Strange New Worlds’ Surprise Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Callout Sets Up Sisko & Kirk's Crossover

Published Sep 29, 2026, 7:46 AM EDT John Orquiola is a New & Classic TV Editor, Senior Writer, and Interviewer with a special focus on Star Trek. John has over 5,000 published articles at SR, and he has interviewed the biggest names in Star Trek on the red carpet and VIP events, among other beloved shows, movies, and franchises. Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4's Finale - "Tomorrow's Enterprise" Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' surprise callout of a United Federation of Planets agency sets up Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's future crossover between Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner). Directed by Chris Fisher and written by Henry Alonso Myers and Robbie Thompson, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4's finale brings two versions of Lieutenant Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) together from one year apart. Time travel is central to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4's finale. Two Lieutenant Uhuras switch places and visit each other's starships in "Tomorrow's Enterprise," the latest instance Strange New Worlds has dealt with alternate timelines and future events. Strange New Worlds season 4 began with time travel to 65 million years in the past and the revelation that the USS Enterprise helped end the dinosaurs so that humanity could evolve into the dominant species on Earth. Lieutenant La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong), no stranger to time travel, even offered Lieutenant Uhura some friendly advice, off the record. In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' mid-23rd century timeframe, there isn't yet a Federation division tracking temporal violations. Or is there? Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) unexpectedly name-dropped that very agency in "Tomorrow's Enterprise." Nurse Chapel Calls Out Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s Department Of Temporal Investigations Nurse Chapel referenced the Department of Temporal Investigations in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4's finale. Here's what Christine told Lieutenant Uhura from one year in the past and Captain James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley): Chapel: “I dated a girl once who swore she worked for something called the Department of Temporal Investigations. None of that sounded pretty. She was kind of nuts. Really nice arms, though.” Star Trek: Deep Space Nine introduced the Department of Temporal Investigations in season 5's "Trials and Tribble-ations." Ironically, the DTI agents were no fans of Captain Kirk, telling Captain Benjamin Sisko that Kirk has the largest file on record as of 2373, with seventeen temporal violations. This is the second time Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has mentioned the Department of Temporal Investigations. La'an was the DTI's first unwilling recruit to reset the timeline in Strange New Worlds season 2's "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow." La'an first met a dying DTI agent (Christopher Wyllie), and another, named Ymalay (Allison Wilson-Forbes), thanked La'an for completing her mission. La'an hadn't heard of the Department of Temporal Investigations, indicating that it didn't yet exist in 2260. Chapel's story in "Tomorrow's Enterprise" about the supposed DTI agent she dated happened three years later. However, it doesn't mean the DTI was founded in the interim. It's possible that the "girl" with "really nice arms" Chapel dated was a time traveler. DS9 Will Cross Over With Star Trek: The Original Series After Strange New Worlds Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4's finale takes place in 2262, with the events of Captain Kirk's starship seen in "Tomorrow's Enterprise" set in an alternate timeline one year later. While Kirk's Enterprise in that episode may not be the exact future that will transpire when Strange New Worlds ends with season 5, shouting out the Department of Temporal Investigations nods toward Kirk and Captain Sisko meeting just a few years later. Captain Sisko and members of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's crew time travel to the 23rd century in "Trials and Tribble-ations." Infiltrating the USS Enterprise and space station K7, Sisko and his people work clandestinely to stop a bomb hidden in a Tribble, which saves Captain Kirk's life. Sisko also can't resist meeting Kirk and shaking his hand before jumping back to the 24th century. Five years after Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4, Captain Sisko will not only time travel to 2267, but will have to answer to the Department of Temporal Investigations. Agents Dulmer (Jack Blessing) and Lucsly (James W. Jansen) cleared Sisko of any temporal wrongdoing. Amusingly, "Dulmer" and "Lucsley" are anagrams for "Mulder" and "Scully," the lead agents of The X-Files. Strange New Worlds also introduced its own version of the X-Files, called Division 12. Meanwhile, along with referencing Captain Sisko's 1950s alter ego, Benny Russell, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has found novel ways to nod to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine despite being over a century apart in Star Trek's timeline. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 is streaming on Paramount+ Release Date 2022 - 2027-00-00 Network Paramount+ Showrunner Henry Alonso Myers, Akiva Goldsman Directors Dan Liu, Amanda Row, Maja Vrvilo, Akiva Goldsman, Dermott Downs, Eduardo Sánchez, Jeffrey W. Byrd, Jonathan Frakes, Jordan Canning, Leslie Hope, Valerie Weiss, Sydney Freeland, Christopher J. Byrne, Rachel Leiterman Writers Onitra Johnson Franchise(s) Star Trek Creator(s) Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet