As a cadet sets out to solve an ancient Starfleet mystery, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery and learns the value of forging her own path. Meanwhile, Nahla agrees to help a fellow chancellor with an elaborate alien ritual.
Writers: Kirstin Beyer & Tawney Newsome
Director: Larry Teng
Starting off from the perspective of the academy’s resident photonic student SAM giving a presentation on her daily life, all in the style of an early 2000’s ‘chick flick’, you know Lower Decks’ alumni Tawney Newsome is all over this script. With overlapping infographics, fourth wall monologues and unrelenting cheer, we get SAM’s introduction to herself in more detail. Programmed to be an average 17 year old, she’s been sent by her Photonic-based people not just to join the mission of Academy, but to be their Emmisary. Her peoples distrust of the galaxy is deeply rooted in their history and her job is to understand and learn about the Federation and all their galactic cultures.
And she’s kind of failing. The people of Kasq aren’t happy with her reports and so far, despite throwing herself into the cultures and classes, she’s not given them what they want or really sure how to cure the distrust or fear the Kasqians have of being slaves to organic life again, just as they were when they were created. On their orders she enrols in a special class, Confronting the Unexplainable, to nudge her along the way. But one unexplainable mystery catches her attention; the story of another person who had the title of Emissary; Benjamin Sisko.
Given a push, and a challenge, on the advice of class Professor Illa, SAM becomes determined to solve the mystery of Captain Sisko, the Starfleet officer hailed as a religious icon to the Bajorans who vanished confronting a ‘false prophet’. Did he die fighting in the Bajoran Fire Caves? Or did he, as the Bajorans believe, ascend to a higher plane?
Deep Space Nine has always been the red headed step child of Star Trek. Even with a deeper appreciation after it was gone for leaning into it’s setting to tell serialised storytelling with an expansive cast of fascinating and rich characters, an appreciation that a lot of writers tipped their hats to, the tributes rarely arrived on screen. The Next Generation and Voyager have had their cast revived, their stories continued and love letters written for them. Deep Space Nine got a little bit of love in Lower Decks, but for all it gave to Star Trek, it always felt like the forgotten era.
For fans of the show that finally got put right. As Sam learns about ‘The Sisko’ through childrens books, a poorly handed intrusion into a Bajoran group and a virtual museum, we slowly get an appreciation for Sisko in a story that seamlessly blends tribute to the past with SAM’s own self discovery.
A lot of this is sold by Kerrice Brooks. SAM has so far been the awkward oddball trying, and often failing, to fit in and be normal. Here we get a bit of everything. The Kasq representative she meets with acts like an angry parent threatening to send them away if they don’t succeed. We get Sam throwing herself into awkward scenario’s. We get her throwing herself into Cadet culture and being programmed to get drunk. We get to see horrible descisions like starting a bar fight. We also get her buzzing around Professor Illa as she figures out how to pass the test she’s set for itself.
A lot of it’s silly, and a lot of it leans into SAM and her fellow cadets finally acting their age and being a bit stupid in themselves. But the entire performance is filled with a playful joy thats hard not to like. And with a certain cheerful charm, she carries the episode in a way that makes you begin to see her a little more clearly. And even with the whole idea of the Emissary looking for THE Emissary being a bit convoluted, it really pays off when another Sisko enters stage left.
Knowing it was an episode written by Newsome and Beyer, and being a DS9 tribute of sorts, it was one episode I wanted to go in blind and honestly, it was all the better for avoiding any spoilers or even hints of what might come in that hour. One of the best surprises was the return of Jake Sisko. Or at least, an archival interview of Jake Sisko recorded in the early 25th century. Cirroc Lofton only really has two scenes in the episode. The archive footage of him talking about his father and what he meant to him, and close to the end as a vision.
After following in what she thinks is Sisko’s footsteps – including starting a fight with a Vulcan and a Romulan thanks to some simulated vodka shots – Professor Illa lends Sam an unpublished book Jake had written that gives her all the answers and insights she was looking for. Guided by the vision version of Jake, she learns that he was an Emissary who had to follow a path like she has to, but he made his own rules and focused on what mattered to him most. It’s a touching scene that you can tell Lofton was thrilled to be back for aand aside from bringing the story together, it was just a joy to see old man Jake be the spiritual messenger for his fathers inspirational nudge to self discovery.
Though it was more fun that, after all the fan speculation of who might still be around in the 32nd century aside from The Doctor, the Cardassian professor Illa swept her hair back just enough to flash the Trill markings and reveal her full name; Illa Dax…
Other elements of the episode were a mixed bag. Ake and Kelric had their moments as she helped him with some odd customs with Reno and the Doctor bringing some humour, but it dfelt a little misplaced in the episode at times despite having a nice resoluton. The cadets were just fun and it was nice to see them just do the stupid young adult stuff while Caleb and Tamira did the awkward distant flirting and the cold war with the War College just got childishly petty.
Thankfully none of it overshadows how well the episode sticks the landing. Everything, as random as it feels at times, comes together nicely for SAM to phone home and tell her people to shove it. Fueled by some Sisko pep talk, she’s ready to do things her way and if it keeps up this energy and joy, both she and the series will be all the better for it.
