The 10 Worst Things Sisko Did In Star Trek...

Q: "Picard never hit me!" Sisko: "I'm not Picard!' (Sisko is my favorite captain. HE'S SUCH A BAD ASS.) Captain Sisko was willing to break laws and bend ideals to protect his crew and the universe, making tough decisions in times of war. Sisko used blackmail and extortion to achieve greater good, such as convincing Quark to stay aboard DS9 for the success of the station. He made moral compromises, including using biological weapons and fabricating evidence, to achieve his goals, showing his willingness to make tough choices for the greater good. Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) was the man who knew when to make the tough calls and hard decisions in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, occasionally breaking laws to do so. The Emissary of the Prophets and the hero of the Dominion War, Sisko often struggled to balance his dual responsibilities as religious figure and Starfleet officer. Sometimes the best outcome for the Bajorans or the Federation required him to break or bend particular tenets of the very ideals on which Starfleet was founded. Sisko's existence in the moral grey areas of the Star Trek universe was just one way that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine challenged Gene Roddenberry's vision. However, Sisko always had the best interests of his crew, or the wider universe in mind when he sanctioned murder or abetted genocide. Those are tough words that may not sit right with how a Starfleet Captain should behave, but Benjamin Sisko was placed in an extraordinary position when he ended up on the frontlines of the Dominion War. In times of war, tough decisions must be made, and crimes are committed, and nobody understood this better than Captain Benjamin Sisko. 1. Used Nog To Blackmail Quark... In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's pilot "Emissary", Sisko has Nog (Aron Eisenberg) thrown in jail for theft, despite his young age. It's a calculated move by Sisko to convince Quark (Armin Shimerman) to stay aboard DS9 so that his bar can remain open to inspire other business owners. It's extortion and blackmail, but as ever, it serves the greater good of both the station and Bajor itself. Quark's Bar was key to the success of DS9 as a commercial hub, so it was only right that Sisko adopt a more Ferengi-like strategy to convince the bartender to stay in business. 2. Sacked Rom From The Niners... Sisko's Vulcan feud in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine turned him into an unforgiving baseball coach in the episode "Take Me Out To The Holosuite". Faced with a team of amateurs, Sisko makes some typically tough choices in the hopes of defeating Captain Solok (Gregory Walowski) and his Logicians. This determination makes him take Rom (Max Grodenchik) off the Niners due to his terrible batting. It was a harsh decision that won Sisko no favors with his team. Eventually seeing the error of his ways, Sisko stopped taking the game so seriously and sends Rom into bat where the Ferengi scores purely by fluke, leading to joyous celebrations all round. 3. Blackmailed Garak To Save Kira... In "Second Skin", Sisko extorts Elim Garak (Andrew Robinson) into joining him on a mission to Cardassia Prime. Garak isn't welcome on his home planet following some shady activities from his past, so it's a risk to his life. However, Sisko knows that he needs Garak, and also appreciates that he's found a home on Deep Space Nine. Using this as a bargaining tool, Sisko threatens to have Garak evicted from DS9 to please the Bajoran Provisional Government, who object to the Cardassian's presence on the station. It's a cold move, but like with Quark, it demonstrates how Sisko is a skilled negotiator, particularly with non-Federation species. 4. Let Maquis Traitor Calvin Hudson Flee Starfleet Custody... Sisko's relationship with the Maquis was complicated, and his conduct when pursuing his former colleague Lieutenant Michael Eddington (Kenneth Marshall) is questionable. Not least because it's in sharp contrast to the way he treated former friend Lieutenant Commander Calvin Hudson (Bernie Casey). In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine two-parter "The Maquis", Sisko allowed his friend to flee Starfleet custody and possible death, to the horror of Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo). However, Sisko justified his actions by saying he would not kill a man for protecting his home, but their time together at Starfleet Academy must also have played a part in his controversial decision. 5. Had Kasidy Yates Arrested For Helping The Maquis... By the time of the episode "For the Cause", Sisko's opinion of the Maquis had hardened following two more betrayals. When it was revealed that his girlfriend and future wife Kasidy Yates (Penny Johnson Jerald) was smuggling supplies for the Maquis, Sisko was forced to choose the uniform over his partner. He therefore has Kasidy arrested, and they both agree to pick up where they left of after her prison sentence is over. Given that Sisko allowed Hudson to go free, it seems oddly harsh, however that decision ended a close friendship. Allowing Kasidy to turn herself in guaranteed that their romance would last without her having to go on the run from the authorities. 6. Justified Starfleet's Use Of The Morphogenic Virus Against The Dominion Founders... Although the decision is made by Starfleet Command, Sisko is still complicit in the decision not to share the cure for the Morphogenic Virus. After Doctor Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) acquired the cure from Section 31, Starfleet decided that they could not justify handing it over to the Dominion while the war continued. Constable Odo (Rene Auberjonois) was furious about this, as it essentially meant that Starfleet were abetting genocide. Sisko explained to Odo that, unpleasant as it was, it didn't serve a tactical advantage at such a crucial stage in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Dominion War, making himself complicit in attempted genocide. 7. Used The Bajoran Prophets To Defeat DS9's Dominion In Battle... All's fair in love and war, but Sisko's hotline to the Bajoran Prophets gives him an unfair and devastating advantage in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 6, episode 6, "A Sacrifice of Angels". Overwhelmed by Dominion forces during the retaking of Deep Space Nine, the USS Defiant sought shelter in the wormhole. While there, Sisko communed with the Prophets, asking that they give him and Bajor a miracle to ensure that the planet remained protected during the Dominion War. They agree to this and wipe out the entire collection of Dominion reinforcements, erasing thousands of Cardassians and Jem'Hadar from existence. 8. Sisko Convinced Worf To Kill Chancellor Gowron... Sisko doesn't explicitly tell Lt. Commander Worf (Michael Dorn) to challenge Chancellor Gowron (Robert O'Reilly) to a battle to the death. However, his wording implies that he will sanction Worf to do what he has to do to depose the increasingly reckless and unpredictable Klingon from the head of the Empire. The exact words Sisko gives are "Do whatever it takes, Mister Worf" and as Captain of Deep Space Nine, he is well aware of Klingon traditions and rituals. Worf's killing of the Klingon Chancellor is necessary to ensure that the Klingon ships can continue to protect the Alpha Quadrant from the Breen, and is another example of how Sisko has to make moral compromises throughout DS9. 9. Used Biological Weapons Against The Maquis... Sisko's most controversial act when dealing with the Maquis was his use of a biological weapon to stop the organization from attacking Cardassian colonies. It's a considerable escalation from his assertion that he wouldn't kill anyone who was protecting their homes. It's true that Eddington's actions forced Sisko's hand somewhat, but the use of the trilithium resin device to render Solosos III inhospitable to its Maquis colonists is extreme. The Federation handed over control of people's homes to the Cardassians, and Sisko's act is an extreme example of this appeasement. However, it does have the desired outcome which is to convince Eddington to hand himself into Starfleet custody. 10. Fabricated Evidence To Convince The Romulans To Join The Dominion War... Sisko's biggest crime is also the one that best demonstrates how he was a Star Trek Captain who knew how to make the tough decisions. In the classic Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "In the Pale Moonlight", Sisko teams up once again with Elim Garak to fabricate evidence of a Dominion plot to invade Romulus. When the ruse is exposed by Senator Vreenak (Stephen Hattie), Garak has the Romulan killed to protect both him and Sisko from further investigation. The whole affair has the desired effect of a temporary alliance with the Romulan Star Empire, prompting Sisko to reflect that he could live with the moral sacrifices he had to make to achieve his goal. ~ From Screenrant.