Kira: You wanted to see me, Commander?
Sisko: Actually, what I'd like to see is next month's duty roster.
Kira: You'll have it on your desk first thing in the morning.
Sisko: That's what you said yesterday.
Kira: I know, but I just spent the whole day yesterday
Sisko: Talking to Minister Rozahn about irrigating the Trilar Peninsula.
Kira: How did you know?
Sisko: It's hard to keep a secret in Ops, especially when you've been shouting at a monitor for the last two days.
Kira: I thought I kept it down to an angry whisper.
Sisko: Let's just say that your voice carries.
Kira: Every time I talk to one of the ministers I promise myself I'm not going to lose control. But then they give me some stupid bureaucratic excuse for why something isn't getting done, and I get so, so
Sisko: Frustrated.
Kira: Oh Commander, I am way beyond frustrated. Bajor is in trouble. I just want to help.
Sisko: I can understand that, and I sympathize. As far as I'm concerned you can shout at the provisional government all you want to, as long as it doesn't interfere with your duties here on the station.
Kira: You're right. I'll get on that report right away.
O'Brien: Major, Quark's been looking for you. He says it's urgent.
Kira: Perfect.
Kira: I hear you've been trying to get in touch with me.
Quark: You hear right. Look around you. Does anything seem to be amiss?
Kira: The sonata Varani is playing is lovely. Your customers seem to be enjoying him.
Quark: Why be modest, Major? They're not just enjoying him. They're mesmerized by him.
Kira: So?
Quark: So while they're being mesmerized, they're not gambling, they're not eating, they're barely drinking. Profits are down across the board.
Kira: He just started yesterday.
Quark: I monitor my gross income hourly. My hourly figures become my indicators. My indicators become my projections. And my projections based on the last twenty six hours show an unprecedented decline in profits.
Kira: Stop overreacting. When people hear about how wonderful Varani is, they'll come beating down your door.
Quark: What are you basing that projection on? Bajoran intuition? That and a strip of latinum will get you a couple of spins at the dabo wheel.
Kira: You promised me you will try him out for a month.
Quark: If my projections hold true, in a month I'll be out of business!
Kira: Quark, you are going to do this.
Quark: Why should I?
Kira: Because I asked you to.
Quark: Maybe he could play something with a little more bounce to it.
Kira: Bounce?
Quark: For a change of pace.
Kira: That was beautiful.
Varani: Having my work appreciated again, I've almost forgotten how it feels.
Kira: Granted, it's not quite the exhibition halls you're used to.
Varani: One can't be choosy about performance venues these days.
Kira: I just spoke with Quark. He likes what you're doing but he's hoping you'll play a variety of styles.
Varani: A little less exhibition hall and a little more music hall, is that it?
Kira: Something like that.
Varani: I think I can accommodate him.
Girl: Dabo!
Man: That's great.
Kira: I'd love to hear you play in a more appropriate setting.
Varani: Have you spoken to Minister Bolka about my idea to rebuild the Jalanda Forum?
Kira: I mentioned it to him. He's got a lot on his mind.
Varani: You must keep trying. Bajorans must reclaim their artistic heritage if they ever hope to regain their sense of self-worth.
Kira: Next time I talk to the Minister I'll bring it up again, but I can't promise anything.
Sisko: Ah, Major. Get everything settled with Quark?
Kira: That little toad is this far from doing a three sixty out an airlock.
Sisko: I'm glad to hear everything went okay.
O'Brien: Commander, sensors are picking up elevated neutrino readings. A ship's coming through the wormhole.
Sisko: On screen.
Kira: Sensors are detecting four lifeforms on board.
O'Brien: I'm reading a plasma leak in their engine core.
Sisko: Hail them.
Kira: No response.
O'Brien: The reactor's overheating. Life support is barely functioning.
Sisko: Get them out of there, Chief.
O'Brien: Aye, sir.
Sisko: I'm Commander Sisko of the United Federation of Planets. You've just been beamed onto a Bajoran space station. We don't mean you any harm. We're going to bring your ship in. Once it's docked, we'll diagnose its problems and hopefully fix them. After that, you can be on your way. I can offer you medical assistance for that wound
Tumak: Oo-mata! Oo-mata! Dongo patar meeoto fenta. Fenta!
Haneek: Naga dentana. Dentana. Oobay a-tal? Oobay a-tal. Keetama sootay. Shalanta Skrreea. Skrreea.
Kira: Does anyone understand what she's saying?
Sisko: Something must be wrong with the Universal Translator. Chief?
O'Brien: It's working, Commander, but for some reason it's having a hard analyzing their language patterns. Their syntax and their grammatical structure must be completely unlike anything in our database.
Sisko: We'll have to keep them talking until the computer can establish a translation matrix.
Haneek: Ketoh maseeca Skrreea. Tolak mayfessaka. Koo masek. Gadoux besoolin fenta. Fenta?
Kira: Keeping them talking shouldn't be much of a problem.
Haneek: Oobay-a-tal? Fidask setoma meeka?
Sisko: Major, we've got to get them down to the Infirmary. They seem to be most comfortable with you. Why don't you lead the way?
Kira: All right. We're going to take a little ride in the turbolift.
Haneek: Toma. Bessa.
Sisko: Sisko to Odo.
Odo: Yes, Commander.
Sisko: We're bringing some new arrivals from the Gamma Quadrant down to the Promenade. Meet us at turbolift nine.
Odo: I'm on my way.
Kira: We're here. You can come out now. There's no need to be afraid. Come on, it's all right.
Odo: What seems to be the trouble, Commander?
Sisko: The computer's having a hard time translating their language.
Odo: I can see how that would be a problem.
Kira: It's okay. Come on.
Odo: Hold on, let's stick together. No wandering off. You just stay put while I round up your friends.
Kira: Let me try. Come with me.
Haneek: Intaowa. Intaowa.
Sisko: Dress. It's called a dress.
Haneek: Intaowa.
Kira: Intaowa?
Odo: I'm afraid you'll have to put that back.
Tumak: Vala. Vala!
Haneek: Intaowa!
Kira: Do you like it?
Odo: Yes, it's very nice but it's not yours.
Odo: And that goes for you, too.
Sisko: Major, perhaps you'd better handle this.
Kira: All right, let's put those back, both of you. They really need to put those back. We can go shopping later, but right now it's very important that we go to the Infirmary, so everyone follow me. We'll all go together.
Haneek: Fazeek. Cromay fazeek!
Gai: Kootana.
Cowl: Kootana batoo lakar asheem!
Gai: Dokka?! Pestani voe lakar asheem!
Haneek: Kolat! Kolat kee!
Odo: There's no doubt who the boss is.
Sisko: How bad is it, Doctor?
Bashir: Looks like a second degree plasma burn. The dermal regenerator should take care of it.
Kira: I'm sorry. I'm not the doctor.
Haneek: Kolat. Kolat gadoux.
Bashir: I assure you, I will not hurt him.
Kira: He's going to be all right.
Kira: This will be your quarters while you're here on the station. I'm sure you want to rest and clean up and you don't understand anything I'm saying, do you.
Sisko: I know something they might understand. Seven maaza stalks. This is food. Please, try one. Major, show them it's okay.
Kira: See? It's really very good.
Kira: I'm glad you like them.
Haneek: Noloux bataak rama satta. Rama emal jeetaka. Zula koo Gadoux soka gee.
Kira: I'm sorry I don't understand.
Haneek: Bataak rama satta. Rama satta. Zula koo. Hemena kee. Soulak. Need estassa.
Odo: Wait. Did you hear that? I think she said need.
Sisko: Go on, keep talking.
Haneek: Ganoux? Noloux bataak rama setta my people yeekopa Skrreea havou fotar save them.
Kira: Save them?! How? Do you understand what I'm saying? Keep talking.
Haneek: Noloux Skrreea soka roo need your help. There's no time. Soulak. We are the Skrreea. My people need your help. There's no time to waste.
Kira: You're people are the Skrreea. You need our help. There's no time to waste.
Sisko: Your people, where are they?
Haneek: They're on the creshnee side of the Eye.
Kira: The Eye?
Haneek: The Eye of the Universe. The tunnel.
Odo: I think she means the wormhole.
Haneek: They're on the other side. They don't realize we found the Eye.
Sisko: How many people are we talking about?
Haneek: Many. Three jeetaka.
Kira: Three hundred? Three thousand?
Odo: Three million?
Haneek: Three million. Three million of my people are on the other side. We must bring them through the Eye. We must bring them here.
Kira: Is there anything wrong?
Haneek: I'm just not used to the men being here. Skrreean men don't involve themselves in situations like this.
Dax: Are all your leaders women?
Haneek: Yes.
Bashir: All of them?
Dax: You heard her, Julian.
Haneek: Men are much too emotional to be leaders. They're always fighting among themselves. It's their favorite thing to do. I'm sorry. I hope I haven't offended anyone.
Sisko: Sorry to keep you waiting.
Dax: That's all right, Benjamin. Haneek was just telling us how the Skrreea are a female dominant society.
O'Brien: It seems the men are a bit too emotional to become leaders.
Haneek: Please do not misunderstand. We love our men. Really.
Sisko: Are you one of the leaders of your people, Haneek?
Haneek: Me? Oh, no. I'm little more than a farmer. I was just lucky.
Bashir: How so?
Haneek: I was the first one to find the Eye of the Universe.
Dax: You were looking for the wormhole?
Haneek: We had heard about a great tunnel being diskovered. We knew it must be the Eye of the Universe that would lead us to Kentanna.
O'Brien: Kentanna?
Haneek: Kentanna is the legendary home of the Skrreeans. It has always been portrayed in our sacred texts as being just beyond the Eye of the Universe. A planet of sorrow where the Skrreean will sow seeds of joy.
Sisko: I can't guarantee you'll find Kentanna, but I can promise you that we'll help you find a home. We've sent our runabouts to the Gamma Quadrant to make contact with your ships.
