What Ship Was Sisko On In Star Trek: The Next Generation's Battle At Wolf 359
Though "Star Trek" tends to be less war-focused than that other "Star" franchise, there have been some pretty major conflicts that have impacted more than one series. In the third season of "Star Trek: Picard," one of these major events was brought back into focus through a new perspective, giving insight into another moment in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine."
One of the most important and harrowing events in Federation history was the Battle at Wolf 359, where the United Federation of Planets did battle with the Borg, leading to the largest cause of casualties for Starfleet prior to the Dominion War. In episode 4 of Picard's third season, "No Win Scenario," Captain Shaw (Todd Stashwick) reveals why he's a bit prejudiced against former Borg and has such a hate boner for Picard (Patrick Stewart).
It turns out that he was actually on one of the ships that were destroyed at Wolf 359, and he witnessed absolute horrors, including most of his crewmates dying. It left him with survivor's guilt and a whole lot of hatred towards Picard, and he's not the only Starfleet captain to feel that way.
Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks), the Emissary of the Prophets, hero of the Dominion War, and baseball expert, also has a pretty serious grudge against Picard. He was also at Wolf 359, and his wife Jennifer died in the battle, leaving him a widower and his son Jake without a mother. His reunion with Picard wasn't as fiery as Shaw's, but it still wasn't exactly friendly.
Sisko served on the U.S.S. Saratoga
In the pilot for "Deep Space Nine," "The Emissary," then-Commander Sisko is called aboard the Enterprise-D to have a quick chat with Captain Picard about his assignment on the space station. Sisko is exceptionally short with Picard and avoids looking at him whenever possible, rage barely simmering beneath the surface.
The last time the two saw one another, Sisko was a First Officer aboard the U.S.S. Saratoga, working his way up the ranks in Starfleet, and Picard was Locutus of Borg. Locutus was, to quote Shaw, "the only Borg so lethal they gave him a godd*** name." He led the attack at Wolf 359 and was the reason that the battle was so deadly for the Federation, and it's hard not to blame him a bit, even if he was assimilated at the time.
Shaw was aboard the U.S.S. Constance, working as an engineer, and though there were 50 of his crewmates that made it to the evacuation pods, there was only room for 10 of them. The ordeal made Shaw hate Picard and the Borg for life, and Sisko had his own reasons for loathing Locutus and his human alter-ego. While Sisko doesn't give Picard the same kind of dressing-down that Shaw does, we do get to learn a bit more about his feelings regarding the whole incident, and Sisko's bitterness is pretty well justified.
A painful introduction
The opening sequence of the pilot for "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" depicts the battle through Sisko's perspective, showing him aboard the Saratoga as they try to battle the massive Borg cube. Unfortunately, the cube pulls the Saratoga in its tractor beam and weakens the ship's defenses before hitting it with a Borg cutting beam, causing massive damage, and killing the Vulcan captain and many other crew members.
Sisko, now in charge, commands everyone to get to the evacuation pods, but on the way there, he finds his son Jake injured and his wife Jennifer mortally wounded, trapped beneath debris. He has to be dragged to safety and it takes him years to recover emotionally from the loss. Sisko eventually finds peace for himself through the Bajoran Prophets and his place among them in the "Celestial Temple" — or the Bajoran wormhole, depending on how you look at it — but Locutus of Borg put him through hell first.
It's a shame that Shaw was killed in the line of duty in "Picard," because few things on this earth would have been as satisfying as a Shaw-Sisko meeting, complete with the two of them sharing their experiences and mutual distaste for the fancy British officer. Just imagine the colorful swearing and powerful yelling! Oh well, we can dream.
"Star Trek: Picard" and "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" are both available to stream on Paramount+.