Scene: Captain's log, supplemental. O'Brien needed three days to restore main power to our commandeered Dominion ship, but he's not going to get them. Sensors have detected two Jem'Hadar fighters heading our way, and without main power our chances of survival are slim to none.
O'Brien: Try it now. Re-route the damned gyrodyne to the damned thruster array.
Nog: Got it.
Sisko: Garak, where are those ships now?
Garak: Bearing three one zero mark two one five. Still closing.
O'Brien: Nog, did you re-route the damned gyrodyne?
Nog: I'm trying, but the damned thruster array won't take the input.
O'Brien: Try the lateral impulse thrusters and watch your mouth. Access the auxiliary core through the starboard engineering console.
Dax: I've already tried that. Still no power to weapons or shields.
Sisko: Dax, there's a dark matter nebula sixty degrees above the bow. Can we reach it?
Dax: Yes. But that nebula's never been charted. We don't know what's in there.
Garak: The Jem'Hadar ships are entering weapons' range.
Sisko: Dax, get us into the nebula. Full impulse!
Sisko: Sisko to Bashir. Medical emergency.
O'Brien: Helm control's gone.
Bashir: Okay, all right. You'll be feeling better any second now. She's got a puncture of the right abdominal cavity. It looks as though the symbiont may have been injured.
O'Brien: Sensors are gone. Impulse engines offline. In fact, everything's offline. Emergency power's holding for now.
Sisko: Mister Garak, take a look outside.
Garak: Just a moment.
Sisko: Chief, what happened?
O'Brien: I don't know. We must have been hit by some kind of gravitational spike in the
Garak: Oh, no.
Sisko: Mister Garak?
Garak: Hold on!
Limara'Son: We have established a defense perimeter around the entrance to the cavern. I have sent out two patrols to reconnoiter the shoreline in both directions. The Vorta's condition has worsened. He will die soon.
Remata'Klan: What about the First and the Second?
Limara'Son: I vaporized their bodies myself, and redistributed their equipment to the rest of the men. You are now the First.
Remata'Klan: No. I questioned the Vorta's orders. He will not forget that. As long as he lives, I will remain Third.
Limara'Son: You were right to question him. If he had not ordered us into the nebula two days ago we would not have crashed.
Remata'Klan: It was not my place. Remember, Obedience Brings Victory.
Limara'Son: And Victory is Life.
Remata'Klan: Until we re-establish communications, we will hold this world for the Dominion.
Limara'Son: And if we cannot re-establish communications?
Remata'Klan: Then we will hold this world for the Dominion until we die.
Garak: Cadet, this is no time to lie down on the job.
Sisko: Heave! One more now. Heave! All right. How is she?
Bashir: She's stable for now. Garak! I need a hand.
O'Brien: Oh, no.
Sisko: What?
O'Brien: I don't believe it!
Sisko: What?
O'Brien: I tore my pants.
Sisko: You tore your pants?
O'Brien: Yeah, I tore my pants. I guess, I guess I'm really in trouble now, huh?
Computer: The time is zero five hundred hours. (Kira gets up and dressed. The turbolift to work is full of Jem'Hadar and Cardassians.
Kira: Thank you, Mavek.
Keevan: This must be quite gratifying for you. But I've decided not to give you the pleasure of watching me die in this foul-smelling cavern. I intend to live.
Remata'Klan: I understand.
Keevan: How long until we re-establish communications?
Remata'Klan: Seventh Yak'Talon estimates that it will take at least ten days before we can attempt a low-power test.
Keevan: Ten days.
Remata'Klan: It is time for the White.
Keevan: Third Remata'Klan, can you vouch for the loyalty of your men?
Remata'Klan: We pledge our loyalty to the Founders from now until death.
Keevan: Then receive this reward from the Founders. May it keep you strong.
Limara'Son: Only one?
Remata'Klan: Keep your place.
Keevan: This case of White must last until we're rescued. At least ten days, possibly more. I will ration the supply. Don't worry. I am the Vorta. I will take care of you all.
Garak: Lucky for you, it ripped on the seam.
O'Brien: Can you fix it?
Garak: Unlucky for you, my sewing kit went down with the ship.
Neeley: Maybe someone could go get it? The ship's only about five hundred meters below the surface by now.
O'Brien: How long can you hold your breath, Cadet?
Sisko: Madam, your pants are ready. Your boots and vest will take a little longer. While you wait, I might suggest that you browse through the hotel's gift shop.
Dax: No, thank you. But I would like to lodge a complaint. This bed is as hard as a rock.
Sisko: I will make a note of that. What's the prognosis?
Bashir: Guarded, but good. The bleeding's stopped and I've repaired all the internal injuries. The damage to the symbiont is a little harder to diagnose. Given enough rest, I think they'll both make a full recovery.
Dax: In other words, I'm going to be staring at this cave ceiling for the rest of my stay.
Sisko: Lucky for you they have twenty four hour room service.
Sisko: I will get you out of here, old man. I promise.
Dax: I'm going to hold you to that one, Benjamin.
Garak: What are you doing?
Nog: Following orders. The Captain told us to scan the area for fresh water and vegetation
Garak: You know precisely what I mean. You're deliberately staying behind me and I want to know why. Does this have anything to do with that unfortunate business between you and me last year?
Nog: You tied me up and threatened to kill me.
Garak: There were extenuating circumstances.
Nog: It happened. So you can either stay in front of me or walk beside me, but I won't turn my back on you again.
Garak: Cadet, there may be hope for you yet.
Nog: What is it?
Garak: I'm not sure but
Garak: Now I'm sure.
Keevan: How many others are there in your unit?
Nog: Nog. Cadet Third Class. Serial Number CX dash nine three seven dash
Garak: Shut up. As I tried to explain to your men, my name is Kamar and I'm a member of the Cardassian Intelligence Bureau, what used to called the Obsidian Order. A week ago, as I was performing my duties in the glorious service of the Founders, I was captured by the USS Centaur. I was held aboard one of their shuttles when we were forced
Keevan: Excuse me, Mister Kamar, if that's really your name, but if you're one of our allies, why were you wearing this?
Garak: Ah. I was hoping you weren't going to ask me about that.
Keevan: I only have one further question for you. Is there a doctor in your unit?
Garak: Yes.
Nog: Garak!
Keevan: Don't be too hard on him, young man. He just saved your life. Take them to a secure area. Third, I have a mission for you. I want you to find the Starfleet unit. But do not engage them. Locate them, assess their strength, and then report back to me.
Remata'Klan: I understand.
Keevan: No, you don't. But that's all right. It's not important that you understand, only that you carry out my instructions precisely.
Remata'Klan: Obedience Brings Victory.
Keevan: Yes. Yes, it does. Go.
Jake: I understand that a decision's been made to send four thousand Dominion facilitators down to Bajor. Would you care to elaborate?
Kira: It's only four hundred and how did you hear about that? The official announcement isn't scheduled until tomorrow.
Jake: I hear things. So could you elaborate? My readers want to know what's going on.
Odo: You don't have any readers. Weyoun is still blocking the transmission of your stories.
Jake: For now. But what if he changes his mind? Don't you want to explain what's going on here to the outside world?
Kira: Ever since the war started, Bajor's been completely cut off from all outside trade. We've had nowhere to turn for things like spare parts or medical supplies. Nowhere, except the Dominion. So a group of Facilitators is going to Bajor for a few months to provide some technical assistance.
Jake: How do you respond to critics like Vedek Yassim who say that by welcoming a group of Vorta to Bajor you're taking the first step toward Dominion occupation?
Odo: I have been assured that the Facilitators will be unarmed and unaccompanied by any Jem'Hadar soldiers.
Jake: Odo, do you have any concerns that by joining the Ruling Council here on the station, you're validating the occupation?
Odo: The Dominion doesn't need my validation. They're here and they're not leaving. Not without a fight, at least.
Kira: Are you finished?
Jake: Almost, almost. Will either of you be attending the demonstration tomorrow?
Kira: The what?
Jake: Vedek Yassim has organized a demonstration on the Promenade tomorrow afternoon to protest the Dominion occupation of the station.
Odo: That's all the excuse Dukat will need to order a new security crackdown.
Kira: I'll talk to Yassim.
Jake: So, you're going to abolish the right to protest here on the station? Hey, I'm not trying to accuse you personally of anything. I'm just asking questions.
Kira: I think this interview is over.
Odo: I couldn't agree more.
Jake: Wrong question, Jake.
O'Brien: I might be able to hardwire one of our comm. badges into this sensor array. That would give us a crude transmitter, but no power source.
Sisko: What about draining one of our phasers?
O'Brien: I thought about that, but I'd need a converter to bridge the two power cells, and I can't build a converter without an ion exchange matrix.
Gordon: Captain, I think we may have a problem. Garak and Nog haven't reported in yet and they're not answering my hails.
Neeley: Captain, there's a group of lifeforms up on the cliffs. Range seventy five meters, elevation thirty meters.
Sisko: That's where I'd be. Are they Jem'Hadar?
Neeley: I think so.
Sisko: Well, let's not make it easy for them. Tell the Chief to head for that large outcropping of rocks at ten o'clock. Walk, not run.
Neeley: Chief, we need to make for those rocks up ahead.
Limara'Son: I can't take it.
