Jack: No. No. It's not fair. Am I alone here? Is that it? Am I the only one who sees. And what is that incessant noise?
Loews: Calm down.
Jack: Why? Am I talking too fast, Doctor? Having trouble keeping up?
Loews: I just don't want you to get upset.
Patrick: Please don't leave us here, Karen. Please.
Loews: It's only for a few weeks, Patrick.
Jack: You know why they brought us here, don't you? Why they carted us halfway across the quadrant? They're going to experiment on us.
Loews: Stop it, Jack.
Jack: They want to find out what makes our genetically engineered brains tick. They're going to cut our heads open and see what comes out!
Loews: He's just trying to scare you. Don't listen to him. I told you why I brought you here, remember? To meet that doctor, Doctor Bashir?
Lauren: You know, the handsome one.
Loews: He was genetically enhanced when he was a boy, just like all of you.
Jack: No, no. He's not like us. I never saw him at the Institute. He wasn't locked away for being too smart. He's passed himself off as normal. He's Mister Normal Starfleet man. Mister Productive Member of Society. Well, maybe we can learn to be just like him. Wear little uniforms. Yes, sir. No, sir. Thank you, sir.
Patrick: I don't like it here.
Loews: It's going to be all right. Doctor Bashir is going to work with you for a while, that's all. Just think of it as a little vacation from the Institute.
Jack: No. No. This isn't happening.
Loews: It is happening, Jack, and you're going to have to try to make the best of it.
Lauren: I'm going to make the best of it. See the way he's looking at me? He's in love with me already.
Jack: Give me that!
Patrick: I want to go home.
Lauren: It's him.
Jack: See that? That's what I'm going to do to your boyfriend.
Loews: Give me the PADD.
Jack: Sorry.
Loews: You're not sorry, we both know that. You did it on purpose because you're upset. But there are better ways of dealing with being upset.
Jack: I'll work on it.
Loews: All right. Well, I'll see you all in a few weeks.
Loews: Patrick, it's fine, it's fine. Go on.
Loews: Bye, Sarina.
Bashir: You all right?
Loews: It's nothing. Just another run in with Jack. Like I said in my report, don't turn your back on him.
Bashir: Well, we'd better get you down to the Infirmary.
Lowes: I'm fine. Go on in. They're about as ready to meet you as they'll ever be. I just hope you have better luck getting through to them than I've had.
Bashir: Hello?
Jack: Funny. He doesn't look like a mutant.
Bashir: Is that you, Jack?
Jack: He knows me. He knows my name. I didn't tell him my name.
Bashir: It's all right. I just read Doctor Loews's report, that's all.
Jack: I knew that.
Bashir: Hello, Sarina.
Jack: What is he talking to her for? He read the reports. She won't answer. Didn't you read the reports?
Bashir: Would anyone mind if I turned on the lights?
Jack: Would anyone mind if he turned on some lights? Go ahead. We're not mole people, you know.
Bashir: Computer, lights.
Lauren: Hello.
Bashir: Lauren.
Lauren: I know what you're thinking, Julian, but I'm not that kind of girl.
Jack: Bashir, was it? Rings a bell. Bashir, Bashir, Bashir, Bashir. Ah ha, got it! Fifteenth century poet Singh el Bashir. Any relation?
Bashir: Yes, actually.
Jack: His work was totally derivative. He was a plagiarist. You knew that. You had to know. Yet you came in here bragging about it anyway. Why?
Bashir: You're the one who brought it up.
Jack: What was I supposed to do, just let you get away with it? That noise!
Lauren: Tell me, Doctor, what kind of enhancements did your parents have done to you?
Bashir: Mental abilities, mostly. But they had my hand eye coordination, reflexes and vision improved as well.
Jack: Can you do that?
Bashir: I doubt it.
Jack: What happened? Your parents couldn't afford the full overhaul?
Lauren: He turned out all right.
Jack: You're not exactly known for being very diskriminating.
Lauren: I turned you down, didn't I?
Jack: And you're still regretting it. The cube root of three hundred twenty nine. What is it?
