Quark: He only paid for one hour. He's been in there for three, fighting the Battle of Klachdachbrach or some such thing over and over.
Odo: The Battle of Klach D'kel Brakt was a legendary Klingon victory over the Romulans almost a century ago.
Quark: Well, he's been losing it all afternoon and he says he's not coming out until he wins. I banged on the door, he sealed himself in. I threatened to shut off the power, he threatened to kill me.
Odo: Since when did you add ancient Klingon battles to your holosuite programs?
Quark: The Captain of the last Klingon ship that went through the wormhole sold some to me. I know, I know. It's brutal, it's violent, it's bloody, but to the Klingons, it's entertainment.
Odo: Shut off the power.
Quark: He'll kill you.
Odo: No, he said he'll kill you. Shut it off.
Kor: chay'pen Aha'bA?
Kor: Ar got k'nel d'kulluh marg rah low! You dare interrupt the Battle of Klach D'kel Brakt, you Ferengi k'pekt!
Odo: The battle has been won. The people are waiting to celebrate your victory.
Kor: They are? Lead the way then!
Odo: How did you get in here?
Koloth: I am Koloth.
Odo: That doesn't answer my question.
Koloth: Yes. It does. What are the charges against him?
Odo: Charges? No charges. He's today's guest of honor.
Koloth: You must be a very brave man to attempt humor at the expense of a Klingon Dahar Master.
Odo: I apologize. No offense intended.
Koloth: Kor!
Odo: Sir, if you'll wake up, I'll release you into your friend's custody.
Kor: Koloth! wIj jup My old friend. I knew you'd be here.
Koloth: You disgrace yourself and our purpose. I do not go into battle with one whose honor is washed away in breshtanti ale. Keep him!
Odo: Security reassignments, Major. Sorry it took so long. It's been a Klingon afternoon.
Kira: A Klingon afternoon?
Odo: Every time Klingons come to the station, I wind up with a Klingon afternoon. But this was definitely one I'll cherish forever. There's a drunk Klingon in my holding cell, must be a hundred years old, singing battle songs. Even his best friend who's probably a hundred and fifty years old won't have anything to do with him, so I get the pleasure of listening to his repertoire. Kor, Dahar Master of the Klingons.
Dax: Did you say Kor?
Odo: That's what he announced right after winning the Battle of Klach D'kel Brakt at Quark's.
Dax: What is he doing here? Did you get his friend's name? Was it Kang?
Odo: No, it was DAX +
Odo: Koloth.
Dax: Come with me, Odo.
Kor: B'aski't Kor, B'askr'ip Kor, KoHmanati, B'aski't Kor.
Dax: Hello, Kor.
Kor: I'm thirsty.
Dax: Let him out.
Odo: Lieutenant.
Dax: I'll take responsibility.
Kor: I am very thirsty.
Dax: Kor, do you remember Curzon Dax?
Kor: Curzon? My dear friend Curzon? I lift my ghoptu to Curzon Dax!
Dax: And I, who was Curzon Dax lift my ghoptu to you. Scorcher burn on your fourteenth rib, and your left QiVon aches every time your ship hits warp eight.
Kor: Dax! My Curzon? After eighty-one years I find you a kyamo-looking woman. Kiss me!
Dax: How about just a great big hug.
Kor: Curzon, my beloved old friend!
Dax: I'm Jadzia now.
Kor: Well, Jadzia, my beloved old friend.
Dax: Come on, Kor, let's go find Koloth.
Kor: Koloth's here?
Kor: Look at him. He practices cuts and thrusts even with his food. Little children do that.
Koloth: A sharp knife is nothing without a sharp eye.
Kor: It's been forty years since even his good eye was sharp. It is luck when you hit the plate.
Koloth: I see the Federation insults us by sending a Lieutenant to greet us.
Dax: You never had much use for the Federation, did you, Koloth. I used to call you D'akturak, Ice man, because no proposal, no matter how reasonable, no matter how much it favored the Klingon Empire would satisfy you. You were the toughest man I ever faced across the negotiations table.
Kor: Do you not recognize our old friend Dax?
Koloth: Dax?
Dax: Curzon's dead, but Dax is alive as part of me.
Koloth: This is a mistake. Kang must not have known.
Kor: Ah, but what a beautiful mistake.
Dax: Is Kang coming?
Kor: Of course he's coming. He's brought the four of us back together after eighty one years.
Dax: Could it possibly mean that he's
Kang: Yes. That is exactly what it means. I have found the Albino.
Dax: Kang, do you remember the first time we sat together over bahgol? It was the Korvat colony. The Federation and the Klingon Empire were still enemies.
Kang: I have never sat with you before today.
Dax: I am Dax, godfather of your son.
Koloth: You are no one's godfather.
Dax: I am Dax, godfather of your son .
Kang: So, you are the same Dax who took a blood oath with us to seek vengeance?
Dax: Don't mistake a new face for a new soul, Kang. I still feel at one with your family just as I did eight decades ago. I hope one day you will embrace me as a brother again.
Koloth: Brother! Ha!
Kor: Brother, sister, what's the difference. We're here now. Speak to us, Kang. Where is he? Where did you find the Albino?
Kang: Seven years ago, on Dayos Four, I met one of the Albino's diskarded wives. I fed and clothed her. I told her the story of our sons. She still feared him and told me nothing. Three months ago, she died. A week afterwards, an amulet she wore around her neck was delivered to me by messenger. In it was the location of the Albino's sanctuary.
Koloth: Are you certain that he's still there?
Kang: I have confirmed it with traders who supply him. It is on the fourth planet in the Secarus System. He has been hiding there for nearly a quarter of a century.
Kor: Hiding from us, no doubt.
Kang: I have been told he only has forty men in his compound. Evidently he has become very lax in his waning years.
Kor: The fool.
Dax: I wouldn't count on information from traders. The Albino might have told them what to say if anyone asked questions.
Koloth: She's right. The traders may already have warned him that we are coming.
Kang: They will never warn anyone ever again. This time, we will reach the Albino. And when we do, I will cut his heart out and eat it while he watches me with his dying breath.
Kang: I did not know, of course.
Dax: About Curzon?
Kang: I did not want to risk contacting you by subspace.
Dax: I don't blame you. That's how the Albino learned we were coming to Galdonterre.
Kang: His ears that reach across the galaxy. I don't know how. Tell me about my friend Curzon. Did he die an honorable death?
Dax: He died in a hospital room yelling at doctors and friends who were trying to keep him alive for one more miserable day.
Kang: That's a pity. He was a good man. He deserved to die in battle. It pains me that I will never see him again in this life.
Dax: Curzon was decorated many times for his diplomatic achievements, but no honor touched him as deeply as yours. For a Klingon to choose a Federation official to be the godfather of his son.
Kang: Curzon Dax opened the door to peace. He was the first Federation diplomat I ever met who truly seemed to understand the Klingon nature.
Dax: Well, there was always a bit of the Klingon nature in Curzon. His blood oath with you was very important to him.
Kang: Would you eat from the heart of the Albino, Jadzia Dax? I know about the Trills during my long friendship with Curzon. And I know that each new host has no obligation to past commitments.
Dax: And I know that a Klingon blood oath can never be broken.
Kang: The old Klingon ways are passing. There was a time, when I was a young man, the mere mention of the Klingon Empire made worlds tremble. Now, our warriors are opening restaurants and serving racht to the grandchildren of men I slaughtered in battle. Things are not what they used to be, not even a blood oath.
Dax: I know you, Kang. You don't believe that.
Kang: What I believe is no longer relevant. You are released from Curzon's oath. You owe nothing to any of us.
Kira: Are you still reading a plasma leak in lower pylon one? I can't seem to find it now.
Dax: It's been intermittent. Let me do a high-resolution scan. Kira?
Kira: Uh huh?
Dax: How many people did you kill?
Kira: What?
Dax: While you were in the underground.
Kira: Too many.
Dax: Were they all faceless Cardassians or did you know who you were killing?
Kira: Why are we talking about this?
Dax: If it bothers you, we can stop.
Kira: It bothers me.
Dax: I'm sorry.
Kira: Why, are you thinking about killing somebody?
Dax: Me?
Kira: Tell me.
Dax: I don't know what you're talking about.
Kira: Tell me.
Dax: Eighty years ago, there was a band of depredators, led by an Albino, raiding Klingon colonies. Three Klingon warships were sent to stop him. One of the captains was a close friend of Curzon's. The mission was successful. Most of them were captured. But the Albino escaped. In his last message to the Klingons, he promised to take his revenge on the firstborn of each of the three captains. A few years later, he kept his word. Somehow, he infected three innocent children with a genetic virus that killed them. One of them was my godson.
Kira: I'm sorry. But Jadzia, that was Curzon's godson.
Dax: I took a blood oath to revenge his death.
Kira: Curzon took a blood oath.
Dax: I can still remember the boy's funeral. He was named Dax for me.
Kira: You've found this Albino?
Dax: We know where he is. The three Klingons came here to tell me.
Kira: Look, you've said yourself every new life for a Trill has to be a new life. If not, you'd wind up paying off old debts forever. These Klingons can't possibly expect you to keep this oath.
Dax: No, they don't. That's just it. They say I have no obligation to them. But I do. I know it, I feel it. If not to them, I owe it to Curzon.
Kira: Jadzia. Your questions about my experience with killing. If you're wondering what it's like. When you take someone's life, you lose a part of your own as well.
Kor: I need another arm. Or am I doomed to choose between perfection and palate.
Dax: Let me spare you that decision.
Kor: majQa'! To the rescue. Dax, may I present these two students of Klingon history.
Dax: Would you excuse us for a minute?
Kor: Only a minute, my students.
Kor: Well, you certainly don't share Curzon's priorities.
Dax: About going after the Albino, I do. Kang and Koloth don't want me to come with you.
Kor: Kang thinks too much. Koloth doesn't feel enough.
Dax: And where do you stand?
Kor: Of course you should come! The splendor of fighting and killing. A bloodbath in the cause of vengeance. Who wouldn't want to come?
Dax: Will you speak to them for me? It means far more to me than I realized.
Kor: Koloth spends all his time practicing in the holosuite. He listens to no one. And if Kang's made up his mind, there's nothing I can do.
Dax: And you call yourself a history teacher? What of your own history? You are Kor, Dahar Master. They cheered you at Klach D'kel Brakt. Your voice weighed heavily on the course of Klingon events.
Kor: You shame me.
Dax: No, please don't feel that.