Remata'Klan: Terminate fire! Terminate!
Limara'Son: You have been ordered to stop firing!
Remata'Klan: Your orders were clear. You were not to engage the enemy. Who fired first?
Limara'Son: I did.
Remata'Klan: You are reduced to Sixth. You will shroud and return to base camp.
Limara'Son: I am no longer able to shroud myself.
Remata'Klan: You, you. Provide suppression fire as we withdraw.
Limara'Son: Understood.
Remata'Klan: Withdraw!
Limara'Son: Remata'Klan, I regret my disobedience.
O'Brien: Are they pulling out?
Sisko: Looks that way.
O'Brien: Why aren't they camouflaged?
Sisko: That's a good question. Let's hope the answer is something in our favor. Cease fire.
Keevan: Why were my orders disobeyed?
Remata'Klan: Lack of White produces anxiety among us. One man could not restrain himself when he saw the enemy.
Keevan: Which man?
Remata'Klan: I have dealt with the matter.
Keevan: I asked for his name.
Remata'Klan: He is my responsibility.
Keevan: His name!
Remata'Klan: I may not be First, but I am the unit leader. You can diskipline me, but only I diskipline the men. That is the order of things.
Keevan: Very well. I'll leave him to you.
Remata'Klan: Dismissed.
Keevan: You've done well, Third. You may yet become First. Now, I have a new task for you.
Yassim: The Dominion is evil, and the Prophets tell us that evil must be opposed.
Kira: You'll get no argument from me there, Vedek. But protests and demonstrations aren't going to change anything. They're just going to cause trouble for everyone.
Yassim: Then what would you have us do to oppose the Dominion?
Kira: I don't think there's anything you or the other Vedeks can do right now.
Yassim: I see. Then as a Bajoran liaison officer, what will you be doing to fight the Dominion?
Kira: Fighting isn't an option. This is different than the Cardassian occupation.
Yassim: Is it? The Cardassians are in control of this station. Bajoran freedoms are being curtailed one by one. And soon the first wave of alien troops will be landing on our world.
Kira: We're talking about unarmed Vorta facilitators. They come in, they do their job, and they're gone.
Yassim: Can't you see what is happening to you? You're becoming an apologist for them, a defender of evil. What will it take to make you act, Kira? To stop accepting them and start fighting back?
Kira: Vedek, you just don't understand.
Yassim: You are right. I don't. Maybe tomorrow we will both understand.
Sisko: We'll set up three defensive positions. You and Ensign Gordon on the south ridge, Lieutenant Neeley near the lava tube, Bashir and I are in the dunes.
Dax: I'll stay here and guard my clothes.
Neeley: Neeley to Captain Sisko.
Sisko: Go ahead.
Neeley: A Jem'Hadar soldier has just approached my position, sir. He says he wants to talk to you, alone.
Neeley: Sir?
Sisko: I'm Captain Benjamin Sisko.
Remata'Klan: Third Remata'Klan. Two members of your unit are being held at our base camp. We'll exchange them for you and your doctor.
Sisko: Why do you need a doctor?
Remata'Klan: The Vorta has been severely wounded.
Sisko: And why me?
Remata'Klan: The Vorta wishes to speak with you.
Sisko: Sounds like he wants to trade two low-ranking prisoners for two more valuable ones. Would you make a deal like that?
Remata'Klan: No.
Sisko: Then why should I?
Remata'Klan: You shouldn't.
Sisko: You're not a very good negotiator, are you.
Remata'Klan: I was not sent to negotiate. I was instructed only to deliver the terms.
Sisko: I see. Well then, I want to talk to someone who can negotiate. I want to speak with your First.
Remata'Klan: There is no First.
Sisko: I take it there's no Second either.
Remata'Klan: I command the unit.
Sisko: Under the Vorta. It must be hard for a soldier to take orders from a Vorta.
Remata'Klan: The Vorta command the Jem'Hadar. That is the order of things.
Sisko: Obedience Brings Victory. I was on a mission with the Jem'Hadar once. Before the war, of course. They were good. Tough, professional. It was an honor to serve with them. But their Vorta, he was something different. Manipulative, treacherous, trusted by neither side. In the end, he was killed by the Jem'Hadar First. Surprised?
Remata'Klan: Such things have been known to happen. But they are rare and only occur in units that have lost diskipline.
Sisko: Oh, you mean like a unit marooned on the shores of a deserted planet?
Remata'Klan: The Vorta has instructed me to give you his assurance that neither you nor your Doctor will be harmed and you'll both be free to leave at the end of your meeting. What is your response?
Sisko: The word of a Vorta carries very little weight with me. Can I have your assurance that we'll be free to go, Remata'Klan?
Remata'Klan: I have been ordered to let you go free after your meeting. You can be assured that I will obey that order.
Sisko: Very well. We'll make the trade in one hour.
Remata'Klan: Agreed.
Dax: Sounded like you were actually getting through to him for a minute there.
Sisko: You can't break through all that Dominion conditioning in just one conversation.
Dax: Do you really think you can turn him against his Vorta?
Sisko: I don't know. But there were at least seven Jem'Hadar soldiers up on that ridge this morning. Say at least two more at their base camp guarding the prisoners and their Vorta. Without Nog and Mister Garak on our side, that gives them almost a two to one advantage.
Dax: I think I'd like to check out now.
Sisko: So would I, old man.
Remata'Klan: You may go.
Garak: Now don't get too far ahead, Nog. We don't want to startle anyone. Ah, good afternoon, Captain. Doctor.
Sisko: Are you two all right?
Garak: Perfect. How are you?
Bashir: I've felt better.
Kira: Anything yet?
Odo: Not yet. There are two Vedeks inside, but we've seen no indication they intend to leave the shrine.
Kira: What about Yassim?
Odo: She hasn't shown up.
Kira: Let's hope she doesn't. The last thing I want to do is start arresting Bajoran civilians here on the Promenade.
Kira: I don't think there's going to be any story here for you today, Jake.
Jake: You sure? I got a message from Vedek Yassim saying the protest was starting at exactly fourteen hundred.
Kira: Well, it certainly doesn't look like it.
Man: What's she doing?
Yassim: Evil must be opposed.
Keevan: Captain Sisko, my name is Keevan. We have a lot to talk about.
Bashir: Not for a while, you don't. He needs immediate surgery.
Sisko: Now?
Bashir: I don't think I have any choice.
Bashir: I am a doctor. I'm not going to harm him.
Keevan: They're not here to protect me. They've just never seen what the inside of a Vorta looks like.
Computer: The time is zero five hundred hours.
Kira: Thank you, Mavek.
Sisko: How was the show?
Remata'Klan: Informative.
Keevan: Ah, I am alive.
Bashir: No self-diagnoses, please. I'm the doctor here. Your internal hemorrhaging has stopped, your free collagen levels are dropping, tissue growth factors have stabilized nicely and there's a fifty percent rise in cell oxygenation. You are alive. Careful. Your insides are being held together by cellular micro-sutures and a lot of hope.
Keevan: Leave us, and take your men with you.
Keevan: May I have that case, please?
Keevan: There are ten Jem'Hadar soldiers on this planet, Captain.
Keevan: And that is the only vial of Ketracel White we have left. When it's gone, my hold over them will be broken and they'll become nothing more than senseless, violent animals. They'll kill everyone they can. Me, you, the rest of your men, and finally turn on each other.
Sisko: Why are you telling us this?
Keevan: I'm ordering the Jem'Hadar to attack your base camp in the morning. But I will provide you with their precise plan of attack. You should be able to kill them all.
Bashir: They're your own men.
Keevan: Yes.
Sisko: You still haven't answered my question. Why are you doing this?
Keevan: That's a communications system. It needs repair, but I'm willing to bet that you've brought one of those famed Starfleet engineers who can turn rocks into replicators. He should have a lot more success at repairing it than a Jem'Hadar suffering from withdrawal. Once you've take care of the Jem'Hadar, I'll give you the comm. system and surrender to you as a prisoner of war.
Bashir: And you spend the war resting comfortably as a Starfleet POW while your men lie rotting on this planet.
Keevan: I see we understand each other. I'm going to order the Jem'Hadar to attack your position tomorrow regardless of whether you agree to my terms or not. So you can either kill them or they'll kill you. Either way, they're coming.
Sisko: And when they've reached this point, we'll have them in a crossfire.
Gordon: They won't have a chance.
Garak: That is the point. In case, you've forgotten we're in a war.
O'Brien: There are rules, Garak, even in a war.
Garak: Correction. Humans have rules in war. Rules that tend to make victory a little harder to achieve, in my opinion.
Gordon: So we just shoot them down?
Neeley: They wouldn't hesitate if the situation was reversed.
Nog: But we're not the Jem'Hadar. It is our duty to
Sisko: This isn't a vote. The decision's mine. And Mister Garak is right. We are at war. Given the choice between us or them, there is no choice. Let's move out.
Dax: I'd say good luck, but I don't think you're going to need it.
Sisko: Say it anyway, old man. I'm still hoping there's another way out of this.
Dax: In that case, good luck, Benjamin.
Odo: Damar has been trying to contact you for the past five hours.
Kira: I keep going over it and over it in my mind, and I can't believe that I stood down there ready to use force to stop a protest against the Dominion. Me. When I was in the Resistance I despised people like me. I'm a collaborator, Odo.
