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Quick Facts:
- Full Name:
Benjamin Lafayette Sisko
- Year of birth:
2332
- Place of birth:
New Orleans, Earth
- Parents: Sarah
and Joseph Sisko (NOTE: Sarah was possessed by a Bajoran
Prophet at time of conception)
- Education:
Starfleet Academy, 2350-54
- Current Marital
status: Kasidy Yates, wife (2375);
- Prior Marital
status: Jennifer Sisko (d. 2367)
- Children: One
son,
Jake, born 2355;
Kasidy Yates pregnant with second child as of 2375
- Current status:
MISSING IN ACTION, 2375 (last known whereabouts: Bajor
Fire Caves)
- Final rank:
Captain
- Final assignment:
Commanding officer, Deep Space Nine, U.S.S. Defiant
- First Seen: "Emissary" (DS9)
Complete Bios:
FROM
STARTREK.COM
Following the tragedy of his
wife's death fighting the Borg at Wolf 359, Sisko entered a dark
period for three years at Utopia Planetia and very nearly
resigned from Starfleet rather than take the Deep Space Nine
assignment — until an encounter with the Bajorans' "Prophet"
aliens and the discovery of their wormhole jump-started his
healing and set him on an ongoing journey in that role,
energizing his life once again. Moreover, his one-time ambitions
to make admiral as soon as possible have yielded to his
realization that he's more suited to making decisions work than
just making them — a prime reason for his success as a "builder"
at DS9 and for Bajoran-UFP relations, along with defending
against external threats such as the Dominion, the Maquis, and
foreign powers.
Sisko is very much proud of his New Orleans upbringing, where
his father was a gourmet chef and insisted the family dine
together to try out his new dishes. Sisko had worked summers in
his father's restaurant, simply called Sisko's, where he had a
job by age 15. Along with his brothers he has a sister, who
lives in Portland, Ore.; the boys had to pick vegetables in
their family garden as youngsters. He had a crush on one Effie
Beaumont, but later dated Zoey Phillips for three years.
Sisko had been so homesick during his first week at the Academy
that he beamed home at 6:30 for dinner to New Orleans, where his
mother was still alive. Today Sisko worries about his elderly
father's health and heart condition, and at one point felt
helpless when it appeared he would indeed die. The elder Sisko
refuses to leave his business and make the long journey to DS9,
so visits are few and far between.
During his academy years Sisko was captain of the wrestling team
in 2351, and served his sophomore field study at Starbase 137.
One cadet Sisko knew at SFA was Laporin, a Benzenite.
A fellow Academy graduate was Cal Hudson, who shared his love of
baseball and ambition to make captain by 30 and admiral by 40;
they remained close until the Maquis crisis of 2370 split their
loyalties. Another friend is now the captain of the U.S.S.
Venture; another is the Tholian ambassador at DS9.
As a "raw cadet" he also met Curzon Dax, a joined Trill and
Federation official who became his mentor through many years and
assignments; when the two first met on Pelios Station, a woman
named Anastasia was somehow involved. A perpetual womanizer,
Curzon joined him as a first-rate carouser at least until
Sisko's late 20s, well after Jake's birth. Curzon had attended
his wedding and wild bachelor party as well. They toured the
Cliffs of Bole together, often visited Risa, and he once bet he
and Hudson's dom-jot play against two Zakdorn at Pelios Station.
Sisko met his future wife Jennifer on Earth immediately at Gilgo
Beach after his Academy graduation in 2354, and they soon grew
serious about marriage. They once shared a trip to the Mazurka
Festival on New Berlin with the Hudsons; ironically, Gretchen
Hudson died within the first year of Sisko's stint on DS9. After
Jake's birth, the men recalled their best family trip ever was
camping on Itamish III.
Sisko and Curzon served some months on the U.S.S. Livingston. He
was a veteran of the last UFP-Tzenkethi War during his tenure as
lieutenant and lieutenant commander under Capt. Leyton on the
U.S.S. Okinawa. Leyton promoted him in rank to become his first
officer, and helped nurture his career beyond a basic interest
in engineering and ship design.
Sisko's next assignment, on the Saratoga, came to an abrupt end
in early 2367 at Wolf 359, where his wife was killed amid their
cabin's debris and he and Jake barely escaped. (A reunion with
Jennifer was bittersweet when the short-lived encounter occurred
in the mirror universe after he was forced to replace his
counterpart, the assassinated leader of the Terran Rebellion, in
talking her out of working on a deadly project for the Alliance
there. This doppelganger also lured Jake over a year later to
coerce Sisko in helping build that universe's Defiant for the
rebels.)
Leyton, later an admiral, nominated Sisko for the DS9 post when
it came open upon the Cardassian withdrawal, but he took it
without conviction, still not over his wife's death; his
displeasure turned more solid when his send-off came from Capt.
