Sisko, as the Emissary, has slowly grown accustomed to what that role means. He’s even mentioned retiring to Bajor when he’s finished with his Starfleet career. But there is one person who isn’t really all that cool with that, but fortunately, Kai Winn doesn’t visit the station that often.
Sisko doesn’t always have the best relationship with the Prophets of course. The Prophets don’t see time the same way Sisko (and the audience) does, and they did promise he would pay a great price when they met him in the wormhole looking to stop an incoming Dominion fleet.
So, naturally, that might come to pass here as Sisko is called to Bajor to find an ancient tablet. Sure, it could be left on Bajor, but the carvings, what can be read of them, suggest that the Emissary will need to do…something soon. What? That can’t be determined, but Sisko can pull some rank and get the tablet back to the station where hopefully Dax will be able to translate it.
Alright, nice and simple so far. And since this is about the Bajoran religion, Kai Winn will be coming up the station fairly quickly and demanding, as she is wont to do, that the tablet be returned to Bajor because Sisko’s taking it to Deep Space Nine is sacrilege and the usual stuff she has to say. Winn, naturally, is assumed to really want control of the situation, and that really is the crux of this episode: who deserves the power and religious authority on Bajor, the native-born Winn who probably earned her position even if it was with a whole lot of conniving, or Sisko, who seemed to get handed the job of Emissary and has eventually taken it to heart? Winn is one of those religious hypocrites who uses her spirituality as a cover to exert control over, well, everyone. Sisko just wants to discover things like a good Starfleet officer.
That just means when Sisko, in a weird state, smashes the tablet and lets two weird light entities out, it isn’t long before Kira is possessed by one of the Prophets for this “Reckoning” that may or may not destroy the station. Something about all this is already causing disturbances on Bajor as it is, the sort of stuff we only get told about because Deep Space Nine probably didn’t have the budget to show a bunch of earthquakes (Bajorquakes?) hitting people and places the audience doesn’t know. There’s a way to force the entity our of Kira, but Sisko doesn’t think they should.
He may change his mind when a Pah Wraith takes over Jake.
It sure is nice when Jake actually gets stuff to do. He spent the first act complaining that there better be a story for him in those old Bajoran caves. Then he turned into the story. Be careful what you wish for, kid.
As it is, the Reckoning seems to be just the Prophet and the Pah Wraith shooting beams at each while injuring (if not killing) the hosts. The Wraith may be losing. Hard to say, mostly because while Sisko was reluctantly willing to let the thing play out, Winn wasn’t. She stops it with the radiation flood.
So, where is Winn’s faith? Is she jealous that some outsider gets all the glory?
And what does it say that Kira, whose own faith is also perhaps also buoyed by her humility (something Odo notes is probably why the Prophet chose her), and Sisko, who is not even Bajoran, have more faith in the way of the Prophets than the woman who is basically the Bajoran Pope?
Perhaps it’s because Winn’s true religion is her own power.
But that’s something she’ll have to live with if she ever realizes that herself.
More Stories
Weekend Trek “Chimera”
Weekend Trek “Chain Of Command Part Two”
Vikings: Valhalla “Towers Of Faith”