Station log: stardate unknown

Ira Steven Behr and Hand Beimler pen the season seven opener that ties in directly to the final episode of last season, with the wormhole aliens, or the Prophets as the Bajoran religion refers to them, still cut off from Bajor, and from their Emissary, Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) after the Cardassian/Dominion forces threw an assault against the wormhole, through the use of a Pah Wraith.

The season opened on 30 September, 1998, and when Sisko, who has returned to Earth, receives his first vision from the Prophets he goes in search of answers. Meanwhile on the station, Kira (Nana Visitor)  – with a new haircut, and changed uniform – is in command of the station, and simply wants the return of Sisko, instead of the burden of command.

The vision Sisko has features a woman’s face in the sand, and his son Jake (Cirroc Lofton) recognizes her… he’s seen her in a picture with Ben’s father, Joseph Sisko (Brock Peters). And this sets Sisko off on a quest… and puts him in high danger, as some don’t want him getting his answers.

And, of course, Worf (Micheal Dorn) is dealing with the loss of his wife, Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell). Something that is complicated by the arrival of the Dax symbiote in its new host at the episode’s end, Ensign Ezri Dax (Nicole de Boer).

There’s also the fact, revealed by O’Brien (Colm Meaney) to Bashir (Alexander Siddig) and Quark (Armin Shimerman) that Worf is looking for a dangerous mission to undertake in Jadzia’s name so that he can secure her a place in the Klingon form of heaven, Sto-vo-kor.

There is lots of maneuvering and story threads paying off, and setting up, as Colonel Kira hears of a Romulan hospital on a Bajoran moon which may not be what it seems

Lots of cool set-up and moments throughout the episode, welcome to the final season!

Station log: stardate 52152.6

Beimler and Behr pen this episode as well, which first aired on 7 October, 1998. It sees the Siskos and Dax (Ezri is a little more neurotic and anxious than Jadzia) traveling to Tyree to seek the Orb of the Emisssary, as we learn about the new Dax. And we learn that the woman Sisko had a vision of is his real mother, Sarah Sisko (Deborah Lacey).

Kira goes after the Romulans on the Bajoran moon with a blockade, and Worf, O’Brien and Bashir go on their mission to secure Jadzia’s place in Sto-vo-kor.

But what happens when Ezri meets Worf?

The show really demonstrated how well serialized storytelling would serve the Trek universe, there is so much going on, and the story is so involving because the time has been taken to tell the story correctly, patiently, and expertly. It’s a lot of fun.  There are some great callbacks, and some perfect moments that wouldn’t exist if the series wasn’t serialized. It’s a fantastic start to the season, and shows us that the stakes are still incredibly high.

As an aside, I love the desert gear that the Siskos and Dax where on Tyree, you can still tell their division, and they look damned comfortable.

The Human Adventure continues next week as I explore the final season as I watch Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – The Complete Series on DVD from Paramount Canada.

Boldly go…