Valiant

DVD, DS9 S6 (Valiant) (2)

Arrogance, leadership and the consequences of blind loyalty are all themes of this surprisingly atypical Jake and Nog story. It could very easily have been a more common comedic runaround for the pair in the vein of last season's 'In The Cards,' even getting a setup for it with Nog's mission to deliver an important diplomatic message to the Grand Nagus, Jake tagging along in the hopes of a story for the Federation News Service. I can just imagine the hi-jinks as Nog tries to carry out his important task while also trying to keep Jake from embarrassing himself with Ferengi customs, keeping him away from Zek, and finding time to show him the sights of Ferenginar (mud, rain and muck, as Jake suggests). Who's to say this wouldn't have been as good an episode as the one they actually turned out? I, for one, would have loved to see Jake and Nog running around on the Ferengi homeworld, and it could have been a classic Ferengi comedy episode with room for all the usual recurring characters, with quite a different spin on the norm as they tended to feature Quark and Rom at the centre of such tales (and it couldn't have been worse than the very next episode, 'Profit and Lace,' which was one of the season's Ferengi episodes). While I do regret not getting a chance to see what this episode might have entailed, I like what they did come up with, putting the friends in a dangerous, war situation behind enemy lines and emphasising once again how much they'd changed over the years we'd known them.

Even in the teaser scene where we think we're being primed for a Ferengi comedy, the time isn't wasted - the impression the Federation's getting desperate enough to try and form an alliance with the Ferengi, who've traditionally been either enemies, or a barely tolerated race, despite their complete differences to the Federation's ethics and practices, shows what state the war is going for them. The other part of the teaser, Quark upset that Dax is forced to repair his drinks Replicator, could be seen as frivolous, but it's important to have these character moments, they always have some unrelated scene for the other members of the cast to show their faces if they don't have a large role in an episode. Odo's newfound romance with Kira means that he's seeing love all over the place, or that's how I read it, not that he wasn't also being perceptive about Quark's care for Dax, considering such repair work beneath her. It's just somehow sad to see Dax given only these tiny parts of an episode when we know her time is coming to an end, but I suppose if they suddenly made her integral to every episode it would have signalled big things were afoot for the character (and ironically, perhaps Terry Farrell wouldn't have wanted to leave!). Quark must have been absentminded, as I don't think I've ever seen him pour a drink away, even if he got it wrong (he pours it out behind the bar, so there must be some kind of sewage system, a grille or tube in the floor, though I've never seen it - not that we tend to see the floor). And O'Brien was absent for a second episode in a row, which leads me to believe Colm Meaney was making another film, as was his wont. Quark should at least be upbeat about the busyness of his establishment, quite the opposite to the emptiness of 'The Reckoning' (the title must have referred to the reckoning of Quark's bank balance!).

One thing I love about this episode is a Runabout having a starring role, something that had become increasingly uncommon (though they were also used in the preceding episode as part of the evacuation - the rise of the Runabouts?). Well, it would, wouldn't it, during a time of war? It's no good sending out tiny ships that aren't going to offer much protection, when there are squadrons and even fleets out there that would make mincemeat of such a small vessel. Plus there wasn't much time for exploration and relatively minor tasks, the usual domain of the Runabout. If Nog's message was so important, why did it need to be delivered in person, and why send a Runabout to do a starship's job? If it needed to be delivered in person to prevent it being intercepted by enemy forces, shouldn't it have been sent with more experienced members of Starfleet, not just one young Ensign and a civilian? Even if they wanted it to be a low profile mission so as not to direct attention, perhaps a good idea in which case to send a Runabout, couldn't they have sent some officers along? I can only imagine that things were busy and nobody could be spared, whereas Nog, firstly being a Ferengi, would be accepted on his homeworld, and secondly, it was an opportunity for him. Shame he got the Runabout destroyed, so no more missions on his own, I expect! In his defence it was not expected that Dominion ships would be in that area of Federation space, but in time of war perhaps it should have been, especially with so many Federation worlds fallen to the Jem'Hadar.

It remained unclear whether the USS Shenandoah was destroyed, or not - when they come under attack from a Jem'Hadar vessel after the surprise attack on the nearby Starbase (and an impressive sight it was to see an attack wing of Jem'Hadar ships swoop in on the base), once Valiant had come in guns blazing and dug them out of the situation, Jake and Nog are beamed over to the starship and I don't recall hearing anything of the fate of what would certainly be christened the 'Short-lived Shenandoah,' considering we only had it since 'Change of Heart,' a few episodes ago! There's no evidence that Valiant brought it with them as I don't think the cargo bay would be big enough to contain it, and we don't see it being towed by tractor beam. It's possible it was simply left behind in hopes of future salvage, but knowing Captain Watters I suspect he'd be quick to blast it himself on the logic that it would be better than leaving it for the Dominion to pick up. In the end even the Valiant is obliterated, one escape pod all that survived, so even if the Runabout had been brought along with them it wouldn't have made it out of the episode. They should have taken the Rio Grande: hundred percent survival rate, but maybe that little ship had more intelligence and developed faults whenever a mission came along that would be sure to prove disastrous for its life expectancy - artificial AI might have been cleverer than we thought, not even letting on that it knew what was what!

