A forgotten episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3 foreshadowed the ultimate fate of Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) in DS9‘s finale. In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine finale, “What You Leave Behind”, Sisko had a final confrontation with Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo) in the Bajoran Fire Caves, which saw both men plunge into the flames together. While Dukat was killed, Sisko was rescued by the Prophets, who set him to work in the Celestial Temple. Interestingly, the fire and brimstone nature of Sisko’s DS9 ending was foreshadowed much earlier in the show’s run.

In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3, episode 15, “Destiny”, a joint Cardassian and Federation mission to establish communications with the Gamma Quadrant is overshadowed by an ancient Bajoran prophecy. A former Bajoran Vedek, Yarka (Erick Alvari), warns Sisko and Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) that the Cardassian scientists are “vipers” that will destroy the Celestial Temple. By the end of “Destiny”, the prophecy comes true, but not quite in the way that Yarka predicted. However, it suggests that Yarka’s other prophecy, about Sisko’s role as Emissary to the Prophets, could also come true.

Star Trek: DS9’s “Destiny” Foreshadowed Sisko’s Ultimate Fate

Beware Trakor’s Fourth Prophecy…

At the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3, episode 15, “Destiny”, it’s revealed that it’s three fragments of a broken comet, and not the Cardassian scientists, that are the “vipers” in the prophecy. It’s a comment on how confirmation bias can sway one’s interpretations of a prophecy. The prophecies of Trakor, shared with Sisko and Kira by Yarka, were written centuries earlier, and therefore the suspicion of the Cardassians is influenced by the aftermath of the Occupation of Bajor, not Trakor’s own writings. Despite this important clarification, Trakor’s Fourth Prophecy still had a worrying portent for Sisko:

“the Emissary will face a fiery trial and he’ll be forced to choose…”

Those are the last words spoken at the end of “Destiny”, and it’s a throwaway line to suggest that Yarka hasn’t learned his lesson about confirmation bias. However, it’s still eerie in the way that it ultimately predicts what happens to Sisko in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s final season. In the finale, Sisko is forced to choose between his life with Kasidy Yates-Sisko (Penny Johnson Jerald) and his role as the Emissary, ultimately choosing to stop Gul Dukat and the Pah-wraiths in the Bajoran Fire Caves. What is that, if not a fiery trial that forces Sisko to make a choice?

Why Trakor’s Fourth Prophecy May Not Refer To Star Trek: DS9’s Finale

Is there more fiery a trial than the Dominion War?

If there’s one thing that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3, episode 15, “Destiny” wants the audience to learn, it’s that prophecies aren’t cast iron predictions of the future. Trakor’s Prophecies are grand statements, filled with poetic imagery and portents that can be interpreted in multiple ways. So it’s possible that Trakor’s Fourth Prophecy is referring to Sisko’s role in Starfleet’s war against the Dominion, rather than his fiery confrontation with Gul Dukat.

In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 6, episode 6, “Sacrifice of Angels”, Sisko leads Operation Return, as the Federation tries to retake DS9. The Federation sustain devastating casualties during the campaign, which forces Sisko to make a choice whether to use his connection with the Prophets to secure victory. Ultimately, he asks the Prophets for help, who use their godlike powers to disappear an entire Dominion fleet, clearing the battlefield for the Federation to retake Deep Space Nine. With Sisko forced to act in the fires of war, it’s entirely possible that Trakor was prophecising Operation Return, rather than Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s finale.