Kor: The only weight I carry now, dear comrade, is my own bulbous body. I was once, if you remember, far less than you see, and far more than I have become. I'm sorry.
Dax: My memories are still of Kor, a great warrior.
Kor: Quark, you devious little Ha'DIbaH. Bring wine.
Dax: Nice of you to stop. I'm coming with you.
Koloth: Curzon Dax was a politician. It was a diplomatic ploy for him to bond himself to us in a blood oath.
Dax: That's a lie.
Koloth: Are you? I am practicing here. Leave while you can.
Dax: When you agree that I can fulfilll my part of the oath.
Koloth: You? Your presence will jeopardize the rest of us. Leave me!
Dax: Computer. I want a Klingon bat'leth, tip to tip one hundred and sixteen centimeters, weight five point three kilos with an exterior handgripping diameter of five centimeters. Blades composite baakonite.
Koloth: Ah, a warrior's configuration. Now what are you going to do with it?
Dax: I'm going to fight you.
Koloth: And if my hand should slip, and you should die?
Dax: Your hand would never slip, unless you've become old and feeble.
Dax: Come now, Koloth. Surely you can take me down.
Kor: There is tension on your face, Koloth. You ought to drink more.
Koloth: Stand up. Your presence against the Albino will do honor to our cause.
Kor: Well, that's a surprise from the great stoneface.
Kang: Releasing you from Curzon's oath was not enough. I can see that now.
Kor: It is agreed then!
Kang: No! I tell you now you will not be a part of this quest.
Kor: Why do you dismiss her like some useless t'ooho'mIrah?
Kang: We cannot go into an enemy stronghold with your sickly chest announcing us.
Kor: There is nothing nothing wrong with my chest.
Koloth: Nothing that won't get us all killed before we reach battle. Come.
Kor: I need no nurse's hand.
Dax: You can't deny my right for vengeance.
Kang: You try to speak as a Klingon but the words do not fit in your mouth.
Dax: You said that to me before, Kang. Do you remember?
Kang: I do not care to discuss it any further.
Dax: The Korvat colony. First day of negotiations. I walked out on you right in the middle of that long-winded speech of yours. You should have seen the look on your face. Nobody ever had the kajunpak't to show their back to the great Kang before Curzon did.
Kang: I almost killed Curzon that day.
Dax: I knew I had to get you very, very angry or my mission wouldn't succeed. Getting you angry at me was the only way to begin to create a bond between us.
Kang: Curzon understood Klingons.
Dax: And he understood what he was doing when he took a Klingon blood oath. You can't expect me to stay here and not avenge my own godson's murder. You can't ask me to live with that kind of dishonor.
Kang: I cannot dishonor myself by permitting you to die in Curzon's place.
Dax: Who's talking about dying? I have no intention of dying. You dishonor yourself already, Kang, by placing your own honor above mine. No Klingon warrior would leave a comrade behind while he goes off to battle. Perhaps you're right. Klingon honor isn't what it used to be.
Kang: Are you trying to anger me again? Do you think the same trick would work twice?!
Dax: I understand Klingons.
Kang: All right, then! It worked! Come fight with us. Come and be damned.
Dax: Come in.
Dax: I was just about to come see you.
Sisko: No.
Dax: No what?
Sisko: No leave of absence.
Dax: Kira shouldn't have told you.
Sisko: Kira is my First Officer.
Dax: I don't have to tell you what this oath meant to Curzon.
Sisko: Jadzia Dax took an oath too, when she joined Starfleet. You're subject to orders, Lieutenant.
Dax: Don't do it, Benjamin. Don't make me disobey a direct order.
Sisko: I never understood this. I mean, whatever else Curzon was, he did have a fundamental morality. He wouldn't condone murder any more than I would, and yet he swore to kill this Albino and now you plan to go out and kill in his name. What about the laws of the Federation?
Dax: The Klingons have their own set of laws. This is justice to them.
Sisko: And to you?
Dax: I've chosen to respect their codes of honor in this matter, yes.
Sisko: You really think you're capable of doing this?
Dax: I don't know. There's only one way to find out, isn't there.
Sisko: Let's say you are. Let's say you even survive this insanity. You expect to just come back here and resume your duties as though nothing's happened?
Dax: I guess that'll be up to you.
Kang: The compound is constructed of riddinite. There are several walls that separate the main house from the rest of the grounds. The main power source is here. There is an armory there.
Koloth: Any information about the position of the sentries?
Kang: They are posted at standing intervals, seventy-five meters apart along the perimeter.
Dax: Standing? No patrols?
Kang: That's what I'm told.
Kor: Perhaps he thinks we're already dead and have stopped chasing him.
Dax: Or perhaps he has made his defenses look weak for our benefit.
Koloth: She may be right.
Dax: We have to assume the guards patrol the perimeter. At seventy-five meters apart, they're out of eye contact with each other
Kor: He wouldn't be that stupid. We must expect them to be no farther than fifty meters apart.
Kang: Fine. It makes no difference.
Dax: Doesn't it? If we assume he has adequate defenses, a minimum of fifty guards, then we should use a N'yengoren strategy.
Kang: No! I will not sneak into his bedroom and murder him like a kah'plakt. I want him to see us coming. I say we make a direct attack boldly through the threshold. The guards will be too scattered to defend against us. We will overwhelm them to glorious victory.
Koloth: Or to a glorious death.
Kor: It is a good day to die.
Dax: It is a good day to die.
Koloth: Come on, old comrade. For the last time, let's sharpen our blades.
Dax: So, we talk about dying again.
Kang: A Klingon warrior is always prepared to die.
Dax: Yes, but to invite death with a direct assault against a superior force? Kang, what are you doing? What's really going on here? Loyalty blinds Kor and Koloth, but not me. This is not a plan for battle, it's a plan for suicide. If it were someone else, I might think you were paid to lure us here.
Kang: How could you say that? I took a blood oath with you.
Dax: Is this why you didn't want me to come? Because you knew you were coming to die?
Kang: When the amulet arrived with the location of the Albino, I went to the Secarus system to see if it was true. Somehow, the instant I arrived the Albino knew I was there. He contacted me. He sent an invitation to one last glorious battle. He said he is tired of this lifelong pursuit. He swore to send forty of his strongest and most skilled men against us in honorable combat. And I agreed.
Dax: But why?
Kang: Because this is our last chance. If we cannot reach the Albino, we can at least die an honorable death trying to reach him. A death a Klingon Dahar Master deserves.
Dax: You know what, Kang? I think you Klingons embrace death too easily. You treat death like a lover. I think living is a lot more attractive. I think an honorable victory is better than an honorable defeat.
Kang: I know the Albino's defenses. There is no chance of victory here.
Dax: What if they had no phasers? That might make the odds a little better, don't you think?
Kang: How do you intend to disarm them all?
Dax: When we establish a low orbit, we modulate your disruptor banks to bombard the compound with tetryon particles. Every directed energy weapon will be neutralized.
Kang: You're certain such a thing could be done?
Dax: If Curzon were here, you'd be out of luck, but Jadzia Dax is a science officer.
Kang: We would also be unable to use our disruptors. But who among them could match our skills with the bat'leth?
Dax: Not many. We're about forty minutes away from the Secarus System. I think we should cloak and then you and I, old friend, should sharpen our blades too.
Kang: Perhaps it is a good day to live!
Dax: You say they promised you an honorable battle. Hand to hand combat at the main threshold.
Kang: That's right.
Dax: Take a look at this. This indicates a gravitic mine buried at the main threshold.
Koloth: Yes, and he plans to detonate it the moment we enter the compound.
Kor: That's what you get for making a deal with the devil, Kang.
Dax: On the other hand, this gives us an advantage we wouldn't otherwise have. He's expecting us at the front door.
Kor: How do we know that he's even inside?
Dax: Good question.
Koloth: Wait here.
Kor: Where are you going?
Koloth: I'm going to find out if he's inside.
Kor: How do you intend to do that?
Koloth: I'll ask somebody.
Kang: We would be wise to shut down his sensor array before we attack. It's controlled from this power station.
Kor: Yes, but a power failure will signal our presence. At the same time that you shut down the sensors, I'll create a diversion at the armory to misdirect their response.
Dax: A good strategy. But whoever creates the diversion will have to run across this field to escape. With all due respect, none of you are as quick as you once were. I'll volunteer for that job.
Kang: Agreed.
Kang: It seems this is best place for entry right here.
Koloth: I encountered a helpful lookout. The Albino is inside.
Kor: His overconfidence will be the death of him.
Koloth: He's in there now, but the moment we attack, he will move to a secured command post here.
Kang: It will be midday in one hour. Can you create the diversion in the armory by then?
Dax: I think so.
Kang: We will be in position at the powerhouse
Kang: May Kahless guide us on this day of vengeance.
Dax: Excuse me. Could you tell me where the tennis courts are? I seem to be lost.
Albino: Report.
Guard: The armory's been sabotaged. I've diverted the forward patrols to that area.
Albino: Cancel those orders. Move all guards to the inner defense line. Make sure the power station is secure.
Guard: Go!
Guard 2: Yes, sir.
Guard: None of the phasers are functioning
Albino: Not functioning?
Guard: We're running diagnostics now.
Albino: Use long range sensors to check for interference from a cloaked ship in orbit. In the meantime, have the guards fix kuttars to their rifles and prepare for hand-to-hand combat.
Guard: I can't make contact with the power station.
Albino: They must have already broken through the inner defense line. Move the perimeter guards into the house.
Guard: Sir, without power, we have no communications.
Albino: Then get out there and tell them yourself. I don't want that Klingon filth to get in this
Kang: Look upon your executioners, killer of children.
Albino: Get them!
Kor: Koloth!
Koloth: I didn't see him coming.
Kor: Even you cannot have eyes in the back of your head, my friend. Quiet now. Rest. I still have work to do.
Koloth: I will not die before you, you thunderous bulk.
Kor: The story of your courage will never die. I will sing the story. The children of all Klingons will know of this day.
Albino: You'll die far quicker than your son did, Kang.
Albino: No vengeance today, Kang.
Albino: And who are you, girl?
Dax: You knew me as Curzon Dax.
Albino: The Trill. Of course. You're far too young and lovely to sport such a deadly weapon. All right, then.
Albino: Use it, if that's what you came to do. Kill me in cold blood. Run me through the belly and cut out my heart. Isn't that what your blood oath promised? Or have you lost your appetite, my dear.
Kang: Thank you for saving the death blow for me. You have honored me one last time, godfather to my son.
