Captain's ready room

Kathryn Janeway looks out the window of her ready room

The captain's ready room is a personal office reserved for the commanding officer of a starship and is typically accessed from the bridge.

Here, the captain can engage in administrative work with all relevant office equipment at hand without interfering with bridge operations. In addition, this room is usually the preferred place where the captain can hold private discussions and/or receive classified communications.

Starship ready rooms

NX-class

File:Archer's ready room.jpg

Jonathan Archer's ready room aboard Enterprise

On Template:ShipClass vessels of the 22nd century, the captain's ready room was located starboard of the bridge, directly across from the turbolift.

Office space in these early ready rooms was much more cramped than that of 24th century vessels and featured pipes running along the length of the ceiling, which was itself relatively low.

Aboard the Enterprise, Captain Jonathan Archer's ready room was plagued by a persistent squeak that, though seemingly repaired, would resurface from time to time until it was seemingly fixed for good by the automated repair station. (ENT: "Fight or Flight", "Dead Stop") The room was sparse compared to its future counterparts, featuring a desk, small couch and portraits of ships named Enterprise, including a sailing ship, the second aircraft carrier, the orbiter, and the NX-01 herself. (Star Trek: Enterprise) A short corridor outside the room was usually used as an access to and from the bridge, although it also led to the starship's brig. (ENT: "Affliction") The ready room was located to the aft of an emergency rescue hatch, as an exterior sign indicating this hatch's location was visible immediately below the ready room window. (ENT: "Shadows of P'Jem")

The practice of using ready rooms seemed to have fallen into disuse by the mid-23rd century as the Template:ShipClass USS Enterprise did not appear to have an area specifically designed to serve as a ready room - at least none that was shown in the entire run of The Original Series. Captains instead received a small office area in their quarters as seen aboard the Enterprise refit in Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. For more information about the potentialities of a Constitution-class ready room, see the #Apocrypha section below.

The set for Archer's ready room was intentionally built to be cramped, unfortunately leading the actors and production staff members to sometimes hit their heads on the ceiling. During production of Star Trek: Enterprises first season, chief lighting technician Bill Peets observed, "Because the set is so low, we have a running joke: Who hit their head today? Some people actually wear hard hats now because so many people have cold-cocked themselves and gotten a lump on their noggins, including the actors. When you get to this set you've got to be careful." (Star Trek: Communicator issue 138, p. 51) Some of the furnishings in the set for Archer's ready room came from a French designer. ^{(citation needed • edit)}

Galaxy-class

A Galaxy-class ready room

On a Template:ShipClass starship, the captain's ready room is located port of the main bridge, beside the forward-port turbolift.

Among the items kept in Captain Jean-Luc Picard's ready room was a copy of The Globe Illustrated Shakespeare: The Complete Works, a model of a Constellation-class starship (registry NCC-7100), a crystal model of a sailing ship, the Mintakan tapestry, the Kurlan naiskos given to him by his mentor Richard Galen (TNG: "The Chase"), and a tank containing his fish, Livingston.

An external view of Picard's ready room

The room featured a large desk with a personal computer and three chairs, a couch, a large portrait of the USS Enterprise-D, and, in a side alcove, a food replicator.

Despite remaining mostly not changed throughout its service aboard the Enterprise-D, Picard's ready room was temporarily redecorated (most notably, the fish tank removed) when Captain Edward Jellico briefly took command in 2369. (TNG: "Chain of Command, Part I", "Chain of Command, Part II")

The replicator in the rear alcove

The alcove where the replicator was located was supposed to open into a side corridor, leading to a bathroom. However, it was never shown on camera and a set was never constructed. The corridor, however, was briefly seen in TNG: "The Neutral Zone", showing Picard walking out of the corridor, back into the ready room proper. Also, the couch in Picard's ready room was actually constructed to slide out from the wall for use as a bed, though this function was never seen in use, it could occasionally be seen with the bed part either pushed too far into the wall or sticking out farther than intended.

