Odo: Enjoying the view?
Jake: I'm stuck on this new story I'm working on, and coming here helps me focus.
Odo: No need to explain, Mister Sisko.
Jake: I just thought
Odo: You just thought what?
Jake: I thought you were going to ask me to leave.
Odo: Why would I do that?
Jake: You always used to chase me away.
Odo: I never chased you away. I chased Nog. You just happened to be with him. So, unless you're planning on flicking sand peas at the passing throng, you're welcome to stay here as long as you like.
Jake: I don't have any sand peas.
Odo: You miss him, don't you?
Jake: Nog? Maybe a little.
Quark: A little? There isn't a day goes by that I don't see him standing here, pining away for that no-good nephew of mine.
Jake: I'm not here every day.
Quark: No, just four or five times a week. If you ask me, Nog should never have gone off to the Academy. You lost a friend, and I lost a good waiter.
Jake: Nog'll be back, and he'll be wearing a Starfleet uniform. I'm proud of what he's doing.
Quark: Remember that the next time you try to play dom-jot by yourself.
Jake: You don't want me hanging around here? Fine. I'll do my thinking someplace else.
Quark: Poor kid. I suppose that's what you get for having friends.
Odo: Meaning what?
Quark: Just that when you think you can count on them, they go off and leave you. No. You're much better off without them.
Odo: I imagine that's why you don't have any friends.
Quark: Look who's talking.
Jake: Dad, I'm home.
Jake: Mom?
Jennifer: I'm afraid I'm not your mother, Jake.
Sisko: This is the woman I told you about. The one I met in the parallel universe.
Jake: So you're Jennifer Sisko, but you're just not my mom.
Jennifer: That's right.
Jake: You look exactly like her.
Jennifer: And I was married to a man who looked exactly like your father. It's all a little confusing, isn't it?
Jake: More than a little. Did you tell her?
Sisko: Tell her what?
Jake: Ever since my dad told me about you I've been wanting to meet you.
Jennifer: Well, here I am.
Jake: You even sound like my mother.
Kira: Ops to Captain Sisko.
Sisko: Go ahead.
Kira: Minister Gettor's shuttle has docked.
Sisko: Give me a few minutes. Offer him a tour of the station.
Kira: I already have. His time here is limited and he's anxious to meet with the Emissary.
Sisko: I'll be right there.
Jake: So why are you here?
Jennifer: I came here to see your father.
Jake: Really? That's great.
Sisko: Jennifer came to give me some good news. The Terrans have won an important victory.
Jennifer: We've driven the Alliance off of the space station.
Jake: Then the rebels control Terok Nor.
Jennifer: I see your father has told you all about us.
Sisko: I guess I'd better get to my meeting.
Jennifer: I understand. It's not like you were expecting me.
Jake: You're not leaving, are you?
Jennifer: Is it all right if I visit with Jake for a while?
Sisko: I don't think Jake would have it any other way.
Jennifer: Maybe the three of us can have dinner together.
Sisko: That depends on how long my meeting lasts.
Jennifer: We'll wait.
Sisko: Okay.
Jake: Would you like another raktajino?
Jennifer: Thank you. That would be nice.
Jake: That's amazing.
Jennifer: What?
Jake: I never thought I'd hold these hands again. They feel just like my mother's. I'll get you that raktajino.
Kira: That went well. I think you made it clear to the Minister why the Emissary can't endorse his land reform program.
Sisko: It only took three hours.
Kira: If you like, we can go over the weekly personnel reports.
Sisko: In the morning. I've got someone waiting for me in my quarters.
Sisko: Jake? Jennifer?
Sisko: Computer, locate Jake Sisko.
Computer: Jake Sisko is not on the station.
O'Brien: Are you sure this is what Smiley used to transport you to the alternate universe?
Sisko: Looks like it.
Dax: And you're convinced Jake's gone over there?
Sisko: He's not on the station and neither is Jennifer.
Kira: Maybe he convinced her to take him over there for a visit.
Sisko: Without asking me?
Dax: It could be she left that behind as an invitation to join them.
Sisko: And I accept. But only to get Jake back.
Kira: Want some company? I can think of safer places to visit.
Sisko: Major, you and the Chief come with me. Commander, you have Ops.
O'Brien: Expecting trouble, Major?
Kira: Just want to be prepared.
Sisko: Energize.
O'Brien: Welcome back, Captain.
Sisko: What happened to the others?
O'Brien: They weren't invited.
Sisko: Where's my son?
O'Brien: He's with Professor Sisko. She's showing him the station.
Sisko: The tour's over. I'm taking Jake home.
O'Brien: Then I'm afraid we have a problem.
Sisko: What kind of problem?
O'Brien: Jake's not going anywhere.
O'Brien: and neither are you.
O'Brien: Terok Nor in rebel hands. It just shows what people can do when their cause is just.
Sisko: Save the speeches, Smiley. Right now, I don't care too much for you or your cause.
O'Brien: You've every right to be angry. We haven't exactly played fair with you.
Sisko: You kidnapped my son.
O'Brien: Kidnapped? An ugly word.
Sisko: But accurate.
O'Brien: Tell me, Captain. If we had come and asked for your help in fighting the Alliance, what would you have said?
Sisko: I'd have said no.
O'Brien: Which is why we had to use your son to lure you over here. We need your help, Captain. No one else will do.
O'Brien: Recognize her?
Sisko: Wow. The Defiant.
O'Brien: During our last encounter, when I visited your station, I took a moment to download as many of your computer files as I could. I figured they'd come in handy some day. And they have. You see, captain, taking Terok Nor was one thing. Keeping it, that's the tricky part. The Alliance fleet is already on its way. When they get here, I want to have a proper welcome ready for them.
Sisko: These schematics look complete. Why do you need me? If you want to build another Defiant, why do you need my help?
O'Brien: We've already built it. The problem is, when we power up its engines, the whole ship damn near shakes itself apart.
Sisko: We had the same trouble. It's a powerful ship.
O'Brien: Well, right now it's a little too powerful for its own good. How did you solve it?
Sisko: We had to overhaul the structural integrity field grids.
O'Brien: How long did it take?
Sisko: Two weeks.
O'Brien: We have four days.
Sisko: I'm not sure that's enough time.
O'Brien: It'd better be. Otherwise the Defiant won't be ready, and you and your son will die along with the rest of us. Or worse still, spend the rest of your lives working in the ore processing center under the tender mercies of an Alliance overseer. Help us, Captain, and I promise we'll get you and your son out of here before the fireworks begin. The Defiant's at docking port five. I think you know the way.
Sisko: I want to see my son first.
O'Brien: I knew you would.
Bashir: Is he with us?
O'Brien: You remember Captain Bashir.
Sisko: Captain?
O'Brien: Captain Bashir, Captain O'Brien, Captain Sisko. We may not have enough troops or ships or weapons, but we have plenty of captains.
Bashir: Is he going to help us or not?
O'Brien: You must have missed that cheery face. Relax. The Captain has found it in his heart to aid us once again.
Bashir: Good.
Bashir: I owed you that. I let you hit me once because I thought you were our Captain Sisko. Now I know better.
Sisko: We're even now.
O'Brien: If I were you, I'd keep out of his way.
Nog: You and I friends? I don't think so.
Jake: Why not?
Nog: You're too tall. I don't trust tall men. Tall women, that's a different story. Here. See for yourself.
Jennifer: Jake, isn't she a little old for you?
Nog: Who are you, his mother?
Sisko: Jake!
Jake: Dad. I'm sorry, but I had to come. Somehow, talking to Jennifer, telling her all about the past nine years, about all the things that happened to me, what I've done, what I've been thinking about. It's like telling Mom.
Sisko: In a lot of ways she's nothing like your Mom.
Jake: Yeah, but in some ways, she's just like her. And not just physically. She listens like Mom. And it's the exact same smile.
Sisko: Okay, Jake.
Jake: This place is unbelievable. Chief O'Brien, Doctor Bashir, Dax, they're all here. I know, it's not really them but, look here's Nog. This is my father.
Nog: He's tall, too.
Sisko: Sorry. Look, Jake-o, I have to talk to Jennifer alone for a minute.
Jake: She likes you.
Sisko: Jake, whatever you're thinking, whatever plans you're making, forget about them.
Jake: I'm not making any plans.
Sisko: Outside.
Sisko: I just want to know one thing. Whose idea was this?
Jennifer: Does it matter?
Sisko: It does to me.
Jennifer: It was mine. We needed you to help us complete the ship. Smiley told me all about you. About your wife's death, about your son. I knew that Jake would want to meet me, that I'd remind him of his mother.
Sisko: You're nothing like his mother.
Jennifer: I think Jake would disagree.
Sisko: Of course he would. In his mind, the three of us are already living together.
Jennifer: Ben, you're the one that convinced me to join the rebels, to fight the good fight for my people.
Sisko: It's not your cause that I have a problem with, it's your methods.
Jennifer: I'm sorry if Jake's feelings get hurt, but that's a small price to pay if it means success against the Alliance.
Sisko: All right, I'm here and I'm going to help you. But I want you to leave my son alone.
Jennifer: I can't.
Sisko: Why not?
Jake: Jennifer!
Jennifer: Because he won't leave me alone.
Klingon: Bow before the Regent!
Garak: I can't think of anything I'd rather do.
Worf: Ah. So this is the p'tak who lost Terok Nor to the rebels.
Garak: It's not exactly
Worf: Are you calling me a liar?
Garak: I was merely observing that as one of many officers under the Intendant's command, it would be an overstatement to imply that I alone was responsible for our defeat.
Worf: But you are the only officer who managed to escape.
Garak: Perhaps I should have surrendered to the rebels, groveling on the floor, begging for my life like the Intendant.
Worf: You are attempting to shift blame away from yourself.
Garak: Am I succeeding?
Worf: This time I will deal with the rebels myself. You will be at my side, redeeming yourself in battle.
Garak: Your fairness and good judgment are everything I've heard it to be. Believe me, my Regent, it will take the blood of many rebels to quench the thirst of my revenge.
Worf: Spoken like a Klingon.
Garak: I'm trying. Now, if you could just remove this insufferable collar.
Worf: No. The collar stays until every rebel on Terok Nor lies dead at my feet.
Sisko: Sisko to Smiley. I'm about to put the deuterium injector back online.
O'Brien: Go ahead.
O'Brien: I've got the flow regulators shut off.
Sisko: Injectors are operational. You can recalibrate the regulators now.
O'Brien: Will do.
Dax: I heard you were back.
Dax: That's for making love to me under false pretenses. I was suspicious of you from the start.
Sisko: You hid it well.
Dax: If you ever try to touch me again. Do yet my point?
Sisko: I hope not.
Sisko: What happened?
Bashir: Ah. You remember the Intendant, don't you? I was taking her to an interrogation session when the vile little tyrant tried to escape.
Bashir: Oops.
Sisko: Pick her up.
Bashir: Leave her. She's not through with her lesson.
Kira: If this is supposed to teach me a lesson you might want to turn that little toy of yours to a higher setting.
Bashir: Gladly.
Sisko: That's enough.
Bashir: Whose side are you on?
Sisko: There's a difference between interrogation and torture.
Bashir: The Alliance never made that distinction.
Sisko: But you should.
Bashir: Take her back to her cell.
Kira: Well done. Now I have to admit, the last time you were here you had me completely fooled. I really thought you were my Benjamin Sisko.
Sisko: That was the idea.
Kira: Help me escape and I promise I'll be grateful. Very grateful.
Sisko: I'm sure you would be. But don't count on it.
Kira: Well then perhaps you'll find Marani and have her sent to my holding cell.
Sisko: Marani?
