STARFLEET ACADEMY Honors Two DEEP SPACE NINE Characters Eric Diaz | usagoldmines.com

The fifth episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, “Series Acclimation Mil,” was something of a love letter to the iconic ‘90s series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The episode centers around the character of SAM (Kerrice Brooks), the Academy’s only photonic lifeform cadet as she tries to unravel the mystery of what happened to Captain Benjamin Lafayette Sisko in the DS9 finale. That final episode that took place some 800 years prior to Starfleet Academy. But in trying to find out what became of the Starfleet hero, two other main characters from Deep Space Nine appeared in the episode. And one of them is even still alive in the 32nd century.

In the finale episode of Deep Space Nine in 1999, “What You Leave Behind,” Captain Sisko fulfills his role as the Emissary of the Prophets, joining them in their Celestial Temple. What that really means is that Sisko, who was created by a godlike group of aliens that the planet Bajor worships as prophets, became a non-corporeal being himself inside their wormhole, which is situated in Bajoran space. He promised to return one day, but as of the 32nd century he never has. So SAM begins her own investigation. And in doing so, two main characters from DS9 appear in Starfleet Academy. But those cameos are not in the way Trek fans might expect.

Cirroc Lofton Returns as Jake Sisko From Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

When SAM is uncovering the history of Ben Sisko, she finds a hologram of his son Jake that was recorded when Jake was an adult in the latter 24th century. By this point, Jake had a family of his own and had become a successful author. The original DS9 series often dealt with Jake as a burgeoning writer and even a journalist during the Dominion War. Actor Cirroc Lofton returns to play a holographic recording of Jake from the 24th century. He talks about how great a man his father was and the example he set for him and everyone in the galaxy. Later in the episode, Jake appears in SAM’s mind as she reads passages from his unpublished book, Anslem. These moments are lovely, as they give the character closure. We find out that even without his dad’s presence, Jake went on to live a fulfilling life.

Tawny Newsome Plays a New Dax Host, Illa Dax, in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

The other shocking return from Deep Space Nine is the one character fans expected to survive into the 32nd century. At the Academy, SAM meets the teacher of the “Confronting the Unexplainable” course, a woman named Professor Illa. She’s a Cardassian, played by Lower Decks’ own Beckett Mariner, Tawny Newsome. Tawny also happens to be a writer on Starfleet Academy and a DS9 superfan. It is she who gives SAM the book Anslem, which she has in her keeping. That’s when SAM noticed that Illa is the teacher’s first name, and under her hair, she has Trill dermal spots. Her surname is actually Illa Dax. She’s not only Cardassian but part Trill. She’s the current host of the Dax symbiote, succeeding Ben Sisko’s friends Curzon Dax, Jadzia Dax, and Ezri Dax.

In Star Trek lore, the Trill are a host/symbiote joined alien species. We first encounter them in the Star Trek: TNG episode “The Host.” There’s a humanoid Trill, who serves as a host body, and the symbiote, a worm-like alien that lives for hundreds of years. When the host and symbiote join, the host body takes on the surname of the symbiote and gains the memories of the symbiote’s every previous life and host. It doesn’t erase the personality of the host body, but it’s a proper joining. It becomes a true melding of two personalities into a new, unique being. At the point we encounter this new Dax, the symbiote is 1,250 years old.

Jadzia and Ezri Dax on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Of the nine lives the Dax symbiote lived before the end of Deep Space Nine, three shared close ties to Benjamin Sisko. Curzon Dax was a mentor to Benjamin as a young officer. When he died of natural causes as an elder man, the Trill transferred the Dax symbiote to a young woman named Jadzia (Terry Farrell). Jadzia Dax had all of Curzon Dax’s memories, now in a totally different package. Jadzia became friends with Sisko too, although she now served under him as a science officer on Deep Space Nine. He often joked around and called her “Old Man.” 

After marrying the Klingon Worf in season six, longtime recurring DS9 villain Gul Dukat murders Jadzia. The symbiote finds a new host body, which is 20-year-old Starfleet counselor Ezri Dax (Nicole de Boer). This version of Dax ends up with Dr. Julian Bashir romantically. We don’t know what became of her after the DS9 series finale. But now we know for sure that the Dax symbiote survives another 800 years, and goes through who knows how many host bodies. But one thing the Dax always retains is a love for her friend Ben Sisko. And that is why Jake probably trusted a Dax host with his book centuries earlier.

Dax’s Future as a Professor in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

Will we see Professor Illa Dax in the future? We certainly hope this isn’t the last we see of Tawny Newsome on the show. She teaches at Starfleet Academy, so hopefully, we see her again in some capacity. She is not only Trill but half Cardassian, and would have a unique perspective on the galaxy. And she could fill the audience in on what became of many of the DS9 characters since we last saw them. This would be great considering that Star Trek: Legacy doesn’t seem to be happening anymore. The Doctor from Voyager is one long-lived character who serves as a recurring faculty at Starfleet Academy. It sure would be amazing if Dax represented Deep Space Nine’s legacy as a regular on Starfleet Academy as well.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is currently streaming on Paramount+.