Why didn't Sisko lose his command after discovering the wormhole?

[Snaploud]

The discovery of the wormhole turned Deep Space Nine from a backwards posting to a prime spot. The only guy who seemed interested in the place for its own sake was Bashir. So, why did they let Sisko keep running the place after the wormhole was found? Wouldn't it have been in starfleet's best interest to transfer over somebody with a better track record (a captain, for instance)? Did the Bajorans step in on Sisko's behalf?

 

[starburst]

After he became known as 'The Emissary' of the Bajoran's belief I doubt it would have been too easy to remove him without complaint from Bajor

 

[Snaploud]

After he became known as 'The Emissary' of the Bajoran's belief I doubt it would have been too easy to remove him without complaint from Bajor

How soon did that belief spread? Couldn't they have just sent over a captain and placed Sisko under that person's command?

 

[trash80]

Well he was under the command of whatever Admiral was in charge of that sector, no doubt there was always at least a couple of starships within a few hours of DS9 so why upset the applecart?

 

[Timo]

Also, Starfleet might wish to tread extra carefully on Bajoran soil even without the religious aspects. After all, who owns the wormhole mouth? With the Barzan one, it was a clear-cut issue: Barzan territory, Barzan wormhole. The Bajoran one is apparently owned by Bajor, and Starfleet has very little say on its use. So the Fleet and the Federation would do well to bend over backwards on all matters, and to never engage in provocative actions. That is, at least for the first few years into the adventure, when the UFP-Bajoran relations still hang on a thread.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[All Seeing Eye]

The Bajoran one is apparently owned by Bajor, and Starfleet has very little say on its use.

Could have fooled me, from what we saw it seemed the Federation had full say on everything concerning the wormhole and the Bajorans had none.

 

[intrinsical]

In "Emissary" Picard gave Sisko his orders, to eventually bring the Bajorans into the Federation. Within a few days of accepting said orders, Sisko established a solid and cordial rapport with Kai Opaka a major religious figure on Bajor, discovered the first known stable wormhole and managed to prevent the Cardassians from making claim on the wormhole. All these actions not only propelled Bajor's prominence, but also made a gigantic leap in Bajor-Federation relations.

If I were an Admiral in charge of the sector, I would be foolish to replace Sisko with another officer.

 

[Jono]

Didn't they mention this in one episode? Some visiting admiral mentioned they should have taken Sisko out of the base as soon as the wormhole was found but not to put in someone higher ranked but due to his role as emissary.

 

[trash80]

Wasn't that said with hindsight though, at the time of Emissary all the "Sisko the emissary of the prophets" thing was a lot more low-key.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

Well, at first they didn't know anything about the Dominion or anything on the other side. It was really just a 'door' to another area of space to explore. And given that they were already in Deep Space (one would assume), why would another area to explore be an immediate reason to replace him?

As soon as he found it he proved that he was capable of defending it so that it wouldn't fall into the hands of the Cardassians....and then, what more was there to do at first? Ships were going through there to explore and eventually to start trade...but it wasn't until Sisko was well established on DS9 that the Dominion was even discovered, let alone adjudged to be a threat.

 

[PhoenixIreland]

also apart from Ross and Nechev, have you ever known an Admiral to make a smart decision? they seem to just mess things up.

 

[shatastrophic]

The reason he wasn't removed was because Picard was doing him a favor. Besides, Picard owed him one, he killed his wife. Picard knew this and after considering all Sisko did in the past few days while the Enterprise was gone, he decided to ignore Sisko's original request. As far as Federation politics are concerned, Starfleet command listens to Picard. If he said to them in some fashion that Sisko will be cool there, I am sure they listened.

 

[Michael]

Besides, Picard owed him one, he killed his wife.

Not true.

 

[Damask]

The Bajoran one is apparently owned by Bajor, and Starfleet has very little say on its use.

