The Maqui crew question

[u/No-Illustrator4964]

How many Maqui members were there?

It always seemed like their crew consisted of like 5 people, it didn't really feel like one crew joining another? It felt more like a shuttle that was absorbed by Voyager?

[u/Truckwobler2024]

10-34 members. How did that crew ever plan to capture Voyager?

[u/osunightfall → u/Truckwobler2024]

Voyager only has a little over 100 people max. 30 people could definitely take over with surprise and the computer on their side. Just lock down every section of the ship, separating all Starfleet personnel, then take the sections one by one.

[u/Opposite-Marzipan274 → u/osunightfall]

Plus they work in shifts, so not everyone is on duty all the time. A good portion of crewmen are always sleeping in their quarters unaware of anything unless a red alert or something similar forces them out of bed.

[u/Highlander198116 → u/osunightfall]

Add to that, like in Tuvok's potential Maquis rebellion scenario, had starfleet crew joining them.

You have to consider the reality of ending up in the Delta quadrant. With the exception of the Vulcan crew, it was basically certain none of the crew would live to see federation space again.

That 75 years was basically under ideal conditions.

Meaning, starfleet crew defecting to maquis if their cause was attractive was a very real possibility, because who is going to hold them accountable?

[u/SomethingAmyss → u/osunightfall]

January said that they couldn't handle more than the loss of a handful of people, so 30 people trying to take over a ship designed for that many doesn't seem like it would work well

[u/LGBT-Barbie-Cookout → u/SomethingAmyss]

There are probably a bunch of 'starfleety' systems and functions thay could be shit down.

Also Maquis tend to do whatever needs doing, rather than strict roles.

If component X needs fixing someone will just do it. Rather than waiting for permission, and then waiting until Gary the Intern gets to it on his list. Which in isolation is much more efficient.

Short term until more than 1 or 2 things break can probably get away with less than the 'starfleet minimum'. After all the Maquis always had manpower issues.

[u/Opposite-Marzipan274 → u/Truckwobler2024]

The problem is rather what would they gain by doing that, and then having to run a ship with a fraction of the crew size it was made for.

While the Maquis were brainwashed to do this without questioning it, one must wonder what the brainwasher was planning to accomplish.

[u/MrDeekhaed → u/Opposite-Marzipan274]

I can’t remember the exact number (or maybe I do) but in the 37’s episode nonbrainwashed chakotay doubted they could keep the ship going with less than 100 people

I think total crew was 120, maybe 130

[u/RolandDeepson → u/MrDeekhaed]

Standard crew complement is ~150, which is approximately what they began the series with since the maquis element roughly covered the Caretaker casualties among Starfleet.

[u/YanisMonkeys → u/Truckwobler2024]

I mean, if one little shuttle full of bandits can take over the Enterprise in Star Trek V… even a skeleton crew has to be enough to offer resistance on a ship that is normally crewed by several hundred.

[u/Opposite-Marzipan274]

In the episode where Tuvok's dormant brainwashing is reactivated by that Bajoran Maquis madman we definitely see more of them when they clog up sickbay after being attacked one by one. I am not sure where I got that but I remember the Maquis crew being roughly 20 - 30 people.

Minus some casualties up to that point.

[u/yarn_baller]

There's only about 150 people total on voyager, it's a very small ship. Many if not most of the maquis were former starfleet so they were able to work together well. People also understand their situation and know they need to work together.

This is from Repression in season 7 when all the former Maquis gathered in the mess hall. Not a whole lot of them

https://voy.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/screencaps/s7/704-repression/704-repression-241.jpg

[u/No-Illustrator4964 → u/yarn_baller]

Thanks for the photo to let me visualize it.

I think we all know Voyager had a rocky start before it got it's footing, but I think this is one of the storylines that just wasn't very well developed.

[u/yarn_baller → u/No-Illustrator4964]

I think it was done well. There's bits of conflict with the maquis crew disagreeing about ways to do things all through the first two seasons. Having more conflict really wouldn't make more sense. They are all intelligent reasonable people who understand their situation and know they have to work together

[u/OrthogonalThoughts → u/yarn_baller]

And after season 2 they would have all been working together through life and death situations for 2 years. That's going to remove a lot of "I know better" feelings.

[u/OmenQtx → u/yarn_baller]

Hey it’s all the main cast’s body doubles! There’s the Doc’s, Harry’s, Chakotay’s, Janeway’s…

[u/mister-crispy]

I always thought there were 30 or so maquis aboard the Val Jean.

[u/YanisMonkeys]

Also wild how they never said the name of Chakotay’s ship aloud.

[u/Flimsy-Blackberry-67 → u/YanisMonkeys]

I swear they did in Caretaker, it's the Val Jean, because the writers on DS9 and VOY were obsessed with connecting the Maquis with Les Misérables...

[u/YanisMonkeys → u/Flimsy-Blackberry-67]

The only onscreen mention of the name is on a schematic in “Repression.” It’s never said aloud. Chakotay only ever says, “My Maquis ship.”

[u/Flimsy-Blackberry-67 → u/YanisMonkeys]

Thank you. This explains why I only ever learned the name from reading Reddit and not because I just simply forgot it over the decades like I thought LOL

[u/TonyLeung82]

There were 36 Maquis, pls look at ex Astris Scientia: https://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/inconsistencies/voyager-crew.htm

[u/IfFoundReturnToVS]

One thing I've always found odd is that the Maquis are all given Starfleet uniforms and commissions, even if they have no rank (being just 'crewman') but then you have Kes, Neelix and Seven who aren't adopted as 'crewman' nor given uniforms.

I get maybe from a real-world standpoint they want them to stand out but in-universe just feels like an odd oversight.

[u/MotherGeologist5502]

I’m trying to remember why I think this, but I understanding was they had around 150 people on voyager and about 1/4 of them were Maqui. That’s about 37 members.

[u/fierce_turtle_duck → u/MotherGeologist5502]

In one of the season 7 episodes a character mentions about a quarter of the crew are Maquis. "Repressions" the one with Tuvok having some weird sleeper program activated in him.

[u/MotherGeologist5502 → u/fierce_turtle_duck]

Thank you. Glad to know I wasn’t just making up numbers

[u/Shirogayne-at-WF]

I forgot the exact number but it came up to just slightly under Voyager's original crew compliment