SISKO THE MAQUIS AND CARDASSIANS
Sisko,s Family
His news is a huge shock to Ben. A vision on Tyree fills in
the rest of the story: a wormhole alien took over the body of the real Sarah to
ensure that Benjamin Sisko was born. His birth was arranged, so that he would
fulfil his destiny. His father did not tell him about his real mother, because
he did not want to ruin the closeness Ben had with his stepmother. Despite
this secret, Ben remains very close to his father. He inherited a great family
value from Joseph, Sisko ask his father to come and live on Deep space Nine so
that he can care for him. There is great love for each other, unfortunately
visits between the two are less frequent than either would like; but in times of
personal crisis, Ben always finds it comforting to return to Earth, and his
father. He met his wife, Jennifer, on Earth at Gilgo Beach, shortly
after his graduation in 2354, and she gave birth to their only child,
Jake. Jennifer was killed in 2367, during the Federation battle with the Borg at Wolf
359. Sisko and Jake,
then aged 11, only just escaped with their lives. Sisko brooded over the loss of
Jennifer for some time Sisko and his son Jake have a deep love and close
relationship that has helped them both to cope with the changes in their lives,
both personal and professional. Before the death of Jennifer, they were a very
close family, and Benjamin is grateful for the memories they share. The loss
of Jennifer brought Sisko closer to his son. His mother's death has made Jake very reliant on his
father. Sisko oversaw
the development of the Defiant class warship at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards
on Mars. He nearly resigned from Starfleet
at this time, but his sense of duty and great love of his family brought him
out of his depression. He concentrates on the challenges involved in bringing up
his young son by himself, while also
assuming command of Deep Space Nine in 2369.
Benjamin Lafayette Sisko was born in New Orleans, Earth, in
2332. Along with his brothers and sister, Judith, with whom he would pick
vegetables in the family garden, he was raised by the woman he believed to be
his mother, and his father, Joseph. His beloved mother died some years before
his posting to Deep Space Nine. His father is a gourmet chef, owns his
restaurant in New Orleans. Ben helped his father from the age of 15 years. While
on leave on Earth, Ben's son, Jake finds a photo of a woman in his
grandfather's house, and Joseph has to reveal to Ben that she is in fact his
real mother, Sarah. Joseph was married to his first wife for two years, during
which time she gave birth to Benjamin; Sarah left two days after her son's first
birthday, and died three years later.
Jake has grown up sharing his father's principles and values and
his enthusiasm for an old Earth sport,
baseball. The two enjoy a love of baseball and cooking, but Sisko is unable
to offer his son a relationship on his own level, and must grudgingly accept
Jake's friendship with the young troubled
Ferengi, Nog. Jake has learned his father's values of tolerance, kindness, and
responsibility so well that Nog is actually influenced for the better by Jake.
As Jake gets older an indication of the strength of Ben's understanding, and love for his son
comes when he supports Jake's decision to
become a writer, rather than follow a career in Starfleet. His son grows increasingly
concerned about his father's reaction, and is both surprised and relieved when
Sisko gives him his enthusiastic blessing.
Jake often shows as much concern for his father's love life as his own, and it
is he who introduces Sisko to civilian freighter captain Kasidy Yates
Sisko has a wide variety of interests from the study of history to intensely physical sports such as boxing or wrestling. Despite the extreme demands of his post as captain of Deep Space Nine, he still finds time to indulge most of these hobbies. Sisko loves gourmet cooking. An inherited skill from his father no doubt, his father of course wanted his son to become a chef too. Although Ben chose a different path, but he still enjoys cooking for his friends and colleagues in his private quarters. Sisko also enjoys cooking around the campfire for his son. In the archives on Bajor Sisko finds ancient star charts and the plans for a Bajoran solar-sail vessel. He is intrigued by legends that the Bajorans achieved interstellar space travel 800 years ago, and decides to construct a solar sailer of his own to see if there is truth behind the legend. He spends hours studying plans, and does his own welding and sawing of materials using tools from the appropriate period. Others on Deep Space Nine sometimes have difficulty understanding their captain's devotion to such unusual pastimes. Building a ship is also a way for Sisko to spend time with his son; many of the pastimes he undertakes have Jake in mind. Jake and Sisko sail across the Denorios Belt in their homemade craft. Sisko loves the silence and the mystery that the journey through space offers him.
