Hello, Ric here with a Personnel File!
This series looks into the Starfleet career and personalities of Star Trek’s iconic
characters, this time, we’re digging up information on Captain Benjamin Sisko, the
commander of Deep Space Nine, Hero of the Dominion War, Emissary of the Prophets and
puncher of Qs.
That’s a lot of titles for one man and a wide array of responsibilities to cover of
varying demands.
As usual, this video draws from Memory Alpha primarily, but includes some Memory Beta content
where applicable and occasional events where context is lacking have been amended to fit
continuity where justifiable.
Born in New Orleans, Earth in 2332, Benjamin Lafayette Sisko was the son of Joseph and
Sarah and their only child.
Joseph Sisko ran a restaurant while Sarah was in fact under the influence of a non-corporeal
being later identified as a Prophet, or wormhole alien.
A year after Benjamin’s birth, the Prophet left Sarah and she left the family.
Joseph Sisko remarried and fathered a daughter, Judith and two brothers, Samuel and Aaron.
During his childhood, Sisko worked in the kitchen and often learned the piano.
These two interests he would rediscover later in his life.
In 2350 he applied to Starfleet Academy and was accepted.
Here he took the path of engineering, showing a notable aptitude for ship design.
He made friends with fellow student Calvin Hudson and took a recreational interest in
history and baseball.
He also showed a talent for combat and earned the nickname “Dead-Eye” on the phaser
rifle targeting range, performing trick shots.
A fact he would often embellish in his youth.
He also captained the wrestling team in 2351.
A knock to his pride came however when he challenged the Vulcan student Solok to a match
and was bested easily.
In 2353 he was assigned to Pelios Station as part of his training under the rank of
Ensign.
During this assignment he established a long time mentorship and friendship with noted
Trill ambassador, Curzon Dax.
Another assignment later that year saw him visit the fledgling Federation Embassy on
Romulus His final posting before graduating was on
the Excelsior class USS Livingston NCC-34099.
He graduated from the Academy in 2354 and met Jennifer Devitt on leave before his first
official posting, who he would later marry.
His first posing was to the Luna colony, New Berlin where he was assigned to operations
as an Ensign.
A year later, Jennifer gave birth on Earth to Jake Sisko.
And Benjamin was promoted to Lieutenant.
Not for having a kid, that doesn’t get you a promotion.
During the short lived Tzenkethi War, Sisko was assigned to the USS Okinawa NCC-13958
another Excelsior class, as an engineer after being rescued from Renaga alongside fellow
officers Lt. Tuvok and Dr Selar.
Shortly after this he was promoted to Lt. Cmdr and made the XO of the Okinawa by Captain
James Leyton which included a reassignment to command division.
In 2366 He transferred to the USS Saratoga NCC-31911 as the first officer when its former
senior staff including Captain Martin Jedlicka were reassigned.
Sisko’s family also transferred with him.
In 2367, the battle Wolf 359 occurred and the Saratoga was one of the 40 vessels mobilized
to deflect a borg incursion headed by Locutus of Borg, the assimilated form of Captain Jean-Luc
Picard.
The resulting conflict saw the destruction of 39 of the starships, including the Saratoga.
Sisko escaped with his son, Jake, but Jennifer was lost when the ship was destroyed.
For a long time after this he understandably hated the Borg and blamed Picard.
Starfleet reassigned Sisko back to the Sol system and his engineering background, command
experience and let’s face it, personal motivations made him the perfect candidate to head up
a new Starfleet project to create Escort Class combat vessels, starting with the Defiant.
He was assigned to head the project at Utopia Planitia which saw the production of a single
prototype in 2368.
During field tests, the vessel proved overpowered for its size and the project was postponed,
possibly in favour of the more conservative Saber class.
In 2369 he began to consider resignation from Starfleet in favour of building Orbital Habitats,
however James Leyton, now Admiral, nominated him for the position of Commander of Deep
Space Nine, which he accepted.
The orders were relayed, tensely by Captain Picard.
Along with a promotion to Commander.