Kang: Where is Koloth?
Kor: He is dead.
Kang: I was right, Dax. It is a good day to die.
Dax: It's never a good day to lose a friend.
Kor: Ki-naH-naH, lo-maytool. Ki-nah-nah, lo-maytaH.


Scene: (A group of Cardassians go back into their ship. A
Starfleet engineer checks there's no one around and opens a panel on the ship's hatch and does something clever.)
Dax: The Cardassian freighter Bok'Nor is requesting permission to depart upper pylon one in three minutes.
Kira: We have an incoming Bolian vessel at coordinates one zero one mark three eight. Give the Bok'Nor a clear trajectory out of the traffic pattern.
Dax: Acknowledged.
Kira: Feel like getting together for dinner tonight?
Dax: Can't. I'm having dinner with Captain Boday.
Kira: The Gallamite? You're going out on a date with him?
Dax: Is something wrong with that?
Kira: No. Not at all.
Dax: He happens to be brilliant. His brain is twice the size of yours and mine.
Kira: I know. I've seen it.
Dax: It's not his fault Gallamites have transparent skulls.
Kira: No, it's not. It's not exactly the view I want to have with dinner.
Dax: You know, Kira, sometimes I think you place too much emphasis on how men look.
Kira: What's that supposed to mean?
Dax: Nothing.
Kira: Look, when I kiss a man goodnight, I like to know where I'm kissing him.
Dax: I guess seven lifetimes gives me a somewhat broader perspective.
Kira: Since I have just one lifetime, I have to be a little more particular about whom I go out with.
Dax: I never said I wasn't particular.
Kira: I'm not the one who dates Ferengis.
Dax: And what's that supposed to mean?
Kira: Nothing.
Dax: Releasing docking clamps at upper pylon one. That's funny. I'm picking up elevated. DS Nine to Bok'Nor. Shut down your engines! Repeat, shut down your engines!
Kira: Report!
Dax: Some kind of impulse overload. Checking.
Kira: Ops to all engineering personnel. Report to rescue stations. We have an S I D in progress.
Dax: There's nothing left of it. There's no one left to rescue.
O'Brien: Kelindide, rhodinium, nothing unusual there. All materials commonly used in Cardassian ship construction.
Kira: Maybe it was a malfunction in the impulse generator.
O'Brien: I'd like to be able to tell you that, Major, but it's too soon to be sure.
Kira: I can't believe the Cardassians have waited this long for an official explanation.
Sisko: Anything, Chief?
O'Brien: No sign of an explosive device yet, sir.
Sisko: I've got every Admiral within subspace range on my back. Can I at least tell them that it looks like an accident?
O'Brien: Well, I wouldn't do that yet.
Sisko: When?
O'Brien: I'll let you know, sir.
Kira: Anything from the Cardassians, Commander?
Sisko: Not a word.
Odo: All Bajoran outposts have been put on alert for retaliatory strikes. The provisional government has made a statement disavowing any responsibility.
Kira: Maybe it really was an accident. I mean, it is a possibility.
Odo: An accident involving a Cardassian ship in Bajoran space? If I were a Cardassian, I wouldn't easily accept
O'Brien: That's odd.
Sisko: What?
O'Brien: I'm picking up traces of a mercassium compound.
Dax: Mercassium? There shouldn't have been any mercassium on board that ship.
O'Brien: Well, there was.
Sisko: Meaning?
O'Brien: I'm not quite sure yet.
Odo: Is mercassium some kind of explosive?
Sisko: No, it's a synthetic composite used in shield generator construction by the Federation. We don't share that technology with anyone.
Dax: Chief, I don't think you're going to find evidence of an explosive device.
O'Brien: Lieutenant, respectfully, these kinds of things take time and I've got to
Dax: I don't think you're going to find an explosive device because I'm pretty sure it was an implosive proto-matter device designed to match the impulse signature. Just before the explosion, I picked up a sudden increase in their fusion rate. I'm trying to find any sign of malfunction in the Bok'Nor's engines to explain it but there just isn't one. This doesn't look like an accident. The fusion shock had to be caused by something external to the impulse drive system.
O'Brien: If a proto-matter device was attached to the crossfeeds, that could have created the overload and we'd never see any sign of it.
Sisko: Can you prove that's what happened?
O'Brien: Maybe. If we could get a high resolution spectra of the impulse debris. But that's going to take some
Sisko: Time. Yes, I know. Get it started. I'll tell the Admirals. Sisko out.
Hudson: Benjamin.
Sisko: Cal. Thanks for coming on such short notice.
Hudson: I wish it didn't take a disaster like this to get us back together.
Dax: Hi, Calvin.
Sisko: Jadzia Dax.
Hudson: Dax? My goodness. You look a lot better than the last time I saw you.
Sisko: Chief of Security Odo. Lieutenant Commander Calvin Hudson, Starfleet's attaché to the Federation colonies in the new Demilitarized Zone.
Odo: You must be concerned about the colonies' security at a time like this.
Hudson: Well, we haven't noticed any unusual deployment from the Cardassians along the border.
Odo: Neither have we, and that's what's got me worried.
Sisko: Let's go into my office.
Hudson: Lieutenant, I don't have time this trip, but you and I have a few stories to catch up on.
Dax: Next time.
Hudson: Next time.
Hudson: That woman knows more about me than any woman ever has. More than my wife, even.
Sisko: Tell me about it.
Hudson: Don't you find things a little uncomfortable?
Sisko: Oh, no. She's a good officer.
Hudson: Yes, but Curzon was a
Sisko: She's not Curzon.
Hudson: Now, you two aren't? I mean
Sisko: Oh, no. She may not be Curzon, but she is Dax.
Hudson: Yes, that would be extremely strange. So, Ben, how is Jake?
Sisko: As tall as me.
Hudson: No.
Sisko: He throws inside to knock the old man off the plate.
Hudson: A little chin music, huh?
Sisko: He's growing up too fast.
Hudson: It must have been difficult for you. At least I didn't have a child to raise by myself.
Sisko: Well, we kind of helped each other through it. When I heard about Gretchen, I wanted to be there for you. There was just no way to get back.
Hudson: I know that, Ben. You know, I was hoping when they sent me to the colonies that you and I would have time for some R and R together.
Sisko: Who's got R and R time?
Hudson: I know. You can't imagine how my life has changed since the Federation abandoned these colonies.
Sisko: Abandoned them? Doesn't your presence there
Hudson: My presence there is a joke. I am supposed to help these colonies function under the terms of the new treaty. Now Ben, what the hell does that mean?
Sisko: I thought these colonists wanted to stay. That they refused to evacuate.
Hudson: The treaty gave away their territory to the Cardassians, territory that these people had invested their lives in. Now, Ben, if you knew them as I do, you'd know why they can't leave. It's a bad treaty. The Federation gave away too much.
Sisko: Several Cardassian colonies wanted to stay on the Federation side of the Zone too. It seemed like a reasonable compromise
Hudson: Well, yes, the Cardassians would love to have their colonies in our territory. Because they knew we'd protect them. But they have no intention of doing the same for ours.
Sisko: A number of Admirals at Starfleet Command are worried the destruction of the Bok'Nor might jeopardize the treaty.
Hudson: Oh, are they really?
Sisko: As the two ranking officers along the Cardassian border, we've been asked to assess the potential risk.
Hudson: There is no risk, Ben. None. I have been dealing with the Cardassians most of my professional life, and believe me, they are very pleased with what they got from the treaty. They are not about to risk all they've gained by sending forces into the Zone. They're much too slick for that. If I were you, I'd be very concerned with security along the Bajoran border.
Sisko: Are you surprised they haven't responded at all yet?
Hudson: Well, Ben, you and I both know they never let you see what you expect to see. They'll respond.
Sakonna: Quarters have been arranged through diskreet channels. Deck seven, section four G. I suggest you keep a low profile until your ship arrives.
Quark: Can I get you something?
Sakonna: You are Quark, aren't you?
Quark: I assure you the warrant is out of date. I cleared that matter up months ago.
Sakonna: Warrant?
Quark: Oh. When you recognized me, I assumed
Sakonna: You are counting your receipts. It is logical to conclude you are the proprietor of the establishment.
Quark: You're very observant. What can I do for you?
Sakonna: I was hoping to discuss a business proposition.
Quark: With me? Er, perhaps I should explain about that slip of the tongue.
Sakonna: Your past is of no consequence to me.
Quark: I'm delighted to hear you say that. Because nothing would please me more than to make a fresh start with the Vulcans, Miz
Sakonna: Sakonna.
Quark: Sakonna. Such a handsome name for such a handsome young woman. What'll you have to drink? Wait a minute, I have just the thing.
Quark: Vulcan port. Three centuries old. Very rare, very expensive. Shall I pour you a glass?
Sakonna: No.
Quark: Not even a taste? It's exquisite.
Sakonna: I'm not thirsty, thus I see no reason to have a drink.
Quark: Well, it'll be right here should you develop a thirst. Now, you mentioned a business proposition?
Sakonna: It is a private matter. I'd rather not discuss it here.
Quark: Then we can discuss it over dinner. That is, we can plan the business meeting to coincide with when you think you might get hungry.
Sakonna: That would be acceptable.
Quark: That would be wonderful. How does eight sound to your tummy?
Sakonna: I will return then.
Quark: And by the way, I'd love to melt that cold Vulcan heart of yours.
Bomber: Here, allow me.
Female: Thank you.
Sisko: Jake-O?
Dukat: Your son is not here, Commander
Sisko: Dukat.
Dukat: I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you.
Sisko: Where is he?
Dukat: Who? Your son? How would I know? I just Commander, you don't? Do you think that I would ever do anything to harm your son?
Sisko: I think you're capable of anything.
Dukat: You wound me, sir. I'm here as your friend.
Sisko: Sisko to Kira.
Dukat: Please do not do anything hastily, Commander. We must talk in private.
Kira: Yes, Commander?
Sisko: Major, I want you to find Jake.
Kira: Is he missing?
Sisko: I don't know. Find out where he is and let me know.
Kira: Understood.
Sisko: How the hell did you get in here?
Dukat: I was an unregistered passenger on a Kotakian ship that docked here this morning. I slipped in through the cargo bay.
Sisko: And made your way here without anyone seeing you?
Dukat: I was the commander of this station for almost ten years. When one knows the various corridors and passageways as well as I. Oh, by the way, I love what you've done with these quarters.
