Bashir: Computer, download file to PADD F seven. Come on.
Computer: Download complete.
Bashir: Thank you. Nurse.
Odo: You're up late.
Bashir: Ah, yes, I've got a few things to finish up before I leave in the morning. I'm presenting a paper at a medical conference.
Odo: I see. Where is it? Risa, Casperia Prime?
Bashir: Casperia. How'd you guess?
Odo: Well, Doctors always hold their conferences at sunny resorts.
Bashir: Ours is a grim profession. Don't you think we deserve a break from all the illness and death?
Odo: Well, don't forget to take plenty of sunscreen.
Odo: Oh, let me guess. You dislocated your shoulder.
Bashir: Not again.
O'Brien: Afraid so.
Bashir: You promised me that you wouldn't go kayaking again until your shoulder had a chance to heal.
O'Brien: I know, but I can't stay away. It's like the river calls to me.
Bashir: Yes, it's saying, stay away. Don't come near me. I'll only hurt you more!
O'Brien: Ow! Much better.
Bashir: It'll be tender for a few days, so go easy on it.
O'Brien: Right.
Bashir: If the pain gets any worse, Nurse Bandee'll give you something.
O'Brien: Thanks, Julian. Have a good time on Casperia.
Bashir: I'm going to a medical conference, not on a vacation.
O'Brien: Whatever you say.
Bashir: And if the river calls you again, listen to it and stay away.
Computer: The time is oh seven hundred hours.
Bashir: What? You're joking. Computer, confirm time.
Computer: The time is oh seven hundred hours, eleven seconds.
Bashir: Something tells me I'm going to need a lot of raktajinos today.
Bashir: See you in a few days, old chum. Keep the home fires burning.
Sisko: This is the Captain. All senior officers report to Operations immediately.
Bashir: What now?
Bashir: This better be quick. I've got a shuttle to catch. What's going on?
O'Brien: Internal Affairs.
Bashir: What are they doing here?
O'Brien: They're not saying.
Dax: If they'd called ahead, we could have thrown them a party.
Kira: Yeah, well, something tells me it's not a social visit.
Worf: Where's the captain?
Odo: He's in there.
Bashir: He doesn't look too happy.
Odo: No, he doesn't.
Sisko: All right, people. This is Deputy Director Sloan of Internal Affairs. He's here under the authority of the Federation Council. I expect you all to give him your full cooperation.
Sloan: Starfleet Intelligence has reason to believe that there's been a security breach aboard Deep Space Nine. It appears that someone has been passing information to the Dominion.
Dax: With all due respect, I think there's been some kind of mistake.
Sloan: I hope you're right, Commander. I really do. But until we determine the source, we have to follow standard containment procedures and isolate all members of the senior staff.
Sisko: As of now, you're all relieved of duty and confined to quarters.
Kira: Confined to quarters?
Sisko: I don't like it any more than you do.
Sloan: You'll be contacted shortly. I'll be conducting interviews with each one of you. For the time being, you are not to discuss this matter amongst yourselves. Any questions?
Bashir: How long do you think your investigation's going to take?
Sloan: That's difficult to say, Doctor, but don't worry. We've already informed Starfleet Medical that you won't be attending your conference.
Bashir: Oh, that's very considerate of you.
Sloan: Take them to their quarters.
Chandler: Would you come with me, please.
Bashir: Hot buttered scones, moba jam, red leaf tea.
Bashir: Please. What's the matter with this thing? All right.
Bashir: Come in.
Chandler: Would you please come with me, Doctor?
Bashir: Ah. Yes. Certainly.
Bashir: Where are we going?
Chandler: To the wardroom. Director Sloan wants to ask you a few questions.
Security: Stand clear!
Bashir: What's going on?
Chandler: Nothing you need to worry about, sir. This way.
Chandler: Doctor Bashir, sir.
Sloan: Thank you.
Sloan: Doctor Bashir. Have a seat, please. I'm sorry you had to miss your medical conference. It couldn't be helped. In a case like this, I have to follow strict procedures.
Bashir: Yes, I understand.
Sloan: Maybe it's a blessing in disguise. The last time you tried to attend a medical conference you were taken prisoner by the Dominion.
Bashir: An experience I wouldn't care to repeat.
Sloan: I'm sure you wouldn't. Five weeks in a Dominion prison camp? I can't imagine what that must have been like.
Bashir: Not pleasant.
Sloan: I read your report. It made me ask myself how I would have held up under those conditions. I guess you never really know until you go through it.
Bashir: I'm sure you would have been able to cope. We do what we have to to survive.
Sloan: I was just reading over some of your case reports. Fascinating stuff. The work you did with those genetically enhanced patients. Very impressive.
Bashir: Thank you.
Sloan: Before you started working with them, Starfleet Medical described them as alienated, uncommunicative and hostile. You were the first doctor who managed to establish a dialogue with them.
Bashir: Well, actually I think the fact that I'm genetically enhanced myself made them a little more open to accepting me.
Sloan: You spoke their language.
Bashir: Exactly.
Sloan: I envy your profession. You have a positive impact on people's lives. You know, I considered becoming a doctor myself.
Bashir: You have a good bedside manner. Actually, when I came in here, I half suspected that I would be interrogated under a very bright light.
Sloan: Not this time. Well, I see no need to trouble you any longer. Thank you for your cooperation.
Bashir: My pleasure.
Sloan: Lieutenant Chandler will take you back to your quarters now. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to stay there until I've finished with the rest of the interviews.
Bashir: Well in that case, maybe you could send someone to take a look at my replicator. It's not working.
Sloan: Actually, we took them offline. To prevent anyone from trying to replicate a communications device or a weapon.
Bashir: Oh. Well, I just wanted some breakfast.
Sloan: What would you like? I'll have it sent right to your quarters.
Bashir: Hot buttered scones, moba jam and some red leaf tea, please.
Sloan: Coming right up.
Bashir: Thank you.
Sloan: Doctor, one more thing. Those genetically enhanced patients of yours. Did Starfleet Medical ask you to work with them, or did you volunteer?
Bashir: Oh, I volunteered.
Sloan: I see. Very good.
Bashir: Come in.
Kagan: Here you are, sir.
Bashir: Thank God. I'm famished. Cheers.
Kagan: Enjoy.
Bashir: Ugh. It's a little too early for gag'h.
Bashir: I hope your enjoying my scones, Worf.
Bashir: Miles. Sloan said we aren't supposed to be talking to each other.
O'Brien: I just wanted to make sure you were all right.
Bashir: I'm fine. Except I think someone's been snooping around my quarters.
O'Brien: Wouldn't surprise me. Has Sloan questioned you yet?
Bashir: We just finished.
O'Brien: How'd it go?
Bashir: It went fine. He just asked me a few routine questions.
O'Brien: Believe me, it's not fine. He grilled me for over two hours.
Bashir: Two hours? About what?
O'Brien: About you.
Bashir: You're joking.
O'Brien: I only wish I were. Every single question was about you. Look, I'd better go before they trace this transmission. I just wanted to warn you to watch your back.
Bashir: Miles, wait. What did he want to know about me?
O'Brien: Just be careful. I think they're
Bashir: Come in.
Chandler: Director Sloan wants to see you.
Bashir: Again?
Kagan: That's right.
Sloan: Did you get your breakfast, Doctor?
Bashir: Yes, I did.
Sloan: Good. I was going over my notes from our last conversation and there are a couple of things I'd like you to clarify.
Bashir: Oh?
Sloan: Do you have a problem with that?
Bashir: Not at all.
Sloan: Let's go back to the time you spent with the Dominion.
Bashir: I wasn't with the Dominion. I was their prisoner.
Sloan: You were held at Internment Camp three seven one?
Bashir: That's right.
Sloan: Barrack six?
Bashir: Yes.
Sloan: And you were there five weeks?
Bashir: Thirty seven days, actually.
Sloan: You're absolutely sure about that?
Bashir: Yes.
Sloan: And General Martok was with you in barrack six?
Bashir: Correct.
Sloan: He said that the Jem'Hadar removed you from the barracks.
Bashir: I complained when they cut our rations, so they threw me in solitary.
Sloan: I see. And did you meet with anyone during that week?
Bashir: I was alone.
Sloan: Are you sure about that?
Bashir: Wait, let me think. Was I alone in solitary? Yes. I think I was.
Sloan: You didn't meet with a Vorta?
Bashir: No.
Sloan: Or a changeling?
Bashir: No.
Sloan: So, you're telling me that you spent seven days in complete isolation?
Bashir: it wasn't seven days, it was five. Five days.
Sloan: Now that's odd, because General Martok said you were gone for seven days.
Bashir: He's wrong. It was five.
Sloan: Why would he lie about something like that?
Bashir: He wasn't lying.
Sloan: You can't both be right.
Bashir: He must have lost count of the days. He was under a great deal of stress.
Sloan: And you weren't?
Bashir: Human beings are more adaptable to incarceration than Klingons.
Sloan: Especially when they're genetically engineered?
Bashir: Meaning what?
Sloan: Let's move on to the matter of your escape from the camp. I'll quote from your own report. We constructed a transmitter using components from the barracks' life support system. We used it to contact our runabout and beam ourselves out of the camp. Forgive me, Doctor. That sounds a little hard to believe.
Bashir: It's what happened.
Sloan: Why would the Dominion leave your runabout orbiting the camp unattended?
Bashir: They didn't think we'd be able to contact it.
Sloan: Why not? They left you everything you needed to build a transmitter. Isn't it more plausible that the Dominion wanted you to escape?
Bashir: Why? Why would they do that?
Sloan: So that you could start working for them.
Bashir: But I'm not working for them.
Sloan: How can you be sure?
Bashir: Excuse me?
Sloan: How can you be sure you're not working for them? Are you familiar with the term engramatic dissociation?
Bashir: Vaguely.
Sloan: The theory holds that if a person's mind is sufficiently diskiplined, he'd be capable of compartmentalizing contradictory information, believing one thing while doing another. I think you possess that kind of mind. I think the Dominion saw that and decided to take advantage of it. I think they broke you and turned you to their cause, and then had you suppress the memory of what happened.
Bashir: You're saying I'm a Dominion spy and don't even know it?
Sloan: What could be more perfect? There's no chance of your getting caught because you don't even realize you're working for them. When they want to debrief you, all they do is trigger your memory.