Bashir: Six point nine zero three.
Lauren: Very good. And you didn't even use your fingers. He's a mutant, just like the rest of us.
Jack: No, no, no. He is not like us. No. He passed as normal.
Patrick: Is that true? Did you passed as normal? Is that true?
Bashir: My genetic status was diskovered a year ago.
Lauren: How'd you manage to hide it for so long?
Bashir: I did my best not to exploit my abilities.
Jack: So no one would suspect. Very clever. I'm impressed. That's not right. There are reasons why DNA resequencing is illegal. There are reasons why people like us are barred from serving in Starfleet. We have an advantage. Normal people can't compete. It's not fair.
Bashir: Maybe you're right. Maybe I should have said something sooner.
Jack: There are rules. Don't talk with your mouth full. Don't open an airlock when somebody's inside it. And don't lie about your genetic status. No, no, no. You did, you lied. And then, when you got caught, you cut a deal with Starfleet. You got yourself off the hook.
Patrick: If you'd told the truth, you could have lived with us at the Institute.
Jack: He's right, you know. Then they would have put you away.
Bashir: They don't put people away for being genetically engineered.
Jack: No, no, no, no they just won't let us do anything that's worth doing. No, no. They are afraid that people like us are going to take over.
Bashir: It happened before. People like us did try and take over.
Jack: Oh, no, no. I knew you were going to do that. I knew you were going to trot out the Eugenics Wars.
Bashir: I'm not trotting anything out. All I'm saying is there's a reason we've been barred from certain professions. But that doesn't mean we can't be productive members of society.
Jack: Here it comes. The we can still contribute speech. No. No, no, no, no. I will not forget what was done to me. I will not be part of a society that put me away for being too smart. No, no.
Bashir: All right, then. Since then you have all the answers already, I'll spare you the speech. I'm having dinner with some friends.
Jack: What, you think we don't eat? We eat. We're going to eat right now. Yum yum.
Patrick: I'll go set the table.
Jack: Don't worry about us, we'll be fine.
Lauren: Thanks for scaring him off.
Bashir: All I kept thinking was, there but for the grace of God go I.
Dax: How do you mean?
Bashir: My parents managed to find a decent doctor to perform the DNA resequencing on me. These four weren't so lucky. They all suffered unintended side effects. By the time they were five or six, their parents were forced to come forward and admit that they'd broken the law so that their children could get treatment.
Sisko: Perhaps they waited too long.
Bashir: There was nothing the doctors at the Institute could do for them. These cases are so rare there's no standard treatment.
Kira: I can't imagine it was a very stimulating environment for them.
Bashir: That's what Doctor Loews thought when she first came to the Institute. She got permission to separate them from the other residents so that she could work with them.
Odo: Why did she bring them here?
Bashir: She thought they might respond to meeting someone like them, who was living a normal life. She was also hoping that one day they might be able to live on their own and be productive.
O'Brien: Well, let's hope they don't become too productive. Might make the rest of us look bad.
Worf: It is not a laughing matter. If people like them are allowed to compete freely, then parents would feel pressured to have their children enhanced so that they could keep up.
Odo: That's precisely what prompted the ban on DNA resequencing in the first place.
Bashir: Giving them a chance to contribute doesn't necessarily mean sanctioning what was done to them. They didn't ask to have their DNA tampered with. They were only children. And why should they be excluded just because their parents broke the law?
Sisko: You're right. It's not quite fair. But even so, it seemed like a good way to diskourage genetic tampering.
O'Brien: Besides, it's not as if we're trying to exclude them from anything. We're just talking about limiting what they're allowed to do.
Bashir: Like joining Starfleet.
Worf: Exactly.
Bashir: Are you saying that I shouldn't be allowed to wear this uniform?
Worf: Well, you are an exception.
Bashir: An exception. I should be used to that, I've been one all my life. First because of the DNA resequencing, and now because I've been allowed to join Starfleet.
Worf: Perhaps I should not have said anything.
Bashir: No, it's all right.
Sisko: Well, does anyone care to speculate about what Gul Damar is going to say in his speech?
