Jake Sr: May I help you?
Melanie: I'm sorry to bother you. I just er been
Jake Sr: You're hurt.
Melanie: Yeah, I must have scraped myself on a branch.
Jake Sr: That's what happens when you go tromping around the bayou in the middle of the night. Come, warm yourself up by the fire. Now, I have a first aid kit around here somewhere. Where is it? So, what are you doing out here, anyway?
Melanie: I'm a writer. At least, I want to be. And the truth is I was looking for you.
Jake Sr: Oh?
Melanie: You are Jake Sisko the writer?
Jake Sr: Yes.
Melanie: I can't believe I'm really here talking to you. You are my favorite author of all time.
Jake Sr: You should read more.
Melanie: I mean it. Your books, they're so insightful.
Jake Sr: I'm glad you like them.
Jake Sr: There. Good as new.
Melanie: Thank you.
Jake Sr: I didn't realize people still read my books.
Melanie: Of course they do. A friend recommended Anslem to me and I read it straight through twice in one night.
Jake Sr: Twice in one night?
Melanie: It made me want to read everything you'd ever written, but when I looked, all I could find was your Collected Stories. I couldn't believe it. I'd finally found someone whose writing I really admired, and he'd only published two books.
Jake Sr: Not much to show for a life's work, is it? I'm going to go get us some tea.
Melanie: I savored those stories. I read them slowly, one each day, and when I was done I wished I hadn't read them at all. So I could read them again like it was the first time.
Jake Sr: There's only one first time for everything, isn't there? And only one last time too. You think about that such things when you get to be my age. That today might be the last time you sit in your favorite chair, or watch the rain fall, or enjoy a cup of tea by a warm fire.
Melanie: Can I ask you something?
Jake Sr: Of course.
Melanie: Why did you stop writing?
Jake Sr: I lost my favorite pen and I couldn't get any work done without it.
Melanie: You're joking. You weren't even forty when you stopped writing. I've never understood why you gave it up.
Jake Sr: It's a long story.
Melanie: I have time. Tell me. Please.
Jake Sr: If you had shown up yesterday or the day before, or a week ago, I would have said no and sent you on your way. But here you are, today of all days, and somehow it seems like the right time for me to finally tell this story. It begins many years ago. I was eighteen and the worst thing that could happen to a young man happened to me. My father died. We were very close, my father and I, partly because we'd lost my mother several years earlier.
Melanie: I know. I read a biography about you. It said that you stopped writing so you could conduct scientific research?
Jake Sr: It's not quite that simple. You see, just before my father died, I was working on a short story. I don't remember what it was about but I do know that I was taking it very seriously. I worked on it night and day for weeks, and I wasn't making any headway and it was making me miserable. I suppose my father saw that I needed a break.
Jake Sr: Because he insisted I come with him to the Gamma Quadrant to watch the wormhole undergo what they call a subspace inversion.
Sisko: Jake-o, let's go.
Jake Sr: Of course what he didn't realize was that I could hide away on the Defiant just as easily as I could on the station.
Jake: Yeah.
Sisko: Jake, this only happens once every fifty years. You will never forgive yourself if you miss it.
Jake: Yeah, I'll be right there.
Sisko: That's what you said ten minutes ago.
Jake: I just want to get this last paragraph right.
Sisko: I thought you were going to put that aside for a while.
Jake: I tried, but it's all I can think about.
Sisko: Well, I'm no writer, but if I were, it seems to me I'd want to poke my head up once in a while and take a look around, see what's going on. It's life, Jake. You can miss it if you don't open your eyes. Now, what do you say you come up to the bridge with me and we'll watch the wormhole do its thing, and then I'll read what you've got and we'll talk about it. Deal?
Jake: Deal.
Sisko: Sisko to Bridge.
Sisko: What happened?
Dax: The wormhole's gravimetric field is surging.
Sisko: Pull us to a safe distance.
Dax: I'm on it, Benjamin, but we've got another problem. The power output from the warp core just jumped off the scale.
Sisko: Sisko to Engineering. Engineering, report. Dax, I'm going to find out what's happening down there. Stay here, Jake.
Jake Sr: Most of the time, I knew enough to do what my father told me. But that day, for some reason, I didn't.
Sisko: Sisko to Sickbay, I need a medical team down here right away.
Dax: Dax to Sisko.
Dax: The warp coils are locked into a feedback loop. You've got to realign them or the core's going to blow.
Sisko: I'm on it. Jake, I need an interphasic compensator.
Computer: Warning. Warp core breach in forty seconds.
Sisko: Dax, better stand by to eject the core.
Dax: We can't.
Dax: The ejection system's offline.
Sisko: Jake, where's that compensator?
Jake: It's not here.
Computer: Warning. Warp core breach in thirty seconds.
Jake: Got it.
Sisko: I'm going to try shunting the excess power out through the deflector array.
Computer: Warning. Warp core breach in twenty seconds.
Sisko: Just a little more. There.
Jake: No!
Jake Sr: He was gone.
Melanie: I'm not sure I could ever get over losing somebody like that, right in front of my eyes.
Jake Sr: People do. Time passes, they realize that the person they lost is really gone, and they heal.
Melanie: Is that what happened to you?
Jake Sr: No. I suppose not. There was a memorial service aboard the station.
Jake Sr: People came forward and talked about my father, what they remembered most about him why and they would miss him.
Kira: Benjamin Sisko was more than my commanding officer. He was the Emissary to my people, sent by the Prophets. But most importantly, he was my friend.
Jake Sr: I didn't step forward. I couldn't. I felt that no matter what I said about him, I'd be leaving so much more out and that didn't seem right.
Jake Sr: I'd never felt more alone in all my life. Everyone went out of their way to look after me, especially Dax. She was my father's closest friend, and I guess she felt responsible for me.
Jake Sr: After a few months things started returning to normal, for everyone else, that is.
Nog: Jake, I'm almost done. We have holosuite three for half an hour.
Jake: Great.
Quark: Nog, get down to the storeroom and bring up five kegs of Takarian mead.
Nog: Yes, Uncle. Sorry, looks like we're going to lose our holosuite reservation.
Quark: You know, Nog, things seem to be slowing down a bit. I'll get someone else to bring up those kegs. You and Jake go and have some fun.
Nog: Are you sure?
Quark: Go, now, before I change my mind.
Nog: Next time we go ion surfing, remind me to keep clear of those whip curls.
Jake: I don't know if I really want to try it again.
Nog: You know, Jake I'm going to be gone soon. We probably won't see each other for a while.
Jake: I know.
Nog: So, what are your plans?
Jake: Well, I was thinking about taking that deferred admission and going to Pennington in the fall.
Nog: That'd be great. We'd both be on Earth together.
Jake: But maybe I'll just stick around here. I don't know. I haven't decided yet. It's late. I think I'll turn in.
Nog: Okay.
Sisko: Jake?
Jake: Dad?
Sisko: What happened?
Jake Sr: I told Dax about what had happened. How it felt so real, not like a dream at all and she very kindly obliged me and did a very thorough scan of my room. I felt vaguely ridiculous, like a child insisting his parents check under his bed for monsters. She tried to tell me it was probably just a nightmare and I did my best to put the entire episode out of my mind. I puttered around the station for the next eight or nine months. Nog was off at Starfleet. My stories stubbornly refused to write themselves. I filled my time playing dom-jot and tried not to think about how alone I felt. Dax and the others were worried about me.
Jake Sr: But before long, they had bigger things to worry about. Tensions with the Klingons were continuing to rise. My father was a kind of religious figure to the Bajoran people, and when he died they took it as a sign from the Prophets that the Federation wouldn't be able to protect them from the Klingons. Eventually Bajor entered into a mutual defense pact with the Cardassians, and the Klingons didn't like that at all. The station's civilian population was leaving en masse. They knew that if war broke out against the Klingons, Deep Space Nine was going to be on the front line.
Kira: Jake, where are you going ?
Jake: I thought I'd watch the ships leave from one of the upper pylons.
Worf: You should be on one of those ships.
Jake: I don't have to go, do I?
Kira: No. It's a voluntary resettlement, not an evacuation.
Worf: But it would be prudent that you leave at this time.
Jake Sr: I suppose I wasn't feeling very prudent that day, because I ignored their advice.
Kira: Jake. I wanted to talk to you about something. I spoke with your grandfather and he told me that he asked you to go live with him. Even if this sector weren't on the brink of war, I would like to see you leave the station.
Jake: I'm not going anywhere.
Kira: Oh, Jake. I could order you to go if I wanted to.
Jake: Please don't make me leave. Not yet. This is my home. When my Dad and I came here this place was just an abandoned shell. He turned it into something. Everywhere I look it's like I see a part of him. If I leave I won't have anything left of him.
Kira: All right. You stay a while longer if you want to. But you have to promise me when the time comes and I tell you to go, you'll do it.
Jake: Dad?
