Love Starfleet Style

I have 2 players in my game having a bit of a problem.

One player thinks he's Tom Cruise from Top Gun. Helm Officer, high Presence, and he loves the ladies. He is also a Lieutenant and Chief Con Officer.

The other player thinks he is Captain Jellico from "Chain of Command". By the book, regulations all the way. He is a Commander and the 1st Officer.

Now Player one (We'll call him Tom) likes to socialize if you know what I mean.

Player two (We'll call him Jellico) caught him and wants to discipline him.

Tom (Outta game) says that Riker does it all the time and the 1st Officer shouldn;t have a problem with it. Jellico wants him in the brig.

The Captain (one of our other players) asked me for advice before we game again.

Does anyone actually know what the regulations are for relationships aboard a Starfleet vessel.

As far as we saw on the show, people were allowed to do whatever they wanted in their private lives as long as it was not interfering with their duties.

So, as long as "Tom" didn't hit on the sexy science officer while plotting a course, or wasn't caught, ahem, in a precarious situation in the ship's public areas, I don't think that our Starfleet regulations have much to say against his behaviour.

Then again, I have nothing official to back it up... but given that we've seen almost every Trek Starfleet character engaged at least once in a romance, I think such a regulation would have cropped up at least once.

On the other hand, if he really was socializing on duty, then I guess there should be some sort of regulation about it that a "by-the-book" captain would be only too glad to enforce.

Absolutely No socializing while in a duty status, i.e on watch etc. especially on the bridge. Security people on watch are generally told to speak only on duty matters, period. (like reporting in, reporting all secure, or reporting an event or casualty. talk between two guards would be at a minimum, and not with anyone else present.

No socializing in any public areas, i.e. sex on a barstool in ten forward is out.

The same might be said of the corridors of the ship, or other non private areas; no sucking face where the crew could be a witness (in general) I would think holding hands might be okay, strolling through the gardens / arboretum, if the ship has one, especially if you are in a next gen or later series, and they are married. TOS era, this would be less common, as would married crew members, overall.

Relationships between direct superior and direct junior are not happeneing, as it is bad for morale, in that a superior will treat juniors in a relationship better, generally. Likewise, there is a potential for the junior to mess up the superior's career, if the relationship breaks up.

Absolutley no relationships between any officer and any enlisted, if from the same chain of command.

Things like your tom cruise guy, and any hotties in the crew at about the same rank, different departments, fair game, as long as it does not interfere with the mission, duty, or ongoing operations of the vessel, does not cause a boatload of gossip, and it's kept up more or less on the sly and not in anyone's face.

If the captain doesn't like it, he can give the (as he sees it the offender) a reprimand. Or, if it's more serious, put the guy "in hack" (restricted to quarters) or take the guy to officer's mast.

The officer accused in turn can instead request a court martial, instead to get a "Fair judge". Most CO's would not push it that far. If they did, it calls attention to the ship, and the CO's lack of control over the crew and inability to handle it at his level.

If your in game CO is this rigorous, he's likely to be passed over for promotion, at one point or another for being a martinet control freak, this is why jellico was an NPC.

Now, all this being said...if tom cruise guy is having fun on shore leave with some ensign in the crew, and they dissapear into the jungle for a few days, and then after all is said and done, it was a fling, and they both move on, hey whatever.

If they are sneaking off to some supply closet because the tom cruise guy is double bunking in a junior officer's two man quarters with some other officer his rank, and it cuts into his bunkmate's sleep time with the couple's noises otherwise... it's on the verge of a problem.

If he and she get caught in a supply closet by some enlisted person digging out or restocking blankets or something, well, that's conduct unbecoming, bad for morale, and in general a reprimand or some similar perhaps stronger punishment will suffice.

If tom cruise is a LT Helm officer and the target of his affection say, the CO is female, (for eample), the CO is gonna get relieved by an admiralty review board, and tom is gonna get a transfer off asap to space alaska equivalent, depending on circumstances. Hardly ever would it get even that far. That's just more or less naval tradition.

