Star Trek: 10 Starfleet Officers Who Betrayed The Federation
7. Ro Laren
Ensign, later Lieutenant, Ro Laren's story is one of those that tugs at the heartstrings because, when it came down to the wire, she felt absolutely forced to make her decision to leave Starfleet. While her intentions are purely noble, she is forced to pull a phaser on Commander Riker to escape. While she doesn't fire - and Riker actually wishes her luck - this is seen by Captain Picard as a pure betrayal of her oath.
Ro was born and raised in a Bajoran refugee camp, meaning that she had direct experience with the brutal treatment visited by the Cardassians. The plight of the Maquis seemed like a cause that she simply couldn't ignore. While Starfleet debated the finer points of the Treaty that delivered Federation citizens into the Cardassians' hands, the Maquis took up arms to do something about it.
Ro was selected to infiltrate them, gaining as much intel as possible and delivering what she could back to Starfleet. Perhaps predictably, she was unable to ignore the suffering and pain that she found. Her fate was somewhat sealed when her new mentor, Macias, was murdered by Cardassians in front of her.
Though her betrayal of Starfleet came from the purest of intentions, Captain Picard's face says it all in the closing moments of Preemptive Strike.
On a closing note, with the destruction of the Maquis by the Dominion - but no confirmed body of Ro Laren - this writer chooses to believe she is still out there, making her way.