Kira: Kira to Sisko. Jake's fine, Commander. He's with Nog watching the women coming off the Bajoran transport at docking bay one. Shall I have him brought to your quarters?
Sisko: No, that's all right. Thank you, Major. Sisko out.
Dukat: There, you see. Safe and sound.
Sisko: What are you doing here?
Dukat: You have a problem.
Sisko: Do I?
Dukat: The Bok'Nor.
Sisko: Is this the Cardassian Central Command's way of responding to my communiqués?
Dukat: On the contrary, Central Command has no idea I'm here. It's true. I'm here unofficially to help you find out the truth about the Bok'Nor.
Sisko: Why would you want to help me?
Dukat: Because I already know the truth.
Sisko: You know who's responsible?
Dukat: I do.
Sisko: Who?
Dukat: You are. Oh, not you personally, Commander. I know you to be an honorable man. You're not one to sneak around attaching implosion devices to impulse engines. But, believe it or not, there are those of your brethren who are willing to do such things. Morally superior human beings and other members of the Federation.
Sisko: I'm supposed to take your word for that?
Dukat: Of course not. It's my job to convince you so you can clean your own house instead of forcing us to do it for you, which would certainly endanger the new treaty. We'll need one of your runabouts.
Sisko: Where are we going?
Dukat: The Volan colonies.
Sisko: The Demilitarized zone?
Dukat: Not so demilitarized, I'm afraid.
Dukat: I can't help but notice that my controls are not illuminated. Isn't it customary for both seats to be turned on so that I may pilot the craft in the event of an emergency?
Sisko: If there's an emergency, I guess you're out of luck.
Dukat: Commander, I'm not going to sit here and steal all your little technical secrets, I promise you.
Sisko: I appreciate your assurances, but Cardassians are famous for their photographic memories.
Dukat: So you turn off my controls so I don't have enough light to take my photograph, is that it?
Sisko: I've heard they put Cardassian children in intense mind training programs when they're four years old. Is that true?
Dukat: The Cardassian educational system is unparalleled in the quadrant.
Sisko: If you don't mind taking the joy out of growing up.
Dukat: Education is power. Joy is vulnerability.
Sisko: What?
Dukat: Your reaction surprises me, Commander. I thought you would understand. Of all the humans I've met, you strike me as the most joyless and the least vulnerable.
Sisko: I am when I'm with you.
Dukat: Well said. But in truth, I'm looking forward to getting to know you better on this journey.
Sisko: I think we know each other well enough.
Dukat: Is that a ramscoop control or a deflector grid panel? Just curious. It really doesn't matter. Cardassian pursuit vessels are years ahead of this design.
Dukat: What is it?
Sisko: Long range sensors are picking up a distress signal.
Dukat: From whom?
Sisko: A Federation merchant vessel under attack by Cardassians. I'm reading two Cardassian attack vessels just inside the Demilitarized zone.
Dukat: That's not possible. I promise you, Commander, we would not violate the treaty.
Sisko: The merchant vessel's comm. links are down. I can't raise them. Computer, fix source coordinates of the distress signal and lay in a new course, warp three. I hope you don't mind.
Dukat: Not at all. I'm as curious about this as you are.
Dukat: What type of Cardassian ship are they? Patrol cruisers?
Sisko: No, much smaller. They look like shuttlecraft.
Dukat: Cardassian shuttles attacking a Federation merchant ship?
Sisko: They seem to be armed with Galor-class phaser banks.
Dukat: They must be from Cardassian colonies in the Demilitarized zone. Hail them.
Sisko: No response.
Dukat: Open a channel.
Sisko: Go ahead.
Dukat: To the pilots of the Cardassian attack vessels. This is Gul Dukat, Commander of the Second Order. Please respond. This is Gul Dukat, security identification ADL four zero. I order you to immediately disengage your attack.
Sisko: We're still two minutes away. The Federation vessel's shields are down to forty percent.
Dukat: Hail those Cardassians again. I don't know who you are or where you come from, but you're going to pay for this, I promise you. Answer me immediately or I personally will fire the photons that will destroy you. Arm the photons.
Sisko: The photon launcher is there.
Dukat: I know. I knew all about these controls before I ever came aboard. Tell me when we're in torpedo range.
Sisko: Stand by. I'm picking up another ship moving toward them.
Dukat: That's a Federation signature I believe, Commander.
Sisko: It sure isn't from Starfleet. I've never seen a ship configuration like that before. It almost seems like someone has modified an old support courier. Hailing them. No response. They've fired torpedoes. what kind of civilian vessel that size would be carrying photon?
Dukat: Something from one of your colonies, perhaps?
Dukat: Do you begin to see, Commander, that without any help from either one of us, they've managed to start their own little war out here.
Quark: I hope you're hungry. I've planned a wonderful meal for us starting with plomeek soup, which I know is a traditional Vulcan favorite. Followed by jumbo Romulan molluscs. You can't get those back on Vulcan any more, can you.
Sakonna: Do you eat in this grand a manner every night?
Quark: Certainly not. This is a special occasion.
Sakonna: It is?
Quark: The commencement of a new business relationship is the most special occasion for any Ferengi. It's a cause for opening great bottles of wine, dancing into the wee, small hours of the morning. We'll let it breathe for a few minutes.
Sakonna: Very well, I will attempt to respect some of your cultural idiosyncrasies. I will drink the wine, but I won't dance.
Quark: Maybe you'll change your mind after you drink the wine.
Sakonna: No. I won't.
Quark: Oh, come on. Somewhere inside that cool, controlled exterior of yours, there's a wild woman screaming to get out. Maybe by the end of the night, you'll be dancing on the tabletops. Maybe not.
Sakonna: Is it appropriate to begin our business discussion now?
Quark: Rule of Acquisition number two fourteen. Never begin a business negotiation on an empty stomach.
Sakonna: Rule of Acquisition?
Quark: Yes. Every Ferengi business transaction is governed by two hundred and eighty five Rules of Acquisition to insure a fair and honest deal for all parties concerned. Well, most of them anyway.
Sakonna: Commendable. To create a code of behavior for business transactions is
Quark: Is logical.
Sakonna: and quite reassuring.
Quark: Do Vulcans have anything similar?
Sakonna: In structure, it reminds one of the Vulcan Bill of Rights which guarantees the fundamental personal freedoms of every Vulcan citizen.
Quark: Same thing exactly. May I propose a toast?
Sakonna: Is this another cultural idiosyncrasy?
Quark: Yes. You know, I can't describe the honor I feel at this moment. It's rare that a Ferengi and a Vulcan can overcome their inherent differences to see eye-to-eye as we're doing. I've always had the greatest respect for Vulcans, even though the few I've met haven't exactly felt the same way about me. You are a noble people and I salute you. Now then, what kind of business proposition do you have in mind?
Sakonna: I wish to procure weapons.
Quark: I beg your pardon?
Sakonna: Guns, phaser banks, photon torpedoes
Quark: Shh!
Sakonna: Troop transports and a number of cobalt-thorium devices. My list is quite extensive.
Quark: You're a gun runner?
Sakonna: I'm prepared to pay in latinum and I will very likely need a continuous supply for the foreseeable future.
Quark: You're not like other Vulcans, are you?
Evek: The Federation merchant ship refused to be boarded!
Amaros: So your ships just decided to open fire.
Evek: It was clear the Federation ship was carrying weapons through the Demilitarized zone.
Hudson: That ship was carrying medical supplies to Soltok Four. Ben, what are you doing here?
Sisko: I'm not sure yet. Gul Dukat asked me to accompany him.
Evek: Dukat. No one informed us you were coming.
Dukat: I decided an impromptu visit would be preferable so you wouldn't be bothered with special preparations.
Evek: I see.
Hudson: Commander Sisko, do you know my counterpart from the colonies, Gul Evek?
Evek: I'm glad you're here to listen to this, Commander.
Sisko: We monitored the attack on the way in.
Dukat: Yes, monitor is the proper word because none of the ships would respond to our hails. Even the Cardassian pilots refused to acknowledge me.
Evek: A strange voice from a Federation runabout.
Dukat: I gave them my security identification.
Evek: Well, obviously they had their hands full.
Kobb: With an unprovoked attack.
Evek: Unprovoked, was it? Do you deny that the Federation is engaging in organized terrorist activities against the Cardassian people? Deliberately attempting to undermine this treaty?
Sisko: The Federation does not conduct secret wars.
Evek: Then perhaps then you can explain where the Federation ship came from, the one outfitted with photon torpedoes?
Hudson: Explaining why your ships were armed with Galor-class phaser banks?
Evek: They have a right to defend themselves against organized terrorist activities.
Sisko: I haven't heard any proof yet of organized terrorist activities.
Amaros: Because there is none.
Evek: On the contrary, we have the confession of the Federation terrorist responsible for the destruction of the Bok'Nor at your station, Commander.
Sisko: Confession?
Evek: A forty three year old male human, William Patrick Samuels, born Bergan, Norway, Earth.
Amaros: We know who he is. What have you done with him?
Evek: Came to the Federation colony on Volan Two twenty years ago. Married, wife's name Louise, two female children aged fourteen and twelve. He was quite cooperative once we apprehended him on Deep Space Nine.
Cardassian: Begin.
Samuels: My name is William Samuels. I am being held for crimes against the Cardassian people. I have been well treated. I have confessed that, as a member of a well-armed anti-Cardassian force organized by Federation colonists, I set an implosion device that destroyed the freighter Bok'Nor. I deeply regret participating in this arbitrary attack that led to the deaths of over seventy five crewmen. To my wife and children, I'm sorry, and I love you.
Amaros: He would have confessed to anything after you were through with him
Evek: On the contrary, he confessed quite early in the interrogation procedure, far sooner than we expected. I believe he truly felt remorse.
Hudson: We want to talk to him ourselves.
Evek: Bring him in.
Evek: Unfortunately, he committed suicide in his cell.
Hudson: Come on, come on. It's all right, it's all right.
Sisko: Dukat, get them out of here.
Dukat: Get outside.
Hudson: Go on. We'll talk later.
Kobb: We can't let them get away with this.
Hudson: We'll talk later. You go on. Get him out of here.
Hudson: I knew him. Bill Samuels was a farmer. He cultivated his land for twenty years. He raised two kids on that land. He made something out of that land and the Federation told him he had to give it all up to the Cardassians. Well, he just was not willing to do that.
Sisko: And it was people like him who made both sides realize that some accommodation had to be made for the colonies so they could stay.
