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Emissary (DS9 episode)
Encyclopedia
"Emissary" is the 1st and 2nd episodes
, comprising the pilot, of the science fiction
television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
.
is assigned by Starfleet
as station commander of "Deep Space Nine
" in orbit of Bajor, previously used by the Cardassian Union
during its occupation of the planet, now repurposed to help Bajor to enter into the Federation
. Sisko is resentful of the duty, having lost his wife Jennifer three years previously during the Borg
attack at Wolf 359
and destruction of his former ship, the USS Saratoga, and worried about the well-being of his teenage son Jake
while on the station. When he and Jake arrive, they find the station nearly stripped bare of unessential systems by the Cardassians, and the Bajoran staff, led by Major Kira Nerys
, distrustful of Starfleet's presence. As the USS Enterprise
delivers more Starfleet staff, including Chief Miles O'Brien
and his family, Sisko becomes more despondent of the position as he gets his final orders from Captain Picard
, the man Sisko holds responsible for Jennifer's death. Sisko informs Picard of his intent to drop out of Starfleet to seek a civilian position in a few years, but continues to perform his job as station commander.
With the help of Odo, the station's chief of security, Sisko manages to convince the Ferengi
barkeeper, Quark
, to remain aboard the station, helping to keep the station as an active waypoint for ships as well as providing Jake a friend in Quark's nephew, Nog. He later visits the spiritual leader Kai Opaka on Bajor, who shows him the Orb of Prophecy and Change, one of several similar orbs believed to be sent by the Bajoran Prophets
. Sisko looks into the Orb and finds himself reliving the moments when he met Jennifer for the first time. After his vision, the Kai tells Sisko that she believes him to be the "Emissary", a messiah
figure who will help Bajor, and gives him the Orb to study further. When Sisko returns to the station, he finds the rest of his staff has arrived, including Chief of Medicine Dr. Julian Bashir
and Science Officer Lt. Jadzia Dax
, whom Sisko happily recognizes as a Trill
and the current host of his former friend Curzon Dax. Sisko gives Dax the Orb to study for a scientific explanation of the way it works.
The station is soon visited by its former commander, the Cardassian Gul Dukat
, who insists that he is seeking a way to regain his position and office back on the station, and remains in his ship parked in orbit near the station. When Dax discovers that the Orb is related to several phenomena near Bajor, Sisko recognizes that any investigation will tip off the Cardassians, and arranges for Odo to use his shapeshifting abilities to disable the Cardassian sensors. With the Cardassians unable to detect them, Sisko and Dax take a runabout to the location of the phenomena and discover the entrance to a stable wormhole
leading to the Gamma Quadrant. Thrilled at the discovery, the two attempt to return through the wormhole but become stuck by some force inside it. Sisko and Dax are exploring the strange environment revealed inside the wormhole when Dax is suddenly sent away, appearing moments later on the operations deck of Deep Space Nine, while Sisko remains in a white void.
Sisko, in the meantime, finds that he has encountered entities in the wormhole who speak to him through images of his wife, friends, and crew members. The "wormhole aliens" question Sisko's corporeal and linear existence, and explain that they become disrupted when such beings pass through the wormhole. They become further enraged when Gul Dukat's ship attempts to pass through, and forcibly close the wormhole and disable the ship. Sisko attempts to explain how his kind thrive on their linear existence, but the entities point out that he continues to return to the moment of Jennifer's death. Sisko comes to the realization that he has been grieving over the loss of his wife and explains this to the aliens.
The Cardassians begin their attack on Deep Space Nine, but just as the shields fail and Kira prepares to surrender the station, the wormhole opens up again, with Sisko in the runabout towing Gul Dukat's ship out of it. On Gul Dukat's orders, the Cardassians stop their attack and depart. Sisko reveals that he was able to negotiate with the wormhole aliens to keep it open and allow ships to pass through. When the Enterprise arrives in response to Kira's earlier call for help, Sisko informs Picard that the wormhole aliens have helped him to overcome his grief about Jennifer's death and to move on, and that he plans to remain station commander indefinitely.
Episode
An episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. An episode is a part of a sequence of a body of work, akin to a chapter of a book. The term sometimes applies to works based on other forms of mass media as well, as in Star Wars...
, comprising the pilot, of the science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
.
