Ben Sisko post-Unity. SPOILERS PLEASE.

[Paris]

I've only read the DS9-R upto Unity, and I fully plan on coming back to the remaining books at some point, but I was wondering what Ben Sisko's status post-Unity is?

Is he still in Starfleet? Any plans on accepting that promotion to Admiral that was a possibility? Would it ring true to the overall DS9-R world, and his place in it, to have him participating in Rough Beasts of Empire as a member of Starfleet?

 

[Idoliside]

I've only read the DS9-R upto Unity, and I fully plan on coming back to the remaining books at some point, but I was wondering what Ben Sisko's status post-Unity is?

Is he still in Starfleet? Any plans on accepting that promotion to Admiral that was a possibility? Would it ring true to the overall DS9-R world, and his place in it, to have him participating in Rough Beasts of Empire as a member of Starfleet?

Your going to be a little dissapointed, i recommend reading the books but if you wish

Spoiler: Spoilz

Basically he goes to live with Casidy and his daughter, but when "something" occurs he comes back up to the station, hangs about, gives some advice, and gets punched in the face.

That's about it...

 

[Paris]

So, they are basically wasting a great character ? Sisko should be running the Fleet! He was one of the best tacticians they had during the Dominion War! I know that they delayed his coming back from the Celestial Temple until Unity, but I figured that after he came back that he would have an interesting role to play. Not just sitting in his house taking a break...

Why did they even bother bringing him back if they aren't going to really use him?

Kind of disappointing....

 

[DGCatAniSiri]

Why did they even bother bringing him back?

Because Sisko as a character would want to be there as a father to his daughter, perhaps?

Honestly, what you see as a 'waste' of a character, I see as the natural evolution - the man was planning on building a house on Bajor that Kassidy went and built while he was gone. He is now 'of Bajor,' much like the Prophets which he spent time with.

Besides, he's only been back for... I think six months or so, in-universe, post-finale DS9 novels suffering unavoidable delays that stalled the line - there are only six books in the line that follow on from Unity, and last three of them, Warpath, Fearful Symmetry, and The Soul Key all take place close together, timeline-wise, but had significant real world time pass between the first two. Without that publishing stall, the storyline would probably be further on and Sisko's role would have had an expansion.

Sisko was offered a promotion to Admiral, one that, according to Unity, I believe, was going to be offered to him at the end of the war had he not disappeared, but turned it down to stay on Bajor with his family. I believe his official status is 'personal leave.' At this point, given that Sisko spent time with the Prophets, who do not exist in linear time, it makes sense that he would be somewhat 'outside' of events - he's been outside of time, and needs to readjust to living in the mortal realm.

The series and characters moved on in his absence - returning Sisko to the center chair just because he returned would NOT be natural, because the rest of the world has moved on.

 

[Paris]

Coming back to be a father to his daughter is a pretty decent reason . Have they delved into his relationship with his daughter very much? I didn't realize that only 6 months had passed since his return. 'Personal Leave' makes sense, especially after all the good (and slightly not so good) things he did during the Dominion War. Hopefully he's back in a substantial way in the next book, especially since it takes place 5 years later...

 

[nx1701g]

Personally I've found the decision to have Sisko remain on Bajor was one of the most interesting and best aspects of the relaunch. To me it really fits with the ending of Deep Space Nine and Sisko's plans in the final arc of the series. He'd accepted his place with the Bajoran theology and he was on the world as a connection to the Prophets.

Now would he have returned to active duty to protect Bajor from the Ascendants? Most likely, but I think his concerns now are more for Bajor and his family. That's something that I like more than just more stories of Sisko sitting in the Captain's Chair.

 

[DS9Continuing]

I would say he's become the wise and mysterious adviser. He's there to help Kira in matters of Starfleet and the Prophets, although she is definitely the lead character now. Vaughn kinda sees him the same way, based on the relationship they formed in Unity... although there are twists there.

 

[CaptainDonovin]

Personally I would have loved to have seen Sisko be the Admiral that Picard talks to at the end of Losing The Peace instead of DeSoto. In What You Leave Behind... Sisko did tell Adm. Ross he would go wherever Starfleet wants (or something like that). Who knows, perhaps he ends up as the Ambassador to Bajor.

 

[Paris]

^Or the top Admiral in the sector of space that Bajor is in? He can still live on Bajor and have an important role there as well as in the Fleet...