Haneek: That will be difficult. They're spread out, looking for the Eye.
Odo: And when we find them, what then? This station only holds seven thousand people. You're talking about three million Skrreeans.
Kira: I'm afraid most of your people will have to stay confined to their ships.
Haneek: I understand.
Sisko: In the meantime, is there any one person we should be looking for? A leader or leaders?
Haneek: Most of our leaders were killed by the T-Rogorans.
Bashir: The T-Rogorans? Who are they?
Haneek: For eight centuries my people have lived under their rule. We've been forced to work as laborers and servants. We were able to escape when the T-Rogorans were invaded and conquered.
Odo: Who conquered them?
Haneek: I don't know their name. I only know they were members of something called the Dominion.
Kira: Did I wake you?
Haneek: That's all right. Please, come in. Computer, lights on full.
Kira: I can come back.
Haneek: No. You've been so kind to me, how could I possibly refuse your company?
Haneek: Go back to bed. Go on. Go on. I'll join you again after I'm through.
Kira: Are those your husbands?
Haneek: Hus-bands? I'm not familiar with that word. They're bonded to me.
Kira: Do you sleep with them both?
Haneek: Of course. Don't you sleep with your males?
Kira: No, I don't have any males. Not at the moment, anyway.
Haneek: They're very useful.
Kira: Yes, I can imagine they are. I just wanted to tell you we found some of your ships. Several hundred Skrreeans should be arriving at the station today. We thought it would be a good idea if you were there to meet them.
Haneek: Why me?
Kira: You yourself said most of your leaders were dead.
Haneek: Yes, that's true, but Kira, I'm just a farmer.
Kira: You also were the first one through the Eye of the Universe. That's got to mean something, in some symbolic sort of way. Oh, here. I brought you something. Go ahead, open it.
Kira: You seemed to like it.
Haneek: I'm sorry. I think you misunderstood.
Kira: What do you mean?
Haneek: I thought this was the most hideous thing I'd ever seen.
Kira: Well, that makes two of us.
Haneek: It's awful.
Kira: It's horrible. Who would wear that?
Jake: It was no big deal.
Nog: You go out on a date with a dabo girl for the first time and you sit there and tell me it was no big deal?
Jake: It's wasn't really a date.
Nog: Does your father know you went out with her?
Jake: Not exactly.
Nog: He doesn't?
Jake: I told him I had to help someone with their homework.
Nog: Good thinking. Too bad I won't ever be able to use that lie. My dad knows I never do homework.
Jake: It's not a lie, Nog. Mardah's studying entomology. She asked me to help her out.
Nog: A dabo girl who studies entomology? Sure.
Jake: It's true.
Nog: What is entomology?
Jake: The study of bugs.
Nog: You mean she wants to be a chef?
Jake: Hey, who's that?
Nog: I don't know. What's he doing?
Nog: That's disgusting.
Jake: He must be one of those Skrreeans. My dad says there's a lot more on the way.
Jake: Hi!
Nog: Doesn't he know what a replicator's for? Idiot. So, does Mardah have any sisters?
O'Brien: Commander, I've cleared the Skrreean ship to dock at upper pylon two.
Sisko: It's time to welcome your people to the Alpha Quadrant, Haneek.
Haneek: Come along. Don't be afraid. Come on. It's all right, you're among friends. Don't be afraid. It's all right. It's all right.
Odo: Slow down! There's no running on the Promenade! It's going to get awfully crowded around here, Commander
Sisko: I know, Constable, but it's worth it. Just look at them. They're experiencing their first taste of freedom.
Jake: Nog! Where are you going?
Nog: Can't talk now! Got to run!
Odo: Nog! You know there's no running on the Promenade.
Nog: Who's running?
Odo: What seems to be the problem?
Jake: What's that smell?
Tumak: Ask him!
Nog: Me? You're the one who stinks!
Tumak: That's because you sprayed that vapor on us!
Odo: Is that true, Nog?
Nog: No!
Odo: Nog?
Nog: It was a joke!
Odo: Very amusing. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I'll take care of it from here.
Tumak: This isn't over yet, Big Ears!
Nog: Hey, here's a new one. What kind of name is Plix Tixiplik?
Odo: I believe he's a Reegrunion.
Nog: Wanted in seven star systems for illegal weapon sales. Weapon sales, huh? Very profitable.
Odo: How would you know about that?
Nog: My Uncle Quark told me.
Odo: And what would your Uncle Quark know about illegal weapon sales?
Nog: He, er, he, er
Quark: Knows better than to ever get involved in anything so disreputable.
Odo: I'm sure. I asked that the boy's father come to see me.
Quark: Rom is doing the weekly stock inventory. I don't want to interrupt him. You know how easy he loses count, so I came in his place. Nog, have you been causing mischief again?
Nog: No, Uncle. It's all a misunderstanding.
Odo: He sprayed several Skrreean boys with a foul-smelling vapor.
Quark: Did he. What do you have to say for yourself?
Nog: I'm sorry?
Quark: You see? The boy's beside himself with guilt.
Odo: That doesn't excuse his actions.
Quark: And he will be punished severely.
Nog: I will?
Quark: I want you to tell the Constable here that you will never do it again.
Nog: I won't? I mean I won't. I promise. Never again.
Odo: See that you don't.
Nog: Can I leave now?
Odo: Go on.
Quark: You know, you really can't blame the boy.
Odo: And why's that?
Quark: Oh, come on, Odo. You know these Skrreeans are nothing but trouble. They're all over the station, looking and touching, never buying anything. And they flake.
Odo: I didn't notice.
Quark: Come to my place. You'll see little pieces of Skrreean skin all over the bar and the floor. It's disgusting.
Odo: They won't be here long.
Quark: I hope not. They're driving my paying customers away. If they stay here too long I'll be out of business.
Odo: In that case, I hope they never leave.
Vayna: We've talked it over among ourselves. Our feelings were unanimous. You diskovered the Eye of the Universe. You must lead us the rest of the way.
Haneek: I'll do the best I can.
Kira: That looked serious. Is everything all right?
Haneek: Look at them. Look at my people. I've never seen them so happy. And here I sit, feeling trapped.
Kira: Why?
Haneek: They expect me to lead them to Kentanna.
Kira: It's going to be okay. Commander Sisko is doing everything he can to find you a place to live. You're not alone.
Varani: I hope I'm not intruding.
Kira: Oh, not at all. Haneek, this is Varani, a great musician. Maybe the greatest Bajor has ever known.
Varani: She exaggerates, but that's why I'm so fond of her. Being a Bajoran, I know what it's like to be displaced. As a token of friendship, I would like to give you this.
Varani: It's from a concert I played many years ago at the Jalanda Forum.
Haneek: Tumak, where have you been?
Tumak: Nowhere.
Haneek: Where are you going?
Tumak: To wash.
Haneek: Computer, please show me a chart of this star system.
Jake: So what did your Dad say?
Nog: About what?
Jake: About you getting in trouble with Odo.
Nog: He was very angry.
Jake: He was?
Nog: He always gets angry when I get caught.
Nog: I just remembered. I have some errands to run for my uncle.
Jake: You're going to have to face them sooner or later.
Tumak: That was very funny, what you did.
Nog: You see, Jake? There's a man with a sense of humor.
Tumak: Nobody's laughing.
Jake: And luckily nobody got hurt. I think my friend's real sorry for what he did. Aren't you?
Nog: I suppose.
Jake: See? What did I tell you?
Tumak: He doesn't sound sorry to me.
Nog: I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!
Quark: All right, that's enough. Break it up. I said, break it up!
Quark: It's bad enough you're all hanging around the station without buying anything. You have to start fighting, too?
Tumak: I thought we were welcome here.
Quark: Well make yourselves welcome somewhere else.
Tumak: You don't want us here. You don't want anything to do with us. We don't want anything to do with you. Any of you!
Quark: I can see the Skrreean don't bother to teach their children manners.
Sisko: Dax and I have been combing through data on every uninhabited M class planet in the sector. We think that Draylon Two would make a perfect home for the Skrreea.
Kira: Draylon Two? Never heard of it.
Dax: It's near Sefalla Prime. It's got definite possibilities. Stable orbit, temperate climate, and very low surface radiation.
Sisko: Add to that good soil and a long growing season. I think it's our best bet.
Sisko: May we come in?
Haneek: Of course.
Sisko: Ladies.
Haneek: Forgive them, Commander Sisko. They don't mean any disrespect.
Sisko: I understand. We have some encouraging news.
Kira: We think we've found a planet for you and your people, one with excellent potential for resettlement.
Haneek: We appreciate all your hard work, but I'm afraid it was unnecessary. You see, we've found Kentanna.
Kira: You did?
Haneek: A planet of sorrow, Kira. Don't you see? Kentanna is your planet. Kentanna is Bajor.
Sisko: Captain's log, stardate 47391.2. Chief O'Brien is continuing to oversee repairs to the Skrreean ships docked at the station. Meanwhile, Minister Rozahn and Vedek Sorad have arrived from Bajor with an official response to the Skrreeans' request to immigrate.
Varani: Major, if I may have a moment.
Kira: I'm sorry, Varani. I'm on my way to a meeting.
Varani: I know. With Minister Rozahn and Vedek Sorad. I presume Haneek will be there as well.
Kira: That's right.
Varani: Please tell her my heart goes out to her and her people. Tell her how much Bajorans everywhere regret having to refuse their request.
Kira: Aren't you being a little premature?
Varani: Am I? You know what the provisional government's answer is going to be.
Kira: These are people who've lost everything, Varani.
Varani: I know, and I wish there was some way we could help them. But Bajor is in shambles, Kira. You know that as well as I do.
Rozahn: First of all, I want you all to know that the provisional government has taken the Skrreeans' request for immigration very seriously. The debate in the Chamber of Ministers became quite heated at times. Though I suppose you could say that about all of our debates.