Kira: One of my servants. I am a touch sore. And she does give the most exquisite massages.
Worf: A ship? What kind of ship?
Klingon: According to our reports, it's of unknown classification and carries an impressive weapons array. Some kind of improved photon torpedoes, multi-targeting phaser banks.
Worf: How long until it is operational?
Klingon: Within two days.
Garak: I know it's none of my business but perhaps it would be prudent to increase our speed to warp nine.
Worf: Quiet!
Garak: I was merely trying to be of service.
Worf: If it was not for your incompetence, the rebels would have been destroyed.
Garak: I thought we had agreed that it was the Intendant who was incompetent. I was merely following her orders.
Worf: And for following those orders you deserve to die.
Garak: Then why don't you kill me? The Intendant was bad enough. She was irrational, accusatory, unappreciative. But at least
Worf: At least what?
Garak: At least I was able to please her now and then.
Worf: You are not my type.
Garak: I never said I was.
Worf: Increase speed to warp nine.
Jake: So, what do you think?
Jennifer: It was delicious. What do you call it?
Jake: Chicken a la Sisko.
Jennifer: How did you learn to cook like this?
Jake: Well, all Sisko men have the cooking gene. You should try my Dad's shrimp Creole.
Jennifer: Maybe one day I will.
Jennifer: Come in.
Sisko: Jake, it's time to call it a day.
Jennifer: How about some chicken a la Sisko? Jake made dinner. It's delicious.
Sisko: I am too tired to eat. Jake-o.
Jake: In a minute, Dad. I don't want to leave a mess.
Jennifer: Oh, that's really not necessary.
Jake: No, I want to.
Jennifer: How's the work on the Defiant coming?
Sisko: Slowly.
Jennifer: Does that feel better?
Sisko: Yes, but I don't know what you expect to gain by it.
Jennifer: I don't expect to gain anything. I just want to remind you that I am not your enemy. I don't know why you're being so hard on me. After all, you pretended to be my husband and I've forgiven you. By the way, you have done a good job with him. Jake, I mean.
Sisko: You're not making that job any easier.
Jennifer: Oh, he'll get over me.
Sisko: Maybe.
Jennifer: I wish I could say the same. Is it really a surprise? Think about it. My Ben Sisko is dead. I look at Jake and all I see is the son that I'll never have. Maybe bringing him here wasn't such a good idea after all.
Sisko: For any of us.
Jennifer: Come in?
O'Brien: I just got word. The Alliance fleet is less than eight hours away. I guess we've run out of time.
Sisko: You concentrate on getting the weapons array online. I'll calibrate the SIF generators.
O'Brien: Eight hours. It's not a lot of time, is it?
Sisko: It's all we have.
Bashir: Smiley! Your assembly crew won't let me into the torpedo bay.
O'Brien: That's because they're trying to get the torpedo chambering mechanism online.
Bashir: Great. So what am I supposed to do with these torpedoes?
O'Brien: I have a few suggestions.
Bashir: Do you now?
Dax: This isn't getting us anywhere. We need to buy ourselves some more time.
Sisko: Any ideas?
Bashir: How many raiders have we got left?
O'Brien: Only one. There's no way we can stop the Alliance attack.
Bashir: Maybe not, but I might be able to buy more time before they get here.
O'Brien: You'll never make it back.
Bashir: Is that what you're worried about? I thought it was because I was going to reap all the glory.
O'Brien: What good is glory when you're dead?
Bashir: Who said anything about dying?
Dax: When are we leaving? I never liked staying in one place for very long.
Bashir: Then it's settled.
Sisko: Before you go, we'd better make damn sure you can get us that extra time.
Kira: Me help you fight the Alliance? What a perverse idea. I have a better one. Why don't I cut your throat? A quick death. Much less painful than anything the Regent will do to you.
Sisko: I think you'd better worry about what the Regent is going to do to you.
Kira: The Regent has no reason to question my loyalty.
Sisko: It's not your loyalty he'll be questioning. It's your effectiveness. After all, he wouldn't have to retake Terok Nor if you hadn't lost it in the first place.
Kira: I didn't lose anything. It was Garak and the rest of those Alliance fools with their excessive brutality. I could never make them to understand violence is a precision instrument. It's a scalpel, not a club.
Sisko: Garak was smart enough to escape.
Kira: Garak is a coward. He ran at the first sign of danger.
Sisko: Probably straight into the Regent's arms, where he no doubt laid the blame for the loss of this station entirely on you.
Kira: You have a point.
Sisko: Good. Then I'll ask you again. Is there any weakness in the Alliance fleet? Something we can exploit?
Kira: It's a possibility. Why don't you lower this forcefield and join me in here? It might help stimulate my thought process.
Sisko: I should think self-preservation would be stimulation enough for you.
Kira: That's not a very friendly attitude, especially when you want my help. Oh, it's Professor Sisko, isn't it. Well, she's very attractive but I've known Breen icicles that are warmer than she is.
Sisko: This has nothing to do with her.
Kira: If you say so. Still, I've never been able to resist anyone named Benjamin Sisko. The Alliance ships are quick and powerful, but they do have one weakness. Their targeting systems can be fooled. They've been known to chase warp shadows.
Sisko: How do I know I can believe you?
Kira: You're just going to have to trust me.
Worf: The key. Where is it?
Garak: You're not listening, I didn't take the key.
Worf: You are lying.
Klingon: I'm telling you. He stole it from me while I was feeding him.
Worf: Don't make me ask you again.
Garak: What good would the key do me? Even if I were to unlock this collar, where could I go? I can't get off this ship. And besides, you've searched me three times already. Where could I possibly be hiding it?
Worf: Perhaps you swallowed it.
Garak: Impossible. I'm very particular about what I eat.
Worf: We will see about that.
Klingon: Regent!
Worf: What is it?
Klingon: The key, sir. Somehow it fell into my boot.
Garak: Now do you believe me?
Worf: If he dies, you die.
Helmsman: Six Rebel raiders are approaching, bearing three five four mark zero zero eight. Their sensors have detected us. They're fleeing.
Worf: Wise choice. But they will not get far.
Dax: I hope these warp shadows we're emitting are going to fool them.
Bashir: Well, we'll know as soon as they start firing.
Jennifer: You look like you could use another pair of hands.
Sisko: Smaller ones might help.
Jennifer: Here, let me.
Sisko: I'm trying to calibrate the torque sensors.
Jennifer: Yes, I know. To control the inertial dampers. It's Professor Sisko, remember?
Sisko: Sorry.
Jennifer: For what it's worth, you should know that I've told Jake the truth. About my visit to you, why I brought him here, everything.
Sisko: And?
Jennifer: And he said that it doesn't matter. That he's still glad to have met me. Funny thing is, I know he means it.
Sisko: He has a forgiving nature.
Jennifer: It's more than that. I don't think he could be angry with me even if he wanted to. I remind him too much of his mother.
Sisko: He loved her very much.
Jennifer: No one has ever cared about me like that before. So, if it's all right with you, I will see to it that he is sent back to Deep Space Nine.
Sisko: When?
Jennifer: Right away.
Sisko: What's Smiley going to say about that?
Jennifer: He trusts you to finish your job. And so do I. Would you like to say goodbye to him?
Sisko: I'd better finish here. Tell Jake I'll see him soon.
Jennifer: Ben? When we first met there was a connection between us. And now, because of what I've done, it's gone, isn't it?
Sisko: I'm not sure it was real to begin with.
Jennifer: I'd better go get Jake home.
Nog: Hey! What are you doing there?
Jake: Nothing. I'm just thinking.
Nog: Well, think somewhere else. You're making me uncomfortable.
Nog: What's so funny?
Jake: Where I come from, it's you and I that would hang out here, and it's your uncle that would chase us away.
Nog: Am I suppose to be impressed by that? I don't care about some parallel universe. I only care about this one. And in this one, I run a bar and you do your thinking in your quarters.
Jake: All right, you made your point.
Nog: I'm waiting.
Jake: I'm going.
Nog: Good. You're a long way from home, human.
Jake: I guess I am.
Jennifer: Jake, I need to speak with you. In private.
Jake: Sure.
Kira: Tell me something. Are you as bored as I am?
Kira: I'll take that as a yes. You know, I bet if we put our heads together, we could create a little excitement for ourselves.
Guard: You sentenced my wife to death.
Kira: Isn't that a coincidence? I was hoping you weren't married.
Nog: I've prepared the Intendant's dinner.
Guard: Show me.
Kira: Nicely done.
Nog: Thank you. I have a ship waiting for you at landing pad C.
Kira: I'm going to need that more than you will. I wasn't aware we were on the same side.
Nog: You killed my father and my uncle. Thanks to you, I own the bar.
O'Brien: Jettison the docking scaffold. Captain. I think it's time for you to go. I believe that was the agreement.
Sisko: I'm on my way. I just wanted to wish you luck.
O'Brien: Thanks. You've given us a fine ship. I only wish I could have gotten to know her before taking her into battle. Still, there's nothing like a little on the job training to get the adrenalin pumping.
Sisko: Get out of that chair, Smiley.
O'Brien: What do you mean?
Sisko: Just do it. Seal the airlock, release docking clamps. Aft thrusters at one quarter impulse. What are you standing there for, Smiley?
O'Brien: Captain, you never cease to amaze me.
Sisko: Sometimes I even surprise myself.
Sisko: How long do you think the station's shields can withstand the Alliance assault?
O'Brien: Long enough for us to see just how tough this ship of yours really is.
Sisko: Let's find out. Take us out of here.
Nog: You're sure you want to leave now?
Kira: I'm hoping this new rebel ship keeps the Alliance busy while I get to Bajor. I have friends there who'll hide me.
Nog: Well, don't worry, about me. I won't tell anyone where you are.
Kira: Nog?
Kira: You're right. You won't tell anyone.
Jake: I don't see why you can't come to Deep Space Nine with me.
Jennifer: Believe me, Jake, It's better in the long run if I don't. For all of us.
Kira: Jennifer. You look as beautiful as ever.
O'Brien: A bird of prey has locked onto us.
Sisko: Evasive maneuvers. Pattern Delta.
O'Brien: Pattern Delta? What's that?
Sisko: Rock her.
O'Brien: Rock her?
Sisko: Port to starboard, hard.
O'Brien: Got it. Can't lose her.
Sisko: Hard to port.
Sisko: Fire!
O'Brien: I must remember that one.
Kira: You know, I really have to thank you, Jennifer. Not only do you guarantee me safe passage off the station, but you'll make the perfect gift for the Regent as well.
Jennifer: You want me to go with you, fine. But leave the boy here.
Kira: Why is he so important to you?
Jennifer: That doesn't matter. You're not taking him.
Kira: I've never seen you so passionate. It gives you a lovely glow. All right, he doesn't have to come.
Jennifer: No!
Kira: Now that was unfortunate.
Jake: She needs a doctor.
Kira: I'm afraid it's too late. For both of you. Just out of curiosity, why was she protecting you?
Jake: She's my mother.
Kira: Your mother? You're Sisko's son. From the other side? Well, in that case, give your father a message from me. Tell him I spared your life. That's a debt I intend to collect.
O'Brien: Shields are down to forty percent. That cruiser has us in weapons' range. Do we make a run for it?
Sisko: We run all right. Right at it.
O'Brien: Ah. Pattern Suicide.
Worf: Concentrate your fire on that ship.
Helmsman: It's changing course. It's headed directly toward us.
Worf: Good. That should make things easier. Terok Nor will soon be ours again. Then you can spend the rest of your life contemplating your failure as you labor alongside the other slaves in the ore processing center.
Garak: It's nice to have something to look forward to.
O'Brien: Shields down to twenty-five percent. One more hit could finish us.