Odo: That's not true. You're doing exactly what Captain Sisko wanted you and the rest of Bajor to do. Remain neutral and stay out of the fighting.
Kira: We used to have a saying in the Resistance. If you're not fighting them, you're helping them. Half the Alpha Quadrant is out there right now, fighting for my freedom, but not me. What am I doing? Eating a full meal every day, sleeping in a soft bed, I even write reports for the murderers who run this station.
Odo: This are difficult times for everyone. Do you think it's easy for me to sit down with Dukat and Weyoun every day while they plot the destruction of the Federation?
Kira: Odo, I'm not pointing a finger at you. I'm the one who told you to get more involved in the first place. No, this is about me. This is about being able get up in the morning and look in the mirror every morning and not feel nauseated by what I see. Yassim was right. I have to do something. I have to start to fight back.
Odo: That would be a mistake. Active resistance will trigger a crackdown.
Kira: Odo, I don't want to end up fighting you, too, but if I have to, I will.
Odo: All right. But let's find a more diskreet place to plan the new resistance.
Sisko: Remata'Klan! I want to talk!
Remata'Klan: Agreed! Hold this position. Do not fire unless they do.
Limara'Son: Understood.
Sisko: There's no way out of this canyon and we have phasers locked on every one of you.
Remata'Klan: It appears you have a decisive advantage.
Sisko: To fight a battle under these circumstances would serve no purpose. I'm prepared to offer terms. Hear me out. I know that need more Ketracel White. My doctor can sedate your men and keep them alive until we're rescued. After that, we can put you into medical stasis until we secure a new supply.
Remata'Klan: The Vorta did not give me the option to surrender.
Sisko: Keevan's betrayed you! He gave us your entire plan of attack last night.
Remata'Klan: It was obvious that approaching your position from this canyon was a deliberate tactical error on his part.
Sisko: You knew?
Remata'Klan: I suspected. Despite what Keevan may think, the Jem'Hadar are often one step ahead of the Vorta.
Sisko: You can still stay one step ahead. Surrender.
Remata'Klan: I have my orders.
Sisko: Keevan doesn't deserve the unwavering loyalty you're giving him.
Remata'Klan: He does not have to earn my loyalty, Captain. He has had it from the moment I was conceived. I am a Jem'Hadar. He is a Vorta. It is the order of things.
Sisko: Do you really want to give up your life for the order of things?
Remata'Klan: It is not my life to give up, Captain. And it never was.
O'Brien: What did he say?
Sisko: All the wrong things.
Remata'Klan: Our death is glory to the Founders.)
O'Brien: Captain?
Keevan: You know, Captain, if I'd had just two more vials of White you never would have had a chance.
Sisko: Chief, get this. Take him back to base camp and then get to work on that comm. system.
O'Brien: Aye, sir.
Sisko: Lieutenant Neeley.
Neeley: Sir?
Sisko: Form a burial detail.
Neeley: Aye, sir.


Scene: Captain's log, stardate 51145.3. The Defiant has been operating out of Starbase three seven five, conducting forays into Dominion controlled space. While the missions have taken a toll on my people, they remain determined to do whatever it takes to win this war, as do I.
Nog: Here you are.
Sisko: Where did you get your hands on Saurian Brandy?
Bashir: In the middle of a war, no less.
Nog: It's a busy Starbase. I may be a Cadet, but I'm still a Ferengi.
Dax: Lucky for us.
O'Brien: Excuse me, Captain. The power cell from the phaser array. We used it up on the last mission.
Sisko: Take a good look at this, people. It says something about this ship. It says that we will fight and we will keep on fighting until we can't fight anymore.
All: Yes, sir!
Sisko: You don't just throw something like this away.
All: No, sir!
Nog: Admiral on deck.
Ross: As you were. Ben.
Sisko: Admiral.
Ross: Let's take a walk.
Ross: What was going on in there?
Sisko: Just a little ritual we fell into. Kind of helps the crew unwind.
Ross: Well, they deserve it. They did a hell of a job.
Sisko: Thank you, sir. But you didn't come here to tell me that, did you?
Ross: No, I didn't. Ever since this war began, the Dominion's been able to outmaneuver us at every turn. No matter where we send our ships, they seem to be there waiting for us.
Sisko: I've noticed that.
Ross: It's enough to make you think they were smarter than we are. But they're not. They just had an edge that we didn't know about until yesterday. Starfleet Intelligence located a massive sensor array hidden on the periphery of the Argolis cluster. Damn thing's capable of monitoring ship movements over five sectors.
Sisko: That's how they've managed to stay one step ahead of us.
Ross: They've had an enormous tactical advantage. I want you to take it away from them.
Sisko: Gladly, sir.
Ross: It won't be easy. The array is heavily defended. This is the intelligence report. Look it over. I want an attack plan on my desk by oh eight hundred.
Sisko: You'll have it.
Rom: There he is.
Kira: Damar's a creature of habit, all right. After a hard day at work, he deserves his glass of kanar. Why are the Jem'Hadar always in here, he asks himself. They don't drink, they don't eat, they don't gamble. All they do is take up space. Damar asks his bartender if he found a PADD he was working on the other day.
Rom: My brother tells the truth. He hasn't seen it.
Kira: Damar doesn't like that. The PADD contained a draft copy of a secret memorandum he was working on concerning the shortage of White. In it he speculates that without the drug, the Jem'Hadar will run amok, killing everyone and everything in their path. Damar recommends that if the Cardassians can't bring down the minefield and re-open the supply line from the Gamma Quadrant, they should poison the last ration of White, eliminating the Jem'Hadar before it's too late. How did you get a hold of Damar's PADD anyway?
Rom: I'm good with my hands. Here we go. They've seen him.
Kira: The missing PADD.
Damar: Where'd you find that?
Kira: Damar accuses them of stealing it.
Rom: They say they found it outside their quarters, right where I left it.
Damar: Have your whole race thrown off this station!
Kira: I knew this was going to work. The Cardassians and Jem'Hadar can pretend to be allies, but they hate each other.
Damar: Get out of my way!
Rom: Ow.
Jem'Hadar: That's not true!
Damar: I confronted them, they attacked me.
Dukat: I don't care what they did. You should never have let this situation get out of hand. Get out!
Weyoun: How could Damar have been so stupid as to leave such an inflammatory document lying around for anyone to find?
Dukat: Your men stole it from him.
Weyoun: Jem'Hadar are not thieves.
Dukat: And Damar is not a liar.
Weyoun: Keep your voice down. Our men need to see that we're still allies. Smile. Dukat.
Dukat: I'm smiling.
Odo: Gentlemen, I suggest we get everyone out of here as soon as possible.
Weyoun: Odo's right. Tell your men they're confined to quarters pending diskiplinary hearings. I'll do the same. And keep smiling. Come.
Sisko: according to Intelligence, the array is capable of detecting cloaked ships as far away as two light years. By the time the Defiant goes around the Argolis Cluster, the Dominion will already know we were coming.
Ross: You'll have a dozen Jem'Hadar ships on you before you even got close.
Sisko: That's why we need to have the element of surprise on our side. It's the only way.
Ross: What are you suggesting?
Sisko: That I take the Defiant through the Argolis.
Ross: You can't take a ship through there. You'd be cut to pieces by the gravimetric shear.
Sisko: That's exactly what the Dominion thinks. But if we come at them from the Argolis, they wouldn't know what hit them.
Ross: What makes you think you can get through?
Sisko: Dax says she can navigate around the gravimetric distortions. She's studied proto-star clusters, she knows what to look for. It's a gamble, but it's one I'm willing to take.
Ross: All right. Let's give it a shot. When can you leave?
Sisko: As soon as we finished repairs on the Defiant.
Ross: Keep me posted, Captain.
Kira: You wanted to see me?
Odo: Well? Don't you have something to say to me?
Kira: About what happened at Quark's? It worked better than I expected.
Odo: I knew you were behind it.
Kira: Of course you did. We discussed it at our last resistance meeting.
Odo: And I said it was a bad idea.
Kira: Yes, you did. And then you walked out of the room like there was nothing left to say. But Rom and Jake stayed and we discussed it, and you know what? I decided it was a good idea.
Odo: So you went ahead and did it behind my back?
Kira: Why are you taking it so personally?
Odo: How do you expect me to take it? I spend my days sitting on the Council with Dukat and Weyoun, doing whatever I can to make sure Bajor survives this war intact. The last thing I need is to have you running around causing mayhem. Do you have any idea what Dukat would do if he found out you were behind it? It's all the excuse he would need to throw every Bajoran off this station.
Kira: The Federation is losing this war. We can't sit by and do nothing.
Odo: There are limits to what we can do.
Kira: I'm beginning to think you shouldn't have agreed to sit on that Council. It's as if you're so invested in making sure the station runs smoothly, you've forgotten there's a war going on.
Odo: Are you questioning my loyalties, Major?
Kira: I need you, Odo. The resistance needs you.
Odo: Answer me. Are you questioning my loyalties?
Kira: No, of course not. That's not what this is about.
Founder: Hello, Odo. It's good to see you again. Leave us. I need to speak with Odo.
Kira: Do you?
Odo: It's all right, Nerys. I may as well hear what she has to say.
Kira: Are you sure?
