Nick has ridiculous questions, Phil has reasonable facsimiles of answers.
Nick: "Five-Year Mission," huh? I have some questions: When did it begin? How far into the five years does the show begin? Five years based on what calendar? How do they keep track of Earth years aboard the Enterprise? Do they account for space travel and warp speed time dilation? What happens after the five years are up? Where is the Enterprise in relationship to Earth? Wouldn't it take them five years just to get back? If the Federation was truly interested in a scientific approach, wouldn't they send hundreds of "five-year missions" all across the Universe? How many are there? What’s the rate of ships that make it back? Are they supposed to make it back? What's the survival rate of crewmembers? What's the compensation for families of the deceased? Are the missions pre-determined, or does Kirk just kinda fly until he finds trouble? Who's driving this boat? WHAT GEAR ARE YOU IN?
When did it begin? How far into the five years does the show begin?
It started -- I dunno, sometime between the end of Pike’s command of the Enterprise and the start of Kirk’s. And from what I’ve read, this is not the only five-year mission -- it’s kind of common, given that Starfleet’s mandate is exploration and whatnot. Anyway, it’s pretty near to the beginning, one must assume.
Five years based on what calendar? How do they keep track of Earth years aboard the Enterprise?
They keep track of Earth time with the stardate chart, and the ship has a chronometer that measures ship time relative to outside time on the bridge, like we saw in “The Naked Time.” Remember, it had a time travel indicator apparently.
Do they account for space travel and warp speed time dilation?
Yes, pretty sure they account for time dilation.
Where is the Enterprise in relationship to Earth? Wouldn't it take them five years just to get back?
The Enterprise is all over the place in relationship to Earth, but if you really want to break down the math, I’ve read that the distance to the edge of the galaxy -- where the Enterprise is in “Where No Man Has Gone Before” -- would take the Enterprise about 2.5ish years to reach at the maximum starship velocity envisioned by Gene Roddenberry when he was pitching the show -- which is (if I remember correctly) like 0.73 light years per hour. So no, it doesn’t take them that long to get back to Earth. Or maybe. I dunno. Warp drive.
What happens after the five years are up? How many are there? What’s the rate of ships that make it back?
Starfleet has sent out five-year missions before and continues to after the Enterprise’s, I believe, but not hundreds. Starfleet is an exploration operation, but it’s also a fleet of peacekeeping ships. Also remember that this era has tension with the Klingon Empire, so not everyone can just blast off and go exploring shit. Somebody’s gotta worry about keeping Klingons out of the Federation. I dunno how many there are or how many make it back. It’s a Starfleet so probably a few.
Are they supposed to make it back?
Yes, they’re supposed to make it back. Supposedly the Enterprise has enough food for its 430-member crew for five years.
What's the survival rate of crewmembers? What's the compensation for families of the deceased?
The survival rate of the crew? Their pay? Dude, I dunno. You know this is a TV show, right?
Hell, though, I bet if we took track of everyone who dies and measured it against the 430 figure, the rate would be “kinda crap.”
Are the missions pre-determined, or does Kirk just kinda fly until he finds trouble?
The five-year mission is basically a mandate to do whatever. Kirk still receives orders from Starfleet to go check crap out and help folks and whatnot -- like in “The Naked Time,” for example -- but basically the five-year mission part is just an overarching thing. “When not shooting folks, getting crew killed by space madness or picking people up off exploding planets, feel free to fly around, talk to aliens, and travel through time.”
Who's driving this boat? WHAT GEAR ARE YOU IN?
You know we have the Internet and that there are people whose “Star Trek” lore nerd cred surpasses my own, right?