Sisko: Then we'll have to make sure we don't get hit. I'll take the helm. Nothing personal, I just know this ship better than you do.
O'Brien: She's all yours.
Sisko: Hold on.
Worf: I want that ship destroyed now!
Helmsman: They're flying too close. I can't target them.
O'Brien: We put a hole in their forward shields.
Sisko: Nice shooting, Smiley.
O'Brien: Hold on. A bird of prey just locked on to us.
Sisko: Secondary power to aft shields.
O'Brien: What secondary power? You've got to get us out of here.
Sisko: We can't risk giving the cruiser a clear shot.
O'Brien: I was just starting to like this ship.
Bashir: Yeah! Bashir to Defiant. Aren't you going to welcome me back?
O'Brien: I never thought I'd be happy to hear your voice.
Dax: You'll get over it.
Sisko: Sisko to Bashir.
Sisko: Concentrate your fire on their forward shields.
Bashir: With pleasure.
Garak: Forgive me, my Regent, but perhaps the moment has arrived to remove your august presence from the battlefield.
Worf: You mean retreat?
Garak: I hope I'm not out of line?
O'Brien: The cruiser's changing course. They're going to warp.
O'Brien: The other Alliance ships have broken off their attack on the station. We've won.
Sisko: You sound surprised.
O'Brien: Surprised? I'm astonished. Not that I'm complaining.
Worf: I have been betrayed! There can be no other explanation for my defeat.
Garak: I certainly can't think of any.
Worf: The traitor must be found and punished.
Garak: She will. It is the Intendant we're talking about, isn't it?
Worf: The Intendant. Of course.
Garak: All I ask is that when the moment comes, that you allow me, your humble servant, the honor of administering her punishment. I promise you, she will regret her disloyalty before she dies.
Worf: And while you dispose of the Intendant, I will dispose of the rebels. Make it so!
Jake: Dad. See, I told you he'd come.
Sisko: How is she?
Jennifer: Ben.
Sisko: Easy.
Jennifer: I knew we were still connected.
Sisko: Always.
Jake: Dad.
Sisko: Let's go home.


Man: Here they are. Welcome.
Woman: Thank you.
Padd: Recording.
Jake: Character sketches for possible stories. A Bolian tries to impress a dabo girl by wearing a toupee. A thief disguises himself as a Monk so he can swindle a Ferengi. A woman traveling alone. She's come a long way.
Odo: Lwaxana?
Lwaxana: Oh, hello, Odo.
Odo: You've been crying.
Lwaxana: I can't help it.
Odo: Why?
Lwaxana: Because.
Lwaxana: I'm pregnant.
Lwaxana: It's a miracle. I never thought I could have another baby.
Odo: Then those were tears of happiness?
Lwaxana: I won't let him do it, Odo.
Odo: Who? What?
Lwaxana: My husband, Jeyal. He wants to take my baby. That's why I ran away.
Odo: Please, Lwaxana, try to be calm. Now tell me, why would your husband want to take your baby from you?
Lwaxana: He's Tavnian.
Odo: And?
Lwaxana: They believe in strict separation of the sexes. Boys are raised by men, girls by women. Why, those poor children aren't even told the other sex exists until they're sixteen.
Odo: And your child is male?
Lwaxana: And the day Jeyal found out, he said that he was going to take my baby away from me as soon as he was born. Well, I told him that that isn't what we'd agreed, that he had said it was going to be different with us because I wasn't Tavnian.
Odo: But he changed his mind.
Lwaxana: During our wedding ceremony, he spoke so beautifully about why he wanted to marry me, but afterwards it was as if I had become a piece of property in his eyes.
Odo: So you ran away.
Lwaxana: And it wasn't easy, believe me. Toward the end, I was practically a prisoner in my own house.
Odo: Well, now that you've shown your husband how determined you are to be part of your boy's life, perhaps he'll reconsider his position.
Lwaxana: Oh, no. Not Jeyal. He's the most wilful man I've ever met. I'm so tired. I've never needed a friend more than I do right now.
Odo: I appreciate your situation, and I would like to help.
Lwaxana: I knew you would. You're such a dear, sweet man.
Odo: Unfortunately, I'm also a very busy man.
Lwaxana: Oh believe me, Odo, the last thing I want is to become a burden to you. I know how you value your privacy. All I want is a quiet place where I can have my baby in peace.
Odo: I was about to suggest the very thing. I'll find out when the next transport leaves for Betazed.
Lwaxana: Oh, I couldn't possibly go there. That's the first place Jeyal will look for me. I know him. He won't give up. Not until he finds me and gets his son back. That's why I came to you. Because I knew you'd protect me. You will protect me, won't you, Odo?
Onaya: You're a writer. I could see you were somewhere else. Some place you were inventing.
Jake: I'm working on a story.
Onaya: I can spot a creative soul a galaxy away. My name is Onaya.
Jake: Jake Sisko.
Onaya: Do you live here?
Jake: Yes.
Onaya: I love Cardassian architecture, the way things flow together. Kell used to say that every element had to be of a piece, yet have a beauty all it's own.
Jake: Tavor Kell the architect?
Onaya: I knew him when he was in exile.
Jake: What was he like?
Onaya: He was shy, unsure of himself and his talent. Most people would never notice someone like him, but I have a weakness for artists.
Jake: You wouldn't think he was shy from his designs.
Onaya: When I first met him, they were as timid as he was. I was always telling him to stop censoring himself.
Jake: He must've listened to you.
Onaya: I've found artists have a weakness for me as well. At least, I hope they do.
Jake: I, er, I've always wondered what Kell would have designed if he'd lived to be older.
Onaya: He accomplished more in the years that he had than most people could in a dozen lifetimes. His name is known throughout the quadrant. His buildings will stand for centuries to come. Isn't that what an artist wants, to be remembered? Isn't that why you write?
Jake: I don't know. I think it's mostly because I like to tell stories.
Onaya: There's no reason to hide your ambition, Jake. It's nothing to be ashamed of. I think it's what makes artists so compelling.
Jake: All right. I guess I do want to be remembered.
Onaya: So what are you doing to make sure you will be?
Jake: Well, I'm thinking of going to the Pennington School, on Earth.
Onaya: You already have the talent inside you. I can see it. You just need someone to help you bring it to the surface.
Jake: How?
Onaya: There are ways. Exercises. Techniques.
Jake: Can you show them to me?
Onaya: Come to my quarters tonight.
Jake: I'll be there.
Sisko: Are you packed? Kasidy's ship is going to be here any minute.
Jake: Dad, I was thinking about staying home.
Sisko: Staying home? This trip was your idea.
Jake: I know.
Sisko: You really want to pass up three days in the Bajoran outback?
Jake: I thought maybe you and Kasidy would have a better time without me.
Sisko: Oh, lay off the matchmaking, Jake. Kasidy and I are doing fine.
Jake: It's not just that. I'm also working on this story and I don't want to lose my concentration.
Sisko: You can write on the trip. Look, I'm not trying to talk you into anything. I don't get leave often, and I was looking forward to the three of us spending time together.
Jake: Me too, but I really need to focus on this.
Sisko: All right. Good luck with it. See you in a couple days.
Lwaxana: My marriage was a sham. What I'd mistaken for love was nothing more than a prison.
Lwaxana: So, tell me, where are you girls headed?
Kira: Oh. A holosuite.
Dax: King Arthur's Court.
Lwaxana: Camelot. Love betrayed. Dreams shattered.
Quark: Look at them. You'd think somebody died. I don't know if it's because she's Betazoid or what, but her mood is contagious. As soon as she walked in here, things started getting quiet.
Odo: What do you want me to do about it?
Quark: Either cheer her up or get her to leave. Because if you don't, I'm going to throw her out.
Odo: Ahem.
Lwaxana: Odo. Won't you join the party?
Odo: Actually, I have some free time and I was wondering if you wanted to take a walk.
Worf: I would.
Odo: I meant Lwaxana.
Lwaxana: I'd love to. Sorry. Maybe next time.
Dax: I'm so depressed.
Lwaxana: Kestra was six years old when she died. My sweet little girl. I lost my parents, a sister, a husband. But nothing, nothing compared to losing her. I didn't mean to carry on like that. I'm sorry.
Odo: No, don't apologize. I think I finally understand why you're so determined not to let your husband take the baby from you.
Lwaxana: These are your quarters, aren't they?
Odo: Yes. Right next to yours.
Lwaxana: My replicator is acting up. Would you mind terribly if we popped in so I could get a cup of Gavaline tea?
Odo: Of course not.
Odo: The replicator is right over here. I'll let Chief O'Brien know about yours.
Lwaxana: Oh, I already did. He said he'd get to it as soon as he could.
Odo: Gavaline tea.
Lwaxana: Is this for shape-shifting?
Odo: Yes. Actually, most people think it's a sculpture.
Lwaxana: Well, what do most people know? Thank you. May I ask you something, Odo? Are you over her? Don't worry, I'm not going to throw myself at you if you say yes.
Odo: Major Kira and First Minister Shakaar are involved now.
Lwaxana: How sad.
Odo: Not at all. I'm happy for her.
Lwaxana: Well, just don't go do what I did. Look for someone to fix your broken heart then end up pregnant and on the run.
Odo: I don't think there's too much danger of that happening.
Lwaxana: Oh!
Odo: What is it?
Lwaxana: The baby kicked. May I sit down for a minute?
Odo: I don't have any furniture.
Lwaxana: The floor'll do.
Odo: How are you feeling now?
Lwaxana: Like a changeling who's had to hold his shape too long.
Odo: Ah. Well I think I know how that feels.
Lwaxana: He's moving. Here, you want to feel? There!
Odo: Yes!
Lwaxana: Oh, I'm so tired, Odo. I don't think I've had a decent night's sleep in weeks. Sometimes, with Betazoid babies, you can actually sense their thoughts. Such contentment.
Odo: Yes, I can feel it, too.
Lwaxana: Someone once said life is a search to find the peace you once had when you were safe inside your mother.
Odo: I didn't have a mother.
Lwaxana: Don't worry, it's all right. You'll find your peace, just the same.
Odo: Lwaxana? Your replicator isn't really broken, is it?
Lwaxana: No.
Odo: I'm sorry if I made you feel unwelcome. It's just my way. Lwaxana?
Onaya: Yes?
Jake: It's Jake. Jake Sisko. Remember me?
Onaya: Come in.
Jake: I brought some of my stories for you to read.
Onaya: I don't need to.
Jake: Oh. I thought maybe
Onaya: It's what you're going to be writing next that interests me. You seem nervous, Jake.
Jake: Maybe a little.
Onaya: That's understandable. You should be nervous when you start something new. Although maybe not this nervous. Haven't you ever been alone in a woman's quarters before? Whatever you're thinking, put it out of your mind. You're here to work.
Onaya: Now, what's the most ambitious story you ever wanted to tell?
Jake: I have an idea for a novel. It's sort of autobiographical. The main character's mother dies. It's not about that really. It's about a lot of things.
Onaya: So many it all seems so big to you right now. You're afraid that you can't do it justice?
Jake: Yeah.
Onaya: But I'll bet you know what the first line is.
Jake: How'd you know that?
Onaya: I have something I want to show you something.
Onaya: Revalus used it when he wrote The Wait.
Jake: You knew him?
Onaya: I told you I have a weakness for artists. I want you to have it.
Jake: I don't know what to say. Thank you.
Onaya: There's more.
Onaya: Here.
Jake: Paper. I've never worked on paper before.
Onaya: Revalus used to say that a writer should put pen to paper as if he were a painter putting brush to canvas. It's part of what he called visceral writing.
Jake: What's that?
Onaya: It's one of the techniques I told you about.
