Star Trekhas seen numerous iconic captains, and Benjamin Sisko is among the best. Assuming command duringDeep Space Nine, he presides over a tense and distinctive time in theStar Trekfranchise. Not only does he run a space station instead of a starship, but he helps a subjugated species rebuild, and he leads the Federation in a catastrophic war with the Dominion. However, there’s a lot more to know about Sisko outside his accomplishments.
Sisko has many facets beneath surface. These quirks and facts subtly inform his interactions with both friends and enemies, defining who he is throughout the show. A layman may not know about them, but the devil is in the details. In the end, these aspects are vital in distinguishing Sisko from other captains.
6He Loves To Cook
Among the benefits ofDeep Space Nineis seeing what the characters get up to in their downtime. One of Sisko’s passions is cooking. His dad owns a restaurant in Louisiana, so culinary arts run in the family. As such,he naturally assumes the chef’s role.
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Whenever dinner comes up, particularly for special occasions, Sisko takes it upon himself to make the meal. His services mainly go to his son, but they also come into play once he starts dating Kassidy Yates. Everyone reminds him that he can simply use replicators to generate food instantly, but he refuses. You can’t beat the personal touch.
This is probably just a quirk of casting, but then again, perhaps not. Brock Peters frequently guest-stars as Ben’s dad. Again, he runs a restaurant on Earth, but he sometimes shows up for a casual visit or moral support. He represents blue-collar guys across the galaxy, and keeps his son humble as a result. He knows full well thatStarfleet business and larger galactic conflictsare beyond him. However, that may not be the case.
Peters previously appeared in the sixthStar Trekmovie,The Undiscovered Country. Here, he’s one of the Starfleet officers debating whether to helpthe Klingons in their hour of need. This is supposedly a different character, but it’s hard to take anything at face value. The galaxy is full of shapeshifters, after all.
4He’s An Alien Messiah
When Sisko first becomes the emissary of the Bajoran prophets (or wormhole aliens), it seems entirely by chance. True, the ghostly figures assert that their will led him there, but that’s hard to swallow. Not only do they inexplicably select a human instead of a Bajoran, but any Starfleet officer could have been stationed atDeep Space Nine. That said, fans later learn that the prophets had a deeper involvement in Sisko’s path.
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It turns out his mother was one of them. Specifically, they took control of a woman’s body, married Joseph Sisko, and conceived Ben. The woman left after the prophets departed, but she left a locket pertaining to the emissary. In short, these guys strove to ensure their own prophecy came to pass. Or in other words, they cheated.
3He May Be All In Someone’s Head
In another of his prophetic visions, Sisko finds himself in 1950s-era New York. He’s a writer for a sci-fi magazine, andhe envisions a story about a black captain of a space station. Sadly, because of the racist attitudes of the time period, the publisher refuses to run the issue. Crushed by rejection and prejudicial constraints, Ben breaks down in tears.
The emotional experience has a profound impact on Sisko. Though he comes out of the vision, he can’t shake the poignancy of the conflict. It brings up existential questions about his place in the universe. In the end, he acknowledges that someone out there could indeed be dreaming of them.
2He’s A Sore Loser
Another of Sisko’s passions is baseball. He knows all the best games andregularly attends those games in the holosuite. He even has an autographed ball on his desk. It’s no wonder, then, that he takes it personally when playing.
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One episode sees a group of Vulcans challenge theDS9crew to a baseball game. The problem is that everyone — except Sisko’s son Jake — is comically uncoordinated. Ben loudly berates them for their poor performances. He gets so bad that Odo, acting as the umpire, benches Sisko at his own game. On the upside, this gives him time to reflect on how insufferable he’s been. At the end of the day, it’s just a game.
1He Got Away With War Crimes
The Dominion War pushes everybody to their limits, forcing them to make compromises which were previously unimaginable. The most unsettling example is Sisko’s method of recruiting the Romulans to their cause. Unwilling to break their neutrality agreement, the shifty species calls for an underhanded approach. For this, Sisko enlists former intelligence agent, Garak. Together, they forge a transmission of Dominion leaders plotting the conquest of Romulus. Garak then takes drastic measures to preserve the ruse, resulting in the death of a black market dealer anda Romulan senator. This sells the deception and convinces the Romulans to join the war.
Sisko has mixed feelings about the ordeal. He obviously has a guilty conscience, but he ultimately feels he can live with that guilt. After all, his actions turn a losing battle into a winnable war. True, they defy the hopeful verisimilitude that is endemic toStar Trek. However, they preserve that hope for everyone else. It’s easy to disagree with his methods, but it’s hard to argue with the results.