Jake Sr: It wasn't until I actually touched him that I knew this wasn't a dream.
Jake Sr: But something was wrong. I didn't understand everything they were saying, but Dax and the others seemed to think that the accident had somehow knocked my father's temporal signature out of phase.
Dax: Benjamin, what's the last thing you remember?
Sisko: I was in Engineering on the Defiant. It feels like a few minutes ago.
Jake: Dad, it's been over a year since the accident.
Sisko: A year? How could that be?
O'Brien: We think the warp core diskharge pulled you into subspace. If we're right, that would explain why you didn't experience the passage of time.
Bashir: According to these readings, unless we can realign your temporal signature, you'll be pulled back into subspace again within the next few minutes.
O'Brien: Maybe we can set up some sort of containment field.
Dax: We're going to have to reconfigure the field parameters.
Sisko: Jake, they'll have me fixed up in no time. How are you doing?
Sisko: It's all right. Everything's going to be all right.
Jake: I thought it was a dream.
Sisko: What was?
Jake: When I saw you in my quarters I should have felt you were alive. I should have known it.
Sisko: It's not your fault, Jake. I'm here now. That's what matters.
Dax: We're losing him.
Sisko: Look at me. I need to know you're going to be all right.
O'Brien: His temporal signature is fluctuating.
Bashir: I need that containment field now, Chief.
O'Brien: Right away. Field active.
Bashir: It's not working.
Sisko: Jake.
Jake: Dad!
O'Brien: I'm going to try locking onto him with the transporter beam.
Jake: Don't leave me.
Jake: Don't leave me.
Jake Sr: I didn't think anything could be worse than losing him that first time on the Defiant, until I was standing there staring down at his empty bed, knowing he was alive yet trapped somewhere that existed outside of time.
Melanie: I can't imagine what that must have been like for you.
Melanie: Can I get you something?
Jake Sr: No, nothing.
Melanie: Telling me all this is hard for you. Maybe I should come back some other time?
Jake Sr: No. There won't be any another time. You see, I'm dying. You must understand, when person my age says he's dying, he's only admitting to the inevitable. Besides, we old people need to remind everyone to pay special attention to us.
Melanie: If that's what you're up to you shouldn't have bothered. You have my attention already.
Jake Sr: You're a good listener. That's important in a writer.
Melanie: I'm not a writer yet.
Jake Sr: Sound like you're waiting for something to happen that's going to turn you into one.
Melanie: I'm not waiting. I'm doing a lot of reading. You know, to see how it's done. And I'm still trying to figure out what it is I want to write about.
Jake Sr: I see.
Melanie: So what happened? With your father, I mean. Did you ever see him again?
Jake Sr: For the next few months Dax and O'Brien tried to find a way to locate him. They even considered recreating the accident, but that was impossible since the wormhole wasn't going to undergo an inversion for decades. Eventually the situation with the Klingons came to a head, and the Federation decided to turn over control of the station to the Klingon Empire.
Jake Sr: There was nothing I could do. I had to leave my home of five years and give up whatever hope there was of seeing my father again.
Melanie: Did the Klingons ever contact Starfleet to say that your father had reappeared?
Jake Sr: No. I was left with no choice but to try to get on with my life. I went to Earth, drifted around and eventually ended up studying writing at the Pennington school. After graduation, I settled here in Louisiana so I could be near my grandfather. He had a restaurant in the French Quarter, you know.
Melanie: I've been there. It's still called Sisko's. And on the wall there's a copy of the letter your publisher sent you when he accepted your first novel.
Jake Sr: Grandpa was always showing off his famous grandson. He was just as proud of me as my father would've been.
Melanie: You wrote Anslem in this house, didn't you?
Jake Sr: At that desk, right over there. It came out to generally favorable reviews, and little by little I began to think less and less about the past. After a while I met a woman, fell in love, we got married, and for a while this house was a happy one.
Korena: I'm back. (Not quite as far in the future. Korena is an artist and Nog is in red TNG uniform and Tony is out of the age makeup.)
Korena: Nog. I didn't realize you were here already. I was trying to finish a painting before the light changed and I guess the time got away from me.
Nog: It's good to see you.
Korena: You too. Did you start the grill?
Nog: What are we having?
Korena: Blackened redfish fresh from the bayou.
Nog: Fish? When these woods are crawling with perfectly good slugs?
Korena: I suppose you're going to ask me to chew your food for you?
Nog: I have to admit I've been more popular with women since I stopped asking them to do that.
Jake Sr: I tried to tell you that twenty years ago.
Nog: I'm a slow learner.
Korena: I'm going to get some champagne.
Jake Sr: I'm glad you're here, Nog.
Korena: I see you've got another pip on your collar. You keep that up you're going to make captain by the time you're forty.
Jake Sr: Last time we talked you mentioned you might be heading to the Bajoran Sector.
Nog: The Klingons agreed to let Starfleet send an expedition through the wormhole. They said it was in the spirit of scientific exchange, but I think they were happy to have us test the waters in the Gamma Quadrant after all these years. Find out how the Dominion would react to ships coming through.
Jake Sr: Did you see the station?
Nog: I'm sorry to say it's looking a little run down these days. But you'll never guess who's still there.
Jake Sr: Not your father?
Nog: No, no. He and my Uncle left years ago. Quark finally got that little moon he was always talking about, and my father, as usual, is making sure it doesn't fall out of orbit. But Morn is still there, running the bar!
Jake Sr: Talking his customers' ears off and drinking himself out of business, I'll bet.
Korena: Well, why don't we get to the point of today's little celebration.
Nog: To my dear friend Jake Sisko, winner of this year's Betar prize for his Collected Stories. May the years continue to be good to you, may your muse continue to inspire you, and may someone make a holoprogram out of one of your stories so you can start raking in the latinum.
Melanie: Are you all right? Do you want me to call a doctor?
Jake Sr: No. I'll be fine.
Melanie: You should rest.
Jake Sr: No. You came a long way to find out why I had stopped writing and you deserve an answer.
Jake Sr: Later that night, after Nog had left, I stayed up working. My new novel was going well, and when it's going well you don't want to stop.
Korena: Coming to bed?
Jake Sr: I'm not tired.
Korena: Neither am I.
Jake Sr: You know, I wanted to ask you something. How would you feel about designing the cover to my new book?
Korena: Do you mean it?
Korena: What was that?
Sisko: Jake?
Jake Sr: Did you get through?
Korena: I talked to someone at Starfleet Science. They're going to get a team here as soon as they can.
Jake Sr: This is Korena, my wife.
Sisko: Your wife?
Korena: I never thought I'd have the pleasure of meeting you.
Sisko: The pleasure is mine. How long have you two been married?
Jake Sr: Seven years.
Sisko: Do I have any grandchildren?
Jake Sr: Not yet.
Korena: We were married in New Orleans, in your father's restaurant.
Jake Sr: He insisted. Just about everyone came. Dax, Kira, O'Brien.
Sisko: That must've been something.
Jake Sr: I got to go call Starfleet.
Sisko: Whoa. They'll get here as soon as they can. Talk to me. I've missed so much. Let's not waste what little time we have.
Korena: I have a feeling you might want to see these. They're Jake's.
Sisko: You did it. I always knew you would.
Sisko: Oh, Jake.
Jake Sr: I'm sorry.
Sisko: What for?
Jake Sr: For giving up on you.
Sisko: No one could be expected to hold out hope for this long.
Jake Sr: I should have just kept trying to find you. I just went on with my life.
Sisko: And I'm proud of what you've accomplished.
Jake Sr: None of it matters now that I know you're still out there, lost somewhere.
Sisko: Of course it matters. You have a wife, a career. And don't think because I'm not around much that I don't want grandchildren.
Jake Sr: Within a few seconds, he was gone again.
Melanie: I don't know what to say.
Jake Sr: You don't need to say anything. Just listen, because there isn't much time and there's so much more for me to tell you. I consulted with Dax and we realized that the accident must have created some sort of subspace link between my father and myself.
Melanie: That's why he always appeared somewhere near you even if you were hundreds of light years away from where the accident happened.
Jake Sr: We also realized that there was a pattern to his appearances. They were governed by fluctuations in the wormhole's subspace field. Dax's calculations also showed that the next time he appeared, I'd be an old man. And so I decided to put aside my novel and try to find a way to help him. At the age of thirty seven, I went back to school and started studying subspace mechanics. At first, Korena was very patient. She supported what I was trying to do. But I got so caught up in my work I didn't notice I was losing her. By the time I became a graduate student, we were no longer living together. By the time I had entered my doctoral program, it was over between us. But I pressed on with what I was doing, and one day, years later, it hit me. I figured out a way to recreate the accident. It had been almost fifty years, and the wormhole would soon be undergoing another inversion. There was only one other thing I needed.
Jake Sr: The Defiant. Nog was a Captain by then, and he helped me round up the old crew and get the ship pulled out of mothballs. Worf threw his weight around with the Klingon High Council, and they gave us permission to enter the Bajoran system.