Sisko: But a decision was reached?
Rozahn: Yes. I was sent here to tell you that the Ministers in accord with the Vedek Assembly have decided to deny the Skrreeans' request. I am sorry.
Sorad: Bajor simply cannot absorb three million refugees at this time.
Rozahn: After what the Cardassians did to our planet, we can barely take care of our own.
Haneek: But no one is asking you to take care of us.
Sorad: This decision is not based strictly on Bajoran self-interest. Such a huge increase in population would prove to be tragic to your people as well as ours.
Haneek: But Bajor has more than enough room for us. The plains of the northwest peninsula are practically uninhabited. The land's ideal for farming.
Rozahn: It used to be, before the Cardassians got their hands on it.
Haneek: Minister Rozahn, the Skrreeans are farmers. Just give us the land. I guarantee you we can make it thrive again.
Rozahn: Under ideal circumstances, perhaps you could. But what if the circumstances aren't ideal? What if we go through another long winter? What if your crops fail? What if the famine that has been plaguing Bajor continues to spread? What then?
Haneek: We're willing to take that risk.
Rozahn: I'm afraid we aren't. We ran a series of projections to see whether a Skrreean settlement could survive on the northwest peninsula. The results were not encouraging.
Sisko: Haneek, I think you should seriously consider Draylon Two as an alternate to Bajor. The winters are mild, there's plenty of good farmland.
Haneek: No! Projections can be wrong.
Sorad: But what if they're not? What is Bajor to do if your people start dying?
Haneek: I thought I made that clear. We are not expecting your help.
Rozahn: Do you really think we could stand by and do nothing? We would feel obligated to help with food, with clothing, with whatever it would take.
Sorad: And where would that aid come from? Our resources are already depleted. To help you would mean depriving our own people.
Rozahn: I'm afraid the decision of the provisional government is final. The Skrreea will have to find somewhere else to live.
Haneek: Please, talk to them. Tell them they're wrong. Help us.
Kira: I can't. I'm sorry, Haneek, but they're right. I wish they weren't. I wish Bajor was Kentanna, but it's not.
Sisko: There's still Draylon Two.
Jake: Excuse me.
Jake: If you like cake, the icoberry torte is really good.
Tumak: Is that big-eared troll really your friend?
Jake: Yeah.
Tumak: He's an idiot.
Jake: You're not the first one to say that. But he's not such a bad guy once you get to know him.
Tumak: I don't plan on being around here that long.
Jake: My dad says you're probably going to Draylon Two.
Tumak: Does he?
Jake: Yeah. Sounds like a nice place.
Tumak: Do you want to move there?
Jake: No.
Tumak: Neither do I.
Haneek: Come in.
Kira: Haneek.
Haneek: The thing I don't understand is why you pretended to be my friend.
Kira: I wasn't pretending.
Haneek: Ah. So you are my friend until I need you.
Kira: I know it's hard for you to see right now, but I am trying to help.
Haneek: I think I've had quite enough of your help.
Kira: You've got to believe me, Commander Sisko has found you a wonderful home.
Haneek: You betrayed me, Kira.
Kira: No, I didn't. I honestly believe the provisional government made the right decision, for both Bajor and the Skrreeans.
Haneek: If that's true, we have nothing more to discuss.
Kira: I was hoping we could still be friends.
Haneek: So in other words, you came here looking for forgiveness. Well, I don't forgive you.
Sisko: Sisko to Kira.
Kira: Go ahead, Commander.
Sisko: Is Haneek with you?
Kira: Yes.
Sisko: I need both of you in Ops immediately. Tumak has taken a ship. He's headed for Bajor.
O'Brien: They're not responding, sir.
Sisko: Keep trying, Mister O'Brien.
Kira: How did this happen?
Sisko: With all the traffic around the station, Tumak and two of his friends were able to slip away. We didn't even know the ship was gone until the Bajorans contacted us. Haneek, I need for you to try to talk to your son.
O'Brien: There's a high-energy radiation leak in the port nacelle. We've tried to make him aware of it, but he refuses to acknowledge us.
Sisko: Major, open a channel to the Skrreean vessel.
Kira: Yes, sir. Ready.
Haneek: Tumak? Listen to me. Your ship's in danger.
Sisko: Have him turn off his engines and drift until the Bajorans can tractor him in.
Haneek: Tumak, turn off your engines. You must turn off your engines now.
O'Brien: He's not responding
Haneek: Tumak, this is serious. Your life is in danger. The others who are with you, their lives are in danger. Please, answer me!
Dax: Sensors are detecting two Bajoran vessels closing in on the Skrreean ship.
Sisko: Display it here. Mister O'Brien, patch us into the Bajoran interceptor.
O'Brien: Aye, sir.
Pilot: have entered restricted space you must turn around and leave immediately.
Kira: Open a channel. This is Major Kira Nerys on Deep Space Nine. The Skrreean vessel has refused to acknowledge our hails. Communications may be down. You have to let them land.
Pilot: That's impossible, Major we have strict orders not to allow any Skrreean vessel to land.
Kira: The pilot's just a boy. He took the ship without permission It's barely operational. We're not sure he'll make it back here.
Pilot: I'm sorry, Major, but we have our orders.
Kira: Who gave you those orders?
Pilot: They come directly from General Hazar.
Sisko: Dax, get me General Hazar on Bajor. Tell his people it's an emergency. I want to speak with him now.
Kira: Stand by, interceptor. General Hazar will be countermanding those orders any minute.
O'Brien: The interceptor's closing on the Skrreean ship.
Dax: It's General Hazar, Benjamin.
Sisko: On screen.
Hazar: What is this about, Commander?
Sisko: It's about the Skrreean vessel that's approaching Bajor.
Hazar: I've already given the order to have it turned back.
Sisko: That ship is being flown by a child and it's leaking radiation.
Hazar: A child?
Pilot: Skrreean ship. Repeating. Return to the space station now.
Hazar: Have him shut down his engines. We'll tow him back.
Haneek: Tumak, please, turn your engines off!
Kira: Interceptor One, what's going on?
Pilot: They've opened fire on us. Taking evasive action.
Haneek: Tumak, don't do this!
Pilot: We've been hit!
O'Brien: Commander, they're returning fire.
Haneek: No!
Kira: Disengage, interceptor! Repeat, disengage!
Sisko: General, tell your pilots to hold their fire.
Hazar: Relaying that order now.
Kira: Interceptor One.
Pilot: The Skrreean ship exploded. I didn't even think we hit it.
O'Brien: The phaser beam must've ignited the radiation leak.
Hazar: I'm very sorry, Commander.
Sisko: We all are, General.
Kira: I just stopped by to wish you luck on Draylon Two. Haneek, I still believe this is the best choice, for Bajor and for you.
Haneek: You still believe we would have been a burden to your people?
Kira: Yes.
Haneek: I think you've made a terrible mistake. All of you. Maybe we could have helped you. Maybe we could have helped each other. The Skrreeans are farmers, Kira. You have a famine on your planet. Perhaps we could have made that peninsula bloom again. We'll never know, will we? Fifty years of Cardassian rule has made you all frightened and suspicious. I feel sorry for you. You were right. Bajor is not Kentanna.


Alsia: When my husband was alive, we ran the business together, and I managed to put away a bit of latinum every year just for myself. Now he's gone, well, I've got quite a little sum.
Martus: That's important.
Alsia: Well, to be honest, it's not enough. Not for the future. Not for the way I want to live out my retirement. So, I've decided to invest it all. I can't believe I'm telling you this. I just met you but I feel like I can really trust you. It's like I've known you forever.
Martus: When hearts are in sympathy, time collapses.
Alsia: I'm taking everything I've saved and I'm purchasing the mining concession on the entire Vlugta asteroid belt.
Martus: How ambitious. And such an adventurous undertaking for a woman of your delicate sensibilities. Are you sure that's wise? Prospecting can be risky.
Alsia: Not this time. My father was a stellar cartographer. Thirty years ago, he conducted a full spectrum mineral analysis of those asteroids but he never had the means to follow up on what he found.
Martus: And now you plan to carry out your father's dream.
Alsia: When his survey results become public, I'll get seven times my investment back overnight. I still can't believe I'm telling you this. My secret plan. I've been thinking about it for years. I never even told my husband. It must be all this Gamzian wine.
Martus: How brave of you to do all of this on your own.
Alsia: It hasn't been easy. There's so much to keep track of, so much to do.
Martus: Maybe I could help. Would you consider some kind of partnership?
Odo: Let's go.
Martus: Exactly where are we going?
Odo: To Security.
Martus: But I've done nothing wrong.
Alsia: It's true. We were just talking.
Odo: You were talking, madam. He was listening.
Martus: Security Chief Odo, isn't it?
Odo: I've been watching you ever since you arrived.
Martus: Should I be flattered?
Odo: Martus Mazur, a refuge from the El-Aurian system.
Martus: Well, everyone has to be from somewhere. Where are you from, Odo?
Odo: Don't pull that routine on me.
Martus: What routine?
Odo: I know all about you El-Aurians. You're listeners. People like to talk to you.
Martus: Everyone has to have someone to confide in, someone to hear their stories I offer a sympathetic ear. And if they request my help I give it to them.
Odo: That couple from Pythro Five told me you asked for their financial access codes.
Martus: Some might call helping an elderly couple invest their savings a compassionate act.
Odo: Not when you invest it in your own business. A business that promptly folds.
Martus: I had a run of bad luck. No one regrets it more than I do.
Odo: You're a con man. And they've signed a complaint.
Martus: This isn't necessary. It really isn't necessary. I'm not going anywhere. Let's have a drink. Talk a bit?
Bashir: Chief.
O'Brien: Hello, Doctor.
Bashir: Great job. You built it yourself, didn't you?
