Episode no. Season 6
Episode 22 Written by Ronald D. Moore Production code 546 | Directed by Michael Vejar Featured music Paul Baillargeon | |
Original air date May 6, 1998 (1998-05-06) | ||
"Valiant" is the 146th season episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 22nd episode of the sixth season. It was first broadcast on 6 May 1998.
Contents
Jake and Nog, on a visit to Ferenginar, find themselves on board a rogue starship, piloted by members of the Red Squad, a crew of elite Starfleet cadets.
Plot
While en route to Ferenginar in a runabout, Jake Sisko and Ensign Nog are attacked by a Jem'Hadar vessel, but are rescued by the USS Valiant, a Defiant-class starship. Jake and Nog find that the crew are all members of the Red Squad, an elite squadron of Starfleet cadets. They were originally part of a training mission to circumnavigate the Federation. However, the Valiant was attacked by the Jem'Hadar, which resulted in the loss of the entire commissioned staff. Before dying, the late Captain transferred command to now-acting Captain Tim Watters. Watters has continued to follow their last directive without any further orders from Starfleet, and has recently learned of a new Dominion battle cruiser. Nog is quickly integrated into Red Squad and the ship's engineering staff thanks to his knowledge of the Defiant warp system, but Jake is seen as an outsider. When Jake attempts to talk to Chief Collins about her personal life, she breaks down emotionally, and Watters orders Jake not to talk to her further.
Watters reveals that they have located the Jem'Hadar battle cruiser and orders the ship to approach it, raising the crew's morale to levels Jake fears are irrational. The crew of the Valiant is able to successfully scan the battle cruiser and discovers a possible weak point. Watters makes plans to attack it. When Jake attempts to warn Nog and Collins that Watters is actually on a suicide mission, Watters has Jake thrown in the brig. The Valiant attacks the vessel, but the Jem'Hadar ship remains undamaged. The Valiant is assaulted by the battle cruiser, which critically damages the ship and kills much of the remaining crew. Nog, Collins and Jake leave the ship in an escape pod before the Valiant explodes. The three are rescued by the Defiant, and learn they are the sole survivors. Nog pronounces that the Valiant was a good ship with a good crew, whose only mistake was blindly following Watters's disastrous orders. Despite pleas from Collins that Watters was a great man, Nog replies "He may have been a hero, he may even have been a great man, but in the end, he was a bad Captain."