27 years after the Deep Space Nine finale, Starfleet Academy just solved one of Star Trek’s longest-running mysteries

The latest Star Trek show, Starfleet Academy, just aired its fifth episode. Titled 'Series Acclimation Mil', it offered a surprising follow-up to a mystery that fans have been pondering for almost 30 years.

The episode follows Sam (Kerrice Brooks), the first Kasqian (a sort of sentient hologram) to attend Starfleet Academy. Sam has been assigned the task of being Kasq's emissary to the Federation, with one of her roles being to try to explain organic life to her creators. As part of this mission, she decides to study another emissary: Captain Benjamin Sisko, the lead character from beloved '90s Star Trek show, Deep Space Nine.

A quick primer – with spoilers – for those who may have forgotten: Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, was the captain of the titular space station. As the series progressed, Sisko learned that he was more than human, having been created by a race of god-like aliens known as the Prophets, who live inside a wormhole in space.

The show ended in 1999 with Sisko vanishing into the wormhole to be with his creators, but with the promise that he would one day return to his human wife and family.

For years, fans have wondered if the character would ever return. The new Starfleet Academy episode, which is set some eight centuries after Deep Space Nine, makes it clear that, no, Sisko is still with the Prophets – though given that they exist outside of time, who knows what's possible?

The episode teases the possible return of Brooks, but doesn't actually go there – perhaps not surprising, as Brooks has retired from acting. Still, Sisko is heard in what sounds like a new voiceover at the end of the episode, where he says: "Divine laws are simpler than human ones, which is why it takes a lifetime to be able to understand them. Only love can understand them. Only love can interpret these words as they were meant to be interpreted."

The episode then closes out with an onscreen message reading, "Thank you Avery," followed by the Deep Space Nine theme music.

While Brooks doesn't appear, another member of the Deep Space Nine cast does: Cirroc Lofton, as Sisko's son, Jake. In an emotional scene, a hologram of Jake details his love for his father. Later in the episode, however, Sam encounters a different – and ambiguously real – version of Jake, who appears to her and discusses his father's fate as well as her own role as an emissary.

Starfleet Academy is streaming now on Paramount Plus. You can read our full Star Trek: Starfleet Academy review or find out about more of the best new TV shows.