O'Brien: Yeah. Just finished. I missed playing and I figured there'd be at least a couple of other players on board. I didn't think you'd be one of them. BASHIR Captain of the team at Starfleet Medical Academy. We took the sector championships in my final year.
O'Brien: Against other medical students?
Bashir: Against everybody. Played a Vulcan in the finals. Talk about stamina. I don't think he ever actually broke a sweat.
O'Brien: And you won?
Bashir: Took him on a back wall riser shot.
O'Brien: Well, I can't say I've had much in the way of formal training myself, but it's been a serious pastime for a lot of years.
Bashir: Some of the toughest players I've come up against didn't really know what they were doing.
O'Brien: Really.
Bashir: Formally I mean. Hey, whatever works, works. This exercise for example, I picked up at a tournament from a top player. It's a five thousand year old battle warm-up. According to the legend, it makes the heart a friend to the hand. Medically, I don't really know what that means, but it seems to give me a lot of energy. Fancy a game?
O'Brien: Serve.
Bashir: I guess from the lines you prefer the old style rules.
O'Brien: I can play any style you like.
Bashir: Traditional it is, then. Always been my personal favorite.
O'Brien: Serve!
Bashir: One.
Martus: Pardon me, friend. Pardon me!
Martus: Friend? Friend, re you all right?
Martus: I thought you'd died.
Cos: If only I could be so fortunate.
Martus: You were snoring.
Cos: Please accept my apologies. I didn't mean to disturb you, but as you can see, my health is not so good.
Martus: Yes, well, I'm sorry I had to wake you.
Cos: I wasn't always like this.
Martus: Of course not.
Cos: I had youth, vigor, fame, wealth beyond measure. All gone.
Martus: I'm not listening.
Cos: All because of this.
Martus: A gambling device? Did you win?
Cos: Of course not.
Martus: You gambled away everything you had?
Cos: In a manner of speaking. Every trade deal I struck was a disaster. Every alliance I formed fell apart. Every endeavor backed, a failure.
Martus: But what does this have to do with the toy? Sounds like you just had a lot of rotten luck.
Cos: Yes. Rotten luck. In the end It all comes down to luck. I won!
Martus: That's nice. What did you win?
Martus: Officer, you've got a dead prisoner in here. Officer!
Keiko: How'd it go?
Keiko: Good workout?
O'Brien: Medical school. Captain of the team at Medical school.
Keiko: Who are you talking about?
O'Brien: Bashir.
Keiko: You had a game?
O'Brien: No, he had a game. I just kind of stumbled around the court for ninety minutes and made a complete ass of myself.
Keiko: I'm sure he didn't see it that way.
O'Brien: The hell he didn't. That smug look on his face. I guess you prefer old style rules. Like I was some kind of a fossil. In my day, I could've wiped the court with him.
Keiko: That's the point. You're not a kid anymore. It's nothing to be ashamed of. People just naturally slow down.
O'Brien: Like molasses in winter, huh? Thanks.
Keiko: Miles, you're taking this way too seriously.
O'Brien: I'm out of shape, that's all. I just need to get my wind back. Sector Champion, my eye. He's vulnerable to every one of my best shots. I just couldn't get them there. This time.
Bashir: I thought he was going to have a heart attack.
Dax: Come on, Julian. It couldn't have been that bad.
Bashir: No, really. His face was flushed. I could've taken his pulse just watching the side of his neck.
Dax: Why didn't you stop it?
Bashir: Don't think I didn't try. After the first game, I told him I had an appointment. He ignored me. After the second game, I told him I was getting tired. He didn't believe me. And then his racquet broke and I thought, finally. But no. He made me stay there while he went away and replicated another one.
Dax: So what finally happened?
Bashir: While he was gone, I called my assistant and told her. May I? Told her to call me back after five minutes and say there was an emergency at the Infirmary.
Dax: That's terrible.
Bashir: There was no other way out. Otherwise there would have been an emergency. Chief O'Brien's coronary.
Dax: At least it's all over.
Bashir: That's just it. This is just the beginning. The Chief wants a rematch, and I'm telling you, it's going to kill him.
Dax: Honestly, Julian, you're exaggerating. O'Brien's can't be a day over thirty eight.
Bashir: He's too young to die. I guess I'm overstating the health risk. That's not the point. The Chief has a lot of pride, and for good reason. I really respect him, the things he does, the kind of man he is. I just don't want to humiliate him.
Martus: Another winner. What luck.
Odo: The Pythron couple has refused to press charges. You can go.
Martus: Of course. Didn't I tell you? They're my friends.
Quark: All right. Double or nothing.
Rom: House always takes blue.
Quark: Sorry, the drink's on you. Can I help you.
Martus: Prosecco.
Quark: And how do you plan on paying for this? With charm, perhaps?
Martus: Double or nothing?
Quark: Double nothing is still nothing.
Martus: If I lose, I'll give you this.
Quark: House always takes blue.
Quark: Lucky.
Martus: My luck's running good today.
Quark: So I heard. Decided not to testify, did they?
Martus: I don't know what you mean.
Quark: No? The forty seventh Rule of Acquisition says 'Don't trust a man wearing a better suit than your own.' Either you're a con artist or you're covering up an empty coin purse. I happen to know it's both.
Martus: Well, we can't all be as successful as you are.
Quark: Too true.
Quark: Some kind of game? I've never seen that one before. How do you play?
Martus: Just push the key.
Martus: Too bad.
Martus: As I told you, my luck's running good today.
Quark: Am I supposed to be impressed?
Martus: A little tinkering, some replication and expansion, it might make a nice addition to your casino.
Quark: And who would play this? It's just a child's toy. My nephew, it might keep him out of my ears for a couple of days. I'll take it.
Martus: That's a tidy sum.
Quark: I'm feeling benevolent today. Have another.
Martus: I might have accepted, but the offer of the drink? That tells me you're very interested.
Quark: Nonsense. You read too much into nothing. My benevolence is known far and wide.
Martus: Oh, it's legendary, I'm sure. I'll take one hundred times what you've got here.
Quark: Not in this space-time continuum, you won't. Go try to peddle this little triviality down on Bajor. You might be able to trade it for a meal, but it won't be a hot one.
Martus: You'll be in profit by the end of the week.
Quark: Final offer. Take it before my generosity fades.
Martus: Perhaps I'll hold on to it a bit longer.
Quark: Suit yourself. But be under no illusion. If I was serious about acquiring this, it would be mine, and for substantially less than what you'd hoped for.
Martus: It seems overconfidence comes in small packages around here.
Quark: My track record speaks for itself, just like your security file.
Martus: Thanks for the drink.
Martus: Times are difficult.
Roana: Oh, it's not that. Business was good.
Martus: Then why are you shutting down?
Roana: My husband and I ran this place for nine years. Before that, we had a shop on Bajor for seventeen. But a few months ago he passed away, and my heart just not in it anymore.
Martus: Not the same, is it, working by yourself.
Roana: No. It's so much nicer to work next to someone else. You understand.
Bashir: Nice shot.
Bashir: Damn.
O'Brien: You think I'm stupid, too?
Bashir: I don't know what you're talking about.
O'Brien: I don't need your charity. Next time, you either play your best game or you don't play.
Quark: He can't do this. I have an exclusive contract. I want him arrested.
Odo: Who are you talking about?
Quark: Martus, that listener.
Odo: What's he done?
Quark: Just look.
Martus: Welcome, friends, welcome, welcome. Welcome to Club Martus.
Quark: I have a contract for which I paid considerably. All gambling on DS Nine happens at Quark's or it doesn't happen.
Sisko: A few bribes to the Cardassians when they ran this place doesn't constitute a contract, not in the eyes of the Federation.
Quark: He's a con-artist, a crook.
Sisko: One more won't make much difference.
Quark: Without me, the other merchants would have abandoned the station.
Quark: You owe me. You begged me to stay here when you first came on board and I did, against my better judgment.
Sisko: I didn't beg, I blackmailed you. And don't pretend it hasn't paid off for you either.
Quark: It's paid off fine until now. Martus is cutting into my profits. I want him stopped before it gets any worse.
Rom: Too late for that, my brother.
Quark: What is the meaning of this?
Martus: I've promised your underpaid sibling a one quarter partnership in my establishment.
Rom: Make me a better offer.
Quark: A bidding war? Over you? Don't make me laugh. Careful, Martus. He shaves the latinum.
Rom: I do not. Not much.
Alsia: Martus, I just received word that the Vlugta government has accepted my bid.
Martus: That's wonderful. What's wrong?
Alsia: They won't finalize the transaction until I commission a study on the effects of asteroid mining on inner-system navigation. All my money is committed to the bid. I can't afford the study and I only have a week to get it done.
Martus: How much do you need?
Alsia: Ten thousand Isiks.
Martus: Ten thousand Isiks? It won't be easy to raise that kind of money.
Alsia: I hope I can find an investor in time.
Martus: I might know someone. But what kind of return could they expect on their investment?
Alsia: Once I begin mining, I'd pay back ten times ten thousand.
Martus: Don't worry, Alsia, I'll do everything in my power to keep your dream alive.
Alsia: Oh, Martus, I don't know how to thank you.
Martus: Is there some problem, Rom?
Rom: Not with this batch but with my brother around you can never be too careful.
Martus: You mean to say he'd poison the canapés?
Rom: Maybe not poison, but a small intestinal bug? I wouldn't put it past him.
Martus: Don't worry about Quark. I've had the most astonishing run of luck lately. I'm beginning to think I can do no wrong.
Martus: Neatness counts. Never think it doesn't. A toast to the Queen of the Promenade. A woman whose business acumen is matched only by her beauty and charm. Have I missed anything? To you, my treasure. Are you as pleased as I am?
Roana: What do you think?
Martus: I think we make quite a good team. Perhaps we should consider formalizing our relationship.
Roana: Are you proposing to me?
Martus: What do you think?
Roana: It's beautiful.
Martus: You deserve nothing less.