Bashir: That's ridiculous.
Sloan: Doctor, I am trying to help you, but I need your cooperation. I need you to tear down the walls inside your mind and dredge up a fragment of a memory, anything about your mission, your contacts. I know it's not easy, but you've got to try.
Bashir: There are no memories to dredge up. I'm not suffering from engramatic dissociation. I'm a loyal Starfleet Officer, and will not answer any more questions unless I'm formally charged and can respond with the benefit of counsel.
Sloan: I've had enough of your lies, Doctor. You think you're smarter than the rest of us, don't you? You think you're smarter than the millions of brave men and women who put their lives on the line for the Federation. You want to do things the hard way, fine, but I'm going to get the truth out of you, and when I'm done I'm going to take whatever's left of you and lock it away. Guards!
Sisko: Is it really necessary to drag a Starfleet Officer across the Promenade in irons?
Chandler: We have our orders, sir.
Kagan: Please stand aside.
Kira: We'll get you out of this, Julian.
Quark: I'm sure it's all a mistake. Isn't it?
Bashir: Where's Odo?
Chandler: In his quarters. We'll be handling security for the time being.
Kagan: This way.
Kagan: Too tight?
Bashir: A bit.
Kagan: You'll live.
Bashir: So nice to see you enjoying your work.
Kagan: I was with the Seventh Fleet when the Dominion attacked the Tyra system. Ninety eight of our ships were destroyed in a matter of hours. I lost a lot of friends.
Bashir: I lost a lot of friends, too.
Chandler: I believe that, but yours were Jem'Hadar.
Chandler: You won't be needing this anymore. Step inside.
Chandler: With all due respect Captain, if you would just wait in the Security office, Director Sloan should be here any minute and you can discuss your request with him
Sisko: There is nothing to discuss. I want ten minutes alone with my officer, and I want them now.
Chandler: Very well.
Sisko: I thought you should know Odo did some checking. Sloan had a son in Starfleet. He was a transport pilot. He was killed by a Dominion patrol.
Bashir: Maybe he thinks I supplied them with the information that helped them target his son's ship.
Sloan: That's exactly what I think. When my son's convoy dropped out of warp to rendezvous with a Klingon bird of prey, they found three Dominion attack ships waiting for them instead.
Sisko: I'm sorry for your loss. But don't you think that your son's death indicates a conflict of interest in your investigation?
Sloan: I think it gives me an added incentive to go after the truth. Now what was it you wanted?
Sisko: I need to talk to my Chief Medical Officer in private.
Sloan: I can understand that. But security protocol require that no one talk to the prisoner without clearance from me.
Sisko: Director Sloan, have you received orders from Starfleet to relieve me of my command of this station?
Sloan: No, I haven't.
Sisko: Well then, as long as I remain in command, I will see Doctor Bashir whenever I please. Furthermore, from now on I will sit in on all interrogation sessions to make sure his rights are observed. Do I make myself clear?
Sloan: I believe so. Well, we'll see each other tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy your conversation.
Bashir: I appreciate your help, sir.
Sisko: We'll get this straightened out, I promise you.
Sloan: Let's go back a few years to the incident at Bopak Three. According to your report, you and Chief O'Brien crash landed on the planet, where you then made contact with a group of Jem'Hadar.
Bashir: We didn't make contact with them. They captured us.
Sloan: If that's the case, why didn't you attempt to escape?
Bashir: We didn't have a chance.
Sloan: According to Chief O'Brien, you were more interested in curing the Jem'Hadar of their addiction to Ketracel White.
Bashir: I'm a doctor. They were suffering from withdrawal.
Sloan: They're the enemy. Genetically engineered killing machines.
Bashir: They're not machines, they're sentient beings, and I couldn't just stand there and watch them die.
Sloan: Why? Because you felt sympathy for them, being genetically engineered yourself?
Sisko: This is irrelevant. We're talking about an incident that happened before Doctor Bashir allegedly became a Dominion agent.
Sloan: It's not irrelevant, Captain. If anything, it shows that he was already sympathetic to the Dominion. But let's move on. Doctor, we spoke yesterday about a group of genetically enhanced patients that you brought to the station. Why, exactly, did you decide to work with them?
Bashir: They'd been institutionalized most of their lives. I thought I might find a way to help them assimilate into society.
Sloan: A laudable goal, but what I find puzzling is the way you went about it. These misfits had been sheltered from the outside world for as long as they could remember, yet you chose to bombard them with information about the war with the Dominion. Frankly, I'm surprised it didn't scare them into a deeper isolation.
Bashir: I wanted to engage them, and it worked.
Sloan: Is that why you convinced Starfleet Command to give them access to classified battle plans?
Bashir: Starfleet was interested in hearing our ideas on how to win the war.
Sloan: How to win the war? You recommended that the Federation surrender.
Bashir: We were looking for ways to save as many lives as we could. Now, if you'd take the time to examine the findings
Sloan: Captain, you took the time to examine the findings, didn't you?
Sisko: I did.
Sloan: Did you agree with them?
Sisko: No.
Sloan: Of course not. No loyal Starfleet officer could.
Sisko: I won't deny that Doctor Bashir has made some questionable decisions in his career, but that's a long way from convincing me that he is a traitor. So far, your case is based on circumstantial evidence and speculation.
Sloan: What other kind of case can I make against a man who covers his tracks so well?
Sisko: That's a circular argument and you know it.
Sloan: Captain, if Doctor Bashir had been involved in one or two questionable incidents, I could understand how you might be able to dismiss it, but the sheer number of incidents form a pattern of behavior that can't be ignored. I understand you want to be loyal to a man who's served under you for so long. I understand you'd be inclined to take his word over that of an outsider. But step back for a moment and think about it. This man concealed the truth about his illegal genetic enhancement for over thirty years. He lied to get his medical license. He lied to get into Starfleet. He lied to you when he came aboard this station and he's been lying to you ever since.
Sisko: He did eventually come forward and tell the truth.
Sloan: That's right, he did. Why? Why? What made you confess? Was it because you realized that it was your duty to be honest with your captain?
Bashir: No.
Sloan: Was it because you felt guilty about having lied to him for so long?
Bashir: No.
Sloan: Then why did you come forward?
Bashir: I was found out.
Sloan: And if you hadn't been found out, would you have come forward and told your captain the truth, ever?
Bashir: I don't know.
Sloan: I see.
Bashir: Sloan was right about one thing, sir. I should have told you the truth from the beginning.
Sisko: You're right, you should have. But lets put that behind us for now.
Bashir: How can I defend myself against this man? Whatever I say to him, he either thinks I'm lying or repressing my memories.
Sisko: I know you're not lying, Julian.
Bashir: But?
Sisko: But, as a doctor, isn't it in the realm of medical possibility that the Dominion did recruit you and that you have blocked it out of your memory?
Bashir: Even if it is possible, it didn't happen. You don't believe me.
Sisko: I don't think you're lying, Julian. It's late. Try to get some sleep. We'll talk again in the morning.
Sloan: Sorry to interrupt your sleep, Doctor. It looks like you're going on a little vacation after all.
Bashir: Where are you taking me?
Sloan: Starbase fifty three for further questioning.
Bashir: Does Captain Sisko know about this?
Sloan: It's none of his concern. Not anymore.
Bashir: You have no right to do this, Sloan.
Sloan: Oh, but I do. Starfleet Special Order six six seven one five gives me the authority to neutralize security threats to Deep Space Nine by whatever means necessary. Doctor, you're about to spend the rest of this war in a maximum security cell. Unless you would care to put your thumbprint on this confession. We can reword it if it doesn't meet your exacting standards.
Bashir: You can take that confession and throw it out of the nearest airlock.
Sloan: I thought so. Take him to the shuttle.
Kagan: Would you put your hands in front of you, Doctor?
Sloan: He's beaming out! Stop him!
Weyoun: Good evening, Doctor.
Bashir: Weyoun?
Weyoun: Welcome home. It would appear we got you out just in time. It's all right, you're among friends now. Did they mistreat you? I don't see any bruises.
Bashir: Why did you bring me here?
Weyoun: What choice did I have? Starfleet diskovered you were working for us.
Bashir: I'm not working for you. I'm not a Dominion spy.
Weyoun: You actually believe that, don't you? That's why you're such a good operative.
Bashir: You're lying.
Weyoun: Oh, here we go again. These little conversations of ours always follow the same pattern. You start out confused, then you get angry, then you deny everything until finally the walls inside your mind start to break down and you accept the truth.
Bashir: What truth? That you broke me when I was in the prison camp?
Weyoun: We're not barbarians. There was no torture involved. We simply helped you to see that there's no way Starfleet can defeat the Dominion. And because you didn't want billions of Federation citizens to lose their lives needlessly, you agreed to provide us with information that would help us end this war quickly. You rose above the petty question of whose side you were on and made a moral decision. It's not surprising, really. After all, you are a doctor.
Bashir: You're saying that I'm a traitor.
Weyoun: Traitor, hero, those are just words. Oh, your friends on Deep Space Nine may vilify you, but history will judge you to be a great man, a visionary who helped bring an end to one of the most devastating wars the galaxy has ever seen.
Bashir: But I don't remember, I don't remember any of it.
Weyoun: Of course not. You suppressed the memories, compartmentalized them. It's a remarkable ability, but it does make these initial conversations a bit wearing. Have something to eat. You always re-integrate better on a full stomach.
Weyoun: Do you remember the first time I offered you scones back at the camp?
Bashir: No.
Weyoun: Concentrate. Sensory details are the key. I had you brought in from solitary. You were very hungry, but you refused to give me the satisfaction of seeing you eat. Do you remember?
Bashir: I don't remember because it never happened.
Weyoun: You were almost there. Try again. With a little more effort you can break through.
Bashir: I am not a Dominion spy!
Weyoun: I can see this is going to be one of our more difficult sessions.
Bashir: I'm innocent. I don't care what you or Sloan think. Wait a minute. Why would you both be trying to convince me of the same lie? Unless you were working together.
Weyoun: Please, Doctor. Listen to yourself.
Bashir: Sloan's the traitor.
Cardassian: Combat stations. Enemy ship approaching.
Weyoun: Sisko. I'm afraid we're going to have to continue your debriefing later.
Bashir: Am I glad to see you.
Kira: Away team to the Defiant. We've got him.
