Part III, Chapter XIV: "Kick It Up A Notch"
“We really stopped pulling our punches with Season Four. We weren’t killing off anyone just yet, but we wanted to make it clear that nobody would be safe from here. Removing the Lakota served a few purposes, but it was clear to us that a ship like that wouldn’t last long in a war with the Dominion, so we needed to replace it. Of course, that came the following season with the Valiant’s big sister, the Athena-class dreadnought Brigid.”
- Ira Stephen Behr on the destruction of the
USS Lakota. [1]
Deep Space Nine was on a roll. What was feared to become the “middle child” of the
Star Trek franchise was proving to be a great success. With a full eight seasons all but guaranteed at this point, the writing staff set their sights on a fuller arc for the remaining five seasons. All the pieces were on the board now, it was time the game started in earnest.
While the “Dominion arc” had begun the previous season as the Dominion was finally shown on screen, the fourth season would see tensions continue to rise, as it becomes clear to both the Alpha and Gamma Quadrants that a war is all but inevitable. [2]
Though
Deep Space Nine was not exactly struggling with ratings, the decision was made among the writing staff to bring in another character from
The Next Generation in order to bring back some of the fans that had either abandoned the show, or had never watched it in the first place. Marina Sirtis signed on to reprise her role of Deanna Troi, as she was assigned to be counsellor of Deep Space Nine.
Many, Sirtis especially, had felt that Troi’s character had not been fully explored during
The Next Generation, and a pay dispute had given her a far reduced role in the film
Star Trek VI: Generations. Upon learning that Troi would again be reduced to a supporting role in the upcoming
Star Trek VII: Future’s End, she decided, at the insistence of Christian Slater, to join on to the
Deep Space Nine cast as a recurring cast member.
Troi’s joining the crew would satisfy many fans who wondered as to why the crew were not going through counselling, especially considering the increased strain they are under compared to other Starfleet personnel. Partway through the fourth season, it would be announced that Sirtis was joining the main cast for the fifth season. [3]
The season opener would see the first on-screen appearance of the Hur’q, a species from the Klingons’ history. It would be revealed that they are originally from the Gamma Quadrant, and had a history with the Founders and the Dominion.
Two more “races” that would appear this season were the “Shadows” and the “Pah-Wraiths”. While the former were a section of the Prophets that had been expelled for their chaotic ideology, the latter were more of an imp-like species that were a nuisance for the crew. It would be revealed that the Shadows were manipulating and influencing many of the events in order to cause chaos in the galaxy, which they believed would make the races stronger. [4]
Though she had first appeared the season prior, Betty White would officially join the recurring cast this season, as her character, Mildred Kelly, moved aboard the station to be closer to family. The story “The Last Serenade” would also deal with Kelly’s family, as Robert Goulet guest starred as Kelly’s deceased grandfather. The season would also see the introduction of Sisko’s father, Joseph, played by Brock Peters.
Much like its sister show,
Odyssey,
Deep Space Nine would have a story to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the franchise. This would come in the form of “Trials and Tribble-ations”, a revisitation of “The Trouble With Tribbles” from
The Original Series, written by franchise head David Gerrold. The episode would make heavy use of computer imagery, in order to insert the new cast into the story seamlessly.
Original Series actor George Takei would appear later in the season, with the two-parter “Homefront” and “Paradise Lost” as Federation President Hikaru Sulu. This story would also see the introduction of Joseph Sisko, as well as tackling the question of how militarised Starfleet should be.
Perhaps the most important story of the season would be the destruction of the
USS Lakota in the story “United We Fall” late in the season. Though none of the characters would be killed by this, their absence from the next few episodes while they make their way back would be felt by many of the characters on the station who are unsure as to whether anybody has survived.
The Klingons would also make their first major appearance in the show’s story this season, beginning with the season opener, but continuing on into “Apocalypse Rising”, which saw the crew exposing a Changeling at the heart of the Klingon Empire, renewing the Khitomer Accords after a brief war.
The season would be one of the more eventful, as it set up many plot threads that were to be paid off in the following seasons, while introducing some more characters that were to be of importance. [5]
[1] A few things here: One, yes, I'm killing the Lakota, for various reasons. Two: Yes, we're getting a Starfleet Dreadnought. When I said she's the Valiant's big sister, I wasn't lying.
[2] While most of the previous seasons have been pretty much equivalents of their OTL season, this is both Season 4 and the first half of 5.
[3] A few of you, especially @Ogrebear, suggested this. I didn't want to do this to begin with, but it gives me so much to work with, and helps with a few things next season too.
[4] This season has a lot more B5 in it.
[5] I didn't actually mention everything. That's how big this season is. Fans will definitely see a difference between S1-3 and S4-8, similar to OTL. There are a few new recurring characters that didn't get a mention, and a couple of stories that haven't been mentioned yet. This season is BIG.