Roana: And these are wonderful. Where did you find them?
Martus: I had them replicated from a handheld version a friend gave me.
Roana: I've never seen anything like them.
Martus: No one has.
Kira: All right, is this everything you'll need for the lab?
Dax: I think so.
Dax: I don't believe it.
Kira: Believe what?
Dax: I've had the computer looking for this program for weeks. It was buried somewhere in the deep code level right before the Cardassians left.
Kira: How'd you find it?
Dax: I'm not sure. It's more like it found me. Just lucky, I guess.
Bashir: I'm so sorry.
O'Brien: What happened?
Bashir: You served, I returned low, you slipped on the ball.
O'Brien: I slipped on the ball?
Bashir: Stepped right on it mid-flight. Never seen anything like it. Easy now, let me check you out.
O'Brien: I'm fine. Serve.
Crewman: Doctor Bashir, report to the Infirmary.
Bashir: I'm sorry, Chief, I have to go.
O'Brien: I'll get you next time, okay?
Bashir: Look, about that. It's just that I guess I don't enjoy this game as much as I used to. I hope you don't mind. I'm sure you'll find another opponent.
O'Brien: Where is everybody?
Quark: My friendly competitor's place. A listener. So what? So he listens. I can listen. I can listen as well as anyone. What happened?
O'Brien: I fell down.
Quark: See? I'm listening. Nothing to it. How did you fall down?
O'Brien: Playing racquetball with Bashir.
Quark: Where?
O'Brien: On the court, where do you think?
Quark: What was the score?
O'Brien: Who cares?
Quark: I care. I'm listening. Tell me your problems, all of them.
O'Brien: I've got no problems a good drop shot wouldn't cure.
Quark: He beat you.
O'Brien: Only by half a step, that's all. He's got a few years on me. So what. I've got more experience.
Quark: The aging champion.
O'Brien: I've got spin shots he's never even seen
Quark: Versus the daring challenger.
O'Brien: So I had some bad breaks. One more game. That's all I needed.
Quark: Come one, come all.
O'Brien: I'd've kicked him all over the court.
Quark: Welcome to Quark's.
O'Brien: Thanks.
Quark: Don't mention it. Quark's House of Champions
Kira: Damn.
Sisko: Something wrong, Major?
Kira: My terminal just self-destructed.
Dax: What?
Kira: I lost an evaluation report I've been working on for weeks.
Dax: Even the backups?
Kira: Even the backups.
Sisko: Funny, I've been hearing a lot of bad luck stories in the last few hours. Doctor Bashir tells me the Infirmary is full of minor accidents. People slipping and falling, walking into turbolift doors before they open, that kind of thing.
Dax: Well, I've had a great day so don't try to send your misfortunes my way.
Kira: Come on. You make our own luck. We all know that.
Kira: Ow!
Martus: They all hit the jackpot at once? Is there any way I can blame this on you?
Rom: I don't think so.
Martus: No, I suppose not. All right, pay them all off.
Quark: Challenge of the Galaxy. Match of the Century. Wonder of the Wormhole.
Quark: House always takes blue.
Quark: If it's action you want, you've come to the right place. Excitement? We've got it all. Thrills, spills, victory and defeat. Look no further. We've got it all.
Quark: And here he is, the reigning champion of Starfleet. A legend on both sides of the wormhole. Ladies and gentlemen, Miles The Mechanic O'Brien!
O'Brien: What's this all about? I got an emergency call.
Bashir: So did I, but I don't see any emergency.
Quark: And the challenger. He's fast, he's deadly, he's Julian Bashir. They call him the Doctor. The grudge match of the galaxy!
O'Brien: Get down here!
Quark: And all For a worthy cause. Yes, these noble competitors have insisted that I donate half the house's winnings to the Bajoran Fund for Orphans.
O'Brien: Orphans?
Quark: The Mechanic versus the Doctor. Tomorrow, twelve hundred hours. Only one will emerge victorious, so place your bets. And in the meantime, the tables are open.
Bashir: This is outrageous. We haven't agreed to anything.
Quark: As your exclusive promoter, I have the right to arrange matches as I see fit.
Bashir: Exclusive promoter?
Quark: Just sign here.
O'Brien: Forget it, Quark.
Quark: I understand how you feel, but think of the children. The monks have already made a down payment on new blankets for the winter. Ah well, I'm sure the little ones can huddle together for warmth.
Bashir: Looks like you're going to get that rematch after all.
Dax: I don't believe it. The program I found. It disappeared.
Sisko: Have you checked the deep code level?
Dax: No luck. It's funny, it's like the computer brought that program up at random then just swallowed it up again.
Sisko: Major, are you all right.
Kira: Not even a sprain, which is more than I can say for everybody else in the Infirmary.
Sisko: Still crowded?
Kira: Yeah. And Doctor Bashir tells me it's a whole new batch.
Sisko: More minor accidents?
Kira: Dozens of them.
Dax: Could there be a connection between the accidents and the increase in the system failures?
Kira: I didn't get hurt by a system failure. I tripped and fell. Just coincidence, that's all.
Sisko: There must be a logical explanation for all of this. Maybe a virus or some kind of spatial disruption?
Dax: It would have to be something that would affect both people and machinery.
Sisko: Get on it.
Rom: I always had smaller lobes than the rest of the boys. They used to tease me about it. Quark was the worst. He told everyone I was adopted.
Martus: I just don't understand. Things were going so well.
Rom: On my naming day, Quark substituted old vegetables for my presents. Then he sold the presents for more than our father had paid for them.
Martus: I couldn't care less about your trivial childhood. We've been virtually abandoned, and I want to know why.
Rom: A bad streak. It happens.
Martus: Not to me it doesn't. I require the comfort of a compassionate soul.
Roana: Don't think I didn't see through you right from the start.
Martus: It's a joke. Really.
Roana: Well in case you've forgotten, I still hold the lease on this place. I want you out of here by tomorrow, and take those damn things with you.
Martus: But, but
Martus: But Treasure!
Rom: Oh, I knew no good would come of this. I never should've left Quark. What's going to happen now?
Martus: I'm not sure. But I have an idea.
Martus: The profits from the Club. I believe it comes to just about ten thousand Isiks.
Alsia: Oh, Martus, you don't know how much this means to me.
Martus: I know what it means to me. Ten times as much in return.
Alsia: You won't regret this. You'll see. We'll both be rich.
O'Brien: You can beat his backhand. Keep the ball low and to his left. Corner return on the serve, then kill shot left. If he returns again, high back wall And remember
Keiko: Win or lose, tonight we celebrate. Miles, wait.
Keiko: A silk handkerchief, medieval Japanese design, scented with my perfume.
Keiko: Kick his butt.
Quark: Doctor, I brought you something. A token of thanks from the monks to show how much they appreciate your participation in their little fund-raiser.
Bashir: Thanks. Put it over there.
Quark: Aren't you going to try some?
Bashir: What is it?
Quark: The monks tell me it's a medicinal brew. An ancient secret of their order. It's supposed to impart great energy and vigor. Just the kind of thing to have before an athletic competition. But you're a man of science. You probably don't believe in folk medicine.
Bashir: Actually, you'd be surprised just how often traditional medicine turns out to have genuine value. Did they say was in this stuff?
Quark: They didn't exactly, but I'm sure it's all completely natural. Oh, the monks said you should drink the whole thing in one gulp in order to get the proper effect.
Bashir: Did they?
Quark: What are you doing?
Bashir: Just curious about its contents.
Quark: But what about your exercises?
Bashir: This won't take a second.
Quark: Why bother? Don't you trust the monks?
Bashir: Water, sucrose, dextrose, tribnel root extract, grain particulates, yeast, synthehol, and seventeen milligrams of hyvroxilated quint-ethyl metacetamine.
Quark: Like I said, all natural.
Bashir: It's an anesthetic, Quark. If I drank that, I'd hardly be able to stand, let alone play racquetball. You were trying to fix the match, weren't you.
Quark: Would I do that?
Bashir: If you had enough latinum bet on Chief O'Brien you would.
Quark: No one's betting on Chief O'Brien. All the money's on you. If you win, there won't be any profits. And if there aren't any profits, I can't donate anything to the monks. No donations, no winter blankets for the children. But if you lose, then the house would win, and the monks would get their blankets.
Bashir: Are you suggesting that I throw the match?
Quark: For the children.
Bashir: Forget it, Quark.
Quark: But the blankets
Bashir: Will be provided by you one way or another, and if the monks don't get their blankets, Chief O'Brien and I'll be very upset. Do I make myself clear?
Quark: Perfectly.
Bashir: Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a match to play.
Sisko: Kira said you'd found something.
Dax: Oh, I found something all right. I just don't know what it means. Look at this.
Sisko: Solar neutrinos.
Dax: Notice anything unusual?
Kira: There're a lot of them?
Dax: The spin. Given the laws of probability, from any point of view, about half of them should be spinning clockwise and the other half counterclockwise. But over eighty percent of them are spinning clockwise.
Kira: You're saying people are having accidents because of the way the neutrinos are spinning?
Dax: No, but I think it's a symptom of the same problem. The neutrinos outside the station are normal, but inside the station something very strange is going on.
O'Brien: Have a good game, Julian.
Bashir: You too.
Quark: First point, O'Brien, breaking the serve. So it begins
Quark: Two zero, O'Brien. Not a rousing start for the Doctor.
Martus: Where is she?
Rom: Who?
Martus: Alsia. She was supposed to meet me here and tell me how the bid went.
Rom: I still don't think it's fair. You investing my money without asking.
Martus: Your money?
Rom: You promised me one quarter of the profits, but then you gave her everything we earned.
Martus: I promised you a quarter of the profits after expenses.
Rom: Expenses? What expenses?
Martus: Operating costs, overhead, recapitalisation.
Rom: That does it.
Martus: Where are you going?
Rom: Back to Quark. At least then I'll get cheated by family. Let's get out of here.
