Notes : One of the most controversial Captains in Starfleet, Benjamin Lafayette Sisko had a fairly conventional early career. After graduating from Starfleet academy he rose steadily through the ranks, becoming First Officer of the USS Saratoga by 2367. After his wife's death during this battle, Sisko was posted to the Utopia Planitia shipyards where he became a member of the Defiant project. He remained in the Sol system for two years before being assigned to the newly acquired Bajoran orbital station, dubbed Deep Space Nine by the Federation. At first Sisko resented this transfer, and considered resigning. He decided to remain as commander of the station after the discovery of the Bajoran Wormhole increased the importance of the station considerably.

As the discoverer of the Wormhole, Sisko is regarded by the Bajorans as "the Emissary", an important figure in the Bajoran religion. He has had to walk a fine line between this role and his Starfleet duties; when Bajor was finally accepted for Federation membership, Sisko used his position as Emissary to order the Bajorans to refuse to go through with the process. Although Sisko was suffering from mental illness at the time he refused to reverse his order once cured, convinced that his visions had a foundation in fact. Fortunately for the Sisko, his position as Emissary provides him with a certain level of political protection.

It is not just his actions as Emissary which have caused controversy. In 2371 Sisko intervened in the Klingon-Cardassian war, directly against a decision by the Federation council. He also violated the agreement between the Federation and the Romulan Empire concerning the use of the Defiants cloaking device within the alpha quadrant while rescuing the Cardassian leadership from the Klingons. These actions led to the Klingon attack on Deep Space Nine and the subsequent Klingon-Federation conflict, which cost many thousands of lives on both sides.

Sisko lost command of Deep Space Nine when the station was captured by Dominion forces in 2372. He subsequently served as Captain of the Defiant for several months before being posted to Starbase 375 for a short period. Sisko subsequently led a fleet of 600 Starships in a successful attempt to recapture Deep Space Nine; he continued to serve as commander of the station after the third fleet was based there, and was a regular participant in fleet actions after this point.

In 2374 Gul Dukat, apparently acting under the influence of the Pagh-Wraiths, sealed the Bajoran Wormhole and caused all of the orbs to darken. In the process Dukat murdered Jadzia Dax, a close friend of Sisko. The Captain took a leave of absence on Earth, and considered resigning from Starfleet. When the Prophets communicated with him Sisko felt compelled to search out the last remaining Orb - the Orb of the Emissary. He was successful in locating the Orb, and used it to reopen the Wormhole.

In 2375 Sisko became engaged to Kasidy Yates, and the two were married shortly before the end of the war. When the USS Defiant was destroyed during the Dominions recapture of the Chin'toka system Sisko was assigned command of another vessel of the same class, the USS Sao Paulo, and given special dispensation to rename the vessel to USS Defiant. He commanded the ship in the last battle of the war, and was present when the Dominion signed the cease fire which ended the conflict.

Shortly afterwards, Sisko confronted the possessed Dukat in the fire caves on Bajor. He was successful in defeating the Cardassian, sealing both Dukat and the Pagh-Wraiths into the caves forever. Sisko himself was believed killed in the action, but he subsequently appeared in a vision to Kasidy Yates in which he said that he had fully accepted his position as Emissary and joined the Prophets in the Celestial Temple. Sisko indicated that he would return one day, although he could not say when this would be.