If tom cruise is a Lt and he's with someone else in his dept (helm/ weapons), that's a problem, and the CO is within his rights to discipline him, because it is bad for morale as it muffs up the chain of command.

if tom cruise is banging some LT chickie from engineering, and they are discreet in his / her cabin, and nobody else is the wiser, even though people know about it, it's a judgement call.

If they are out fighting (meaning high volume yelling) in the corridors in front of everyone, time for both to get called before the co and reprimanded. An actual fight, both are going to be relieved of duty or some such.

If tom cruise becomes a jealous lover when his love interest goes off with the beefy ltjg guy from security, and a fight breaks out, tom cruise is generally off the ship, or some other lesser punishment.

But if he and she are about the same rank, different departments, and it only happens when the crew is ashore and behind closed doors, the CO can fume and moan, but too damn bad, he needs to get a life, and gals of his own, cause he's too concerned with minor BS. There are real bad guys out there like romulans, that should be more the focus of his attention and time.

The CO of a ship is next to god, and is god during war time, but juniors have rights of their own. Officers in the fleet do not sign their personal lives over just because they got a commission in the fleet.

A lot of CO players who have no real world military experience do not realize this, at all.

COs that run a tight ship had better themselves be A J Squared away, or their underlings will jack them over, accidentally on purpose for being an a-hole. Maybe not so much in the star fleet, but maybe so, depends on your series flavor. Ships have run aground "Accidentally on purpose", to get the CO relieved.

Phantom crappers in the captain's or XO's passageway, well that's a lesser extent of resistance. But even at that level, it's a message from the crew to the CO or XO, chill the hell out, man.

For certain, a commanding officer that does not have the trust and confidence of a crew with high morale, it's the fault of the officer in command, not the fact that the crew might be a bunch of low initiative losers. it is the co's job to inspire, not rule by fear or regulations.

The situations that you describe are always good for roleplay.

In my own TOS movies era series a male LT from security (Security Chief) is trying to sex up a female LTJG from cryptography section.
So far they've had drinks at a distant outpost on shore leave, and some necking in her cabin.

Mostly it was handled as
"He likes her, they had some light chit chat about where from life goals, etc."
He makes a seduction roll...a few hours later he emerges from her cabin, straightening his uniform."
Other than that, our group isn't going to go into graphic details, it's not that kind of setup, since the focus is on the story/missions more or less as the A plotline, with such romances as definite B or C plotlines. [Until one of them is threatened, or is up for transfer or some other drama]

Good luck in your solution. If you can cite some RP examples, I think they'd be entertaining.

Thanks LUG and C5!

I appreciate the input.

I will put it to use right away!

Moving this to the Narrator's Ready Room

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Originally Posted by LUGTrekGM

No socializing in any public areas, i.e. sex on a barstool in ten forward is out.

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You have a very different definition of socializing from what I put into that word :eek: :D

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The same might be said of the corridors of the ship, or other non private areas; no sucking face where the crew could be a witness (in general) I would think holding hands might be okay, strolling through the gardens / arboretum, if the ship has one, especially if you are in a next gen or later series, and they are married. TOS era, this would be less common, as would married crew members, overall.

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My take on it is that marriage have become just another tradition ceremony that some people like, but that it have lost any significance in laws and regulations. But i tend to agree that anyone trying to make out in a public area would hear a "get a holodeck."

As for relations on a ship in general... Some TNG examples

Picard dated, if I recall, the chief of cartography. That he didn't courted Crusher seem to be out of choice, not because of any regulation.

Riker dated and flirted a lot, despite that he handled the crew evaluation (together with someone he have had a former relation with...) :eek:

Even Data had a relationship on board (I think she was working in engineering) and if there would have been any regulations against it, he would just had mentioned that fact to her.

I can't recall anything pointing to how they look at relations between officers and enlisted. My guess is that it is more relaxed than it is now. But how much more relaxed is a good question.

