German Trekkie - Trekrate - 04 - DS9 The Emissary Part 1/2

German Trekkie – Trekrate – 04 – DS9 The Emissary Part 1/2

Welcome to a new video on TrekRate a series where I either chose an episode or take a requested one. In today’s video, we are going to cover the first Deep Space 9 episode “The Emissary”.

The “Emissary” is a two-parter and the opening of “Star Trek: Deep Space 9” and first aired 3rd of January 1993. The episode was written by Michael Piller and Rick Berman and directed by David Carson.

It opens at the battle of Wolf 359 where the young Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Sisko serves as the executive officer of the U.S.S. Saratoga during the battle against the Borg which was led by Locutus, who was an assimilated Captain Picard.

After its shields were drained by the Cube the Saratoga sustains a direct hit which kills most of the bridge crew except for Sisko and a Bolian tactical officer. Because of this hit, a warp core breach began and they only had five minutes to abandon the crippled ship. Whilst the Bolian helps with the evacuation Sisko goes back to his quarters to find that his son Jake and his wife Jennifer are buried underneath some debris. GOD WHY THE HELL DO YOU HAVE YOUR FAMILY WITH YOU YOU ON A MIRANDA CLASS STARSHIP.

I can understand this on a Galaxy but not a Miranda. Sisko manages to rescue Jake, however, Jennifer remains trapped a scan from a Tricorder conducted by the Bolian Tactical Officer reveals that she is dead and he drags of Sisko to the escape pod. The last thing he sees of the Saratoga is that it is blowing up.

(CBS) The Destruction of the U.S.S. Saratoga (NCC-31911) – “Emissary” -DS9 S1

Three years later a now Commander Sisko approaches his son Jake who is a teenager by now fishing in an Earth-like lake on the holodeck. They leave it and we see a space Station coming closer which is called Deep Space 9 and was a former Cardassian mining station and the Intro starts which is my favourite in all of Trek.

Sisko, O’Brien and Jake enter the station which is a chaotic mess because the Cardassians decided to damage most of the Systems before leaving. The same can also be said about Bajor itself. O’Brien notes that most of the systems are down and that Picard wants to speak with Sisko.

After having a little tour of the OPS, Sisko enters the prefect’s office where finds Major Kira Nerys who is a Bajoran and his first officer and also I in a very heated argument with the Provisional Government. She is also not so happy that the Federation is at Bajor and fears that they want to do the same the Cardassians did sixty years Prior

An alarm at the Promenade interrupts their conversation. A young Ferengi named Nog and some other Dude was captured by Odo the station’s security chief. Due to the fact that Quark who is Nogs uncle and the owner of the local bar wants to depart the station soon, he urges Sisko to release him. Sisko, however, orders Odo to through the thieves into the Brig. Another reminder also force Sisko to go and visit Picard.

When Sisko meets Picard he re-introduces himself telling Picard that he met him or rather Locutus at the Battle of Wolf 359. Picard a little bit uncomfortable about the memories of this event immediately starts discussing the troubles on Bajor and that Bajor has applied for Federation membership.

(CBS) Picard & Sisko Meet Again – “Emissary” – DS9 S1

Bajor joining the Federation won’t be simple since there are several factions fighting over gaining control on Bajor. Picard tells Sisko that his mission if he chooses to accept is to do everything possible and that does not violate the prime directive in order to prepare the Bajorans to enter the Federation. Sisko, however, points out that he is not so fond of getting assigned to the station and raise a child there. Picard then tells him that he will contact Starfleet Command in order to get a replacement and dismisses Sisko.

The next scene shows Sisko urging Quark to stay at DS9 in order to reopen his establishment and becoming a community leader if he wants Nog to get out of the Brig.

Further on Kira and Sisko have a discussion where Kira expresses that she feels the necessity for Kai Opaka who is the spiritual leader of Bajor to emerge and help to unite the People. Sisko who finds this Idea very interesting then goes to the surface in order to meet Opaka. The Kai urges Sisko to explore his pagh or life forces and also tells him that he is the emissary of the prophets. Then she leads him to the Orb of Prophecy and changes where Sisko is mentally transported to Gilgo Beach earlier in time where he first met his wife Jennifer.

After the experience, Opaka explains to Sisko most about the Orb and tells him that his destiny is to find the Celestial Temple. She also hands him the Orb to study it.

Back on Ds9 Sisko goes to Quarks and finds that he unpacked and also he implies that he agrees to Sisko’s terms. After this Sisko greets his new chief medical Officer Doctor Bashir and Jadzia Dax who is Ds9’s chief science officer. Meeting Dax is a reunion for Sisko however he new the Dax symbiont’s prior Host Curzon. Bashir manages to offend Kira calling his assignment as frontier medicine which obviously is no frontier at all. Jadzia immediately gets put to work by Sisko to study the Orb. During her research, she gets a vision of her own where she sees the final moments before she was joined with the Dax symbiont.

(CBS) Picard Beams O’Brien to DS9 – “Emissary” – DS9 S1

A cut takes us on the Enterprise where Miles is standing on the Bridge thinking if he should enter the Captain’s ready room. He then decides against it takes a final look at the Bridge and heads for transporter room 3. However before Ensign Maggie can transport him to Ds9, Picard enters and dismisses the Ensign. Picard and O’Brien talk about the transporter room and then Picard beams him to the Station. The Enterprise sets course to the Lapolis system.

