Headscratchers / Star Trek: Deep Space Nine S02E06 "Melora"

• This is apparently the first time Bashir had experienced zero G. Considering how easy it is to just turn off the artificial gravity in the runabout, you would expect that flying around in zero G would be a common pastime in the Star Trek universe.
  • It's actually shown in The Next Generation that all Starfleet officers undergo zero G training. And Star Trek: First Contact reveals there is zero G combat training. It's remotely possible that Bashir somehow missed out on this due to being a doctor instead of a regular officer, even more so if it was combat training, as many militaries do not give combat training to their doctors. THAT SAID, he's a lieutenant in Starfleet, so it still strains internal credibility.
  • It is possible that Melora's cabin was not zero G, but very low gravity (they do seem to fall back on their feet after a while). Bashir may have already experienced zero G, but not this kind of gravity.
• Everyone takes it as a matter of course that Melora is an excellent officer and that it's OK for her to need accommodations for her disability. But is it? Starfleet is a quasi-military organization, as much as early seasons of STNG deny it. Under any less-than-optimal conditions, her disabilities become a major liability to her performing her duties, which would potentially cost the whole crew their lives in an emergency or combat situation. Just tripping over a doorway completely incapacitates her. While Melora may be a science whiz, as Bashir believes, she seems much more suited to being a civilian scientist.