Nog: Take us out of warp.
Dax: I think I remember how to do that.
Bashir: I haven't worked a two-dimensional control panel in a long time. How did we manage?
Dax: We always seemed to muddle through somehow.
Nog: Look.
Bashir: Maybe after we've got Captain Sisko back, we can all stop by Morn's for a drink for old time's sake.
Jake Sr: I'd designed a subspace flux isolator and we set it up in Engineering.
Jake Sr: Are you ready over there, Dax?
Dax: As ready as I'll ever be, considering the replicators were just about the only things still working when we came aboard.
Bashir: It's a lucky thing too. Dax isn't any good to anybody these days without a cup of coffee in her hand.
Dax: It's the only thing that's kept me awake while you prattled on about your latest paper, or your new backhand, or your kid's science projects.
Nog: We're picking up temporal distortions in the subspace field.
Jake Sr: The wormhole's beginning to invert.
Nog: According to our readings, it's going to kick out a gravimetric wave like the one that almost destroyed the Defiant last time.
Jake Sr: Don't worry. I've modulated the shields to channel the wave's energy into this apparatus.
Dax: Once subspace begins to fragment, we'll try to locate the captain.
Bashir: Since the accident created a subspace link between him and Jake, there'll be a path of bread crumbs to follow.
Nog: I'd better get back to the bridge. Good luck.
Jake Sr: The wormhole wouldn't undergo another inversion for decades, so this was my only chance.
Dax: Subspace field fragmentation is beginning.
Bashir: It's working.
Dax: I think I've got the captain's signature.
Dax: Something's happening. I'm losing him.
Bashir: We're losing them both. They're being pulled into subspace.
Sisko: Jake. How long has it been?
Jake Sr: Fourteen years. What is this place?
Sisko: I don't know
Jake Sr: We could be inside some sort of subspace fragment. Sisko to Dax. Can you read me? I brought the Defiant back to the wormhole. We're trying to rescue you. Dax, if you can hear me, try to lock onto my signal.
Sisko: Look at you. You're older than I am.
Jake Sr: Damn it. Why can't they lock on to us?
Sisko: Jake, they're doing the best they can. There's nothing we can do from here. It's been so long. I need to know what I've missed. What about those grandchildren we talked about?
Jake Sr: Korena and I, we're no longer together. She left me.
Sisko: I'm sorry.
Jake Sr: I shouldn't have let her go, but there was so much I had to do. This has taken years of planning.
Sisko: What about your writing?
Jake Sr: Dax, try boosting the carrier amplitude. Maybe you can
Sisko: Jake, what's happened to you?
Jake Sr: This is the last chance I'm ever going to have to help you.
Jake Sr: No!
Sisko: Jake, it's over. It's not going to work.
Jake Sr: It has to.
Sisko: Let go, Jake. If not for yourself, then for me. You still have time to make a better life for yourself. Promise me you'll do that. Promise me!
Jake Sr: I want you to see something. Go over to my desk. Go ahead.
Jake Sr: It's a collection of new stories. I decided to honor my father's request and try to rebuild my life. Writing these stories was the best way I knew to do that. I'd like you to have a copy. Let me get you one.
Melanie: Can I have these instead?
Jake Sr: Well, if you'd like, but those have handwritten notes all over them.
Melanie: I know. I want to study them so I can see the changes you made.
Jake Sr: Because you want to be a writer someday.
Melanie: Can I ask why you haven't published these?
Jake Sr: Well, I was tinkering with the last story just this morning. Besides, if you publish posthumously no body can ask you for rewrites. I was hoping to finish another two stories, but there isn't enough time.
Melanie: You keep on saying there's no more time.
Jake Sr: You see, Melanie, after the last attempt to rescue my father failed, I spent months trying to figure out what went wrong. Eventually, I came to understand the nature of what was happening to him. It was as if he was frozen in time at the moment of the accident, and the link between us was like an elastic cord. Every so often the cord would go taut enough to yank him forward into my time. But only for a few minutes. I realized that if my motion through time came to a stop, the cord would go slack and he'd be lost in subspace forever. But if I could cut the cord when the link was at its strongest, while we were together, he'd return to the moment of the accident.
Melanie: Your father's coming here, isn't he? Soon.
Jake Sr: Yes.
Melanie: You're going to cut the cord, aren't you?
Jake Sr: I want you to promise me something.
Melanie: Anything.
Jake Sr: While you're studying my stories, poke your head up every once in a while. Take a look around. See what's going on. It's life, Melanie.
Melanie: And you can miss it if you don't open your eyes.
Melanie: Thank you. For everything.
Jake Sr: It was a pleasure meeting you, young lady.
Sisko: Jake.
Jake Sr: I've been expecting you.
Sisko: I'm glad to see you're still in this house. You seemed happy here. And this. I can't tell you how good it makes me feel you got back to writing.
Sisko: Jake, what is it?
Jake Sr: Read at the dedication.
Sisko: To my father, who's coming home. Thank you, but I don't understand.
Jake Sr: It was me. It was me all along. I've been dragging you through time like an anchor and now it's time to cut you loose.
Sisko: Jake, what are you saying?
Jake Sr: It won't be long now.
Sisko: Jake! No!
Jake Sr: When I die, you'll go back to where this all began. Just remember to dodge the energy diskharge from the warp core.
Sisko: Jake, you could still have so many years left.
Jake Sr: No. We have to be together when I die.
Sisko: Jake, you didn't have to do this. Not for me.
Jake Sr: For you and for the boy that I was. He needs you more than you know. Don't you see? We're going to get a second chance.
Sisko: Jake. My sweet boy.
Sisko: You okay?
Jake: How'd you know that was coming?
Sisko: I guess we were just lucky this time.
Jake: You okay, Dad?
Sisko: I am now, Jake. I am now.


Worf: Worf to Major Kira.
Kira: This is Kira.
Worf: Major, you've got an incoming transmission from a Razka Karn. He claims to be an old friend.
Kira: Put him through. Razka. It's been a while. How's business?
Razka: Oh, let's just say I miss the old days on Bajor. Smuggling might not have been the safest line of work, but it was a lot more exciting than selling scrap metal.
Kira: What's on your mind, Razka?
Razka: I picked up a lead on the Ravinok.
Kira: Like the last time?
Razka: Last time it was just a rumor. This time I have evidence, a fragment of metal. Looks like it's part of the forward sensor array.
Kira: Can you bring it to Deep Space Nine for analysis?
Razka: Sorry. I'm afraid I can't leave the Badlands right now. Important business. You understand.
Kira: Tholians are after you again?
Razka: Let's just say it'd be better if you came to me.
Kira: It's been six years. Even if you have found a piece of the Ravinok, it doesn't mean there are any survivors.
Razka: There's only one way for you to find out. I'll be waiting.
Odo: And item number seventeen, Trelos Vren was arrested on the Promenade outside of the Klingon restaurant. He's being held on four counts of petty theft.
Kira: Trelos Vren? Where have I heard that name?
Odo: We arrested him once for attempting to break into the assay office.
Kira: And now he's taken up pickpocketing?
Odo: Without much success. Still, I suppose you should admire him for his persistence. That was a joke.
Kira: I'm sorry, Odo. I may have a lead on the Ravinok. I know what you're going to say. It's been six years since the Ravinok disappeared. Odds are everyone on board is dead.
Odo: That all may be true, but that is not what I was going to say. I was going to say good luck.
Kira: Good luck?
Odo: You had a friend aboard the Ravinok, correct?
Kira: Lorit Akrem.
Odo: Which means it doesn't matter if I think there are any survivors, or even if you think there are any survivors. You are going to go looking for that ship, and all I can say is good luck. And I hope you find them.
Kira: Come in. Captain. You here to see me off?
Sisko: I'm afraid not. I'd like you to postpone your trip for at least for a day or two.
Kira: What's wrong?
Sisko: Somehow the Cardassian government got wind of your plan to search for the Ravinok. They've asked permission to send someone with you.
Kira: And you said yes?
Sisko: I said I'd talk to you about it. The Ravinok was a Cardassian ship.
Kira: Carrying Bajoran prisoners. I'm not stopping anyone else from looking. I just don't see why they have to come with me.
Sisko: The request came directly from the leader of the new civilian government. Nerys, I know this isn't what you had in mind, but Bajor and Cardassia must to learn to work together and that means cooperating on missions like these.
Kira: All right. Just tell them I'm not going to wait forever. If their representative isn't here within fifty two hours, I'm going alone.
Sisko: I'll be sure they get the message.
Dax: So did you and Kasidy have a nice time last night?
Sisko: I just wish she wasn't leaving tomorrow.
Dax: It sounds like the two of you are getting serious.
Sisko: I don't know about that. I don't think Kasidy is looking to get serious.
Kasidy: Ben!
Sisko: Kasidy.
Dax: We were just talking about you.
