"What You Leave Behind" is the final episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. While the Federation Alliance launches its final assault against the Dominion, Kira, Garak and Damar launch their own attack against Dominion Headquarters. Meanwhile, Winn and Dukat travel to the Fire Caves to release the Pah-wraith and the crew of Deep Space 9 prepare for great changes to their lives once the war ends.

Description[]

A powerful novel in the classic tradition of "All Good Things...".

Seven years ago, Benjamin Sisko took command of an alien space station newly christened Deep Space Nine. There he met Kira Nerys, Odo, Miles O'Brien, Quark, Worf, Julian Bashir, and many others who would touch his life deeply. He also found a new and troubling destiny as the long-awaited Emissary to the mysterious wormhole entities known as the Prophets.

Now, after years of triumph and tragedy, and a cataclysmic war that rocked the entire Alpha Quadrant, Captain Sisko and his valiant crew face their final challenge. No one is safe, nothing is certain, and not even the Prophets can predict the ultimate fate of Deep Space Nine!

Summary[]

The DS9 crew are preparing for the final battle of the war and say goodbye to their families. Sisko says goodbye to Jake and the now pregnant Kasidy, while O'Brien says goodbye to his family. Molly chastises her father for not telling Bashir that they are leaving DS9 for Earth, where O'Brien will teach at Starfleet Academy. On the Defiant, Captain Sisko orders the ship to Cardassia with a fleet of Starfleet, Klingon and Romulan vessels.

References[]

Characters[]

Episode characters[]

Julian Bashir • Broca • Corat Damar • Ezri Dax • Skrain Dukat • Ekoor • Female Changeling • Vic Fontaine • Elim Garak • Ginger • Gowron, son of M'Rel • Jones • Ke Hovath • Kira Nerys • Lar • Martok, son of Urthog • Mila • Morn • Nog • Keiko O'Brien • Kirayoshi O'Brien • Miles O'Brien • Molly O'Brien • Odo • Pran • Quark • Rom • William Ross • Benjamin Sisko • Jake Sisko • Tholun • Weyoun 8 • Winn Adami • Worf, son of Mogh • Kasidy Yates • Sarah Prophet

Referenced only

Monico Aguayo • Edith Alfaro • Bandee • Richard B. Barnett • Rick Bittle • Harry Brand • Shirley Brand • Elizabeth Braswell • Margaret C. Clark • Barbara Covington • Curt Danhauser • Jadzia Dax • Laura Derr • Dorothy Duder • Jimmy Durante • Russ English • Terry Erdmann • Ann Flood • John Fredrickson • Alice Ginsburg • Mitchell Green • Kurt Hansen • Teri Hansen • Sandy Holst • Phillip Jacobson • Penny Juday • Grace Kenney • Matata Kimya • Alan M. Kobayashi • Beverly Kurts • Jay Laprade • Peter Lawford • Paul Lawrence • Leonidas • Kathy Leprich • Faith Levesconte • Lester Levesconte • Rose Limli • Mindy Long • Douglas MacArthur • Tom Mahoney • Marian McAllum • Kathy McCammon • Jon Monson • David Nemzek • Donna Nemzek • Dorit Oberman • Lori Oberscheven • Larry Ohlson • Nancy Ohlson • William B. Travis • Ungtae • Leslie Wong

Novelization characters[]

Julian Bashir • Bremerton • Broca • Corat Damar • Ezri Dax • Skrain Dukat • Ekoor • Female Changeling • Vic Fontaine • Elim Garak • Ginger • Kira Nerys • Lar • Martok, son of Urthog • Mila • Nog • Keiko O'Brien • Kirayoshi O'Brien • Miles O'Brien • Molly O'Brien • Odo • Pran • Quark • William Ross • Benjamin Sisko • Jake Sisko • Weyoun 8 • Winn Adami • Worf, son of Mogh • Kasidy Yates • Sarah Prophet

Referenced only

Achilles • Bandee • Dax • Curzon Dax • Jadzia Dax • Jimmy Durante • Peter Lawford • Leonidas • Douglas MacArthur • Horatio Nelson • Rebecca Jae Sisko • William B. Travis • Ungtae

Locations[]

