Star Trek: 10 Times Starfleet Officers Crossed The Line

5. Joseph M'Benga Commits Murder Behind The Wall - Under The Cloak Of War

One of the biggest questions surrounding Doctor Joseph M'Benga, following the climax of Under The Cloak Of War, was - did he do it deliberately, or was it an accident?

By it, we mean the death of General, later Ambassador, Dak'Rah. While audiences had seen some of the Klingon-Federation War in Star Trek: Discovery's first season, this episode delves into the trauma experienced by those surviving officers and soldiers who saw the worst that the war had to offer.

M'Benga, and Christine Chapel, had been stationed on J'Gal when Rah began his escape. This, before Rah's defection to Starfleet, still followed a brutal subjugation of the planet's people. M'Benga, while on the planet, had attempted to capture Rah before he left, earning the nickname 'The Butcher Of J'Gal.'

Reunited aboard the Enterprise, M'Benga and Rah came to blows - with M'Benga deliberately landing a killing blow. This, revealed later in Shuttle To Kenfori, was vengeance, pure and simple. In revealing that this was, in fact, a deliberate act on M'Benga's part, rather than self-defence, one must accept that he stepped so far over the line that there could be no coming back.

Thankfully for him, Pike refused to file a report (off-the-books missions are handy like that), which means M'Benga's career might be safe, even if his conscience carries the burden.