Kasidy: I don't mean to interrupt. I wanted you to know I won't be leaving tomorrow after all.
Sisko: That's good news. I mean, that's great. How long are you going to be here?
Kasidy: That depends on whether I get this new job or not. I've applied for a position with the Bajoran Ministry of Commerce to captain one of their freighters.
Sisko: You're going to work for the Bajorans?
Kasidy: If we can hammer out an agreement. It's a terrific opportunity. I get to use my own ship, pick my own crew, and the best part is, I never have to leave this sector.
Dax: Where're you going to live?
Kasidy: On my ship, I suppose.
Dax: Well, why don't you stay here? I'm sure that Benjamin could arrange for some quarters.
Kasidy: That's not a bad idea.
Sisko: Yeah.
Kasidy: Well, I have a meeting on Bajor and the shuttle leaves in a few minutes. I'll see you tonight?
Dax: That answers that. She's serious.
Worf: Captain, the Cardassian transport Rabol is approaching the station. They're requesting permission to beam their representative directly to Ops.
Kira: Someone's in a big hurry.
Sisko: Permission granted.
Worf: Aye, sir.
Dukat: Ah, Major Kira. I'm ready to leave whenever you are.
Kira: We'll be crossing into the Badlands in approximately six hours.
Dukat: Very good, Major.
Kira: Dukat, let's get one thing straight. This is my mission. The only reason you're here is because I agreed to let you come along. When I give an order, I expect you to follow it. No questions asked.
Dukat: Believe me, Major, I want nothing more than for this mission to be concluded as quickly and as efficiently as possible. I leave the details in your capable hands.
Kira: Good, then we shouldn't have any problems. There's one thing I don't understand. Why did the Cardassian government send you?
Dukat: The Ravinok was under my general command. Those were my troops and it is my duty to try to find them. The question is, what are you doing here, Major?
Kira: I knew someone aboard the Ravinok.
Dukat: One of the prisoners, I assume?
Kira: Lorit Akrem.
Dukat: I see. So you're on this mission for personal reasons.
Kira: Is there something wrong with that?
Dukat: Not at all. I've found that when one is trying to do a difficult job, personal reasons can be quite an incentive. So who was he? A family member, a compatriot, a lover?
Kira: Lorit recruited me into the Shakaar resistance cell.
Dukat: Ah. The infamous Shakaar resistance. We never could eliminate that little group of yours. And it was not from lack of trying, I assure you. I hope you don't take this the wrong way, Major, but I've always admired you. You are the embodiment of the new Bajor. A Bajoran born out of the ashes of the occupation, a Bajoran tempered with Cardassian steel.
Kira: Captain Sisko's right. You are in love with the sound of your own voice.
Dukat: I know you find this to accept, but I believe that in some ways the Occupation actually helped Bajor.
Kira: Which part? The massacres or the strip mining?
Dukat: I have no desire to debate the merits of the Occupation with you. I'm even willing to admit that perhaps we were a little harsh in our methods. But the fact is, the Bajoran people are stronger now than they have been in centuries. When we arrived, you were a weak, contemplative race, choking on your isolation. And now you have a new confidence, a whole new sense of purpose, not to mention a key role in the future of this entire quadrant.
Kira: All of which Bajor achieved in spite of the Cardassians, not because of them.
Dukat: Think what you must, But I believe the time will come when Cardassia and Bajor will grow to be not only allies but also close friends.
Kira: Cardassia and Bajor, maybe. You and me? I doubt it.
Dukat: All I ask is that you have an open mind.
Kira: All right, Dukat, that's enough. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to spend the next six hours in silent meditation.
Dukat: Is that a request, or an order?
Kira: Whatever it takes.
Dukat: Well, in that case, as much as it pains me.
Kira: We both might survive this trip after all.
Kasidy: They didn't even wait for the interview to be over. After twenty minutes, Minister Azin said she'd heard enough, and if I wanted the job, it was mine.
Sisko: So what did you tell them?
Kasidy: What do you think I told them? I said yes.
Sisko: Congratulations.
Kasidy: That's it?
Sisko: Oh.
Kasidy: That's not what I meant. I want to know how you feel about it.
Sisko: I think it's great. We'll see a lot more of each other.
Kasidy: You know, I was thinking about what Dax said. Maybe I should get quarters on the station.
Sisko: That's a big step.
Kasidy: What does that mean?
Sisko: I just meant it's a big step.
Kasidy: A bad big step, or a good big step?
Sisko: A good one.
Kasidy: Could you muster a little more enthusiasm?
Sisko: I am enthusiastic. I'm proud of you. This job
Kasidy: Forget about the job. I'm talking about us. I tell you I'm thinking about living on the station and all you can say is, it's a big step?
Sisko: Oh, I don't think you took it the way I meant it.
Kasidy: I don't think you know what you meant. But I do. You're afraid of commitment.
Sisko: Who said anything about commitment?
Kasidy: Obviously not you. You know what? Forget the whole thing. I'm not going to take the job. If you don't want me to stay here, that's fine with me.
Sisko: Phew.
Kira: How'd you get a hold of this, Razka?
Razka: I bought it off a Ferengi scrap metal merchant.
Dukat: It appears to be composed of uridium alloy. It's definitely Cardassian.
Kira: Can you tell if it's from the Ravinok?
Razka: Why didn't you tell me you were bringing him along?
Kira: Because when we talked, I didn't know I would be.
Razka: Too bad. The Maquis would've paid handsomely to get their hands on him.
Dukat: And my government would be very happy to get their hands on you. Razka Karn, if I'm not mistaken. Smuggler, thief, black marketeer. There are at least twelve outstanding warrants for your arrest on Cardassia right now. But I suggest we ignore all that and try to cooperate with one another.
Razka: The voice of the new Cardassia, so compassionate, so understanding. Almost makes you forget that five years ago he was working Bajorans to death in forced labor camps and shooting anybody who tried to stop him. Almost makes you forget.
Dukat: It's from the Ravinok. No doubt about it.
Kira: Did the Ferengi tell you where he found it?
Razka: No, but I was curious so I bribed one of his crewmembers. Turns out his last trip was to the Dozaria system.
Dukat: Dozaria. I believe there is one class M planet in that system.
Razka: Barely class M. He found that in orbit.
Kira: Dozaria it is then. Thanks, Razka. I owe you one.
Razka: Just let me know what you find out. Lorit was my friend too.
Kira: I just don't understand how the Ravinok could've gotten so far off course. Dozaria is light years from where they should have been.
Dukat: The Central Command always believed that the ship was destroyed in some kind of escape attempt by the Bajoran prisoners.
Kira: Maybe. Or they could've had a problem with their navigational array or run into some kind of subspace anomaly.
Dukat: Hopefully we'll find the truth.
Kira: We're entering orbit.
Dukat: I'm reading severe ionic interference in the planet's atmosphere. Sensors will be limited, to say the least.
Kira: I'm picking up a faint magneton signature. It could be residual radiation from a damaged warp nacelle.
Dukat: Shall we beam down?
Kira: I wouldn't advise it. All this ionic interference will scatter our molecules halfway around the planet. We're going to have to do this the old fashioned way.
Dukat: It's going to be a difficult landing. I'll take the controls if you like.
Kira: That'll be the day. Going in.
Dukat: Invigorating, isn't it. A bit sunny, perhaps, but this heat feels wonderful.
Kira: Only a Cardassian would call this hellhole invigorating.
Dukat: Oh, I forgot. Compared to us, you Bajorans are a bit fragile, physiologically speaking, of course.
Kira: Don't worry about me.
Kira: The Ravinok.
Dax: It's a big step. That's all you said?
Sisko: That's all.
Bashir: You're sure?
Sisko: Positive.
Dax: What do you think, Julian?
Bashir: It's ambiguous. Definitely open to interpretation. But it could've been worse. He could have said it's a very big step.
Dax: You didn't say that, did you?
Sisko: I don't think so.
Bashir: Oh, that's good, anyway. So, what does he do now?
Dax: It's simple. He goes to Kasidy, admits that everything was his fault, and pledges his undying love.
Bashir: That sounds a little extreme to me. What if he just tells her he made a mistake, there had been a misunderstanding, and that he really would like her to live on the station?
Dax: Could work. Assuming that's what you want.
Quark: Captain, I would think long and hard before answering.
Sisko: I don't recall asking your opinion, Quark.
Quark: Well maybe you should. I mean, who knows more about women than me?
Bashir: Everyone.
Quark: You humans. All you want to do is please your women. You want them to be your friends. But we Ferengi know better. Women are the enemy and we treat them accordingly. The key is to never let them get the upper hand. If she says she doesn't see you enough, threaten to see her even less. If she wants more gifts, take back the ones you've already given her. It's all about control.
Dax: What if your woman leaves you?
Quark: That's what holosuites are for.
Bashir: It's a wonder the Ferengi reproduce at all.
Dax: So, you never answered the question. Do you want her to stay or not?
