10 Reasons Benjamin Sisko Is Star Trek's Greatest Ever Captain

It's all well and good being handy with a phaser, but Starfleet's primary mission is one of peace. Granted, it's not always that simple, but when it is then a Captain's primary responsibility is in bridging the political and cultural gaps between civilizations. Nobody had a harder task in this regard than Benjamin Sisko.

Brought in to help facilitate Bajor's entry into the Federation, Sisko found himself constantly caught between the military maneuverings of their former Cardassian overlords, the often naive wishes of the Federation, and the social divisions erupting between the Bajorans themselves.

There was no escaping any of these, and week after week a new challenge presented itself. But by being installed as the Emissary to the Prophets and discovering the wormhole, he simultaneously united a fractured society and created a strategic position resilient to the politics that threatened to overwhelm it.

Even when relationships with the Klingon's dissolved into open war, he constantly lobbied for peace. Finding the restraint and the composure to implore Gowron - in the middle of a blood-soaked battle with Starfleet's foot on the Klingon's throats - to call off his forces.