Sisko: I suppose you have a reasonable explanation for why the Dominion broke you out of that holding cell.
Bashir: I understand how this must look, sir.
Sisko: What did they want?
Bashir: Weyoun just tried to convince me that I was his operative. I think he and Sloan are working together.
Sisko: Now that's enough. You know you're not going to exonerate yourself by casting suspicions on someone else.
Bashir: Well maybe he's not a traitor, maybe he's been replaced by a changeling. All I'm saying is that both he and Weyoun are trying to frame me.
Worf: You have run out of excuses, Doctor.
Bashir: You have to believe me. I'm innocent.
Sisko: I have had enough of your lies, Doctor.
Bashir: You can't just dismiss what I'm saying, because if I'm right there's no telling what kind of damage Sloan
Sisko: Get him off my bridge.
Kira: Let's go, Doctor.
Bashir: Jadzia, you believe me, don't you?
Dax: Why did you do it, Julian?
Bashir: Miles? You?
Bashir: Your shoulder. It's all right.
O'Brien: Of course it's all right.
Bashir: But you dislocated it yesterday when we were playing springball.
O'Brien: So? It's better now.
Bashir: You didn't hurt it playing springball. You dislocated it kayaking in a holosuite. You're not Miles. And you're not Captain Sisko. He'd at least be willing to hear me out. This isn't real. It can't be.
Sloan: You're right, Doctor. None of it was real. But I am. And this isn't over. Congratulations, Doctor. It's not often that we're proven wrong.
Bashir: I take it you finally believe I'm not working for the Dominion.
Sloan: I'm leaning heavily in that direction. But to erase any lingering doubts, what do you say we make one final test?
Bashir: I'm finished playing games with you, Sloan.
Sloan: I assure you, Doctor, this is no game.
Sloan: Don't be afraid. I have no intentions of hurting you. I just need to remove an implant from behind your right ear. I tell you what. Why don't you do the honors? Give it to him. Go ahead, Doctor. It's only a neuro-synaptic relay.
Bashir: You've recorded my neuroelectric responses?
Sloan: That's correct. And now I'd like to check the findings in order to confirm what I already believe. That you're an innocent man. Now either you remove the relay or we will.
Sloan: Thank you. This'll only take a moment.
Bashir: Take your time. I don't seem to be going anywhere.
Sloan: I'm glad to see your sense of humor's returning. That's a very good sign.
Bashir: Of what?
Sloan: You're beginning to relax. We subjected you to high levels of stress to ensure accurate test results. I'm glad to say the results are in your favor. Your loyalty to the Federation appears to be above reproach.
Bashir: Why do I still detect a hint of doubt in your voice?
Sloan: Frankly, I would have preferred to have kept you under observation a little longer. Unfortunately, we didn't know about Chief O'Brien's injury or we would've incorporated that into the program.
Bashir: So you beamed me out of my quarters into this holosuite when I was asleep.
Sloan: I believe we allowed you a full hour.
Bashir: No wonder I feel so tired. I suppose you find your subjects more malleable when they have been deprived of sleep.
Sloan: Not a new technique, I admit, but an effective one nonetheless.
Bashir: So, why don't you tell me who you are? Who you work for?
Sloan: I would think it's obvious. The same people you work for. The Federation. Starfleet.
Bashir: You don't expect me to believe you're with Internal Affairs, do you?
Sloan: No, of course not. Internal Affairs is a competent department, but limited.
Bashir: So which department are you with?
Sloan: Let's just say I belong to another branch of Starfleet Intelligence. Our official designation is Section thirty one.
Bashir: Never heard of it.
Sloan: We keep a low profile. Works out better that way for all concerned.
Bashir: And what does Section thirty one do, apart from kidnapping Starfleet officers?
Sloan: We search out and identify potential dangers to the Federation.
Bashir: And once identified?
Sloan: We deal with them.
Bashir: How?
Sloan: Quietly.
Bashir: So if I had been a Dominion agent, what would have happened to me?
Sloan: We wouldn't be standing here having this conversation.
Bashir: And Starfleet sanctions what you're doing?
Sloan: We don't submit reports or ask for approval for specific operations, if that's what you mean. We're an autonomous department.
Bashir: Authorized by whom?
Sloan: Section thirty one was part of the original Starfleet charter.
Bashir: But that was two hundred years ago. Are you telling me you've been working on your own ever since? Without specific orders? Accountable to nobody but yourselves?
Sloan: You make it sound so ominous.
Bashir: Isn't it? Because if what you say to me is true, you function as judge, jury and executioner, and I think that's too much power for anyone.
Sloan: I admit it takes exceptional people to do what we do. People who can sublimate their own ambitions to the best interests of the Federation. People like you.
Bashir: Me?
Sloan: You have all the qualifications to be a very useful member of Section thirty one.
Bashir: A few minutes ago, you were calling me a traitor and now you want to recruit me?
Sloan: Well, you're intelligent, you're resourceful, you've always been fascinated by covert operations. Why else would you spend so much time in Quark's holosuites playing spy?
Bashir: You're serious.
Sloan: We're on the same team. We believe in the same principles that every other Federation citizen holds dear.
Bashir: Yet you violate those principles as a matter of course.
Sloan: In order to protect them.
Bashir: No, I'm sorry, but the ends don't always justify the means.
Sloan: Really. How many lives do you suppose you've saved in your medical career?
Bashir: What has that got to do with anything?
Sloan: Hundreds? Thousands? Do you suppose that those people give a damn that you lied to get into Starfleet Medical? I doubt it. We deal with threats to the Federation that jeopardize its very survival. If you knew how many lives we've saved, I think you'd agree that the ends do justify the means. I'm not afraid of bending the rules every once in a while if the situation warrants it, and I don't think you are either.
Bashir: You've got the wrong man, Sloan.
Sloan: I don't think so. In time, you'll come to agree with me.
Bashir: Don't hold your breath.
Sloan: All I ask is that when you get back to Deep Space Nine, you consider what I've said.
Bashir: What if I decide to expose you?
Sloan: Let's just say I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.
Odo: I'll say one thing for this fellow Sloan, he's clever. He timed the Doctor's abduction to coincide with his trip to the medical conference. That way, he wasn't missed.
Bashir: Yes, he's clever.
Kira: We went over Julian's quarters but we couldn't find any residual transporter signatures. So either they got him off the station some other way, or they have transporter technology that we can't detect.
Bashir: Captain, is there any word from Starfleet about Sloan or Section thirty one?
Sisko: There's no record of a Deputy Director Sloan anywhere in Starfleet. And as for Section thirty one, that's a little more complicated. Starfleet Command doesn't acknowledge its existence, but they don't deny it either. They simply said they'd look into it and get back to me.
Bashir: When?
Sisko: They didn't say.
Kira: That sounds like a cover up to me.
Bashir: I can't believe the Federation condones this kind of activity.
Odo: Personally, I find it hard to believe they wouldn't. Every other great power has a unit like Section thirty one. The Romulans have the Tal Shiar, the Cardassians had the Obsidian Order.
Bashir: But what does that say about us? When push comes to shove, are we willing to sacrifice our principles in order to survive?
Sisko: I wish I had an answer for you, Doctor.
Kira: Maybe we should do some checking, try to track down this Sloan ourselves.
Odo: That won't be easy. If he's right and Section thirty one has existed since the birth of the Federation, they've learned to cover their tracks very well.
Sisko: We don't have to find them. They'll come to us. You said that Sloan tried to recruit you.
Bashir: I turned him down.
Sisko: He doesn't strike me as a man who takes no for an answer. And next time he asks you to join his little group, you will say yes.
Odo: Well, congratulations, Doctor. Looks like you're going to get to play a spy after all. Only this time, for real.


Kira: Welcome to Deep Space Nine. I'm Major Kira.
Dulmur: I'm Dulmur.
Lucsly: Lucsly. Department of Temporal Investigations.
Kira: We've been expecting you.
Dax: I guess you boys from Temporal Investigations are always on time.
Dulmur: Where's Captain Sisko?
Sisko: Are you sure you don't want anything?
Dulmur: Just the truth, Captain.
Sisko: You'll get it. Where do you want to start?
Dulmur: The beginning.
Lucsly: If there is such a thing.
Dulmur: Captain, why did you take the Defiant back in time?
Sisko: It was an accident.
Lucsly: So you're not contending it was a predestination paradox?
Dulmur: A time loop. That you were meant to go back into the past?
Sisko: Erm, no.
Dulmur: Good.
Lucsly: We hate those. So, what happened?
Sisko: This may take some time.
Dulmur: Is that a joke?
Sisko: No.
Lucsly: Good.
Dulmur: We hate those too. All right, Captain. Whenever you're ready.
Sisko: Two weeks ago the Cardassian Government contacted me and wanted to return an Orb to the Bajorans.
Dulmur: Orb?
Lucsly: They're devices of alien origin that are considered sacred objects by the Bajoran people.
Sisko: Each has a unique property, like the Orb of Prophecy, or the Orb of Wisdom. The one we received from the Cardassians was the Orb of Time, although we didn't know that at first.
Sisko: When the Defiant arrived at Cardassia Prime, we weren't sure if we were dealing with a genuine Orb or one of the fakes that have cropped up over the years.
Sisko: I had it secured in one of the crew quarters so we could bring it back to Bajor for authentication. But before we left Cardassia, we took on a passenger.
Waddle: Humans! I never thought I'd see another normal face again.
Worf: This is Mister Waddle.
Waddle: Barry. Call me Barry.
Worf: We are taking him back to the Federation. He was trapped on Cardassia when the Klingons attacked.
Waddle: I'm a merchant. I deal in gemstones, kivas and trillium mostly. May I?
O'Brien: Help yourself.
Waddle: You know what Cardassians drink in the morning? Fish juice. Hot fish juice. Raktajino. After six months, I was hoping the Klingons would invade. At least they know how to make coffee, even if they are foul-smelling barbarians. Sorry.
O'Brien: I wouldn't take it personally, Worf.
Bashir: I rather like the way you smell.
O'Brien: Yeah, sort of earthy, peaty aroma.
Bashir: With a touch of lilac.
Sisko: With the Defiant under cloak we left Cardassian space and managed to avoid being detected by the Klingons. We were halfway home, and I was just starting to breath easy.
O'Brien: Trust me. Next time you see him, just sniff the air and go 'is that lilac?'
Dax: Find somebody else. I have my own ways of torturing Worf.
Sisko: Don't look at me.
O'Brien: I'm picking up a massive surge in chronoton radiation around
Sisko: What happened?
Dax: I don't know, but we've dropped out of warp.
O'Brien: Sensors are coming back online.
Dax: Benjamin, something's very wrong. According to the navigational computer we're over two hundred light years from our last position.
O'Brien: We're decloaking!
Dax: Someone's activated the transporter.
Sisko: Deactivate it and get us back under cloak.
O'Brien: I'm picking up another ship dead ahead.
Sisko: Can you identify it?
Dax: Not yet. But it's close. Very close.
Sisko: Chief, I need that viewscreen.
O'Brien: I think I've got it. (The static clears to reveal a starship with registration number NCC1701, no **** A B C or D)
Dax: That's
Sisko: The Enterprise.
Dulmur: Be specific, Captain. Which Enterprise? There've been five.
Lucsly: Six.
Sisko: This was the first Enterprise. Constitution class.
Dulmur: His ship.
Lucsly: James T Kirk.
Sisko: The one and only.
Lucsly: Seventeen separate temporal violations. The biggest file on record.
Dulmur: The man was a menace. What was the date of your arrival?
Sisko: Stardate 4523.7.
Dulmur: A hundred and five years, one month, and twelve days ago.
Lucsly: A Friday.
Dulmur: What was the Enterprise doing?
Sisko: She was orbiting one of the old Deep Space stations. K-seven, near the Klingon border. Security reported that just before we were thrown back in time, someone stunned the deputy who was guarding the orb and broke into the cabin. It didn't take us long to realize who it was.
Worf: His real name is Arne Darvin. He is a Klingon altered to look human.
Dax: His surgeon does nice work.
Odo: We're assuming that he came aboard the Defiant for the express purpose of gaining access to the Orb.
O'Brien: Any idea why he brought us back to this point in time?
Worf: We have a theory. This is Darvin as he appeared during that time period. At this moment he is aboard space station K-seven, posing as a Federation official.
Bashir: So you're saying he's a spy?
Odo: The younger Darvin's mission was to derail Federation colonization efforts by poisoning a shipment of grain which was, which is being stored aboard the station. However, eighteen hours from now, James Kirk will expose him and he will be arrested.
Worf: That arrest will end his career. Klingon Intelligence will turn their back on him and he will become an outcast.
Odo: From what we've been able to piece together, he spent the next hundred years eking out a meager living posing as a human merchant. Then in a final indignity, he was trapped in Cardassian space by the Klingon invasion.
Sisko: Ah. Until he heard rumors about an Orb capable of taking him back in time.
Bashir: So what's he planning to do? Contact his younger self and warn himself about Kirk?
Dax: He could be planning to kill Kirk.
Sisko: The bottom line is, we have to find Darvin and stop him before he has a chance to alter history. Do we know where he beamed to?
Worf: No. He wiped the transporter logs when he beamed out.
O'Brien: So he could be on the Enterprise or the station.
Sisko: We'll have to search both without arousing suspicion or altering the timeline ourselves. The last thing I want is a visit from Temporal Investigations when we get home.
Bashir: I suppose we ought to find a way to blend in.
Bashir: Captain.
Sisko: Lieutenant, actually. I didn't want to push my luck.
O'Brien: Looks good on you, sir.
Sisko: Thank you, Ensign.
Bashir: Wait a minute, aren't you two wearing the wrong color?
O'Brien: Don't you know anything about this period in time?
Bashir: I'm a doctor, not an historian.
Sisko: In the old days, operations officers wore red, command officers wore gold.
Dax: And women wore less.
Bashir: I think I'm going to like history.
O'Brien: The original Enterprise used an old-style duotronic sensor array. If we wait for just the right point in the scan cycle, we can decloak the Defiant for almost three seconds without being detected.
Sisko: Is that enough time to transport us aboard?
O'Brien: Barely.
Dax: Chief, here are the coordinates. The Captain and I will start on deck four and work our way aft. You and Julian should start on deck twenty one
O'Brien: And work our way forward.
Sisko: What about the station?
Worf: Little of it is habitable. Most of K seven consists of storage areas and industrial fabrication facilities.
Odo: It shouldn't take long to search. Security isn't as tight as it is on a starship.
Sisko: Remember, try to avoid contact with people of this time period.
O'Brien: We're coming up on a bandshift in the scan cycle.
Sisko: Dax.
Bashir: Ready?
O'Brien: Deck twenty one. Deck twenty one. I said, Deck twenty one.
Bashir: Maybe if you said please.
O'Brien: What's wrong with this thing?
Bashir: Don't look at me. I don't know anything about this time period.
O'Brien: Maybe it's jammed. Help me get this wall panel off.
Watley: Deck fifteen.
Bashir: I won't tell anyone if you don't.
Dax: They really packed them in on these old ships.
Sisko: What about over there?
Dax: Perfect. An auxiliary communications juncture.
Sisko: I'll pretend to do repairs. You scan for Darvin.
Dax: I used to have one of these. I love classic twenty third century designs. Black finish, silver highlights.
Sisko: Dax.
Dax: Sorry.
Bartender: I don't want any more Spican flame gems. Thanks to you I already have enough Spican flame gems to me a lifetime.
Jones: How sad for you, my friend. You won't find a finer stone anywhere.
Waitress: What's your pleasure?
Odo: I'll have a raktajino.
Waitress: You're the second person today who's ordered that. What is it?
Odo: Klingon coffee. The second person? Who was the first?
Waitress: An older man. A human.
Odo: Where is he now?
Waitress: I don't know. He left about an hour ago. I think he said he'd be back. We don't have any Klingon beverages. Would you like something else?
Odo: Tarkalean tea.
Waitress: Okay.
Jones: I have something from the far reaches of the galaxy. Surely you want
Bartender: Not at your price.
Uhura: Oooh. What is it? Is it alive? May I hold it? Oh, it's adorable. What is it?
Bashir: Chief, you're supposed to be working
O'Brien: I'm afraid to touch anything. It's all cross-circuited and patched together. I can't make heads nor tails of it.
Bashir: Sounds like one of your repair jobs. Well, there's no sign of Darvin in this section. I'm going to widen the scan radius. If I can figure out how.
O'Brien: Keep the scan field below twenty milliwatts, otherwise you'll set off the internal sensors.
Bashir: Thank you, Chief. I was listening during the mission briefing.
Engineer: What are you two doing here? Scotty told me to do this.
O'Brien: Oh, you were going to do this?
Engineer: It's on the duty roster.
Bashir: Must have been some mix-up.
Engineer: Isn't that a medical tricorder?
Bashir: Yes. Yes, it is. I'm a doctor.
Engineer: Why do we need a doctor to repair a power relay?
Bashir: You don't, obviously. No, I'm doing a study. It has to do with work-related stress.
Engineer: Oh.
Bashir: Why don't you two go on? Pretend I'm not here.
Engineer: So, where should we start?
O'Brien: Well obviously the first thing we should do is to take this transtator here, and
O'Brien: And leave it exactly it is.
Bashir: The job pressure's been getting to him. Why don't you take over? All right, Ensign, I think I've seen enough. Let's get you back to Sickbay.
O'Brien: Oh, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't mention this to anyone.
Engineer: No problem. Hope you feel better.
Worf: I have completed my search of the primary habitat levels and. What is that sound?
Odo: Soothing isn't it? The bartender called it a
Worf: A tribble.
Odo: Sit down. You're drawing attention.
Worf: Where did you get that thing?
Odo: From a man named Cyrano Jones. He told me tribbles like everyone, but this one doesn't seem to like you.
Worf: The feeling's! The feeling's mutual. They are detestable creatures.
Odo: Interesting. It's been my observation that most humanoids love soft, furry animals especially if they make pleasing sounds.
Worf: They do nothing but consume food and breed. If you feed that thing more than the smallest morsel, in a few hours you'll have ten tribbles then a hundred then a thousand.
Odo: Calm down.
Worf: They were once considered mortal enemies of the Klingon Empire.
Odo: This? A mortal enemy of the Empire?
Worf: They were an ecological menace, a plague to be wiped out.
Odo: Wiped out? What are you saying?
Worf: Hundreds of warriors were sent to track them down throughout the galaxy. An armada obliterated the Tribbles' homeworld. By the end of the twenty third century they had been eradicated.
Odo: Another glorious chapter of Klingon history. Tell me, do they still sing songs of the great tribble hunt?
Dax: What should we do?
Sisko: Get to battle stations.
Sisko: Deck seven.
Sisko: Let's see if we can find out what's going on.
Sisko: Sisko to Defiant.
Sisko: Sisko to Defiant.
Kira: Defiant here.
Sisko: Report.
Kira: A Klingon D-7 battlecruiser just dropped out of warp. It's approaching the station.
Sisko: Have they locked weapons?
Kira: Not yet.
Dax: Kira, can you identify the Klingon vessel?
Kira: The IKS Gr'oth.
Dax: That's Koloth's ship.
Sisko: Curzon's old friend?
Dax: Yes. And he isn't going to attack. I remember Koloth telling me he once traded insults with Kirk on a space station near the Federation border. He always regretted never getting the chance to face him in battle.
Kira: The Klingon ship just transported two people
Kira: To the station manager's office, Captain.
Dax: That's Koloth. Maybe we should beam over to the station and help Odo and Worf. We know that Darvin was there a few hours ago.
Sisko: I think it might be better if Chief O'Brien and Doctor Bashir go.
Dax: But if we went, we might run into Koloth.
Sisko: Exactly.
Dax: It's not as if he would recognize me. I'd love to see him at his prime.
Sisko: Dax. Major, beam the Chief and the Doctor to K-seven and fill them in.
Kira: Aye, sir.
Dax: It would've been fun.
Sisko: Too much fun.
Sisko: Dax was right about the Klingons. They were only interested in shore leave, and Captain Kirk allowed them to beam aboard the station in small groups. When the Enterprise stood down from Red Alert, we all resumed our search for Darvin.
Kira: the next bandshift in the Enterprise scan cycle will be in three minutes.
O'Brien: We'll be ready, Major. O'Brien out.
Bashir: We should find a turbolift.
Watley: Hello again.
Bashir: Hello.