Thanks to a holo-suite baseball program, he and Jake are able to
attend the World Series games throughout history, including the series that his
favourite players were in. This program allows Sisko and Jake to play baseball
with the greatest players of all time Sisko
also collects baseball memorabilia and keeps a baseball on his desk. Knowing his
father's love for baseball, Jake goes to
incredible lengths to acquire a mint condition Willie Mays rookie card. A
shared love of baseball draws together Sisko and his lover, the freighter
captain Kasidy Yates. They enjoy watching
holo- graphic recreations of games together. Baseball
is useful in explaining the concept of linear time to the race of aliens who
live in the Bajoran wormhole. What fascinates Sisko is the fact that in baseball a pitcher can throw the ball, and
no one knows what will happen in the next
moment. Sisko believes that the endless possibilities, and how each
event affects the next one, are part of the human fascination with the unknown
and with Space
Sisko Starfleet Career
In 2350 at the age of 18 Benjamin Lafayette Sisko entered Starfleet Academy. On his graduation in day Sisko was given the rank of ensign, and shortly after leaving the Academy his first assignment was the U.S.S. Livingston. Several years later he was assigned to the U.S.S. Okinawa under the command of Captain Leyton. Sisko's primary interest was in engineering, Captain Leyton saw the potential for command in the young officer, so he promoted him to lieutenant commander and made him executive officer. Sisko as a young man he was extremely ambitious, and worked toward earning a place in the admiralty.
Later while he was assigned to the U.S.S. Saratoga as first officer, his rank is lieutenant commander. During this time, Sisko suffers the worst loss of his life. His wife Jennifer is killed during the battle with the Borg at Wolf 359. Sisko manages to escape from the Saratoga with their son Jake; seconds before the vessel is destroyed. Sisko is deeply distressed by his wife's death, and loses much of the sense of purpose that had motivated him up to this point.
Sisko is assigned to the Utopia Planitia Shipyards on Mars.
His background in engineering is put to good use as he heads up the development
team on an experimental battleship, the U.S.S Defiant a planned first line of
defence against further Borg attacks. However the Defiant project is
moth-balled, when the Borg threat appears to recede but it is later reactivated
to fight the Dominion.
The Cardassian’s withdraw from Bajor in 2369, and Sisko is promoted to the rank of commander and is assigned to Deep Space Nine. His new home is a former Cardassian mining station; his mission is to help Bajor prepare for Federation membership. Sisko is at first unhappy with this assignment, and for a short time he considers resigning his commission from Starfleet.
Shortly after his arrival, however, Sisko discovers a stable wormhole that connects the Alpha Quadrant to the Gamma Quadrant. Inside the wormhole, he encounters a race of beings that the Bajorans believe are the Prophets described in the Bajoran religion. Sisko's experiences in the wormhole help him to confront his feelings of grief over his wife's death, and he emerges with a more positive attitude to life and to his Starfleet career. The discovery of the wormhole also leads the Bajorans to believe that Sisko is the Emissary, the link between the Prophets and the people of Bajor. This role is one for Sisko doesn't want, and it comes into conflict with his role as a Starfleet officer.
Deep Space Nine, is in one of the most volatile postings in the Federation. His diplomatic abilities, combined with his knowledge of military strategy, have allowed him to be in control of the Federation's dealings with Cardassia, Bajor, and the Klingon Empire, and the more dangerous threats from the Gamma Quadrant, the Jem'Hadar, and the Dominion. Sisko's performance is rewarded with a promotion to the rank of captain a promotion that many of the officers serving under him feel is long overdue.
