This Original DS9 Star Was Instrumental in Pulling off Sisko’s Cameo In Star Trek’s New Show

There had been a significant amount of buzz around Star Trek‘s new Deep Space Nine themed episode, and now that it’s out, there’s a lot to discuss. The new episode of Starfleet Academy confirms that a DS9 character survived to the 32nd Century, as well as revealing details about the Sisko family legacy after the original show, and it ended with a cameo of sorts from Captain Benjamin Sisko himself, Avery Brooks. Considering he retired around 2013, his involvement in any capacity is a surprising but great treat for long-term Star Trek fans. And now we know how it happened. Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Episode 5 – “Series Acclimation Mil”.

Ahead of the episode, Paramount confirmed to ComicBook that the monologue was taken from Avery Brooks’ 2007 spoken-word album ‘Here’, and now ScreenRant‘s John Orquiola has revealed more details on how it came to be. It was all thanks to Brooks’ DS9 co-star Cirroc Lofton (who also returned in the episode as the adult Jake Sisko).

I just had the idea that it would be great to use this album that he recorded. He recorded this album called “Here,” and it’s a jazz album, beautiful. I listened to it on a regular basis, and I thought, ‘Can we find a way to get this in the episode?’ And so, Tawny and I got together. I handed her the CD that I had, and I said, ‘Go listen to this CD and see if there’s something there that we can use. And we can get Avery’s voice on this episode, because I think that’ll be a nice special moment at the end, that will kind of bookend everything.’ And so it actually, by the grace of God, all worked out. I can’t even believe it.

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Starfleet Academy also introduces Tawny Newsome as Professor Illa Dax, the latest host for the Trill symbiont first seen in DS9. She also works behind the scenes on Starfleet Academy and wrote the Sisko-centric episode, revealing that the plan was always to honor the character (and Avery Brooks):

“So we knew from the beginning that the best way to honor Sisko and honor Mr. Brooks himself was with his blessing and with his involvement, whatever he wanted that to be. So, through Cirroc’s help, through his relationship with Mr. Brooks, it was actually Cirroc’s idea to use this recording that I’ll let him talk about. But we knew from jump. We were like, ‘We need him to be on board and him to know that this is a celebration and an homage to him.’”

The show’s creatives had to get Avery Brooks to sign off on licensing his spoken-word album, and Newsome revealed that they had to spoil the nature of the episode, and Brooks ultimately approved. Given some fans are currently complaining that the revelation that Sisko never returned was a betrayal of his promise to Kassidy in the final episode of DS9, to have the actor’s buy-in is a big thing.

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