Founder: You called her Nerys.
Odo: What of it?
Founder: Well, you used to call her Major. Using the name of a solid denotes intimacy.
Odo: You're a long way from home. Here to keep an eye on the war effort?
Founder: I'm content to leave the details of the war to the Vorta.
Odo: Then what brings you to Deep Space Nine?
Founder: You. I was trapped in the Alpha Quadrant when Captain Sisko mined the entrance to the wormhole. I have spent too much time with solids. I came because I felt the need to be with one of my own.
Odo: Well, that's ironic, considering what happened the last time we crossed paths.
Founder: You caused the death of a fellow changeling, Odo. Turning you into a solid was the only punishment severe enough for your crime.
Odo: And now that I'm a changeling again, you come here as if nothing ever happened?
Founder: We have forgiven you.
Odo: Well, I haven't forgiven you.
Founder: It is time to put the past behind us, Odo.
Odo: What about the present? You're waging a war against my home.
Founder: This is not your home. You belong with your own kind, as part of the Great Link.
Odo: I'm quite content here, thank you.
Founder: You say that because you don't know what you're capable of becoming. Perhaps if we spend some time together, you might begin to understand.
Sisko: Admiral, you wanted to see me?
Ross: I just got word. Captain Bennet's promotion has come through. At my recommendation, Starfleet's putting her in charge of Seventh Tactical Wing. She's one of the best adjutants I've ever had, strong grasp of strategy and an ability to see the big picture.
Sisko: Sounds like it's not going to be easy to find someone to take her place.
Ross: I already have. You.
Sisko: Sir?
Ross: I've been very impressed with you these last few weeks. I think we would make a good team.
Sisko: Thank you, sir.
Ross: Your new assignment is effective immediately.
Sisko: Immediately, sir? What about the Argolis mission?
Ross: Commander Dax will captain the Defiant. She is up to it, isn't she?
Sisko: Oh, absolutely, sir. I guess I'd just gotten used to the idea of commanding the mission myself.
Ross: Look over these tactical reports. I want your thoughts on the Bolian operation. We'll meet here at oh six hundred. Ben? Congratulations.
Dukat: Legate Krim will be arriving in the morning.
Odo: I'll have a security detail escort him to your office. Now, if that's all.
Weyoun: Founder, you honor us with your presence.
Founder: I understand the war is going well.
Weyoun: Only because I've followed the plan the Founders laid out for me.
Dukat: Welcome to Terok Nor. I'm glad we're finally getting a chance to meet. As leaders of our respective worlds, you and I will be taking our people into a future that I'm quite confident
Founder: What about the minefield? Why hasn't it been deactivated?
Weyoun: Yes, Dukat. This delay is intolerable. There are thousands of Jem'Hadar ships stranded on the other side of the wormhole, waiting to come through and join the war effort.
Dukat: Maybe you haven't read the latest reports, but even without those ships, I'm still winning this war.
Weyoun: You're winning? I assure you I'm intimately involved in all military decisions.
Founder: See to it the minefield is brought down.
Weyoun: Of course. We've imposed our presence on you long enough.
Dukat: If you need you anything while you're here, please let me know.
Founder: Do they always compete with each other like that?
Odo: As a matter of fact, they do.
Founder: You have to interact with them often. It must be trying for you.
Odo: It hasn't been easy. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some work to do in my quarters.
Founder: May I walk with you?
Odo: To become a thing, is to know a thing.
Founder: To assume its form is to begin to understand its existence.
Odo: You tried to teach me that when I visited our homeworld.
Founder: I remember.
Odo: I didn't understand what you meant by it at first, so when I returned the station, I got rid of all the furniture I used to have in my quarters and replaced it with these objects. I've assumed every shape in this room. I suppose if it weren't for you, I never would have known the simple pleasure spending time existing as a stone or a branch.
Founder: I'm glad you learned something from your visit. Your arrival was a time of great joy for the Link, and your departure a time of great sadness. If only you'd stayed with us, Odo.
Odo: I couldn't.
Founder: You chose the solids.
Odo: And I haven't regretted it.
Founder: Not even a little?
Odo: I do think about the Link from time to time.
Founder: It's there for you.
Odo: I can't.
Founder: Why? Because of Kira? You still have feelings for her, don't you? But she doesn't share them. I'm sorry.
Odo: Aren't you going to tell me I shouldn't waste my time with a solid?
Founder: You love her.
Odo: I wish I didn't. I'm so vulnerable to her. All she has to do is smile at me and I'm happy beyond reason. A minor disagreement between us and I'm devastated. It's absurd. Sometimes I wish I could reach inside myself and tear out my feelings for her. But I can't.
Founder: Poor Odo.
Odo: I don't want your pity.
Founder: I'm not offering pity.
Odo: What I need is some peace.
Founder: What you need is clarity. I can give you that.
Founder: Do you want me to stop?
Damar: That'll be all.
Kira: What are you doing here, Damar? Did Dukat demote you to security detail?
Damar: What can I do for you, Major?
Kira: I'm looking for Odo.
Damar: Well, he's not here.
Kira: Do you know where he is?
Damar: Yes.
Kira: That's good. It's good to know where your boss is.
Damar: He's in his quarters. With the other shape-shifter. Jealous, Major?
Kira: Try to stay out of trouble, Damar. You don't want to end up on sanitation duty.
Odo: Come in.
Kira: Odo?
Odo: Nerys.
Kira: I dropped by your office and Damar told me you were here with her.
Odo: She was here but she's gone now.
Kira: You all right? What did she want?
Odo: She didn't want anything.
Kira: Then what was she doing here?
Odo: I know how you feel about her, Major, but there's no reason to be concerned.
Kira: You don't know how much I wish I could believe that. You didn't Link with her, did you?
Odo: Actually, I did.
Kira: You did? What were you thinking?
Odo: She didn't find out about the resistance, if that's why you're worried.
Kira: It's not.
Odo: The Link isn't about exchanging information. It's about merging thought and form, idea and sensation.
Kira: It sounds like a perfect way to manipulate someone.
Odo: She's not manipulating me.
Kira: Ever since the day you two crossed paths, she has lied to you, tricked you, stood in judgment of you. I don't trust her. I don't understand how you can.
Odo: I Linked with her. If she had some hidden motive, I would have sensed it. She's just trying to teach me about myself, about what I'm capable of becoming.
Kira: An Intergalactic Warlord, maybe? Because that's what she is.
Odo: Who knows? By Linking with her I might be able to make her understand that the Federation doesn't pose a threat to her people.
Kira: You believe you can convince her to call off the war?
Odo: If you could experience the Link, you'd understand the effect it has on my people. You'd realize that anything is possible. I'm only beginning to understand it all myself. I still have so many questions. Now that she's here, I have a chance to find some answers.
Kira: Odo, this isn't the time to go off on some kind personal quest. There's too much at stake. After the war is over, do whatever you need to do. If you feel you need to go and join the Great Link, I'm not going to stop you. But for right now, I need you here, focused. Please promise me that you're not going to Link with her again. Not until this is over.
Odo: All right. I won't. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get to work. I'll see you at the resistance meeting.
Dax: Are you two ever going to be finished?
Nog: Just a few more minutes, Commander.
O'Brien: That's Captain. It's an old naval tradition. Whoever's in command of a ship, regardless of rank, is referred to as Captain.
Nog: You mean if I had to take command, I would be called Captain too?
O'Brien: Cadet, by the time you took command, there'd be nobody left to call you anything.
Nog: Good point.
Dax: Come to take a last look around?
Sisko: Not a last look, I hope. How are the repairs coming?
Dax: Almost done.
Sisko: I wouldn't get too comfortable in that chair, old man. When this war is over, I'm going to want my ship back.
Dax: Fine. When this war is over, I'm going on a honeymoon.
O'Brien: All done here, Captain.
Sisko: Very good.
Dax: All right. Plot a course to the Argolis Cluster and prepare to depart.
Crewwoman: Aye, Captain.
Dax: Benjamin? I wish you were coming with us.
Sisko: You'll do fine.
Quark: Pardon our appearance. We're renovating.
Damar: Kanar.
Damar: Not that one. The twenty seven.
Quark: Twenty seven? Expensive.
Damar: I can afford it on a Gul's salary.
Quark: Wait a minute. You started a fight in my bar and now you're getting a promotion? What kind of way is that to run an army?
Damar: Dukat wasn't happy about what happened. I had to find a way to make it up to him.
Quark: I hope it was something big.
Damar: Let's just say it will change the course of history.
Quark: As a businessman, I'm very interested in the course of history. This one's on me.
Damar: That's very kind of you, Quark, but I can't talk about it.
Quark: Of course. I understand. Here, let me pour you another.
Jake: There's obviously a lot of bad blood between the Cardassians and the Jem'Hadar. It wouldn't take much to get them to go at each other again.
Kira: I'm not sure we want to do that.
Rom: But it worked so well.
Kira: What do you think, Odo?
Odo: I'm not sure it's a good idea.
Kira: Then we'll do something else.
Jake: Major.
Kira: Something that we can all agree on.
Rom: Who could that be?
Kira: We're just sitting here enjoying each other's company.
Rom: Right.
Kira: Come in.
Rom: Brother, are you all right?
Quark: No, I am not all right. I just shared a bottle of kanar with Damar. That rhymes.