Sisko's expertise on the Gamma Quadrant has made him an
invaluable asset to Starfleet Command. After the Dominion takes control of Deep
Space Nine in 2373 and Starfleet evacuates its personnel, Sisko plays a
valuable part in Starfleet's military operations and leads many missions against
the Dominion aboard the Defiant. When Starfleet learns that the Dominion has
devised a method of deactivating the minefield around the wormhole, Sisko is
given command of an armada of ships, and successfully retakes Deep Space Nine.
He then returns to his former post as commanding officer of the station.
Sisko as Emissary + His Friends
Sisko takes command of Deep Space Nine, he has little idea what a profound effect his arrival will have on Bajoran society. He travels to Bajor to meet with Kai Opaka, the Bajoran spiritual leader, to gain some insight into her people. She tells Sisko that he has a deep spiritual purpose. She entrusts Sisko with a powerful and mystical Orb, telling him that his destiny is to reclaim eight others, stolen by the Cardassians. Sisko sets off in a Runabout to search for the original source of the Orbs, he is propelled through a wormhole. His ship emerges from the wormhole 70,000 light years from Bajor. Realizing this could be how the Orbs entered the Alpha Quadrant, Sisko returns home and studies the implications. Once within the wormhole, he finds himself in a strange place and talks with the awesome forces behind the Orbs, who first perceive him as a threat.
Sisko is hit with a barrage of images from his life; soon
after, Sisko and the life forces begin to understand each other. He really doesn't
understand what has taken place at first. He returns to Deep Space Nine and
tells his crew of his encounter with the aliens in the wormhole, word spreads
quickly. The followers of the Bajoran religion believe that inside the wormhole
is the Celestial Temple. As the one who has discovered the wormhole and
communicated with the 'Prophets', the Bajorans believe Sisko to be the
'Emissary', and according to prophecy will save Bajor and unite its people. For
the sake of Bajoran people and their religion, Sisko accepts the mantle of
emissary. He however doesn't take it to serious at first, and starfleet are not
happy he has taken on this mantle.
The Bajorans treat Sisko reverently. Being the Emissary has allowed unique access to the internal workings of Bajoran politics, and give’s him an advantage in situations, Sisko's status has often allowed him to act as a mediator in disputes where someone with a purely secular interest is less likely to have been accepted by the religious factions.
Sisko's position as Emissary is challenged, but the wormhole
aliens make it clear that they favour him for the role, and this finally
convinces Sisko that he must accept the responsibility. The relationship with
Bajor's scheming religious leader, Kai Winn, and himself is not a good
relationship she feels he is not the true Emissary. However, when Winn is unsure
as to how best to protect Bajor from the Dominion, she looks to Sisko for
guidance. As Bajor is about to be officially accepted into the Federation. Sisko
has another vision, and he warns the assembled group of dignitaries that if
Bajor joins the Federation now, it will be destroyed. Even Sisko does not
realize at the time how important this decision will prove. By preventing
Bajor's admission to the Federation, he leaves the planet free to sign a
non-aggression treaty with the Dominion. As part of the Federation, Bajor would
almost certainly have been conquered instead. And though all Starfleet personnel
are forced to leave Deep Space Nine, Sisko swears that he will not rest until
Bajor is safe once again.
Friends
Sisko has always enjoyed close family relationships, notably with his son, Jake, his wife Jennifer, and Joseph, his father. He chooses his friends carefully, and he is immensely loyal to each one of them. Upon joining Starfleet Academy one of these friends was Cal Hudson, with whom Sisko shared an immense love of baseball. These young graduates were both determined to make captain by the time they were 30, and admiral by 40. Each sadly lost his wife in the intervening years, but these traumas helped to strengthen their friendship. The pair remained good friends until the Maquis crisis of 2370 divided their loyalties, and left Ben feeling betrayed by Hudson.
