Star Trek Rule No. 1: When in doubt, eject the warp core.

It is nice to know that, even in the younger days of the Federation when Captain Kirk was my age, it was a perfectly acceptable contingency strategy to eject the warp core.

And they all act like it is some novel idea.

Captain: "We're out of options, what can we do?'
Chief Engineer (thoughtfully): "We can eject the warp core. It should [insert some mumbled phrase about space-time]."

Come on, Geordi, you did that three weeks ago. Come up with something new. I just know there is a Federation acquisitions official having conniptions over this. You can believe whatever you want about money having no place in the Federation. You know those warp cores aren't cheap, and you know there is some paperwork involved for whoever comes back sans warp core.

I mean, really. Everyone knows that the warp core is just the means to control the volatile antimatter reaction. It is like a really big photon torpedo, for crying out loud. Stop showboating and come up with a real solution.