• Alpha Quadrant - Bajoran wormhole/Celestial Temple
  • Bajor - Ashalla • Fire Caves
  • Cardassia - Cardassia City • Dominion briefing room • Dominion Headquarters
  • Deep Space 9 - • Habitat ring • Operations center • Promenade • Quark's • Replimat • Station commander's office • Vic's lounge • Wardroom
• Gamma Quadrant - New Founder homeworld

Referenced only

Andor • Devona IV (Devona system) • Eminiar VII • Kendra Province • Lakarian City • Pollux IV • Qo'noS • Rigel VII • Risa • Romulus • Stratos

• Earth - Alamo • Big Sur • Golden Gate Bridge • Golden Gate Park • Las Vegas • Minsk • Monterey, California • New Orleans • Normandy • Paris • Rio de Janeiro • San Francisco • San Francisco Bay • Sands Hotel • Texas • Thermopylae
• Starbase 129 • Starbase 153

Starships and vehicles[]

USS Defiant (Defiant-class escort) • D'ridthau • USS Farragut • USS Leeds (Nebula-class explorer) • USS Nelson • USS Rio Grande (Danube-class runabout)

Referenced only

USS Akagi • USS Clement • USS Cochrane • USS Exeter • USS Repulse • USS Nobel • USS Sarajevo • USS Tecumseh • USS Tripoli • USS Victory • USS Wyoming • USS Zapata • Baraka • USS Enterprise • IKS Rotarran • Attack fighter 6-4 • Attack fighter 6-5 • USS Defiant

Starship classes[]

Akira-class • Breen battlecruiser • Breen fighter • Danube-class • D'deridex-class • Defiant-class • Excelsior-class • Federation fighter • Galaxy-class • Galor-class • Hideki-class • Jem'Hadar fighter • Jem'Hadar battle cruiser • Jem'Hadar battleship • Klingon cruiser • Klingon fighter • K't'inga-class • Klingon Bird-of-Prey • Miranda-class • Nebula-class • Romulan Bird-of-Prey • Saber-class • Steamrunner-class • Vor'cha-class

LCARS graphics only: D7-class • Intrepid-class • Negh'Var-class • Olympic-class • Sovereign-class

Races and cultures[]

Bajoran • Breen • Cardassian • Changeling • Evoran • Founder • Jem'Hadar • Human • Klingon • Lurian • Pah-wraith • Prophets • Romulan • Trill • Vorta

States and organizations[]

Bajoran Militia • Bajoran Military Guard • Breen Confederacy • Cardassian Guard • Cardassian Liberation Front • Cardassian Union • Dominion • Federation Alliance • Great Link • Klingon Empire • Romulan Star Empire • Starfleet • Starfleet Command • Promenade Merchants' Association • United Federation of Planets

Referenced only

Niners • Obsidian Order • Section 31 • Spartan • Starfleet Academy • United Earth Starfleet • United States Army • WTYX

Science and technology[]

clone • cloning • concussion grenade • docking clamp • doppler compensator • energy scanner • flux capacitor • hologram • holosuite • impulse manifold • impulse response filter • induction coil • inertial damper • lightstick • orbital weapon platform • PADD • palm beacon • phaser • phaser bank • phaser emitter • phaser rifle • plasma flow regulator • quantum torpedo • refrigeration suit • self-sealing stembolt • stochastic field emitter • surveillance satellite • targeting computer • torque buffer • viewscreen • warp matrix

Ranks and titles[]

admiral • captain • Chancellor of the Klingon Empire • Chief of Operations • colonel • commander • commodore • constable • Emissary of the Prophets • Emissary of the Pah-wraith • ensign • Federation Ambassador to the Klingon Empire • First • general • gul • high Centurion • kai • legate • lieutenant Commander • professor • Professor of Optronic Systems Engineering • thot • vedek • yeoman

Other references[]

