When Jake accompanies Doctor Bashir to a conference in order to write an article he doesn't realise just how boring it will be, so when they receive a message saying that a Federation colony is being over-run by Klingons he encourages the Doctor to go and help thinking it will provide him with a more interesting story. When he gets there he realises that war isn't that glamorous; the first injured person he meets says he was injured in battle but it is clear that he shot himself to get away from the fighting. Jake is shocked to learn that a trained member of Star Fleet would display cowardice. When the power supply is destroyed Jake must accompany Dr. Bashir to the runabout to retrieve a back up power supply but when they come under fire Jake flees and after stumbling across a battle field he finds himself in a shell hole with a dying soldier who gave his life so that his squad could get away. Here Jake must confront his own perceived cowardice. He manages to get back to the hospital where he is relieved to find that Dr. Bashir has survived. They don't have long though till the Klingon's attack and when they do Jake must grab a rifle and fight if he is to survive.
Up until now Jake had been a little to perfect, sure he didn't want to join Star Fleet but we had been told that he showed great promise as a writer. Here though we see that he is no less flawed than ordinary people of his age, and few of us know how we'd behave in such a situation so it is hard to condemn his character's actions. The only thing I wasn't so keen on in this episode was that when his father heard that Jake was in a combat zone he took the Defiant and flies for three days to get there, this doesn't seem that believable, after all it isn't his personal ship.
Up until now Jake had been a little to perfect, sure he didn't want to join Star Fleet but we had been told that he showed great promise as a writer. Here though we see that he is no less flawed than ordinary people of his age, and few of us know how we'd behave in such a situation so it is hard to condemn his character's actions. The only thing I wasn't so keen on in this episode was that when his father heard that Jake was in a combat zone he took the Defiant and flies for three days to get there, this doesn't seem that believable, after all it isn't his personal ship.