O'Brien: Deck ten.
Watley: Your flap's open.
Bashir: Excuse me?
Watley: On your tricorder. You're draining power.
Bashir: Oh. Thank you.
O'Brien: He's always doing that.
Watley: You're a doctor?
Bashir: Yes.
Watley: I just transferred here from the Lexington last week.
O'Brien: Welcome aboard.
Watley: I'm coming into Sickbay tomorrow for my physical. Fifteen hundred. Lieutenant Watley.
O'Brien: You realize, of course, she just using you to get to me.
Bashir: Watley? That was my great grandmother's name.
O'Brien: Funny.
Bashir: I think she was in Starfleet.
O'Brien: It's a common enough name.
Bashir: But what if that was her?
O'Brien: Do you realize the odds?
Bashir: No one ever met my great grandfather. This could be a predestination paradox. Come on, Chief, surely you took elementary temporal mechanics at the Academy? I could be destined to fall in love with that woman and become my own great grandfather.
O'Brien: You're being ridiculous.
Bashir: Ridiculous? If I don't meet with her tomorrow, I may never be born.
Kira: Chief, are you ready for transport?
O'Brien: Are we ever.
Kira: Stand by.
Bashir: You saw the way she looked at me. You can't just dismiss this.
O'Brien: I can try.
Bashir: All right, fine. But I can't wait to get back to Deep Space Nine and see your face when you find out that I never existed.
Sisko: Dax and I resumed our search for Darvin.)
Dax: Benjamin, look.
Chekov: Bridge to Captain Kirk.
Kirk: Kirk here.
Chekov: Mister Baris is waiting on channel E to speak to you, sir.
Sisko: Keep working. We're a maintenance crew just doing our job.
Chekov: Mister Baris is coming on.
Kirk: Yes, Mister Baris. What can I do for you?
Baris: Kirk, this station is swarming with Klingons.
Kirk: I was not aware, Mister Baris, that twelve Klingons constitutes a swarm.
Baris: Captain Kirk, I consider your security measures a disgrace. In my opinion, you have taken this entire
Dax: I had no idea.
Sisko: What?
Dax: He's so much more handsome in person. And those eyes.
Sisko: Kirk had quite the reputation as a ladies' man.
Dax: Not him. Spock.
Baris: Free and complete access to the station to that man who just walked out of here.
Sisko: Let's go.
Kirk: Mister Baris, I have guards around the grain. I have guards around the Klingons.
Dax: I can't believe you don't at least want to meet Captain Kirk.
Sisko: That's the last thing on my mind.
Dax: Oh, come on, Benjamin. Are you telling me you're not the tiniest bit interested in meeting one of the most famous men in Starfleet history?
Sisko: We have a job to do.
Dax: But it's, it's James Kirk!
Sisko: Look, of course I want to meet him. I'd like to shake his hand, ask him about fighting the Gorn on Cestus Three, but that's not why we're here, old man.
Dax: You're right. I guess the difference between you and me is I remember this time. I lived in this time and it's hard to not want to be part of it again.
Bashir: Clearly we've been going about this search business all wrong, Chief.
O'Brien: You're right. Why bother searching thirty decks, when you can just plonk yourself down at a bar and wait for Darvin to come to you.
Odo: We have reason to believe that he'll return to this area.
O'Brien: Ah, yes. The raktajino.
Bashir: A vital clue that others might've missed. How fortunate it is that it has kept you stuck at this bar for the past three hours having drinks while we've been crawling through conduits.
O'Brien: My God, that's him.
Odo: Who?
O'Brien: Kirk.
Worf: Where?
O'Brien: On the left, in the gold, just sitting down.
Bashir: That's Kirk?
Worf: It would be an honor to meet him.
O'Brien: Let's buy him a drink.
Odo: Gentlemen, no one's buying anyone a drink.
O'Brien: He's right. We can't risk altering the timeline.
Waitress: What'll it be, boys? And don't ask for raktajino. If I have to say we don't carry that one more time
Odo: Who ordered raktajino?
Waitress: The Klingons.
Odo: Klingons?
Waitress: Over there, and over there.
Bashir: Those are Klingons?
Waitress: All right. You boys have had enough.
Odo: Mister Worf?
Worf: They are Klingons, and it is a long story.
O'Brien: What happened? Some kind genetic engineering?
Bashir: A viral mutation?
Worf: We do not discuss it with outsiders.
Korax: Delusions of god-hood.
Scott: Take it easy, lad. Everybody's entitled to an opinion.
Korax: That's right. And if I think that Kirk is a Denebian slime devil, well that's my opinion too.
Scott: Don't do it, mister, and that's an order.
Chekov: But you heard what he called the Captain.
O'Brien: Look at the way Kirk is ignoring that Klingon. He's letting the security officer handle it.
Bashir: Chief, are you sure that's Kirk?
O'Brien: Absolutely.
Bashir: Why is he wearing lieutenant's stripes?
Odo: I think we've got bigger problems than a case of mistaken identity.
Korax: Garbage scow. Half the quadrant knows it. That's why they're learning to speak Klingonese.
Chekov: Mister Scott.
Scott: Laddie, don't you think you should rephrase that?
Korax: You're right, I should. I didn't mean to say that the Enterprise should be hauling garbage. I meant to say that it should be hauled away as garbage.
Odo: What are you doing?
Odo: It's Darvin!
Dulmur: Your men could've avoided that fight, Captain.
Lucsly: Regulation one fifty seven, section three, paragraph eighteen. Starfleet officers shall take all necessary precautions to minimize any participation in historical events.
Sisko: All right. It was a mistake. But there were no lasting repercussions.
Dulmur: How do you know that? For all we know, we could be living in an alternate timeline right now.
Sisko: If my people had caused any changes in the timeline, we would have been the first to notice when we got back.
Lucsly: Why do they all have to say that?
Dulmur: So, your men were arrested.
Sisko: That's right, but instead of being taken to the brig, they were brought in for questioning.)
Kirk: I want to know who started it.
Kirk: I'm waiting.
Kirk: Who started the fight?
O'Brien: I don't know, sir.
Kirk: All right. Chekov, I know you. You started it didn't you?
Chekov: No, sir. I didn't.
Kirk: Well who did?
Chekov: I don't know, sir.
Kirk: I don't know, sir. I want to know who threw the first punch. All right, you're all confined to quarters until I find out who started it. Dismissed.
Bashir: That was close.
O'Brien: Me. Of all the people in the lineup, he asks me who threw the first punch.
Bashir: And you lied to him.
O'Brien: I lied to Captain Kirk. I wish Keiko could have been here to see it.
Bashir: I'm sorry about that, little fellow. Who left you out here all alone?
O'Brien: He's not alone.
Odo: Welcome back, Mister Darvin.
Darvin: The pleasure is all mine.
Odo: Worf, hold on. I hope you realize you'll be facing some very serious charges when we get back.
Darvin: You wouldn't dare put one of the greatest heroes of the Klingon Empire into the brig.
Worf: You are no hero to the Empire.
Darvin: I will be. I've been thinking about my statue in the Hall of Warriors. I want it to capture my essence. Our statues can be so generic sometimes, don't you think?
Odo: I take it whatever your plan is, you've already set it in motion.
Darvin: I see myself standing with Kirk's head in one hand and a tribble in the other.
Worf: What have you done? Did you hire someone to kill him? Did you sabotage the Enterprise?
Darvin: Nothing so mundane. Let's just say that Kirk's death will have a certain poetic justice to it.
Sisko: He put a bomb in a tribble?
Odo: It's his revenge. Originally, Kirk saw how a tribble reacted
Odo: To Darvin and realized he was a Klingon. He wouldn't say us where this tribble was, but he did say that it was set go off within the hour.
Sisko: It could be anywhere.
Dax: Benjamin, I think we should risk going to the bridge. If we can use the internal sensors, we can scan the entire ship for explosives in a matter of seconds.
Sisko: Dax and I will take care of the Enterprise. The rest of you beam over to K-seven and start searching over there.
Odo: Understood. But I think Mister Worf should remain here. It seems he's allergic
Odo: To tribbles.
Sisko: All right.
O'Brien: Captain
O'Brien: I'm not sure we can get to K-Seven's internal sensors.
Sisko: Then you will have to manually scan every tribble on the station.
O'Brien: There must be thousands of them by now.
Bashir: Hundreds of thousands.
Dax: One million, seven hundred and seventy one thousand, five hundred and sixty one. That's starting with one tribble with an average litter of ten every twelve hours. After three days
Sisko: Thank you. You have your orders, people. Sisko out.
Kirk: Doctor McCoy, would you mind coming up to the bridge.
Dax: I re-routed the sensor interface.
Sisko: It worked. I'm scanning the Bridge. Nothing up here.
Dax: That's a relief. When Kirk sat on that tribble, I half expected it to go off.
Sisko: Nothing on the first six decks.
Mccoy: Did you want to see me, Jim? Well, don't look at me. It's the tribbles who are breeding.
Dax: I know him.
Sisko: That must be McCoy, the ship's doctor.
Dax: McCoy. McCoy.
Mccoy: Well, the nearest thing I can figure out is that they're born pregnant, which seems to be quite a timesaver.
Dax: Leonard McCoy. I met him when he was a student at Ol' Miss.
Sisko: Who met him, Curzon?
Dax: No, my host at the time was Emony. She was on Earth judging a gymnastics competition. I had a feeling he'd become a doctor. He had the hands of a surgeon.
Sisko: I've scanned every deck. The bomb's not aboard the ship.
Dax: Then it must be somewhere on K-seven.
Odo: Odo here.
Sisko: The bomb's not
Sisko: On the Enterprise. It must be over there.
Odo: We've only been able to get through two decks. We're running out of time.
Sisko: I can send more teams from the Defiant.
Odo: It's not a question of manpower, it's a question of multiplication.
Odo: The tribbles are breeding so fast we can't keep up with them.
Dax: Benjamin, maybe we could narrow things down a little. Presumably, Darvin put the bomb somewhere he knows Kirk
Dax: Is going to be in the next half an hour. So if we stick
Dax: Close to Kirk
Sisko: He might lead us right to it.
Odo: It's worth a try, but there's no reason for us to stop searching over here.
Sisko: Keep at it
Sisko: For now, Constable. Deck five.