Jake: You're drunk.
Quark: Of course I'm drunk. I wouldn't risk coming in here and associating myself with your little resistance cell if I wasn't drunk.
Kira: Well, then maybe you'd better leave before someone sees you.
Quark: I tried. I tried my best to run my establishment under this occupation. But you know what? It's no fun. I don't like Cardassians. They're mean and arrogant. And I can't stand the Jem'Hadar. They're creepy. They just stand there like statues, staring at you. That's it. I don't want to spend the rest of my life doing business with these people. I want the Federation back. I want to sell root beer again.
Kira: All right, you made your point. Relax.
Quark: How can I relax when there are thousands of Jem'Hadar ships are sitting on the other side of the wormhole, waiting to come through?
Jake: Don't worry about it. They're stuck there.
Quark: Not if what Damar told me is true.
Kira: What are you talking about?
Quark: He said he came up with a way to deactivate the mines. Dukat wants him to start field tests right away.
Kira: Come on, Quark, think. Did Damar say anything about how he was planning to deactivate the mines?
Quark: Yes. He said something about the station's defector.
Odo: Defector?
Kira: That's impossible. The only person on the station who knows anything about the mines work is
Rom: Me.
Quark: Defector. That doesn't sound right. Maybe it was deflector? Yeah, that's it. He said something about using the station's deflector array.
Kira: What do you think, Rom?
Rom: I'm glad it wasn't me.
Kira: About the deflector array. Is there any way to use it to deactivate the mines?
Rom: No. I designed the mines to be self-replicating. The only way to keep them from replacing themselves is to isolate them in an anti-graviton beam. The deflector array can't do that. Unless you reconfigure the field generators and re-focused the emitters which would turn the deflector array into one big anti-graviton beam.
Quark: Why didn't you think of that when you set up the minefield?
Rom: I don't know.
Quark: He doesn't know.
Kira: Quark. How can we disable the deflector array?
Rom: All you have to do to is access the EPS feed and overload the waveguide.
Kira: Let's do it.
Rom: But there's no way to get to the EPS feed. It's in a secured conduit rigged with alarms.
Kira: Odo, can you disable those alarms?
Odo: I can take them offline for about five minutes if I run a security diagnostic.
Kira: Will that give you enough time?
Rom: I think so.
Odo: I'll run the diagnostic as soon as I get to my office in the morning.
Kira: All right. You and I will meet here. At exactly oh eight hundred, you will begin the diagnostic.
Worf: Has there been any news, sir?
Sisko: None.
Worf: The Defiant has been gone over sixteen hours.
Sisko: Mister Worf, I know this is difficult for you.
Worf: Yes, sir. But I sense it is more difficult for you. The Defiant is your ship.
Sisko: Dax'll bring her home. Besides, there's no way she's going to miss her own wedding.
Worf: No, I suppose not.
Sisko: As soon as I hear something, I'll let you know.
Worf: Thank you, sir. Captain, you should get some rest.
Sisko: Not tonight, Mister Worf. Not tonight.
Ross: Ben?
Sisko: Admiral.
Ross: It's late.
Sisko: I know. I was just waiting to see if there is any news.
Ross: Ben, we've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow. I want to nail down the details on the Bolian operation. I need you focused.
Sisko: I will be.
Ross: I know how you feel about your crew, but you and I are responsible for an entire tactical wing. Thousands of lives depend on the decisions we make tomorrow. You can't afford to be awake all night worrying about one ship.
Sisko: Admiral, you can order me to my quarters, but there's no way I'm going to sleep. Not as long as the Defiant is out there.
Ross: All right, as you wish. But you should understand one thing. With any luck, we'll be sending the Defiant on a lot of missions, and you're going to have to get used to it. Good night.
Odo: Have our people always been shape-shifters, or was there a time when we were like the solids?
Founder: Eons ago we were like them, limited to one form, but then we evolved.
Odo: On the homeworld, are you always in the Link, or do you sometimes take solid form?
Founder: We prefer the Link, but on occasion it is interesting to exist as something else. A tree perhaps, or a cloud in the sky.
Odo: A cloud. How many of us are there?
Founder: Oh. So many questions, Odo.
Odo: I'm sorry. But there's still so much that isn't clear to me yet.
Founder: If you Link with me again, everything will be made clear to you.
Odo: You have to understand that the Link is very overwhelming for me. Right now, it's easier to talk.
Founder: But words are so clumsy, so imprecise.
Odo: Even so.
Founder: As you wish.
Odo: You haven't told me your name.
Founder: What use would I have for a name?
Odo: To differentiate yourself from the others.
Founder: I don't.
Odo: But you are a separate being, aren't you?
Founder: In a sense.
Odo: When you return to the Link, what will happen to the entity I'm talking to right now?
Founder: The drop becomes the ocean.
Odo: And if you choose to take solid form again?
Founder: The ocean becomes a drop.
Odo: Ah, yes. I think I'm beginning to understand.
Founder: Then you can answer your own question. How many of us are there?
Odo: One. And many. It depends on how you look at it.
Founder: Very good. You are beginning to understand. But there's so much you don't know.
Odo: Tell me.
Founder: Words would be insufficient. Link with me again. It is the only way I can give you the understanding that you seek.
Odo: I can't.
Founder: Why not?
Odo: I promised Kira.
Founder: She is a solid. This has nothing to do with her. This is about you, about what you want.
Rom: Am I early?
Kira: A little. I hope there's more than just fruit in that basket.
Rom: I needed a place to hide my tools. In case anybody asks, I'm making a delivery.
Kira: Right.
Rom: Here's your fruit!
Kira: I didn't order any fruit. Oh, your brother sent this, didn't he?
Rom: Er.
Kira: If he is trying to win me over, tell him it's just not going to work. Better yet, I'll tell him myself.
Kira: Odo should be in his office by now. Now remember, he's going to interrupt the sensor alarms at exactly eight hundred hours.
Rom: I'll be ready.
Kira: If there's a problem I'll contact you. Good luck with your delivery.
Rom: Computer, time.
Computer: Seven hundred hours fifty eight minutes.
Rom: Two minutes to go.
Kira: Odo! Kira to Odo. Please respond.
Kira: Kira to Odo. Odo, answer me.
Kira: Computer, time.
Computer: Seven hundred hours fifty nine minutes.
Damar: Hello, Major. Just the person I was looking for.
Kira: Congratulations on your promotion, but we'll have to discuss the personnel report some other time.
Damar: We'll discuss it now.
Kira: I don't think so.
Kira: Kira to Rom. Don't open that hatch.
Rom: I already did.
Kira: Get out of there!
Damar: Intruder alert. Come with me.
Damar: Well, well. What do we have here? Captain's log, tactical update stardate 51149.5. The Defiant has returned to Starbase three seven five after its successful attack on the Dominion sensor array. Admiral Ross and I have recommended that Commander Dax and the entire Defiant crew be cited for exceptional performance of their duties.
Nog: Admiral on deck!
Ross: Carry on.
Dax: Nog, Saurian brandy for the brass.
Bashir: Dax, could you tell Ensign Kirby how I took over the conn when Lieutenant Haj was injured? She doesn't believe me.
Dax: Frankly, I'm not sure I believe it happened myself.
Bashir: Sir. Sir.
Ross: Congratulations, Captain.
Dax: Thank you, sir. Will you excuse me a minute. Julian needs me.
Ross: Certainly.
Nog: Here you are.
Sisko: Don't ask where he got it.
Ross: Don't worry. I don't want to know.
O'Brien: Here's another one, Captain.
Dax: Take a good look because this says something about us. That we're willing to fight and that we'll keep on fighting until we can't fight anymore.
All: Yes, sir!
Dax: You don't throw something like this away.
All: No, sir!
Ross: They're a good crew.
Sisko: The best.
Ross: What do you say we get back to work?
Kira: What the hell happened? Why didn't you disable that alarm?
Odo: It's difficult to explain.
Kira: Rom is sitting in a holding cell being interrogated! He was counting on you. I was counting on you!
Odo: I know.
Kira: You know? Do you realize what you just did? You just handed the Alpha Quadrant to the Dominion.
Odo: I was in the Link.
Kira: Are you saying you forgot?
Odo: I didn't forget. It just didn't seem to matter.
Kira: A lot of people are going to die. Don't you care?
Odo: It has nothing to do with me.
Kira: How can you say that?
Odo: If you could experience the Link, you'd know why nothing else matters.
Kira: The last five years, your life here, our friendship, none of that matters?
Odo: It did once. I wish I could make you understand. But you can't. You're not a changeling.
Kira: That's right. I'm a solid.
Founder: You look troubled, Odo. Did she upset you?
Odo: No, not really.
Founder: Ah.


Dax: Cadet.
Nog: Continuing to emit distress signals on all frequencies, sir.
Dax: Chief?
O'Brien: We're still venting plasma. Any ship within a hundred million kilometers will know we're here and that we're not going anywhere.
Nog: We have company, Captain. Two Dominion ships heading this way, bearing one nine seven mark one three five.
O'Brien: They'll have us in weapons range in twenty two seconds.
Dax: Shields?
Nog: Shields at thirty percent.
Dax: Phaser banks?
O'Brien: The entire weapons array is offline.
Dax: Now we find something to hold onto.