Hudson: The Cardassians have no intention of allowing these people to stay. They will either force them out or they will kill them. It's already started. Not a day goes when there's not some random act of violence against our people. Every Federation colonist knows you do not go out alone at night. Can you imagine living in that kind of fear?
Sisko: If you're saying the Cardassian authorities are not enforcing the laws, we can
Hudson: Enforcing the laws? The Cardassian authorities were part of a mob that stoned two colonists on the streets of Ropal City three days ago.
Sisko: That's something the Federation can take up with the Cardassians at the highest level.
Hudson: Well that will help a lot. The word is the Cardassian High Command is arming their colonists to the teeth.
Sisko: You really think they'd risk sending weapons into the Demilitarized zone and breaking the treaty?
Hudson: I think they'll find a way to do it that's not so obvious.
Sisko: Not long ago, we caught the Cardassians shipping weapons to Bajoran extremists through a third party, the Yridians.
Hudson: That sounds about right. Could the Bok'Nor have been transferring weapons to someone else to bring in here?
Sisko: If it was, the transfer was made before the ship reached the station. The cargo holds of the Bok'Nor were empty. Do you think he did it?
Hudson: Samuels? I don't know. They could have forced him to make a false confession and then killed him.
Sisko: I don't think Gul Dukat would drag me all the way here unless he knew he could prove it.
Hudson: Then, maybe he did do it, Ben. I don't know. Damn! I've got to go see his wife. I don't know what I'm going to tell her. Makes you pine for the good old dull days in New Berlin, doesn't it? Sausage and beer all around, and everyone's idea of a good time was the mazurka Festival.
Sisko: Gretchen and Jennifer had a ball together there, didn't they?
Hudson: I'll never forget the sight of you in those lederhosen.
Sisko: I still have the hat. Is there something larger going on here, Cal? Are these colonists organizing some kind of terrorist campaign?
Hudson: Well if they are, they're not about to tell me about it. But I'll tell you one thing, Ben, between you and me, those people have every right to defend themselves. When the Federation said goodbye to them, they left them no other choice.
Dukat: You're very quiet, Commander.
Sisko: You knew about Samuels before we left.
Dukat: I knew about his confession, yes. I didn't know he was. I was as surprised as you were by his death.
Sisko: No one is going to buy your suicide story. I don't care what he did. This kind of barbaric disregard for life will gut this treaty.
Dukat: If it means anything, I entirely agree. I told Evek he was a fool to let Samuels die. A good interrogator doesn't allow his subject to die. You lose the advantage.
Sisko: That's all you're interested in, isn't it. The advantage.
Dukat: Oh, now don't go spouting off your holier-than-thou Federation fair-play dogma. And lest we forget, your man was responsible for the deaths of seventy eight innocent crewman.
Sisko: What was the Bok'Nor transporting?
Dukat: The Bok'Nor had just delivered fourteen metric tones of golside ore to the Regulon system prior to its arrival at the wormhole.
Sisko: You're sure it wasn't carrying weapons?
Dukat: Weapons? To whom?
Sisko: To the Cardassians in the Demilitarized zone.
Dukat: No. The route of the Bok'Nor didn't take it anywhere near the Demilitarized zone.
Sisko: It could have rendezvoused with someone else. With the Lissepians, maybe. They could have transferred the weapons to them and they could have taken the weapons
Dukat: Commander, I know you'd love to find some justification for this mass murder to ease your Federation conscience, but if the Bok'Nor was carrying weapons, I would know. And on the lives of my children, I swear to you it was not.
Sisko: I didn't know you had children.
Dukat: Seven.
Sakonna: I received your message. How soon will it be available?
Quark: My source can have everything ready tomorrow, say by fourteen hundred hours.
Sakonna: That's not soon enough. I must leave the station tonight.
Quark: You're leaving so soon?
Sakonna: My plans have changed. Can your source have the materials ready by tonight?
Quark: I guess he'll have to.
Sakonna: I have your latinum if you'd like to count it.
Quark: Are you trustworthy?
Sakonna: I'm a Vulcan.
Quark: Of course. Just a little joke. I'm sure it's all there. Well, it wouldn't hurt to give it a quick count, I suppose.
Sakonna: I will have it brought to your quarters.
Quark: I was looking forward to showing you more ways to mix business with pleasure.
Sakonna: Perhaps in the future. I do find you intriguing, Quark.
Quark: Intriguing.
Sisko: You can stay in the guest suite on level H Two while you arrange transport back to Cardassia. I'll have a security guard sent to meet you there.
Dukat: Starfleet security, if you don't mind, Commander. Some of the Bajoran deputies are still around in the good old days when I was in charge.
Sisko: I understand.
Dukat: If there's anything else I can do to assist you in your investigation.
Sisko: I think I can handle it from here.
Sisko: Chief?
O'Brien: Yes, sir. I've got answers for you but I'm not sure you're going to like them.
Sisko: It was an implosive device.
O'Brien: Yes, sir, and not only that
Sisko: Not only that, it was a Federation implosive device.
O'Brien: Yes, sir. The traces of mercassium we found were from the casing of the device itself. It had to be a Federation design.
Sisko: Get me Starfleet Command on subspace.
Kira: Commander, is there anything you'd like me to communicate to the Provisional Government?
Sisko: Tell them some reckless colonist in the Demilitarized zone blew up the Bok'Nor. There's no further threat of Cardassian reprisals to Bajor.
Kira: I'll advise all of our outposts to stand down. Sir, are you, are we facing the prospect of war here?
Sisko: Not if I can help it.
Kira: But that's what the colonists are after.
Sisko: I don't think they know what they're after, Major. I just know they have to be stopped, and it's Starfleet's job to stop them.
Kira: Sir, I know this is none of my business
Sisko: But you're going to give me your opinion anyway.
Kira: I don't know what the Cardassians told you
Sisko: They played a confession from the man who planted the bomb. A man they most likely tortured to death.
Kira: And you don't think you might be playing into their hands?
Sisko: I've got people out there killing people, Major. You suggest I turn a blind eye to that?
Kira: Well, they don't have a right to defend themselves?
Sisko: They've crossed the line.
Kira: If Starfleet is unwilling to defend their people in
Sisko: They chose to live with the Cardassians.
Kira: Well, I didn't. But I lived with them for twenty six years before the liberation came. Every Bajoran lived with them in constant fear. I know what those colonists are going through. Most of all, I know that the Cardassians can't be trusted to keep their side of the bargain in this treaty.
Sisko: So, you'd suggest the Federation not keep our side of the bargain either, perhaps by arming these colonists?
Kira: I can tell you one thing for certain. The Cardassians are the enemy, not your own colonists, and if Starfleet can't understand that, then the Federation is even more naive than I already think it is.
Niles: I've been sent to relieve you
Guard: There must be some mistake. I just reported for duty an hour
Dukat: Yes?
Niles: Sorry to disturb you, sir, but there's a message here from Commander Sisko.
Sakonna: We have been asked to escort you to airlock eleven, sir.
Niles: A Cardassian freighter's just arrived.
Dukat: Is there a problem?
Niles: Apparently another bomb has been found and disarmed.
Dukat: Where's Commander Sisko?
Amaros: Comfortably asleep in his quarters, I hope. Remember me?
Dukat: I take it we're not about to board a Cardassian freighter.
Sisko: I'm hoping I don't have to remind the admiral how many people pass through here during a week's time. It's not possible to keep tabs on every single person while they're on the station
Admiral: If I didn't know you better, commander, I'd think you were just making excuses
Sisko: I'm not making excuses! Would it be in keeping with Federation policy to frisk everyone who steps through our airlocks? To search every room of every visitor during their stay?
Admiral: Of course not but with two kidnappings and a ship being destroyed all in less than a week's time obviously your security measures leave something to be desired
Sisko: Security on this station is by the book. Our security program and the officers who work in it are first-rate.
Admiral: Then what were they doing when all this was happening? We here at Starfleet are watching how you resolve this situation very closely, commander. We think it might be prudent to replace this chief of security you have
Sisko: Odo is both highly intelligent and extremely thorough. He's the most qualified person I have for the job.
Admiral: Still, it would be a concrete example that you are taking active measures to resolve this situation and to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Sisko: I stand behind my chief of security one hundred percent.
Admiral: That may be a mistake, Commander
Sisko: Then it's my mistake.
Admiral: Then let me make my point again. Starfleet is very unhappy this has happened. We want this matter taken care of immediately. I don't have to remind you how this reflects on your position
Sisko: We're doing everything we can to apprehend the kidnappers
Admiral: Don't bother me with details. Just clean up the mess, Commander. And quickly. Before this becomes a permanent stain on your record. Do I make myself clear?
Sisko: Yes, sir.
Bashir: What do you think they're telling him?
Kira: With two kidnappings and a ship exploding in the course of a week, I'm sure they've got a few things to say.
Odo: It's their own fault. I've been warning them from the beginning.
O'Brien: What are you talking about, their fault? You're in charge of Security.
Odo: If you will let me be in charge of Security I will give you a safe station. You people tell me to do my job then give me a Federation rulebook listing all the things I can't do. Untie my hands before you start to blame me, Mister O'Brien.
Dax: I'm sure no one meant to blame you, Odo.
Odo: Give me the right to set a curfew, let me do more searches of arriving passengers, give me fifty more deputies.
Kira: And this station will be just the way it was during the occupation.
Odo: Say what you like, it was safer then.
Kira: Unless you happened to be a Bajoran.
Sisko: I want a complete review of all security measures on board this station.
Odo: I'd be delighted to accommodate you.
Sisko: What do we have from the guard?
Kira: He's given us a description of the two who assaulted him. A Vulcan female and a human male in a Starfleet officer's uniform.
Odo: We're trying to locate anyone they might have contacted here.
Sisko: How many ships left the station during the night?
O'Brien: Only two, sir. A Bardeezan merchant ship and a Galador freighter.
Sisko: What were their destinations?
O'Brien: The Bardeezans went through the wormhole. The freighter is operating on a trade route between Galador Two and Farius Prime.
Sisko: I'm guessing these people wouldn't take Dukat through the wormhole. They'd head back to the Demilitarized Zone with him. Dax, check the Galador ship's registry and make sure it's in order. Chief, see if you can identify its warp signature from our sensor records.
O'Brien: No problem, Commander. I've got it.
Sisko: Last known course?
O'Brien: The computer's showing it was on a bearing two one six, mark one seven seven. As it left our sensor range, it was still heading for Farius Prime.
Sisko: Major, send a message to Farius Prime. If that ship shows up, and I doubt it will, I want to know about it right away.
