FULL SPOILERS for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1, Episode 5, "Series Acclimation Mil."
Starfleet Academy recently sent the Star Trek fan base into meltdown by airing what was essentially a legacy sequel to Deep Space Nine. At the heart of the episode's story was the attempt to finally figure out what happened to Avery Brooks' Captain Benjamin Sisko, but through the retrospective lens of Star Trek's 32nd-century setting. The biggest absence from the episode itself was a cameo from Brooks, who played the Starfleet icon in all seven seasons of Deep Space Nine, and still hasn't reprised the role since the 1999 series finale. Other than that brief voice cameo in "Series Acclimation Mil."
Although Cirroc Lofton's Jake Sisko, Brooks' on-screen son, did show up in the episode, it was tricky to ignore the fact that Captain Sisko didn't directly feature. Given how solidly Brooks stepped away from Star Trek after Deep Space Nine, and acting in general shortly after, it's easy to assume that the episode was a love letter to Brooks' beloved character, but without his knowledge or blessing. However, that isn't the case. It had his stamp of approval.
Avery Brooks signed off on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy's DS9 tribute episode
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1, Episode 5, "Series Acclimation Mil," was co-written by Kristen Beyer and Tawny Newsome, the latter also appearing as Illa Dax in the episode — and voicing Beckett Mariner in Lower Decks. Beyer also has impressive Star Trek credentials. Most relevantly, she was a key writer for Star Trek: Picard, so paying tribute to a Star Trek legend is nothing new to her. Regardless, although "Series Acclimation Mil" was already in safe hands — especially thanks to Newsome's DS9 superfan status — it's great to know that Avery Brooks approved of all the hard work.
Newsome spoke with TrekMovie about getting the episode made, and whether Brooks had seen it, saying, "I don't know if he has seen it, yet. But he has read it." She went on to make it clear that it was vital that Brooks was "cool with" the episode. Given Newsome's influence, passion, and her involvement with "Series Acclimation Mil," I think it's safe to say that if Brooks had objected to anything in the script, she'd have done everything in her power to acknowledge his concerns.
"Series Acclimation Mill" had to dance around Brooks' biggest request
As referenced in the same TrekMovie interview, Brooks made it clear back when Deep Space Nine ended that Captain Sisko needs to return someday. He didn't want his character to be interpreted as abandoning his family, which has been a topic of much debate among the fandom in the years since. Although Newsome confirmed she tried her hardest to honor that original request, Star Trek lore has expanded massively since then. Confirming Sisko had returned at some point would have raised the question of why it had never been mentioned before, or why there was never any evidence.
"We sort of had to get into the territory of something that maybe science and Starfleet records can’t explain," Newsome explained. Ultimately, the middle-ground that was settled upon was Jake softly confirming he had somewhat sensed his father's presence during key moments in his life since the events of the DS9 finale, but admits he can't prove it. This mystical compromise is genius. It not only honors Avery Brooks' desire for his Star Trek character's arc, but also makes sense given both the ambiguous nature of his exit and Deep Space Nine's religion-tinged themes.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are streaming now on Paramount+.