Julian in "Nor the Battle to the Strong"

[SurfingtheInterweb]

This episode is very good, really compelling and introspective themes and a very moving microcosmic reflection of war. It's also some of Julian Bashir's hottest moments (he was literally captivating to look at this episode), but that's besides the point. WHY was there no punishment for taking Jake to an active war zone? Well, not even punishment, but not even a stern talking to from Sisko! Jake is a civilian, and a very fresh "adult". Now he's probably got PTSD for life, and we don't see Sisko talk to Bashir once.

Did Julian make the right choice? Does he deserve to be disciplined? Or maybe it happened off screen. I believe Jake learned a valuable lesson and earned life experience, but I am shocked Sisko had nothing to say to Bashir about it. I just wonder what was going through Bashir's head. He says himself "what was I thinking?", and the truth is that he wanted to go, but Jake was holding him back. So, when Jake insisted he was good to go, of course he did it anyway. He's a doctor. He wants to be where he's needed, just like in "The Quickening".

 

[Tosk]

Or maybe it happened off screen.

Yes.

...Maybe.

Julian didn't take him into battle after all. He took him to a risky place to save lives.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

The Enterprise took civilians into battle all the time.

 

[Farscape One]

This episode is very good, really compelling and introspective themes and a very moving microcosmic reflection of war. It's also some of Julian Bashir's hottest moments (he was literally captivating to look at this episode), but that's besides the point. WHY was there no punishment for taking Jake to an active war zone? Well, not even punishment, but not even a stern talking to from Sisko! Jake is a civilian, and a very fresh "adult". Now he's probably got PTSD for life, and we don't see Sisko talk to Bashir once.

Did Julian make the right choice? Does he deserve to be disciplined? Or maybe it happened off screen. I believe Jake learned a valuable lesson and earned life experience, but I am shocked Sisko had nothing to say to Bashir about it. I just wonder what was going through Bashir's head. He says himself "what was I thinking?", and the truth is that he wanted to go, but Jake was holding him back. So, when Jake insisted he was good to go, of course he did it anyway. He's a doctor. He wants to be where he's needed, just like in "The Quickening".

It's an interesting question.

On the one hand, Sisko dressed down Worf in "RULES OF ENGAGEMENT" saying that Starfleet officers don't put civilians at risk or even potentially at risk. (Though to be fair, that situation was more putting civilians at risk because you are fighting in a battle while escorting a convoy, rather than entering a field hospital tending to wounded and not participating in combat yourself.)

On the other hand, Sisko also said in "CALL TO ARMS" that whether he likes it or not, Jake is an adult and capable of making his own choices.


I actually don't think Sisko would have given Bashir a stern talking to or anything of the like because of two things.

1. Julian is a doctor first and a Starfleet officer second. (He has said so before.) Since this was a distress call and they were in desperate need of doctors, he was fulfilling his obligation as a doctor. (And as a Starfleet officer, too.)

2. Bashir had the consent of Jake, who is indeed an adult, to bring him along to answer the distress call. If Jake were still underage, it would be a different question and possibly would not have gone... but because he's an adult, and understood the risks, it was Jake's choice to go along with Bashir.

The Enterprise took civilians into battle all the time.

This is true. However, even though we have no on screen evidence of this, it's likely that those civilians got to be there under the agreement that they are subject to whatever the captain decides. Even if that means going into battle. As adults, they have that right.

Children, on the other hand, don't get that option... their parents are making that choice for them. And to be perfectly honest, I don't think it's a good idea for children to be on a Starfleet ship when they can be called into battle on a moment's notice. Or possibly get destroyed by a subspace phenomenon. Or have the ship infected by a virus that turns everyone into prehistoric creatures.


(This also made Captain Keogh of the Odyssey a decent captain... he offloaded all civilians BEFORE going into the Gamma Quadrant, where it ultimately was destroyed. This is in sharp contrast to Captain Donald Varley of the Yamato... Picard asked him if he would like to move some of the civilians to the Enterprise after Varley told him he lost a bunch of people from a lowered force field in an open shuttlebay. His reply was, "That would be premature." 2 minutes later, she blows up, with ALL hands lost.)

 

[kkt]

Regarding the Odyssey, thank Dax, because she reminded Captain Keogh to offload nonessential personnel.

 

[Tosk]

Regarding the Odyssey, thank Dax, because she reminded Captain Keogh to offload nonessential personnel.

There's nothing in the episode to suggest he wasn't going to do it regardless of Dax's snarky comment.

 

[kkt]

There's nothing in the episode to suggest he wasn't going to do it regardless of Dax's snarky comment.

There's also nothing to suggest that he was about to and just hadn't gotten around to it yet. Because you always want to wait until the last second to tell hundreds of people they need to get off the ship.

 

[Tosk]

In that vein, there's also nothing to suggest he actually did ever bother to offload the civilians.

wait until the last second

We're pretending that three hours* is last second?
*Actually a little under, because at some point the departure time gets moved up.

 

[Oddish]

This also made Captain Keogh of the Odyssey a decent captain... he offloaded all civilians BEFORE going into the Gamma Quadrant, where it ultimately was destroyed.

In that vein, there's also nothing to suggest he actually did ever bother to offload the civilians.

I'm sure he did.

By the way, that whole business with the Odyssey was dumb as . Not because it got blown up (that was horrific, because it showed both the Jem'Hadar's evil and their fanaticism). It was because the 42-deck Galaxy class was absolutely getting pasted, while the three runabouts were getting hit with the same shield-penetrating weapons, but all survived with no casualties. Any weapons that would do the kind of damage the Odyssey was taking, they should have obliterated a runabout with one shot.