12 Stupidest Decisions By Star Trek Characters
4. Red Squad; Valiant
There's another Defiant Class starship!?
Yes, there is, but this one's not quite had the good fortune that the NX-74205 had. Her crew dead, any hopes of the mission succeeding are gone and there's only one logical route to take for the crew of cadets left without a captain.
Clearly, it's to keep on going and not only track down the Dominion Battle Cruiser that's been plaguing the fleet but destroy it.
Led by Cadet Tim Watters, whom viewers last saw as part of the Starfleet plot to take control of Earth in Homefront/Paradise Lost (season four), the trainees are in way over their head. As stupid decisions go, it's not just one of them here. Nog gets sucked into the hype when he and Jake are rescued and almost the whole crew are convinced that it's the correct path.
Or, it's suicide. Fans understand there's the expectation to complete the mission but the Dominion War was punishing the Federation and not only is this move a crazy appropriation of Starfleet hardware but there are the lives of every person on board. It takes Jake in the episode's final minutes to provide the slap of reality after the Valiant is obliterated with only 3 survivors.