Captains Burnham and Sisko are very lucky to have strong relationships with those at the top of Starfleet command in Star Trek: Discovery and DS9.

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 2, “Under the Twin Moons”!

Despite them being 800 years apart, Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine have one thing in common when it comes to Starfleet. Discovery and DS9 have many things in common, both good and bad. On the downside, Star Trek: Discovery and DS9 were both criticized for their darker themes by more traditional fans, despite breaking new and exciting ground for the franchise. On the upside, multiple DS9 aliens have appeared in Discovery too, further strengthening the links between both Star Trek shows and the wider universe.

The most notable similarity between Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is each show’s expansive cast of characters. Like DS9 before it, Discovery‘s cast of characters encompasses Federation and non-Federation species, and also has a recurring Starfleet Admiral who is regularly involved in the action. Both Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) have strong working relationships with Admiral Charles Vance (Oded Fehr) and Vice Admiral William Ross (Barry Jenner), respectively. These fruitful and supportive relationships between Captain and Admiral are markedly different from those in other Star Trek shows.

Star Trek: Discovery & DS9 Have Good Starfleet Admirals In Common

Admiral Charles Vance has shown a fierce sense of loyalty to his officers since he debuted in Star Trek: Discovery season 3. Unlike other Star Trek admirals, Vance has a collaborative approach to command, and he’s regularly seen in meetings with Burnham and Captain Saru (Doug Jones), trying to pool resources and find the best course of action. This could be down to the fact that the USS Discovery restored hope to the threadbare Federation in the 32nd century, but his loyal friendship with the reckless and unpredictable Captain Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) suggests that Vance is always open to the input of those that he trusts.

Captain Sisko and Admiral Ross began working together after the Dominion had taken DS9 at the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 5. Sisko and Ross’ working relationship became more personal, and they became friends as well as fellow officers. Sisko’s role as Bajoran Emissary did jeopardize their friendship, but it improved to the point that Admiral Ross presided over Sisko’s marriage to Kasidy Yates (Penny Johnson Jerald). Admiral Ross wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty either, as he led the Federation’s final assault on Cardassia Prime in the closing stages of the Dominion War.

Why Good Starfleet Admirals Are Rare In Star Trek

Good admirals are hard to come by in Starfleet, as proven by the abundance of evil Star Trek admirals. Even the Starfleet admirals that aren’t plotting with Khan Noonien Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch) or framing Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) for murder can still be a thorn in the side of many a Star Trek captain. More often than not, Starfleet admirals are deskbound figures who have forgotten what it means to be captain of a starship. For example, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) regularly clashed with Admiral Alynna Nechayev (Natalia Nogulich) in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Picard and Nechayev’s relationship could not be more different than that of Burnham and Vance, or Sisko and Ross. In “Chain of Command”, Nechayev risked Picard’s life and a war with the Cardassians by authorizing defensive action in the McAllister C-5 Nebula. And then, in “Journey’s End”, Nechayev authorized the resettlement of the Native American colonists in the Dorvan V colony. Unlike Vance in Star Trek: Discovery or Ross in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Nechayev had no time for the opinions of the officers below her, something that sadly appears to be the rule, rather than the exception, in Starfleet Command.