Sisko is the CO, Kira is clearly the 'number one', but who would take command of the station when both of them are incapacitated/unavailable? Odo? Worf? Someone else still?
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So, who's third in command on DS9?
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I'd say it's almost certainly Worf from S4 onwards - strategic operations officer seems like a 'big' job that fits with being third in line.
Eddington seemed to be up there as well in S3 - I seem to remember him being left in command once or twice when Sisko/Kira weren't available.
S2 and S1 is difficult but Jadzia seems to be the only viable candidate unless there's someone unseen who filled the role.
Eddington seemed to be up there as well in S3 - I seem to remember him being left in command once or twice when Sisko/Kira weren't available.
S2 and S1 is difficult but Jadzia seems to be the only viable candidate unless there's someone unseen who filled the role.
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Does he though? It always seemed like he was the same as O'Brien. Someone whose position granted them superiority over people with rank even though they had none themselves.
I do kind of hope Dax was above Odo in the order. In season one Odo seemed extremely ill at ease being in command. That may have been due to the circumstances (Babel) but nevertheless.
Odo's remit was very specifically station security - I struggle to imagine Odo in overall command of the station for an extended period, during a crisis like an enemy attack or anomaly-of-the-week scenario issuing orders, making tactical decisions, liaising with Starfleet, Provisional Government etc. Can't see it.
He's good at what he does but I don't for a second see Sisko/Kira turning command over to him in their absence.
He's good at what he does but I don't for a second see Sisko/Kira turning command over to him in their absence.
Unknown to many, it was really Morn.
Like many things, the chain of command below Kira was subject to whatever the situation was. I don't think we ever see a situation in which Worf was in command of the station alone, and the command structures of the station was probably slightly different from the Defiant. If I had to make a guess, Dax was the second officer.
They make that explicit in Apocalypse Rising.
Kira "But with the Captain gone, I am in charge of the station and I say we stay."
Worf "You may be in charge of the station, Major, but I command the Defiant."
I would say Dax, then Worf.
Odo is definitely *not* bajoran militia: he used to hold his post with the cardassians as well and the whole point was that he was totally neutral.
Odo is definitely *not* bajoran militia: he used to hold his post with the cardassians as well and the whole point was that he was totally neutral.
Kira was going to argue, but then the shuttle appeared. I would not bet against Kira getting her way. The Defiant does not have permission to leave dock.
Still, he must be officially embedded within some hierarchy, whether it is Starfleet or Bajoran militia. He can't simply hold the head of security as an independent post, answering to 'the station commander' without it being part of a larger hierarchy- at least, it would seem that way to me. And I'm not sure it would be Starfleet (although he does report to them, AFAIK).
Neither did I give give it ever any thought before, until it struck me that we do know in most other series: In TNG, it's Data, in VOY, it's Tuvok, in ENT and TOS it probably would fall to the chief engineers (Trip and Scotty, respectively). We do not really have such a chief engineer on DS9, unless it would be o'Brien but he certainly wouldn't qualify as a non-commissioned officer. I could buy the 'head of science', Dax, being it instead, except that she feels a bit junior to me (even with that centuries old slug in her body).
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can’t see why not. He answer to the federation AND to the provisional government, but doesn’t really need to be inserted into a full chain of command: he’s basically an independent contractor.
Which brings up further questions. Who do Odo's deputies report to when Odo isn't around? He was sometimes on extended absences - "The Search", "Ascent", several episodes in season 7 when he was with Kira teaching the Cardassians to run an underground resistance.
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