 

[CaptainDonovin]

^ True. Even though the Dominion are no longer a threat at the moment the Tzenkethi having joined the Typhon Pact could cause a bit of worry in the Bajor sector. With the wormhole an important spot for trade to & from the GQ one would have to assume Starfleet would want their best in the area.

 

[Dark Gilligan]

I don't believe Sisko ever was "career" Starfleet the way that Kirk and Picard were. He was an engineer who simply rose through the ranks. Family was his top priority. He'd made it pretty clear that once the war was over he was going to retire to Bajor with his wife and children. Even moreso now that he's finally at peace with his role as a religious figure. That certainly makes him unique among our other Trek captains.

Someone upthread referred to Sisko as the mysterious advisor. When you think about it that way, he disappeared as King Arthur and returned as Merlin.

 

[Christopher]

^No, I always got the impression that in his younger years, Sisko was interested in rising through the ranks. There was a reference somewhere to him having an ambition to become an admiral. But Bajor changed him and redirected his priorities.

 

[nx1701g]

^No, I always got the impression that in his younger years, Sisko was interested in rising through the ranks. There was a reference somewhere to him having an ambition to become an admiral. But Bajor changed him and redirected his priorities.

In "The Maquis" that was mentioned. He and Cal Hudson made a deal that they'd be Captains by 30 and Admirals by 40.

 

[Dark Gilligan]

^^ Details, details... I like my make-believe version better.

 

[Paris]

I don't believe Sisko ever was "career" Starfleet the way that Kirk and Picard were. He was an engineer who simply rose through the ranks. Family was his top priority. He'd made it pretty clear that once the war was over he was going to retire to Bajor with his wife and children. Even moreso now that he's finally at peace with his role as a religious figure. That certainly makes him unique among our other Trek captains.

Someone upthread referred to Sisko as the mysterious advisor. When you think about it that way, he disappeared as King Arthur and returned as Merlin.

When did Sisko say that he planned on retiring to Bajor following the war ? I know that's where he planned on retiring when retirment came about, but I don't recall him ever saying that was his post-Dominion War plan. Admiral Ross even asked him what he'd do if he was posted somewhere else after the war. I believe he said that he would go where ever he was sent, but that when he went "home" he'd always return to Bajor. He was only about 40 when both the war and the DS9 tv series ended. He has several viable years of service ahead of him.

 

[JarodRussell]

I hoped Sisko's return would be connected to something really epic. Was pretty disappointed with the novels.

 

[LutherSloan]

The end of 'The Soul Key' was somewhat interesting as far as Sisko's character progression:

Spoiler: The Soul Key/Fearful Symmetry

Sisko, in 'Fearful Symmetry', asks Vaughn to go to the Mirror Universe to find Mirror Sisko and get him to fulfill his destiny as the MU Emissary, because he didn't actually die like we saw on the show. However, when Vaughn arrives in the MU, he discovers that MU Sisko was still dead as had been seen on screen. It turns out that Sisko wanted Vaughn to meet his MU counterpart, and put him out of his misery as well. When Vaughn returns to the regular universe, he confronts Sisko for lying to him, and punches him hard in the face.

 

[cml898]

I don't expect Sisko to ever officially return to Starfleet, though he could well be along for the ride on future adventures of the DS9 crew. His primary role now other than family man is as the Emissary, which personally I'm fine with though I understand if others might be disappointed to no longer see him in the uniform.

 

[Sci]

Personally I would have loved to have seen Sisko be the Admiral that Picard talks to at the end of Losing The Peace instead of DeSoto. In What You Leave Behind... Sisko did tell Adm. Ross he would go wherever Starfleet wants (or something like that). Who knows, perhaps he ends up as the Ambassador to Bajor.

Why would the Federation have an ambassador to Bajor? That would be like the United States having an ambassador to Hawai'i after admitting it to the Union. (And for that matter, why would Starfleet have any say in who the Federation appoints as ambassador to Bajor? It's not like the U.S. Armed Forces have any say in who the United States appoints as Ambassador to Germany, for instance.)

 

[Christopher]

How can Sarek be Vulcan's ambassador to Earth if they're both in the Federation? It's pretty clear that the political organization of the UFP is not exactly analogous to the United States, and that member worlds can send ambassadors to the Federation Council, or vice versa.

But you're right that Starfleet would have no authority over civilian governmental decisions like ambassadorial appointments. I think fans sometimes forget that Starfleet isn't the Federation government, it just works for it.