Nog: Shields are down to twenty percent.
O'Brien: Now?
Dax: Now. Shields up. Engines at full impulse. Power to main phasers.
O'Brien: Target locked.
Dax: Fire.
Dax: Cadet, are there any other Dominion ships out there?
Nog: None that I can see.
Dax: This is the Captain speaking. All hands, stand down. Good job, people.
Nog: We're being hailed by the Rotarran. Commander Worf wants to speak to you.
Dax: On screen.
Worf: Well done, Captain. You were a very effective decoy.
Dax: How about next time we switch roles? That way I can rescue you.
O'Brien: You may have to wait a while, Captain. We've just received orders from Starfleet Command. All ships in this sector are to fall back to Starbase three seven five.
Dax: Fall back again.
O'Brien: Engage, retreat, engage, retreat. I tell you, that's becoming our favorite tune.
Bashir: Well, we'd better think of a new tune fast or the only song we're going to be singing is Hail the Conquering Dominion.
Dax: I wouldn't start learning those lyrics just yet, Doctor. Worf, we'll see you at Starbase three seven five.
Worf: I will be waiting.
Dax: Set a course for these coordinates. Warp seven.
Dax: I don't know what all you brass hats in Starfleet Command are thinking, but take it from a simple field officer, we're not going to win this war by running away from the enemy.
Sisko: I know that.
Dax: Benjamin, troop morale is at an all-time low. Even the Klingons are starting to wonder if we can defeat the Dominion. We need a victory, a big victory, and we need it soon.
Sisko: I couldn't agree with you more.
Dax: Then do something about it.
Sisko: I already have. In fact, I'm presenting a plan to Starfleet Command at oh eight hundred tomorrow.
Dax: What plan?
Sisko: We're going to retake Deep Space Nine.
Bashir: Everything seems to be perfectly normal. I'm sorry, Garak.
Garak: Keep looking, Doctor. Whatever Starfleet put in there is very well hidden.
O'Brien: Ridiculous!
Garak: That's easy for you to say, Chief. You don't know them as well as I do. These are desperate people.
Dax: Garak, you're not going to get any of us to believe that Starfleet Intelligence has implanted some kind of neural transponder in your brain to monitor your thoughts.
Garak: I would have, if I were them. In fact, when I was conducting interrogations for the Obsidian Order, I did a lot worse.
Bashir: I'm sure you did.
Worf: They're not interrogating you, Mister Garak, they are debriefing. There is a difference.
Garak: Not from where I'm sitting.
Dax: Oh, I'll have a raktajino, Julian.
Bashir: And a raktajino.
O'Brien: Look, Garak we are at war with the Dominion. Cardassia is part of the Dominion. You are a Cardassian. And at one time, a fairly important one. Of course Starfleet Intelligence is going to press you for specifics. They need to know everything you know.
Worf: Any small detail could prove extremely important.
Garak: Well, take it from me, it's a lot more fun asking questions than answering them. All things considered, I'd rather be on the Defiant with all of you.
O'Brien: Oh, believe me, you haven't been missing much.
Dax: Hopefully, all of that's about to change.
Bashir: You think Starfleet Command will approve Sisko's plan?
Dax: We'll find out soon enough. He's in there presenting it now.
O'Brien: Here's to retaking the castle.
Bashir: And planting our flag on its battlements once again.
Dax: You two spent too much time in the holosuites.
Sisko: By putting together a task force comprised of elements from the Second, Fifth and Ninth fleets, I believe that we can retake Deep Space Nine, the most important piece of real estate in the quadrant.
Sitak: Your plan, Captain Sisko, is not without merit. However, I remain skeptical. The Dominion will undoubtedly send a large fleet to stop you.
Sisko: And it will divert their forces and slow their advance into Federation territory.
Ross: As well as leave their flank vulnerable.
Sisko: Which will give us a chance to be on the offensive for a change.
Coburn: There's one thing that still concerns me.
Sisko: What's that, Admiral?
Coburn: Earth. You've left it a very tempting target.
Ross: Earth will still be defended by the Third Fleet.
Coburn: But what if you're wrong, and the Dominion doesn't commit its forces to protect Deep Space Nine? What if instead they launch a full-scale assault on Earth? If we follow the plan you're proposing, we'll never be able to get reinforcements there in time.
Sisko: The Dominion won't attack Earth.
Sitak: How can you be sure?
Sisko: Because Earth isn't the key to the Alpha Quadrant. The wormhole is. And whoever controls Deep Space Nine controls the wormhole.
Quark: Unbelievable. Amazing. What nerve. Morn, you do have a problem, but lucky for you the solution is simple. You're a grown man. If you don't want to attend your mother's birthday party, you don't have to. And if she keeps whining about it, just remind her there's a war on and you have things to do. Another ale?
Quark: Here, it's on the house.
Quark: Major, you ready?
Kira: Now?
Quark: Right now.
Kira: All right, but I don't think it'll do any good.
Quark: I keep telling myself that Odo never meant to have Rom to get arrested. It was all a mistake. Bad timing, bad luck.
Kira: I thought that too, at first.
Quark: I have known Odo a long time. He's not a collaborator.
Kira: Then why is your brother still in a holding cell?
Quark: We're here to see Odo.
Jem'Hadar: The Founders are not to be disturbed.
Quark: Odo will make an exception for us.
Jem'Hadar: There are no exceptions.
Kira: I'd like to hear that from Odo.
Bajoran: I'm sorry, Major, but you're wasting your time. His orders were quite clear. He doesn't want to see anyone. Not until his guest has left.
Kira: And how long has his guest been visiting?
Bajoran: As far as I know, the female changeling has not left his quarters for three days.
Jem'Hadar: Step away from the door, Ferengi.
Kira: Hey! hey!
Bajoran: Perhaps it would be best if you left. My colleague over here takes his duties very seriously. I promise to tell Odo you were here.
Kira: Let's go, Quark.
Founder: So, that is how solids experience intimacy.
Odo: Not all solids. Humans, Bajorans.
Founder: I really must thank you, Odo.
Odo: For what?
Founder: For giving me new insight into the solids.
Odo: And what have you learned?
Founder: That what they consider intimacy is only a shadow of what we experience in the Great Link. You don't agree?
Odo: I didn't say that.
Founder: You've done this before?
Odo: Not often.
Founder: But when you have, you enjoyed it?
Odo: Yes.
Founder: And you regret not having experienced it with Major Kira.
Odo: I'd rather not discuss Major Kira.
Founder: I don't see why not. When we link, your feelings for her are made very clear.
Odo: Then why do you insist that we talk about it?
Founder: Because talking is still very important to you. But one day it won't be. One day, the Link will be all you need. And that day is coming soon.
Odo: Is it?
Founder: It's amazing that you have survived this long without it. It's only now, after I've been away from the Great Link myself, that I understand how painful it must have been for you.
Odo: It hasn't always been easy.
Founder: Odo, you never have to be alone again.
Odo: Well, I'd better be going. There's a meeting of the station's Ruling Council. Dukat and Weyoun are expecting me.
Founder: That meeting was held three days ago.
Odo: Three days? Three days. How could I have lost track of that much time?
Founder: Does that bother you?
Odo: Yes, it does.
Founder: Well, don't let it. You've been living with the solids' concept of time for too long. Let them worry about their meetings, their schedules, their obligations. None of that has anything to do with you. You are a changeling. You're timeless. As am I.
Weyoun: You asked to see me, Major?
Kira: That's right. I
Weyoun: First, tell me something. What do you think of this?
Kira: It's one of Ziyal's paintings.
Weyoun: I know who the artist is. Her father gave it to me. He claims it won some sort of prize on Cardassia.
Kira: Gul Dukat must be very proud.
Weyoun: I suppose. Is it any good?
Kira: I think so. Why, don't you?
Weyoun: I don't know how to judge it. You see, my people lack a sense of esthetics.
Kira: That's too bad.
Weyoun: I sometimes think so as well. But if esthetics were truly important, the Founders would have included it in our genetic makeup.
Kira: Or they made a mistake.
Weyoun: Gods don't make mistakes. Though sometimes I think it would be nice to be able to carry a tune. So, what can I do for you, Major?
Kira: It's about Rom.
Weyoun: Oh yes, the Ferengi saboteur.
Kira: He has been in a holding cell for over a week.
Weyoun: Has it really been that long?
Kira: And I was hoping you would consider releasing him.
Weyoun: Impossible. You can't release a man and then execute him. It makes no sense.
Kira: Execute Rom?
Weyoun: He committed an act of terrorism against the Dominion. Not only did he try to interfere with our efforts to take down the minefield, but, as I understand it, he was also the diabolical genius who came up with the idea of self-replicating mines in the first place. I'm afraid there's no getting around it, Major. He must be made an example so that others think twice before they act against us.
Kira: He is married to a Bajoran citizen.
Weyoun: I'm well aware of that. And I'm willing to believe, for now, his wife is not a co-conspirator. Otherwise, treaty or no treaty, she would share her husband's fate. I'm sorry, Major. The Dominion takes a dim view of terrorism. Your friend must pay the price for his crime.
Kira: We'll see what the Bajoran government has to say about that.
Weyoun: I'm afraid their pleas will fall on deaf ears. Major. Would this be more esthetically pleasing if it were blue?
