Starfleet Academy Unravels a 27-Year-Old Mystery from Deep Space Nine

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The latest episode of the new Star Trek series, Starfleet Academy, just dropped its fifth installment. Titled ‘Series Acclimation Mil’, it provides an intriguing continuation of a mystery that fans have been speculating about for nearly three decades.

This episode centers on Sam (Kerrice Brooks), the first Kasqian—a sentient hologram—enrolled at Starfleet Academy. Tasked with being Kasq’s representative to the Federation, one of her missions is to explain organic life to her creators. To accomplish this, she decides to study another emissary: Captain Benjamin Sisko, the iconic lead from the beloved ’90s series, Deep Space Nine.

For those who might need a refresher—spoilers ahead—Sisko, portrayed by Avery Brooks, was the captain of the titular space station. Throughout the series, he discovers that he is more than just human, having been created by a race of god-like beings known as the Prophets, who reside within a wormhole.

The series concluded in 1999 with Sisko disappearing into the wormhole to join his creators, leaving fans wondering if he would ever return to his human family.

The new Starfleet Academy episode, set around eight centuries after Deep Space Nine, confirms that Sisko remains with the Prophets. However, since they exist outside of time, the possibilities are endless.

While the episode hints at Brooks’ potential return, it doesn’t fully deliver—perhaps unsurprisingly, as Brooks has stepped back from acting. Nonetheless, Sisko’s voice can be heard in what seems to be a new voiceover at the episode’s conclusion, stating: “Divine laws are simpler than human ones, which is why it takes a lifetime to be able to understand them. Only love can understand them. Only love can interpret these words as they were meant to be interpreted.”

The episode wraps up with a message on screen reading, “Thank you Avery,” accompanied by the Deep Space Nine theme music.

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Although Brooks doesn’t make an appearance, another familiar face from Deep Space Nine does: Cirroc Lofton as Sisko’s son, Jake. In a touching moment, a hologram of Jake expresses his love for his father. Later, Sam encounters a different, somewhat ambiguous version of Jake, who discusses his father’s fate and her own role as an emissary.

Starfleet Academy is now streaming on Paramount Plus.