Valiant

Originally Appeared Here

Promise I'm not with the press on our way to Ferenginar,
Shenandoah's in distress before we're getting very far
Rescued by a children's crusade(1), straight out of the crib
Watters takes a shine to Nog, likes the cut of his jib
Puts him in charge of engineering, the whole kit and kaboodle
Says they can turn Dominion viterium into a wimpy wet noodle
Plan goes awry, crew is punished for his recklessness
Followed him blindly as he led them past a precipice
Like a previous Valiant, when a magnetic storm carried her(2)
To the edge of the galaxy and over the barrier
And Mitchell and Dehner(3), delusions of godhood, too
Tin-plated dictator overrated(4) what his squad could do
But some say it was his crew that cost him his objective
Like a trial at Tanuga(5), I'll present them both perspectives.

1. Disastrous 13th century crusade to convert Muslims in the Middle East to Christianity
2. Early exploration starship that was lost in 2065. Their disaster recorder was recovered by the Enterprise in the second TOS pilot "Where No Man Has Gone Before".
3. In the aforementioned "Where No Man Has Gone Before", Captain Kirk's friend Gary Mitchell acquires god-like powers and turns on the crew.
4. When attempting to provoke the Starfleet crew members in "The Trouble With Tribbles", Korax describes Kirk as "a swaggering, overbearing, tin-plated dictator with delusions of godhood."
5. In TNG's "A Matter of Perspective", Commander Riker is put on trial and both sides use the holodeck to present their version of events.