10 Worst Ever First Officers In Star Trek

Lieutenant Worf, as he was then, served as Data's first officer when both Picard and Riker were abducted by Arctus Barran and his mercenaries. On paper, Worf seemed like the perfect candidate. He served as head of security for years, following the death of Tasha Yar, and had excelled in his duties on many occasions. 

The ever-present joke - how many times can Worf be denied in a single episode - may well have played into his attitude in Gambit. When attempting to get a course of action approved by Data, he found himself stonewalled on several occasions. On the one hand, this was business as usual for Worf, right? After all, can one truly claim to be an officer on the Enterprise-D if they haven't said no to him at least once?

However, Worf's fatal flaw here was letting that frustration with Data show. After being given the authority to proceed with a course of action, he quite obviously and unprofessionally expressed his irritation, putting Data on the spot, and quite frankly making a fool of himself. Thankfully, this was an isolated incident (as technically he wasn't serving as first officer during the events of Change Of Heart) so Worf can be forgiven, especially with his gracious acceptance of Data's rebuke in private. 

If anything, as inappropriate as Worf's actions were, they were a good example of an officer on the way to becoming a more mature, efficient one. And one who knows when to mind their manners.