Perhaps the greatest friend, and future influence on Sisko's
life, came in the form of the joined Trill Curzon Dax, a Federation official who
became his mentor through subsequent years and assignments. Meeting for the
first time on Pelios station, they went on to tour the Cliffs of Bole together,
made many visits to the pleasure planet Risa, and had a number of legendary
nights out that revolved around the Maquis rebels. Dax has subsequent hosts, in
the form of young Trill women Jadzia and Ezri, but the captain still refers to
his friend as 'old man,' due to his time with Curzon.
The captain does not share quite as many of his personal feelings with either as he did with Curzon. These years of friendship and closeness make it very difficult for Sisko to accept Jadzia's death in 2374; unlike the one he shared with Curzon, their relationship is one of equals. He does, however, see his friend happy in her marriage to Commander Worf, and at the prospect of having children. This is something important to Sisko himself, and he is greatly distressed by her senseless death, at the hands of the Cardassian renegade Dukat.
Sisko rarely spends much of his off-duty time with his colleagues. He respects and admires officers such as Dr. Julian Bashir and Major Kira Nerys, and they look up to him in return, but he rarely socializes with them outside of working hours. The actions he takes on behalf of his crew show his loyalty, and his friendly style of command, and his one real romantic relationship following the death of his wife reflects this. Jake Sisko, introduces his father to Kasidy Yates, the captain of the civilian freighter Xhosa, he is initially not particularly happy about this, but he and Kasidy eventually hit it off, based on a mutual love of baseball, food, and raktajino.
Their relationship survives Kasidy's six-month prison term
for smuggling supplies to he Maquis, even though her actions put Sisko in a
compromising position. Their relationship is strong, and the time the pair get
to spend with each other when Kasidy's ship docks at the station is very
important to the captain. Later Kasidy takes quarters aboard Deep Space Nine,
and she and Sisko continue to grow closer together. Sisko's friends and
colleagues are happy to see this honest, and committed family man finally in a
relationship, and with someone who shares his interests, helps him to relax, and
makes him happy.
Benjamin Sisko, commander of Deep Space
Nine, has endured a long and changing relationship with the renegades known as
the Maquis, who operate out of the Demilitarised Zone on the border with
Cardassian space. Sisko first encounters them after unprovoked attacks begin on
Cardassian ships. He investigates, with Commander Calvin Hudson. A close friend, of Sisko,
Hudson served with Sisko in Starfleet after they graduated in the same class at
the Academy. Hudson's anger with the treaty that has placed colony worlds within
Cardassian borders is clear; he tries to show Sisko how much the settlers have
accomplished without any Federation help.
Unwilling to build new homes on far-off worlds and begin again elsewhere, the colonists would rather stay and fight. The Federation seems to have abandoned them. Out of these circumstances are born the Maquis; comprised of Federation citizens enraged by the Cardassian- Federation treaty, they believe the Cardassians are secretly supplying weapons to their worlds within the Demilitarised Zone . While Sisko is revealed to be a leading member, Sisko is torn between friendship and duty. The problem reaches a critical stage when Sisko leads a task force to prevent Hudson and the Maquis from launching an attack which could shatter the fragile peace treaty.
With the help of Gul Dukat, Sisko averts the attack and also exposes the actions of the Cardassians, who are smuggling weapons into the Demilitarised Zone. But Sisko knows that the war will continue; he cannot condone his old friend's actions, but he is equally angry at the Federation, who consider the renegades to be simply irresponsible.
The Maquis are angry, and determined
people, and Sisko knows his duty to Star fleet means he must stop the Maquis,
even if he agrees with their ideals. In spite of his personal feelings, they
must be stopped before they trigger a crisis that could explode into war. The
Maquis are determined to beat back the Cardassian oppressors, and they hatch a
complex plan; transporter duplicate Thomas Riker, a Maquis member, poses as his
brother William Riker in order to gain access to the heavily-armed U.S.S.