Jake: Can you teach it to me?
Onaya: That's why you're here.
Onaya: Isn't it? The opening line of your novel. Write it down.
Onaya: Now keep going.
Jake: What do you mean, keep going?
Onaya: Write whatever comes to you. The idea is to create a stream of consciousness and see where that takes you. You can edit later. Just write the first thing that comes to mind. I won't look.
Onaya: Let the words tumble out of you. Don't censor them. Feel the pen in your hand, the texture of the paper. Let yourself fall into a rhythm. You feel where my thumbs are? That's your foramen magnum. It's a focal point of the body's bioelectric field. There's another one here. The Vulcans call them qui'lari. The Indians of ancient Earth called them shakras. I know how to stimulate them to make you feel restful or energized or even creative.
Jake: This isn't bad.
Onaya: I told you I could help you. Let the words flow, Jake.
Onaya: Let them flow.
Onaya: Yes, that's it. Let them flow.
Lwaxana: There you are!
Odo: Ah, ha. Got you that time.
Lwaxana: That's not fair. I didn't know you could do surfaces.
Odo: Well, now you do.
Lwaxana: Shall we try again?
Odo: Are you sure you're up to it?
Lwaxana: Oh, absolutely, I haven't had so much fun in months.
Odo: Really? Neither have I.
Com: Security to Odo.
Odo: Go ahead.
Security: A transport just arrived from the Umani sector. The man you asked us to look out for was on it.
Odo: Acknowledged. You know what to do.
Security: Aye, sir.
Lwaxana: It's my husband, isn't it?
Odo: Stay here. I'll handle this.
Jeyal: You'd better have a good reason for dragging me in here.
Odo: I'm Chief of Station security. That's all the reason I need.
Jeyal: Well, well. You're the changeling. Odo, if I remember correctly.
Odo: And what of it?
Jeyal: Lwaxana told me all about you. How you broke her heart. Strange she'd come running to you for protection. The pregnancy must have her confused, poor woman.
Odo: I find her remarkably clear-headed. She doesn't want to see you so you might as well turn around and go home.
Jeyal: I've come a long way, I'm not going to leave here empty-handed.
Odo: She is not going back with you.
Jeyal: I am not talking about her. I am talking about my son. I intend to see that he is raised by men, not by the pampering foolishness of women.
Odo: I hate to disappoint you, but Lwaxana has no intention of giving him up to you.
Jeyal: Her intentions do not concern me. As her husband, I have a legal right to my son.
Odo: I've been familiarizing myself with Tavnian laws. It's well established that the male child is considered the property of the mother's husband.
Jeyal: Exactly.
Odo: Not the child's father, the mother's husband. By the time Lwaxana gives birth, you won't be her husband.
Lwaxana: We're getting married?
Odo: If you take me as your husband in a legal Tavnian ceremony, your marriage to Jeyal will be automatically annulled and he'll lose his claim to the baby.
Lwaxana: I don't quite know what to say. I'm just touched by your willingness to do this for me.
Odo: It's not so much, really. We'll remain husband and wife for a few months, long enough to satisfy Tavnian law, and then get an annulment of our own. It's not as if I was planning to marry someone else.
Lwaxana: Even so, thank you.
Odo: There is one thing I don't understand. Jeyal insisted on staying to witnessing the ceremony.
Lwaxana: He did?
Odo: Is that a problem?
Lwaxana: In a Tavnian wedding, the groom must stand before the bride and tell her why he wants to marry her. And then, in front of his family and friends, he must proclaim his love for her and convince her to accept him as her husband.
Odo: Well, I trust I can count on you to accept me even if I just stand there and read last week's Criminal Activity Report.
Lwaxana: No, no, you don't quite understand. If anyone present doubts the groom's sincerity, they can challenge the validity of the marriage.
Odo: You mean I have to convince Jeyal that I want to marry you? Ah.
Jake: I've never been able to write like this. Ideas are coming so fast I can barely keep up with them.
Onaya: It's amazing, isn't it?
Onaya: Jake.
Jake: It's okay. It's just a nosebleed.
Onaya: You should rest.
Jake: I'll be all right. It's already stopped. Where was I?
Bashir: Did I miss something? I didn't know Odo was getting married till this morning.
Kira: I'm not sure he knew either.
O'Brien: Who's he?
Kira: I think that's Lwaxana's husband.
O'Brien: Good of him to come.
Odo: So glad you could make it.
Jeyal: I'm sure you are. It's not too late to call this off. Your dignity is important to you. I understand that. I would not want anyone to see me go through a charade like this.
Odo: If you don't mind, this is a very special moment for me.
Odo: In keeping with Tavnian tradition, I stand before you, here in my home, among my worldly possessions and declare my wish to add this woman to that which is mine. She is as kind as she is beautiful, and I want her to be part of my life from this day on. Marry me, Lwaxana.
Jeyal: Am I the only one finds this little more than a pale declaration of love? He could be talking about any woman.
Odo: Lwaxana is not just any woman. Not to me.
Jeyal: Then prove it to us.
Odo: Before I met her, my world was a much smaller place. I kept to myself. I didn't need anyone else and I took pride in that. The truth is, I was ashamed of what I was, afraid that if people saw how truly different I was they would recoil from me. Lwaxana saw how different I was and she didn't recoil. She wanted to see more. For the first time in my life, someone wanted me as I was. And that changed me forever. The day I met her, is the day I stopped being alone. And I want her to be part of my life from this day on. Marry me, Lwaxana. Let me into your light. Lwaxana?
Lwaxana: I give myself to you, forever and always.
Odo: I say for all to hear that this woman is mine. If anyone challenges my claim to her, let them do so now. I present to you my beloved wife.
O'Brien: Odo, congratulations.
Dax: Congratulations.
Kira: Congratulations.
Bashir: Well done, Odo.
Jeyal: I cherished you, Lwaxana. You were my most treasured possession. Take care of our son. When he asks, speak well of me.
Quark: Ladies and gentlemen, please do me the honor of accompanying me to my humble establishment. I'm throwing a party for the happy couple.
Dax: Quark!
Quark: What can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic.
Odo: Are you all right?
Lwaxana: We did it. He's really leaving.
Odo: It would appear so.
Lwaxana: Oh, Odo, you were wonderful. You know, for a minute there, I really believed you wanted to marry me. I suppose that we should tell them the truth. But let's wait till after the party.
Onaya: Jake, you should rest.
Jake: Not now. I'm onto something.
Onaya: Your father will be home soon. You should be there.
Jake: I'll see him later.
Onaya: Enough.
Jake: What'd you do that for?
Onaya: You're pushing yourself too hard.
Jake: No, I'm not. My mind has never been so clear. Everything is coming together. At this rate, I can finish this novel in a few days.
Onaya: And you will. I promise you. But if you rest now, your work will be even better.
Jake: All right, I'll go home. Maybe get some sleep.
Onaya: You'll come back later?
Jake: Of course. I need you.
Jake: Promenade.
Jake: Orange juice.
Bashir: Something has stimulated Jake's brain functioning in a way that I have never seen. The capillaries in his cerebral cortex have dilated twenty percent. Neurotransmitter production is up by at least that amount, and neural activity is off the scale.
Sisko: Do you have any idea what caused it?
Bashir: Not yet, but it's a good thing we got him here when we did. His cortex was on the verge of synaptic collapse.
Sisko: But he is going to be all right?
Bashir: I'd like to keep him in a neural stabilization field for a while.
Jake: Onaya.
Sisko: Jake.
Jake: Where is she?
Sisko: Jake, what happened? I'm going to go talk to Odo, see if he knows anything about this Onaya.
Bashir: I'll let you know if his condition changes. I'll be in the lab.
Onaya: Come with me, Jake. It's time to finish what we started.
O'Brien: I'm picking up concentrated traces of some sort of psionic energy on the bulkhead.
Bashir: The tests I ran indicated that Jake's mental activity was stimulated by some kind of psionic phenomenon, possibly telepathic in nature.
Sisko: Then this entity Nurse Tagana saw could have been responsible.
Bashir: We have to find it, then get Jake back in the neural stabilization field before it's too late.
O'Brien: I'll tell Odo to have his search parties reconfigure their tricorders to scan for psionic energy.
Bashir: That'll help, but only for a while. Psionic residue decays within minutes.
Sisko: Then we'd better get moving.
Onaya: Keep going, Jake. The moment I saw you, I knew you were worthy of what I could give you. But I can't stay with you forever. This is your chance to create something that will live on, long after you're gone.
Onaya: There. It will stop in a minute.
Sisko: I'm getting something about twenty meters in this direction. I'll go this way. You swing around and take tunnel sixty one G.
Onaya: What's wrong?
Jake: I can't.
Onaya: Let me help you.
Onaya: That's better, isn't it?
Sisko: Get away from him.
Jake: Dad, don't interfere.
Sisko: I said get away.
Sisko: Sisko to Ops.
Kira: Go ahead.
Sisko: Lock on to my signal and stand by to beam Jake directly to the Infirmary.
Kira: You're too close to the reactor core. There's so much interference I can't get a lock.
Sisko: Get a medical team down here immediately.
Kira: Aye, sir.
Sisko: What are you?
Onaya: It's not what I am that matters, it's what I do. You don't know the minds I've touched. Catullus, Tarbolde, Keats. a hundred others. I unlocked their potential.
Sisko: Is that what you did to Jake? Look at him!
Onaya: They all die in the end, but look what I gave them in return. Immortality. Their names will live on forever.
Sisko: And you, what do you get out of it?
Onaya: What I need to survive so I can go on, find others and unlock their talents as well. He was the youngest I ever found. So eager, ready to give everything he had in one great burst. What a waste. I will never forget you, Jake.
Sisko: You're not going anywhere.
Lwaxana: I have wonderful news. There's a transport for Betazed leaving this afternoon. I'm going home.
Odo: I thought you were planning on having the baby here?
Lwaxana: If I did, I'd end up staying for months and that wouldn't be fair. I've imposed on you enough.
Odo: Lwaxana, you could deliver at any time now, and it's a long way to Betazed. You really should stay.
Lwaxana: I'll miss you, too.
Odo: Then why leave?
Lwaxana: You've gotten used to having me around, haven't you? Oh, you dear, sweet man. Don't you see? What you want is company, someone to take care of.
Odo: Is that so wrong?
Lwaxana: No, of course not. The problem is I want much more than that from you. You see, I can't help it. I'm still in love with you. And as much as I wish that you were in love with me, I know you're not. I could stay, I try to make you fall in love with me, but we both know that won't happen. Then I'd end up resenting you, and our friendship is far too important for me to let that happen. That's why it's better for both of us if I leave now.
Lwaxana: Goodbye, husband.
Odo: Goodbye, wife.
Sisko: How are you feeling?
Jake: Okay, I guess. You've read it?
Sisko: I just finished.
Jake: What'd you think?
Sisko: You've got a good start on a novel here, Jake. The dialogue is sharp, the story's involving, the characters are real. The spelling is terrible. I especially liked the father.
Jake: Remind you of anyone?
Sisko: A bit. It's really good.
Jake: I know. I just wish I wrote it.
Sisko: You did.
Jake: How can I be sure? I mean, without Onaya.
Sisko: Listen to me. You wrote these words, not her.
Jake: But she got them out of me.
Sisko: And that means they were somewhere inside you. And all you have to do is learn to find them for yourself.
Jake: You're right. But I got to tell you, I don't feel up to writing just yet.
Sisko: That's understandable. Take it easy for a while. You'll get back to it. And then, someday, when you're ready, maybe you'll finish it.
Jake: Sounds like a plan.
Sisko: I've got to get to work. I'll check in on you in a couple hours.