The episode had some spectacular sequences for what was essentially a bottle show on (mainly), standing sets, the Valiant obviously a reuse of the Defiant. Except it was slightly more than that because we'd never seen a Ready Room on the Defiant, yet Watters has one, and it's not tiny, either. We'd seen the Mess, Sickbay, Engine Room, Transporter and Brig before (actually we hadn't, I was thinking of Dukat's transfer in 'Waltz,' but that was aboard the USS Honshu), so it was satisfying to see what a Ready Room would have looked like in the Defiant's style. But Red Squad only got the best, whether they deserved it or not, and Watters needed somewhere private he could swallow his pills. It's from this, if not addiction, then certainly high level of dependence on stimulants that first gives us warning signs about this Captain. He's young, yes, but we've seen plenty of young members of Starfleet that have been more than competent and succeeded thanks to their training. Being part of the elite cadet group, Red Squad, you'd expect the training to be even better, but I can't help thinking that the group was a folly, created in arrogance, but with the best intentions, to provide a fast track to success for the most promising candidates. Did they not learn from things like 'The First Duty' that a cult of personality could lead to trouble, and even more when it's a cult of excellence, teaching them to elevate themselves above the common cadet and forgetting that humility and the ability to learn from mistakes is important, too.

In story terms it's great to see Red Squad again, not a forgotten piece of Starfleet's recent history, but something that's been kept alive, no doubt with the best intentions. Just because Admiral Leighton used them to mount a military coup at the heart of Starfleet and impose martial law, doesn't mean the idea of gathering together the best and brightest was a bad one, and they couldn't be held entirely responsible for the manipulation by a paranoid Admiral. Still, the organisation should have been shamed and put to work reclaiming their honour, carefully adding checks and balances to ensure cadets were rounded and not kept in an ivory tower. It could actually have benefited the standard classes to have these highly skilled cadets merged in, as it would have given targets to keep up with and inspiration. I suppose that was what the organisation itself was about, aspiring to be like Red Squad an impetus for success at the Academy. The trouble comes, I think, from bad leadership, and letting these cadets believe they were so much better than they were. Captain Ramirez is to blame for much of what happened on the Valiant: either he promoted Watters to Captain with the understanding he'd do everything he could to get the ship and crew home, or, more likely, as Watters would have obeyed the chain of command, he allowed him carte blanche and thought him ready to lead. This would chime with the misguided idea of Red Squad's elite status, their own ability so drilled into them that they couldn't help but believe they were capable of anything. Those at the top were so blinded by the prestige of creating this group they failed the cadets in the most important of ways.

Ramirez can't take all the blame - for all we know he did want Watters to return home, and Watters would never have told anyone, it's just that the attitude of Red Squad and the culture of it all makes it seem like those in authority shared and even ingrained that view into them. As Nog says at the end, in the most telling exchange with the last surviving member of the Valiant's crew, Watters may have been a good man, he may even have been a great man, but he was a bad Captain. It made me think of the words of Zefram Cochrane: "Don't try to be a great man, just be a man." Watters should have remembered these words of wisdom, then perhaps being a good Captain would have followed, because you felt he was pushing himself to live up to the creed of Red Squad, rather than reaching a balance that experience would have given him. Even his First Officer is slightly concerned (a single moment of humanity for her), that he keeps pulling extra shifts, but she doesn't have the character to stand up to him, nor does she ever see any reason to, she just thinks she's being a good Exec, when she should have been voicing concerns. Her coldness and sarcasm don't engender an environment in which the crew could talk to her or go through her to the Captain, so the whole chain of command was not that in which any alternative points of view were encouraged. At first, Jake is tolerated, Red Squad's enthusiasm drowning out his public protest, it's when he talks to Dorian and gets to the heart of a scared cadet that just wants to go home, that he becomes a problem. And when he tries to get Nog to open his eyes he's seen as a threat by Watters.