Kirk: This is my chicken sandwich and coffee. I want these things off the ship. I don't care if it takes every man we've got, I want them off the ship.
Scott: Aye, they're into the machinery, all right. And they're probably in all the other food processors too.
Kirk: How?
Scott: Probably through one of the air vents.
Spock: Captain, there are vents of that type on the space station.
Kirk: And in the storage compartments.
Sisko: Storage compartments. Storage compartments!
Kirk: Have him meet us near the storage compartments. We're beaming down.
Sisko: Most of these are dead. The grain's poisoned.
Dax: I'm picking up a faint tricobalt signature. The bomb's under here somewhere.
Sisko: What's that?
Security: It's not working, sir. It seems to be stuck.
Kirk: Here, let me try.
Dax: Someone's trying to open the bay door.
Dax: Benjamin, it's right here in front of us.
Spock: They seem to be gorged.
Baris: Gorged?
Baris: On my grain? Kirk, I am going to hold you responsible. There must be thousands of them.
Kirk: Hundreds of thousands.
Spock: One million, seven hundred seventy one thousand, five hundred sixty one.
Spock: That's assuming one tribble multiplying with an average litter of ten producing a new generation every twelve hours over a period of three days.
Sisko: I found it. Sisko to Defiant.
Kira: Go ahead, Captain.
Sisko: I found the bomb.
Sisko: Lock onto my tricorder signal and beam it into space.
Kira: Acknowledged
Kira: Kira to Sisko. It worked.
Kirk: And as captain I want two things done.
Kirk: First, find Cyrano Jones.
Kirk: And second, close that door.
Sisko: After the bomb was detonated, history continued uninterrupted, and thanks to the tribbles
Sisko: Kirk was able to uncover the truth about Darvin.
Kirk: They don't like you, Mister Darvin. I wonder why? Bones?
Mccoy: Jim, this man is a Klingon.
Sisko: By the time we returned to the Defiant, Major Kira had diskovered how to use the Orb to bring us back to our own time.
Dulmur: And that's when you returned the present?
Sisko: Well, not exactly. Before we left, I realized there was one last thing I had to do. Something I'd been thinking about ever since I saw that ship on the viewscreen.
Sisko: Excuse me, Captain. Here's tomorrow's duty roster for your approval. (This is from Mirror, Mirror, and Sisko has replaced Marlena.)
Kirk: Lieutenant, er, Lieutenant?
Sisko: Benjamin Sisko, sir. I've been on temporary assignment here. Before I leave, I just want to say it's been an honor serving with you, sir.
Kirk: All right, Lieutenant. Carry on.
Sisko: Thank you, sir.
Sisko: Now, if you want to put a letter of reprimand in my file for that, then go ahead.
Lucsly: We'll have to review the case before making any recommendations.
Dulmur: However, I don't think there was any harm done. Probably would have done the same thing myself.
Dulmur: You'll be receiving our report in about a month. But based on what you've told us, I don't think you have anything to worry about.
Sisko: I'm glad to hear it.
Dulmur: Goodbye, Captain.
Sisko: Goodbye.
Lucsly: Docking port seven.
Dax: It went well?
Kira: Good. The Constable wants to see us on the Promenade.
Odo: Did you tell them?
Sisko: They didn't ask. I'm open to suggestions, people.
Dax: We could build another station.


Quark: You know, Morn, there's nothing more invigorating than breakfast in a bar. Where else can you get raw slug liver first thing in the morning?
Rom: What's this?
Quark: What do you mean, what's this? It's puree of beetle.
Rom: I didn't order it.
Quark: Of course you didn't order it. You don't need to order it. You have it after work every morning.
Rom: Well, I'm not having it this morning. I'd like two eggs over easy, three strips of bacon and a side of corned beef hash.
Quark: What kind of breakfast is that?
Rom: It's Chief O'Brien's breakfast of choice.
Quark: That's the problem with working alongside humans, you pick up their disgusting habits. Bacon. Corned beef hash. What's next, Rom? Orange juice and coffee?
Rom: That might be nice.
Quark: I don't understand. You gave up a perfectly good job with me to work on the station's waste extraction system?
Rom: A good waste extraction system is important. Imagine where we'd be without one.
Quark: Of course it's important, but my point is, you're not getting the choice assignments. O'Brien's got you on the night shift, doing all the work nobody else wants to do.
Rom: I like my work.
Quark: You like standing all night long, knee-deep in waste, fixing some broken flow regulator, when you could be here staring at half-naked dabo girls?
Rom: I have a good job. I'm proud of the work I do. And I know that one day Chief O'Brien will recognize my efforts and reward me with a position of respect and responsibility. And why? Because that's just the way things are in Engineering.
Quark: I'm sorry I brought it up.
Bashir: They don't look so fine now.
O'Brien: I can't understand it. I been followed Keiko's instructions to the letter.
Bashir: They were dry as a bone when I came by for you yesterday. I mean, I gave them water, I just don't think it wasn't enough.
O'Brien: You watered them? These are Idran hybrids. Too much water rots their roots.
Bashir: Oh.
Molly: Mommy's going to be mad.
O'Brien: I can't believe it. Keiko's gone for five days and we killed her plants.
Bashir: She'll understand, won't she? After all, they're just plants.
O'Brien: They're not just plants. These are her bonsai trees. She's cared for them and nurtured them, and carefully sculpted their growth for months, years.
Molly: You're in trouble.
O'Brien: Listen, Molly, I think you and I should both go to the airlock and welcome Mummy back. And then after we've hugged and kissed, you can tell her what happened.
Molly: Not me.
Bashir: Well don't look at me.
O'Brien: Well you killed her plants.
Bashir: We killed them. But I think you're overreacting to the situation. I mean, Keiko will forgive you. It's your birthday today, isn't it?
O'Brien: So far it's one I'd like to forget.
Bashir: Well, she's been away on Bajor. She's missed you. Bring her a gift. What kind of chocolates does she like?
O'Brien: Tellurian mint truffles. But I still think you should be with me.
Bashir: You don't need me there. I've seen you handle your wife thousands of times. Just say you're sorry and that you take full responsibility. You'll be fine. Besides, I have to be in surgery, operating.
O'Brien: On who?
Bashir: I'll find someone.
O'Brien: It was Julian. He was trying to be helpful. He over-watered them. It's not his fault, but you know how he is. Sometimes he doesn't even know what he's doing. I'm sorry, sweetheart. We'll buy some new ones.
Keiko: Forget it, Miles. They're just plants.
O'Brien: Exactly.
Keiko: It's not as if something happened to Molly or the baby.
O'Brien: Right, right, right. Everybody's fine. No problems.
Keiko: Good. What about Kira? Is she back yet?
O'Brien: No, she's still with Shaakar traveling around Dahkur Province. I thought you were going to visit them.
Keiko: I didn't get a chance.
O'Brien: So, how were the Fire Caves?
Keiko: Fine. And now it's time for me to tell you some news. I'm not Keiko.
O'Brien: No? Who are you?
Keiko: Listen carefully, Miles. I have taken possession of your wife's body. I will hold it hostage until you do everything I tell you do accurately, and without question.
O'Brien: Everything?
Keiko: If you don't do precisely what I ask, I'll kill your wife.
O'Brien: Are you all right? Maybe there's been an outbreak of Rudellian brain fever on Bajor. We should go see Julian
Keiko: I see I'm going to have to give you a demonstration of my sincerity.
O'Brien: Keiko! Keiko! No!
Keiko: No, Miles, you're not telling anyone. If you do, I'll stop her heart forever.
O'Brien: If you're really in control of my wife's body, let me speak to her.
Keiko: She can hear whatever you have to say.
O'Brien: Not good enough. I want to talk to her. I want her to talk to me.
Keiko: You're in no position to bargain, Miles. Strange, these corporeal bodies of yours. So fragile. Burst even a tiny blood vessel in the brain and every memory, every passionate emotion, gone forever. You shouldn't let me eat all of these by myself, Miles.
O'Brien: I'm not hungry. Look, why don't you just tell me what you want me to do so we can get this over with.
Keiko: Very well.
O'Brien: But let me make one thing clear I will not do anything to jeopardize this station or the people on it.
Keiko: Don't worry, Miles. All I want you to do is reconfigure some of the communication and sensor relays on the station.
O'Brien: Why?
Keiko: I can't tell you.
O'Brien: You'll have to be patient. The communications and sensor relays are distributed throughout the entire station.
Keiko: You know your wife well, Miles, but she knows you even better. I know you're just playing for time until you can get to your friends. Julian, Dax, Captain Sisko, I know they'll all want to help you. The Captain may even allow you to do what I'm asking. At least until someone figures out a way to trap me in some sort of stasis field or some other clever device you're already dreaming up. And you know what? It might work. You might be able to stop me. But I promise you one thing. If you do, Keiko will die. All I need is a split second to cause a massive brain hemorrhage and she's gone. I know this is a difficult adjustment for you to make, but we don't have a lot of time.
O'Brien: What do you want me to do?
Keiko: How long is this going to take?
O'Brien: In order to keep the polarity shift invisible to security checks, I'll have to tap into the optronic integrator on level five.
Keiko: You're the engineer. What is it, Miles? What do you want to ask me? You always tighten your brow just a tiny bit whenever you're about to ask a question. It's something only a wife would notice.
O'Brien: Why Keiko? Why take control of her? Why not me? I'm the one who can do the work. It'd be more efficient.
Keiko: Come in.
Bashir: Hope I'm not interrupting anything.
O'Brien: Yes, you are. We're busy.
Keiko: Miles! Don't be so rude. Ah, Bajoran spiny basil. How thoughtful.
Bashir: It's the least I can do after er
Keiko: It's all right, Julian. I forgive you. Now, you are coming to the party tonight, aren't you?
Bashir: I'll be here. I guess it's not a surprise anymore.
Keiko: I can't believe I did that. I arranged a birthday dinner for you tonight, but I wanted it to be a surprise.
O'Brien: That's okay. I don't like surprises.
Bashir: Well, I'd better going. I left a patient on the operating table. I'll see you later.
Keiko: Thanks, Julian. This was so sweet.
Bashir: No problem.
O'Brien: A party? Tonight?
Keiko: It is your birthday.
O'Brien: We can't have all those people here. We'll have to cancel.