Defiant. Hijacking the vessel, Tom Riker and his Maquis friends take the ship
into Cardassian space to attack a secret base in the Orias system, this is where
the Cardassian Obsidian Order are massing a fleet to wipe out the Maquis. Sisko
is forced once again to ally with Gul Dukat
Starfleet become concerned about the loyalties of Security Chief Odo, they assign Michael Eddington as security liaison to Deep Space Nine. When he later betrays his oath to Starfleet and flees to the Maquis, Sisko sets out aboard the U.S.S. Defiant to track him down, even if it means entering the dangerous plasma storms of the Badlands. Sisko's problems with the Maquis escalate when it affects his lover, Kasidy Yates, captain of a freighter. Yates is implicated when evidence is found that she herself may be a Maquis member or a sympathiser. Sisko would prefer not to believe this, but after authorizing the Defiant to follow Kasidy on her next trip, the crew witness the Xhosa beaming supplies to a Maquis Raider. Though her only crime is using her freighter to deliver medical supplies, Kasidy has been used in a plot engineered by Eddington to steal several replicators bound for Cardassia, Kasidy has the opportunity to escape, but decides instead to return and face her punishment. Sisko pursues Eddington willing to go to any lengths to accomplish his objective. He finally succeeds in apprehending him, but this brings him little satisfaction, for success has come at a high cost. Sisko learns that his old friend Hudson has died fighting to protect a Maquis colony from the Cardassians.
Later, after the Cardassians
allied themselves with the Dominion, the combined forces of the Jem'Hadar and
Cardassian’s successfully in wipe out virtually all Maquis activity in a
matter of days. A few Maquis are rescued from the Badlands by Sisko with the
help of Eddington, he sacrifices his own life while enabling them to escape.
Sisko and Cardassians
Benjamin Sisko becomes the commanding
officer on Deep Space Nine in one of his biggest priorities is dealing with the
Cardassians, the station's builders and former masters. The situation is
delicate many Cardassians object to the treaties with the Federation. The
discovery of the Bajoran wormhole complicates matters, and prompts a series of
attempts by Cardassian forces to retake the Bajoran system. Sisko has barely
arrived on the station when he is visited by Gul Dukat, the former Prefect of
Bajor. After many years in charge of Terok Nor during the Cardassians'
occupation of Bajor, Gul Dukat finds it hard to stay away from the station and
its current commander, Benjamin Sisko. Dukat makes several threats, clearly
intending to warn Sisko that the Cardassians will never be far away. However,
Sisko makes it clear that Starfleet will stand firm.
Over the years, Dukat becomes Sisko's principal point of contact with the Cardassian Union. Although the two never become friends, they do become familiar with one another, and each gains a measure of respect for the other's abilities. Dealing with Cardassians can be particularly difficult as they are rarely honest. When evidence emerges that Cardassians are still holding prisoners of war, Sisko authorizes a rescue mission. Later one of Sisko's own men, Chief Miles O'Brien, is kidnapped by Cardassians and prosecuted for a crime that he did not commit. Sisko's understanding of thier legal system, in which a verdict is arrived at before the trial, enables him to out manoeuvre the courts by confronting them with evidence of a Cardassian plot.
Deep Space Nine was constructed by
Bajoran slave labour during the 70-year Cardassian occupation and can still hold
some surprises for Sisko and opportunities for Dukat. O'Brien accidentally trips
an old Cardassian self-destruct routine, which can only be deactivated by Dukat.
The Gul comes to the station and offers his help but there is price; he wants to
station a permanent Cardassian garrison on Deep Space Nine. His request comes to
nothing as his Cardassian superiors programmed the computer to ignore him if he
were still aboard the station.
Sisko does his best to help Cardassia during the Klingon invasion of 2373, even going so far as to rescue Dukat from an attack by the Klingons. After this incursion, the relationship with Cardassia improves further, and the Federation eventually agrees to send four industrial replicators to needy Cardassian worlds.