Kira: I could send the warp signature out over subspace.
O'Brien: We could make it a general transmission. If it changes course, someone should spot them.
Sisko: Do it.
Dax: It's a phony. The Galadorans don't have any ships in this sector. The registry is forged.
Sisko: Doctor, Major, you're with me. Odo, send a message to Commander Hudson at the Volan colony that I'm moving in his direction on the assumption that Dukat will be taken to the Demilitarized zone. Give him the warp signature of the ship.
Odo: Aye, sir.
Kira: Commander, we just received a general subspace transmission from somewhere in the Demilitarized zone. A group there is taking credit for the kidnapping of Dukat. They're calling themselves the Maquis.
O'Brien: Commander, a Klingon freighter two light years from the Demilitarized zone has ID'ed the warp signature. The ship did change course just as you predicted.
Sisko: Transmit their last known coordinates and heading to us, Chief.
Kira: Acknowledged.
Sisko: Let us know if anyone else picks up their signature.
O'Brien: Aye, sir. O'Brien out.
Sisko: Set a new course, Major.
Kira: Yes, sir. Their heading takes them into the Badlands.
Bashir: Badlands?
Kira: It's a stretch of the Cardassian border ships try to avoid. A lot of plasma storms in the area.
Sisko: A few ships have been lost there over the past year or two.
Bashir: Sounds like the perfect place for a hideout. Excuse me, sir. What do you plan to do if we catch up with them? After all, these Maquis are Federation colonists.
Sisko: We're going to get Gul Dukat back by any means necessary.
Bashir: Even if we have to fire on our own people?
Kira: Long range sensors are picking up the warp signature. It leads to an M-class asteroid.
Sisko: Take us there.
Kira: Scanning the surface. I've located the ship.
Bashir: Those are human life signs.
Sisko: Is there a Cardassian among them?
Bashir: No, sir.
Sisko: Prepare to beam down.
Hudson: I'm glad to see you had no trouble finding us, Ben. It seems that one disaster after another keeps bringing us back together again. To Be Continued


Garak: What a waste of a morning. That Galipotan freighter that was scheduled to be here at oh seven hundred still hasn't arrived. Oh well, that's the price of doing business with a culture that refuses to even acknowledge the concept of time. Though I must say, they make magnificent sweaters. I hope I'm not boring you, Doctor.
Bashir: Oh, not at all. No, I was just up late last night.
Garak: Entertaining one of your lady friends?
Bashir: Unfortunately, no. I was reading the last few chapters of The Never-Ending Sacrifice.
Garak: Isn't it superb? Without a doubt the finest Cardassian novel ever written.
Bashir: I'll take your word for it.
Garak: So you didn't enjoy it?
Bashir: Well, I thought it was interesting. Maybe a little dull in parts.
Garak: Oh, wonderful. At this rate, we'll be done eating lunch just in time for dinner.
Bashir: There's always Quark's.
Garak: True, but I'm really not in the mood for noisy, crowded and vulgar today.
Bashir: Then I suppose the Klingon restaurant is out of the question.
Garak: I can't believe that I'm having lunch with a man who thinks The Never-Ending Sacrifice is dull.
Bashir: I just thought the story got a little redundant after a while. I mean the author's supposed to be chronicling seven generations of a single family, but he tells the same story over and over again. All of his characters lead selfless lives of duty to the state, grow old and die. Then the next generation comes along and does it all over again.
Garak: But that's exactly the point, Doctor. The repetitive epic is the most elegant form of Cardassian literature, and The Never-Ending Sacrifice is it's greatest achievement.
Bashir: None of his characters ever really come alive, and there's more to life than duty to the state.
Garak: A Federation viewpoint if ever I heard one. This is ridiculous. Can't you just move to the front of the line? Tell them it's a medical emergency or something.
Bashir: We'll be there in a minute. Look, maybe if you lent me another book by a different writer.
Garak: It would only be a waste of time. When it comes to art, you're obviously a prisoner of Federation dogma and human prejudice.
Bashir: I'm sorry you feel that way. I was just trying
Bashir: Are you all right?
Garak: I'm fine.
Bashir: You don't look fine. Your skin is clammy and your pupils are contracted.
Garak: I assure you, I'm in perfect health. Now, you were asking about other Cardassian books. Something maybe a little more accessible
Bashir: Perfect health. Then Cardassian standards must be a little lower than mine. Come on.
Garak: Doctor, what do you think you're doing?
Bashir: I'm taking you to the Infirmary.
Garak: That won't be necessary.
Bashir: Maybe not, but humor me.
Garak: Frankly, Doctor, I'm a little tired of humoring you. There's nothing wrong with me that a little peace and privacy wouldn't cure. Now if you'll excuse me, I seem to have lost my appetite.
Kira: What was that all about?
Bashir: I have no idea.
Dax: Can you tell what's wrong with it?
Bashir: In my expert medical opinion, I'd say It's sick.
Dax: I know that, but why is it sick?
Bashir: I'm a doctor, not a botanist. Did you ask Professor O'Brien?
Dax: Keiko's at a hydroponics conference on Rigel Four. She won't be back for a week.
Bashir: And none of your past hosts have had any experience with plants?
Dax: Daxs have never been much on gardening. Tobin was the only one who ever tried his hand at it, but he had even less luck with plants than he did with women.
Bashir: Do you even know where it's from?
Dax: I picked it up on Ledonia Three.
Bashir: May I?
Dax: Be my guest.
Bashir: That explains it. Ledonian soil contains a benevolent mycorrhizal fungus that helps the native plants retain water. But the fungus in this potting soil's almost completely died out. If we can salvage what's left and cultivate a new batch in the lab, that should do the trick.
Dax: Keiko would be proud of you.
Bashir: It's all there on the screen. I only wish my humanoid patients were as easy to treat.
Dax: Did Chief O'Brien dislocate his shoulder again?
Bashir: It's Garak. At lunch today, he seemed as though he was going to have some kind of seizure. He was having trouble breathing and he appeared to be in a great deal of pain. When I tried to get him to come to the Infirmary, he outright refused.
Dax: Maybe he just doesn't like going to see the doctor.
Bashir: That's not it. It's that damn Cardassian evasiveness of his. I mean, making me guess about his past is one thing, but when it comes to his health? I don't know. Why can't he just tell me what's going on?
Dax: It sounds like you're taking this personally.
Bashir: I suppose I am. It's just that Garak and I have been having lunch together once a week for more than a year now. You'd think he'd come to trust me a little.
Dax: Why should he? It's not like you two are really friends.
Bashir: No, of course not. I suppose when it comes right down to it, I don't trust him either. I mean, for all I know, the man is a Cardassian spy.
Dax: Exactly.
Bashir: Exactly. If he doesn't want my help, that's his prerogative.
Garak: So I take it we understand each other?
Quark: Garak, how long have you been living on this station?
Garak: Too long.
Quark: And in all that time, have I ever let you down?
Garak: I have never done business with you until now.
Quark: Which is why this deal is so important to me. I want our business relationship to get off on the right foot. Now relax. You'll get your merchandise.
Garak: Soon, Quark I. can't wait much longer.
Bashir: You and Garak going into business? I couldn't help overhearing your conversation.
Quark: Oh, that. I'm helping Garak get a new sizing scanner for his shop.
Bashir: A sizing scanner?
Quark: Not just any sizing scanner. The best. Straight from Merak Two. Calibrated to be accurate down to the micrometer. And, I might add, at a very reasonable price.
Bashir: Really? I thought Garak sounded a bit upset.
Quark: Upset? Garak? I hadn't noticed. Now, is there anything I can do for you? A little Saurian brandy to go, or maybe a late night session in a holosuite?
Bashir: No. Thank you. I think I'll call it a night.
Quark: Suit yourself.
Bashir: There. How does that feel?
Sisko: Much better.
Bashir: Try not to yell at any more admirals for a while.
Sisko: I wasn't yelling. I was just expressing my feelings. Loudly.
Sisko: Chief.
O'Brien: Commander.
O'Brien: You wanted to see me?
Bashir: Yes. I was hoping you could give me a hand. I've been trying to access the old Cardassian medical files but I haven't been having much luck.
O'Brien: I'm not surprised. The Cardassians did a general systems sweep before they pulled out. The medical files would have been deleted along with everything else.
Bashir: Is there any way to recover them?
O'Brien: Maybe. These subroutines don't look anywhere near as bad as the engineering files did. I might be able to reconstruct the data by microscanning the purge trace.
Bashir: How long will that take?
O'Brien: Two, maybe three weeks.
Bashir: Well, that settles that. Thank you anyway, Chief.
O'Brien: Sorry I couldn't be any more help.
Quark: Quark to Bashir
Bashir: This is Bashir.
Quark: Doctor, I need you in my bar right away.
Quark: Come on, Garak. Don't you think you've had enough?
Garak: On the contrary. Anyone who talks about the numbing effects of your liquor is severely overstating the case.
Bashir: What's all this?
Quark: He came in complaining about a headache. The next thing I knew he drank up half my stock of kanar.
Garak: Doctor, what a pleasant surprise. I apologize for my outburst at lunch, but I promise I'll make it up to you. Please, join me.
Bashir: I think I will. May I?
Garak: By all means.
Garak: What are you doing?
Bashir: I think it's a little noisy in here. I prefer to drink somewhere quiet.
Garak: An excellent idea. We'll go to my quarters.
Bashir: Whatever you want. But first I must make a stop at the Infirmary.
Garak: The Infirmary? My dear Doctor, what kind of fool do you take me for? Now give me back my bottle. Give me my bottle!
Bashir: I will. In the Infirmary.
Garak: I'm not going to the Infirmary and I refuse to play this ridiculous game. Now give me, give me
Garak: Make it stop. Make it stop.
Bashir: Bashir to Ops. Medical emergency. Two to beam to the Infirmary. Energize.
Odo: Some kind of implant?
Bashir: Apparently.
Odo: What's it for?
Bashir: Well, I was hoping you could tell me. After working for the Cardassians for five years, I'd guess you know them as well as anyone.
Odo: Maybe so, but I never bothered to look inside their skulls.
Bashir: No, I don't suppose you did.
Odo: Do you think this is the cause of Garak's condition?
Bashir: It's possible. Whatever this thing is, it's situated in his postcentral gyrus and has filaments that connect it to his entire central nervous system.
Odo: Maybe it's some kind of punishment device. A parting gift from the Cardassian government.
