Calvin Hudson was a fellow Starfleet cadet at the Academy with Ben Sisko, and they graduate together in 2354. They remained close friends after the Academy, including spending time together in New Berlin as couples once they both were married, and also having adventures with shared friend Curzon Dax.
Hudson is a Lieutenant Commander by the time we meet him in the episode The Maquis, and he is serving as a double agent at this point for the Federation and the rebel Maquis. Hudson had climbed the Federation ranks quickly thanks to having similar qualities as Sisko: good leadership and the ability to inspire trust in those he worked with. That put him in position to be a primary attache to the Demilitarized Zone planets after the Federation-Cardassian Treaty is signed.
But after seeing firsthand the significant suffering and abuse of colonists by the Cardassians, he joins the Maquis and uses his Starfleet position to provide supplies and intelligence. Sisko discovers Hudson's double agent role and Hudson initially tries to convince Sisko to allow the Maquis to use DS9 as a repair station for their ships, but Sisko is much more loyal to his Starfleet principles than Hudson and thus declines the proposal. Hudson escapes the Federation grasp in a skirmish at the end of the two-part episode.
QUOTE from The Maquis
"You're throwing away your entire life."
"And beginning a new one."
"You're throwing away your entire life."
"And beginning a new one."
We later find out that Hudson dies in a different fight with the Cardassians a couple years later. He is described by a fellow Starfleet defector as a martyr for the Maquis cause. Hudson provides an interesting contrast of a similar character and a similar officer as Sisko, but he turns out much differently based on a different set of life experiences and decisions made.
Behind the scenes, the writers had originally planned to kill off the Calvin Hudson character in this two-part episode, but showrunner Michael Pillar convinced the writers to not do so because they had done that for a couple other interesting and notable guest star characters recently. Later Michael regretted the decision, leading the writers to put in a note killing off the character in the script for Blaze of Glory. So we never see Hudson show up again, despite the threads left open at the end of this notable Maquis-centric episode.
Calvin Hudson was played by Bernie Casey, who had fame as an actor by his appearances in 80s movies like Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Revenge of the Nerds, and Never Say Never Again. Before acting, he was a track and field champion in college and a profession football player. He was not a fan of Star Trek, but he took this guest star role because he wanted to work with Avery Brooks, who he admired. He passed away two years ago at the age of 78.
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