All the Deep Space Nine Easter Eggs in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
By Chris Snellgrove | Published
The latest episode of Starfleet Academy it had one of its 32nd century students researching a famous 24th century figure: Benjamin Sisko, captain of Deep Space Nine. Although the show’s broad humor threatens to overshadow things, the episode succeeds as a love letter to Sisko and the man who played him, Avery Brooks. On a larger level, the episode also serves as an homage Deep Space Ninethe best Star Trek show ever made.
Accordingly, the show was thrown DS9 references almost as much speed and violence as Sisko’s fastball. With everything going on (from bar fights to fish explosions to sparkling clean-ups), it’s easy to miss this well-received replay. But we’ve got it for you: read on to find out everything Deep Space Nine Easter eggs you may have missed in this week’s episode of Starfleet Academy!
Baseball, Mitt, and Hat
At one point in his investigation, SAM enters the Sisko Museum, which is full of notable artifacts from his life. One of the first things we see is a baseball and a baseball glove, which is included in the museum because Sisko was a big fan of this outdated American sport. Presumably, the ball in the museum is the same one that was originally given to Sisko for the entertainment of Buck Bokai, a fictional baseball hero.
Sisko kept that ball in his office Deep Space Nineand he used to play with it during tense situations like an old school fairy tale. At one point, he and his team engaged in a dangerous baseball game against one of his old Starfleet Academy rivals, a Vulcan whose superpowers meant he was always destined to win. Still, Sisko’s team came to enjoy the bond of simply playing baseball together, and the museum also has a hat he wore while leading his team, The Niners.
Typewriter and Glasses
One of the surprising inclusions in the Starfleet AcademyThe Sisko Museum is a typewriter; this is a nod to “Far Beyond the Stars,” in which Sisko hears visions of life as a sci-fi writer named Benny Russell in 1950s America. The episode portrays Russell as a black writer who is held back by the racism of his time, but this does not stop him from writing a story about the fictional space station, Deep Space Nine. The episode tells a powerful story about race and racism while teasingly suggesting that the entire show Star Trek fans have been watching might be in the head of a forgotten writer from the ’50s.
It’s interesting to see the typewriter (and Benny’s glasses) in the Sisko Museum, especially since it never seems like the captain filed an official report about what Starfleet might have considered a mental breakdown. But he may have confided in Benny to Dax, who was also present when another illusion almost stopped him from opening the Orb of the Emissary. Considering this episode’s revelation that Dax’s symbiote is alive and teaching at the school, the presence of the typewriter makes a lot of sense.
Anslem
The latest Starfleet Academy episode, the latest incarnation of Dax hands SAM Anslembook written by Jake Sisko. After opening the book, he interacts with what may be an intelligent hologram of young Sisko, or perhaps he (part of the Prophet) simply skipped through time and space. But what makes this book so special in the first place, and why is SAM so surprised when he finds out that Jake has finished it?
Of Deep Space Nine episode “The Muse,” young Jake comes under the influence of Onaya, an unknown being who feeds off creative energy; basically, you kill people, but only after unlocking their full potential. Under her influence, Jake begins Anslemhis first novel, but he doesn’t finish it because his father banishes Onaya. Deep Space Nine he never revealed if Jake was done Anslem in the main timeline, but Starfleet Academyy confirmed that he secretly finished the book but decided not to publish it.
Messenger Orb
When he was first stationed on Deep Space Nine, Benjamin Sisko was very skeptical of the Bajoran religion, but that changed when their godlike Prophets (whom they called wormhole aliens) chose him to be Space Jesus. After that, Sisko quickly learned about all the beliefs of the Bajorans, including the idea that the Prophets send special orbs to help guide and communicate with their chosen people. One of those was called the Orb of the Emissary and, in a timey-wimey way, it held the Prophet who was Sisko’s mother and confirmed that she was pregnant.
When Sisko finds the orb and frees the Prophet, the powerful alien is able to drive the evil pah-wraith inside the wormhole; this restores hope to the Bajorans and makes the wormhole work again. So, what we see at the Sisko Museum Starfleet Academy it’s not just any orb. It’s the one tied to both the beginning of Sisko and, ultimately, the end of the Dominion War, making it one of the coolest artifacts in the entire galaxy.
The return of Jake Sisko
Jake Sisko appears in this episode of Starfleet Academy as an adult. He is only a hologram, but an interactive one, so he talks about SAM. He also played the role of Cirroc Lofton, who also played the role of Jake Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
The return of Dax
As mentioned before, the Dax symbiote appears Starfleet Academyto a new boss named Illa Dax (played by Tawny Newsome). This Dax is not a Trill; he is a Cardassian-Trill hybrid.