Bashir: I thought of that, but based on the amount of scarring in the surrounding tissue, this implant's been in there for years. And as far as I can tell, Garak's only been in pain for the past few days.
Odo: Interesting. I wish I had an answer for you, Doctor.
Bashir: Well, I was hoping you could help me get one. I think Quark knows what this thing is.
Odo: Now what makes you say that?
Bashir: I overheard them talking the other night. Garak was negotiating to buy some merchandise from Quark. He seemed pretty desperate. I tried to ask Quark what it was about, but
Odo: No need to explain, Doctor. The direct approach seldom works with people like him. This could answer some of my own questions. Quark has sent several coded messages to Cardassia Prime in the past few days.
Bashir: Really?
Odo: I routinely monitor all of Quark's subspace communications.
Bashir: Is that legal?
Odo: It's in the best interests of station security. Doctor, do you want to know what Quark knows or not?
Bashir: I see your point.
Odo: Then meet me in Security at oh two hundred hours. Quark always makes his clandestine calls after the bar closes.
Bashir: I wouldn't miss it.
Boheeka: Quark, you parasite. It's been too long. Is Hartla still working for you?
Quark: The dabo tables wouldn't be the same without her.
Boheeka: Oh, what I wouldn't give to see her again.
Quark: I'm sure she misses you too.
Boheeka: I'll bet she does. She would've bankrupted me if the occupation would've lasted much longer. But I'm sure you didn't contact me just to reminisce. What can I do for you?
Quark: How'd you like to earn a little extra latinum? Maybe enough to buy yourself a promotion?
Boheeka: You have my undivided attention.
Quark: I need a piece of Cardassian bio-technology and the schematics relating to its installlation.
Boheeka: Bio-technology. That shouldn't be too difficult. What is it?
Quark: You know, I never ask those kinds of questions, but I've got the requisition code number.
Boheeka: Give it to me. I'll look for it.
Quark: I knew I could count on you. Here it is.
Bashir: I hope you don't have one of those little bugs hidden in my quarters.
Odo: Should I?
Quark: Transmission complete.
Boheeka: Hold on.
Boheeka: This won't take long.
Quark: Take your time.
Boheeka: Quark, you idiot!
Quark: Is something wrong?
Boheeka: Is something wrong? I'm ruined. My career is over.
Quark: What did I do?
Boheeka: You and your damn requisition code. It's for classified bio-technology, Quark. Even the cursed number is classified. Where did you get it? No. Don't tell me. I don't want to know. If I'm lucky, I can still get through this with my skin intact. Maybe they won't trace the request back to me.
Quark: Who won't?
Boheeka: The Obsidian Order.
Quark: Nice talking to you, Boheeka. We'll have to
Quark: Do it again sometime.
Odo: The Obsidian Order. That certainly complicates things.
Bashir: Who are they?
Odo: They're the ever-vigilant eyes and ears of the Cardassian Empire. It is said that a Cardassian citizen cannot sit down to a meal without each dish being duly noted and recorded by the Order.
Bashir: What happens if you eat something that doesn't meet with their approval?
Odo: People have been known to disappear for less. Whether you agree with their goals or not, you can't help but admire their efficiency. Even the Romulan Tal Shiar can't compete with them when it comes to intelligence gathering and covert operations.
Bashir: What has all this to do with Garak?
Odo: I wish I knew.
Bashir: Do you think the Order put that implant in Garak's head?
Odo: I have a better question. If the implant is a punishment device, then why is Garak trying to get his hands on another one?
Bashir: He did ask for the specifications. Maybe he's trying to find some way of removing it.
Odo: Either way, I'd like to have a talk with him when he wakes up.
Bashir: You'll have to get in line. Thank you, Constable.
Bashir: Computer, report on the status of patient Garak.
Computer: Patient Garak is no longer in the infirmary.
Bashir: What? When did he leave?
Computer: Patient checked out at zero three twenty hours.
Bashir: Garak? Are you in there? Computer, open the door to chamber nine oh one, habitat level H three. Emergency medical override Bashir one alpha.
Garak: Ah, Doctor, what a pleasant surprise. I'm sorry, I must've missed the door chime.
Bashir: What the hell do you think you're doing? Triptacederine. How much of this did you take?
Garak: A mere thirty cc's. Not nearly enough, I'm afraid.
Bashir: Thirty cc's would anesthetize an Algorian mammoth.
Garak: We Cardassians must be made of sterner stuff. I barely feel it.
Bashir: Listen to me, Garak. I've had just about enough of your nonsense. Now you're coming back to the Infirmary with me.
Garak: I don't think so. Believe me when I tell you there's nothing you can do for me.
Bashir: Oh, and Quark can, is that it?
Garak: I thought I was supposed to be the spy.
Bashir: Quark's not coming, Garak.
Garak: How do you know?
Bashir: I heard him talking to his Cardassian contact. He couldn't get the item you requested.
Garak: Really? That's most distressing, but I suppose, not all that surprising. Ah, well. Maybe it's for the best. My hypospray, if you please.
Bashir: Another dose of triptacederine might kill you.
Garak: Thank you for your concern, Doctor, but I'd rather have the hypospray.
Bashir: I'm not going to let you commit suicide. I'm here to help you.
Garak: I doubt you can. I think you'll find that I'm experiencing some slight deterioration of my cranial nerve cluster.
Bashir: It's not so slight, I'm afraid. We've got to get you to the infirmary.
Garak: My dear Doctor, I have no intention of putting myself on display for the amusement of the Bajoran inhabitants of this station.
Bashir: It's not your pride I'm worried about. It's that implant you're carrying around inside your head.
Garak: You know about that, do you?
Bashir: It's some kind of punishment device, isn't it?
Garak: Punishment device? I suppose in a way that's what it's become.
Bashir: If it wasn't put there to punish you, then what's it for? Garak, I need to know what we're up against. If you tell me what it was meant for, maybe I could find some way to remove it.
Garak: It's hopeless, Doctor. Believe me, it can't be removed.
Bashir: How do you know?
Garak: That's the whole point. If it could be easily removed, it would be useless. You see, on Cardassia I was entrusted with certain information. Information that needed to be kept safe regardless of the situation. My implant was given to me by Enabran Tain himself, the head of the Obsidian Order. If I was ever tortured, it was designed to stimulate the pleasure centers of my brain to trigger the production of vast amounts of natural endorphins. I do hope you appreciate the irony, Doctor. The sole purpose of the implant was to make me immune to pain.
Bashir: What caused it to malfunction?
Garak: It was never meant for continuous use.
Bashir: Continuous use? What do you mean?
Garak: Living on this station is torture for me, Doctor. The temperature is always too cold, the lights always too bright. Every Bajoran on the station looks at me with loathing and contempt. So one day I decided I couldn't live with it anymore, and I took the pain away.
Bashir: You activated the implant.
Garak: I created a device which allowed me to trigger the implant whenever I wanted. At first, I only used it a few minutes a day, but I began relying on it more and more until finally I just turned it on and never shut it off.
Bashir: How long has it been on?
Garak: Two years.
Bashir: And now the implant is breaking down.
Garak: That's correct.
Bashir: Then why not just shut the damn thing off?
Garak: It's too late, now. My body has become completely dependent on the higher endorphin levels generated by the implant.
Bashir: So, that's it then. You're going to just give up and let them win.
Garak: Them, Doctor?
Bashir: The Central Command, the Obsidian Order, whoever it is who exiled you here. You're just going to roll over and die, let them destroy you, give up any hope of ever seeing Cardassia again.
Garak: Doctor, did anyone ever tell you that you are an infuriating pest?
Bashir: Chief O'Brien all the time, and I don't pay any attention to him either.
Garak: Has it ever occurred to you that I might be getting exactly what I deserve?
Bashir: No one deserves this.
Garak: Oh, please, Doctor. I'm suffering enough without having to listen to your smug Federation sympathy. Do you think because we have lunch together once a week, you know me? You couldn't even begin to fathom what I'm capable of.
Bashir: I'm a doctor. You're my patient. That's all I need to know.
Garak: Wrong again. You need to know who you're trying to save. During the occupation, I was a Gul in the Cardassian Mechanized Infantry. We were stationed just outside the Bajoran Capital. Shortly before the withdrawal, a handful of Bajoran prisoners escaped from my custody. My aide, a man named Elim, tracked them to a Cardassian shuttle about to depart for Terok Nor. Elim got aboard, but the captain refused to let him search the ship, because he claimed he was under strict orders from Gul Dukat to depart immediately. So I had the shuttle destroyed, killing the escapees, Elim, and ninety seven Cardassian civilians.
Bashir: You can't be serious.
Garak: I followed my orders. None of those prisoners escaped off of Bajor alive. Unfortunately as it turned out, one of the passengers on the shuttle was the daughter of a prominent military official. I was stripped of my rank and commission, and exiled from Cardassia. So now you know, Doctor. I hope I haven't shattered too many of your illusions.
Bashir: Listen to me, Garak. Right now I'm not concerned with what you did in the past. I'm simply not going to walk out of here and let you die. We need to turn that implant off and whatever withdrawal symptoms or side effects you may experience, I promise I'll help you through them. I need to know where that triggering device is. Where is it?
Garak: The desk, second drawer.
Bashir: That'll be all for now. If you need to reach me, I'll be here for at least the next twenty six hours.
Bashir: Computer I'm reading an ongoing erosion of tissue in the patient's lymphatic system. Explain.
Computer: Unable to determine a cause due to insufficient data on Cardassian physiology.
Bashir: All right. Continue to monitor the status of the patient's cranial implant. Inform me if it shows any sign of reactivation.
Bashir: Yes?
Odo: Doctor, I was hoping I could ask Garak some questions.
Bashir: He's asleep. He has been ever since I turned off his implant. Come on, we can talk outside.
Odo: Doctor, I need to talk to him as soon as possible. I have four cases left in my homicide files which I'm almost certain were committed by the Obsidian Order. If Garak was a member he may be able to shed some light on them.
Bashir: I'm afraid your questions will have to wait.
Odo: How long?
Bashir: I don't know yet. Constable, Garak's body has undergone a severe shock. I don't know when he'll recover. I'm not even sure if he'll recover.
Odo: In that case I want to talk to him now. Wake him up.
Bashir: I'll do no such thing.
Odo: Doctor, these are murder cases and Garak may be a suspect.
Bashir: That may be so, but he's still my patient and I won't have him disturbed. So until further notice, his quarters are off limits to everyone except emergency medical personnel. So, if you'll excuse me, I have a patient to attend to.
