Number one


 * You may also be looking for Pike's first officer, Number One.

Number one is a title affectionately given to an officer who is second in command, literally because the first officer is, in name, the commanding officer's "number one" man or woman. This stems from an ancient Human naval tradition from the days when sails were state-of-the-art propulsion systems. The name originates from ancient earth where a ship captain was assisted by several (usually three) lieutenants. The most senior would be known as the first lieutenant, hence the "Number One."

Notable Uses of "Number One"

 * Christopher Pike referred to his first officer as Number One.


 * Captain Picard typically referred to his first officer, Commander Riker, as number one. (, et seq.)


 * Doctor Beverly Crusher once referred to Commander Riker as "number one."


 * 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.


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


 * In 2366, the character based on Riker in Reginald Barclay's Three Musketeers-inspired holodeck program was addressed as "Number One".


 * After Sarek and Picard mind-melded, Sarek referred to Commander Riker as "Number One".


 * After his assimilation by the Borg, Picard (as Locutus) chillingly referred to Riker as "number one."


 * 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.


 * 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."

Background Information
When Crusher and Jameson referred to Riker as "number one" during the first season of TNG, the producers probably weren't yet sure how they wanted to use the term.

Apocrypha
In Peter David's novel Vendetta, Captain Morgan Korsmo, captain of the USS Chekov referred to his first officer, Commander 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. There has been no on-screen evidence to this as canon, however.

In novels set after, Worf has become Picard's first officer on the Enterprise 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.

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Nummer Eins (Begriffsklärung)