Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Features An Easter Egg You Probably Missed – Showrunner Reveals Where To Find It [Exclusive]

This article contains spoilers for "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" season 1, episode 5 — "Series Acclimation Mil."

"Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" season 1, episode 5 focuses on SAM (Kerrice Brooks), the Kasqian photonic lifeform cadet who's out to reintegrate. Here, SAM attempts to understand organic lifeforms better in various ways, one of which is a self-imposed mission that just so happens to be of great interest to fans of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine." When the Kasqians task SAM with taking a seminar called "Confronting the unexplainable," she ends up choosing a real doozy of a midterm project: Solving the case of Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks), former commanding officer of Deep Space Nine who became the Bajorans' Emissary of the Prophets. What follows is a genuinely touching and philosophical look into Sisko's life and somewhat ambiguous fate, which just so happens to mirror SAM's own role as a frustrated Kasqian emissary surprisingly well. 

Avery Brooks hasn't acted in any screen or voice acting capacity since 2006, so understandably, he doesn't make an appearance in the episode. Because of this (and because Sisko's revered status has caused the Bajorans to disencourage depictions of him), Sisko's features are obscured in the one big image we see of him. However, in an interview with /Film's Jacob Hall, "Starfleet Academy" EP and co-showrunner Alex Kurtzman revealed that Sisko's face is actually hidden in the episode as a clever Easter egg:

"Did you notice the clouds at the end? Well, you should take a look."

Indeed, sharp-eyed viewers might notice a very familiar face take shape in the clouds during the voiceover at the very end of the episode, watching over SAM and the Academy. It's a fun, heartwarming nod at Brooks and the character he made famous.

Though "Series Acclimation Mil" doesn't directly feature Avery Brooks' Sisko, it is surprisingly heavy on all things "Deep Space Nine." Cirroc Lofton returns as Jake Sisko to steal a couple of scenes, and Jake's mysterious novel "Anslem" plays a pivotal role in SAM's quest to understand what being an emissary is all about. We also find out that SAM's mysterious professor is actually the latest host of the Dax symbiont, who mentored Sisko as Curzon Dax (Frank Owen Smith) and later served under him as Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) — and she's played by "Star Trek: Lower Decks" star and "Series Acclimation Mil" co-writer Tawny Newsome, no less. 

Fans have known for a while that a Sisko-themed episode was coming, since the "Starfleet Academy" trailer already teased the fate of the beloved and lost character. It also makes sense that Sisko would be a bit of a mysterious legend. After all, the Federation is aware of his final showdown with the Pah-wraiths and Dukat (Marc Alaimo) in the Bajoran Fire Caves, and seems to at least suspect the truth about his survival and ascension in the Prophets' Celestial Temple. 

The episode is far from the only time the show has nodded at past shows. "Starfleet Academy" has a "Star Trek: Next Generation homage you might have missed, and the show's very premise explains why the "Star Trek" event known as the Burn is so important. Even so, "Series Acclimation Mil" does more than just explore and celebrate a "Deep Space Nine" character's life and times. The whole episode is "Star Trek" at its most touching. 

"Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" is streaming on Paramount+.