Overview
A new crew takes command of an abandoned space station and makes an astonishing discovery that will change the galaxy.Part I
Commander Benjamin SiskoBenjamin Sisko
Benjamin Lafayette Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, is the main character of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Early life and career:...
is assigned by Starfleet
Starfleet
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet or the Federation Starfleet is the deep-space exploratory, peacekeeping and military service maintained by the United Federation of Planets . It is the principal means by which the Federation conducts its exploration, defense, diplomacy and research...
as station commander of "Deep Space Nine
Deep Space Nine (space station)
Deep Space Nine is a fictitious space station, and is the eponymous primary setting of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It serves as a base for the exploration of the Gamma Quadrant via the Bajoran wormhole, and is a hub of trade and travel for the sector's denizens...
" in orbit of Bajor, previously used by the Cardassian Union
Cardassian
The Cardassians are an extraterrestrial species in the Star Trek science fiction franchise. First introduced in the 1991 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Wounded", the species originating on the fictional Alpha Quadrant planet Cardassia Prime...
during its occupation of the planet, now repurposed to help Bajor to enter into the Federation
United Federation of Planets
The United Federation of Planets, also known as "The Federation" is a fictional interplanetary federal republic depicted in the Star Trek television series and motion pictures...
. Sisko is resentful of the duty, having lost his wife Jennifer three years previously during the Borg
Borg (Star Trek)
The Borg are a fictional pseudo-race of cybernetic organisms depicted in the Star Trek universe associated with Star Trek.Whereas cybernetics are used by other races in the science fiction world to repair bodily damage and birth defects, the Borg use enforced cybernetic enhancement as a means of...
attack at Wolf 359
Battle of Wolf 359
The Battle of Wolf 359 is a fictional space battle in the Star Trek universe between the United Federation of Planets and the Borg Collective in the year 2367...
and destruction of his former ship, the USS Saratoga, and worried about the well-being of his teenage son Jake
Jake Sisko
Jacob "Jake" Sisko, played by Cirroc Lofton, is a character on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He is the son of Deep Space Nine's commanding officer, Benjamin Sisko.-Overview:...
while on the station. When he and Jake arrive, they find the station nearly stripped bare of unessential systems by the Cardassians, and the Bajoran staff, led by Major Kira Nerys
Kira Nerys
Kira Nerys , played by Nana Visitor, is a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Backstory:Per Bajoran custom, her family name, Kira, precedes her given name, Nerys. She has two brothers , and her parents' names are Kira Taban and Kira Meru...
, distrustful of Starfleet's presence. As the USS Enterprise
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)
The USS Enterprise is a 24th century starship in the Star Trek fictional universe and the principal setting of the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series...
delivers more Starfleet staff, including Chief Miles O'Brien
Miles O'Brien (Star Trek)
Miles Edward O'Brien, played by Colm Meaney, is Chief of Operations in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Before DS9, he appeared as a recurring transporter chief in Star Trek: The Next Generation...
and his family, Sisko becomes more despondent of the position as he gets his final orders from Captain Picard
Jean-Luc Picard
Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a Star Trek character portrayed by Patrick Stewart. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis...
, the man Sisko holds responsible for Jennifer's death. Sisko informs Picard of his intent to drop out of Starfleet to seek a civilian position in a few years, but continues to perform his job as station commander.
With the help of Odo, the station's chief of security, Sisko manages to convince the Ferengi
Ferengi
The Ferengi are a fictitious extraterrestrial race from the Star Trek universe. They first appeared in "The Last Outpost", the fifth episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987, during which they made first contact with the United Federation of Planets in 2364 on the planet Delphi Ardu,...
barkeeper, Quark
Quark (Star Trek)
Quark is a fictional character in the American television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The character, which was played by Armin Shimerman, was depicted as a member of an extraterrestrial race known as the Ferengi, who are stereotypically ultra-capitalist and only motivated by...
, to remain aboard the station, helping to keep the station as an active waypoint for ships as well as providing Jake a friend in Quark's nephew, Nog. He later visits the spiritual leader Kai Opaka on Bajor, who shows him the Orb of Prophecy and Change, one of several similar orbs believed to be sent by the Bajoran Prophets
Prophet (Star Trek)
In the fictional Star Trek universe, the Prophets, also known as Wormhole Aliens, are non-corporeal beings who inhabit the artificially constructed Bajoran wormhole which connects a distant point in the Gamma Quadrant to the Alpha Quadrant, near the planet of Bajor and the space station Deep Space...