EPISODE DISCUSSION & SPOILERS
Highlights
- There's quite a few subtle, and not so subtle, nods to DS9 throughout the episode. A personal favourite was Caleb munching on a Jumja stick while watching over the atrium.
- The Bajorans blanked out Sisko's face in all their literature to mark the legend of his ascension to the Celestial Temple. Starfleet records seem to have respected Bajoran tradition as a cover for 21st image rights,
- Ben Sisko's voiceover at the end of the episode wasn't pulled form DS9, but from Avery Brook's spoken word album 'Here' on the recommendation of Cirroc Lofton.
All Connected...
Jake Sisko’s unpublished book, Anslem – translated as Father in Bajoran – wasn’t the first time we’d seen the story. In an alternate timeline, Jake wrote and published a version Anslem in the years following the ap[parent death of Ben Sisko. During an incident on the Defiant, Sisko was apparently vapourised and despite a vision of him soon after, was listed as KIA. It turned out Ben Sisko wasn’t dead, just slightly displaced in time, interlinked with an aging Jake appearing at seemingly random intervals. Anslem was the last book Jake published before committing his life to science and finding a way to save his father. In the end Jake learned the only way was to sever the link between them, ending his life to ‘reset’ the timeline.
About the author
A Fistful of Spooky Encounters
Since it's inception Star Trek hasn't just been a sci fi show, but a show that used it's science fiction setting to tell a variety of stories from a large pool of themes and styles. And since we're officially in 'Spooky Season' on the countdown to Halloween, why not take a look at some of Star Trek's best dives into darkness? EMPOK NOR DEEP SPACE NINE, SEASON 5 Deep Space Nine is falling apart and thanks to the war, O'Brien can't exactly ask the Cardassians for spare parts. But he has a plan. Along with Nog and Garak, O'Brien leads an engineering crew to another abandoned Cardassian station to salvage what they can. Only problem is... there's a reason it was abandoned... Possibly the most straight forward horror story in the series, Empok Nor was host to an experiment gone […]
Delta Quarter Promotions & Citations: September 2026
Throughout it’s entire existence SFC has grown, evolved and thrived due to the commitment and passion of our officers and crew. Keen members can make a huge difference within their unit or the fleet as a whole, and we like to ensure members are rewarded and recognised for all they bring to the organisation. Starting this year, we're opening every new period within the fleet celebrating those who have made an impact and engaged in being a positive influence in their unit or in Q2 overall. And while we're getting in a little bit earlier, we'd like to introduce our Delta Quarter awards. While promotion is one of the most visible awards available to members, one of the most vital are our commendations. Commendations are a formal recognition awarded to members of Quadrant 2 who have shown commendable service and […]
Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Wimey: ‘Tomorrows Enterprise’, Strange New Worlds S4E10
Focusing on two timelines, Tomorrows Enterprise leads with Uhura of the present linked to her future as the two work together, manipulating the timeline to their advantage to solve the mystery of an undecipherable alien message, and a certain Scottish engineer who seems to have vanished from the timeline in the future... Writers: Henry Alonso Myers & Robbie Thompson. Director: Chris Fisher. In the present, there's some weirdness for Pike's Enterprise as they investigate a White Hole thats giving off some weird signals and an energy pulse that causes a temporal shift that directly effects Uhura after she hears strange sounds over comms. As she begins to hear things, such as Scotty screaming for help, her future self is going through some oddities of her own. A year in the future, the Enterprise is on the other side of […]
What If…. the Whales Were Never Extinct?
Fondly remembered as the lightest, more comedic entries in Star Trek's film offerings, The Voyage Home is the story of an alien probe coming to Earth to talk to it's whale pen pal, a little bit miffed that they've not had a letter in a while. In the 21st century, those pen pals – Humpback Whales – had been hunted to extinction. Meanwhile, Kirk and his disgraced crew were on the way home to stand trial and through some time warp shenanigans, take a stolen Bird of Prey back to the 20th century, kidnap some whales, and take them to the 23rd century to save the day. The charges against Kirk were a fairly big deal. Previously Kirk had stolen a soon to be retired Enterprise, went against orders and along with support from his long standing command crew barged […]
It’s a Kind of Magic: ‘Once La’an A Time’, Strange New Worlds S4E09
Developed by an alien tapping into the mind of M'Benga's daughter, turning reality into her favourite book, the Elysium Kingdom is now more reality than fantasy. Having morphed from a surreal experience to a flat-Earth like planet replica floating through space, the Elysium Kingdom lives on with it's evil queen continuing dream up new schemes. But the Kingdom's purpose has shifted with it arriving to unsubtly help one of the Enterprise crew... Writers: Onitra JohnsonDirector: Sydney Freeland Not quite by chance, the Enterprise runs into the 'unknown flat planet', a disc-shaped world moving through space with it's own power, air and life. Beaming down, Pike, Spock, Pelia and La'an find themselves in a fairy tale world. Complete with real fairies. And a fairy castle. After running into King Ridley, the part played by M'Benga in the season one episode, they […]
[Retro Review] The Doomsday Machine