With an experienced Ensign aboard, Watters' perception of himself and the importance of his crew goes up another notch: now he has a 'real' member of Starfleet to order around, and one that is eager and willing to help, and has learnt a few tricks in his short career thanks to the experience of those he served with. The confusion over rank when Nog first comes aboard was an interesting issue, something that wouldn't normally be brought up. You'd think Nog would outrank them all, but he's also unsure of such a situation and is so used to following orders that he takes to Watters quickly, especially as the Captain knows how to play him. Except I don't think he was playing him, he genuinely seemed appreciative of Nog's talent and knowledge. First Officer Farris seemed a little sceptical at first, but I didn't sense jealousy, just uncertainty over whether it was the best idea to trust an outsider to Red Squad, not to mention he brought the baggage of a civilian friend with him, whom she did not approve of at all! But Nog fits in so well it's not an issue, and he's soon an asset that encourages Watters on his quest to complete the mission.

The Captain is seen to be both harsh and demanding (when dealing with Dorian, he has no sympathy, and rather than stoop to 'babysitting,' he prefers to engender hardness, where a real Captain would have listened, at least, even if they eventually told her to pull herself together). But Watters isn't deliberately being a bad Captain, everything he does is because he thinks it's best for the mission, the burden of responsibility on him, without experience to temper it. Despite coming across as slightly remote, he seems strong and keeps the trust of the cadets (and having rescued Jake and Nog from a Jem'Hadar ship gives them all a morale boost). It's his inspirational speeches and strong rhetoric that captures the imaginations of the crew, and one reason Nog abandons his doubts, drawn into a dream come true for him - rising up the ranks and being made Chief Engineer is what brings him totally onboard. His angry conversation with Jake when the latter tries to convince him that Watters is crazy, the power gone to his head so that he can't make sensible decisions, shows that he may have a slight realisation inside that his friend is right, but doesn't want to give up on his dream, as well as the easy attitude to fall into that Jake isn't one them, has never been like him, forgetting that it was their differences that first made them friends. Once again, it's fascinating to see how they've swapped roles, Nog the servant of Starfleet, doing what's right for the good of all, Jake openly more selfish, not sure what the good of all is. It's a clash that has been so well grown from the seeds of the early seasons.

You'd think after his experiences with Red Squad in the Season 4 two-parter, 'Homefront' and 'Paradise Lost' that Nog would have been more cautious, but they appeal to his Ferengi single-mindedness. Jake's immune because he doesn't want the same thing and sees that they shouldn't be trying to do what even the most experienced Starfleet officers would be loath to. That only exacerbates the problem, telling Red Squad they can't do something other Starfleet officers couldn't or wouldn't attempt prods their arrogance that they can be the best, even though they're still learning. The reason they were caught behind enemy lines was because the Valiant was circumnavigating the entire Federation! How long would that even take? They must have been doing it pretty fast, not stopping off too often. Not that we know how big Federation space is, it's just the idea sounds so vast, fitting neatly into Red Squad's inflated opinion of themselves. One thing I did think very special was the story of their first battle - the episode very well written, the people's attitudes of commitment to duty (or nostalgia for home in Dorian's case), and it's especially clear in the zeal with which Watters proudly recounts it. But it's not only the manner in which he tells it, but the story itself: rather than being about prowess in destruction, firepower and dogfighting à la 'Star Wars,' in the best Starfleet tradition it's about technical skill and teamwork as Valiant raced against the Cardassian ship to get main power back online, and succeeded, rewarded with the decisive tactical advantage. It's this spirit of cooperation of individuals' technical ability that won the day, and that's a great message and example of the Starfleet ethic.

Time is also given to building up these characters, so while we know the pill-popping, inspirational leader of Captain Watters quite well, and his abrasive First Officer, we also have time to get to know the sensitive Dorian Collins, who's taken the role of Chief Medical Officer. She does come across as a little weak for a member of Red Squad, but after eight months there are probably more like her that feel homesick. Her description of home, living on the Moon, or Luna as they apparently call it in the 24th Century, is almost poetic, and what's rare for a Starfleet officer she mentions that seeing the sun come up each morning was like seeing God. I wonder if she was portrayed as weak so they were showing that only weak humans still have any ties to such ideas, or whether it was just a subversive moment of slipping in the concept that some still follow God, since modern Trek tended to be humanist, even though, and especially on 'DS9,' aliens were allowed to show faith quite openly. The conversation also points up other little nuggets of 24th Century life, such as Jake admitting he'd never been to the Moon, even though he'd lived on Earth, just as you often hear about people who live in some famous city like London, say, but haven't been to see Buckingham Palace because there's no hurry - it's nice to see this aspect of human nature still exists, albeit on a larger scale! It was also fun to hear Joseph Sisko still calls it the Moon, because he tended to be more old-fashioned, and even though the society had moved on, space travel and many moons, Joseph's very much a homebody of Earth and would still look at it as The Moon.