So in general, Stafleet would most likely be more open minded that we are used to. But if anything from personal life affects their performance while on duty, or if they don't back of if the attention is unwanted, they would find themself under a very unwelcomed attention from high ranking officers (and possibly the rest of the crew as well).

As a general rule of thumb, I think Starfleet is a lot more relaxed about relationships than a modern day military would be, partly because of the length of their missions, and partly because in the 24th century people are a lot more socially confident and quite mature: the federation is less insecure :)

That said, relationships must not interfere with your duty, because it removes your objectivity: and in the show they often use that as a vehicle for drama, such as when Picard has to sacrifice his science officer, even though he's in a relationship with her (and ultimately she survives) - that's a source of drama, so regulations tend to get put aside there hehe :)

Both are right IMHO. The Jelico is right in that he chooses not to see that sort of behaviour, and the Riker is right in that he can chose to have personal traits of a lothario. Both do need to understand they are neither both omnipresent in their lives, they just work together: the captain is pushing the line on strictness if he behaves like a marionette even off duty, and may get his hand slapped; and the lothario best be careful just how far he pushes his lust! :D

At the end of the day both people came through the Academy as sane, right thinking, well balanced and adjusted people - or they would NOT have passed the exams! Both of them should be professional enough to know they need to be professional! and be well trained enough not to overstep the mark! Riker, Kirk, Tom paris were all womanising lotharios, who were also impeccably dedicated to their jobs, while on duty, and other than the occasional wink to a cute ensign, they strictly kept to their duty!

Jelico was a battle hardened asshole, and likewise is as likely to be overlooked for promotions if all of his crew strongly dislike him: Starfleet's not going to promote someone with no people skills!

There's nothing wrong with starting out with both concepts from the beginning so long as both need to understand that their behaviours are flaws, and they need to be kept in check. Flaws are there to be overcome, they are NOT an excuse to do that activity scot free! I.e. if your Captain (or other) catches you having a shag behind the dilithium matrix - you can't say "oh but it says I am a letch on my character sheet so I MUST be one at all times! :) Flaws are roleplaying hooks, and sources of drama, not excuses and a licence to be a pain in the ass! :D

Our rules are fairly simple.
Nothing too risqué in public areas.
Nothing between superior officers and those directly under their command.
And punishment depends on how harsh the captain or directly superior officer is.

So far, nothing has come up, even with the Engineering Department Head being lecherous.

well, i think the flaw is there not to say oh yeah, this is justified, but to make it a problem in that it might ge tthe PC into trouble.

So the original question is well founded.

What needs to happen is a scenario where a female crew member trieds to seduce the tom cruise guy into acting out in public.

Perhaps the deal where he gets naked, then somehow ends up in the corridor locked out of the room/quarters, because of a plot among some of the female members of the crew to "Teach him a lesson."

Using his disadvantage against him. That's a morality play, but it's a common tool in writing, of course.

Well they've shown crew members holding hands,kissing & hugging on TNG,in the Cage they had two crew members in civies & walking down the hallway holding hands.I've also noticed reciently while watching TOS episodes,Kirk went out with at least one crewwoman("Dagger of the Mind"'s Lt. Helen Noel-"Remember the christmas party"[Kirk]"Yes I remember!!{to Spock}"tell McCoy she better be the best assistant I ever had".) & possibly a 2nd (Lt. Marlena Mounrou[Kirk]"No she just seems like a nice girl..I I think we could become friends":cool: ).And as others have pointed out Riker was noted for dating subordants.

I too have faced players who were obsessed with their charisma scores.

"Roll to see if there are any chicks in the inn! If there are, I wanna DO them!"

BLEAH!

If your local lothario gets too big for his britches (pardon the innuendo-laden pun), you could always remond him that not every species has mating rituals identical to humans.

Some ideas:

1. Remember what happened to poor pregnant Trip Tucker.

2. CMO: "I don't know how to tell you this... you've got Rigellian Gonnorhea. There's no cure. It's gonna fall off. A piece at a time."