Could have fooled me, from what we saw it seemed the Federation had full say on everything concerning the wormhole and the Bajorans had none.

Well I don't recall the Federation or Bajor stopping people entering the wormhole. They key however was Deep Space Nine. It brought commerce to Bajor. Anybody wanting to do business on DS9 had to get approval and certainly Bajor seemed to have some say in that.

 

[shatastrophic]

Besides, Picard owed him one, he killed his wife.

Not true.

We must have been watching different shows then.

 

[Michael]

Besides, Picard owed him one, he killed his wife.

Not true.

We must have been watching different shows then.

Okay, then tell me, on which show did Captain Jean-Luc Picard kill Jennifer Sisko?

 

[shatastrophic]

Not true.

We must have been watching different shows then.

Okay, then tell me, on which show did Captain Jean-Luc Picard kill Jennifer Sisko?

BOBW part 2 was when it happened, Emissary was when the audience got to see it.

 

[Michael]

We must have been watching different shows then.

Okay, then tell me, on which show did Captain Jean-Luc Picard kill Jennifer Sisko?

BOBW part 2 was when it happened, Emissary was when the audience got to see it.

Ah, so you mean Locutus? That wasn't Picard.

 

[Mr. Fergy]

In "Emissary" Picard gave Sisko his orders, to eventually bring the Bajorans into the Federation. Within a few days of accepting said orders, Sisko established a solid and cordial rapport with Kai Opaka a major religious figure on Bajor, discovered the first known stable wormhole and managed to prevent the Cardassians from making claim on the wormhole. All these actions not only propelled Bajor's prominence, but also made a gigantic leap in Bajor-Federation relations.

If I were an Admiral in charge of the sector, I would be foolish to replace Sisko with another officer.

Agreed. Plus the Federation saw allot of potential in Sisko. He's a highly compintent engineer that help design the Defiant,! Why not give Sisko a chance before making a rash decision?

BTW: Sisko did a fairly good job with DS9.

 

[Hofner]

The Bajoran one is apparently owned by Bajor, and Starfleet has very little say on its use.

Could have fooled me, from what we saw it seemed the Federation had full say on everything concerning the wormhole and the Bajorans had none.

Well I don't recall the Federation or Bajor stopping people entering the wormhole. They key however was Deep Space Nine. It brought commerce to Bajor. Anybody wanting to do business on DS9 had to get approval and certainly Bajor seemed to have some say in that.

More than that, it was Bajoran territory not Federation. They always had the right to tell Starfleet to take a hike, they did so in the Circle trilogy. Sisko only stayed because he knew and had proof the Cardassians were behind it. Otherwise if it had been a true Bajoran request to leave he would've had no choice.

As for why Sisko wasn't replaced it's not just that he discovered the wormhole but at first the Prophets were going to close off the wormhole but he persuaded them to keep it open, that counts for something. Starfleet didn't like the 'Prophet' thing but they can buy Sisko having negotiated successfully with 'wormhole aliens'.

Also as a result of this the situation was stablized. Early in "Emissary" before the wormhole it seemed to be a pretty unstable situation. It seemed to be a likely prospect that the provisional government of Bajor would fall and the next group to take over would withdraw the invitation to Starfleet. Sisko's discovery of the wormhole changed all that.

I also think Sisko managed to convince Picard he was the right man for the jop, it had nothing to do with Picard feeling guilty or not. Admiral Leyton probably also backed Sisko to stay since he was the one to assign him there in the first place.

As for the Bajorans I'm not sure they'd be unhappy to see Sisko leave at the beginning. They didn't like the idea the Emissary would be a non-Bajoran except for Kai Opaka. Later in "In The Hands Of The Prophets" he seemed to be pretty unpopular with the Bajorans. The Vedek assembly wouldn't see him, Bareil didn't want to be seen in public with him. They wouldn't even let their daughters date his son (poor Jake!). It took time for them to finally accept him.

Robert