As a
Star Trek fan I am all too familiar with the eternal debate of Kirk versus
Picard. Every fan seems to have their own particular argument on the subject
and can give a lengthy diatribe to those who differ in opinion. But I believe
that the greatest of Starfleet captains is in fact neither of these two
gentlemen. The greatest captain of the Starfleet saga is Benjamin Sisko,
captain of the Defiant and commanding officer of the Bajoran space station Deep
Space Nine.
To
get the most obvious factor out of the way I will just state the obvious.
Captain Sisko is a black man. While Star Trek has always been about diversity,
very few minorities ever seem to be depicted in the captain’s chair in both the
original series and Next Generation. Aboard the Enterprise D the chain of
command is two white guys and an android before we get to our first African
American officer.
Another
thing that gives Sisko additional reverence as an officer is, besides the
responsibility of command, Benjamin is also a father. Neither Kirk or Picard
ever had to deal with the burden of children while making their command
decisions. Captain Sisko keeps the peace among a large and mutli-cultured space
station and still has time to cook dinner for his son, as he is a single
parent.
More
than just being a Starfleet Officer, Benjamin Sisko has an even more important
role. He is the Emissary of the Prophets. For those unfamiliar with the series,
Deep Space Nine is located in the Bajoran star system. The Bajorans are a
deeply religious people and they worship a group of celestial beings known as
the Prophets. When Benjamin Sisko takes command of the station many of the
Bajorans believe he is the Emissary of the Prophets, an individual important to
their belief system. He is essentially a messianic figure. While Picard was
briefly believed to be a god by a race of primitive people, that
misunderstanding was quickly corrected.
While
commanding the Enterprise is an impressive feet, being the flagship of the
Federation, Deep Space Nine sits at the mouth of a Wormhole. A wormhole, for
the uninitiated, is a hole in space that can bridge great distances in space.
In Star Trek mythology it is the only stable one in existence and connects the
Alpha quadrant to the distant Gamma quadrant. This makes Captain Sisko’s role
as an administrator much more important as the station becomes a busy hub for
people wanting to explore and trade in this newly discovered area of space. |
| Dominion troops |
And
it turns out that the Gamma quadrant is home to a warlike society known as The
Dominion. This makes Benjamin Sisko’s military role that much more important as
Deep Space Nine is the beach head for any invasion from The Dominion who seek
to conquer the Alpha quadrant as well.
As a
final cherry on top of the sundae to show Ben’s amazing leadership skills,
Captain Sisko is not just in charge of Deep Space Nine but also captain of the
Starship Defiant. The Defiant is an advanced design warship and the only
Starfleet vessel that has a cloaking device. It’s main duties are to protect
the station, but it has been used for exploration missions as well. No other
Captain in the Star Trek series has ever received the honor of two commands at
once, but somehow Benjamin Sisko receives such an honor. |
| "What about me?" |
As
long as there is Star Trek, I am confident that the debate between Kirk and
Picard will never die. But as I have demonstrated in the preceding paragraphs
one needs to give consideration to the accomplishments of Benjamin Sisko.
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