Was Worf Really In The Wrong?

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

One of my favorite DS9 episodes is Rules of Engagement. I like deeper looks into Klingon culture and how the warrior ethos extends to all facets of it including the law. The deus ex machina ending was silly and tacked on, but it doesn't ruin the episode at all for me though.

One thing I always thought odd though was the idea that Worf did anything wrong by firing on the ship. What he did was a sound military tactic. If a cloaked ship is hitting and running and you have a chance to intercept it with its shields down would you really pass up on it on the off chance that a civilian ship would wander into a battle. I presume if Worf hadn't fired at that exact second he wouldn't have been able to destroy the ship so was he really supposed to wait to identify the ship and give it time to raise it shields, escape destruction, and go on firing at the Definat?

 

[Sykonee]

Thing is, he's a Starfleet Officer, therefore it's their duty to eliminate all risk to civilians during combat situations. He was acting as a Klingon warrior in this case, making decisions based on combat instinct.

In most tactical scenarios, he probably did make the right decision. However, it was the wrong Starfleet tactical decision.

 

[happydave]

I'd say Worf was in the wrong.

If this was a warzone with little change of civilians being around then perhaps you can say it was a sound military tactic but this didn't happen in a warzone. He was helping aid a bunch of civilians who are nearby and there was a fair possibility that the transport ship would be involved as the Klingons were attacking it consistently.

I wouldn't say it's an "off chance" the ship appeared as Worf knew there were civilian transports in the area.

Sisko is right to rip Worf a new one at the end of the episode.

 

[ProtoAvatar]

Was Worf right or wrong?

There is a fact that in war, most times, either you can't be 100% certain that you're firing on the enemy/not someone else or you are dead.
Why? Because, if you wait until you're 100% certain, you wait until the enemy is killing you/killed you.

So - you fire on someone you are reasonably sure is the enemy.
Was Worf's supposition that the target was a BOP reasonable aka probable to be true?

 

[Jono]

If it were not a Klingon trick Worf would have just killed dozens or hundreds of civilians in a completely avoidable incident. Identifying a target before you start shooting at it is there to prevent the accidentally/non-intentional killing of non-combatants, so he was in the wrong.

The Defiant is a powerful warship, knowing where the enemy is going to decloak will still allow it to get in some good shots even if it waits for confirmation of the ship's id. It takes only two or three paired blasts from the Defiant to take out a Bird of Prey, even if the Defiant doesn't destroy the other ship it would probably deal it some serious damage.

Also Worf must have been telegraphing his tactics for the Klingons to know exactly when to decloak the transport. Maybe Worf needs a lesson on how not to tip your hand.

 

[ProtoAvatar]

If it were not a Klingon trick Worf would have just killed dozens or hundreds of civilians in a completely avoidable incident. Identifying a target before you start shooting at it is there to prevent the accidentally/non-intentional killing of non-combatants, so he was in the wrong.

The Defiant is a powerful warship, knowing where the enemy is going to decloak will still allow it to get in some good shots even if it waits for confirmation of the ship's id. It takes only two or three paired blasts from the Defiant to take out a Bird of Prey, even if the Defiant doesn't destroy the other ship it would probably deal it some serious damage.

Also Worf must have been telegraphing his tactics for the Klingons to know exactly when to decloak the transport. Maybe Worf needs a lesson on how not to tip your hand.

So - the difference in power between the Defiant and a BOP is so great that the Defiant can afford to wait and take a few hits and still easily win the battle. Fair enough.

But when you and the enemy are evenly matched and the one who scores the first hits has a decisive advantage, is it a sound tactic to wait? Or is it suicidal?

 

[SonOfMogh]

The Defiant is a powerful warship, knowing where the enemy is going to decloak will still allow it to get in some good shots even if it waits for confirmation of the ship's id. It takes only two or three paired blasts from the Defiant to take out a Bird of Prey, even if the Defiant doesn't destroy the other ship it would probably deal it some serious damage.

This did annoy me slightly, based on all the evidence we've seen leading up to this, the BOP shouldn't have lasted past the first few shots from the Defiant. And I couldn't imagine an old Battlecruiser being much stronger than the updated Keldons seen in 'Defiant', Riker predicted taking on 3 of those simultaneously would be a quick victory.

Should have just made it 2 fairly new cruisers and have the situation seem more critical.

 

[Tomalak]

Sisko is right to rip Worf a new one at the end of the episode.

Yeah, exactly. I liked the episode, but it was a shame it had that cop-out ending. It could have made for an interesting arc, with Worf becoming less of a warrior because he's constantly making sure he doesn't screw up again.

 

[Hartzilla2007]

If it were not a Klingon trick Worf would have just killed dozens or hundreds of civilians in a completely avoidable incident.