Relations with Cardassia take a dramatic turn for the
worse. Gul Dukat secretly negotiates Cardassian membership of the Dominion. A
fleet of Jem'Hadar warships travel through the wormhole and take up position
inside Cardassian space. Dukat is installed as the new leader of Cardassia,
although he has to answer to his Dominion masters. His actions are prompted by
Cardassia's recent weakness, and he swears he will retake all the former
Cardassian territories. He offers Sisko the opportunity of surrendering Deep
Space Nine, but the captain refuses. Sisko is once again in the front line
against Cardassia, but this time war seems almost certain.
2369 young Jake and his father, Commander Benjamin Sisko, are assigned to Deep Space Nine Jake is worried there wont be other kids he can be friends with. It turns out there are several human children on the station, but Jake soon makes friends with Nog, a young Ferengi boy, and swiftly learns that life on Deep Space Nine offers many things to interest him. He particularly enjoys watching ships come in for maintenance checks. And sitting above the promenade with Nog just watching the visitors to the station wander by. Keiko O'Brien's starts up a much needed school and Jake attends classes, and even helps to tutor Nog, whose family have little regard for the formal education the school offers. Jake is a diligent student and turns in his work on time. Like most children, Jake is more interested in play than his schoolwork. He enjoys pulling pranks with Nog, and they love their favourite hang-out above the Promenade.
More than once. Chief of Security
Odo has to chase the boys off for causing trouble, such as flicking sandpeas at
the passers by below. Jake is a well behaved child for the most part. He often
demonstrates maturity and occasionally baby sits other children on the station.
As he grows up, Jake's interest turns towards girls; he asks a young lady, Laira,
for a date. She accepts, but the date never happens, her father will not let her
see Jake because he is not Bajoran. Later the same year, Jake tutors a dabo girl
named Mardah in entomology. He soon falls for her, and is thrilled that she
returns his feelings, this was just an adolescent crush that doesn't
last long.
Growing up on a Federation Starbase allows Jake the chance to observe Starfleet officers at work, but this does not inspire him to join the organization. One of the main factors in making Jake's childhood a happy one is the close relationship he enjoys with his father. They often eat together and Jake knows his father so well that he can tell what kind of day Ben has had by the food he cooks. Jake shares with his father a passion for baseball, which they often play in the station's holo-suites, and he helps his father to build a working replica of a Bajoran solar sailing ship. When the escalating Dominion crisis depresses his father, Jake obtains a rare baseball card to cheer him up although he does have to use Nogs Latinum to buy it. Jake is also instrumental in a bit of match making with Kasidy Yates and his father. He knew from the moment he meets her that they will get on well together.
Jake does not want to follow in his
footsteps of his father and join Star-fleet, grudgingly at the age of 15, he
takes a job on the station at his father's insistence, working under Chief of
Operations Miles O'Brien. His heart is not in it, he is able to talk to Miles
about it, in confidence, Miles understands having had similar expectations from
his own father with his choice of career. He eventually tells his father the
truth. Jake is surprised when, Ben replies that he just wants his son to find
what he loves and do the best he can. This is what Miles had said would be his
reaction.
Keiko O'Brien's school has to shut down as most children leave the station due to the war, but she keeps tutoring Jake. She is so impressed with one of his stories that she submits it to a prestigious school in New Zealand, Earth. Jake is later accepted into the school, but turns down the writing scholarship. By this stage, however, he has no doubt that he wants to become a writer. But he knows he is not ready to leave is father. When Nog leaves for Starfleet Academy.
Jake continues to make the
difficult transition from child to adult. He misses his friend, but when Nog returns for an internship on the
station, the two young men become room mates there is friction between the two
friends, Nog now has the order and discipline in his life and Jake is a bit of a
slob, so now it is Nogs turn to be the teacher. Moving out of his father's
quarters marks an important step in Jake's independence; he is learning to make
his own choices in life. These skills become important in the turbulent times
ahead, as the threat of war with the Dominion looms over the station Jake has
come to think of as home and he knows his place for now is here by his fathers
side. He also has the comradeship of Nog who is a fine young Starfleet
officer.