This posting was to aid Bajor in rebuilding after the withdrawal of the Cardassians and
to help them prepare for Federation membership.
Shortly after his assignment began, he was named Emissary of the Prophets by Kai Opaka,
a religious figure in Bajoran culture, riddled with prophecies and expectations.
A fact that made him uncomfortable.
He, alongside Lieutenant Jadzia Dax Discovered the Bajoran Wormhole and ordered DS9 to shift
position to claim it for Bajor.
They also made first contact with the wormhole aliens who the Bajorans identified as Prophets.
This seemed to match ancient Bajoran scripture and cemented Sisko’s place as an iconic
religious figurehead of their culture.
He soon began to assist in transforming Deep Space Nine into a hub of trade and commerce,
which benefitted Bajor and granted many species access to the unexplored Gamma Quadrant through
the wormhole.
In 2370, The official ending of the Cardassian Border Wars occurred and several colonies
were signed over to the Cardassians.
This led to the formation of the Maquis, its members including his former friend Cal Hudson.
Also in 2370, first contact with the Dominion is established.
Not long after, Commander Sisko convinces Starfleet to reinstate the mothballed prototype
USS Defiant NX-74205 as a permanent defence for DS9.
He is assigned as its commanding officer.
During a Temporal incident, he assumed the identity of Gabriel Bell to maintain the continuity
of the timeline of 2024.
Sisko was promoted to Captain in 2371.
Sisko was temporarily reassigned as Starfleet Head of Security by Admiral Leyton to help
expose Dominion changelings in Starfleet.
However, this position was relinquished when it became clear that Leyton was attempting
to reform Starfleet into a more military structure and enforce harsher policing of its civilian
population.
Later in 2372, he was also betrayed by Michael Eddington who joined the Maquis and then Kassidy
Yates a woman whom he was becoming romantically involved with though to a lesser extent.
In order to capture Michael Eddington, in 2373, Sisko poisons the atmosphere of the
planet Solosis III, forcing the idealistic Maquis to give himself up.
Later that year, Sisko is assigned to an undercover mission in Klingon territory to expose a changeling
infiltrator.
In 2373, the Second Battle of DS9 occurs with Sisko evacuating Starfleet personnel from
the station at the opening of the Dominion War.
He fought numerous battles from the bridge of the USS Defiant until in 2374, he was assigned
to be the adjutant to Vice Admiral William Ross on Starbase 375.
From here he acted as tactician for Federation offensives against the Dominion.
He spearheaded “Operation Return”, the assault to retake DS9 and the Bajor sector
from Dominion control.
Then used his position as Emissary to convince the Prophets to deny the Dominion reinforcements
access to the wormhole.
Towards the end of 2374, the First Battle of Chin’Toka occurred with an allied victory,
however the Bajoran Wormhole collapsed and Lt. Jadzia Dax was murdered by a Pah-Wraith
possessed Dukat.
Sisko was deeply affected by this, having grown accustomed to the role of emissary and
the loss of a close friend.
He was granted official leave where he returned to New Orleans.
In 2375, 3 months into his leave, he embarks on a self-imposed mission to Tyree, to locate
the Orb of the Emissary and the Prophet within.
This Prophet was the one which had possessed Sarah in order to conceive Benjamin to begin
with, revealing to him his predestined nature as Emissary.
The release of this Prophet restored the Wormhole and Sisko returns to Starfleet.
The Second Battle of Chin’toka occurs 5 months later during which the USS Defiant
is Destroyed by Breen forces.
The USS Sao Paulo NCC-75633 is rechristened the USS Defiant and reassigned to Captain
Sisko.
Sisko goes on to lead the assault on Cardassia, alongside Admiral Ross and Chancellor Martok.
This victory is soon followed by the surrender of the Dominion Alpha quadrant forces to the
Federation and the treaty of Bajor being signed on Deep Space Nine.
However, Captain Benajmin Sisko departs for the Fire Caves on Bajor but never remerges.
He is currently listed as MIA.
