10 Star Trek ‘Special Movie Events’ The Fans Want To See

3. The Setlick III Massacre

Star Trek The Wounded
CBS Media Ventures

The Attack on Khitomer. Jack Crusher's death. And now the massacre of Setlik III. I promise folks, I'm feeling OK!

This hugely formative event in Miles O'Brien's history is oft-discussed in TNG and DS9, though never seen. There is a method behind this - as DS9 was headed towards the Dominion War, featuring the Cardassians as their allies, it could feel slightly redundant to go back and depict the earlier Cardassian wars with Starfleet.

The Wounded gave us Captain Benjamin Maxwell, and his single-minded crusade against the Cardassians. It fell to O'Brien to talk the man down, based on their mutual history, serving together, and surviving Setlik III.

This pivotal moment in Cardassian-Federation relations would rear its head again in Tribunal, where O'Brien continues the trend of suffering for the enjoyment of the writers.

By all accounts, it was an horrific assault, with civilians very much in the line of fire. While there is very little chance of the Cardassians coming out of it looking good, there is a fascinating story to be told from the point of view of the soldiers on the ground.

Do they remember the massacre as O'Brien and Maxwell do? Are they truly the villains as history remembers, or just another sad example of a leader ordering an assault, carried out by soldiers just following orders?

 
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Contributor
Contributor

Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"