A new Star Trek cover teases an ominous Deep Space Nine reunion is on the horizon. IDW Publishing has released their slate of covers for April’s line of Star Trek comics and one, for Star Trek #7, by Hayden Sherman, shows what appears to be a joyous reunion between Captain Ben Sisko and the crew of Deep Space Nine–but a closer look reveals all is now what it appears to be.Premiering 30 years ago, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is regarded as one of the strongest entries in the franchise, a dark and complex show that challenged a number of Star Trek’s assumptions. Led by Captain Benjamin Sisko, the crew of Deep Space Nine were stationed at the mouth of the only stable wormhole known to exist. The wormhole led to the distant Gamma Quadrant–where the war-like Dominion called home.

The latter seasons of the show featured an all-out war between the Federation and the Dominion, forming one of the greatest stories in Star Trek history. The show ended with Captain Sisko leaving our plane of reality to live with the Prophets, god-like beings who lived in the wormhole. Now, with a mysterious god-killer raging across the galaxy, Sisko has returned to discover the culprit.

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This is Not a Happy Deep Space Nine Reunion

Star Trek DS9 Reunion

The cover, revealed in a Twitter post from IDW Publishing, and illustrated by Hayden Sherman, shows Captain Sisko, on the station, embracing his family: his son Jake, his wife Cassidy Yates as well as their newborn son. Surrounding Sisko are some of familiar faces from Deep Space Nine, namely the tailor/spy Garak and motormouth barfly Morn. Sisko and company are shown in a lighter, almost sepia-tone. In the foreground however, are Sisko’s Theseus crew mates Data and Doctor Crusher, who are looking at this joyous scene with a great deal of concern.

On the surface, the cover seems to depict a happy reunion between Captain Sisko and his crew, but a closer examination reveals something to be amiss. Both Data and Doctor Crusher have reservations about the scene they are witnessing–yet why the misgivings? The answer may lie in the color choices used. As stated earlier, Sisko and the Deep Space Nine crew are shown in brighter colors, whereas Crusher and Data are in gray tones. On Deep Space Nine, whenever a character would commune with the Bajoran Prophets in the wormhole, the scenes were shot in a sepia-tone, not unlike the one used on this cover–has Sisko returned to the Prophets so soon? Why would he do so? It is unlikely the god-killer has already been dispatched, so why has Sisko gone back to the Prophets already?

Enter the Pah-Wraiths!

Star Trek Dukat Pah Wraiths

The answer may lie once again in the lore surrounding Deep Space Nine. The Prophets are a benevolent race, but have a dark opposite: the Pah-Wraiths. The Wraiths, introduced later in the show, live in the Fire Caves of Bajor and are committed to ushering in Armageddon. Have the Pah-Wraiths kidnapped Sisko? The Pah-Wraiths are god-like beings too, putting them in the cross hairs of the god-killer; have they subscribed to the “enemy of my enemy” philosophy and allied themselves with Sisko in the god-war? Or could the Pah-Wraiths be the god-killer? The new Star Trek cover will yield its secrets about the ominous Deep Space Nine reunion on the horizon.

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Source: IDW Publishing