Honestly, the Federation is mostly complicit in the suffering of the Maquis only insofar as they should have told them to shut up and pack their bags much earlier. Allowing handful of people who deliberately settled on unoccupied or Cardassian-claimed worlds to try and drag a trillion other people into a war over some place they've lived for twenty years would be incredibly unjust. You don't get to sit there shouting "54 40 or fight!" and then be annoyed when everyone else in the country decides that they don't feel like fighting for you and negotiate a treaty to create mutually agreeable and rational border. It's not even clear how many people on those worlds actually supported the Maquis causing trouble.
I think this was a very effective episode with no clear moral answers, and it shows in how this is still hotly debated after so many years. Even with the murky metaphysics of the transporter there's room for both the "Tuvok and Neelix are dead" and "Tuvok and Neelix are trapped inside someone that's inadvertently stolen their bodies". Does Tuvix have a right to condemn them - in a universe where the katra is a thing, no less - to die or disappear because of an accident?
As an interesting contrast, looking back at "The Enemy Within", Evil Kirk was certainly resisting a lot more strenuously than Tuvix was, but no one seems to have been saying he was murdered.
The Maquis keep stealing ships and weapons from the Federation and often operate out of Federation colonies in the Demilitarized Zone. Stealing the Defiant alone would be enough to justify going after them a lot harder than the Federation does.
Nita: fails to read the fine print
Darine: sets the print on fire, shouts "KHALEESI YES"
Vg'f rira shaavre vs lbh vzntvar gung gur ernfba 'Zvpunry' qvfpbaarpgf vf orpnhfr Pney be Gbz pbzr nybat, svaq Crnpu fpernzvat ng gur cubar, naq unatf vg hc.
(HW) "Lbh guvax gung rfpnyngrq dhvpxyl, Znex?" Qnevar nfxrq. "Unu! V'yy fubj lbh 'rfpnyngrq dhvpxyl!'"
You know, it's almost a shame that Mark is doing this now instead of last year. We had a lot of fun on RPG.net doing a live rewatch where we watched and commented on the episodes on the days they actually took place. (And then had a side thread of posts from our Eva universe twins.)
Guvf ernyyl vf gur svefg gvzr gung gur Sbhaqref pubbfr xrrcvat Bqb unccl bire gur tenaq fpurzrf bs gur Qbzvavba, zhpu yvxr gurl pbafvfgragyl qb gung rira jura gur jne vf ba. Va ergebfcrpg vg'f cerggl pyrne jung gurve cyna urer vf. Gurl xrcg gur pbzznaq grnz nyvir gb vagreebtngr naq trg nyy gur whvpl qrgnvyf bs gurve yvirf, naq gurl xrcg gur Qrsvnag vagnpg (naq gur erfg bs gur perj vzcevfbarq, nccneragyl) fb gung gurl pna svar-ghar gurve nccebnpu gb gur Srqrengvba. Bapr gurl unir rirelguvat gurl arrq, gurl whfg fraq gur Qrsvnag ubzr jvgu gur ragver pbzznaq perj pbzcbfrq bs Punatryvatf naq n Ibegn gb znxr crnpr jvgu gur Srqrengvba. Vs ab bar xabjf gur Punatryvatf rkvfg, ab bar'f tbvat gb rira pbafvqre gur cbffvovyvgl bs nqzvenyf naq zvavfgref naq, fnl, gur Srqrengvba cerfvqrag orvat ercynprq jvgu vzcbfgref.
Nyy guebja njnl orpnhfr Bqb jnagf gb tb onpx gb QF9 jvgu uvf sevraqf.
I'm going to echo everyone who's said they still get chills reading the Oath. Although with that said, having just read the interim collection, and spoilers for basically all the books: Gurfr gjb ner arire tbvat gb npghnyyl cnhfr naq ernq gur svar cevag orsber nterrvat gb fbzrguvat, ner gurl? "Jvmneq Bngu? Fvta zr hc! Fher, V'yy gnxr cneg va lbhe junyr cynl. Inpngvba? Cynargnel rinphngvba? JUNG PBHYQ CBFFVOYL TB JEBAT."
For medical doctors, and a few other specialities, it's routine in the most militaries to enter at Lt JG / 1st Lieutenant. This is because of the extra time it takes for them to complete their training and the fact that they immediately step into supervisory positions. Otherwise they'd fall behind their age peers, and also get paid even less compared to civilian doctors. Bashir may have needed to spend more time at the Academy or before it on medical training. I think you may be right about other advanced training also qualifying - witness whatever is up with Savik, who is consistently called lieutenant.
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