Sisko: I appreciate all the advice. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Bashir: So, just between you and me, what do you think about Kasidy moving onto the station?
Dax: It's a big step.
Bashir: A very big step.
Kira: She didn't just crash. These are phaser hits.
Dukat: Looks like she put up quite a fight.
Kira: And paid for it.
Kira: Twelve graves.
Dukat: There were eighteen crewmembers and thirty two prisoners aboard.
Kira: So where's everybody else?
Dukat: First things first.
Kira: What are you doing?
Dukat: We need to identify these bodies.
Kira: I'll help.
Dukat: No. Our funeral rites are very strict. It would dishonor the dead for a non-Cardassian to view the remains.
Kira: There could be Bajorans buried here too.
Dukat: No doubt. But if memory's correct, Bajorans are much more concerned with the souls of the dead than they are with the physical remains. How did Kai Meressa put it? What remains after death is but a shell, a sign that the pagh has begun its final journey to the Prophets. Please, Major, don't make this any more difficult for me than it already is.
Kira: I have a list of the missing Bajorans. I should be able to identify them from the family imprints on their earrings. I'll work on the Ravinok. I should be able to get something from the ship's computers.
Dukat: You'll need the command codes.
Kira: Standard Cardassian military codes from six years ago, right?
Dukat: Yes.
Kira: I got them from Bajoran intelligence before we left.
Dukat: Very good, Major. Very good.
Kira: Dukat, I was able to reactivate the Dukat. What was her name? I recognize a Bajoran pledge bracelet when I see one.
Dukat: Her name was Tora Naprem. You see, Major, you're not the only one who had a friend aboard that ship.
Kira: Friend? Is that all she was? I see. Don't worry, Dukat. You're not the only Cardassian officer who kept a Bajoran mistress.
Dukat: It wasn't like that. Naprem and I loved each other.
Kira: The head of the Occupation in love with a Bajoran?
Dukat: Ironic, isn't it?
Kira: Did your wife know?
Dukat: No. And she's never going to find out. Now if you don't mind, Major, I'd rather not talk about this right now. Here are the earrings you wanted.
Kira: If Lorit's dead, he's not buried here. According to the ship's computers, the Ravinok was attacked by two unidentified warships. The attackers chased the Ravinok here and must have forced her to crash-land.
Dukat: Then the survivors could have been captured and taken away.
Kira: Or they could still be here somewhere on this planet.
Dukat: We should go up in the runabout and scan for them from orbit.
Kira: Too much ionic interference. The sensors would never be able to pick up their life signs. There may be another way. In these conditions, tricorder readings will only be about twelve meters, but that should be enough.
Dukat: Enough for what?
Kira: During the occupation, Bajoran resistance fighters carried subdermal implants of tritonium isotopes. The idea was that if they were captured, they could activate the implant which would leave a trail of isotopes so they could be tracked and rescued. I think I have something. That way.
Dukat: Let's go.
Dukat: I don't know why we have to stop.
Kira: For one thing, I can't see two meters ahead of us. And anyway we could both use the rest. So stop pacing and sit down.
Kira: What is it?
Dukat: I don't know. I sat on something. I sat on something!
Kira: Let me see.
Dukat: Ooo, get it out.
Kira: Well keep still and let me see what I can do.
Dukat: Get it out!
Kira: Oh. This is going to hurt.
Dukat: It already hurts. Just take it out.
Kira: If you say so.
Dukat: OW!
Kira: Ouch. Run this dermal regenerator over the wound.
Dukat: This isn't funny.
Kira: It is from this angle.
Dukat: You know what's even funnier? This doesn't work.
Kira: You have to activate it.
Dukat: Ah. Ah, yes. Oh, much better.
Kira: You probably should eat one of these.
Dukat: Ah, I haven't had field rations in a very long time. I'm sure they haven't improved a bit.
Kira: Actually, they've gotten a little worse. Tell me something.
Dukat: What?
Kira: Who's Tora Ziyal? When I reactivated the Ravinok's computer, I downloaded the manifest. There were two civilians on board in addition to the prisoners and crew. One was your friend, Tora Naprem, and the other was Tora Ziyal, a thirteen year-old girl.
Dukat: I suppose you wouldn't believe me if I told you she was Naprem's sister?
Kira: Ziyal's a Cardassian name. The way I see it, there's only one explanation. Ziyal was Naprem's daughter, and you
Dukat: I was her father.
Kira: Now I know why you're in such a hurry to find the survivors. You're hoping that she's still alive and you can rescue her.
Dukat: Not quite. You see, if my daughter is still alive, I'll have no choice but to kill her.
Kira: You know I'm not going to let you do it. I mean it, Dukat. You are not going to kill that girl.
Dukat: Major, why don't you worry about the other survivors and let me worry about Ziyal. After all, she is my daughter.
Kira: That's right. She's your daughter. And there is nothing more important to Cardassians than family. At least that's what your people are always saying.
Dukat: I have a wife and seven children. They are my family. They are the ones I must protect.
Kira: Well, you should have thought of that before you got involved with Naprem.
Dukat: You're right. I should have. But I made a mistake. A mistake I intend to correct.
Kira: You don't have to take her back to Cardassia with you. Let me take her to Bajor. No one has to know that you're her father.
Dukat: What kind of life would that be for her? Your people have never exactly welcomed half-Cardassian children into your society. That's why I sent her and her mother away in the first place. I knew the Occupation was coming to an end, and that there'd be no place for them on Bajor or Cardassia.
Kira: So you sent them to a prison camp.
Dukat: They were not on their way to a prison camp. The Ravinok was supposed to rendezvous with a freighter which would take Naprem and Ziyal to Lissepia, where they could live out their lives in some sort of peace.
Kira: I don't understand. If you cared enough to help Ziyal then, how can you be thinking about killing her now? Why not send her away again?
Dukat: Because my position isn't nearly as stable as it once was. By aligning myself with the new civilian government, I've made many enemies. Enemies that wouldn't hesitate to use Ziyal against me.
Kira: Listen to you. It's not your wife or your seven children you're protecting, it's you.
Dukat: By protecting myself, I am protecting them.
Kira: And the only one who suffers is Ziyal. You would kill your own daughter to save your career. I don't understand you. You said you loved Naprem. I saw you crying at her grave.
Dukat: I did love her. And when I bury Ziyal, I'll weep over her grave just as I wept over her mother's. But that will not stop me from doing what I have to do. Do you understand? And when the time comes, I suggest you stay out of my way.
Sisko: Good morning, Jake-o.
Jake: Morning, dad.
Sisko: So, what's new?
Jake: Nog and I ran into Kasidy last night over at the Vulcan restaurant. I guess she's not going to take that job after all.
Sisko: She told you? Did she say why?
Jake: She said you didn't want her to take it.
Sisko: Look, Jake, sometimes things between men and women can get a little complicated.
Jake: Yeah, maybe, but I don't think this is one of those times. It's pretty simple, Dad. You're scared.
Sisko: What do I have to be afraid of?
Jake: A lot. Kasidy's willing to make a major change in her life just to be close to you. If things don't work out, you're going to feel responsible, and that's scary.
Sisko: You figured out all this by yourself?
Jake: Actually, I talked with Nog about it.
Sisko: You talked to Nog about my relationship with Kasidy?
Jake: And we think you have nothing to worry about. If Kasidy wants to change jobs, that's her decision, not yours. Same thing if she wants to live on the station. If things don't work out, they don't work out.
Sisko: Have you told any of this to Kasidy?
Jake: No. Nog and I thought about it, but we thought it would be better if you told her yourself.
Sisko: I see.
Jake: So, what's new with you?
Kira: Take a look.
Dukat: Breen? What are they doing here?
Kira: My tricorder's picking up a large concentration of dilithium in the area. They must be using the survivors of the Ravinok to mine the ore.
Dukat: It makes perfect sense. The Breen homeworld is a frozen wasteland. This place is about fifty degrees too hot for them.
Kira: You approve of what they're doing?
Dukat: No, not at all. I do admire their ingenuity.
Kira: What is it?
Kira: It's her.
Dukat: My daughter.
Kira: All right. We're going to need some help. I'm going to stay here and keep an eye on things while you go back to DS Nine for reinforcements.
Dukat: I have a better idea. You go back to the station. I'll stay here.
Kira: I'm sending you back, Dukat. That's an order.
Dukat: And I hate to refuse it, but I'm afraid I must. You're welcome to file an official protest with the Cardassian military when we get back.
Kira: There's no way I'm leaving you alone here.
Dukat: Well, then I suggest we devise a plan to rescue these prisoners together. You need me, Major.
Kira: Maybe I do. But if you hurt that girl, I promise I'll kill you.
Kira: Don't make any noise. We're here to help.
Heler: You're Bajoran.
Dukat: Gather as many prisoners as you can. Tell them to meet us here.
Kira: How many Breen guards are there?
Heler: I'm not sure. There are always at least eight in the mines.