3. "Lieutenant, she's a Mantissian... after they finish, they eat their mate."

4. They mate for life. A one-night stand is a terrible dishonor. Now all her male relatives want your head on a stick. (or maybe worse, they do that whole "honor killing" thing, want to kill her, and now he'll be responsible for a death.)

Not to forget Klingon-like love rituals : "And now I'm gonna beat you to a pulp, as a foreplay"

Or Ferengi, by the way : "So, honey, did you like my ear massage ? Happy now ?"

:D

Love First's honor idea, though. Nice for a moral dilemma.

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Originally Posted by C5

Love First's honor idea, though. Nice for a moral dilemma.

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I used that once, in a group where the Captain, XO, CMO, and Security chief were all played by the women in the group.

They didn't find it a moral dilemma at all.

Captain: "They want to do what???"

Security chief: "F*** 'em. Let's blow up their planet."

XO: "Yeah, any species that practices that deserves to be destroyed."

CMO: "Wait, wait! Let's be reasonable! I can tailor a genetic virus that will just kill off all the adult males! Preferably horribly painfully!"

Don't mess with women. They can be nasty. :eek:

:eek: Now, wait... was that a Star Trek game ? Were they playing Starfleet officers ? 'cause I have this Prime Directive thingy itching...

I tend to agree about girls being nasty in RPG. Saw that firsthand in a Vampire game, where all the girls in the group were playing Brujahs. ;)

Ok, back on topic now... I'm not quite sure there are any official Starfleet regulations about who officers can date. I mean, we've had numerous examples in the series of Captains and XOs dating someone of the crew, and I think at least some reference would have been made if there was an official regulation about not dating someone under one's direct orders.

Fo2? These women had SEEN Startrek yes? :D Scary yes, but thank goodness for bridge recorders, I'm comforted they are not for Starfleet much longer :D

I think generally if there are any regulations, they get lost when writers needed to create tension and story :D

First of Two, I want to game with those women. Hooyah. Good times.

Tell the Security Chief, I salute her. Hard core, big time.

Lol, hilarious. Made me laugh.

I got it!!

New theme song for TNG!!

You can do this at home!!!

Play a copy of TNG, watch the opening credits, turn the volume all the way down, then play "LOVE BOAT"!!!

It rocks LOL!!!!

Thanks, but ah, I'd rather just watch the TNG episode.

Yeah I agree.

After doing it once, it loses its appeal.

To answer the questions: Yes, they were all Trek familiar, playing Starfleet officers. Although my players have seriously considered going freelance more than once, they eventually rejected it on the grounds that Starfleet would probably make them give up most of their "cool toys" if they resigned. But this all went down back in the mid '90's when the Taliban was just rising to power, and "honor killings" were in the news.

And we're skating the edge of politics here, so I'll kill that topic now.

ANYWAY...

Besides General Orders and Regulations, many ships are likely to have their own, ship-specific "standing orders" (probably not the right word for them) that depend upon the Captain's personal style of running his ship. I think one of the old LUG books mentioned these types of orders (such as how to address the Captain, etc.)

Barring overriding Orders or Regulations, the level of permissible fraternization probably falls under that purview.

I am suddenly reminded of a favorite Denis Leary routine:

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Another thing when I’m President, by the way... You wanna join the military, any branch, army, airforce, marines, navy. Once you join you can **** whoever you want. Other soldiers, superior officers, I don’t give a flying ****, **** your brains out. Go ahead, you have my permission. As long as you want to kill the enemy, you can have sex with whoever you like. “I like to **** other guys”, “Here’s another guy and a gun. Go go go!”. “I like to **** sheep”, “Here’s a sheep and a gun. Go go go!”. “I like to **** watermelons”, “here’s a watermelon and a gun, Go go go!”. **** ‘em, kill ‘em, an' eat ‘em boys, go ahead.

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:eek: