Series Acclimation Mil
SAM must try to figure out how to improve relations between holograms and living people as she serves as an emissary for her people. She has to learn about a famous emissary from Star Trek’s past to help make her mission work.
Warning: Spoilers below
Emissary SAM
The episode starts with SAM in her full-on bubbly personality to serve as the narrator. She notices the awkward things that organic beings do. She notices the awkward attraction between Caleb and Tamina. She also notices how Daram doesn’t check his food for something that makes him vomit. His species also vomits glitter. Then her consciousness is suddenly transported from Starfleet Academy to talk to her Kasquian creators.
Brooke Palmer/Paramount+
This is where her true mission as Emissary is revealed. Kasquians have struggled to trust organics since The Burn. They give her an ultimatum to complete the mission and ask her to find a way to determine if that trust is available. Otherwise, she will be recalled and have no purpose, making it impossible for her to have peace in her life.
Chasing Sisko
The Kasquians give SAM a new mission. She must get enrolled in a class taught by a Cardassian named Ilya. The professor says it’s too late to enroll, but SAM’s fascination with Benjamin Sisko, the only other known Emissary to serve in Starfleet, she’s given a new quest: solve the mystery of where the captain of Deep Space Nine went.
Brooke Palmer/Paramount+
This leads to a funny side quest where SAM struggles to understand social cues and cultural significance. She studies a children’s book about Sisko with her friends, however most of them are skeptical. SAM then goes to the Bajor Club to learn more. Sisko is a mythological religious figure to Bajorans due to his work during the Dominion War. Unfortunately, SAM offends them because she needs concrete proof of where they went rather than religious belief (which she calls nonsense). This gets her sent to the Chancellor’s office.
Digging Deeper
Ake lived with Bajorans during her time away from Starfleet, so she gives SAM some advice and tells her about the Sisko museum where she can go to learn more about the revered captain. SAM looks into the family tree where she sees a recording of an adult Jake Sisko (Ben’s son and the role is reprised by Cirroc Lofton who played Jake on Deep Space Nine). Jake’s recording doesn’t help her understand what made him a great emissary but Jake does explain what made his father a great man.
Brooke Palmer/Paramount+
SAM returns to Ilia who points her towards gumbo, a favorite dish of Benjamin Sisko. SAM and her friend go to a creole kitchen and try the gumbo. It’s delicious but doesn’t help much. Then they go to a bar where Sisko once fought a vulcan. There, Caleb changes SAM’s inhibitor so the hologram can experience what it’s like to be drunk. The War College cadets are there, and SAM encourages Caleb to pursue Tarima romantically. Caleb and Tarima go outside while the Starfleet and War College cadets get into a fight with SAM throwing the Romulan cadet out of the bar.
Burying the Hatchet
In the story’s B-plot, the War College Chancellor and Starfleet Chancellor finally address their animosity. Ake goes to Kelrec to ask about a power drain at her Academy. He blames her for them having to use Starfleet power since the prank that negatively affected the War College dorms. Kelrec reveals he’s expecting a visit from another military school chancellor and he’s trying to impress her. Ake has experience with this chancellor’s species and offers to help Kelrec prepare.
Brooke Palmer/Paramount+
They have a funny dinner along with the Doctor and Professor Jett Reno where they go over customs. Unfortunately, the fish they eat has started farting. The three Starfleet professors find it funny, but Kelrec is uptight and angry. He accosts them for not taking it seriously and accuses Ake of abandoning Starfleet during The Burn. Later, they talk about the incident and Ake gives a bit more of an explanation about why she left during The Burn. The pair seem to understand and appreciate each other more once the episode ends.
Finishing the Mission
The cadets are back in the chancellor’s office where Caleb readjusts SAM’s inhibitor so she won’t be drunk anymore. The doctor is disappointed in his fellow hologram and asks why she did the things she did. SAM talks about Capt. Sisko, and the Doctor points out that he had heard great things about Benjamin but he knew Jake. SAM goes to tell Professor Ilia that she failed and the teacher gives her the only copy of Jake Sisko’s book so she can learn more about his father.
Brooke Palmer/Paramount+
Jake comes to SAM (it’s likely an image she created in her head), Jake’s words explain that Benjamin Sisko embraced his role as Emissary, but he did it in his own way by embracing family which was different from previous emissaries. SAM accepts she can have the same strength as Sisko and Professor Ilia says SAM will be in her class next semester. SAM then asks about the gumbo where Ilia reveals she is a Trill and her name is Ilia Dax, the very Trill who worked on Deep Space Nine with Sisko. Ilia ends their conversation with “Benjamin would’ve liked you.” SAM tells her people that she will continue her mission and she’ll call them when they have something. She then sends a mission into space thanking Sisko for teaching her how to be an Emissary. The episode then ends with a voice over from Avery Brooks as Captain Benjamin Sisko.
What’s Next?
This is an episode that gives nice homages to past Star Trek while digging deep into the lore and building the current series. It’s a nice tribute to Deep Space Nine by tackling the biggest question left from that series, “what happened when Captain Sisko joined the Prophets?” Trekkers have been asking that question since the third live action Star Trek series ended. This episode doesn’t answer the question but it gives guidance to help SAM, who is an interesting but sometimes infuriating character, develop.
There’s more nice turns from this episode. Cirroc Lofton returns as the adult Jake Sisko which is a welcome return. There’s also the introduction of Dax, although it’s not Jadzia or Ezri. Of course, Trills inhabit many different people over their incredibly long lifetimes. Unfortunately, the episode doesn’t reveal how Dax is still alive at this point as it’s beyond the known 800 year lifespan of Trill from Deep Space Nine. Given the time travel seen in Discovery, and many other aspects Trekker who read the books have seen, as well as the idea that lifespans extend with technological advancements that we see in our own lives, it’s not hard to fathom Dax finding a way to this timeframe. If you can’t see how, that’s on you, not the series. Still, the episode isn’t as strong as the Klingon diaspora episode, but it’s still the second strongest entry to date.
Check out Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streaming exclusively on Paramount Plus.
Article Written By: Jeremy Brown for Stelmach Brown Media 2026
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