The cover up wasn't noble, him taking the fall for the entire incident was what was noble. It's easy for Wesley to stand up and take the moral high-ground after he committed the act through guilt and shame, Nick as the leader on the other hand took complete responsibility for the incident in order to spare the rest of the team from punishment.
Really the only thing Nick did wrong was try to cover up the incident, bold decisions and thinking are what get you noticed at Starfleet, just look at Jim Kirk. Thus, Nick's attempt at the banned maneuver was indicative of the culture at Starfleet. What he did wrong was not owing up to the mess he created, lying to your superiors is conduct unbecoming of a Starfleet officer. And yet, his motivations for covering up the incident were never portrayed as pure personal ambition and a fear of reprimand. Rather, he seemed to fear letting his entire team down as a result of his actions.
Again, this is why I found Nick to have many noble traits that a Starfleet officer should carry. At the end of the day they could have portrayed him as some slick, charismatic leader who spewed talk about how he was their to look out for the team but in the end was only interested in himself. Yet, at the end he backed up his words, he took full responsibility of his actions and saved the rest of the team.
It's also why I firmly believe that he and Tom Paris are the same god damn character, it was just some serious backroom politics over royalties that made them change Tom's backstory. Nick=Tom and it's why he was one of the few interesting characters on Voyager.
I always hated Major Kira, but this is not a criticism of the writing of the character as the writers knew exactly what they were doing with her.
Major Kira to me represents the things I hate most in a person, ignorance and stubbornness. She is completely set in her way of doing things and her way of thinking and is guided purely by her emotional reactions to things. In many respects Ashley Williams in Mass Effect is a parallel to Major Kira. She refuses to accept another persons line of thinking and is completely unapologetic for the actions she took in resisting the Cardassians. That one episode, which name alludes me, where a former Cardassian servant goes on a vendetta against Major Kira's terrorist friends for killing his friends was one of the darkest episodes and really exposed the character of Major Kira to what she was. At the end of the episode when she learns that her attack killed a bunch of innocent servants and cooks who had nothing to do with the Cardassian occupation or her struggles she still remains unapologetic for her actions. She couldn't care less that a few "innocent" Cardassians died in the attack, so long as the objective was complete and the Cardassians got the message, leave Bajor. That is the thinking of a true terrorist, of an IRA or Al-Qaeda member, of Palestinians who commit acts of terror against Israel for occupying "their" land.
Major Kira lives in a world of absolutism, you're either a friend or an enemy and their is no compromise in between. I don't care very much for people much like that, I much rather prefer a character with more nuance such as Garak or Sisko. Those who are able to adapt with a situation, who can feel regret for a past mistake but still understand what needs to be done, and who aren't guided by blind emotion.
Major Kira lives in a world of absolutism, you're either a friend or an enemy and their is no compromise in between. I don't care very much for people much like that, I much rather prefer a character with more nuance such as Garak or Sisko. Those who are able to adapt with a situation, who can feel regret for a past mistake but still understand what needs to be done, and who aren't guided by blind emotion.
What have been your favorite episodes thus far? Favorite character?
