Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was largely a show about the horrors of war and religious persecution, but it did manage to carve out a space for some of the franchise's most enduring romantic relationships. DS9 was set on the titular space station, now under Starfleet control after it was abandoned by the villainous Cardassians after their occupation of the peaceful planet Bajor ended. Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) takes command of the station after enduring personal trauma and doubts about his career in Starfleet, hoping to encourage the growth of a healthy post-war community on the station.
While the episodic nature of previous series like Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation made portraying enduring romantic relationships tricky, DS9 was a darker, more serialized story, allowing relationships to grow and evolve over time in ways that were, at that point, unique to the franchise. Fans could track the flirtatious beginnings of relationships all the way to their sometimes tragic ends. DS9 has a reputation for being the darkest of Star Trek, but it never failed to give time and energy to love stories among all the chaos.
7 Gul Dukat and Kai Winn
While Star Trek: Deep Space Nine depicted plenty of healthy, mature romantic relationships, this is one of the most twisted, bizarre pairings in all of Star Trek. After losing his position in the Cardassian government and the death of his daughter Tora Ziyal (Melanie Smith), the disgraced Cardassian Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo) became the Emissary of the Pah-wraiths, the powerful, non-corporeal enemies of the Bajoran prophets. Disguised as a Bajoran, Dukat seduced the corrupt Bajoran religious leader Kai Winn (Louise Fletcher).
Even after she realized who Dukat really was, Winn remained intrigued by the power of the Pah-wraiths, and was manipulated by visions sent by them to release the powerful beings on Bajor. Winn and Dukat were eventually thwarted by Captain Sisko, resulting in both of their deaths at the hands of the Pah-wraiths. They remain a potent, if somewhat revolting, Star Trek pairing.
6 Zek and Ishka
The Ferengi Grand Nagus Zek (Wallace Shawn) was an important figure in Ferengi culture. He was noted for his genius business prowess, and he oversaw an expansion of the Ferengi Alliance across the galaxy. Zek had multiple encounters with Quark (Armin Shimerman) and his family over the years, with Quark continually trying to impress his people's leader.
Zek eventually fell in love with Ishka (Cecily Adams), Quark and Rom's (Max Grodénchik) mother who was generally referred to as "Moogie." A noted feminist, Ishka's influence saw Zek's policies soften, allowing females to wear clothing and pursue business ventures, much to Quark's horror. Zek eventually retired, appointing Ishka's son Rom the new Grand Nagus.
5 Miles O'Brien and Keiko O'Brien
Chief Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney) met and married his wife Keiko (Rosalind Chao) while serving aboard the USS Enterprise-D on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Miles and Keiko had a daughter, Molly (Hana Hatae), while aboard the Enterprise-D - Molly was actually delivered by Lieutenant Worf (Micheal Dorn) during a ship disaster - and later a son, Yoshi (Clara Bravo), aboard DS9. Miles and Keiko were one of the few normal domestic relationships depicted on Star Trek.
Miles and Keiko O'Brien enjoyed a typical marriage, a relationship built on trust and respect that was also occasionally frustrating. The couple did have to endure some science fiction headaches, like when Keiko's school on the station was harassed and vandalized by Bajoran extremists. Their son Yoshi also spent most of his gestation inside Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) after Keiko was injured and Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) was forced to relocate the baby to the Bajoran officer's womb.
4 Benjamin Sisko and Kasidy Yates
Captain Sisko was introduced to Captain Kasidy Yates (Penny Johnson) by his son, Jake (Cirroc Lofton), who was convinced he'd found a suitable girlfriend for his father in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3 episode "Family Business." Jake's instincts were right, as the chemistry between Sisko and Kasidy was immediate and palpable. After Kasidy served a brief prison sentence for being duped into helping a group of Maquis terrorists, she and Sisko made their relationship a priority.
Sisko and Kasidy eventually wed during the height of the Dominion War. Kasidy eventually became pregnant, but the couple's joy would be short-lived; Sisko sacrificed himself to defeat the Pah-wraiths and Gul Dukat. Fulfilling his destiny as Emissary of the Prophets, Sisko appeared to Kasidy in a vision in the DS9 series finale "What You Leave Behind," promising he'd return to her and their child one day.
3 Rom and Leeta
Perhaps the most unlikely pairing in all of Star Trek, Quark's awkward but brilliant brother Rom eventually left the dead end of his job at Quark's Bar to the Bajoran militia. Along the way Rom became close with the Bajoran Leeta (Chase Masterson), one of the Dabo girls who worked at Quark's Bar. Their relationship surprisingly turned romantic when Leeta confessed she had feelings for the Ferengi.
The Ferengi and Bajoran's romance became a DS9 highlight, one of the purest, most loving in all of Star Trek. Despite their very different backgrounds, they enjoyed a sweet, innocent love story, with each of them convinced of their luck in finding the perfect mate. When Rom was promoted to Grand Nagus, Leeta accompanied him to Ferenginar to begin a new life together.
2 Kira and Odo
Kira Nerys and the benevolent Changeling Odo (René Auberjonois) enjoyed a deeply felt friendship for much of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine that eventually evolved into more, first for Odo and then eventually for Kira. Their potential romance was put on hold several times during the Dominion War, when it was revealed Odo's people, the Changelings, were the originators of the Dominion. Kira also had to deal with her trauma born out of the Cardassian occupation of Bajor before she could be a fully present romantic partner.
With the help of the possibly sentient holodeck character Vic Fontaine (James Darren), Odo was able to properly express his feelings for Kira, resulting in the beginning of their romance. The pairing was immediately successful, easily transitioning from friends to lovers. The romance would be short-lived, however, as Odo was eventually forced to return to the Great Link to heal his people from the effects of the morphogenic virus unleashed on the Changelings by Section 31.
1 Worf and Jadzia Dax
When Star Trek: The Next Generation icon Worf ed the cast of Star Trek Deep Space Nine in season 4, many of the show's character dynamics shifted in both subtle and substantial ways. The biggest change was likely to the beloved Trill officer Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax (Terry Ferrell), who quickly fell in love with Worf. The stoic Worf would eventually let down his guard for Dax, with the pair marrying in the DS9 season 6 episode "You Are Cordially Invited."
The pair would unfortunately not get to enjoy a long, happy marriage, as Jadzia Dax was killed by Gul Dukat in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 6 episode "Tears Of The Prophets." Worf was devastated by Jadzia's death, but took some comfort out of the belief she had entered Sto-vo-kor, the Klingon afterlife for the honored dead. The character's quasi-resurrection as Ezri Dax (Nicole de Boer) complicated Worf's feelings about his late wife, and offered the kind of complicated character dynamics