Kasidy Yates (Penny Johnson) played a bigger part in DS9 than most Star Trek fans remember. She worked with the Maquis for a while before it got her in serious trouble. Then she shifted her energy back into working with the Bajorans. And she made Ben Sisko (Avery Brooks) believe in love again after the tragic loss of his first wife. It wasn’t long before Kasidy and Ben were jumping into a lovely marriage, only for mystical complications to test their union. Marrying the Emissary and losing him to a wormhole wasn’t something she expected.
But like all the issues that came her way, Kasidy faced these challenges with honesty and strength. After all, this was the same person who helped the Maquis when it was taboo, because she thought it was the right thing to do. When that alliance went south, she owned up to the part she played and faced the consequences. She also wasn’t afraid to express vulnerability around her loved ones, and carried on even when life put her through the ringer. While viewers didn’t learn much about who Kasidy was before her life on Deep Space 9, her character was on full display as she joined the crew.
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Love at First Sight
Kasidy didn’t exactly swoon into Ben’s arms on first contact. In fact, the two struggled to connect in their first shared DS9 scenes. Luckily, the heavy-handed matchmaking attempts of Ben’s son, Jake (Cirroc Lofton), eventually prevailed. They shared their first date at the end of season 3, episode 23, “Family Business.”
Gaining Ben's affection started with Kasidy revealing her love of baseball. Once he realized she shared his love of the sport, the rest was wedding bells and romantic history. He was especially over the moon once he learned that her brother played for the Pike City Pioneers on the planet Cestus III (the location of the infamous Kirk vs Gorn fight in TOS). Like other Star Trek couples, Kasidy’s and Ben’s relationship wasn’t exactly a cakewalk. She was a free-flying agent, and he was the Starfleet officer who loved her despite her penchant for trouble.
Kasidy Working With the Maquis
Speaking of trouble, Kasidy found herself on the wrong side of the law in season 4, episode 22, “For the Cause.” The Demilitarized Zone (aka the DMZ) was established by the Federation-Cardassian Treaty of 2370. It’s like the Romulan Neutral Zone, but located in the Alpha Quadrant instead of the Beta Quadrant. Many of the civilian colonists affected by the agreement, but not included in it, took issue with it. So, they created the Maquis to resist the Cardassian presence.
Kasidy saw the Maquis as righteous in their fight, and provided cargo to the DMZ for their survival. Things went south, though, when her willingness to help was taken advantage of by those looking to steal weapons. Here’s where things get tricky. On paper, this whole fiasco should have ended Kasidy’s relationship with Ben. But DS9’s emphasis on the reasons behind her actions kept her from being seen as a true villain. If anything, it emphasized her willingness to do what she thought was right. It helped that she gracefully faced the consequences of her actions – intended and otherwise.
Kasidy served time in prison, returning to DS9 in season 5, episode 10, “Rapture.” Her bravery, while misguided, probably added to the many reasons Ben decided to marry her. But that was when the real trouble started.
Rebecca Jae Sisko
From the start, Kasidy’s and Ben’s decision to get married was plagued by warnings from the Bajoran Prophets. They insisted that their marriage would end badly, which almost convinced Ben to call off the wedding altogether. But they went through with it anyway in 2375 and, months later, found themselves with a baby on the way. This could have been the result of more meddling by the Prophets (similar to the part they played in Ben’s birth). Or it could have been a case of faulty birth control.
Either way, Jake had a little sister on the way during the Dominion War. If that wasn’t stressful enough, Ben’s calling as the Emissary had started kicking itself into high gear. He was getting pulled towards a path that could change everything for him, his family, and his crew. Then it did. His battle with Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo) and Kai Winn (Louise Fletcher) ended with their defeat, and Ben ascending to the Celestial Temple. Kasidy saw him one last time in a vision in which he promised to return one day.
According to Memory Beta, Kasidy gave birth to their daughter, Rebecca Jae Sisko, in September 2376. Fans don’t know much about this child of Ohalu prophecy outside the Star Trek DS9 novelizations. Kasidy went into labor at the Ashalla Monastery after Bajoran monks infested with a parasite took her hostage. Like her father, Rebecca faced many difficulties due to her proximity to the Prophets and their more obsessed followers. Ben returned at some point during her life, only to leave again because of these same challenges.
Through it all, though, Kasidy stood firmly beside her family. Whatever pushed her to help the Maquis and then the Bajorans went into overdrive with her loved ones. It kept her steady in hard times, strong in the face of scary situations, and loyal when she could have gone her own way. Then again, it wasn’t all life-threatening drama. Like that time in season 7, episode 15, “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang,” when the DS9 crew pulled together to help the holographic lounge singer Vic Fontaine (James Darren) fight off mobsters in a holosuite. The good times likely made it easier for Kasidy to tough out the bad ones. Or maybe, like Ben and many other Star Trek characters, her adventurous spirit kept her locked in for the long run even before she fell in love.
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