Rom: I'm going to die.
Leeta: Stop saying that.
Rom: I didn't say it, he did.
Quark: What I said is, they're planning to execute you. It's not the same thing.
Rom: It is to me.
Leeta: Rom, we are not going to let them hurt you. Kira has gone to the Bajoran Council of Ministers. She's asking them to lodge an official protest.
Rom: That's sweet, but I doubt it'll do any good.
Quark: And I've talked to Grand Nagus Zek himself and he has offered to buy your freedom from the Dominion.
Rom: I don't think Weyoun cares much for latinum. I'm a dead man.
Quark: Will you stop upsetting Leeta?
Rom: Sorry.
Quark: Besides, you think your big brother will let anything happen to you?
Rom: What can you do?
Quark: I'm not sure. But I'll think of something. No matter what it takes, no matter what I have to do, I'm going to get you out of here.
Leeta: You do that and I'll work your dabo tables for free.
Quark: For how long?
Leeta: An entire year.
Quark: Make it two.
Rom: Brother!
Quark: Shh. Isn't your life worth two years? Now, sit tight and trust your older brother.
Rom: But I don't want you to try to save me.
Leeta: What are you talking about? They must have done something to his mind.
Quark: What mind?
Rom: I'm serious. Brother, you have more important things to worry about.
Quark: The bar's doing fine, but thanks for caring.
Rom: I'm not talking about the bar.
Leeta: What could be more important than your life?
Rom: Destroying the anti-graviton beam to prevent the Dominion from taking down the minefield. You've got to finish what I started. The fate of the entire Alpha Quadrant rests in your hands. Billions and billions of people are counting on you.
Quark: Boy, are they going to be disappointed.
Rom: Brother, you can do this. You have to do this. You will do this.
Quark: What happens if I get caught?
Rom: Then we'll die together. Side by side, heads held high, knowing we did our best.
Leeta: Oh, Rom.
Quark: But I don't want to die.
Rom: If that's what's written, then that's what's written. Now get going, brother. You have a lot of work to do.
Rom: So, tell me, Leeta what else is new? Have they fixed the sonic shower in our quarters yet?
Kira: Ziyal.
Ziyal: Nerys. I haven't seen you in weeks.
Kira: Do you have a minute?
Ziyal: Sit down.
Kira: I need you to talk to your father for me.
Ziyal: About what?
Kira: Rom.
Ziyal: Father.
Dukat: Ah.
Ziyal: I need to talk to you.
Dukat: Is something wrong, my dear?
Ziyal: Nothing that you can't fix.
Dukat: Name it.
Ziyal: I want you to free Rom.
Dukat: You're joking.
Ziyal: Not at all.
Dukat: I can't free Rom, Ziyal. He's been sentenced to death by the Dominion.
Ziyal: You can pardon him. Don't you see, Father, this is your chance to show the Bajoran people, to show Major Kira who you really are. A forgiving, compassionate man. A great man.
Dukat: Tell me something, Ziyal. Were you involved in any way with the plans to sabotage this station?
Ziyal: No, I wasn't involved.
Dukat: You're sure of that? I can't help you unless you tell me the truth.
Ziyal: I am telling you the truth. The question is, have you been telling me the truth.
Dukat: About what?
Ziyal: That the Bajorans are wrong about you. That you regret the horrible things you had to do during the occupation.
Dukat: I do regret them, Ziyal. Deeply.
Ziyal: Then this is your chance to prove it to everyone, including me. Show us that you're capable of mercy.
Dukat: Rom is an enemy of the state, and enemies of the state do not deserve mercy.
Ziyal: Spoken like a true Cardassian.
Dukat: I am a Cardassian. And so are you.
Ziyal: No, I'm not! I could never be like you.
Dukat: Ziyal.
Kira: You can't trust them.
Quark: I trust latinum, and so do they. Five bars will buy me five Nausicaans, a fast ship and very few questions. Breaking Rom out of the holding cell will be child's play compared to the things they're used to doing.
Kira: Forget about it, Quark. Freeing your brother's going to take careful, precise planning. It's not the Nausicaan way. They're thugs. They'll come strutting onto the station, look at a Jem'Hadar the wrong way and before you know it there's blood on the Promenade.
Quark: Think I can get my money back?
Damar: Major, a freighter loaded with Tammeron grain is due within the hour. See to it that Cargo bay five is ready to receive it.
Kira: I'll take care of it. I'll have a
Damar: Yes, you will. Now. That attitude of yours, Major, it won't be tolerated forever.
Kira: You don't like my attitude, Damar? You're welcome to try to change it.
Damar: I don't know what Dukat sees in that woman.
Quark: Then you need to get your eyes examined. One kanar. Want me to leave the bottle?
Damar: Maybe I should have you taste it first. Make sure it isn't poisoned.
Quark: Poisoning customers is bad for business.
Damar: True. But some people may place a brother's revenge above business.
Quark: Not this Ferengi.
Damar: You're a credit to your race, Quark. Unlike your brother, you've chosen to back the winning side.
Quark: All right, are you going to tell me or do you want me to guess?
Damar: Tell you what?
Quark: Oh, don't be coy with me. Either someone you don't like has died or your promotion came through.
Damar: It's better than that.
Damar: It's about the minefield.
Quark: What about it?
Damar: It's coming down.
Quark: Oh, I've heard that before.
Damar: Remember those field tests I was telling you about? They were successful. We've begun to deactivate the mines.
Quark: Well, you've got your work cut out for you. What's it going to take a couple of months? A year?
Damar: One week.
Quark: A week?
Damar: That's right. One week, and the Alpha Quadrant is ours.
Sisko: Gentlemen, this mission cannot succeed without the involvement of the Klingon Defense Forces.
Worf: We agree, Captain. Chancellor Gowron does not.
Sisko: Then you will have to change his mind.
Martok: The Chancellor is reluctant to commit such a large fleet to a single engagement.
Worf: He believes it would leave the Empire vulnerable.
Sisko: Starfleet Command had the same concerns about Earth. But after careful consideration, they decided it was worth the risk.
Worf: General, perhaps you should return to Kronos and make your plea in person. The Chancellor has great respect for you. If you cannot persuade him, no one can.
Martok: I will go see Gowron and you will come with me.
Worf: No. The Chancellor no longer considers me a friend.
Martok: I know. But what could be better? An ally and an enemy both telling him the same thing. He'll have no other choice but to agree.
Sisko: Gentlemen, I need those ships.
Worf: And you shall have them.
Kira: A week? Are you sure about that?
Quark: That's what he said. Believe me, this was no idle boast.
Kira: We have to stop them.
Quark: And end up in a holding cell with my brother? No, thanks. If we could only get to Odo, make him see what's going on. Then maybe he could help us.
Kira: Forget about Odo. First, we can't get to him. Second, even if we did he wouldn't help us.
Quark: Then what we have to do is warn Starfleet.
Kira: And how do you suggest we get a message to them?
Quark: You're asking me? You're the terrorist, I'm just a bartender.
Jake: There you are. From the look on your faces I can see you haven't had much luck getting Rom out of jail.
Quark: And the news just keeps getting worse.
Jake: It's not all bad.
Kira: Trust us, Jake, it is.
Jake: Not for me. I'm getting a message out to my Dad.
Kira: How?
Jake: I'm a reporter. I have my ways.
Kira: Come on, Jake, this is no time for games.
Kira: Morn?
Jake: He's going home for his mother's birthday or something. He has an encrypted message for my Dad in one of her presents.
Ross: Are you sure this is reliable?
Sisko: I've known the courier for five years. I trust him.
Ross: Then we have a problem. According to this, the minefield's coming down in three days. The Ninth Fleet won't be here for at least four.
Sisko: Then I suggest we go without them.
Ross: What about the Klingons?
Sisko: Looks like we go without them too. We've run out of time, Admiral.
Ross: If those Dominion reinforcements come through the wormhole we'll have lost everything.
Sisko: We take the ships we have, fight our way to Deep Space Nine and destroy that anti-graviton emitter. It's our only hope.
Ross: Do it.
Dukat: There.
Weyoun: Where?
Dukat: Over there. That flash of light was the anti-graviton beam hitting a mine.
Weyoun: And disabling its replication unit.
Dukat: Exactly. Didn't you see it?
Weyoun: I'm afraid not.
Dukat: For months you've been demanding that I take down those mines and now that it's finally happening, you can't even see it?
Weyoun: Weak eyes.
Dukat: Excuse me?
Weyoun: My people have poor eyesight. It's something we've learned to live with. Jem'Hadar, on the other hand, excellent vision. I suppose they need it more than we do.
Dukat: Ah, there's another one.
Weyoun: I'll have to take your word for it.
Dukat: Once we disable the replication units in all the mines, we can detonate the entire minefield. And I guarantee you, weak eyes or not, that explosion you will see.
Weyoun: When will you be ready to proceed?
Dukat: Approximately seventy eight hours. Three more days and we can start to bring the Jem'Hadar reinforcements through the wormhole.
Weyoun: Excellent. I knew you could do it, Dukat.
Dukat: Did you?
Weyoun: I never doubted you for a moment.
Damar: Sir, I have new information on enemy fleet movements.
Dukat: Go ahead.
