Emissary (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
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| Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode | |
| "Emissary" | |
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| Episode no. | 1-2 |
|---|---|
| Prod. code | 401-402 |
| Airdate | January 3, 1993 |
| Writer(s) | Story by Rick Berman Michael Piller Teleplay by Michael Piller |
| Director | David Carson |
| Guest star(s) | Patrick Stewart Camille Saviola Felecia M. Bell Marc Alaimo Joel Swetow Aron Eisenberg Stephen Davies Max Grodenchik Steven Rankin Lily Mariya Cassandra Byram J.G. Hertzler April Grace Kevin McDermott Parker Whitman William Powell-Blair Frank Owen Smith Lynnda Ferguson Megan Butler Stephen Rowe Thomas Hobson Donald Hotton Gene Armor Diana Cignoni Judi Durand Majel Barrett |
| Year | 2369 |
| Stardate | 46379.1 |
| Episode chronology | |
| Next | "Past Prologue" |
"Emissary" is the pilot episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It is a double-length episode, and is usually shown in two parts in syndication. The episode features Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the USS Enterprise in a passing-the-torch guest appearance.
Overview: A new crew takes command of an abandoned space station and makes an incredible discovery that will change the galaxy.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
[edit] Part I
Commander Benjamin Sisko 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 non-essential systems by the Cardassians, and the Bajoran staff, led by Major Kira Nerys distrusting 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 that 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 to see if there is any scientific basis for the Orbs.
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 created for them inside the wormhole when Dax is suddenly sent away, appearing moments later on the bridge of Deep Space Nine, while Sisko remains in a white void.
[edit] Part II
Dax quickly relates their findings. Nerys, 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 refuses to 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, Nerys attempts to delay the Cardassians' hostility by altering their sensor reading to appear that the station is heavily armed. The Cardassians eventually see through the illusion, and prepare to assault the station.
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 entities" 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 Nerys is ready 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 the wormhole open and allow ships to pass through. When the Enterprise arrives in response to Nerys' earlier call for help, Sisko informs Picard that the wormhole entities have helped him to get past his grieving of Jennifer's death and to move on, and that he plans to remain station commander indefinitely.
[edit] Guest stars
- Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Locutus
- Camille Saviola as Kai Opaka
- Felecia M. Bell as Jennifer Sisko
- Marc Alaimo as Gul Dukat
- Joel Swetow as Gul Jasad
- Aron Eisenberg as Nog
- Stephen Davies as Tactical Officer
- Max Grodénchik as Ferengi pit boss (Rom)
- Steven Rankin as Cardassian Officer
- Lily Mariye as Ops Officer
- Cassandra Byram as Conn Officer
- John Noah Hertzler as Vulcan Captain
- April Grace as Transporter Chief Maggie Hubbell
- Kevin McDermott as Alien Batter
- Parker Whitman as Cardassian Officer
- William Powell-Blair as Cardassian Officer
- Frank Owen Smith as Curzon Dax
- Lynnda Ferguson as Doran
- Megan Butler as Lieutenant
- Stephen Rowe as Chanting Monk
- Thomas Hobson as Young Jake
- Donald Hotton as Bajoran Monk
- Gene Armor as Bajoran Bureaucrat
- Diana Cignoni as Dabo Girl
- Judi Durand as DS9 Computer Voice
- Majel Barrett as USS Saratoga Computer Voice
- Mark Allen Shepherd as Morn (uncredited)
[edit] References
- P. Farrand, Nitpicker's Guide for Deep space Nine Trekkers New York: Dell (1996): 3 - 12
[edit] External links
- Emissary at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
- Emissary article at STARTREK.COM, the official Star Trek website
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