History Recap / StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS03E22Explorers

Meanwhile, Sisko returns to [=DS9=] with a new goatee and a new hobby: building a "light ship" (a ship with sails that are pushed by light pressure from a sun) based on ancient Bajoran designs. Bajoran legends say that they explored their region of space as far as Cardassia in these ships 800 years ago, though it seems physically impossible, since solar pressure can't push anything faster than light-speed. Sisko hopes to duplicate their voyage as far as possible. The Cardassians consider the whole thing to be Bajoran fairy tales, and Dukat contacts Sisko in an attempt to dissuade him for his own safety.

* BeardOfEvil: Inverted. Sisko returns from Bajor sporting a ''goatee''!!

Even though Jake has plans to see his old girlfriend Leanne, he's guilted into coming along for the adventure. During the voyage, he uses the opportunity to show his father one of his stories and reveal his interest in becoming a writer. Sisko says that the story "shows promise," but it's too obvious that Jake is writing about things he has never experienced. Jake gets a little offended and reveals that has been offered a fellowship at a university on Earth, but he isn't sure whether he's ready to go that far from home yet.

* NotSoDire: After making some vaguely menacing threats before the expedition, Gul Dukat turns up with several warships...to give a fireworks display and the congratulations of the Cardassian government.

* RecycledInSpace: It's [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kon-Tiki_expedition Kon Tiki]]...IN SPACE! With Sisko as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thor_Heyerdahl Thor Heyerdahl]].

* PlayingSick: Leeta fakes an unconvincing illness in order to chat up Dr. Bashir at the bar.

The light ship suffers another calamity as they get caught in some sort of [[TechnoBabble space wind]] that sweeps them away. In the comotion, their compass gets destroyed, so they have no idea where they are. They attempt to contact the station for help, but fail, so they're reduced to waiting around to get picked up by a random passerby. As they wait, Jake announces that he's committed to deferring his university. As his father noted, he needs more experiences to become a writer, and what better place to pick up new experiences than on the station?

* ArtificialGravity: Addressed in the episode. The original Bajoran solar sailers did not have artificial gravity. Sisko adds 24th century gravity plating in his replica though, as he said 0G gives him nausea. Everything else in the ship (including the bathroom and the rations) is designed for a 0G environment.

** Jake mentions wanting to see Leanne, the girl he briefly dated in "[[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS03E13LifeSupport Life Support]]."

[[caption-width-right:350:AndStarring... [[BadassBeard Sisko's awesome new goatee.]]]]

* BadassBeard: Sisko has grown a goatee.

The Siskos press on in their damaged light ship. Jake says that he's thinking of deferring his admission to the university for a year, as he's not comfortable leaving his father all alone. He encourages Ben to start dating again to provide him some company while Jake is away and mentions that there is a freighter captain named Kasidy Yates with whom he wants to match Ben up.