Kira: How many prisoners?
Heler: There're only thirty one of us left.
Kira: What about Lorit Akrem? Did he make it?
Heler: He died in a cave-in two years ago. You knew him?
Kira: He was a friend.
Dukat: My condolences, Major, but we don't have time for this. Tell me where I can find Tora Ziyal.
Kira: Don't tell him anything.
Heler: He's a Cardassian. I don't understand.
Kira: There's a peace treaty.
Heler: You mean the Occupation is over?
Dukat: I need to find the girl. Where is she?
Kira: Dukat!
Kira: Go get the rest of the prisoners. Meet me at the entrance to the mine.
Dukat: Where is Tora Ziyal?
Dukat: Ziyal.
Ziyal: Father? It's really you. Mother said you'd
Ziyal: Father, what's wrong?
Kira: Dukat, no. I'm warning you, Dukat. Don't do it.
Dukat: I have no choice.
Kira: There's always a choice. You don't want to do this. If you did, you never would've told me about Ziyal. Now, put the rifle down.
Dukat: No.
Ziyal: The Cardassian prisoners, they told me this would happen. That you'd never let me go home. But I didn't believe them.
Kira: Ziyal, run!
Ziyal: I used to dream about you coming to save me. It's what kept me alive.
Dukat: Ziyal.
Ziyal: If I can't be with you, then I'd rather die.
Dukat: Let's go home.
Sisko: Kasidy Yates.
Kasidy: Hello, Ben. Hold this a second.
Sisko: About that job with the Bajoran Commerce Ministry.
Kasidy: You know someone who's qualified for it?
Sisko: I know someone who would be perfect for it. You. I think you should take the job. I want you to take the job.
Kasidy: You've been talking to Jake.
Sisko: How'd you know?
Kasidy: Oh, he's a smart boy. Must take after his mother.
Sisko: I owe you an apology. You came to tell me all this wonderful news, and all I could say was, it's a big step. I don't know what I was thinking.
Kasidy: Take a guess.
Sisko: I wanted to tell you how happy I was for you, for us. But it didn't come out that way. I was uncomfortable, and a little nervous.
Kasidy: A little nervous?
Sisko: All right, a lot nervous. I haven't been in a serious relationship for a long time, and I didn't expect to be in one anytime soon. Until I met you. This life I lead, the job I do, that's what got Jennifer killed. If anything ever happened to you
Kasidy: Why not let me worry about that?
Sisko: That's what Jake said.
Kasidy: You see? Smart boy. Look, I could stay here and listen to you apologize all day, but I've got to get to Bajor.
Sisko: Bajor? I thought
Kasidy: Oh, I know what you thought, but I took the job. Do you think I'd give up a great opportunity just because you got cold feet? You're a good man, Benjamin Sisko, but you've got a lot to learn about women. Especially this one. I'll see you when I get back. You can help me pick out quarters.
Sisko: I'll be here.
Dax: What was it like, all that time alone with Dukat?
Kira: I've had better weeks. But I'll never forget the look on his face when he sat on that sand spine.
Dax: I wish I'd been there.
Dukat: Major.
Kira: Dukat. Where's Ziyal?
Dukat: Waiting for me aboard my ship. We'll be leaving for Cardassia shortly.
Dax: I think I'll leave the two of you alone.
Dukat: I just wanted to say thank you, Major, for a most interesting journey.
Kira: You're taking Ziyal back to Cardassia with you.
Dukat: After six years, she deserves a home and a father.
Kira: Won't that make things difficult for you?
Dukat: I'll let you know.


Quark: It's a trick.
Bashir: Of course it's a trick. But how she did it?
Quark: She probably beamed the egg directly into her mouth from one of the transporters.
Dax: Actually, one of my previous hosts used to dabble in the sleight of hand.
Bashir: Was it Tobin?
Dax: That's right.
Bashir: Ah, he sounds like the right type. Painfully shy, introverted, a slight lack of confidence, just the kind of person who might want to dazzle the world with his magical abilities.
Quark: She swallowed the egg before she came into the bar and then regurgitated it on cue. Quite disgusting, actually.
Dax: Wrong again.
Sisko: Sisko to Dax. I'd like to see you in my office, Commander.
Dax: On my way, Benjamin. Don't worry, Quark. You'll figure it out eventually.
Quark: What?
Dax: No wonder you can't figure it out.
Dax: Your head's full of latinum.
Bashir: Ladies and gentlemen, the amazing Jadzia Dax!
Sisko: Have a seat. A Trill science team is coming to the station to conduct field tests on experimental techniques for creating artificial wormholes.
Dax: It sounds interesting.
Sisko: It's an important project and I've agreed to let them use the Defiant for their experiments. But I thought you would want to know that the leader of the science team is Doctor Lenara Kahn.
Dax: Lenara Kahn?
Sisko: That's right. Look, you've got about three months of leave accumulated. Why don't you take some of it? We can afford to do without you for a while.
Dax: Am I that dispensable around here?
Sisko: We'll never notice you're gone.
Dax: No. I'll stay. I can handle it.
Sisko: You're sure?
Dax: I'm sure. I've never let my past lives interfere with my job and I'm not going to start now. I'll be fine.
Sisko: Okay.
Dax: But thank you for giving me the option.
Sisko: Any time, old man.
Pren: I'm Doctor Hanor Pren of the Trill science ministry.
Kira: I'm Major Kira Nerys, and I'd like to welcome you to Deep Space Nine. This is our strategic operations officer, Commander Worf, and this is our science officer, Commander Dax.
Pren: Allow me to introduce you our team leader, Doctor Lenara Kahn, and her brother, Doctor Bejal Otner. Major Kira, Commander Worf, Commander Dax.
Dax: It's been a long time.
Lenara: Yes, it has.
Worf: If you will come with me, I will show you to your quarters.
Kira: You know that woman?
Dax: I know her. She used to be my wife.
Quark: So let me get this straight. Dax's first host was named Lela. Right?
Bashir: I think so.
Kira: Lela Dax, that's right.
Quark: Then Lela dies and the Dax symbiont goes on to a man named Tobin. And after Tobin dies, then it's on to Emony, then Torias, Audrid
Kira: No, no. Audrid, then Torias.
Quark: Sorry. Audrid, Torias, Joran, Curzon and then eventually Jadzia.
Kira: Right.
Quark: And this Doctor Lenara Kahn person was once married to?
Bashir: Torias. But of course in those days she wasn't Lenara.
Quark: I knew it couldn't be that simple.
Bashir: The Kahn symbiont which is now joined to Lenara used to be joined to a woman named Nilani, and it was Nilani who married Torias Dax.
Kira: But Torias was killed in a shuttle accident.
Bashir: And Nilani became a widow. Years later, when Nilani died, the Kahn symbiont was joined to Lenara.
Quark: And now Nilani is Lenara, and Torias is Jadzia. So that makes Lenara Jadzia's ex-wife.
Kira: It's a little more complicated than that, Quark.
Quark: I'm sure it is. But to be honest, I'm sorry I brought the whole thing up. It's giving me a headache.
Bashir: It must be all the latinum rattling around in there.
Bashir: I thought so. You really should have that looked at.
Quark: Get back to work. If you'll excuse me.
Kira: Did Dax teach you that?
Bashir: Next time I'm going to pull a rabbit out of his ear.
Kira: One thing I don't understand is why Dax and Lenara can't just pick up where they left off. I mean, if they're still in love with each other.
Bashir: Ah, now there's the rub. Even if they do harbor feelings for each other, it's strictly against the rules of Trill society for them to acknowledge it in any way.
Kira: Rules?
Bashir: Well, it's more of a taboo, really. Having a relationship with a lover from a past life is called reassociation, and the Trill feel very strongly that it's unnatural.
Kira: Unnatural? How can it be unnatural for a married couple to resume their marriage?
Bashir: Well, the whole point of joining is for the symbiont to accumulate experiences from the span of many lifetimes. In order to move on from host to host, the symbiont has to learn to let go of the past, let go of parents, siblings, children, even spouses.
Kira: I don't understand how two people who've fallen in love, and made a life together, can be forced to just walk away from each other because of a taboo. There must be some Trill who have reassociated with people from their past lives.
Bashir: I asked Dax the same question, and it seems there have been a few.
Kira: And what happened?
Bashir: They were exiled from the Trill homeworld.
Kira: That means the symbionts would never be joined to a new host.
Bashir: Exactly. So when the hosts die, the symbionts die with them. So you see, even if Dax does harbor feelings for Lenara, she can't take that risk. For a joined Trill, nothing is more important than to protect the life of the symbiont. Nothing.
Dax: Come in.
Sisko: I had a feeling you weren't going to be ready. Curzon was never on time in his life. He was even late for his hundredth birthday party.
Dax: You're never going to let me forget that, are you?
Sisko: Do you know how long it took me to plan that party?
Dax: Three months. I know.
Sisko: You still have time to back out of the reception, you know.