Quark: Another bad break for Bashir. Nine three, O'Brien.
O'Brien: Quark. I'm cutting the transmission.
Quark: What? You can't.
O'Brien: Watch me.
Quark: Ladies and gentlemen, the players have called a three minute break. Betting is reopened. Three minutes. Three minutes only.
Bashir: Why did you do that?
O'Brien: Something's wrong here.
Bashir: With me maybe, but you're having a great game.
O'Brien: The best I've played my entire life. I'm making shots I couldn't have made fifteen years ago when I was playing five hours a day, every day. I can't miss.
Bashir: And I can't hit the broad side of a Plygorian mammoth.
O'Brien: Try throwing the ball against the wall.
Bashir: It should have come straight back to me. You try.
O'Brien: O'Brien to Ops.
Bashir: It goes right into his hand. Every single time.
O'Brien: I must have done it a dozen times by now. And I haven't missed once yet.
Bashir: Nobody can be that lucky. It's impossible.
Dax: Not impossible, just extremely improbable.
O'Brien: Improbable?
Sisko: Like the neutrinos on the station spinning the same way. Or a few dozen people having minor accidents at the same instant. Or a system failing at just the wrong time.
Dax: Exactly. Someone or something on this station is distorting the laws of probability.
Sisko: Changing them so incredibly unlikely things can happen on a regular basis.
O'Brien: How can we find out what's causing it?
Dax: I think I know a way.
Dax: Ninety-eight percent of the neutrinos in this room are rotating clockwise.
Martus: The games are open.
Sisko: We're not here to play. Dax?
Dax: One hundred percent clockwise. It's these machines.
Martus: My gambling machines? What's wrong with them.
Dax: Somehow these machines are altering the laws of probability all over the station.
Martus: So that's what he meant.
Sisko: Who?
Martus: The alien who gave me the original. He said that it all came down to luck. That must be how it works. When you win, it makes you lucky, and when you lose
Dax: These machines are effecting everyone on the station, whether they're playing them or not.
Martus: Impossible. You must be mistaken.
Sisko: Wait a minute. You said there was an original machine?
Martus: Yes, a smaller one. When I opened the club I replicated these larger versions.
Sisko: Larger versions. So, how do you turn them off?
Martus: I'm not completely sure.
Sisko: Then how did you turn them on in the first place?
Martus: I didn't, exactly. I just told the replicator to scan the original and make copies. I think they have some kind of internal power source.
Sisko: Lieutenant.
Martus: Wait, wait, wait! What are you doing?
Sisko: Now as for you.
Martus: You can't possibly blame me for this, Commander.
Sisko: I'd like to. Unfortunately, I don't have anything I can charge you with.
Odo: Fortunately, I do. That elderly Pythron couple you assisted has had a change of heart. They've decided to press charges after all.
Martus: Alsia! I knew you'd come to get me out.
Odo: Inside.
Martus: What's the meaning of this?
Odo: Ask him.
Quark: Your lady friend over here just tried to scam me.
Martus: Scam?
Quark: Asteroid mining. To think anyone would be foolish enough to be taken in by that old trick. But don't worry, Martus, I've come to get you out.
Martus: In return for what?
Quark: Nothing. Pure generosity.
Martus: You're enjoying this, aren't you?
Quark: Taken in by one of your own victims and no one to turn to but me? I can't remember when I've been so entertained.
Martus: I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. Now how about giving me two thousand Isiks to book passage out of here.
Quark: You want me to give you money? Ridiculous. Of all the ungrateful arrogance.
Martus: Unless you want me to stay here on the station.
Quark: All right. I'll loan you five hundred Isiks. You can book passage on a cargo ship.
Martus: Fifteen hundred. After all, I do have expenses.
Quark: Six hundred.
Martus: Twelve hundred. I still have my dignity.
Quark: Dignity and an empty sack is worth the sack. Rule of Acquisition number a hundred and nine.
Martus: All right. Eight hundred.
Quark: Go on. I'm listening.


Quark: I am merely a businessman. It would take an orator with the skills of the late, great Plegg himself, to sing the praises of the late, great Plegg. What Ferengi could resist the honor of owning a small piece of the man that took a computer chip and turned it into the modular holosuite industry. A small piece of the man that brought holographic entertainment to the most remote parts of this quadrant, creating profit centers from societies that could barely afford to feed their own people.
Odo: How much are you asking?
Quark: As I was about to tell my good friend here, a mere three strips of latinum. And I'd be taking a loss at that price.
Quark: Okay, for you, two strips. Thank you very much.
Odo: Three strips? That's a fair price for Plegg.
Quark: I suppose you're interested.
Odo: Humanoid death rituals are an interest of mine.
Quark: Death rituals?
Odo: Everybody needs a hobby. Some species burn their dead, others pack them in blocks of ice. Some even surround themselves with the company of family corpses. But the Ferengi ritual of chopping up their loved ones and selling them? I find that irresistible.
Quark: I'm very busy here.
Odo: What a fitting and distinguished way to honor the memory of great Ferengi entrepreneurs. I'm thinking of starting a collection, putting up a display case in my office. There'll be a special space in there reserved for you, Quark.
Quark: I'm sure.
Quark: You're serious?
Odo: Have you ever known me not to be?
Odo: There is one thing I was curious about.
Quark: And what's that
Odo: How do I know it's Plegg?
Quark: It says so on the label.
Odo: Isn't there some sort of letter of authenticity?
Quark: The Ferengi Seal of Dismemberment is right there. What more do you want?
Odo: I want Plegg.
Quark: You've got him.
Odo: Not if he's still alive.
Quark: Still alive?
Odo: Still alive.
Quark: Plegg?
Odo: After I tracked him down on Khosla Two and told him about your little scheme, he was quite amused. I'm not.
Quark: Odo, I'm a victim here. I bought these disks in good faith. I have five thousand pieces of Plegg in my storeroom.
Odo: Not Plegg.
Quark: Then who?
Odo: Good question.
Quark: I demand an investigation.
Odo: You'll get one, I promise you.
Mora: Odo!
Odo: Doctor Mora.
Mora: It's been too long. You're looking well. Yes, coming along nicely.
Odo: Why didn't you let me know that you were coming?
Mora: It was a last minute arrangement.
Odo: The trip from Bajor takes five hours.
Quark: Can I get you something, Doctor Mora, was it?
Mora: Yes, some Deka tea would be nice. Haven't quite managed the ears yet, have you? Oh, no, but they're difficult. Is the suit a suit, or part of you? And what about the boots?
Quark: Here we are, nice and hot.
Mora: Thank you.
Quark: So, you two seem to be old friends.
Odo: Doctor Mora is the Bajoran scientist who was assigned to me after I was found.
Mora: I was personally responsible for his development during his formative years.
Quark: So this is a family reunion! I had a hunch. Well, Odo's dad is always welcome at Quark's.
Mora: Well, actually I
Odo: He's not my
Quark: I know he wouldn't tell you himself, but Odo is doing a wonderful job here on the station, if I may say so.
Mora: Is he?
Quark: Absolutely. As a matter of fact, when you came in, he was just beginning a fraud investigation.
Odo: Quark! Excuse us.
Quark: Of course. The two of you have a lot of catching up to do. If there's anything I can help you with, Doctor, don't hesitate to call on me.
Mora: That was uncalled for.
Odo: You don't know Quark.
Mora: I know that he was trying very hard to present you in a positive light to someone he thought was important to you, and you responded with
Odo: Please.
Mora: Still having trouble with social integration?
Odo: I integrate as much as I want to.
Mora: Define as much as I want to.
Odo: As much as I want to means, as much as I want to.
Odo: Quark is a thief, a con man, nobody you want to know.
Mora: So, tell me about this police thing you've gotten yourself involved with. Is it working out?
Odo: I enjoy my work as Chief of Security.
Mora: Chief of Security at a way-station in space. Don't you miss it, Odo?
Odo: What?
Mora: Our work.
Odo: Never.
Mora: I don't believe it. I know you too well. You were unhappy in the lab, I can't blame you for that. But the work, Odo, the work. The exploration of you, what you are, where you came from. That's never far from your mind, is it.
Odo: That part of it is true.
Mora: Good. Because I came here counting on that.
Jake: See you later, Dad.
Sisko: Hey, hey, hey, hey. Hold on.
Jake: I'm late.
Sisko: For what?
Jake: For Nog.
Sisko: Your homework.
Jake: It's done.
Sisko: You've studied that whole Klingon opera for the music test on Friday?
Jake: I'm going to ace the test, Dad, I promise.
Sisko: This isn't about tests, Jake. This is about learning. You can't learn to appreciate Klingon opera by cramming for the exam the night before.
Jake: What am I ever going to use Klingon opera for?
Sisko: Well, first of all, you don't know what you're going to be when you grow up. You may diskover along the way that you want to be a musician, or you may find yourself among some Klingons in a job somewhere.
Jake: Dad, even if I did, they wouldn't be going around singing operas.
Sisko: It helps to understand their culture.
Jake: When was the last time you listened to Klingon opera?
Sisko: When I was your age.
Jake: There, you see?
Sisko: Yes. Do you?
Jake: Just because you suffered through all that doesn't mean I have to.
Sisko: Yes, it does.
Sisko: Come in.
Jake: Dad.
Sisko: I have the perfect solution. Nog has the same test. Why don't you invite him over and you can listen to the Klingon opera together?
Sisko: Please, Odo, sit down.
Odo: Commander, I'd like to request the use of a runabout.
Sisko: Of course. For what?
Odo: A Doctor Mora Pol from the Bajoran Institute of Science has asked me to help him secure one from the Federation.
Sisko: Why did he come to you?
Odo: Doctor Mora is the scientist who was assigned to me in my first years here. If he went to the Board of Ministers to request permission to approach you, it would take months, and he's very anxious to investigate something in the Gamma Quadrant. And may I say, Commander, so am I.
