So, would the Dominion War have been lost with Picard in Sisko's shoes?

[at Quark's]

It seems Sisko's actions in In the Pale Moonlight were instrumental in bringing the Romulans into the war, which in turn seems to have been instrumental in tipping the balance, and eventually, winning the war. Also, his being intermediary between the Prophets and Bajor seems instrumental at some key points of the war (for example the destruction of the Dominion fleet in the wormhole, and later on, closing the wormhole for additional Dominion fleets).

I very much doubt Picard would have been willing to take the shady actions Sisko took to get the Romulans on their side... - or would he, if the need became high enough? - also I doubt whether Picard would have been as willing to become the Emissary (and, by implication the intermediary between the Prophets and these 'corporeal matters that do not concern them').

Of course the writers would always have found some way to conclude with victory for the Federation, but that's out-of-universe. In-universe, how would things have gone?

 

[Terok Nor]

Categorically, yes.

 

[Kibbin]

I think Picard may have gone under hand but I feel he wouldn't have done the whole Emissary thing after his speech in who watches.... granted he might have come round to it eventually but by then it would have been too late to become as strong a presence in Bajoran culture as he did

 

[Timo]

It is inconceivable that anything Sisko did in "Moonlight" would have happened without SF Intelligence sanction. Sisko is a trained officer: he would be aware that information warfare must be thoroughly orchestrated lest it backfire. A single move is but one among hundreds in a greater game. And Sisko would at most be a pawn, allowed to move one tiny step on the board; one way or another, SFI would make use of his success or failure. Even if it called for blowing up Sisko and then blaming that on the Romulans...

Picard might have chosen not to play. In which case SFI would just have picked another pawn and played that.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Picard would lose the war, if only because the Dominion War was not a problem to solve but an experience to persevere through. No one would let Picard's character be challenged in the way that Sisko was by the Dominion War, and Patrick Stewart would probably have refused to play it. Would Picard conceive a deception to make the Romulans turn against the Dominion? No. Would Picard have gained the trust of the Prophets to keep the wormhole sealed? No. Would Picard have ever trusted Garak, whose contributions to the war were not limited to what we see in Pale Moonlight? No. Would Picard have undergone a personal journey in order to re-establish contact with the Prophets? No. Would Picard have pressed on to Cardassia after the fleet turned on the Dominion? The answer is not a clearly yes as I would like it to be.

 

[at Quark's]

Picard might have chosen not to play. In which case SFI would just have picked another pawn and played that.
Timo Saloniemi

Or Picard might have made a big stink about it before they could do so, by (threatening) to reveal it to a more general public, like he did in Insurrection

 

[Terok Nor]

I love Picard to death but he's clearly not capable of making the decisions Sisko made. Great character but far too self righteous and play it by the book to deal with the Dominion or the Prophets. Sisko had to be the lead character of DS9 for the series to work the way it did. I'm not saying the other captains (Kirk, Janeway, Archer) couldn't have done it to varying degrees of success but Picard was far too rigid and straight laced for DS9.

I think every Trek show has actually gotten the captain it needed. Even Discovery since it wants to break the mold.

 

[Longinus]

Picard would have refused to be an Emisary but would have negotiated with the Wormhole Aliens after figuring out how they work and how to communicate with them. And he obviously would not have committed a conspiracy to murder anyone. He would have found a way to end the conflict peacefully and way earlier.

 

[Tenacity]

It is inconceivable that anything Sisko did in "Moonlight" would have happened without SF Intelligence sanction

Most likely that's exactly what happened.

Once the cure for the deadly sickness section 31 infected the Founders with became known to Picard, he would have sent the cure (one way of another) to the Founders. Eliminating the possibility of using it at Cardassian as a bargaining tool to end the war.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Most likely that's exactly what happened.

Once the cure for the deadly sickness section 31 infected the Founders with became known to Picard, he would have sent the cure (one way of another) to the Founders. Eliminating the possibility of using it at Cardassian as a bargaining tool to end the war.