Jake: I'll be here.


Sisko: Kasidy Yates, where are you going?
Kasidy: Down to my ship. I have a meeting with my engineer. Go back to sleep.
Sisko: You're the captain. He'll wait.
Kasidy: Oh, is that how you treat your staff? Let them wait around while you sleep in?
Sisko: That's right. In fact, there are days when I never get out of bed.
Kasidy: You're not making this easy.
Sisko: That's the general idea.
Kasidy: You are evil.
Sisko: I am a Starfleet officer, the paragon of virtue.
Kasidy: You're more like a parody of virtue. But we'll have to continue this debate another time.
Sisko: I can't wait.
Kasidy: See you later.
Eddington: This briefing will contain information considered extremely sensitive by Starfleet Command. Please, do not share it with anyone who doesn't have a level seven security rating. It seems that during their recent invasion of Cardassia, the Klingons inflicted far more damage than we've been led to believe. Two weeks ago, the civilian government on Cardassia Prime secretly contacted the Federation Council and made an urgent request for industrial replicators. And that request has been granted.
Dax: How many replicators are we talking about?
Eddington: Twelve, all class four.
Kira: The Federation only gave Bajor two CFI replicators.
Eddington: With all due respect, Bajor is just one planet. The Klingons have destroyed the industrial base of literally dozens of Cardassian worlds. With twelve CFI replicators, they can at least start building new power plants and factories.
Dax: Why all the secrecy?
Eddington: Starfleet Intelligence believes the Maquis may try to stop the shipment or even seize the replicators for themselves.
Sisko: It makes sense. The Cardassian military has been so busy fending off the Klingons, they've basically given a free hand to the Maquis in the Demilitarized zone. The last thing the Maquis are going to want to see is a shipment of replicators on its way to Cardassia.
Eddington: Intelligence also reports that the Demilitarized zone between Cardassia and the Federation has become a hotbed of increasing terrorist activity in the past month. We suspect the Maquis have built several new bases in the Badlands, and the Cardassians in the DMZ are getting worried.
Worf: They should be. Without the Cardassian military to stop them, the Maquis have a perfect opportunity to drive the Cardassians out of the DMZ permanently.
Sisko: I take it this shipment is going to pass through Deep Space Nine?
Eddington: Yes, sir. In three days.
Sisko: All right. Let's tighten security on the station. Step up random checks of incoming and outgoing cargo for weapons or explosives, more deputies on the Promenade. You know the drill.
Odo: Understood.
Sisko: Mister Worf, tomorrow I want you to take the Defiant and patrol the Badlands. Show the flag. Let the Maquis know we're ready for any trouble.
Worf: Aye, sir.
Sisko: Mister Eddington, I want daily briefings on this until the replicators are in Cardassian hands.
Eddington: Aye, sir.
Sisko: Dismissed.
Odo: The Commander and I would like to have a word with you.
Sisko: Something wrong?
Eddington: Captain, it's come to our attention that there may be a Maquis smuggler here on the station.
Sisko: Oh?
Odo: It's just a theory at this point and frankly, our suspicions are based on purely circumstantial evidence.
Sisko: Who is it?
Eddington: Again, we're still not certain.
Sisko: I understand that. Who? Gentlemen?
Odo: Kasidy Yates.
Sisko: Kasidy? Working for the Maquis? That's impossible.
Odo: I certainly hope so. Smuggling with intent to supply a terrorist organization is a serious offense.
Sisko: Where's your evidence?
Odo: Five months ago, Captain Yates was hired by the Bajorans to carry cargo to their outlying colonies. One of her regular runs is from Bajor to a colony on Dreon Seven. It's a twelve hour run for most ships, but she always takes eighteen. The six hour difference is just enough time to allow her to make a side trip into the Badlands, rendezvous with a Maquis ship and then continue on to the Dreon System.
Sisko: That's your evidence? That she was slow in one of her deliveries?
Eddington: There's more. Starfleet Intelligence has infiltrated one of the Maquis cells and obtained a partial list of their contacts in the Bajoran Sector. They all had cover names, of course, but one of their contacts started living aboard Deep Space Nine in the last six months.
Odo: And Captain Yates has been living aboard the station for just under six months.
Sisko: That's damned slim evidence to base an accusation.
Odo: We haven't made accusations. I said we have suspicions.
Sisko: That's right. You did say that.
Odo: Captain, I realize this is an awkward situation for you, but if I could step up my surveillance of Captain Yates?
Sisko: Odo, she's a Federation citizen. You can't just invade her privacy based on your suspicions. You'll have to show me some real evidence before I authorize what you're proposing.
Eddington: If she's really a Maquis, then she's no longer a Federation citizen.
Sisko: The answer is no.
Eddington: Understood, sir.
Sisko: Gentlemen. There are times we have to search vessels docked at the station. If you can find a reason.
Odo: We'll let you know.
Bashir: Yeah, Nerys! There you go! Did you see that? The way she gave him the tiniest head fake and then boom, checked him into the wall.
Garak: Yes, it was quite effective.
Bashir: Stop watching her.
Garak: Oh, I thought the whole point was to watch.
Bashir: The point is to watch the game, not the spectators. Especially not that spectator.
Garak: What does she expect? She's the only Cardassian woman on this station. She must know she's bound to attract some attention.
Bashir: Some, yes. Yours, no. Oh, come on! That was a foul!
Garak: Perhaps I should say hello after the game.
Bashir: That's Gul Dukat's daughter, and I can't think of anyone in the galaxy who hates you more than he does. Besides, Ziyal is a friend of Kira's. I wouldn't play around with her if I were you.
Garak: I simply thought it would be polite to say hello. But clearly, you think I'm incapable of conducting any kind of pleasant diskourse without some kind of nefarious ulterior motive.
Bashir: That's not what I meant. I just think you should leave well enough alone. Why stir up
Garak: Yes! Well played! Brava, Major!
Bashir: What happened?
Garak: A brilliant move on the part of the Major. You should have been paying attention.
Sisko: Come in.
Kasidy: Did you know you could smell that all the way down the corridor?
Sisko: It's an experiment. Bajoran ratamba stew over spinach linguine.
Kasidy: Don't your neighbors ever complain?
Sisko: Sometimes, but usually it's only an excuse to get a taste of my cooking.
Kasidy: Oh, how sneaky of them.
Sisko: Yes, they're a duplicitous bunch.
Jake: All right, you two, break it up. I've got a problem. Do either of you know what a Kavarian tiger-bat smells like? It's for a story I'm working on. The computer database has plenty of pictures, but no olfactory information.
Sisko: You're a writer. Make something up.
Jake: I'm going for a real 'you are there' feeling. The details have to be right. Kas, haven't you been to Kavaria?
Kasidy: Not me. Sorry.
Sisko: Don't you make a regular cargo run to a neighboring system?
Kasidy: No, Kavaria's out toward the Badlands. I try to stay away from there. You should ask Quark. I bet he knows someone who's been out that way.
Sisko: I thought you made deliveries to Dreon Seven. That's near the Badlands, isn't it?
Kasidy: I guess it depends on how you define near. On my ship, Dreon's a long way from the Badlands.
Sisko: What route do you take to the Dreon System? I imagine you go around the Rolor Nebula.
Kasidy: If you're really this interested in my flight plans, why don't you look them up. You are the Commander of the station, after all.
Sisko: Forget I brought it up. Okay, everyone grab a plate and prepare to be dazzled.
Jake: You first.
Garak: You're not going to hurt me, are you? Normally I would simply make a strategic withdrawal at the first sign of trouble, but there doesn't seem to be a way out of here.
Ziyal: You could always call security.
Garak: Oh, true. But it would take them a few minutes to arrive, and by then it might be too late.
Ziyal: I don't think I'll hurt you.
Garak: I'm gratified to hear that.
Ziyal: In fact I think it's safe to say you have nothing to fear from me.
Garak: And you, my dear, have nothing to fear from me.
Brathaw: This is ridiculous. We have perishable goods in the hold and we cannot allow
Kasidy: What is going on here?
Odo: Captain, we need to make a class two inspection of your cargo before we can allow you to leave the station.
Kasidy: Inspection? For what?
Odo: Temecklian virus. There've been some reports of an outbreak on Bajor, so we're scanning all ships and cargo before they leave the system.
Kasidy: None of my cargo came from Bajor.
Odo: I'm afraid the rules are very strict. No exceptions.
Kasidy: How long will this take?
Odo: Six hours.
Kasidy: Six hours?
Brathaw: We'll miss the rendezvous.
Kasidy: We'll see about that.
Sisko: Kasidy?
Kasidy: I'm sorry to bother you, Ben. Normally, I wouldn't do this, but
Sisko: What is it?
Kasidy: It's this health inspection. They're telling me it's going to take six hours, but I need to make a rendezvous with a Tholian freighter in nine hours and you know how they are about punctuality.
Sisko: If it weren't the health concern, maybe, but in this case
Kasidy: Ben, please. I promise to flood the entire cargo hold with baryon radiation as a precaution, but I need to go now or I'll lose
Kasidy: The entire consignment.
Sisko: Stand by. Is there any way we can make a shorter inspection?
Eddington: Not if they're going to search for contraband while they make it look like a health inspection. They need time to look for camouflage fields, false cargo manifests, computer records.
Sisko: We probably shouldn't bother at this point. If Kasidy's in a hurry, she'll going to be standing over their shoulders the whole time. They won't be able to make much of a search.
Eddington: Captain, I strongly recommend that we at least try.
Sisko: You are clear to leave the station. Just remember to irradiate that cargo.
Kasidy: Thanks, Ben. I owe you one. See you tomorrow.
Sisko: Do you have something to say, Commander?
Eddington: No, sir.
Sisko: Good. Now, get down to the Defiant and tell Worf he has a change of orders. I want you to follow the Xhosa.
Eddington: Aye, sir. What are our orders if we observe Captain Yates meeting a Maquis ship?
Sisko: Right now your orders are to observe and then report directly to me. Is that clear?
Eddington: Perfectly.
O'Brien: The Xhosa's altering course, Commander. Now on heading one five eight, mark three two five.
Eddington: The Badlands.
Worf: Stay with her, Chief.
O'Brien: Aye, sir.
O'Brien: Say what you will about the Maquis, they're not stupid. Using the Badlands as their base of operations was a pretty smart move. Not to mention gutsy one.
Worf: They are terrorists, little more than criminals. And criminals always make mistakes.
O'Brien: They're just fighting for something they believe in.
Worf: They should be hunted down and destroyed.
O'Brien: What for? Defending their homes? Look at what's happened to those people. One day they're trying to eke out a living on some godforsaken colonies on the Cardassian border, the next day the Federation makes a treaty handing those colonies over to the Cardassians. What would you do?
Worf: I would not become a terrorist. It would be dishonorable.
O'Brien: I wouldn't say that around Major Kira if I were you. How about you, Commander? How do you feel about the Maquis?
Eddington: I don't have any feelings about them one way or the other.
O'Brien: Oh, but you must have an opinion.
Eddington: I do my job, Chief. Starfleet says to find the Maquis, I'll find the Maquis. They tell me to help them, I'll help them. My opinion is irrelevant. What matters to me is doing my job like a Starfleet officer. Anything else is an indulgence.
O'Brien: I think I've got something. An impulse signature off the starboard bow.
Worf: Bring us within visual range.
O'Brien: Aye, sir.
O'Brien: That's a Maquis raider.
Eddington: And the Xhosa's beaming over her cargo.
Ziyal: Hello.
Garak: Hello.
Ziyal: This is your shop.
Garak: Yes.
Ziyal: It's very nice.
Garak: Thank you.
Ziyal: You do good work.
Garak: How kind. Is there something I can do for you?