. Sisko looks into the Orb and finds himself reliving the moments when he met Jennifer for the first time. After his vision, the Kai tells Sisko that she believes him to be the "Emissary", a messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
figure who will help Bajor, and gives him the Orb to study further. When Sisko returns to the station, he finds the rest of his staff has arrived, including Chief of Medicine Dr. Julian Bashir
Julian Bashir
Lieutenant Julian Subatoi Bashir, M.D., played by Alexander Siddig, is a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Bashir is the chief medical officer of space station Deep Space Nine and the USS Defiant.-Overview:...
and Science Officer Lt. Jadzia Dax
Jadzia Dax
Jadzia Dax , played by Terry Farrell, was a main character during the first six seasons of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine....
, whom Sisko happily recognizes as a Trill
Trill (Star Trek)
The Trill are a fictional species of symbiotic life forms, depicted in the Star Trek media franchise. First introduced in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the species became a major part of the spin-off series, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, which featured a Trill named Dax as one of its...
and the current host of his former friend Curzon Dax. Sisko gives Dax the Orb to study for a scientific explanation of the way it works.
The station is soon visited by its former commander, the Cardassian Gul Dukat
Dukat (Star Trek)
Gul Dukat is the main antagonist of the fictional television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He is a member of the fictional Cardassian species, and leader in the Cardassian Union. At times he is an enemy, whilst at others an ally of the series' protagonist Benjamin Sisko. He was played by actor...
, who insists that he is seeking a way to regain his position and office back on the station, and remains in his ship parked in orbit near the station. When Dax discovers that the Orb is related to several phenomena near Bajor, Sisko recognizes that any investigation will tip off the Cardassians, and arranges for Odo to use his shapeshifting abilities to disable the Cardassian sensors. With the Cardassians unable to detect them, Sisko and Dax take a runabout to the location of the phenomena and discover the entrance to a stable wormhole
Wormhole
In physics, a wormhole is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through spacetime. For a simple visual explanation of a wormhole, consider spacetime visualized as a two-dimensional surface. If this surface is folded along a third dimension, it...
leading to the Gamma Quadrant. Thrilled at the discovery, the two attempt to return through the wormhole but become stuck by some force inside it. Sisko and Dax are exploring the strange environment revealed inside the wormhole when Dax is suddenly sent away, appearing moments later on the operations deck of Deep Space Nine, while Sisko remains in a white void.
Part II
Dax quickly relates their findings. Kira, recognizing the value of the stable wormhole to Bajor's future, orders the staff to move the station close to the wormhole's mouth. Gul Dukat, having repaired his sensors, follows the station and discovers the wormhole himself. Dukat enters the wormhole, but when the station's staff tries to follow, they find the wormhole entrance no longer open. Cardassian ships begin to arrive at the station, questioning the disappearance of Gul Dukat and dismissing the claims of a wormhole. After requesting help from Starfleet, Kira attempts to hold off the Cardassians' by altering their sensor reading to appear that the station is heavily armed. The Cardassians eventually see through the illusion, and prepare for an assault.Sisko, in the meantime, finds that he has encountered entities in the wormhole who speak to him through images of his wife, friends, and crew members. The "wormhole aliens" question Sisko's corporeal and linear existence, and explain that they become disrupted when such beings pass through the wormhole. They become further enraged when Gul Dukat's ship attempts to pass through, and forcibly close the wormhole and disable the ship. Sisko attempts to explain how his kind thrive on their linear existence, but the entities point out that he continues to return to the moment of Jennifer's death. Sisko comes to the realization that he has been grieving over the loss of his wife and explains this to the aliens.
The Cardassians begin their attack on Deep Space Nine, but just as the shields fail and Kira prepares to surrender the station, the wormhole opens up again, with Sisko in the runabout towing Gul Dukat's ship out of it. On Gul Dukat's orders, the Cardassians stop their attack and depart. Sisko reveals that he was able to negotiate with the wormhole aliens to keep it open and allow ships to pass through. When the Enterprise arrives in response to Kira's earlier call for help, Sisko informs Picard that the wormhole aliens have helped him to overcome his grief about Jennifer's death and to move on, and that he plans to remain station commander indefinitely.