The Christopher Pike Medal of Valor
The Christopher Pike Medal of Valor was a prestigious medal awarded to Starfleet officers in recognition of remarkable leadership, meritorious conduct and acts of personal bravery.
In late 2374, Captain Benjamin Sisko received this medal from Admiral William Ross and Starfleet Command for his role in the Dominion War, in particular for his acts of personal bravery displayed during the battle to retake Deep Space 9. (DS9: "Tears of the Prophets")
Captain Solok of the USS T'Kumbra received two of these medals, the second in early 2375. (DS9: "Take Me Out to the Holosuite")
The Christopher Pike Medal of Valor was named in honor of former Starfleet Fleet Captain Christopher Pike.
In an illustration of the award featured in the Star Trek Encyclopedia (4th ed., vol. 2, p. 31), the text on the award was revealed to read "sic semper tyrannis". According to legend, this Latin phrase, meaning "Thus always to tyrants", was spoken by Brutus after assassinating Julius Caesar. In history, it was adopted as the state motto of Virginia in 1776, and also spoken by John Wilkes Booth after assassinating Abraham Lincoln.
In an unfilmed or deleted scene from "Tears of the Prophets", Admiral Ross mentions that "the medal usually comes with a lot more pomp and ceremony, but we figured you wouldn't want to be called back to Earth just to sit through a bad chicken dinner with a bunch of brass hats." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion - A Series Guide and Script Library [1])
Apocrypha
- According to the Star Trek Into Darkness app, the biographical file for Christopher Pike stated that in the alternate reality, that Christopher Pike had a medal named after him as well.
See also
External link
- Christopher Pike Medal of Valor at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works