Bashir: Garak?
Garak: Leave me alone.
Bashir: I don't think that would be a good idea right now. Your blood chemistry is severely imbalanced. You need to rest.
Garak: Don't touch me.
Bashir: Just calm down.
Garak: I don't want to be calm, Doctor. I've been calm long enough. Look at this place. It's pathetic. To think that this is what my life has been reduced to. This sterile shell, this prison.
Bashir: Take it easy, Garak. Look, you're obviously experiencing some side effects from the deactivation of the implant.
Garak: Ridiculous. I feel more clear-headed than I have in the past two years. Two years. What a waste these past two years have been.
Garak: There was a time, Doctor, oh there was a time when I was a power. The protégé of Enabran Tain himself. Do you have any idea what that means?
Bashir: I'm afraid I don't.
Garak: No, you don't, do you. You don't know much of anything. Tain was the Obsidian Order. Not even the Central Command dared challenge him. And I was his right hand. My future was limitless until I threw it away.
Bashir: You mean when you had that shuttle shot down to stop those prisoners from escaping?
Garak: Stop them? I only wish that I had stopped them.
Bashir: You didn't?
Garak: No, Doctor, my disgrace was worse than that. Unimaginably worse.
Bashir: What could you have possibly done worse than that?
Garak: I let them go. It was the eve of the Cardassian withdrawal. Elim and I were interrogating five Bajorans. They were children, Doctor. None of them were older than fourteen years old. They knew nothing. They lived in bombed-out rooms, scrounged for food on the streets. They were filthy and they stank. The room was freezing cold, the air was like ice, and suddenly the whole exercise seemed utterly meaningless. All I wanted was a hot bath and a good meal. So I let them go. I gave them whatever latinum I had in my pockets, and opened the door, and flung them back into the street. Elim couldn't believe his eyes. He looked at me as if I were insane.
Bashir: You took pity on those children. There's nothing wrong with that.
Garak: No! I was a fool! I should've finished the interrogation and turned them over to the troops for execution. But because I was chilly and my stomach was growling, I failed in my duty and destroyed everything I had worked for.
Bashir: And so they exiled you.
Garak: That's right. And left me to live out my days with nothing to look forward to but having lunch with you.
Bashir: I'm sorry you feel that way. I thought you enjoyed my company.
Garak: I did. And that's the worst part. I can't believe that I actually enjoyed eating mediocre food and staring into at your smug, sanctimonious face. I hate this place and I hate you.
Bashir: Okay, Garak, that's your prerogative. Now I really think you should lie down.
Garak: Get away from me.
Bashir: Garak.
Bashir: Garak, stop this. I don't want to hurt you.
Bashir: Bashir to Infirmary. I need an emergency medical team in Garak's quarters now.
Bashir: Administer another twenty cc's of hyperzine.
Jabara: He's not responding.
Bashir: Give it a second. Begin cardiostimulation.
Jabara: His heartbeat is stabilizing.
Bashir: But his lymphatic system is critical. I don't understand it. I shut down the implant. It can't be affecting his blood chemistry anymore, yet toxins are still accumulating in his lymphatic tissues. Computer, display analyzes of all biochemical samples taken from the patient in the past thirty-nine hours. Display them by chemical composition. Isolate and display sample number seventeen. Bring up sample twenty three. Sample twenty seven. Sample thirty two. Sample thirty five. Sample forty. Stop. Bring back sample thirty five. Superimpose the molecular structure of this leukocyte with an analogous sample from yesterday. That's it. The molecular structure of Garak's leukocytes has been altered. That must be what's causing the accumulation of toxins in his system.
Jabara: Can we synthesize Cardassian leukocytes?
Bashir: Probably, but that could take weeks and we don't have that much time. We have three or fours days at most.
Jabara: If we turn the implant back on, we might be able to keep him alive for another week or two.
Garak: No.
Bashir: What?
Garak: I won't allow it. I never want that thing turned on again.
Bashir: I understand how you feel, but I'm not sure what else I can do for you.
Garak: You've done enough, Doctor. More than I deserve. There's something you have to know.
Bashir: What's that?
Garak: The truth.
Bashir: I've about given up on learning the truth from you, Garak.
Garak: Don't give up on me now, Doctor. Patience has its rewards. Now listen carefully. Elim wasn't my aide. He was my friend. We grew up together. We were closer than brothers. For some reason, Enabran Tain took a liking to us. Before long, we were both powerful men in the Obsidian Order. They called us the Sons of Tain. Even the Guls feared us. And then there was a scandal. Someone in the Order was accused of letting some Bajoran prisoners escape. There were constant rumors of who was going to be implicated. Fingers were being pointed at me. By then Tain had retired to the Arawath Colony. He couldn't protect me, so I panicked. I did everything in my power to make sure that Elim was accused instead of me. I altered records, planted evidence, only to diskover that he'd beaten me to it.
Bashir: He betrayed you first?
Garak: Elim destroyed me. Before I knew what was going on, I was sentenced to exile. And the irony is, I deserved it. Oh, not for the reasons they claimed, but because of what I had tried to do to Elim, my best friend.
Bashir: Why are you telling me this, Garak?
Garak: So that you can forgive me. Why else? I need to know that someone forgives me.
Bashir: I forgive you for whatever it is you did.
Garak: Thank you, Doctor. That's most kind.
Bashir: See that he rests comfortably. I'll be back within fifty two hours.
Jabara: Where are you going?
Bashir: To find the man responsible for this.
Tain: Doctor Bashir. Welcome. Please make yourself at home.
Tain: Well, Doctor, you've come all this way to see me. Aren't you going to say something?
Bashir: How did you know my name?
Tain: Information's my business.
Bashir: You're Enabran Tain.
Tain: And you're Doctor Julian Subatoi Bashir. I hope you weren't greeted too rudely upon entering Cardassian space.
Bashir: Not nearly as rudely as I expected.
Tain: Good. I alerted them that you'd be coming. The military hates surprises. Still, what you did was very brave. I'm impressed. Can I get you something to drink? Tarkalean tea perhaps?
Bashir: I always drink Tarkalean tea.
Tain: A good host knows the needs of his guests. One Tarkalean tea, extra sweet, and a glass of kanar. So, Lieutenant, how's Garak? Has his condition improved at all?
Bashir: That Cardassian Quark was talking to, Boheeka, I suppose he really did have a reason to fear the Obsidian Order.
Tain: Everyone has reason to fear the Order.
Bashir: I don't understand it. Garak told me you were retired.
Tain: Oh, I am. Have been for years. But I try to keep informed on current events. I bet you could tell me all kinds of things I'd like to know, Doctor.
Bashir: I'm sure I could. I'll tell you anything you want to know about medicine, biology or tennis. Do you want to hear my opinion on the latest nillimite alloy rackets?
Tain: I don't think that will be necessary.
Bashir: Have it your way.
Tain: Are all the Starfleet Lieutenants as brash as you are?
Bashir: I couldn't say, though I doubt it.
Tain: So do I. Tell me, Doctor, how sick is Garak?
Bashir: He's dying.
Tain: And you're trying to save him.
Bashir: That's right.
Tain: Strange. I thought you were his friend.
Bashir: I suppose I am.
Tain: Then you should let him die. After all, for Garak, a life in exile is no life at all.
Bashir: Say what you will, my job is to keep him alive, and I need your help.
Tain: My help? What can I do?
Bashir: The molecular structure of Garak's leukocytes has been disrupted. I need to synthesize replacements in order to stabilize his condition. Unfortunately, my knowledge of Cardassian biochemistry is severely limited.
Tain: And you think I have access to that kind of information?
Bashir: Information is your business. Besides, you're the one who ordered him to put that implant put in his head, aren't you?
Tain: I never had to order Garak to do anything. That's what made him special. So, you're saying if you don't get the information, Garak dies?
Bashir: That's it.
Tain: Well, we can't allow that can we? I'll see to it that the necessary data is transferred to your station's computers.
Bashir: Thank you.
Tain: Don't thank me. I'm not doing Garak any favors. He doesn't deserve a quick death. On the contrary, I want him to live a long, miserable life. I want him to grow old on that station, surrounded by people who hate him, knowing that he'll never come home again.
Bashir: What a lovely sentiment.
Tain: And it's from the heart, I assure you. And now, Doctor, I really think you should be going.
Bashir: One last thing.
Tain: Make it brief.
Bashir: Garak mentioned an old friend of his the other day, a member of the Obsidian Order. I was wondering what happened to him.
Tain: Did he give you the name of this friend?
Bashir: He said it was Elim.
Tain: Elim?
Bashir: Mind letting me in on the joke?
Tain: I can see that Garak hasn't changed a bit. Never tells the truth when a lie will do. That man has a rare gift for obfuscation. Doctor, Elim is Garak's first name. Now run along home. And please, tell Garak that I miss him.
Bashir: I'll be sure to give him the message. Computer, one to beam up. Energize.
Garak: May I join you?
Bashir: Garak.
Garak: Thank you.
Bashir: What are you doing up? You're supposed to be in bed.
Garak: Out of the question. I couldn't stand being cooped up in that dreadful infirmary for another second. Besides, I feel perfectly fine. So, how's the I'danian spice pudding today?
Bashir: How's the spice pudding? Is that all you have to say for yourself? How can you just sit there and pretend that the last ten days never happened?
Garak: I for one, Doctor, am perfectly satisfied with the way things turned out. And I see no need to dwell on what was doubtlessly a difficult time for both of us. By the way, I just had the most interesting conversation with Constable Odo. It seems he's under the impression that I was a member of the Obsidian Order.
Bashir: What did you tell him?
Garak: That he was mistaken, of course.
Bashir: And he believed you?
Garak: He said something about keeping a closer eye on me in the future. I told him to be my guest, I have nothing to hide. Here. I've brought you something.
Bashir: What is it?
Garak: Meditations on a Crimson Shadow by Preloc.
Bashir: More Cardassian literature.
Garak: I think you'll find this one more to your tastes. It takes place in the future during a time when Cardassia and the Klingon Empire are at war.
Bashir: Who wins?
Garak: Who do you think?
Bashir: Never mind, don't tell me. I don't want you to spoil the ending. You know, I still have a lot of questions to ask you about your past.
Garak: I've given you all the answers I'm capable of.
Bashir: You gave me answers, all right, but they were all different. What I want to know is of all the stories you told me, which ones were true and which ones weren't?
Garak: My dear Doctor, they're all true.
Bashir: Even the lies?
Garak: Especially the lies.