10 Greatest Redemption Stories In Star Trek

Speaking of not speaking of Nick Locarno. Before he became a better planet, he was making for a shoddy human being and an even lousier Starfleet Academy cadet. Out for glory rather than just good grades, Locarno gathered a band of followers under his Nova Squadron wing, one of whom was then cadet Sito Jaxa. The team's practice run of the banned Kolvoord Starburst manoeuvre ended in tragedy – the death of fellow squad member Joshua Albert.

Locarno's influence notwithstanding, none of Nova Squadron lacked their own agency. Sito, like the rest of the team, chose to attempt the manoeuvre in the first place and then to sit there and cover up the truth about the accident. Locarno was out for his own ego, but the others weren't above flattering and protecting theirs. Had it not been for Wesley's change of testimony after the hearing had ended – Picard's 'first duty' speech had kicked in last minute – Sito and all would have walked away with little more than a formal reprimand. As it was, they were nearly expelled, but in the end, they just had to repeat the year.

To Sito's credit, she gathered her strength and moved forward with courage, going on to graduate before her first-year friend Beckett Mariner. At Captain Picard's request, Sito then made it on board the Enterprise-D. "I wanted to make sure that you got a fair chance to redeem yourself," he told her, after a test-of-a-dressing-down. We're all still in tears about what happened to Sito next. "She was the finest example of a Starfleet officer, and a young woman of remarkable courage," Picard would say over the comm. Later, Mariner, through Sito, would find her own form of redemption, realising that, in death, her good friend would want her to live.