Damar: The Second Fleet has fallen back past the Kotanka System, while the Fifth Fleet has pulled out of the fighting along the Vulcan border. Both fleets have converged here, Starbase three seven five.
Dukat: Isn't that where Captain Sisko is stationed?
Damar: He's been made an adjutant to Admiral Ross.
Weyoun: Good for him. Now why have those fleets gathered there?
Damar: I'm not sure.
Weyoun: You're not sure? Two large enemy fleets break off from the front lines and rendezvous at a starbase and you have no idea why?
Dukat: Well, we'll have to find out, won't we?
Weyoun: See that you do.
Damar: He should speak to you with greater respect.
Dukat: Some day, I'll let you teach him that lesson. But right now, there's something more pressing I need you to do. It's of a personal nature, a matter of some delicacy. It's about my daughter.
Damar: Ziyal?
Dukat: We've had a misunderstanding. I want you to go and convince her to speak with me.
Damar: Sir, I really feel I would be more valuable tracking the enemy fleet.
Dukat: I've given you an order, Damar. We're on the verge of a great victory, and when it comes I want my daughter at my side. Is that understood?
Ziyal: I really believed my father had changed. That he wanted to be a man of peace.
Kira: I think he believes that too, when it suits his purpose.
Ziyal: Everything he's ever said to me has been a lie
Kira: Not everything. He really does care about you.
Ziyal: I don't care. I am not going back to him. You don't believe me, do you?
Kira: Right now you're angry and hurt, but that's going to pass. And then you'll have to decide what to do.
Damar: Ziyal, I need to speak to you.
Ziyal: You and I have nothing to talk about.
Damar: Maybe not, but you and your father do. He wants to see you.
Ziyal: Well I don't want to see him.
Kira: You heard her.
Damar: Stay out of this, Major. Ziyal, listen. Your father is a great man, a man of destiny, but he also carries great burdens. He knows our alliance with the Dominion is a dangerous one. If we show any sign of weakness, our allies will turn on us. That's why we must all help him remain strong. So I ask you to be a true daughter of Cardassia and stand beside him.
Ziyal: It should be obvious, even to you, Damar, that I am not a true daughter of Cardassia.
Damar: What's obvious to me is that your father should have left you to rot in that Breen prison camp. But he didn't. He took pity on you and it's your duty to repay him. Now come with me.
Kira: Let her go.
Damar: And if I don't, what happens then?
Kira: I was hoping you'd ask.
Ziyal: Did you kill him?
Kira: No, but I thought about it.
Ziyal: What are you going to do when he wakes up?
Kira: That's up to him.
Ross: I just came to wish you luck.
Sisko: Thank you. My father says you can never have too much good luck.
Ross: Your father sounds like a wise man.
Sisko: And he makes a fierce jambalaya.
Ross: What's this?
Sisko: Ancient Bajoran texts.
Ross: The Emissary looks for guidance on the eve of battle.
Sisko: Guidance, insights, loopholes. I'll take anything I can get.
Ross: And what do the Prophets tell you?
Sisko: That I have a long way to go before I can make any sense of their prophecies.
Ross: Maybe when this war is over you can look at them closer.
Sisko: That would be a change. Spend a week or two down on Bajor. Visit the Dakeen Monastery.
Ross: I've never been on Bajor. I hear it's quite nice.
Sisko: Nice? That hardly describes it at all. There are parts of the Eastern Province that are like Eden itself. Lush green valleys covered in wild flowers that seem to spring up overnight. Hundreds of small, crystal clear ponds interconnected by waterfalls.
Ross: All right, all right, I'm convinced. I'm already planning my next R and R down there. You know, it sounds like when your assignment on Deep Space Nine is over and Bajor is welcomed into the Federation, you're going to have a tough time saying goodbye.
Sisko: I don't plan to say goodbye. I plan to build a house on Bajor.
Ross: And what if Starfleet assigns you to a different sector?
Sisko: I will go wherever they send me, but when I go home, it will be to Bajor.
Nog: Chief, I was just coming to see you. Can you believe it? They made me an Ensign.
O'Brien: I hadn't realized things were going so bad.
Nog: Scary, isn't it? If my classmates at the Academy could only see me now.
O'Brien: They'd be surprised, would they?
Nog: Amazed is more like it.
O'Brien: What do they know.
Nog: Anyway, I just want to say thanks for all your help.
O'Brien: My help?
Nog: I've learned a lot from you and not just about engineering. You've shown me what it takes to be a good soldier.
O'Brien: Don't let that uniform go to your head. You've got a lot to learn yet. And you will. Congratulations, Ensign. Wear it with pride.
Nog: I intend to, Chief.
Nog: Captain on the Bridge.
Dax: I've kept it warm for you, Ben.
Sisko: Ensign, alert all ships. We're moving out.
Nog: Aye, sir.
Dukat: Our initial intelligence reports have been verified. The Federation fleet is on the move.
Weyoun: Do we know their destination?
Dukat: Yes. It appears they're headed here.
Weyoun: Here? Oh. He knows we're taking down the minefield. Someone must've got a message out.
Dukat: So it would seem.
Weyoun: No matter. We'll crush them.
Dukat: Yes. Yes, we will. But in order to do that, I'm going to have to pull a significant number of our ships off the front lines.
Weyoun: Do it.
Dukat: Come in.
Weyoun: Once the minefield comes down we'll have more than enough ships to take their place.
Dukat: I understand. One moment, please.
Damar: I want your permission to arrest Major Kira.
Dukat: Kira? What about Ziyal? Did you talk to her?
Damar: She doesn't want to see you. When I insisted, the Major objected.
Dukat: What did you do to Ziyal?
Damar: I did nothing to her.
Dukat: Then why did the Major attack you? You must have done something, threatened my daughter in some way. Damar, I told you to be tactful.
Weyoun: Excuse me. Don't you think resolving family squabbles can wait until after we've won this war? Weak eyes, good ears.
Dukat: Yes, of course. You're quite right.
Weyoun: Then you're clear on what must be done.
Dukat: I'm going to call back enough ships to destroy the Federation fleet and hold this station.
Damar: The Federation is moving against us?
Dukat: That's right. Now I want to know exactly what went on between you and Ziyal.
Odo: It's odd. I've stood here countless times, and yet somehow it all looks different.
Founder: It's the solids. They look small, don't they? Insignificant.
Odo: It's not their fault.
Founder: I'm not placing blame.
Odo: They're trapped.
Founder: Confined to a single shape.
Odo: A single perspective.
Founder: It's so limiting.
Odo: I feel sorry for them.
Founder: They need our guidance, Odo, not our pity.
Odo: They cherish their freedom.
Founder: We'll have to break them of that.
Odo: Break them?
Founder: In a manner of speaking. Oh, this language of the solids. It's so imprecise.
Odo: What exactly do you plan to do?
Founder: The solids are no longer your concern, Odo. What must be done, will be done. It's as simple as that.
Weyoun: Forgive me for intruding but I have important news about the war.
Founder: Why don't you return to your quarters, Odo. I'll join you there shortly. Don't worry. Everything will be fine. I promise.
Weyoun: I must say, you're doing a wonderful job with Odo.
Founder: Meaning what?
Weyoun: Meaning that he's always posed a potential threat to our plans, but you seem to have neutralized him quite nicely.
Founder: Neutralize Odo? Is that why you think I'm here? Odo is a changeling. Bringing him home, returning him to the Great Link, means more to us than the Alpha Quadrant itself. Is that clear?
Weyoun: I meant no disrespect.
Founder: Well of course you didn't. You are what you are, a loyal subject of the Dominion. Come, walk with me. You said you had important news.
Odo: Major!
Odo: Kira. Kira, wait, please.
Kira: I have nothing to say to you.
Odo: I understand that you're angry.
Kira: Oh, you bet I am angry. Do you have any idea what's going on?
Odo: Yes, somewhat. I've been occupied.
Kira: Dukat is bringing down the minefield, the Federation is about to be overrun by Dominion reinforcements and Weyoun has ordered Rom's execution and you have been occupied.
Odo: This is so difficult to explain.
Kira: If you're going to talk me about the Link, don't bother. I'm a solid, remember? I won't understand.
Odo: Nerys. I'm sorry.
Kira: Sorry? That's what you wanted to tell me? You're sorry?
Odo: Yes.
Kira: Well let me tell you something, Odo. We are way, way past sorry.
O'Brien: Sir, incoming message from the Cortez. They're still having trouble stabilizing the guidance thrusters on their port nacelle.
Sisko: Tell them to drop back and make repairs. Bring up the Sarek to take its place.
O'Brien: Will do.
Garak: That's the eleventh ship to fall out of formation.
Dax: Nice of you to keep track, Garak.
Bashir: He can't help being negative. It's in his nature.
Garak: On the contrary. I always hope for the best. Experience, unfortunately, has taught me to expect the worst.
O'Brien: I'm picking something up. It's a large Dominion fleet bearing zero zero four mark zero zero nine.
Sisko: How large?
O'Brien: Twelve hundred and fifty four ships.
Bashir: They outnumber us two to one.
Garak: Now who's being negative.
Sisko: Ensign, on screen. Maximum magnification.
Nog: Aye, sir.
Sisko: To all ships, this is Captain Sisko. Assume attack formation Delta two. There's an old saying, fortune favors the bold. Well, I guess we're about to find out. To Be Continued...