Sisko: You've got me curious, Constable. Is it a secret?
Odo: No, but there isn't much to tell. One of the Bajoran science probes recently scanned a planet about six light years from the wormhole. It picked up some very unique and familiar DNA patterns. Patterns very much like my own, Commander. Doctor Mora thinks he may have diskovered the origin of my people. Of me.
Mora: It would seem to me that being a scientist yourself, Lieutenant, you can appreciate the difficulty of our dilemma, and the elegance of the solution. When Odo was first found, nobody knew who, or indeed, what it was we were dealing with. A shapeless, viscous mass of fluid, a veritable organic broth. That was our Odo in the beginning.
Dax: When did you realize you were dealing with a sentient lifeform?
Odo: He didn't. I had to teach him that myself.
Mora: It's true. It's very true. Tell her.
Odo: It was a dilemma for me. I had never seen anything like these creatures either.
Mora: Seen isn't really an appropriate description. He had no eyes per se.
Odo: I was just trying to describe it in simple terms.
Mora: He had never perceived anything like us before. Go on.
Odo: I knew I had to find some way to communicate with them. So I transformed myself into
Mora: It was remarkable. Every morning I would come into the lab, and every morning Odo would be there resting in his liquid form in a Krokan petri beaker. One morning I walked in and Odo was gone. The beaker was empty, but next to it was an identical beaker that had not been there before. A perfect replica in every way. It was amazing. It hasn't been the same since you've gone, Odo. Working with you has been the most rewarding part of my career.
Dax: We're approaching the planet. Prepare to enter standard orbit. Planet designated L S Six.
Weld: Initiating scans.
Dax: There's a lot of seismic activity down there, possibly volcanic in origin. Moving into synchronous orbit.
Mora: Do the letters mean anything to you?
Odo: No. I don't think so.
Mora: Judging by its position in the ruins, I think it's fair to say that this pillar represented something important to the people who lived here.
Dax: Why don't we take it with us. Our computers back on the station might be able to decipher the inscriptions.
Mora: Where is Doctor Weld? Doctor Weld?
Weld: Over here. I think I may have found what we're looking for.
Mora: Is it carbon based?
Weld: No, silicate, but vegetative, and very much alive.
Mora: Odo Junior, perhaps.
Dax: Computer, begin transport.
Dax: Computer, realign transporter. Lock on to our comm. badges.
Computer: Stand by.
Odo: This way.
Computer: Ready for transport.
Odo: Computer, energize!
Bashir: They're stable for now. Dax is in fair condition. The Bajorans seem to be more seriously affected. Perhaps they were exposed to more of the gas, or there may be something about Trill physiology. I'm not sure yet.
Sisko: And Odo?
Odo: I'm fine.
Bashir: The paralyzing action occurred when the gas was taken into the respiratory system. Since Odo doesn't have a respiratory system as we know it, he apparently wasn't affected at all.
Sisko: O'Brien's off-loaded the cargo they brought back. He has set up everything in the Science Lab. I understand there are some organic specimens from that planet. Maybe there's something that will help you figure this out.
Bashir: Good idea.
Odo: Will he be all right?
Bashir: The molecule appears to have quite an unstable structure. That might mean the effect is temporary.
Sisko: I know how you feel, Constable.
Odo: Feel? About what?
Sisko: When my father became ill I can remember how small and weak he looked lying there in the bed. He'd been so strong, so independent. It always seemed to me there was nothing that he couldn't do. But in the end, I realized that there was nothing that he could do, and nothing I could do to help him.
Odo: I appreciate your thoughts, Commander, but Doctor Mora is not my father.
O'Brien: The computer's having a hard time classifying your new lifeform.
Odo: Why?
O'Brien: Whatever it is, it keeps changing. Somehow it goes through a metamorphosis every time it reproduces, and it reproduces like crazy. Look at this. It's multiplied so much I had to change containers. I'll put it in a level five security field overnight. I wish Dax were here to take a look at it. How's she doing?
Odo: Doctor Bashir thinks she'll be fine.
O'Brien: Any idea what it is?
Odo: I'm hoping it's a key, Mister O'Brien. A key to my past.
Kira: Kira to Sisko.
Sisko: Go ahead, Major
Kira: Sorry to bother you, Commander, but we need you up here in the Science lab.
Sisko: I'm on my way.
Sisko: Any signs of a break-in?
Kira: Not that we could find. The security seal on the lab was still in place when we got here.
O'Brien: I can't imagine why anyone would want to steal that thing anyway.
Sisko: You're suggesting the lifeform itself did this.
O'Brien: I don't know what did this. Commander. Unless a tornado passed this way without us hearing it. The room was locked. It's gone. That's all I know for now.
Sisko: Constable, get a level three Security scan underway on the entire station.
O'Brien: Our scanners may have trouble finding this lifeform. It has metamorphic qualities that were confusing the computer. You might want to run that sweep two or three times.
Sisko: Let's go to Yellow alert.
Odo: Major, you could help me by reviewing the security camera records and the heat sensor readouts for the Lab and the surrounding areas.
O'Brien: Commander, I'm picking up slight trace elements near the ventilation intake duct. It looks as though our lifeform may have taken this way out.
Sisko: Doctor Bashir give you permission to be up and about?
Dax: Doctor Bashir wouldn't listen to me and hid my clothes so I wouldn't leave. I had to sneak out to my quarters in a hospital gown that wouldn't close in the back. What did this?
Sisko: The working theory is that lifeform you brought back is somehow responsible.
Dax: I don't believe it.
Sisko: Good. Find me a better theory.
Dax: Odo, Doctor Mora is awake and would like to speak with you.
Mora: I heard them say something had happened in the lab.
Odo: The lifeform sample is gone.
Mora: Gone?
Odo: We're not sure how or why yet.
Mora: I want to help.
Odo: Everything is under control.
Mora: I know more about shape-shifters than anyone in this sector.
Odo: Anyone except me, and I'll be running the investigation. Besides we're not even sure it is a shape-shifting lifeform.
Mora: Any metamorphic characteristics?
Odo: It was changing faster than the computer could analyze.
Mora: Any indication of intelligence?
Odo: Not unless you consider wanton destruction of the lab an indication of intelligence.
Mora: It might be. It might be. Don't dismiss any possibility. Doctor Weld hasn't regained consciousness. I feel responsible.
Odo: I'm sure Doctor Bashir is doing everything possible.
O'Brien: The same trace elements are inside the duct.
O'Brien: I'm following the trail. Moving toward corridor two H.
Sisko: Nothing's showing up anywhere on the scanners, Chief.
O'Brien: Yeah, I figured as much.
O'Brien: Did the security cameras in the lab give you anything?
Odo: The security cameras stopped operating for forty-three seconds at zero three hundred hours, five minutes right when the alarm sounded
O'Brien: Stopped? You mean somebody turned them off.
Sisko: More likely some kind of power interruption. It might have affected the security field around the lifeform too. We're trying to analyze it now.
O'Brien: Do the heat sensors in the lab show any thermal deviation at the same time?
Sisko: Almost a six degree increase during the forty-three seconds.
O'Brien: But then back to normal after that?
Sisko: Affirmative.
O'Brien: We might be dealing with an entity that absorbs low frequency RF energy.
O'Brien: It might be feeding off our power.
Odo: But an energy drain should be showing up on our scans.
O'Brien: Yeah, that's true, Constable. I don't get it. Maybe this thermal deviation was the result of
Sisko: Chief?
O'Brien: Hold on, I hear something.
Sisko: We've got your position. Nothing else is showing up anywhere near you.
O'Brien: Well, I definitely hear something ahead. Can you hear it on the comm. line?
Sisko: No.
O'Brien: It almost sounds like. I can't describe it. I'm moving in closer. If you run into my wife, don't mention I did this.
Sisko: Move some backup to the nearest corridor.
Odo: Security to core section, level four, corridor two H.
O'Brien: I'll come home tonight and she'll ask me how
O'Brien: My day was and I'll say, fine, honey, how was yours? Sometimes I think she really doesn't want to know the truth, so I do us both a favor and
O'Brien: It's a structural breach. Ahhh!
Sisko: O'Brien, report!
O'Brien: I'm okay. I'm fine. I found our missing lifeform. Except it isn't a lifeform anymore. It's dead.
Sisko: Captain's log, stardate 47391.7. Engineering crews have been working for over fifteen hours searching conduits. There have been no additional incidents and no further evidence of the alien lifeform has been found.
Bashir: With this kind of cellular structure, the lifeform would have needed a higher concentration of carbon dioxide than our atmosphere provides.
Dax: It just couldn't survive out of its own environment.
Bashir: That'd be my analysis.
Dax: But with that in mind, do you still think this lifeform was capable of destroying the lab?
Bashir: That's not impossible. The environmental impact might have taken some time to set in.
Dax: I'd really like to get Doctor Mora's opinion on all this.
Bashir: He's much better. He should be up and around in the morning.
Dax: Feel like getting a raktajino before we call it a night?
Bashir: My replicator or yours?
Dax: I was thinking more of the Promenade.
Bashir: I knew that. Well, thanks anyway. I've got a few things to wrap up around here.
Dax: Sleep tight, Julian.
Bashir: She enjoys it. She actually gets some kind of perverse pleasure out of it. One of these days I'm going to stop chasing her, and then we'll see.
Bashir: Emergency. Emergency! Intruder alert.
Bashir: It happened so quickly. I'm sorry I can't tell you any more about it. It was behind me, and then it was gone. But it was big, very big.
Sisko: How badly did you injure it?
Bashir: I don't know. I don't even know if I injured it at all. I just hit it once with a laser scalpel on the arm, or the leg, or the tentacle, or whatever it was, and then it went up the wall and was gone.
Mora: It appears as though our lifeform has survived and grown into something interesting.
Odo: Did you notice anything else when you entered the room, Doctor? Anything out of place, anything unusual. Was it unusually warm, perhaps?
