…Nor the Battle to the Strong

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Star Trek: DS9 episode
"...Nor the Battle to the Strong"
Jake assists an injured fighter
Episode no.	101
Prod. code	502
Airdate	October 21, 1996
Writer(s)	Brice R. Parker Rene Echevarria
Director	Kim Friedman
Guest star(s)	Andrew Kavovit as Kirby Karen Austin as Kalandra Mark Holton as Bolian Lisa Lord as Nurse Jeb Brown as Ensign Danny Goldring as Burke
Year	2373
Episode chronology
Previous	"Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places"
Next	"The Assignment"

"...Nor the Battle to the Strong" is an episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the fourth episode of the fifth season.

[edit] Episode title

The episode title comes from a quote from Ecclesiastes (9:11), "...the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all."

[edit] Plot

Jake Sisko is returning from a medical conference with Dr. Bashir. Although Jake was intending to write an article about the doctor, he discovers he's having trouble finding anything interesting to write about.

This changes when they receive a distress call from a Federation colony which has been attacked by the Klingons. Jake is eager about the potential for a good story, and convinces Dr. Bashir to take him along to respond.

Jake finds he has trouble handling the chaotic emergency room situation at the hospital, particularly triage. One of the patients, a Starfleet officer, claims to have been shot in the foot by the Klingons... Bashir later discovers that the wound was self-inflicted, and intended to get him out of the fighting. Jake is disgusted by the man's cowardice.

Things at the outpost begin to look grim, and everyone expects that the Klingons will take the settlement in a matter of days if no reinforcements arrive. When the power goes out, Jake and Dr. Bashir attempt to retrieve a portable generator from the runabout, but on the way they are assaulted by explosions. Jake finds himself running in a blind panic, leaving Bashir behind.

While running, he encounters a dying Federation soldier. Jake wants to try and find help for him as a way to make up for his own cowardice, but the man is too far gone and dies.

When Jake returns to the cavern, he finds everyone relieved to find him. Because nobody saw him running, he claims he got disoriented and knocked unconscious. Bashir blames himself for putting Jake in danger, which makes Jake feel that much worse for his own failings, and more, his refusal to admit what he'd done.

The Klingons attack while Jake is sleeping. As the medical team tries to evacuate everybody, Jake is attacked by two Klingons. He picks up the phaser of a dead guard and begins firing wildly, causing a cave in, and knocking himself unconscious.

Jake wakes to learn that because of the cave in, the patients were able to escape. He's considered a hero, but he knows he isn't one, and so he decides to make the difficult decision of writing the truth in the article, concluding that the line between courage and cowardice was thinner than he'd thought.