Jean-Luc Picard, who was kidnapped and for a time transformed by
the Borg to lead the Wolf 359 assault. While considering a
resignation to escape the post, Sisko considered directing
construction of orbital habitats on Earth — the field of
astrionics he was asked to teach at the University of Vasteras
in Sweden. Instead, Sisko not only decided to stay but convinced
Bajorans and Promenade merchants like Quark to stay.
Sisko's comfort level in his role at DS9 and as a religious icon
to Bajor has gradually developed as he's grown comfortable in
both roles. Dukat once called him the most joyless and least
vulnerable human he's met — a compliment that was eventually
rescinded. Torn between the important joint subspace relay
project with Cardassia and the looming chance it might be a
foretold catastrophe of Bajoran prophesy, he went ahead with a
risky save that not only allowed the relay to work but fulfilled
the prophecy in a different way. The incident left him more open
and reflective about other prophecies regarding the "Emissary,"
whose arrival is now celebrated annually as the Ha'mara. He sat
in for the ailing Bareil during the secret Bajoran-Cardassian
peace talks on DS9, but refused Kai Winn's later request for
Starfleet Security troops or aid during her hunt for fugitive
Shakaar, based on the Prime Directive.
Sisko does have a temper and is usually unswervable when his
mind is made up. He carries a small scar on his lower lip from
the impact of a ring where Curzon decked him after he took on an
Argosian lieutenant. As a junior officer on VIP escort, he once
slugged a visiting ambassador for sexually harassing a female
ensign. When perturbed in surprise he often utters an odd
yipping sound.
He initially butted heads with Kira and Odo, including a case
where she went over his head to Starfleet, but he grew to value
their opinions and abilities as time passed. Sisko has stood by
Kira during her battles with the Bajoran Provisional Government
and been aware of her discomfort at his dual role as her
religion's "Emissary." Likewise, he has defended Odo's
performance from past criticism by Starfleet regulars, and
refused to desert him more than once.
It is certainly with Dax that Sisko has the most history. He
still calls her Curzon's "old man" nickname and continues their
friendship as one of many years, despite Dax's new outward form
— a rare break for Trills who usually are barred from such
reassociation. He and Dax lost touch after Jennifer's death
early in 2367; Curzon slowly slid into death and Dax was joined
to Jadzia later that year. He hated to see her go to be with the
Meridians, but unlike Curzon, he knew she'd thought it through.
He never thought he'd get used to the "new Dax," but he
threatened to turn Trill society upside-down by revealing the
Joran scandal after the long quest with Bashir to save Jadzia's
life. After taking the risk of embodying the murderous Joran for
Dax's zhian'tara, he counseled her not to let Curzon manipulate
her again in Odo's form. In return, Dax may have a latent
attraction to him, since under the effects of Lwaxana Troi's
Zanthi fever, she can't keep away from him.
Sisko has long shared his love of baseball with Jake, aided by a
holo-program he brought to DS9. Early on he was wary of losing
personal time with him to the demands of work, and at first
banned his friendship with the Ferengi boy Nog until he got to
know him better. The landmarks of Jake's aging often leave him
confused or anxious, as when he first dated. He knew Jake was
writing, though he'd try to hide it, but Sisko was not ready to
let him become a matchmaker and was miffed that his private life
was so well known before he even met Kasidy Yates. Still he and
the freighter captain did hit it off — especially when she
revealed her brother plays baseball in a Cestus III colony
revival league. Sisko later risked shooting a then-allied
Klingon ship to rescue her freighter shortly before the alliance
breakup.
Aside from Yates, Sisko's romantic life since Jennifer's death
had only included Fenna, a telepathic psychoprojective alter ego
of the Halanan woman Nidell Seyetik in 2370.
Sisko maintains a healthy recreational life, led by his
inherited love of cooking, especially Cajun, and occasionally
prepares a hands-on meal for the staff; an old recipe for Creole
shrimp is how he finally got to know Jake's onetime girlfriend
Marta, his poetry and dom-jot talents. He also cooks Hungarian
food when in a good mood. His usual drink on duty is coffee —
more specifically the Klingon variety, raktajino — especially
first thing in the morning; even Dukat knows about it. Kira
could set her watch by it during his first year.
Sisko collects ancient African art and after two years finally
brought it to DS9. In 2371, Sisko threw himself into the project
of building by hand and flying an ancient Bajoran solar-sail
craft with Jake with a zest not seen since he built Jake's
nursery — and wound up proving a Bajoran legend about early
contact with Cardassia.
His love of baseball includes a holo-program of famous stars,
including his hero Buck Bokai, and a baseball kept on display on
his desk; when playing, he's a right-handed pitcher. He also
keeps up with soccer, but he has no bluff in poker and is
outclassed by O'Brien and Bashir in darts. He does play 2-D and
3-D chess, often with Dax. Befitting the crossroads culture of
his command, he's been reading up on the Ferengi Rules of
Acquisition as of his third year on the station, and hosted a
Gratitude Dinner during the same-named Bajoran festival in 2371.
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