The disease didn't start the war, and the cure didn't end it. They were deeply suspicious of other species, something that only Odo was able to address. And we know how the Founders treat species who have been nice to them: they turn them into genetically altered servants, whose lives mean nothing to the Founders.

 

[at Quark's]

He would have found a way to end the conflict peacefully and way earlier.

Could he have, though? He couldn't with the Borg....

.... and before you say: but the Borg can't be reasoned with, the Founders could prove to be just as implacable,. After all, Picard is just a lowly solid, and everything in DS9 shows that besides deeply mistrusting them, they deem all solids far below and far inferior to themselves, so why would even listen to him, no matter how eloquent he was? It's very well possible that Odo really was the only one who could make them listen by virtue of being a changeling himself.

I don't even consider it out of the realm of possibility that, hadn't it been Odo that brought them the cure, they would have sooner all died from that disease than ask the Federation for help, if it turned out the Feds had the cure and they couldn't get their hands on it in another way ...

 

[Riker'sMailbox]

Each captain had their strength and each captain had their weakness. I think it was both a strength and a weakness of Piacrd's that he lived and breathed by Starfleet regs and by his unwavering moral code. This served him well as captain of a starship that was exploring the galaxy.

However, he would not have been a good fit for the captain of a space station that was the epicenter of a galcatic war.The nature of war requires that people sometimes have to cast aside their morality, have to make questionable decision that may go against their own moral fiber, for the greater good. I think back to the conversation between Garak and Sisko at the end of 'ITPM' and how Sisko was able to recognize that he could live with his deeds since it served the greater good. I cannot see Picard ever reaching that same realization. He would have had Garak arrested and he would have informed the Romulan government because he was unwavering.

Each captain was the right captain for their show. Heck, Janeway was able to form a temporary alliance with the Borg. I cannot see any other captain even entertaining such an alliance.

 

[Tenacity]

The disease didn't start the war, and the cure didn't end it.

I disagree, it was the availibility of the cure that ended the war when it did. The Founders would have fought on.

The Federation and allies probably would have eventually won, but only after more death and destruction.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

I disagree, it was the availibility of the cure that ended the war when it did. The Founders would have fought on.

The Federation and allies probably would have eventually won, but only after more death and destruction.

they would have fought on anyway. Their nihilism was in full display. They weren't fighting for a cure, that's fore sure.

[STRIKE]Let's not forget that the female founder literally questions that the Federation wouldn't use the cure to dominate the Dominion. trust was central.[/STRIKE]

 

[Infern0]

Sisko was ideally suited for the role he had on DS9, Picard was a totally different personality type with different skills.

We really can't say how the war would have played out if they switched roles because everything from day one would have been different. Every decision. Butterfly effect.

For the way the story was written it had to be sisko.

Just like if sisko had lead the battle of sector 001 instead of Picard, the federation wouldnt exist.

 

[Jedman67]

Why do you require a con man do create a realistic holographic forgery? Literally all you need to do is walk into the holodeck and say "computer, create a holographic Gul Dukat"....

 

[Tenacity]

They weren't fighting for a cure, that's fore sure.

But the Founder surrendered in order to immediately have access to the cure.

Ending the war.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

The Female Founder surrendering did not resolve the concern that the Feds or Klingonscwould overrun them.

 

[XCV330]

If they hadn't, its not impossible to imagine even more virulent and genocidal attacks engineered by Sec.31. The Dominion War caused them to show their hand in ways that probably hadn't in over a century, and it was pretty clear they weren't going to allow anything to cause the Federation to lose. They'd seen the Bashir's augment group's mathematical outcomes, knowing those were predicated on the Federation behaving like the federation. Sec.31 doesn't behave like that. The founder had to realize she was up against a fist inside a pretty velvet glove. She could not win.

 

[Longinus]

I cannot see Picard ever reaching that same realization. He would have had Garak arrested and he would have informed the Romulan government because he was unwavering.

Indeed. And later we would see Romulans helping the the Federation, convinced by thankful senator Vreenak.

Sisko was really lucky that the Romulans never found out what he did. It was an idiotic plan that risked angering the Romulans to the point they could have decided to help the Dominion.