Summary
- Captain Picard saw potential in both Bajoran officers and wanted them to succeed, despite their troubled pasts.
- Ro Laren disappointed Picard with her betrayal and he still feels the sting of it 30 years later when she returns.
- Sito Jaxa's death may have influenced Ro's decision to join the Maquis, as she had already witnessed the loss of fellow Starfleet officers and held a grudge against the Cardassians.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) praised the young Bajoran Ensign Sito Jaxa (Shannon Fill) after her tragic death on Star Trek: The Next Generation, making the betrayal of Bajoran Ensign Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes) hit even harder. The Bajorans were introduced in the TNG season 5 episode "Ensign Ro," as a people who had faced years of subjugation due to the Cardassian occupation of their planet, Bajor. Ensign Ro Laren was the first Bajoran to appear in Star Trek, and she quickly proved to be one of the most popular new characters.
Before being assigned to the USS Enterprise-D, Ro had been court-martialed and demoted to the position of ensign for disobeying a direct order. Although Picard was initially against having Ro on the Enterprise due to her history, he later saw her potential and even became a mentor to her. Aside from the notable Nova Squadron incident depicted in TNG season 5, episode 19, "The First Duty," Ensign Sito Jaxa excelled at Starfleet Academy and was assigned to the Enterprise-D after graduation. Picard wanted to give the young ensign a chance to redeem herself, and he assigned her to participate in an ill-fated undercover mission several months after she joined the Enterprise crew.