Keiko: And raise suspicions? It's better if the dinner goes on as planned. Besides, Keiko went to a lot of trouble to arrange it for you. Now, you'd better get back to work. You don't want to be late for your shift briefing. And I've got a lot of cooking to do.
Rom: Diagnostic and repair technician junior grade Rom reporting.
Whatley: Right. You're Duarte's replacement. Have a seat.
Rom: I'm on the swing shift?
Whatley: For a day or two.
Tekoa: What's the matter with Duarte?
Whatley: Sick as a vole.
Rom: Is this where Duarte sits? So, what are you drinking?
Whatley: Raktajino.
Rom: Great. Is that what we drink on the swing shift?
Whatley: You can drink anything you want.
Rom: I'll have a raktajino. It's not like this on the night shift. We don't drink raktajino. We really don't drink anything.
Whatley: Fascinating.
O'Brien: Change of plans today, people. I need to recalibrate the optronic integrator on level five. What is it, Rom?
Rom: I volunteer. I like phase-shifting reconfigurations.
O'Brien: Thank you, but I'll take care of that myself. I want the rest of you to concentrate on the new inertial couplings. I want all sixty four couplings done today. Whatley, you and Tekoa cover the docking ring. Abdon and Nori, the cargo bays. Rom the upper pylons. Any questions? Good. Now, since I'll be working alone today, I'm going to be very busy. So I don't want to be interrupted by anything unimportant. Is that clear?
Whatley: Yes, sir.
O'Brien: Computer, locate Keiko O'Brien.
Computer: Keiko O'Brien is in her quarters.
O'Brien: Computer, initiate full identity scan of Keiko O'Brien and note inconsistencies with any existing medical records.
Computer: Scan complete. No inconsistencies found. Identity confirmed.
O'Brien: How long would it take for a level three stasis field to render Keiko O'Brien unconscious?
Computer: All cognitive reflexes would cease in two point one seconds.
O'Brien: Too long. Calculate the time if anesthetine gas were used.
Computer: One point four seconds.
O'Brien: What about a phaser set to stun?
Computer: Zero point nine seconds.
O'Brien: God help me.
Jake: There you are, Chief. I was beginning to think you were going to miss your own party.
O'Brien: I'm sorry I'm late. Had a few odds and ends to tie up. Have you seen Keiko?
Bashir: Oh, she's in the bedroom, helping Molly put on different shoes. A little fashion crisis. But as usual, your wife has handled everything. You're a lucky man, Miles.
Sisko: Keiko has really outdone herself this time. Take it from an old cook, q'parol is a very time-consuming dish.
Molly: Happy birthday, daddy.
Keiko: For
All: He's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow, which nobody can deny.
Keiko: Happy birthday, sweetheart.
Jake: Make a wish.
Keiko: Single malt Irish whiskey. Neat. Molly wanted to wear her new purple shoes for you. Doesn't she look pretty?
O'Brien: Very pretty.
Keiko: Now, all the food's set out on the table, so just relax with your friends and I'll pass these around.
O'Brien: I want to talk to you.
Keiko: Not right now, Miles. We have guests.
Dax: Sorry I'm late.
Keiko: Dax! I was afraid you weren't coming.
Dax: I heard you were serving q'parol and how could I miss it?
Sisko: What's the matter, Chief? You look a little preoccupied. Everything all right?
O'Brien: There's something I forgot to tell Keiko. Would you excuse me for a moment?
Sisko: Of course.
Jake: Did you see any Pah-wraiths?
Keiko: Pah-wraiths?
Jake: In the Fire Caves. Odo was telling me the caves were haunted by some sort of weird supernatural beings.
Keiko: Don't tell me you believe in wraiths?
Odo: Well, I may have mentioned the Bajoran legends about creatures living in the caves, but I never said I believe in them.
Keiko: Well, the only thing I saw in the caves were some beautiful and botanically fascinating fungi.
Jake: Well, maybe next time you go to the Fire Caves, I could come along. I've always wanted to meet a Pah-wraith.
Keiko: Maybe you will. You never know.
O'Brien: I've done what you asked.
Keiko: That's terrific, Miles. We'll talk later.
Keiko: Miles, are you bleeding?
O'Brien: No, it's nothing.
Bashir: Let me take a look.
O'Brien: I said I'm all right! I'm sorry. Sorry, everybody. Excuse me.
Keiko: Get a hold of yourself.
O'Brien: Look, I've done everything you asked me to do. Just give me back my wife.
Keiko: You've done well, Miles.
Keiko: But recalibrating the optronic integrator was only a test. I had to be sure I could trust you. Tomorrow the real work begins. Now it's time to get back to our guests. We don't want to raise suspicions, do we?
Keiko: Is Molly asleep?
O'Brien: Yes.
Keiko: The q'parol was a big success.
O'Brien: Look, no more tests, no more games. Just tell me what you want done.
Keiko: We'll talk about it in the morning. It's late and you're working a double shift tomorrow.
O'Brien: I want to talk about it now!
Keiko: Miles, I make the rules. Now relax. Everything's going to be fine as long as you do what I ask.
O'Brien: I'll sleep on the couch.
Keiko: Don't be childish. What if Molly has one of her nightmares and comes running in? You'll sleep in bed with me, just like you always do.
O'Brien: I'll be there in a minute.
Keiko: Don't be too late. You've got a busy day tomorrow.
O'Brien: Computer, give me the record of all Bajoran legends concerning the Pah-wraiths.
Computer: There are six thousand, four hundred twenty-seven entries in the data banks that reference that subject. Please specify.
Keiko: Miles.
Keiko: Sleep well.
Keiko: Another weakness of you corporeal lifeforms. Your need for physical intimacy. It's especially irritating in your young.
O'Brien: I have to get Molly ready for school.
Keiko: I'll do it. You have a big day ahead of you.
O'Brien: Molly's going to sleep at the Davis' tonight and she's staying there until this is over.
Keiko: Do you really think that's wise? A little girl needs her mother. Molly would be lost without hers.
O'Brien: You stay away from her.
Keiko: Miles, I'd never do anything to hurt your daughter, unless you forced me to. These are your instructions. Follow them precisely.
O'Brien: Computer, locate Captain Sisko.
Computer: Captain Sisko is in Security.
Keiko: Miles!
O'Brien: No!
Odo: And you didn't see anyone near her before she fell?
O'Brien: Nobody. But I was passing underneath the walkway and I had my back toward her.
Sisko: What were you doing on the Promenade?
O'Brien: What?
Odo: Weren't you supposed to be working on optronic circuitry on level five?
O'Brien: I was going to the Replimat for lunch.
Bashir: Keiko's going to be all right. She's lucky that she landed the way that she did. It distributed the impact. Otherwise a fall from that height could easily have killed her or left her paralyzed.
O'Brien: Is she conscious?
Bashir: Yes, but she's still in shock. She has a broken femur and a hairline fracture of the right parietal bone.
O'Brien: Can I see her?
Bashir: Maybe in a couple of hours. Right now she needs to rest.
O'Brien: Julian, I really need to see her now.
Sisko: Doctor.
Bashir: All right. But only for a few minutes. Don't excite her.
O'Brien: Keiko.
Keiko: You were going to tell them about me.
O'Brien: How did you know?
Keiko: I know everything your wife knows and she knows you. I told you we have to trust one another. You violated that trust. Now look where it's led us.
O'Brien: I want my wife back, do you hear me? I want her back.
Keiko: Then stop trying to fool me. How much more damage do you think this body can take? Now, no more tricks, agreed? Say it.
O'Brien: Agreed.
Keiko: Good. You know what you need to do. You should get back to work.
O'Brien: I'll have everything completed in thirty six hours.
Keiko: You have thirteen and not a minute more.
O'Brien: I can't do it that fast.
Keiko: You're a very resourceful man. I'm sure you can find a way, for Keiko's sake.
O'Brien: You bloody
Bashir: She does need to rest, Chief.
Keiko: Tell Molly I'll be home soon. Tell her Mommy's fine. Don't scare her. Miles? Give me a kiss.
Keiko: I'm counting on you.
Bashir: She'll be back on her feet soon, I promise.
O'Brien: Computer, begin a thirteen hour countdown starting now.
Computer: Clock activated.
Worf: Chief. I heard about Keiko's accident. How is she?
O'Brien: Julian said she'll be home soon.
Worf: That is good. If there is anything I can do.
O'Brien: I wish there was. I really do. I'd better get going. I'm falling behind schedule.
O'Brien: Computer, time remaining?
Computer: Eight hours, twenty two minutes, three seconds.
Rom: Chief! Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you.
O'Brien: Rom, what are you doing here?
Rom: Reporting for my next assignment. I've completed calibration tests on the inertial coupling ports on all three upper pylons.
O'Brien: Already?
O'Brien: How did you finish so quickly?
Rom: I just did the work. I didn't allow myself to get caught up in any of the distracting discussions the other workers engage in. Ferengi can be very focused, especially when no one bothers to talk to them.
O'Brien: I see.
Rom: Not that I mind. I'm used to being ignored. Is something wrong, Chief? I can work slower if you want me to.
O'Brien: Rom, I need your help, and I need you to keep your mouth shut. Can I count on you?
Rom: Is that a trick question?
O'Brien: Rom, this is serious.
Rom: You can depend on me, Chief.
O'Brien: We're going to make some modifications to several of the station's systems. I don't want you to breathe a word of this to anyone. That includes Dax, Odo, Captain Sisko, Worf.
Rom: They don't know?
O'Brien: Of course they know. At least, some of them do. But they have to pretend that they don't. This is a top secret Starfleet operation.
Rom: Culpable deniability. I understand. Don't worry about me, Chief. My lips are sealed. Nobody will get anything out of me. Not even my name.
O'Brien: Rom, everybody on the station knows your name.
Rom: Right. But I won't confirm it. Where do we start?
O'Brien: Computer, time remaining?
Computer: Six hours, forty one minutes, twenty six seconds.
Dax: Chief.
O'Brien: Commander, what are you doing up at this hour?
Dax: I want you to have a look at something. I couldn't sleep so I got up and decided to scan the wormhole for radiometric anomalies.
O'Brien: At three in the morning?
Dax: I've always found anomalies to be very relaxing. It's a curse. I was using the wideband filter protocols and when I ran the primary calibrations check I found this.
O'Brien: Oh, they're slightly off spec.
