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From: rjnoe@ihlts.UUCP (Roger Noe)
Newsgroups: net.startrek
Subject: Re: A Command Question
Message-ID: <444@ihlts.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 30-Apr-84 11:35:08 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihlts.444
Posted: Mon Apr 30 11:35:08 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 1-May-84 07:37:54 EDT
References: <1388@dartvax.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL
Lines: 21

Yes, that was Lieutenant Vincent DeSalle played by Michael Barrier.
He was a relief navigator in "Squire of Gothos" and "This Side of
Paradise", but in "Catspaw" he was assistant chief engineer.  He
appeared in no other episodes.  The rationale for him being fifth in
command seems to have something to do with the rationale for Sulu being
fourth.  It's always seemed to me that (in the series at least) there
were too few high-ranking officers on board the Enterprise.  Of course
there can to be only one Captain, but why only one Commander (Spock, who
had been a Lt.Cdr.) and one Lt.Cdr. we know of (Scott).  LOTS of Lieutenants
(like Sulu, Uhura), but why should there not be another Commander or
Lieutenant Commander next in charge?  I decided it probably had something
to do with "department chiefs", like Command (Kirk), Sciences (Spock),
Engineering (Scott), followed by their assistants, Sulu (Command), and
DeSalle (Engineering).  Who's second in Sciences?  I don't know.  There
are several holes in this explanation.  At least in ST3 we'll get to see
a lot of Uhura "being in charge" [HINT].

The quote is "I'll bet credits to navy beans . . ." but refers not to the
U.S. military credits but to the Federation-wide use of credits as a
monetary standard.  The saying does of course originate in World War II.
	Roger Noe		ihnp4!ihlts!rjnoe