Yes and all because the freighter captain was an idiot for decloaking IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIRE FIGHT! And why the hell would a klingon CIVILIAN SHIP have a cloaking device anyway? Isn't that military technology? I mean when Vreenak had one on his shuttle it made since seeing as he was a senator and thus important. But how the hell is a freighter important enough for a cloaking device?

 

[Jono]

The Defiant is a powerful warship, knowing where the enemy is going to decloak will still allow it to get in some good shots even if it waits for confirmation of the ship's id. It takes only two or three paired blasts from the Defiant to take out a Bird of Prey, even if the Defiant doesn't destroy the other ship it would probably deal it some serious damage.

This did annoy me slightly, based on all the evidence we've seen leading up to this, the BOP shouldn't have lasted past the first few shots from the Defiant. And I couldn't imagine an old Battlecruiser being much stronger than the updated Keldons seen in 'Defiant', Riker predicted taking on 3 of those simultaneously would be a quick victory.

Should have just made it 2 fairly new cruisers and have the situation seem more critical.

Probably why they were using the tactic in the first place, apart from it been part of the plan. Their ships couldn't fight the Defiant face to face so they use their cloaking device for tactical advantage.

Apart from the surprise decloak and attack we pretty much never see any cloaking tactics by the Roms and Klingons. It was nice to see them use it in a smart way. In the latter half of the Dominion War it was almost as if the Roms and Klingons forgot they had cloaking devices and they just went around uncloaked...crazy. I know the Dominion had more success with detecting cloaked ships then the Feds, etc but it was still nowhere near 100%.

If it were not a Klingon trick Worf would have just killed dozens or hundreds of civilians in a completely avoidable incident.

Yes and all because the freighter captain was an idiot for decloaking IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIRE FIGHT! And why the hell would a klingon CIVILIAN SHIP have a cloaking device anyway? Isn't that military technology? I mean when Vreenak had one on his shuttle it made since seeing as he was a senator and thus important. But how the hell is a freighter important enough for a cloaking device?

Maybe the Klingons have no restrictions on who can use cloaking technology. We've seen civilian vessel with military technology before, usually denoted as defensive systems to protect the vessel from predation. A cloaking device would do the same for Klingon civilian vessels.

 

[Timo]

It may well be that were a Klingon ever to be accused of being a "civilian", he'd split his own belly out of shame. Or more probably split the accuser's belly.

(Thus, for the Klingon prosecutor to accuse Worf of slaying "Klingon civilians" would be doubly insulting for our favorite Klingon outcast!)

In the strategic sense, cloaking one's shipping is likely to be vastly more important than cloaking one's warships. If the enemy can't see your warships, but can see that your supplies are being shipped to Alpha Beta III, he knows your next attack will come from Alpha Beta III. And he can also stop that from happening, by intercepting your shipping. I wouldn't wonder a bit, then, if Klingons cloaked all of their shipping as a matter of course. (Which they of course do not do in "Sons and Daughters", in the middle of a war, thus seriously competing for the Darwin Award!)

They'd probably cloak the shipping at all times, too, not only during times that we might consider "war". For Klingons, the concept of "peacetime" might not exist - and even if it did, they wouldn't reveal that to the enemy by exposing their shipping at certain times, cloaking it at others.

this didn't happen in a warzone

But it did. It happened in a zone where warships fired on convoys, and where Starfleet fully expected such a thing to happen. Which might be all the reason the skipper of a passenger liner needs for activating his cloaking device... A Klingon skipper most of all, since he or she can expect a Cardassian retribution quite regardless of whether he or she is directly working for the Klingon military.

Having a noncombatant vessel enter the battle zone is not much of a plot hole - it was well established that the action took place in an area where both Klingons and Cardassians claimed ownership and shipped vital supplies around. Having said noncombatant decloak in the very center of the firefight is a less likely occurrence; but if the cloak were to suddenly and catastrophically fail, the likeliest place for it to do so would probably be in said firefight, not in empty space where there would be nothing to cause the failure.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Robert DeSoto]

I would've done the same thing. What are the odds that some idiot civilian captain is going to drop his cloak RIGHT in front of the USS Defiant. If you sneak up on an armed Federation starship and you get shot at, that's your own fault.

A Romulan Warbird did that to the USS Enterprise-D and Picard was like, you know suddenly decloaking like that could be dangerous. If would be too bad if your Warbird was damaged to due an umm, "unfortunate misunderstanding".

 

[John200]

No Worf was in the right.

The whole idea that he was in trouble for being ready in a fire fight is stupid.

The ship should not have decloaked in front of him plan ,and simple.

Shows how ridiculous the Federation was sometimes.

 

[happydave]

I would've done the same thing. What are the odds that some idiot civilian captain is going to drop his cloak RIGHT in front of the USS Defiant. If you sneak up on an armed Federation starship and you get shot at, that's your own fault.