Dax: Yes. I thought it might be a fused matrix inverter until I ran a level three diagnostic. Have a look. We'd better wake the Captain. We have a saboteur on the station.
Sisko: All right, what have you got?
Dax: Computer, display diagnostic. Chief?
O'Brien: We've identified nine hundred and forty three tiny fluctuations in the primary communication relays and several power distribution junctions.
Dax: Fluctuations that can't be attributed to anything except external intervention.
Sisko: Someone's gained access to our systems and is altering them. For what purpose?
O'Brien: We're working on that. At this point, it's hard to even call it sabotage. There's been no real damage. The systems are just a little off spec. So far, these alterations don't seem to pose any threat to the station.
Sisko: So far. But this might be just the tip of a very large and dangerous iceberg. Is there any way to trace how this was done, and by whom?
Odo: It has to be someone familiar with the station's systems.
Dax: Maybe someone who worked on the station under the Cardassians.
Odo: I'm running extensive security checks on all recent visitors, but so far, I haven't found anything.
Dax: It could be someone who's been on the station a long time. Someone with a lot of access. Maybe even someone on the maintenance crew.
Sisko: Chief?
O'Brien: Yes.
Sisko: Yes, what? Do you think it's someone on your staff?
Crewman: Chief O'Brien, I have a call from your daughter.
Sisko: Go ahead.
O'Brien: Molly, honey, what is it?
Molly: Hi, Daddy. Mommy told me I could call you.
Keiko: I hope we didn't interrupt anything important.
O'Brien: It's all right, Molly. I'm glad you called. What are you doing home?
Keiko: She missed her mommy. Isn't that sweet?
Molly: When are you going to come
Molly: Ow! Mommy, that hurt.
Keiko: Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie.
O'Brien: Are you all right, Molly?
Keiko: She's fine, Miles. She wants to know when you'll be finished. I told her you had to work another two hours, twenty two minutes and thirteen seconds.
Molly: How long is that, Daddy?
O'Brien: Soon. I'll be home very soon.
Keiko: Good. We both miss you.
Sisko: Everything all right?
O'Brien: Fine. I'm sorry about the interruption.
Sisko: You were saying you thought you knew who the saboteur might be.
O'Brien: I think I have an idea.
Rom: Hello, Constable. Hello, Chief.
Odo: What are you doing, Rom?
Rom: I can't talk about it.
Odo: Oh, yes you can. And you will.
Odo: Coming, Chief?
O'Brien: I'd better see what he's been up to here. I'll take care of those.
Sisko: Has he said anything?
Odo: Not much. For the first forty minutes, it was like pulling teeth even getting him to admit his name.
Sisko: You think he's working alone?
Odo: I don't know. Rom admits to nothing. Now he's asking to see Chief O'Brien. He won't talk to anybody else.
Sisko: Then get the Chief down here. I want to know what's going on.
Odo: Security to Chief O'Brien.
O'Brien: Go ahead, Constable.
Odo: We need you in Security right away.
O'Brien: I'm still trying to figure out what Rom did to these systems.
Odo: That'll have to wait. I have Captain's orders to get you down here immediately.
O'Brien: On my way. Computer, time remaining?
Computer: Thirty six minutes, nine seconds.
O'Brien: Computer, locate maintenance technician Rom.
Computer: Maintenance technician Rom is in Security holding cell number four.
O'Brien: Initiate security override and scramble surveillance channels four A, B, C and D. Authorisation O'Brien seven one two.
Computer: Specified security channels scrambled.
O'Brien: Now, begin recalibration of gravitic sensors at access panel three seven nine as indicated. I'll be back in ten minutes.
Odo: The Chief is here, Rom. Now what do you want to say?
Rom: Alone. I'll only talk if we're alone.
O'Brien: What is it, Rom? It's okay. I've diskonnected Odo's eavesdropping devices.
Rom: I haven't told anyone anything, just like you said.
O'Brien: You're a good man. Now why did you call me? I told you we're under very tight time constraints.
Rom: Captain Sisko is really angry. If I didn't know he was pretending
O'Brien: Rom.
Rom: Don't worry, I can hold out until you say otherwise, but there is one thing I have to know.
O'Brien: Go ahead.
Rom: Why are we focusing a chroniton beam at the wormhole?
O'Brien: What?
Rom: The new frequency of the deflector grid is set to turn the station into a massive chroniton array aimed directly at the wormhole. So I just wanted to know. Why are we trying to kill the wormhole aliens?
O'Brien: What are you talking about? A chroniton beam is harmless.
Rom: To us, but its temporal disruption would kill a wormhole alien instantly.
O'Brien: Of course. Why didn't I think of that. She has me so on edge I haven't been able to see the forest for the trees.
Rom: Who's she?
O'Brien: I don't have time to explain now. The question is, why would anyone want to kill the wormhole aliens?
Rom: Everyone has enemies, even the Prophets.
O'Brien: That's right. They're not just wormhole aliens, they're Prophets, part of Bajoran mythology just like the Pah-wraiths of the Fire Caves. So, what have those wraiths have to do with the wormhole aliens?
Rom: Koss'moran.
O'Brien: What?
Rom: It's a Bajoran legend. From the verb kosst, meaning 'to be' and amoran 'banished'. Leeta's been telling me all about Bajoran legends. She can go on for hours. She says I'm a good listener.
O'Brien: I'm sure you are. Now's the time to be a good talker. Go on.
Rom: Well, according to Leeta, the Pah-wraiths used to live in the wormhole. They were part of the Celestial Temple.
O'Brien: They were Prophets?
Rom: False Prophets. They were cast out of the Temple, exiled to the caves where they were imprisoned in crystal fire cages and forbidden to ever return lest they face the wrath of the true Prophets.
O'Brien: So if these false Prophets were to return to the Celestial Temple?
Rom: I don't think they'd be welcomed.
O'Brien: Unless she kills all the wormhole aliens first. Rom, I'm going to have to leave you in a tough spot.
Rom: Captain Sisko, Odo, they don't know about any of this, do they?
O'Brien: No. No, they don't. And I want you to help me keep it that way for a little while longer.
Rom: I have to stay here and play the idiot?
O'Brien: I'm afraid so. No matter what Odo asks you
Rom: I'm Quark's brother. I know the role.
O'Brien: Computer, time remaining?
Computer: Twelve minutes, twenty two seconds.
Odo: Ahem. Sorry to disturb you, Chief. A couple of things are still bothering me. Rom couldn't have done all this sabotage alone. There were too many changes for any one person to make.
O'Brien: Maybe so. Right now I've got a frequency problem in the cascade feeder.
Odo: I checked with the repair logs. I was hoping to match someone's movements to the locations where the alterations were made, but I couldn't do that.
O'Brien: We had a matrix system failure yesterday. Those files were lost. Sorry.
Odo: We've had a lot of system failures recently, haven't we, Chief?
O'Brien: Really? I hadn't noticed. I've been too busy repairing things.
Odo: Like the surveillance channels in the holding cells? You authorized a security override. What was wrong with them?
O'Brien: The fiber optic relay was out of sync. The isolinear chip junction was
Odo: Enough, Chief. You didn't cover your tracks very well. Why?
O'Brien: I didn't have time. I still don't.
O'Brien: Sorry, Odo. Chief O'Brien to Keiko O'Brien.
Keiko: This is Keiko.
O'Brien: I'm finished, but we have to move quickly. This place is going to be swarming with security. Meet me at runabout pad C now.
Keiko: How did you know I'd want a runabout?
O'Brien: Because I know what you're planning to do. But don't worry, I don't give a damn about the Celestial Temple, or your non-corporeal feuds. I just want my wife back. Now you still need me to pilot you to the wormhole, so let's stop wasting time. Agreed?
Keiko: I'll meet you there.
O'Brien: That's correct, Commander. I want to test some new magnetic constrictors on the runabout's impulse thrusters.
Dax: Very well, Chief. You're cleared for departure. But before you go, there's one thing I'd like to ask you.
O'Brien: What's that?
Dax: Did you enjoy your birthday?
O'Brien: It was full of surprises.
Dax: Good. Those are always my favorites.
Keiko: Hold position here.
O'Brien: Computer. Initiate modifications O'Brien seven three one and enable remote comm. link.
Computer: Comm. link enabled.
Dax: What the hell?
Keiko: Target the center of the wormhole.
O'Brien: Target coordinates set.
Keiko: Have us face the Temple. The blast'll last only a fraction of a second. They'll all be dead before they even see it.
Keiko: Oh, you have no idea how many centuries I've waited for this.
O'Brien: Let's get on with it.
Keiko: Miles, you have a lot to learn about patience. Proceed.
Sisko: Chief, what's going on out there? I'm ordering you to return to the station. Now!
Keiko: Activate.
O'Brien: Keiko? Keiko.
Keiko: Miles?
Sisko: Chief. You have some explaining to do.
Keiko: It was more like having something coiled around inside my head. I could see and hear through it, but any time I tried to do anything, it was like being stuck in sand and squeezed.
O'Brien: Yeah. Could you sense any of its thoughts?
Keiko: Just feelings sometimes. Kind of a cold rage. I don't think it had any intention of leaving either one of us alive.
O'Brien: You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to.
Keiko: It feels better to talk about it. Besides, I don't want to forget how hard you fought for me.
Rom: Hello, brother.
Quark: You look horrible. I'm telling you, Rom, working the night shift is driving you to an early grave.
Rom: I wasn't working.
Quark: What do you mean you weren't working?
Rom: I'm not on the night shift anymore.
Quark: I knew it. O'Brien fired you.
Rom: No, brother. In appreciation of my work the chief has promoted me to the day shift. He says I have a promising future in Engineering.
Quark: Then why do you look so tired?
Rom: I was out celebrating.
Quark: With who?
Rom: My crewmates. I think they like me.
Quark: Do they.
Rom: Especially Litana. She's always finding excuses to talk to me.
Quark: Well, Rom, I'm glad things are going so well for you.
Rom: No, you're not. But thanks anyway, brother.
Quark: I guess you'll be wanting the Chief's Special again?
Rom: Actually, no. I've diskovered that bacon doesn't agree with me.
Quark: What a surprise.
Rom: Instead, I'll have a short stack of pancakes, dripping with butter, side of sausage and pineapple.
Quark: Pineapple?
Rom: That's the breakfast of choice on the day shift.
Quark: Pineapple.