Warning: contains spoilers for Star Trek #8!In a forthcoming issue of Star Trek, Captain Benjamin Sisko finally stands trial for his Dominion War tactics. These tactics were crucial in winning the war, but some of them were morally dubious, approaching the level of war crimes. Now, in May’s Star Trek #8, Sisko must face his actions during the war - and to make matters worse, it will be a Cardassian court he stands trial in.
IDW Publishing recently revealed information about the issue (as shared by League of Comic Geeks), as well as a look at Mike Feehan and Caspar Wijngaard's cover art, shared below. In the issue, Sisko will be taken back to the Cardassian homeworld, where he must stand trial before the Obsidian Council. The Council has accused him of numerous war crimes perpetrated during the Dominion War, and they want him to answer for them. Feehan’s cover depicts Captain Sisko sitting in a holding cell, while Wijngaard's shows a Cardassian in the middle of a legal argument. The issue will be written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly and drawn by Feehan.
The Cardassians Are Coming For Sisko
The Dominion War, largely seen in the final seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, ranks as one of the franchise’s watershed stories. The Dominion was first mentioned in Deep Space Nine’s second season before fully appearing in the third; for the next two years, the show’s creative team teased an oncoming war. When hostilities finally broke out, Captain Sisko was forced to make hard decisions about the fate of the Alpha Quadrant. The Federation and its allies were facing a threat unlike any other, and moral compromises were made. Perhaps the most notorious example was in the sixth season episode 'In the Pale Moonlight,' in which Sisko conspired with the Cardassian master spy Garak to draw the Romulans into the war. Sisko ordered the creation of a forged data rod containing evidence of an invasion. When that failed, Garak had the Romulan Senator sent to investigate the rod killed. While an innocent person died, it had the desired effect and drew the Romulans into the war, which helped turn the tide.
Star Trek's Dominion War Fallout Is Still Being Explored
A large part of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s appeal was the complex moral and ethical dilemmas the crew found themselves in. While this is true for all Star Trek shows, Deep Space Nine took this to places the franchise had never been before. The Federation was in its darkest hour, and some, including the Romulans, believed they would lose the war. Helping assassinate a Romulan Senator was just one of the morally dubious decisions Sisko made during the Dominion War. Sisko’s actions no doubt impacted the Cardassian people, and now they are going to make him pay. IDW has not revealed any more information on the Cardassians’ Obsidian Council, but the Obsidian Order - who once ruled Cardassia - were fascists, so the similarity in the name is worrying. And what happened to Garak? He returned to Cardassia at the end of Deep Space Nine - will he be involved in this trial somehow?
The Cardassians' Backsliding Is Bigger Than Sisko
If the Cardassians have indeed reverted to their fascist ways, then it could spell certain doom for Captain Sisko; furthermore, it could also be bad news for the rest of the galaxy. At their peak, the Cardassian Empire fought a bloody, sustained war against the Federation. After losing everything in the Dominion War, have desperate people returned to the ways that doomed them originally? These questions must wait until May, when Captain Sisko stands trial for his Dominion War Crimes in Star Trek #8.
Star Trek #8 is on sale May 17, from IDW Publishing!
Source: League of Comic Geeks