Responding to a distress call from the USS Constellation, the Enterprise race to the rescue but they arrive too late to save the day. Coming under fire from an alien entity, the Constellation has been heavily damaged and with only one survivor within it's charred shell; Commodore Matt Decker... Still in shock from the attack, Decker isn't able to say if it was an alien ship, or a creature that tore his ship apart. It doesn't take long to track the aliens flight path. It's not from around these parts, entering the Galaxy and on course towards populated areas that would undoubtedly be next in it's devastating path. Beaming on board with an away team, Kirk aims to try and get whats left of the ship back up and running while getting Decker to safety. But during the transit, the […]
Related
Starfleet Academy to end with with Season 2
Announced first by Variety, it's been announced that Starfleet Academy will end with Season 2. Having just launches in January with the first season finale receiving positive reactions, and it's second season now in post-production following the completion of filming, the announcement comes at an unsurprising time with Paramount undergoing new ownership under Skydance and more business shenanigans with further consolidation in the works with plans to absorb Warner Brothers into the mix. Set in the 32nd century and using Discovery's season 3 'Burn' storyline as a reset point, Starfleet Academy was focused on new original characters who had signed up to be the new stewards of Starfleet's future to rebuild the strength and vision of the Federation. Opening strong, Academy improved throughout it's first season and used it's setting to help strengthen the hopeful vision of the future and […]
Catch Mir If You Can; ‘300th Night’, Starfleet Academy S1E9
As a viewer, it's been just over two months. For the cadets, it's been 300 days. With time jumps between episodes already mentioned, episode nine ends with the conclusion of the first year at the Academy. Celebrations are being had on campus, friendships solidified and fleeting romances are being revisited. But in the grand scale of the universe, the merlu' is about to hit the fan. Writers: Kirsten Beyer & Kenneth Lin Director: Jonathan Frakes Looking back at the context of the first eight episodes, it's been an oddly even season. Which is quite a rarity in the Star Trek Universe. Journeys have been had. Paths have been walked. Lessons have been learned. And even if it's just been eight episodes to us, it's been a year for the cadets and with how far each has come, it doesn't […]
Life, Death and Eternity; ‘The Life Of The Stars’, Starfleet Academy S1E8
It's been a while since the Miyazaki incident. Time has passed but even with a bit of a break through the last episode, no one has really moved on. The students are rejecting therapy to confront their trauma over the event and now, Tarima - the person who saved them by melting peoples brains – is back on campus, now in Starfleet to take her away from the War College path to focus on something a little more chilled out than potentially how to melt peoples brains more efficiently. Writers: Gaia Violo & Jane Maggs Director: Andi Armaganian It's been a while since the Miyazaki incident. Time has passed but even with a bit of a break through the last episode, no one has really moved on. The students are rejecting therapy to confront their trauma over the event […]
My Big Fat Khonian Wedding; ‘Ko’Zeine’, Starfleet Academy S1E7
After the tension and drama on board the Miyazaki, it's time to cool things down with some fun. Or at least try to! Following the incident and trauma from the assignment, it's time for the jolly boys outing. Or spring holidays, whatever you want to call it. All Worlds day is what we're calling it here, even if most of the episode is based in a less strange, more familiar world. Writers: Alex Taub & Eric Anthony Glover Director: Larry Teng To set the stage, and be blunt, shit went down. The Miyakzaki exercise resulted in the death of both an instruction and a student. It's been a month since then and nothings really changed, It's been business as usual. Or as business as usual as it gets from the perspective of a lovestruck twenty-something who's not sure what […]
Furie Road; ‘Come, Lets Away’, Starfleet Academy S1E6
After a personal story for SAM, we finally get some action in Come Lets Away as the cadets from both the Academy and the War College have to work together for a training mission on board a derelict starship. Of course, disaster strikes as there are deadly enemies just waiting for their moment to strike the vulnerable, unseasoned team... Writers: Kenneth Lin & Kiley Rosseter Director: Larry Teng In a huge shift of tone from last weeks joyful exploration of Sam's life and struggles, Academy gets a little darker with this one thanks to the USS Miyazaki giving that old haunted house vibe that carries over well into scifi. The Miyazaki was a failed experiment, a test-bed for an experimental warp drive that would bypass the supply shortages of the Burn, but much like every attempt to replace traditional […]
“There is no greater enemy than one’s own fears”; ‘Vox In Exelso’, Starfleet Academy S1E4
When an existential crisis threatens to wipe out a beloved but infamous Star Trek species, a cadet is forced to confront his past and strained relationship with his family. As he pursues an unexpected method of coping, Nahla races against time to save this species from extinction.... Writers: Gaia Violo & Eric Anthony Glover Director: Doug Aarniokoski Ever since Discovery took the jump to the future, there were questions that were left unanswered. A few hundred yeas of changing cultures and political landscapes combined with the galaxy-devastating effect of the Burn gave us a familiar surrounding that had undergone massive change. We found out what happened to the Federation. We found out the Orions took advantage of the power vacuum. We even got to meet an isolationist Earth and see the reunification of Vulcan and Romulus. But for a […]
