10. Sisko Knows The Personal Cost Of Failure
Episode Evidence: The Emissary Going right back to the opening moments of Deep Space Nine, we saw the then Commander Sisko face the greatest loss in his life...the death of his wife Jennifer at the Battle of Wolf 359. Part of the Federation fleet sent to fight the Borg (and Locutus), the first officer experienced first hand what failure can bring. Not only is his ship destroyed, but he is forced to leave with wife, trapped in the wreckage, in an effort to save his son Kake and escape. From that first scene we know that Sisko understands the cost of going up against an enemy and failing and this is something that follows him through to his role in the ongoing war against the Dominion. He would experience a similar loss again with the murder of his best friend Jadzia Dax at the end of season 6. All Starfleet Captains know the consequences of failure but none as keenly as Benjamin Sisko. And for your argument... KIRK: The only man who can compare to Sisko on this level - the murder of his son Marcus at the hands of Klingons. Though with Spock's death at the end of Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, he knows that sometimes to win the day you have to make great sacrifices. PICARD: He never quite faced loss on the level of Sisko. Sure he lost his only family to a fire, but that was accidental. It was never as the result of failing to defeat an enemy. JANEWAY: Through her seven-season tenure, Janeway never really had someone she was close to. Sure she lost her boyfriend back on Earth (he naturally assumed she was dead) but there was no other family to speak off. While she keenly felt the loss of any crew-member in her attempt to lead them home, she never suffered a devastating loss. Only the Year Of Hell two-parter came close and that was an alternate version anyway. ARCHER: Nice enough chap. He had a dog. Perhaps having the rug stolen out from under him by making the Star Trek: Enterprise finale a Next Generation clip show? (Scott Bakula apparently did write an angry letter to the producers, and rightly so!)