice knows not to do…

I wasn't necessarily sold on Sisko as Captain Season 1 of DS9. He seemed much like Picard to be someone who let principles stand in the way of practical leadership decisions. For example, at one point he agrees to peacefully go into a torture box to avoid starting a violent conflict with a group of people who are clearly the aggressors in the situation. But by Season 6 we see Sisko's thinking change and evolve as a result of the prolonged conflict of the Dominion War. When he makes the difficult decision to allow Garak to destroy a Romulan ship and frame the Dominion to convince the Romulans to join the war efforts, we see a man who has properly learned how to deal with the weight of command.

First Officer - Spock (Original Series)
Yes, I know Spock was officially a science officer, not the First Officer, but his role as Kirk's right hand is what made him one of -- if not the most -- iconic characters in Star Trek history. He was not only able to temper Kirk's bravado with logic, but his distinct non-human perspective allowed Gene Rodenbury to express some of his most forward thinking ideas, including the fact that the Federation could often be overly interventionist, pushing for a sort of cultural relativism that wasn't often seen in mid-century media.

Chief Engineer - Paul Stamets (Discovery)
It can be argued whether Discovery is a worthy Trek spin off, but it can't be argued that Stamets isn't a good engineer. Not only did he invent the spore drive (an invention that no one else figured out for over a thousand years!), but he's also the only one who can pilot it. It would be silly to choose anyone else for this position given his shining qualifications.

Doctor - The Doctor (Voyager)
There are a lot of talented and memorable medical practitioners in Star Trek, but only the Doctor has instant access to the entire known history of medicine at his holographic fingertips. Over time as his program is left running, he develops not only an excellent bedside manner, but all the intuition and charisma one could expect from a human doctor.

Tactical Officer - Worf (TNG/ DS9)
Worf started out as a security officer on TNG, but the number of preventable security breaches on the Enterprise-D during his tenure shows this was not his true calling. Where he excelled was in tactical. He ran his missions on the Defiant both efficiently and intelligently, demonstrating why he is a fan favorite.

Science Officer - Seven of Nine (TNG/ Picard)
While Annika Hansen never officially held the title of science officer, her insight into a wide field of sciences from exo-biology to astrometrics was unparalleled. Not to mention her borg augmentations allowed her to pack a mean punch, which certainly comes in handy on away missions.

Communications Officer - Hoshi Sato (Enterprise)
Most communications officers have the universal translator to do the heavy lifting, but Hoshi Sato was still dealing with ironing the kinks of the new tech out in the early days. Hoshi's language learning skills were the stuff of legend. She was even able to pick up on Risian in a matter of weeks!

Security Officer - Odo (DS9)
As a changeling, Odo had the ability to shapeshift into whatever form he wanted, which is an obvious advantage for a security officer. Beyond his natural skillset, he also had his steely, inquisitive nature that made him a first rate detective.

Helm - Erica Ortegas (Strange New Worlds)
Erica Ortegas is a natural born pilot, proven by her ability to navigate through an asteroid storm outside Riegal XII thought by the rest of the crew to be impossible to survive. While Tom Parris may challenge Ortegas' claim as the ultimate hot shot pilot, Parris is also notoriously insubordinate, making him too high a risk to include.

Ensigns - The Cast of Lower Decks
I thought about giving this honor to Harry Kim from Voyager, the most multi-talented ensign of all time, but then I realized that would be doubling down on Janeway's insane decision to never promote him. Kim is far better served working with Seven in astrometrics or Stamets in engineering. Besides, I couldn't bring myself to make an ideal team without including the lovable hijinks of Mariner, Boimler, Tendi and Rutherford. Afterall, somebody's gotta clean out the holodeck.