Dax: You know how I hate to miss a party.
Sisko: I'm serious.
Dax: I know. And I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I'm going to be working with Lenara for the next week. I have to get used to being around her. Stop worrying about me, Benjamin. I'll be fine.
Sisko: So, in the spirit of friendship, we welcome you to Deep Space Nine and wish you success in the creation of the galaxy's first artificial wormhole.
All: Hear, hear.
Lenara: I understand you'll be commanding the Defiant during our research.
Worf: Yes.
Bejal: You must be very excited. I mean, to be a part of a potentially history-making project.
Worf: I am looking forward to it.
Lenara: I think Mister Worf is less than enthusiastic about heading a research mission. It's not exactly what every Klingon dreams about.
Kira: What do Klingons dream about?
Worf: Things that would send cold chills down your spine and wake you in the middle of the night. It is better you do not know. Excuse me.
Kira: I can never tell when he's joking.
Lenara: Maybe it is better that we do not know.
Lenara: Well, this looks wonderful.
Dax: Mmm-hmm.
Lenara: I take it most of this is Bajoran.
Dax: Hasperat. No, hasperat. Moba fruit and veklava.
Lenara: Of course, I'm not the least bit hungry.
Dax: Neither am I.
Lenara: But I suppose we should load our plates anyway since the whole room is watching us.
Dax: Quite an audience.
Lenara: Seems a shame to disappoint them. Maybe we should do something.
Dax: We could get into a screaming match and start throwing things at each other.
Lenara: Not bad. Or I suppose we could throw ourselves at each other, profess our undying love for each other and complete disregard for Trill society.
Dax: Doctor Pren would probably have a heart attack.
Lenara: Forget about him, my brother's head would explode. He's been a nervous wreck ever since we arrived.
Dax: I know the feeling.
Lenara: Well, I'll tell you what I told him. We're both mature adults and we can handle this.
Dax: I agree completely. It'll be fine.
Lenara: They're watching us again.
Dax: I know. I guess we'll probably have to get used to it.
Lenara: Well, thank you, Commander Dax. I appreciate your insightful commentary on Bajoran cuisine.
Dax: My pleasure, Doctor Kahn.
Bejal: After we launch our target drone, the Defiant will have to generate a subspace tensor matrix in the twenty five to thirty thousand Cochrane range. Then the drone will send out a magneton pulse which should react with the matrix to create an opening in the space-time continuum.
Eddington: How long will we have to keep generating the matrix?
Pren: Two minutes, maybe less. Once the wormhole forms, we can shut down the tensor matrix.
O'Brien: We'll have to reroute the pre-ignition plasma from the impulse deck down to the auxiliary intake to get that much power. But I think we can do it.
Bejal: Excellent.
Pren: We'll also need to download our parameters for the matrix into one of your computers.
Dax: I think we'd better use the main computer, Chief. I don't think the engineering computer can handle it.
O'Brien: I agree.
Dax: If you'll follow me, I'll take you up to the bridge and we can begin downloading the data.
Pren: All right.
Lenara: Everything looks good here. Dax?
Dax: The backup navigation program is still showing some calibration drift. I think some data may have been lost in the startup routine.
Lenara: Possibly.
Pren: Well, that explains the seven percent falloff in AFR ratios I keep seeing. Must be a problem with diagnostic sub-routines. I have a recalibration unit in my quarters that might solve the problem.
Dax: I'll have someone bring it here.
Pren: Oh, no, no. I need a break anyway.
Lenara: Now I'm getting a drop-off in the triple-R output. We might have a bigger problem than the diagnostic subroutines.
Dax: Don't panic yet. It could just be transtater failure. It happens all the time.
Lenara: I wasn't panicking.
Dax: It's just an expression. Sorry.
Lenara: No, I'm sorry. Forget it. It's just that you always used to, I mean Torias always used to tell Nilani that she was panicking about things, making a big fuss about nothing.
Dax: Well, Torias used to be insensitive at times. But you have to admit, Nilani did do her share of overreacting.
Lenara: That's because you were a pilot and it made me nervous. Made her nervous. Torias being a pilot made Nilani nervous. I've never had quite this much trouble sorting out my feelings from those of a past host.
Dax: I know what you mean.
Lenara: Probably another good reason why we're not supposed to spend much time together. We'd probably just get lost in the past.
Dax: Let's try running the transtater diagnostic again.
Lenara: Okay.
Dax: Nilani wasn't panicking the day before Torias died.
Lenara: No?
Dax: No. Torias should have listened to her. The shuttle was not ready for a full impulse test, but Torias had to do it anyway. And he was wrong. And whatever part of me is still Torias is very sorry and wishes he'd listened to you. Well, we have a lot of work to do.
Lenara: Right. Right.
Dax: Would you be interested in dinner? I mean, I'm having dinner with some friends and I thought you might like to go along.
Lenara: I wouldn't want to intrude on your friends.
Dax: It's actually not that big of a group. It's just me and Julian.
Lenara: Doctor Bashir? Sure. That sounds great.
Dax: Great.
Lenara: Okay. Dinner. Tonight.
Dax: At Quark's.
Lenara: Great.
Bashir: Tonight? I can't. I have plans.
Dax: Cancel them. I mean, if you can cancel them that would be really nice.
Bashir: Nice. Because?
Dax: Because I invited Lenara out for dinner and
Bashir: And it would be less awkward if you had a chaperone.
Dax: Exactly. Will you do it?
Bashir: Something tells me that I should say no, but I won't. What time?
Dax: Twenty two hundred at Quark's. Thank you. I owe you one.
Dax: No, it didn't have a red awning. It had a big ratana tree or something out front.
Lenara: Well, you don't mean the Barros Inn?
Dax: Yes! That's it.
Lenara: Curzon was kicked out of the Barros Inn? That's one of the wildest bars in the whole Rigel system. What did he do?
Dax: He sort of set fire to it.
Lenara: Sort of?
Dax: All right, he set fire to it. But it wasn't deliberate. It was part of a bet. But that's another story.
Lenara: Curzon was certainly different from most joined Trills.
Dax: He liked to do things his own way. He used to say there was an exception to every rule, and he usually went out of his way to find it.
Lenara: I'm actually glad we never met. We probably wouldn't have liked each other very much.
Dax: No, he wasn't that bad really. I tend to exaggerate his rebellious qualities. But you may have a point. Curzon never had much use for scientists.
Lenara: Well, that's interesting considering what you do now.
Dax: Curzon would be horrified to know that I'm a scientist. The very idea of doing research made him ill.
Lenara: Torias wasn't much different. I can remember talking to him about my wanting to study theoretical quantum physics and his eyes glazing over.
Dax: The irony is, you and I have more in common than Torias and Nilani ever did.
Lenara: That's right.
Nurse: Infirmary to Doctor Bashir.
Bashir: Doctor Bashir here. Go ahead.
Nurse: I'm sorry to interrupt you, Doctor, but Ensign Tyler's broken his leg and I think you'd
Bashir: I'm on my way. I'm sorry. I must go. Duty calls.
Dax: That's all right. Thanks for coming.
Lenara: It was nice to see you again.
Lenara: Now that's a good friend. He sat here all night listening to us trade stories of our former hosts and never once complained.
Dax: I think he enjoyed himself. Maybe not. I'll make it up to him.
Lenara: Yeah.
Dax: Those are Klingon, aren't they?
Lenara: How did you know? Oh, Curzon.
Dax: They're beautiful.
Lenara: They were given to me by a Klingon scientist. He wanted to give me one of the swords they carry around, but I refused.
Lenara: Keep them. Really. I'm not very Klingon.
Dax: Thanks.
Dax: Well?
Lenara: They suit you. It's really good to see you again, Dax. That sounds so strange. I mean, I'm looking at a different face, hearing a different voice, but somehow it's still you.
Dax: I know. Every time I start to think of you as just Lenara, you'll smile or laugh and suddenly it's you.
Dax: I'm really glad you're here.
Lenara: Me too. Defiant log, stardate 49195.5. Lieutenant Commander Worf reporting. We have arrived at the coordinates to begin preliminary tests for the artificial wormhole project.
Bejal: Target drone is in position, Commander.
Worf: Full scan.
Dax: No ships in sensor range.
Worf: Bridge to Engineering. Are you ready, Mister Eddington?
Eddington: We're ready, Commander.
Worf: Doctor Kahn, you may proceed.
Lenara: Energize the focal array and stand by to initiate the subspace tensor matrix.
Dax: This AQF sequencer, it's always causing me problems.
Bejal: The plasma coil interlocks are in place. Deflector grid is charged and standing by.
Pren: They're very friendly today.
Bejal: Hmm?
Pren: They had dinner last night. Alone.
Bejal: What are you trying to say?
Pren: I shouldn't have to say anything.
Bejal: Then don't. We're ready to generate the tensor matrix.
Dax: The drone is standing by.
Lenara: Initialize the focal array.
