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For additional meanings of "number one", please see number one.

Number one was a title affectionately given to an officer who was second in command, literally because the first officer was, in name, the commanding officer's "number one" man or woman.

Notable uses of "number one"[]

Captain Christopher Pike and Spock referred to Lieutenant Commander Una Chin-Riley, the first officer of the USS Enterprise as "Number One". (TOS: "The Cage")

Commander Michael Burnham was referred to as "number one" by Captain Philippa Georgiou and the crew of the USS Shenzhou. (DIS: "The Vulcan Hello")

Commander Saru was referred to as "number one" by Captain Gabriel Lorca aboard the USS Discovery. (DIS: "Context Is for Kings")

Lieutenant La'an Noonien-Singh was made acting first officer during the USS Enterprise's mission to Kiley 279. Captain Pike referred to her as "number one". (SNW: "Strange New Worlds")

In the mirror universe, Michael Burnham, while posing as her counterpart, referred to Keyla Detmer as "number one" aboard the ISS Shenzhou. (DIS: "The Wolf Inside")

Captain Jean-Luc Picard typically referred to his first officer, Commander William T. Riker, as "number one" aboard the USS Enterprise-D and the USS Enterprise-E (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint", et seq., Star Trek: First Contact)

Doctor Beverly Crusher once referred to Riker as "number one." (TNG: "The Battle")

Rear Admiral Mark Jameson also once referred to Riker as "number one" while he sat in the first officer's customary chair on the bridge. (TNG: "Too Short A Season")

In 2365, when the crew prepared their ruse against the Ferengi, Picard said "Are you ready, number one?" and both Riker, on the USS Hathaway, and Data, as acting first officer, answered him. (TNG: "Peak Performance")

In 2366, the character based on Riker in Reginald Barclay's Three Musketeers-inspired holodeck program was addressed as "number one". (TNG: "Hollow Pursuits")

After Sarek and Picard mind melded, Sarek referred to Commander Riker as "number one". (TNG: "Sarek")

After his assimilation by the Borg, Picard, as Locutus, chillingly referred to Riker as "number one." (TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II")

While he was trapped in the turbolift with the three 2368 Primary School Science Fair winners, Captain Picard referred to Marissa Flores as "number one." Some confusion came about later when both she and Riker responded to the title on the bridge. (TNG: "Disaster")

While age regressed, Captain Picard posed as Commander Riker's son in order to route access to the ship's systems to the school classroom. When Riker agreed to do this, Picard slipped out of character and said, "Thank you, number one." However, he realized his mistake and recovered by saying, "He's my number one dad." (TNG: "Rascals")

When Captain Amina Ramsey temporarily assumed command of the USS Cerritos in 2380, she made her old friend Beckett Mariner her first officer and addressed her as "number one", despite the fact that Mariner was still an ensign. (LD: "Much Ado About Boimler")

The following year, when Captain Carol Freeman was to receive a promotion and would be leaving the Cerritos, Commander Jack Ransom complained that she wasn't taking him on the new ship. Saying that he agrees with her at all times. (LD: "First First Contact")

When the USS Dauntless was pursuing the USS Protostar, Commander Tysess told Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway that the ship was heading into the Romulan Neutral Zone. Janeway wanted to stay on course, but Tysess reminded her of the negotiations with the Romulan Star Empire and that it would violate the Treaty of Algeron. Janeway was aware but know the Federation would have bigger problems of the Romulans got ahold of the Protostar's technology and tells Tysess, "You have your orders, number one." (PRO: "Crossroads")

In 2402, Commander Raffaela Musiker was assigned to the USS Enterprise-G as Captain Seven of Nine's first officer. She referred to Musiker as "number one." (PIC: "The Last Generation")

In an alternate 2266 where Captain Christopher Pike wasn't exposed to delta radiation and remained in command of the USS Enterprise, his first officer at the time was Spock and referred to himself as "number one". (SNW: "Hegemony")

Notable "number ones"[]

Appendices[]

Appearances[]

The term "number one" appears in the following instances:

Background information[]

The first draft of the Star Trek: The Next Generation "bible" created while the series was in development noted that this nickname was chosen as a homage to historical British Navy tradition. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion (2nd ed., p. 14)).

The nickname featured prominently in the first casting call for The Next Generation, sent out on 10 December 1986. This document listed "NUMBER ONE (A.K.A. WILLIAM RYKER)", and all other references to this character were to "Number One" rather than "Ryker". (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, 2nd ed., p. 13).

Apocrypha[]

In Peter David's novel Vendetta, Captain Morgan Korsmo of the USS Chekov referred to his first officer, Commander Elizabeth Shelby, as "number one."

In her novel Vulcan's Glory, TOS writer D.C. Fontana suggested Captain Pike called his first officer this because she was an Ilyrian colonist who was named "Number One," because she was the best intellect among her generation.

In novels set after Star Trek Nemesis, Worf has become Picard's first officer on the Enterprise-E and Picard immediately started referring to Worf as "number one," which privately made Worf a bit uncomfortable at first, as he thought of Riker when Picard would say that.

External link[]

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