TNG: The Defector

[Dînadan]

There is a map, used in one of the movies and reused in the Goa'Uld-episode of TNG, that is, logically and necessarily, canon:

Perhaps it's a problem on my end, but that map looks far too grainy to see anything meaningful on it for the purposes of defining where things are in relation to each other, let alone add to it as new planets were created for the shows.

. As for the Romulans getting their ships so close to Vulcan without anyone taking notice, they got cloaking technology. They could literally have an entire armada circling Earth and nobody would notice.

True, except the ships in question (aside from the warbird that was tailing them) came openly, not cloaked, as part of the ploy of claiming they were diplomatic envoys, not invasion ships.

[bronnt]

As for the Romulans getting their ships so close to Vulcan without anyone taking notice, they got cloaking technology. They could literally have an entire armada circling Earth and nobody would notice.

The plot of that episode involved 3 Vulcan ships (read: no cloaks) crossing out of Romulan space and heading for Vulcan at low warp.

The reason they used Vulcan vessels instead of Romulan is a bit unclear within the story. The idea was that they were supposed to represent a peace envoy from Romulus to Vulcan, according to Sela's plan, and that she'd have fake-Spock tell everyone that it was a peaceful gesture. It's most likely that the use of Vulcan vessels was meant to cause confusion, and also present a class of ship that Federation vessels wouldn't immediately fire upon if it crossed out of Romulan space.

But then again, Sela's plan involved threatening Spock to force him to communicate in real time from Romulus to anyone who hailed them. We know the Romulans certainly can't have comm relays in Federation territory, so it just emphasizes the point that people just stopped thinking about how communication works over large distances in TNG.

[Madner Kami]

Perhaps it's a problem on my end, but that map looks far too grainy to see anything meaningful on it for the purposes of defining where things are in relation to each other, let alone add to it as new planets were created for the shows.

Go to Memory Alpha and search for "explored galaxy". The map shows up there and can be selected in various sizes. You can even stretch it as you see fit. Kronos (still named "Kling" on this map) and Romulus and Remus are to the far right.

The plot of that episode involved 3 Vulcan ships (read: no cloaks) crossing out of Romulan space and heading for Vulcan at low warp.

Ships do not need to be of Romulan design, to carry a cloaking device. The D7s and Bird of Preys are early examples of the romulan device being fielded on non-romulan designed ships. The TOS-Enterprise uses one at one point and we got the Defiant that was never designed to be particularly stealthy either, getting one such device as well.

Besides, in 9.99999 out of 10 cases, you can account such discrepancies to lazy writing. People just do not understand how mind-boggingly huge the galaxy is. There are estimations of the romulan homeplanet being anywhere between 40 and 391 lightyears away from Earth, figuring in directional descriptions and comparing real starcharts and in-canon starcharts, though the most likely candidate is Gamma Trianguli Australis *if* you want to go by the map linked above (184ly away). At "low warp", assuming warp 5 here for ease of comparison, that takes about 314 days to get there from here.

[FaxModem1]

Well, The Defector takes place in season 3, while Unification takes place in season 5. If you want to head canon it, they purposely expanded the communications network, due to the events of that episode, and communications from Earth to the Neutral Zone became a priority after the Romulans had been quiet for over 50 years, the head brass realized they needed a better network for the next time the Romulans got crafty. And while the Enterprise was busy doing things over the next couple years, a few Excelsiors, Oberths, or a few Mirandas were dropping relays all along Federation territory.

Of course, by the later seasons of Voyager, they can have phone calls from across the galaxy using the MIDAS array that Barclay worked on, so they do show technological progress in how fast their communications tech has improved.

[bronnt]

Well, The Defector takes place in season 3, while Unification takes place in season 5. If you want to head canon it, they purposely expanded the communications network, due to the events of that episode

My problem isn't so much that I want an explanation. It's that I like the idea of the Enterprise being out of range of real-time communications. It doesn't leave them totally cut off, as this episode shows-their communication delay is only a little over 2 hours, so Picard is able to get news of developments in the political situation not too long after they happen, and he's able to transmit information like, "Oh by the way, he just told me that's actually Admiral Jerok, and his previous name was an alias," and he gets feedback on that transmission before the situation ends.

But the communication delay does do a great deal in terms of the writing. It means that Starfleet command isn't able to watch live as Jerok is interrogated, or to interview him directly themselves, so it keeps the burden squarely on Picard-exaggerated even further since the Enterprise is the only vessel which can reach the base in time (well, except for the Klingons). Plus it serves as a reminder that the Federation has limits in its tech, which is always important for the sake of drama. You don't want to just have a magical solution to any type of problem, it makes it difficult to engineer drama. Like, think about "Haven" and how much they tried to manufacture drama in that episode when the Enterprise always had a tractor beam which would easily avert the crisis without risking any lives. Knowing that you can't just call up anyone from anywhere helps establish the fact that you're never going to have all the information you might want.

[CareerKnight]

I'm fairly sure there have been other mentions of communication delays, but I'm drawing a blank as to examples. If there are other examples, they have been rare though, and I wouldn't be duprised if most come from the TOS era.

Balance of Terror has it. Hell I wouldn't be surprised if it was included in The Defector because one of the writers had recently watched that episode in preparation for writing The Defector.

The idea of a relay is stupid to start with. Sure you can use a relay in order to boost the signal strength and distance it can transmit but how is it supposed to "speed up" the transmission? Like if I am throwing you a baseball I can increase the distance I can throw it by putting a person between us and having him rethrow each toss, but doing so will never increase the speed that the ball got to you than if I could singlehandedly throw it the whole distance.

The point about relays being able to speed up the transmission is solid but that's a terrible analogy since Baseball players do this to get the ball there faster as they total can increase the speed (since not every player throws at the same speed and unlike a radio, or however its transmitted transmission, baseballs do not move at a constant speed over distance).

This would also explain why the Romulan invasion ships in 'Reunification were able to get to Vulcan so quickly if Vulcan is 'next door' to the Zone for TNG ships.

I don't recall the episode saying the invasions ships ever even got to the Vulcan system or giving any real position for them other than they had crossed the Neutral Zone and were heading towards Vulcan at low warp.