12 Genius Decisions By Star Trek Captains
1. Rachel Garrett Decides To Die Defending Klingons
Rachel Garrett may be the most influential captain to ever take command of a ship named Enterprise.
You heard that right.
That’s because if it weren’t for one pivotal decision, made by Garrett, the Federation itself would be destroyed by the Klingons. So, how did she save the galaxy from Klingon domination? To explain that we have to go back in time a few decades.
In the 2340s Captain Garrett, while in command of the Enterprise 1701-C, responded to a distress call from Neandra III. Neandra III was a civilian Klingon outpost under attack from a group of Romulan Warbirds.
Now, the Federation, at the time, was not on the friendliest of terms with either the Romulans or the Klingons. A lesser officer might have let these two bitter enemies kill each other. That’s not what Garrett did though.
Garrett made an ethical and brilliant decision to defend the Klingon outpost. But, the Enterprise drifts into a temporal anomaly (because of course, it does, this is Star Trek). The ship and her crew are transported decades forward into an alternate timeline.
There they learn from Captain Picard that Starfleet is at war with the Klingons. What's worse, the Federation is on the eve of total annihilation. The only way to save the timeline is for Garrett and her crew to travel back and face certain death at the hands of the Romulans.
But in defending the Klingon outpost they will lay the groundwork for an enduring peace. So, for the second time, Garrett chooses to sacrifice herself, her crew, and her ship for the good of the entire galaxy.
A truly brilliant decision.