Commander Benjamin Sisko assumes command of Deep Space Nine, a Starfleet outpost near the planet Bajor, soon after the Cardassians have agreed to stop occupying the planet. Sisko is a survivor of the battle at Wolf 359 (see Star Trek: The Next Generation 4.01) during which he lost his wife. The space station is in rough shape but in the process of being fixed up when Sisko arrives with Jake, his son.
Sisko meets with several people aboard the space station:
- Miles O'Brien - who is in the process of transferring over from the Enterprise
- Major Kira - the Bajoran liaison to the station
- Odo - the station's security chief
- Quark - a Ferengi gambler and thief who runs a bar aboard the station
- Captain Picard of the Enterprise
- Kai Opaka - the spiritual leader of the Bajoran people
- Doctor Bashir - the station's new chief medical officer
- Lieutenant Dax - an old friend of Sisko's whose appearance is a bit deceiving
Discussions with Major Kira and Kai Opaka reveal that things aren't in good shape on the surface on Bajor. The people of Bajor are split among multiple factions. Picard explains that Bajor is being considered for membership in the Federation. Sisko needs to do what he can, short of violating the Prime Directive, to help the Bajorans achieve Federation membership. Kai Opaka shows Sisko the sole Bajoran sacred orb that the Cardassians did not steal. She gives it to him and explains that he is the emissary who will locate the Celestial Temple of the Prophets.
Gul Dukat, a Cardassian and the former commander of Deep Space Nine visits the space station. He meets with Sisko.
Sisko talks to Dax, after his meeting with Gul Dukat, about the orb. She has examined it and determined that it likely originated in the Denorius Belt. Sisko and Dax leave the space station and head to the Denorius Belt. They find a wormhole and passing through it find themselves in the Gamma Quadrant, 70,000 light years from Bajor. They try to return through the wormhole but something goes wrong.
Commander Sisko is detained in the wormhole by a noncorporeal entity. He talks to it. tries to reason with it. It doesn't understand what he is trying to tell them or why he is still so fixated on the battle at Wolf 359.
Gul Dukat takes his ship through the wormhole, which seems to disappear after he passes through it. Three more Cardassian warships arrive at the space station. Their leader wants to know what happened to Gul Dukat and his ship. Major Kira has assumed command of the space station. She works with O'Brien to get some weapons and shields online. They move the space station close to where the wormhole was. The Cardassians threaten to retake Deep Space Nine.
Sisko eventually returns from the wormhole with Gul Dukat's ship in tow. The Enterprise returns. Peace and order is restored
Thoughts
All of the primary characters are introduced in the first 40 minutes of this 90 minute episode. The Enterprise departs the space station roughly 40 minutes into this episode, although it does return towards the end of the episode.
Jennifer, Sisko's wife, appears in flashbacks in this episode but she does not appear in any future episodes, according Memory Alpha.
Why didn’t Sisko mention the loss of his wife during his meeting with Picard? Why is it that an outsider, Sisko, is the key to the Bejoran religion?
I have seen a few episodes of Deep Space Nine in the past but not this one or any other episodes from this season. It has been about 12 years since I last watched any episode of DS9. I decided that it might be a good idea to start at the beginning but I'm not planning to try and watch every episode.
This was a decent introductory episode. I think it was a bit overloaded but as with many pilot or series premieres it has a lot to accomplish. There were a number of things that felt rushed in this episode, things that rushed past me, things that happen so quickly that I don’t see how anyone could have picked up on them. I will be curious to see what future episodes compare are like. It definitely has a different feel than The Original Series or The Next Generation.
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