Ziyal: I got this holosuite program from Quark. It's a reproduction of a Cardassian sauna, like the ones they have back home.
Garak: Yes?
Ziyal: I was wondering if you might be interested in trying it out with me.
Garak: Oh.
Ziyal: I mean, we're the only Cardassians on the station, and, well, the temperature's too hot for almost anyone else.
Garak: I see. When were you thinking of?
Ziyal: Maybe the day after tomorrow, say twenty one hundred?
Garak: I'd be delighted.
Ziyal: Great. I'll see you there.
Garak: I look forward to it.
Jake: Morning.
Sisko: Morning.
Jake: Raktajino, extra sweet. Makapa bread, no crust.
Sisko: What happened to juice and oatmeal?
Jake: Kasidy introduced me to this. It's great. When's she due back?
Sisko: Tonight.
Jake: Don't worry, it's supposed to do that. The foam tastes like a weird peppermint, and the bread, I don't know what it tastes like. You want some?
Sisko: I think I'll pass.
Jake: Dad, is something wrong?
Sisko: I'm a little tired. Didn't sleep much last night.
Jake: I guess you're not used to sleeping alone anymore. Oh, what I mean is, you miss her companionship. You miss talking and sharing insights about command and duty
Sisko: All right. That's enough.
Jake: I was just kidding.
Sisko: I know. I've just got a lot on my mind.
Jake: Something happen between you and Kasidy?
Sisko: Not exactly.
Jake: If you want to talk.
Jake: What?
Sisko: This is important. You and I. Things change, but not this. Forget it. I'm just having a bad day.
Eddington: After the cargo was beamed aboard the Maquis raider, the Xhosa took this route out of the Badlands and resumed its course to Dreon Seven.
Dax: Do you know what cargo was transferred to the Maquis ship?
O'Brien: From the residual transporter signature, it was approximately eighty percent organic. I'd say food or possibly medical supplies.
Dax: Well, at least we're not dealing with weapons. It sounds like she's only providing
Sisko: Where is the Xhosa now?
Worf: Captain Yates is on her way back to the station. She should arrive at nineteen hundred hours.
Sisko: Thank you. Dismissed.
Sisko: Dismissed, old man.
Sisko: Come in.
Kasidy: Miss me?
Sisko: Were you gone?
Kasidy: Admit it. Without me, you cried yourself to sleep.
Sisko: So, did you make your rendezvous with the Tholian freighter?
Kasidy: Right on time. And thank you for bending the inspection rules for me. We'd have never made it without you.
Sisko: Just don't make a habit of it.
Kasidy: I promise.
Sisko: Where'd you meet the Tholians anyway? The Dreon system?
Kasidy: Yeah. Why?
Sisko: It just seemed odd that they would travel that far just for some medical supplies.
Kasidy: They really needed them. They've got some kind of viral infection on one of their colonies. In fact, I can't stay long. I'm supposed to make a run tonight. But I promise you can inspect the cargo ahead of time.
Sisko: That'll make Odo very happy.
Jake: Hey, you're back.
Kasidy: Looks like it to me.
Jake: Are you guys doing anything right now? I just got a new holosuite program that Nog sent me. It's a baseball game between the nineteen sixty one Yankees and the nineteen seventy eight Red Sox.
Kasidy: I'll buy the hot dogs.
Sisko: I'll have to pass. I have to get back Ops. Anyway, Yankees will bury them. You two have fun.
Kasidy: But I'm only here for a few hours.
Sisko: Duty calls. I'll see you when you get back.
Kasidy: Okay.
Sisko: She's going on another run tonight. She seemed prepared for a cargo inspection this time, so I doubt you'll find anything.
Odo: Captain, Mister Eddington and I have discussed this at length, and we both feel that if the Xhosa makes another rendezvous with a Maquis raider, we should seize both vessels and arrest everyone aboard.
Eddington: For all we know, the Xhosa may not make another run for months. We shouldn't let this opportunity pass us by.
Sisko: Agreed.
Eddington: Yes, sir. And that does bring up another point I'd like to discuss. In private, if I may.
Eddington: Sir, the CFI replicators are due to arrive here tomorrow afternoon. I'd feel better if I were here to supervise the security detail.
Sisko: Lieutenant Reese can handle it.
Eddington: Yes, sir, he can, but
Sisko: Just say it, Commander.
Eddington: Sir, if the Maquis put up a fight the Xhosa might get caught in the crossfire. If that happens, I can't guarantee the safety of Kasidy Yates. And to be blunt, I don't want that responsibility.
Sisko: I can't say I blame you. The security of the CFI replicators is your priority. I'll take command of the Defiant.
Eddington: Thank you, Captain.
Brathaw: The inspection team just left.
Kasidy: Any problems?
Brathaw: No.
Sisko: Kasidy.
Kasidy: I'll be right there.
Sisko: How was the game?
Kasidy: Good. Seven three Yankees. Did you come all the way down here for the score?
Sisko: No. I was just thinking. Why don't we drop everything and go to Risa. Just the two of us.
Kasidy: Now?
Sisko: We won't even pack a bag. We'll walk straight out of here, get in a runabout and go.
Kasidy: What about your station?
Sisko: I have a great crew. They can handle things around here for a few days. Neither of us is doing anything so important that it can't wait a few days.
Kasidy: I'm not sure the Tholians would agree.
Sisko: Let your first officer handle it. Or better yet, tell the Tholians they won't be getting this shipment at all.
Kasidy: I don't think I can do that, Ben. I have a commitment to fulfilll. But if you want to take a runabout and wait for me on Risa, I'll meet you there.
Sisko: Forget about it. It was just a crazy idea. Have a good trip.
Kasidy: Thanks. It as a tempting idea, Ben. I wish I could take you up on it.
Sisko: So do I.
O'Brien: They're reducing speed.
Sisko: Match their velocity, Chief.
Worf: These are the same coordinates they used for the last rendezvous.
Sisko: Any sign of another ship?
Odo: Not yet. But our sensors are extremely limited in the plasma fields.
O'Brien: They're turning again. Looks like a holding pattern to me, sir. Either the Maquis are late or the Xhosa's early.
Sisko: Either way, we wait with them.
Quark: Can't you do something about these lapels?
Garak: Such as?
Quark: I don't know, I'm not a tailor. Just make them look good.
Garak: Oh, make them look good. And all this time I thought you wanted me to try to make them look bad. I wish you'd said that before. It's so much simpler when the customer explains what he wants.
Quark: Rudeness will get you nowhere. I don't need another waiter. Now, I want more room in the shoulders and these cuffs are completely unacceptable.
Kira: Garak, can I talk to you for a minute?
Garak: Of course, Major. Excuse me.
Quark: Sure.
Garak: Now, what can I do for you, Major?
Kira: Listen closely. I don't know what kind of sick game it is you're playing with Ziyal, but it'd better stop and it better stop right now.
Garak: I can assure you, Major, I have
Kira: I don't want to hear any of your lies. Now, that girl is here under my protection and I swear if you do anything to hurt her, I will make you regret it. Is that clear?
Garak: As Tabalian glass.
Kira: Good.
Quark: You told her. The pants are about a meter too long. So, are you canceling your date with Ziyal?
Garak: It's not a date. And how do you know about that?
Quark: You're a man, she's a woman, it's a date. And they are my holosuites, after all.
Garak: I was going to cancel. I've had visions of Ziyal presenting my head to her father as a birthday gift.
Quark: That's a little paranoid, wouldn't you say?
Garak: Paranoid is what they call people who imagine threats against their life. I have threats against my life. But after my little chat with Major Kira, I feel much better.
Quark: You do?
Garak: Isn't it obvious? If Ziyal planned to kill me, Kira would not be trying to warn me away. On the contrary, the good Major would also welcome my untimely demise, and do nothing to interfere.
Quark: Unless that's part of the plan.
Garak: What do you mean?
Quark: Oh, you know. Kira acts like she doesn't want you to go so you'll feel everything's okay, and then you go anyway. Nah, it's too complicated.
Garak: Of course.
Quark: Now they're too short.
Garak: What?
Quark: The pants.
Garak: Oh.
Odo: This is wrong. Terrorists don't work this way. If your contact doesn't show up for a rendezvous, you leave. You don't stay in the Badlands going in circles for five hours.
Worf: Perhaps. But it is also possible that her cargo is so valuable to the Maquis that she will wait as long as it takes to make the delivery.
Odo: I think she's already made her delivery, and you were the cargo. Think about it. If anyone but Kasidy Yates was on the Xhosa, would you be commanding this mission yourself?
Sisko: You're saying someone wanted me here. Why?
Odo: I'm not sure, but one thing's certain. We're not going to find the answers sitting here staring at the viewscreen.
Sisko: You're right. The answers are over there. Let's go. Mister Worf, you have the Bridge.
Brathaw: Still nothing.
Kasidy: This is getting ridiculous. All right, let's send a coded message to
Brathaw: Tachyon surge. A ship's decloaking.
Kasidy: Oh my God.
Kasidy: Ben, what are you doing here? We've been
Sisko: Don't say it. I know that you're a smuggler. I know that you've been working with the Maquis, and right now I don't care. But I need to know what your orders were. Were you told to draw me out here so the Maquis could attack the station?
Kasidy: Ben, I
Sisko: Jake's back there. And whatever your feelings are for me, I can't believe you would put him in danger.
Kasidy: I was supposed to meet a Maquis ship at these coordinates. I don't know anything about an attack on the station, and I doubt the Maquis would try. I didn't know you were following me, but after our last talk, I suspected that you might be out there.
Odo: If that's true, why didn't you abort the mission?
Kasidy: I was told that these medical supplies were urgently needed and that I had to be here no matter what. I tried to tell them that I'd made too many runs in the past few days, that I was just asking to get caught, but they wouldn't listen.
Sisko: They knew you were going to be caught. That's why they didn't send a Maquis ship here to meet you. Everything's been building to this. They needed to draw me away from the station. Why? If they aren't planning an attack, what other reason could there be? What could be happening Happening on the station?
Eddington: I've received new orders from Starfleet Command. The CFI replicators in cargo bay seventeen are to be transferred aboard a Vulcan freighter which should arrive at any moment. This operation is to be carried out in complete secrecy. No one aboard the station is to know about it.
Reese: Does that include the Bajoran security detachment, sir?
Eddington: Absolutely. Also, as of this moment, we're observing communications silence. No comm. traffic in or out of the station for the next nine hours. Understood?
Reese: Aye, sir.
Eddington: Dismissed.
Kira: You wanted to see me?
Eddington: Yes, Major. I'm afraid I need to take command of the station for the next few hours.
O'Brien: We've cleared the plasma field, Captain.
Sisko: Get us back to the station, Chief. Maximum warp.
O'Brien: Aye, sir.
Sisko: Any response from our hails, Commander?
Worf: No, sir. Deep Space Nine seems to be under a communications blackout.
Sisko: Keep trying.
Odo: You realize we'll probably never see the Xhosa or Captain Yates again.
Sisko: It's a possibility.
Odo: I'd say it's more than that. If I'd been allowed to leave a security detail behind
Sisko: Our priority is to get back to the station, Constable. Captain Yates is my responsibility and I will thank you to leave it at that.
Odo: As you wish.
Reese: The replicators have been secured in the ship's hold, sir.
Eddington: Very good. We'll be departing in five minutes and I'm leaving you in command until Captain Sisko returns.
Reese: Me, sir?
Eddington: You have a problem with that, Lieutenant?
Reese: No, sir. It's just that it's unusual for a junior officer to be left in
Eddington: If you're not up to the job, I'll find someone else who is. The safety of this station may depend on you and I need to know if you can handle it.