I'd put it at a fair chance of happening. If you're the captain of a civilian ship and you're being attacked by klingons surely the smartest thing would be to run to the strongest Federation ship for protection. Keep your cloak up while you're running but when you're near the ship you'd drop your cloak so you can raise your shields. Sure it's not smart but it's still smarter than just taking a battering while hoping the Federation helps you.

I'd put it equal to if someone is shooting at you on the street and you run to a policeman for help. The policeman knows there's gunshots so is on alert. And if you end up jumping out infront of him he's completely in the wrong for shooting first and asking questions later.


Sure if it's a warzone it's different but again, we're not in a warzone. Worf was there to give aid, not to hunt Klingons.

 

[SpyOne]

I'm with Sisko on this.

WORF: I should not have accepted the mission.
SISKO: I'm glad you realise that. That was your first mistake. What was your second?
WORF: When the ship decloaked, I should have checked the target before I fired.
SISKO: You're damned right you should've checked. You fired at something you hadn't identified. You made a military decision to protect your ship and crew, but you're a Starfleet officer, Worf. We don't put civilians at risk or even potentially at risk to save ourselves. Sometimes that means we lose the battle and sometimes our lives. But if you can't make that choice, then you can't wear that uniform.
WORF: Yes, sir.
SISKO: At ease, Commander. Now, all that being true, the reality is no harm has been done. There are no dead children on your conscience. You got lucky.
WORF: I do not feel lucky.
SISKO: And that's why despite everything that's happened you're going to make a hell of a captain some day.

 

[ProtoAvatar]

A civilian ship decloaking in the midst of a fight is highly improbable:

The chance of the cloak malfunctioning at that exact time without the cloaked ship being hit by weapons (which would show up on everyone's sensors) is infinitesimal.

Also - when cloaked, the ship is safe. Decloaked, the ship exposes itself to both attack and friendly fire.
In these conditions, the ship decloaking is testament to the extreme idiocy of its captain - too stupid to be captain in the first place.

 

[Hartzilla2007]

I would've done the same thing. What are the odds that some idiot civilian captain is going to drop his cloak RIGHT in front of the USS Defiant. If you sneak up on an armed Federation starship and you get shot at, that's your own fault.

I'd put it at a fair chance of happening. If you're the captain of a civilian ship and you're being attacked by klingons surely the smartest thing would be to run to the strongest Federation ship for protection.

Um why would the Klingons attack their own freighter? The were after the ones the Defiant was escorting, NOT THEIR OWN. And if the klingons were attacking the freighter Worf blew up WHY WOULD THEY WANT TO PUT HIM ON TRIAL?

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

If Worf was in the wrong wouldn't that mean even if it had been the real BoP he destroyed he still would have been court-martialed? Since the real crime was apparently firing on a ship he hadn't identified doesn't that mean that any attack on a ship while cloaked should be a violation of Star Fleet policy? Was Kirk wrong in ST:TUC when he armed the missile to destroy the cloaked ship off the off chance that there was another cloak ship in the area that the missile might have hit?

 

[Robert DeSoto]

I would've done the same thing. What are the odds that some idiot civilian captain is going to drop his cloak RIGHT in front of the USS Defiant. If you sneak up on an armed Federation starship and you get shot at, that's your own fault.

I'd put it at a fair chance of happening. If you're the captain of a civilian ship and you're being attacked by klingons surely the smartest thing would be to run to the strongest Federation ship for protection. Keep your cloak up while you're running but when you're near the ship you'd drop your cloak so you can raise your shields. Sure it's not smart but it's still smarter than just taking a battering while hoping the Federation helps you.

I'd put it equal to if someone is shooting at you on the street and you run to a policeman for help. The policeman knows there's gunshots so is on alert. And if you end up jumping out infront of him he's completely in the wrong for shooting first and asking questions later.


Sure if it's a warzone it's different but again, we're not in a warzone. Worf was there to give aid, not to hunt Klingons.

You would run towards the cops in the middle of the shootout? You're gonna get shot. Either the cops will shoot you, thinking you're one of the bad guys. Or, if you actually manage to get close enough to the police, one of the bad guys shooting at the cops might miss and hit you instead.

When you hear gunshots, you run, duck, GTFO. You don't run towards anyone doing the shooting or getting shot at. And if you really need a cop to help you, you don't hide yourself, then jump out of nowhere in front of his line of fire.

Police have been known to shoot innocent people before. Lots of controversy when its an unarmed black male. Not saying that its justified or not. Just saying, don't trust the police to save your ass. run away.

 

[Peter the Younger]

This is one of those situations where our 21st century morality differs from that of the Federation. As the dialogue quoted by SpyOne makes clear, Starfleet officers are expected to have 99.99% certainty on the nature of the target before the take the shot, even if it puts them at a serious tactical disadvantage. We might look at that and think it's ridiculously naive, that it means Starfleet would get their asses kicked in any number of otherwise winnable scenarios, but that's the way they do business. So by their standards, Worf was in the wrong.