1960s • 2309 • angel • automobile • assault fleet • Bajoran language • Bajoran prophecy • Bajoran religion • Barbie • baseball • baseball (object) • bat'leth • Battle of Cardassia • Battle of Normandy • Battle of Thermopylae • Battle of Trafalgar • beach • Beatnik • betting pool • biosignature • blindness • blockade • bloodwine • bongo • Book of the Kosst Amojan • Breen language • canasta • Cardassian intelligence network • Cardassian tea • casualty report • chess • combat support tender • communication blackout • concussion • darts • demon • docking pylon • Dominion War • Dominion War Accords • English language • equator • evasive maneuvers • exile • Federation-Cardassian border • fighter • firing sequence • front line • gin rummy • go-go boots • flagship • genocide • gutfish • heavy cruiser • hologram • holosuite • ionosphere • jazz • Klapri dripping • Klingonese • Kosst Amojan • landing party • latinum • lichen • medical packet • medikit • moon • morning sickness • morphogenic matrix • morphogenic virus • nanny • neutronium • Occupation of Bajor • Odo's bucket • Operation Final Assault • optronics • picket ship • pregnancy • priority one • pyrrhic victory • qa'pla • racquetball • ration • redrat • Restoration of Bajor • Restoration of the Pah-wraith • rodent • Romulan war wing • sacrament • shakedown cruise • sickbay • Sisko's baseball • Sisko's house • slot machine • solid • space sickness • supply freighter • targ • tea • tongo • tallus • Tarkalean tea • Treaty of Bajor • triage • tribble • tuxedo • Viking • war crime • wine • World War II

Appendices[]

Related media[]

• In 2015, the DS9 writers reunited to break the story of a sequel to the final episode. This session can be seen in the DS9 documentary What We Left Behind^MA.
• Paramount authorised Pocket Books to publish stories set after Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the DS9 relaunch. These novels were published between 2000 and 2021. Sisko returns for the birth of his daughter.
• The aftermath of the destruction on Cardassia by the Dominion would be shown in Andrew J. Robinson's DS9 novel: A Stitch in Time.
• From 2022, IDW published a graphic novel series where Sisko returns.
• Both “The Dreamer and the Dream” and The Autobiography of Benjamin Sisko feature Sisko after the final episode.
• By the time of Star Trek Nemesis, Worf is shown to have been assigned to the Enterprise. Worf's time as Ambassador to the Klingon Empire would last until 2379 and be chronicled in novels such as the TNG novel: Diplomatic Implausibility, the Star Trek: Klingon Empire novels, the TNG novels: A Time to Kill, A Time to Heal and the TNG novel: A Time for War, A Time for Peace, all in the first Splinter timeline, which also explain why he left his diplomatic post. The comic “The First Year” gives another view on why he returned to Starfleet.
• The Tales of the Dominion War short story "Requital" takes place during the events of this episode. The epilogue of the Prophecy and Change short story "Face Value" ends at the moment of Damar's death in this episode.

Background[]

• The early cover (pictured) of the novelization of this episode had the name of the episode as simply "Final Episode", likely due to the fact the name was not known at the time. The image of Worf would be changed for the final cover and Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimler's names would be added.
• Ira Steven Behr and David Weddle are among the production staff who play holograms in the scene set at Vic's.
• The old DS9 uniform from it's early episodes and throughout Star Trek: Voyager as well as Star Trek: Generations appears in one of the flashback scenes.
• After this episode, Star Trek: Voyager became the sole carrier of the Star Trek franchise, beginning with "Equinox (part II)" until it's end on May 23, 2001.

Notable cast and crew[]

• Avery Brooks as Benjamin Sisko
• Nana Visitor as Kira Nerys
• Rene Auberjonois as Odo
• Michael Dorn as Worf
• Armin Shimerman as Quark
• Alexander Siddig as Julian Bashir
• Nicole de Boer as Ezri Dax
• Andrew J. Robinson as Garak
• Marc Alaimo as Dukat
• Jeffrey Combs as Weyoun
• Barry Jenner as William Ross
• J.G. Hertzler as Martok
• Aron Eisenberg as Nog
• Salome Jens as the Female Changeling
• Greg Ellis as Ekoor
• Christopher Halsted as Turan'Ekan

Images[]

Episode images[]

Vic's lounge.

The Defiant.

The Dominion delegation.

The Dominion War accords.

The entrance to the Fire Caves.

The Pah-wraith are freed.

Dukat is inhabited by the Pah-wraith.

Sisko's house.

Publicity photos[]

Adaptation images[]

Connections[]

External links[]

• What You Leave Behind (novel) article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
• "What You Leave Behind" article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
• What You Leave Behind article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.