Reese: You can count on me, Commander.
Eddington: Good. Now go to Ops and take command.
Reese: Yes, sir. Captain's log, supplemental. The Defiant has returned to the station but it seems that Commander Eddington is still one step ahead of us.
O'Brien: All Federation Starships near the Badlands have been alerted to look for the Vulcan freighter.
Odo: I doubt they'll find it. Eddington anticipated every contingency. I'm sure he had his escape route well planned.
Kira: What do we tell the Cardassians?
Sisko: The truth. He fooled me. And he got away with it.
Kira: He fooled all of us.
Sisko: Everything that happens on this station is my responsibility, Major.
O'Brien: Incoming message for you, Captain. It's from Commander Eddington.
Sisko: Put it through. In my office.
Eddington: Captain.
Sisko: Mister Eddington. I have just one question. Why?
Eddington: Will knowing my personal motivation change anything at this point?
Sisko: No, I don't suppose it will.
Eddington: Then let's table that for now. The only reason I've contacted you is to ask you to leave us alone. Our quarrel is with the Cardassians, not the Federation. Leave us alone and I can promise you you'll never hear from the Maquis again.
Sisko: Unless you see another shipment you want to hijack.
Eddington: You keep sending replicators to Cardassia and you're going to have a lot more to worry about than hijackings.
Sisko: I don't respond well to threats. I thought you would know that by now. But I'm beginning to see that you don't know me at all.
Eddington: I know you. I was like you once, but then I opened my eyes. Open your eyes, Captain. Why is the Federation so obsessed about the Maquis? We've never harmed you, and yet we're constantly arrested and charged with terrorism. Starships chase us through the Badlands and our supporters are harassed and ridiculed. Why? Because we've left the Federation, and that's the one thing you can't accept. Nobody leaves paradise. Everyone should want to be in the Federation. Hell, you even want the Cardassians to join. You're only sending them replicators because one day they can take their rightful place on the Federation Council. You know, in some ways you're worse than the Borg. At least they tell you about their plans for assimilation. You're more insidious. You assimilate people and they don't even know it.
Sisko: You know what, Mister Eddington? I don't give a damn what you think of the Federation, the Maquis, or anything else. All I know is that you betrayed your oath, your duty, and me. And if it takes me the rest of my life, I will see you standing before a court-martial that'll break you and send you to a penal colony, where you will spend the rest of your days growing old and wondering whether a ship full of replicators was really worth it.
Ziyal: Garak.
Garak: Hello.
Ziyal: Doesn't it feel good? The station can be so chilly sometimes.
Garak: Yes. It's quite pleasant.
Ziyal: Aren't you going to lie down?
Garak: Not just yet. I have a question I'd like answered first. Why am I here?
Ziyal: Excuse me?
Garak: Why am I here? Am I to believe that you've invited the sworn enemy of your father simply to enjoy the heat?
Ziyal: You really think I asked you here to kill you? Well, it did occur to me. Kira and my father both told me that you used to be an agent of the Obsidian Order. That you had my grandfather tortured and killed, and that you could easily kill me without a second thought.
Garak: Although I seldom credit the Major or your father with being entirely trustworthy, in this case they're both telling the truth.
Ziyal: You know what else is true? I don't care. I'm half-Bajoran and that means I'm an outcast back home. I can't go back and neither can you. So we can either share some time together or we can ignore each other. I spent five years in a prisoner of war camp by myself. I don't need your company. But if you'd like to stay and share the heat with me, maybe tell me something about home that I don't know, then I would welcome your company. And I get the feeling you would welcome mine. Either way, it's up to you.
Garak: Well, it seems I won't be needing this anymore.
Garak: So, what shall we talk about first?
Sisko: Just you?
Kasidy: I dropped my crew off at a Maquis base. I had to come back, but I didn't see any reason to drag them here just to face a prison sentence.
Sisko: You didn't have to come back either.
Kasidy: Yes, I did. And I think we both know that's why you left us alone out there. To see if I would. I'm not going to stand here and apologize for what I did. You had your duty, I had mine.
Sisko: I still have my duty.
Kasidy: I know. And I know I'll probably going to prison. But I came back because of us. Because despite all that's happened, I still love you, Ben. I don't want to throw that away. Do you?
Sisko: No.
Sisko: Lieutenant Reese.
Kasidy: I'll be back.
Sisko: I'll be here.


O'Brien: Looks like he used some sort of encryption program to bypass the access protocols.
Kira: Unbelievable. The nerve.
Quark: Major, you wanted to see me?
Odo: Don't pretend you don't know what this is about.
Kira: Maybe this'll jog your memory. Engage monitor.
Quark: Come to Quark's, Quark's is fun, come right now, don't walk, run! Oh, I love the part where my name rotates around.
Odo: Tampering with the station's comm. system is a class three offense.
Quark: It's just a little advertisement. I didn't put one up in Ops.
Odo: I'm sure the magistrate will take that into consideration when he calculates your fine.
Worf: You!
Quark: As you can see, we're very busy here. Station business.
Worf: How did you do it?
O'Brien: Do what?
Worf: I ordered a glass of prune juice from the replicator in the Defiant's mess. This is what it came in.
Kira: If all your little advertisements aren't purged from our systems by the time I get back from the Gamma Quadrant, I will come to Quark's, and believe me, I will have fun.
Quark: Er, let me help you with that, Chief.
Bashir: According to Chief O'Brien the scan resolution on the new sensors is amazing. We could practically do the entire bio-survey from orbit.
Kira: Suits me. The sooner we get out of the Gamma Quadrant, the better.
Bashir: How can you say that? Those little points of light out there are the great unknown, beckoning to us. I wish I could visit every one.
Kira: You might want to skip the ones with Jem'Hadar bases on them.
Bashir: Is it my imagination or are the stars a little brighter in the Gamma Quadrant?
Dax: Is it my imagination, or has Julian lost his mind?
Kira: Setting course for the Gavara system.
Kira: I'm picking up some kind of emergency signal. It's fragmented. They say their homeworld's been attacked. Massive destruction, heavy casualties. They're asking any passing vessel for assistance.
Dax: Looks like the signal's coming from somewhere in the Teplan system.
Bashir: That's just outside Dominion space.
Kira: Let's hope the Jem'Hadar know that. Setting new course.
Bashir: What happened here?
Norva: Help me. Don't let me die here. Take me to Trevean.
Bashir: Trevean?
Norva: Hospital.
Dax: I'll try to find out where it is.
Bashir: I'm going to give you something for the pain.
Epran: You're not from this world.
Bashir: No.
Epran: The Blight's quickened in her. There's nothing you can do. You should leave here. now. Go back to where you came from and forget about this place.
Bashir: The painkiller I gave her isn't having much effect. But their physiology's so different from ours, I doubt this blight is any danger to us.
Dax: I got us transportation to the hospital.
Bashir: How did you manage that? These aren't exactly the friendliest people I've ever met.
Dax: I gave her my hair clip.
Dax: This is a hospital?
Attendant: She's quickened. Take her to Trevean. You're from another world.
Dax: Yes.
Attendant: Well, don't worry. We'll take care of her now.
Dax: I haven't seen a single person that doesn't have lesions on their face.
Bashir: His look inflamed. So do that woman's over there.
Dax: Like the woman we brought in.
Patient: Trevean. Thank you for this.
Trevean: You deserve nothing less.
Tamar: Yesterday, when I woke up, I saw that it had finally happened. I'd quickened. I always thought I'd be afraid but I wasn't, because I knew I could come here. Last night I slept in a bed for the first time in my life. I fell asleep listening to music. This morning I bathed in hot water, dressed in clean clothes. And now I'm here with my friends and family. Thank you, Trevean, for making this day everything I dreamed it could be.
Trevean: You brought Norva here?
Dax: How is she?
Trevean: It was too late for her. If only she'd come sooner, I could have helped.
Bashir: Then there is a treatment for the Blight?
Trevean: There is no cure. It's always fatal.
Bashir: I'm sorry, I don't understand. I thought you said you could have helped her.
Trevean: Why are you here?
Dax: We received a distress call. We're here to help in any way we can.
Bashir: I'm a doctor, and I have access to sophisticated diagnostic equipment.
Trevean: We had sophisticated equipment once. Do you think our world was always this way? Two centuries ago, we were no different from you. We built vast cities, traveled to neighboring worlds. We believed nothing was beyond our abilities. We even thought we could resist the Dominion. I see you've heard of them. Then take care not to defy them or your people will pay the same price we did. The Jem'Hadar destroyed our world as an example to others. Bring me Milani's child. More than anything, the Dominion wanted my people to bear the mark of their defiance. So they brought us the Blight.
Trevean: We're all born with it. We all die from it. When the Blight quickens, the lesions turn red. Death soon follows. Some in childhood. Most before they can have children of their own. Only a few live to be my age.
Bashir: Trevean, if you tell us what you know about the Blight, we may be able to help.
Trevean: No. You should go. If the Jem'Hadar find you here
Dax: We're willing to take that risk.
Trevean: Don't.
Bashir: Make some room. I'm a doctor.
Attendant: Leave him alone. You don't understand.
Bashir: Can't you see he's dying?
Trevean: Of course he's dying. He came here to die. People come to me when they quicken. I help them leave this world peacefully, surrounded by their families and friends.
Bashir: What are you saying?
Trevean: The herbs I give them causes death within minutes.
Dax: You poison them?
Trevean: The Blight kills slowly. No one wants to suffer needlessly. Not like that woman you brought me.
Bashir: You killed her?
Trevean: I did what she asked.
Bashir: I thought this was a hospital and that you were a healer.
Trevean: I am. I take away pain. Now you've disrupted Tamar's death. I'm going to have to ask you to leave.
Dax: I found the distress beacon in an abandoned building not far from here. It has its own power source. My guess is it's been repeating the same message for over two hundred years.
Bashir: Well, there's nothing for us to do here. We should go.
Ekoria: Are you really a doctor?
Bashir: Yes.
Ekoria: I've never met a doctor before. They say there's a woman in Nykalia who makes a medicine that helps people withstand the pain of quickening so they can live longer. I'd go there, but Nykalia's so far away.
Bashir: When are you due?
Ekoria: Not for another two months.
Dax: That's not very long.
Ekoria: We never know when the quickening will come.
Bashir: I'm Julian. What's your name?
Ekoria: Ekoria.
Dax: I'm Jadzia.
Ekoria: Did you come here to help us?
Bashir: Nobody around here seems to want our help.
Ekoria: I do. And I know others who would welcome it too.
Kira: Kira to away Team.
Dax: Go ahead.
Kira: The sensors just picked up two Jem'Hadar ships headed this way.
Kira: The Jem'Hadar are leaving the Kendi system and looks like they're heading for the Obatta cluster.
Dax: Sounds like they're on a patrol route which means this system is probably next.
Kira: We'd better go. Stand by to get underway.
Bashir: Hold on, Major. We can't just leave these people. They need our help.
Kira: And they'll get it. As soon as we get back we'll notify Starfleet so they can put together a relief mission.
Bashir: But that could take weeks, maybe even months. We're here, now. Remember the plague on Boranis Three? People were dying by the thousands and nobody there knew why. It took us one hour to identify the pathogen, and three days to dose the watertable and inoculate the entire population.
Dax: We might be able to do the same thing here.
Kira: All right, it's worth a try. We can't risk the Jem'Hadar detecting the runabout. I'll take it to the Jenkata Nebula.
Bashir: Come back for us in a week. With any luck, we'll have a cure by then.
Child: They're here. They're coming.
Dax: Thanks.
Ekoria: Go. Go on. I'm sorry I can't offer you more space.
Bashir: Oh, don't be. This is fine. Can I use this table to set up my equipment?