Bashir: Now that you come to mention it, it was a bit warm in here.
Odo: Another thermal distortion. Did you try the lights, Doctor?
Bashir: No, I didn't want to disturb the patients.
Odo: Commander, I suggest we check the RF energy flow to the Infirmary. We might find a power interruption as we did in the lab.
Dax: No blood or any fluid traces, but I am picking up a very slight trail of something we didn't see last time. An organic residue.
Sisko: Enough to test?
Dax: We'll see.
Sisko: Sisko to Ops.
Kira: Go ahead.
Sisko: Restrict all nonessential personnel to their quarters and go to Red alert, Major.
Kira: Understood.
Sisko: Keep in touch with Dax's progress. She might give us a way to track this thing.
Odo: Until we can, I suggest we close down the Promenade.
Sisko: I'll give the order, Constable.
Mora: Constable?
Odo: It's a nickname that I barely tolerate.
Mora: It's the expression of affection that you find difficult to accept.
Mora: You know, that was really a remarkable display back there.
Odo: Display?
Mora: You were very careful, attentive.
Odo: I was just doing my job.
Mora: I'm beginning to think that the scientific method and police method have a lot in common.
Odo: I never thought of it that way. Perhaps they do.
Mora: In science we look for the obvious. We track in straight lines. If something looks too good to be true, it usually isn't true. If there appears to be more to something than meets the eye, there usually is more. We take it step by step.
Odo: That applies to criminal investigation as well.
Mora: You do it very well. I'm very proud of you, Odo. Do you know that?
Odo: Anything?
Dax: The computer's having trouble breaking down the DNA chains.
Mora: What about this pillar? Did the computer have any success decoding the encryptions?
Dax: No luck there either. All things considered, the computer's having a bad week. We have such a limited database for the Gamma Quadrant.
Odo: I have to close down the Promenade. Call me when you have something. Wasn't that pillar over here before?
Dax: It was in my way. I had it moved.
Mora: Have you compared this new organic strain to the lifeforms we brought back from the planet?
Dax: Only enough to be sure that they're not the same.
Mora: It might be interesting to see if there are any commonalties at all.
Dax: Let me run a cross-tabulation analysis. It should only take a few minutes.
Mora: Do you know Odo well, Lieutenant?
Dax: Not as well as I'd like to. He keeps to himself a lot.
Mora: I'm not surprised. I never realized until I actually saw him how much I missed him. We didn't part on very good terms.
Dax: So I've heard.
Mora: He wanted to leave and we still had so much work left to do. But I see him now and I wonder if he wasn't right to go. After all, he's come so far.
Dax: He's an invaluable man around here.
Mora: I never thought he could do it. Integrate successfully. If you could have seen him before. He was so ill-prepared to be on his own. I was sure he'd come back. I told him when he left, he'd come back, and all these years I was so certain that eventually one day he'd show up at the lab. Well, I guess I'd better get used to the idea he's not going to.
Dax: Here we are.
Mora: Which one's this?
Dax: This is the new one from the Infirmary, and this is the lifeform from the planet. But remember it went through several metamorphoses.
Mora: It's not the same entity. The nucleotide sequences are entirely different.
Dax: Some metachromic similarities.
Mora: Yes, on a most basic level. At best they could be distant cousins.
Dax: The computer's broken down the DNA chain on the new sample. I can run an analysis and see if it matches up with any other lifeform in the computer.
Mora: How long would that take?
Dax: Two, three hours, maybe.
Mora: Let me know.
Odo: Doctor Weld has regained consciousness. It looks like he'll be fine.
Mora: That's a relief.
Odo: You don't seem relieved.
Mora: You can tell that just by observing me, the tone of my voice, my eyes, my body movements?
Odo: Yes.
Mora: You are truly a remarkable lifeform, Odo. But there is so much about you we still don't understand.
Odo: What are you getting at, Doctor?
Mora: The computer has broken down the DNA chain from the organic sample we found in the Infirmary. Dax is running an analysis of it now. She'll identify it in a couple of hours. But I already know what it is. I've seen it before. The organic sample, it's from you, Odo.
Mora: The destruction in the science lab occurred at zero three hundred hours, five minutes. The attack in the Infirmary occurred at nineteen thirty five. Roughly sixteen hours apart. Is your rejuvenation period still sixteen hours?
Odo: I was in my pail during both attacks.
Mora: But were you? I don't think so. I think, Odo, that you've been in the ironic position of having to track down yourself.
Odo: How could this be?
Mora: Has anything like this ever occurred before?
Odo: Of course not.
Mora: Are you certain?
Odo: Yes, I'm certain. There would have been incidents.
Mora: Any unsolved crimes on the books?
Odo: There are always unsolved crimes.
Mora: Then the possibility exists.
Odo: It doesn't! I do not commit criminal acts. It is not in my nature.
Mora: Isn't it?
Odo: The gas. Maybe it was the gas on the planet. It affected all of you, it must have done something to me.
Mora: A possibility.
Odo: That has to be it.
Mora: It's certainly worth of an investigation.
Odo: Doctor Bashir
Mora: Doctor Bashir will not understand any of this, except that you turned into some kind of uncontrolled thing that tried to kill him. Really, Odo. What do you think they'll do with you?
Odo: Do?
Mora: They won't know what to do with you. They'll put you in a high security prison, or quarantine you on a deserted asteroid in the Gamma Quadrant. Odo, they'll put you in a zoo.
Odo: I don't believe that. You don't know them.
Mora: What other humanoid have you been able to trust except me?
Odo: What makes you think I trust you?
Mora: I resent that. I really do. After the time I invested in you, after the education I gave you, the attention I gave you. You would not be here today if it were not for my guidance. I gave you more than anyone else in my life. You were my life. And then you walked away. And now you don't trust me? Fine. Put yourself in their hands then. You always had to learn your lessons the hard way, didn't you.
Odo: I am not going back to the center with you.
Mora: Why? We'll work through this together. We'll solve it together, just like we used to.
Odo: No!
O'Brien: I have a power failure in Security, Commander.
Sisko: Sisko to Odo. Sisko to Odo.
Kira: All deputies report to the Security Office. Possible intruder.
O'Brien: I'm tracking it. We have a power drain in the life support conduit above the Security Office. If it's feeding off our power, we may be able to slow it down by shutting off the primary flow to the entire core section.
Sisko: Do it. Where the hell did it come from?
Security: Security to Ops.
Kira: Go ahead.
Security: There's no one down here, Major.
Kira: And there's no sign of Odo?
Security: No, sir.
Mora: I can help you with that, Major. The creature you're after is Odo. There must have been some kind of metamorphic reaction to the volcanic gas that we encountered on the planet.
Sisko: Is there any way to communicate with him?
Mora: I don't know. It's not Odo really. It's separate and independent from the Odo we know, and yet, at the very least, it's aware of me.
Kira: How can you know that?
Mora: The incident in the science lab. I believe that was an attempt to rescue the lifeforms I placed in containment. The second encounter occurred in the Infirmary where I was asleep. The third happened just a couple of minutes ago when we got into a heated discussion in Security. I think that even the Constable himself would arrive at the same conclusions given the evidence. On some instinctual level, this creature is familiar with me.
Sisko: He might even conclude it has hostile intentions toward you.
Mora: It had occurred to me.
O'Brien: The power shutdown is complete, Commander. Odo, or whatever it is in there, has stopped moving for the moment.
Sisko: Chief, based on your knowledge of its behavior, if we can lure him out, is there any way we can set up a forcefield to hold him?
O'Brien: We could reverse polarity on the energy fields. That might work, but that's only a guess.
Sisko: Set it up on the Promenade. I want a lot of room to operate. Major, station security teams along the perimeter.
Kira: How are we going to get him to come out of the conduits?
O'Brien: Maybe I could use some RF energy bursts to attract him.
Mora: There's only one way that you're going to attract that creature into your trap. It's me it's after.
Sisko: Mister O'Brien?
O'Brien: Our plan seems to be working, Commander. He's following my trail of energy crumbs directly toward you.
Sisko: On my signal, open the conduit and let him in.
O'Brien: Aye, sir.
Sisko: We're not sure which vent he'll come through. Hopefully, it'll be the first one available to him over there. If not, there are seventeen others he may choose. We're not stationing officers near any of them. We don't want to scare him away.
Mora: I understand.
Sisko: Just get him to the forcefield. We'll do the rest. Pass the word that phasers are to be set on maximum stun. The moment Doctor Mora appears to be in jeopardy, I'll open fire. Their orders are to follow my lead. If maximum stun doesn't bring him down immediately, we set phasers to kill.
Kira: Commander.
Sisko: I know, Major. Those are my orders. Mister O'Brien.
Sisko: We're ready.
O'Brien: Releasing the conduit seal.
Sisko: Doctor Mora, did you hear that?
Mora: Ready and waiting.
Mora: What are you waiting for? I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere.
Mora: I've done it to you again, haven't I, Odo? Made you a prisoner? Dear God, what have I done?
Sisko: Mister O'Brien, drop the forcefield.
O'Brien: Aye, sir.
Mora: We have a lot to talk about.
Bashir: I'm not going to try and explain exactly what happened to you, Odo, because I haven't the vaguest idea. I can tell you that with Doctor Mora's help we've managed to eliminate all traces of the gas from your cellular structure. I prescribe rest because it's hard for a doctor to go wrong with that one. Otherwise, there's not much more I can do for you.
Odo: Thank you, Doctor.
Mora: I'm going home.
Odo: Doctor Mora, I want to be sure you understand, I had no idea.
Mora: You had to speak in a voice loud enough for me to hear.
Odo: I'm sorry.
Mora: I'm sorry it was necessary. I would like, in a very small way, to be a part of your life again. Your life here on the station. From time to time, we could talk about things that matter to you. To us.
Odo: I'd like that.