Benjamin Sisko, Jake Sisko, and Dax all make Starfleet Academy's “Series Acclimation Mil” episode feel like a love letter to Deep Space Nine, but they don’t land with equal impact. Their appearances are ranked here by looking at importance to the episode’s story, how well they’re executed, their surprise factor, and the nostalgia they deliver.
3. Dax (Illa Dax)
Tawny Newsome’s Professor Illa Dax role is arguably the most conceptually exciting but also the most underutilized, especially for a character who personally knew Benjamin Sisko across lifetimes. Illa first appears as a faculty member guiding SAM, but only later reveals that she’s the current host of the Dax symbiont and that her insight into Sisko, like his tomato-growing as a nod to his father’s restaurant, comes from direct, lived connection rather than archival research.
This reveal is excellent, but the episode doesn't completely explain how Dax will connect DS9 to Starfleet Academy's far future. Beyond the indication that their fondness for Sisko remains, we don't know much about Illa's experience with the symbiont or how former hosts like Curzon and Jadzia have shaped her friendship with him.
As a surprise, the “Illa Dax” moment works, especially for Lower Decks fans seeing Newsome in a new role, but it’s more of a reference than a character showcase. In nostalgic terms, Dax's appearance is a promise rather than a payoff: if the series uses her more in future episodes, she may become DS9's legacy bridge.