Ekoria: Whatever you need.
Dax: Did you do this?
Ekoria: My husband did. He died last winter. It's what he imagined our world used to be like. He painted a mural similar to that on a building near here. He traded a good pair of boots for the paint he needed. He wanted to show people the way things were, he thought it might give them something to work toward.
Dax: Maybe later you can take us to see it.
Ekoria: All right.
Dax: Well, it looks like we have ourselves a clinic.
Bashir: The first thing I need to do is run a complete biospectral analysis on an asymptomatic individual.
Dax: Loosely translated, that means he needs a volunteer. Great. Now, if you'll just have a seat, the doctor will be with you in a moment. They love to keep you waiting. It makes them feel important.
Bashir: How would you like to see a picture of your baby?
Bashir: There it is!
Dax: Let me see.
Ekoria: What's happened?
Dax: We've isolated the virus.
Ekoria: Is that a good thing?
Bashir: It means we can start analyzing its molecular structure, look for binding sites so we can tailor an antigen.
Dax: In other words, yes, it's a very good thing.
Bashir: I'm going to start mapping nucleotides. Can you run a protein sequencer?
Dax: I think so.
Ekoria: I hope you two are hungry.
Bashir: Starving.
Ekoria: Good.
Dax: That looks like a feast.
Ekoria: It was supposed to be.
Dax: What do you mean?
Ekoria: Nothing. Do you like Takana root tea?
Dax: Ekoria, where did you get all this food?
Ekoria: I've been saving it for the hospital, for my death. Something tells me I'm not going to need it anymore.
Bashir: Well, thanks anyway. She's not interested either. I hope Dax is having better luck.
Ekoria: I don't understand why you need people who've quickened to make your cure.
Bashir: Well, I need to chart the progression of the viral I'm sorry.
Epran: Oh, you're still here.
Bashir: Yes.
Epran: I see the Blight has spared you. Maybe it doesn't like the taste of your blood.
Bashir: Unfortunately it seems to like yours.
Epran: I'd invite you to my death, but we don't know each other that well.
Bashir: What if I told you there was a chance you didn't have to die? I'm a doctor.
Epran: Don't tell me. You have a cure.
Bashir: I'm working on one.
Epran: Yeah? What will it cost me? A good coat? A tilo of oil?
Bashir: It won't cost you anything.
Ekoria: He can help us. Listen to him.
Bashir: I need volunteers, people who have quickened.
Epran: What will you do? See how loud we scream when the Blight burns through us?
Bashir: I have medicines that can dull the pain. I have equipment unlike anything on your world. How would you like me to fix that arm so you can play with your friends over there? I'm not going to hurt you. You have got a fracture right here. I bet it hurts.
Bashir: Better?
Epran: How did you do that?
Ekoria: Does it matter? He can find a cure for us if we help him.
Trevean: Fixing a broken bone and curing the Blight are two different things.
Bashir: I know that.
Trevean: Others have come here with promises of a cure. They stirred up hope, took food and clothing in exchange for their elixirs. But their promises were always lies. And all those who believed them always came to me in the end, begging for release.
Bashir: I just want to do what I can to help. I'm not making any promises.
Trevean: Take care that you don't. Because we've dealt with those who give false hope before. Believe me, their deaths make the Blight look like a blessing.
Ekoria: What's wrong?
Bashir: I'm trying to chart the life-cycle of the virus. It would be a lot easier if I'd gotten more tissue samples.
Ekoria: Maybe you should go home. Maybe my people don't deserve your help.
Bashir: They've just been suffering so long they've lost hope that things can be better.
Ekoria: It's more than that. We've come to worship death. I used to wake up and look at myself in the mirror, and be disappointed that I hadn't quickened in my sleep. Going to Trevean seemed so much easier than going on living.
Bashir: But you don't feel that way anymore.
Ekoria: Not since the baby. My little boy. Can your machines tell me what he's going to look like when he grows up?
Bashir: Oh, no, not really.
Ekoria: Maybe he'll look like his father. I want to be here for him. To hold his hand when he takes his first step. Kiss his knee when he scrapes it in a fall.
Bashir: Well, with any luck, you'll see him have children of his own.
Dax: Julian. There are some people here who'd like to see you.
Epran: I suppose you're going to want to bleed me?
Bashir: Oh, a little.
Epran: I canceled my death for you. I was really looking forward to it.
Bashir: All right, everyone gets three milligrams, including you. Perfect.
Dax: There this'll dull the pain.
Epran: I like your spots.
Dax: You told me that yesterday.
Epran: I still like them.
Dax: Julian. Epran has stopped responding to the cordrazine. I had to put him in an inhibitor field.
Bashir: He's further along than everyone else. I'm hoping he'll be the first to respond to the antigen. Think of it. She may well be holding the cure in her hands. Do you think we should tell her what she's giving them?
Dax: She's nervous enough about using the hypo. It's better if we wait until we're positive.
Bashir: I suppose.
Dax: You should take a break. You've been working non-stop for days.
Ekoria: Doctor?
Bashir: Oh?
Ekoria: Dax wanted me to tell you that Epran's white blood count is up another twelve percent.
Bashir: That's great news.
Ekoria: It is?
Bashir: Trust me.
Ekoria: I do. I did from the start. I don't really know why.
Bashir: Well, I'd like to think it's my bedside manner. Doctors and nurses are supposed to project an air of caring competence. You were doing it in there.
Ekoria: Me?
Bashir: I was watching you. You're very good with patients.
Ekoria: I was just trying to be kind.
Bashir: Well, some people don't like to be around the sick. It reminds them of their own mortality.
Ekoria: It doesn't bother you?
Bashir: Sometimes. I prefer to confront mortality rather than hide from it. When you make someone well, it's like you're chasing death off, making him wait for another day.
Ekoria: But death comes to everyone in the end.
Bashir: Except Kukalaka.
Ekoria: Kuka-who?
Bashir: My first patient. A teddy bear.
Ekoria: What's that?
Bashir: Oh, it's a sort of a soft puppet. Anyway, when I was a boy I took him everywhere I went. After a few years, he became a little threadbare until eventually his leg tore and some of the stuffing fell out. My mother was all set to throw him out, but I wouldn't have it, because at the tender age of five, I performed my first surgery. I re-stuffed him and sewed his leg closed. From that day on, I did everything I could to keep Kukalaka in one piece. I must have sewn and stitched and re-patched every square inch of that bear.
Ekoria: Why were you so determined to keep him together?
Bashir: Well, I wouldn't be much of a doctor if I gave up on a patient, would I?
Ekoria: Where's Kukalaka now?
Bashir: Oh, in a closet somewhere. On a shelf in my room.
Dax: Julian! Something's wrong.
Dax: Julian.
Bashir: Something's causing the virus to mutate.
Dax: Could it be a reaction to the antigen?
Bashir: I don't see how. I need a micro-cellular scanner.
Epran: Help me, Bashir.
Ekoria: He's going to take care of you. You're going to be all right.
Bashir: My God! It's the EM fields from our instruments! Shut everything down! Now!
Dax: All right, everything's off.
Bashir: The mutation rate hasn't slowed. The effect must be cumulative. Give everybody four milligrams of cordrazine.
Ekoria: His heart stopped. His heart stopped!
Bashir: Come on breathe. Breathe. Breathe.
Dax: Julian. Julian.
Bashir: Breathe!
Dax: Doctor!
Trevean: What have you done?
Latia: Help me! Trevean, please.
Trevean: Get out of my way.
Latia: Trevean!
Trevean: She's asking for me. You have no right to interfere.
Latia: Thank you.
Man: Trevean. Trevean, help me.
Bashir: I remember running a hematology scan on Epran the other day. There were changes in the viral base-pair sequence, and I didn't know why.
Dax: There's no way you could've known it was because of our instruments.
Bashir: I should have put it together.
Dax: That's not fair.
Bashir: Isn't it? I'm going to tell you a little secret, Jadzia. I was looking forward to tomorrow, to seeing Kira again and casually asking, how was the nebula? And oh, by the way, I cured that Blight thing those people had.
Dax: It's not a crime to believe in yourself, Julian.
Bashir: These people believed in me and look where it got them. Trevean was right. There is no cure. The Dominion made sure of that. But I was so arrogant I thought I could find one in a week.
Dax: Maybe it was arrogant to think that. But it's even more arrogant to think there isn't a cure just because you couldn't find it.
Ekoria: I'm glad you got a chance to see it before you left.
Bashir: Ekoria.
Ekoria: I thought I'd make it. I really did.
Bashir: I'm sorry.
Ekoria: Don't be. You gave me hope. I haven't felt that since before my husband died. Goodbye.
Bashir: Ekoria, wait.
Kira: You're sure about this?
Bashir: I can't leave these people. Not now.
Kira: Whenever you're ready, contact the station. We'll have a runabout here within days.
Dax: You know what worries me, Julian, is that without me you won't have anyone to translate for you. Good luck.
Bashir: Major.
Ekoria: What is it?
Bashir: There isn't a trace of the antigen I gave you in your bloodstream. Your immune system must've rejected it.
Bashir: Is it bad? I can give you another hypo, but you've so much cordrazine in your system already it might be hard on the baby's metabolism.
Ekoria: I'll wait.
Ekoria: What is that smell?
Bashir: I'm making a salve.
Ekoria: As long as I don't have to drink it.
Bashir: How do you feel?
Ekoria: I've been better.
Bashir: Can you sit up?
Bashir: Breathe. Again? Now let's see how the baby's doing. His head's over here now.
Ekoria: I'm not surprised. Feels like he's turning somersaults in there.
Bashir: His heart's getting stronger every day. I'd say another six weeks.
Ekoria: I'll never make it that long.
Bashir: Well, I can induce labor in two weeks. The baby will be old enough by then.
Ekoria: Two weeks.
Ekoria: Trevean. Am I dead?
Trevean: Is that what you want? I can end your suffering. Your child will have known nothing but peace.
Ekoria: No. He deserves a chance to live.
Trevean: The Blight will take him in the end.
Bashir: Trevean. I didn't realize you made house calls.
Trevean: I was concerned that she might be too weak to come to me.
Bashir: I don't understand why you're so obsessed with death. From what I've heard, you've lived with the Blight longer than anyone.
Trevean: Yes, and I've seen more suffering than anyone else. Goodbye, Ekoria. I hope you live long enough to see your baby.
Ekoria: Trevean means well. He's a kind man, in his own way.
Bashir: Push! Good. Good. Now breathe. Don't stop breathing. Don't stop breathing. Breathe. I can see his head. And push! Push! Yes, push. Yes. Yes.
Bashir: My God. That's why there's no antigen in your system. It's all been absorbed through the placenta. Ekoria, he doesn't have any lesions. He doesn't have the Blight.
Trevean: You found a cure.
Bashir: It's not a cure, it's a vaccine. Every pregnant woman should be inoculated with it as soon as possible. It won't help them, but it will protect their babies.
Trevean: Our children won't have the Blight?
Bashir: The vaccine isn't difficult to make, but seeing that everybody gets it will be a huge task.
Trevean: Oh, not a task, a privilege. Can you show me how to make it?
Bashir: I was hoping you'd ask that. (Bashir hands the child to Trevean.
Computer: Nucleotide sequencing complete. Viral reproduction normal.
Bashir: Let's try an A to C base pair reshuffling.
Sisko: Doctor. I read your report. Good work.
Bashir: Thank you, sir.
Computer: Nucleotide sequencing complete. Viral reproduction normal.
Bashir: People are still dying back there.
Sisko: Yes, but their children won't.
Bashir: That's what I keep telling myself, sir.
Bashir: Initiate reshuffling sequence.