Bejal: The tensor matrix is forming.
Lenara: Activate the drone.
Dax: The drone is sending out the magneton pulse. It's reached the matrix.
Pren: I'm picking up a subspace distortion.
Bejal: The distortion's becoming coherent. It's working.
Dax: The magneton pulse is causing a feedback loop. It'll destroy the drone in a few seconds.
Lenara: A few seconds is all we need.
Dax: The drone's been destroyed. But you did it.
Worf: Congratulations, Doctor.
Lenara: Thank you. That was only the first step, but what a step.
Dax: I'm so proud.
Lenara: Thank you.
Dax: I'm so proud.
Lenara: The subspace field data, quantum readings, all the telemetry checks out. The wormhole was open twenty three point four seconds and during that time it was completely coherent.
Bejal: You couldn't ask for a better beginning. But it all comes down to the next test. We have to be able to send an object through the wormhole to prove that it's stable for space travel.
Lenara: Oh, that reminds me. Dax thinks we should use a class four probe to make the actual run. She says that the class four shielding will give us a better idea of how the wormhole will affect a real ship.
Bejal: I didn't know you'd talked to Dax since we got back.
Lenara: I saw her last night.
Bejal: Where?
Lenara: She came by my quarters.
Bejal: How long did she stay?
Lenara: Is there something you want to ask me?
Bejal: I don't want to ask you anything, but I'm beginning to wonder if I should.
Lenara: I don't believe this.
Bejal: Believe it. People are starting to notice.
Lenara: People?
Bejal: Doctor Pren saw you holding hands at dinner the other night. I thought he was overreacting, but then I saw the way the two of you were acting on the Defiant.
Bejal: Lenara!
Bejal: Lenara. Lenara! I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Look, I'm your brother. You tell me nothing's going on, then nothing's going on. I just want to hear you say it.
Lenara: There is nothing going on. All right?
Bejal: All right.
Dax: Come in. What's wrong?
Lenara: I just had the most unpleasant conversation with my brother. He thinks that there's something going on between us.
Dax: Oh. And what did you tell him?
Lenara: Well I told him that that was ridiculous, that there's nothing going on between us. That you and I are just friends.
Dax: Well then, that should settle that. Maybe we shouldn't see each other. It'll just give people the wrong idea.
Lenara: Or give them the right idea.
Dax: I don't think we should have this conversation.
Lenara: Would it do any good? Would it change how either of us feels?
Dax: No, but it would be easier.
Lenara: You've never been one for the easy way out.
Dax: That's true. But in this case, I'm not the only one involved. I don't want to do anything to hurt you. I did that before. I climbed into a shuttlecraft and I made you a widow.
Lenara: I knew you were a pilot when I married you. I knew the risks. I went into it with my eyes wide open.
Dax: And what about now? Are your eyes open? Do you know what the risks are?
Lenara: I thought I'd, thought I'd gotten over you. It's been so long and so much has happened. And now I know I haven't.
Dax: Shh. I've missed you. I've missed you so much.
Lenara: I'd better go.
Dax: Yeah.
Dax: I don't know what to do, Benjamin.
Sisko: What do you want to do?
Dax: Throw myself at her. Profess my undying love and my complete disregard for Trill society. A joke Lenara made at the reception. Doesn't sound so funny anymore, does it?
Sisko: Not really.
Dax: You don't think I should pursue this, do you.
Sisko: No.
Dax: Okay. Why?
Sisko: Because I remember what Curzon used to say about reassociation. That it didn't matter whether he agreed with the taboo or not, because the price for violating it was too high. Exile.
Dax: I know what Curzon used to say, and I'm not Curzon.
Sisko: And you're not Torias either. You're Jadzia Dax and you have a responsibility as a joined Trill to never
Dax: I didn't come here to hear a lecture about my responsibilities.
Sisko: You came here for advice from a friend, and that's exactly what you're getting.
Dax: You're right. I'm sorry.
Sisko: I know this is difficult for you. I know how you feel about Lenara. But I want you to think about what will happen if you pursue this. If you're exiled from Trill, there will be no further hosts for your symbiont. When Jadzia dies, Dax dies. That goes against everything you were taught during your initiate training. You've told me again and again that each host is only a link in a chain and that the life of the symbiont, no matter what happens, must go on.
Dax: I know that and I believe in that. But I also know I love her, Benjamin.
Sisko: I know you do. If I were in your position I'd probably be just as ready to throw everything away for the person I love. But I would also want to be sure that I was ready to pay the price.
Dax: You're right. I need to be sure.
Sisko: But if you're sure, if this is what you really want, I will back you all the way.
Dax: I've lived seven lifetimes and I have never had a friend quite like you.
Eddington: Eddington to Bridge. We're ready to generate the tensor matrix.
Worf: Understood. Stand by.
Eddington: Aye, sir.
Worf: Commander Dax?
Dax: Subspace field stress is within normal parameters.
Pren: Probe's ready for launch.
Bejal: Target drone is in position.
Worf: Bridge to Engine Room. Initialize subspace matrix, Mister Eddington.
Worf: On my mark.
Eddington: Acknowledged.
Bejal: The tensor matrix is starting to form.
Pren: Activate the drone.
Bejal: Wormhole neutrino readings are stable.
Dax: Subspace field stress is up by fifteen percent. but still within safety margins.
Worf: Launch the probe. (As soon as the probe enters the wormhole, the whole thing goes KaBOOM and the shock wave hits the Defiant.)
Worf: Report.
Dax: No helm control. There's a hull breach on deck five. Emergency forcefields are in place.
Bejal: I'm reading a massive plasma leak in the Engine room.
Worf: Bridge to Engine room. Mister Eddington, Doctor Kahn, can you hear me?
Dax: Have a damage control team meet me down there.
Dax: Stand back.
Eddington: It's out of control. We can't put it out with those. We'll have to vent the entire compartment out into space.
Dax: No. Lenara might still be alive.
Eddington: There's no way to get to her.
Dax: How long will a level eight forcefield last in here?
Eddington: Not long with that plasma fire. Ten, twenty seconds at most.
Dax: I think I can get to her.
Eddington: Dax, if we don't contain this thing now, it's going to set off the warp core.
Dax: I know. Just give me ten seconds after the forcefield goes off and then vent the compartment. I need to reconfigure the field geometry.
Eddington: I'll try to keep the field stable as long as I can.
Lenara: Oh, Dax.
Dax: I thought I'd lost you.
Lenara: So did I. I don't want to lose you, not again.
Dax: Not again. Never again. Never again. Never.
Lenara: Come in.
Dax: How are you feeling?
Bejal: Much better. She's almost fully recovered.
Lenara: My brother the nurse.
Bejal: I want to thank you for what you did. Lenara means a lot to me.
Dax: To both of us.
Bejal: Yes. I'll leave you two alone.
Dax: Risian perfume.
Lenara: Do they know what happened to the wormhole yet?
Dax: Our best guess is that the tetryon field reacted to the probe's shielding, producing a massive graviton wave. The important thing is no one was killed and we brought the ship back in one piece.
Lenara: Oh, the ship. How badly was it damaged?
Dax: Chief O'Brien says he'll have it good as new in two weeks. Now stop torturing yourself. It wasn't your fault.
Lenara: It was my project, my theories.
Dax: And you shouldn't forget that your project and your theories produced the first artificially created wormhole in history. It's a huge achievement.
Lenara: You're right. I am being a little self-indulgent, aren't I?
Dax: Yes, you are.
Lenara: Well, I guess I'll have a lot of work to do when I get back to Trill. Analyzing the telemetry from the probe alone will probably take months.
Dax: Probably. Why not do the work here with me.
Lenara: With you? The two of us together. You know what that would mean.
Dax: I know exactly what that would mean. But I think it's worth the price.
Lenara: That's funny. Bejal just spent the last half hour trying to convince me that it wouldn't be worth it. He wants me to go back to Trill with him tomorrow, try to forget about you.
Dax: Well, at least he's consistent.
Lenara: Don't be too hard on him. He's only trying to look out for his big sister.
Dax: Everyone is trying to look out for us. Protect us from ourselves. But in the end, all that matters is how we feel and what we do about it. Because either way, we're the ones who have to live with the consequences.
Lenara: That's the tricky part though, isn't it? Living with the consequences. When you're not with me, when you're not around, it's like a part of me is missing. I want to be with you more than anything, but I don't think that I can do this. Dax, I am not like you. I don't have a little Curzon inside me telling me to be impulsive, to ignore the rules, to give up everything I've worked for.
Dax: Can you really walk away from me, from us? After all this time, we're together. Don't throw that away.
Lenara: I don't want to! Maybe I need more time. Maybe if I go back to Trill for a while, think it over. I can always come back later.
Dax: I wish I could believe you. But ultimately, it comes down to this. If you feel about me the way I feel about you, you won't go on that transport tomorrow. And if you do leave, I think we both know you're never coming back again.