An exterior shot looking into Picard's ready room, from TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II", "Darmok" and "Conundrum", showed the outside bulkhead of the ready room as squarish in shape. This did not match the configuration seen on the exterior model of the Enterprise-D. Also incorrect was the reflection in the window, proving a perspective that made it appear as though the ready room window actually faced forward.

In the film Star Trek Generations, the fish tank was seen blackened and apparently drained, following the crash of the Enterprise. When asked what exactly had happened to Picard's fish, the producers admitted that it most likely perished in the crash.

Many of the scenes involving conversations in Picard's TNG ready room were filmed independently from scenes on the bridge, meaning that the latter wasn't always fully dressed, when seen from inside Picard's ready room through the open door. Oftentimes, this resulted in the bridge set outside the door not being fully "ready" as a real bridge would be; many times, particularly during the last two seasons, the emergency turbolift alcove directly across from the ready room alcove was not lit and, in many cases, the two forward consoles were not staffed. Also, there were many instances when an actor would come to speak with Picard actor Patrick Stewart and then leave the ready room set, with the camera (and, therefore, the audience) remaining in the ready room with Picard; through the open doorway, the departing actor could clearly be seen walking towards the viewscreen. Within the Star Trek universe, those actors would have been stepping into a solid wall where the viewscreen was; as it was, the nine-foot-tall cavity where the viewscreen supposedly stood was actually the means by which actors entered and left the set, as it opened directly onto the soundstage. Only in scenes specifically requiring the viewscreen to be seen was the bottom of the screen frame--discernible by two vertical separation lines near the corners where that part could be removed--attached, and either a bluescreen matte or a starfield drape placed outside, to give the illusion of an image.

Battle bridge ready room, ca. 2364

Typically, the Captain of a Galaxy-class starship has an additional, smaller ready room off of the battle bridge. (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint")

Defiant-class

File:Defiant ReadyRoom.jpg

The ready room aboard the Defiant

Like the other rooms on the USS Defiant, the ready room of the Template:ShipClass was small and compact.

In 2374, Captain Tim Watters spoke to Nog in the USS Valiant's ready room. Watters told him of the Valiant's mission to destroy a Jem'Hadar battleship.

Watters and Karen Farris later brought Jake Sisko to the ready room to warn him to stay away from Dorian Collins. (DS9: "Valiant")

Several months later, Captain Benjamin Sisko spoke to Captain Lisa Cusak from his ready room. They talked about the Dominion War, Starfleet's attempts to liberate Betazed from the Dominion and his discomfort with having Kasidy Yates aboard. (DS9: "The Sound of Her Voice")

In 2375, Sisko spoke to Ezri Dax on Deep Space 9 from his ready room on the Defiant to tell her they had been unsuccessful in locating Worf and other members of the IKS Koraga. (DS9: "Penumbra")

Intrepid-class

File:Voyager readyroom.jpg

An Intrepid-class ready room

Clouds through the ready room window

On an Template:ShipClass starship, the captain's ready room is located starboard of the main bridge beside the tactical station.

The desk, which features a work area and access console, is the focal point of the room, located in front of the main entrance door. A raised level in the front section of the room features a small table, a curved couch and a food replicator.

The bulkhead behind the couch features three windows facing the bow of the ship. A port facing door beside the main entrance provides secondary access to the room from a deck 1 corridor. (VOY: "Shattered")

A shelf beside the main work desk allows the commanding officer to display personal belongings. Captain Kathryn Janeway, of the Intrepid-class USS Voyager, used this shelf to display various historical and archaeological items.

The windows aboard the USS Voyager were a reuse of the windows seen in Ten Forward aboard the USS Enterprise-D, simply flipped upside down. The same was true of Voyager's Observation Lounge.

For the production of Star Trek: Insurrection, Captain Janeway's ready room was redressed for use as Counselor Troi's office (somewhat appropriately, since Janeway's couch was first seen on TNG in Troi's Enterprise-D office). The set was also modified for the Voyager episode "Author, Author", lit with darker tones and decorated not with historical and archaeological items, but with weapons of various designs.