It's worrying when Jake is summoned to almost a tribunal for having a simple conversation, the thought police out in force. It shows Watters and his regime enforce the company line with no deviation. Farris had a good point that it could affect how the cadets did their duty, but it just shows how his crew aren't ready for long months of combat, something he and Farris would never accept. Especially when they were resolved to carry out the mission laid out for them, and not only that, but take it a stage further than even Starfleet would have allowed: instead of just sending a probe to collect data on the biggest, baddest ship in the area, they decide that's not enough and they have to try and take it out, too! I have to say this is where things take a turn towards the unbelievable. How could they even get close to this Dominion battlecruiser so that it was on sensors, and yet remain undetected from it? I can buy a tiny probe might not be detected, but they had to get near the enemy before launching it. And what was this huge ship doing, just swanning through space? Was it still under construction internally? There are so many questions about how it was even a remotely achievable goal, especially considering the Valiant doesn't have the advantage of a cloaking device. The ship itself was bristling with weaponry, massive and bulky, so I could believe that a targeted surprise attack at impulse speed (just as Nog talks about when trying tactics to deal with the pursuing Jem'Hadar ship on the Runabout), might have a chance, adding to that fact the attack being so foolish it wouldn't have been expected so deep in Dominion-held space, but even so…

Then it becomes 'Star Wars' where the bold little ship has to hit a specific point on the enemy 'Death Star' to set off a chain reaction, but sadly there was no Obi-Wan around to remind them to use the force, or in this case, common sense. While Watters could inspire, when it came down to the wire, he had no backup plan and bit off more than he could chew. Responsible for his crew, all he did was become responsible for their deaths. So good at persuasion, he'd even convinced himself he could do it. Cruelly, it seems like they've succeeded as explosions envelop the vast structure, but then we realise it's just surface damage as it swings down into attack posture. The design of the ship worked really well, an outgrowth of established Dominion technology, and it could have shown Shinzon's Scimitar from 'Star Trek Nemesis' a thing or two about exuding menace and having realistic weight and heft to it, as it banks slowly, bringing itself to bear on the enemy rather than whipping around like a child's toy. The creation of the battle scenes worked well, the Valiant's fiery demise as even the ship's escape pods get picked off or lost in the mothership's own destruction an excellent final denouncement of Watters' leadership.

Although we see Starfleet represented at its worst, we also see its best side, too, with inspirational speeches, the story of banding together and defeating the Cardassian ship with wits and technical skill, and montages of busy cadets preparing for battle (nice to hear some nautical themes in there, too - sadly no music from this episode is on the CD collection), and though the attack was futile, it was an exciting moment as the bridge explodes around them, even the Captain's Chair being ripped from its mounting, which shows you're in trouble. Conversely, Dorian was pretty safe to jump on the helm - after a console's exploded once it doesn't usually erupt again, though how it would still be working is another thing! Attention to detail continues to be strong, and I liked that they brought back one of the cadets we saw in Red Squad previously, the same actor playing Riley Shepard (a shame he was only ever a background character, and never developed). They went to the trouble of updating the Red Squad uniform with the same texture as we see in the new Starfleet uniforms, while keeping them the same style and colour as before, and one reference that might have slipped past the general viewer: Dorian grew up in Tycho City, which had been mentioned in 'First Contact.' I also like that Nog is shown to be a pragmatic member of Starfleet, unafraid to retreat when he knows nothing constructive can be done, both in the Runabout during the Starbase attack, and aboard the Valiant, he knows when it's time to leave, not in a cowardly way, but fully in command of himself under fire, never flustered.

One epiphany I had was that Red Squad is what the Abramsverse 'TOS' characters are: a bunch of youngsters doing brave, but foolhardy things which even the Vulcan crewmembers don't point out are illogical (there were at least two aboard Valiant, which would make sense, as Vulcans tend to be top of the class). Arrogant, annoying, and doing things that Starfleet wouldn't agree with, that sums up both crews! I wasn't sure if Sisko was out searching for his son and Nog, as he seemed so calm as if it was merely a patrol, and I'm not sure how much time had passed since they went missing, and the Ferengi would know they hadn't arrived. The Starbase attack would probably have alerted Starfleet, and knowing the Runabout was in the area might have tipped them off. It's actually a real relief to go from the madness of overconfidence and mess of destruction on the Valiant, to the clam, reasoned adult officers on the Defiant. You suddenly feel safe after everything had gone to pot. Red Squad were asked a question and found wanting, without an answer, and while it was a tragic loss, it should serve as a warning to those at the Academy that want to engender the correct Starfleet values in cadets. This may not have been a happy episode, it may not even have been an educational episode, but it was a great episode, and that's all you need!

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