5 characters we want to make cameos in Star Trek: Picard

Doctor Bashir and Garak (Deep Space Nine)

This may seem like a left-field pick. After all, Bashir and Garak never met Picard onscreen. But hear us out: We think that bringing back this dynamic duo from Deep Space Nine would make for some pretty interesting storylines.

Doctor Julian Bashir is an augmented human and the CMO of Deep Space Nine, which is impressive enough on its own. However, Bashir also has close ties to one of the shadiest organizations in the Star Trek universe: Section 31. The shady intelligence group made its first appearance in DS9, during which they attempted to recruit Bashir into working for them.

Though he always refused their attempts in the show, the recent DS9 documentary, What We Left Behind, revealed that the writers planned on picking up the show with Bashir as the head of the entire agency.

And then there’s Garak. One of the most charismatic (and enigmatic) Star Trek characters, Garak became a fan favorite due to his sharp wit, cynical nature, and onscreen chemistry with Bashir. Like his partner in crime, though, Garak also went on to do great things once DS9 ended.

In the Star Trek novels, Garak ends up becoming the Castellan of Cardassia — an incredibly high-ranking official of one of the most powerful empires in the universe. Picard has a history of dealing with the Cardassians, so it might make sense for the Picard writers to touch on this again.

Aside from rekindling one of the great love affairs in Star Trek that never was, bringing Bashir and Garak on to Picard would give the series to incredibly powerful players: the head of a military empire and the man in charge of Starfleet’s shadiest division.