Kassidy Yates has stated that she had a prophet induced vision of Benjamin Sisko who claimed
the Prophets had saved his life and that he would return eventually.
This concludes the current timeline for Benjamin Sisko.
Personally I’d like to believe that he would indeed return, perhaps in time for his daughter’s
birth and thematically, it paints the Prophets as more “good” orientated beings, saving
Sisko, opposing the Pah-Wraiths, who allowed Dukat to die.
Benjamin Sisko is a methodical builder.
He started Starfleet as an engineer in starship design, literally a builder, and went on to
construct the USS Defiant.
His hobbies included cooking, of which he was similarly methodical and he constructed
a working replica of the Bajoran Solar Sail ship.
This last feat mixed his love of history in general with his growing fondness for Bajor.
He built metaphorical bridges too, especially with Bajor and he was originally assigned
to Deep Space Nine to aid in rebuilding the struggling civilisation.
He acted as the bridge between them and the Prophets too explaining mortal concepts to
the wormhole aliens, again building bridges.
Speaking of Bajor, his role as Emissary placed an unusually heavy load on his shoulders.
Starfleet generally did not like the importance of this role landing on one of their own as
this skirted with their non-interference laws, however the position was carefully observed
and tolerated.
No doubt Bajor’s position as a potential Federation member helped.
Personally we see him come to terms with the role as he makes it less about a position
of power and more about the people around him, a very compassionate approach and the
sign of a good leader.
Loyalty is an incredibly important virtue for Sisko to see in others and himself.
He considers his long-time friend Cal Hudson a traitor to the Federation for joining the
Maquis and becomes obsessed with capturing Michael Eddington for the same.
When Admiral Leyton is seen to betray the principles of the Federation, he condemns
the act and attempts to stop it.
This moral centre can perhaps be seen as hypocritical, as on several occasions, Sisko himself has
twisted the Federation’s values to achieve a goal, both with the poisoning of Solosis
III and the fabrication of evidence to persuade the Romulans to attack the Dominion.
However, he considers both of these instances the toughest decisions of his life and despite
standing by these choices feels a great deal of guilt.
If anything this serves to enforce his notion that loyalty and moral convictions are of
great importance.
With the death of his first wife, Jennifer, we see that Sisko fell into a dark place and
his career mirros this.
He returns to the Sol System and goes on to design a ship for killing Borg.
No t only a starship, but a bonefied warship.
Not a galaxy class that just happens to be powerful, but a low-profile, severely overpowered
genuine warship.
When the project is cancelled, he almost resigns from Starfleet, considering another career
in construction, but it’s his old friend Leyton, who assigns him a role to help heal
another people, and I think intentionally to heal himself.
Having lost family, he understands its importance and how important emotional bonds are.
This ties in with all his actions; as emissary, as a father, and on the personal level that
he takes betrayal.
Since his academy days we see that he enjoys a fight.
Well, not quite… he enjoys competition and in his youth that was found in wrestling,
then baseball, the latter of which he became a total nerd about.
This competitiveness seems to motivate him, sometimes to obsession and it takes his friends
to rein him in as he frequently forms rivals of varying severity.
Solok, Dukat, Eddington.
But this same quality enables him to tackle even the most daunting of tasks with a gusto!
Overall, Benjamin Sisko represents a strong character but complex complete with flaws.
Equally compassionate and dedicated, he is nonetheless willing to make personal sacrifices
if it ensures the betterment of others.
I think this man best exemplifies the philosophy of the whole being greater than the sum as
without any one of these elements, his character crumbles.
It seems Sisko’s life unlike Picard’s is far easier to piece together in a linear
fashion and I was surprised at how concise his story was and how almost nothing was wasted.
Some good episodes concerning Sisko are, “In the pale moonlight” for a serious side,
“Explorers” for a lighter tone and “Rapture” for a tripping Sisko trying to balance his
role as Emissary with Federation responsibilities.
This is only 3 from a whole series of great character moments though.
Thanks for listening to this Personnel file and if you’ve got a request, suggest it
below.
Thanks again, I’ve been Ric and Goodbye.