Shortly after the Enterprise leaves orbit, a Cardassian warship enters the system that is commanded by Gul Dukat who is the former prefect of Bajor. Gul Dukat meets Sisko in his office which was Dukat’s office two weeks ago. They talk about the Orb well actually Dukat talks about it and Sisko negates its existence.

Dax in the meantime figured that the Denorios belt might be the origin of the Orbs. Sisko who wants to take a closer looks decides they should go there however the Cardassians might be a problem.

At Quarks, we have Cardassians playing Dabo and winning when Kira comes in and shuts down the Bar. A waiter hands the Cardassians a bag which is actually Odo who is supposed to sabotage the Cardassian systems so the U.S.S. Rio Grande a runabout can depart the station. Kicking the Cardassian computer also gets Odo beamed back on the Station.

Sisko and Dax depart the Station and head for the Denorios belt suddenly a wormhole opens and swallows the Rio Grande taking it into the Gamma Quadrant.

(CBS) Dax’s Vision in the Celestial Temple – “Emissary” – DS9 S1

When they attempt to return to the Alpha Quadrant the runabout loses power and velocity and they are forced to land on a sort of planet with an atmosphere. For Sisko, it appears like the planet is a wasteland with a raging electrical storm. Dax, however, sees an idyllic garden. An Orb appears and scans them taking Dax back to Ds9 and transporting Sisko to the Celestial Temple where his communication with the Prophets begins.

The prophets who are entities without a body and the concept of time and space show up to him in different forms. Like Picard, Locutus, Jake and his wife Jennifer. They seek out new life and…wait for no hold on they actually only want contact with different lifeforms but find Sisko unworthy since he has a body. Sisko, however, tries to defend himself.

Kira who realizes what Sisko and Dax discovered orders, O’Brien, to figure out a way to get the station to the wormhole as fast as possible. O’Brien states that they would need a month to do so however Kira urges him to figure out a faster way since they need to claim the wormhole before the Cardassians do so. Also, a Federation’s presence would make the claim stronger. Dax suggests that they can use the Deflector in order to lower the inertial mass of the station and also that they should contact Starfleet to get back the Enterprise and maybe even more ships. Further on Kira, Dax Bashir and Odo who noted that he was found in the Denorios belt take another runabout in order to retrieve Sisko.

Meanwhile, in the wormhole Sisko Prophets who discuss the option to destroy the intruder. In order to prove them wrong, He lets shares his past with them. Well before that, he has to explain it to them.

Back on Ds9 O’Brien struggles with the Cardassian computer in order to get to the wormhole. Dukat manages to get his ship back online and they rush to the location of the wormhole since he is sure that Sisko is negotiating a deal with the wormhole aliens.

(CBS) DS9 on the move – “Emissary” – DS9 S1

We get a continuation of the discussion between Sisko and the Prophets and they continue to take him through his past. Suddenly everything stops and Gul Dukat’s ship reaches the Gamma Quadrant. Shortly before the U.S.S. Yangtzee Kiang manages to get inside the wormhole the Prophets close it.

They explain to Sisko that every time someone travels through the wormhole it disrupts their existence and this is the reason why they had to close it. They also call the linear lifeforms disruptive and Sisko tries to explain to them that is not the case by showing the birth of his son. The Prophets started to understand however not fully and Sisko decides to show them Baseball in order to teach them the concept of consequences and trial and error. He also tells them that he is not here to conquer them but to co-exist and share knowledge. The Prophets take him back to the Saratoga.

At Ds9 a fleet of Cardassian warships approaches in order to investigate Dukat’s disappearance. Gul Jasad who is the commander of the fleet orders Kira to surrender within an hour.

Sisko who is getting angry that the Prophets take him to the Saratoga all the time demands to know why. They tell him that he is taking them there and Sisko realizes that he was ready to die with her. Also that he never really left the Saratoga. He finally lets go of his emotions.

At the station, things with the Cardassians start to get worse. Kria fires six photon torpedoes which were the station’s full compliment as part of a bluff to create the illusion that Starfleet has replenished Ds9’s weaponry. This however fails and the Cardassians start their attack on the station. Shortly before Kira wants to surrender the wormhole reappears with the Rio Grande leaving it towing Dukat’s ship with behind it.

(CBS) DS9 gives Gul Jasad his answer – “Emissary” – DS9 S1

Dukat orders the Cardassians to stand down and luckily everything ends without casualties. Sisko once again meets Picard and asks him to ignore the reassignment request from earlier. A final look at the Promenade and the station as the repairs continue to leave us wondering where the show will go in the future setting of the next exciting episodes of Star Trek Deep Space 9.

While some people aren’t big fans of the pilot or the first season I have to agree on the first seasons but that happens to all Trek shows. However, I truly believe that the pilot of Ds9 is the best of all Star Trek. It not only brings back a character we all know and love but also introduces us to a new and awesome character. Immediately showing us some of their personality and backstory and creating an environment where you can only fall in love with the show’s characters.

Even if this is a great pilot it is not a perfect episode and misses some of the things we have in the first episodes of the other shows. Because of its unusual setting aboard a station and not a ship it kind of takes away the sense of motion and flexibility to the show. I now view it as if I had seen it for the first time and without regard for what is coming, I must say I’m sceptical about the fact that they are on the station and fear that the story might get boring. Therefore I only rate this.

Let me know your opinion in the comment section. If you have requests for future episodes don’t hesitate to put them forward. Make sure to leave a like and a sub.

With all that said I hope you enjoyed stay healthy and safe, GermanTrekkie out.  

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