The Voyager briefing room set was reused to represent Admiral William Ross' ready room aboard the USS Bellerophon in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges".

The schematics for the Voyager ready room were sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay. They were drawn by production designer Richard James and set designer John Chichester and located on Paramount Stage 8. [1]

Sovereign-class

File:Sovereign Ready Room.jpg

A Sovereign-class ready room

Aboard Template:ShipClass vessels, the ready room is located to the forward starboard side of the main bridge. It features a small window looking out into space and a private entrance located off the bridge.

Captain Picard's ready room aboard the USS Enterprise-E featured a desk and small couch. It was decorated with items from the previous Enterprise, including the Mintakan tapestry. (TNG: "Who Watches The Watchers") It also contained a large, gold model of the Enterprise-E herself, along with the Enterprise-D, C, B, A and original Enterprise.

The set for this captain's ready room was constructed on Paramount Stage 29. (Star Trek Monthly issue 20)

While none of the TNG films ever really featured a clear shot of Captain Picard's ready room, publicity stills from Star Trek: First Contact did show evidence of the existence of a cylindrical-shaped fish tank that apparently did not make it into the final cut of that movie, nor any of the others.

The room was mostly not changed in Star Trek: Insurrection. However, director Stuart Baird requested that it be redecorated for its appearance in Star Trek Nemesis; thus, the removal of the Mintakan tapestry. Also, the small corridor leading to the bridge was slightly lengthened and the model of the Enterprise added.

One of the large isolinear data modules seen on Picard's desk in his ready room was auctioned off in the It's A Wrap! sale and auction.

Other

Captain Benjamin Maxwell had a ready room aboard the Template:ShipClass starship USS Phoenix in 2367, as did Captain Leyton aboard the USS Okinawa during the Tzenkethi War. (TNG: "The Wounded"; DS9: "Paradise Lost")

Ready rooms have also been included within starships built and used by other spacefaring organizations than Starfleet. The Andorian Imperial Guard, for example, have been known to equip their vessels with such a room as early as 2153, when Commander Shran used a ready room on the Andorian battle cruiser Kumari. (ENT: "Proving Ground")

Similarly, the Klingon Empire constructed ready rooms in some of their Birds-of-Prey; General Martok had a ready room aboard the IKS Rotarran in the 2370s, (DS9: "Soldiers of the Empire", "Sons and Daughters") and another while briefly serving as commander of the IKS Ch'Tang in 2375. (DS9: "Once More Unto the Breach")

A section of the script for DS9: "Paradise Lost" takes place inside the ready room of the Template:ShipClass USS Lakota, but the same scene in the final version of the episode seems to take place on the ship's bridge. The Okinawa's ready room was mentioned in that episode but never appeared.

Worf and Martok are the only characters who are seen using both the ready rooms aboard the Rotarran and the Ch'Tang.

Commander Shran's ready room aboard the Andorian battle cruiser Kumari

Phoenix ReadyRoom.jpg

Captain Benjamin Maxwell's ready room aboard the Template:ShipClass Federation starship USS Phoenix

Klingon ready room.jpg

General Martok's ready room aboard the IKS Ch'Tang, a Klingon Bird-of-Prey

Appendices

Background Information

The concept of a ready room was first conceived by Robert Justman. He later recalled, "I suggested to Gene [Roddenberry] that we should have a captain's ready room, for what we both considered as a dramatic necessity. In a show like Star Trek, you need to have a place where the star, or the captain, can go to have a privileged conversation with someone else, without the possibility of being overheard. To me, the ready room was the perfect place to have that." (Star Trek: Communicator issue 115, p. 74) Justman took the idea from Navy experience he himself had had. [2]

Apocrypha

A scene in the non-canon comic The Modala Imperative shows Admiral McCoy and Ambassador Spock touring the Enterprise-D and, when they get to Picard's ready room, McCoy states that, if Kirk had had such an office, they would have never gotten him off the bridge.