O'Brien: Nothing we're going to like, I'll bet.
Kira: It should be starting any minute.
Dax: If he's going to announce another new battle offensive, it's going to spoil dessert.
Jack: Can you hear me? Hello? Calling Doctor Bashir.
Bashir: Jack.
Jack: Hello? Anybody there?
Kira: Did you give them access to the comm. system?
Jack: Hello? Hello? Doctor Bashir?
Bashir: No, they must've broken in somehow. I'd love to stay and chat about our impending doom, but
Jack: I can't take it! Would you do something about that noise!
Bashir: What noise?
Jack: What kind of sick game are you people playing?
Bashir: What are you talking about?
Jack: Can't you hear it?
Lauren: We complained and two very cute Engineers came by and said there was nothing wrong.
Bashir: Wait. Is it a kind of a high pitched whine?
Jack: Yes. Thank god! See, I told you we weren't crazy. You are a mutant. You are. Now, do something about that noise or I will snap her neck.
Bashir: I called Chief O'Brien. Now let her go.
Jack: Maybe I'll wait till he gets here.
Bashir: If you don't let her go, I'll tell the Chief the noise went away by itself.
Jack: You think I want to be doing this? I'm just making sure things get done.
Jack: Unbelievable. This is the thanks I get.
Bashir: Are you all right?
Bashir: Come in. Miles, I wonder if you could find out what's making that noise? I know you can't hear it, but it's there. Probably a sympathetic vibration in a power coupling or something.
O'Brien: What do you know? You're right.
Jack: Well, why don't you fix it, dear fellow, dear fellow, well why don't you fix it before I go mad.
Bashir: He's married.
Lauren: Too bad.
Patrick: Sounds like the plasma flow's out of sync.
O'Brien: You're right.
Patrick: Better realign it.
O'Brien: I was thinking that.
Bashir: It's about to start.
O'Brien: Almost finished. There.
Jack: Finally.
Bashir: Much better. Thank you, Chief.
Damar: Fellow citizens, these are great days for Cardassia. Together with our Dominion allies, we have given our enemies cause to fear us once more.
O'Brien: Can't argue with that.
Lauren: Who's he?
Bashir: It's Damar, the new head of the Cardassian government.
Damar: The war with the Federation accomplished of our goals. Cardassia is strong again, an empire to be feared. We are safe behind secure borders, and no one will ever dare attack us again.
Jack: Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.
Patrick: He's sad.
Lauren: Ashamed is more like it.
Bashir: Why do you say that?
O'Brien: Shh.
Damar: From this position of strength, we are poised to take another bold step to insure our future. Peace.
Lauren: Looks like a man who doesn't sleep.
Damar: It is time to bring an end to this war with the Federation. It is time for us to rebuild on the foundation of strength we have laid. The sons of Cardassia shed
Jack: Methought I heard a voice cry, Sleep no more! Damar does murder sleep!
Patrick: He's killed someone.
Lauren: Someone close to him.
O'Brien: How could they know that?
Damar: Their blood to defend their home. Their sacrifice must not be in vain. The peace we seek will honor their memory, and preserve the gains for which they gave their lives. I challenge the Federation to answer my call for peace. I am ready at any time to meet with its representatives to discuss how we can bring an end to hostilities. As your leader, I pledge that I will do everything in my power
Jack: Pretender! You don't belong on that throne and you know it.
Damar: To protect Cardassia and allow us to
Patrick: Someone's making him say all this. He doesn't want to.
Damar: Move forward into a new era. This I vow with my life's blood for my sons, for all our sons.
Bashir: Did any of you know who Damar was before today?
Jack: No, no, no, but it's obvious who he is. The Pretender who killed the king and seized the throne.
Lauren: Not the king. He's still alive.
Patrick: The queen, maybe, or a princess.
Bashir: Yes, Ziyal. That's Gul Dukat's daughter.
Jack: And now the Pretender finds himself in league with a, a Dark Knight that he can't control.
O'Brien: Weyoun?
Jack: It's not a bad story. Epic, really. What else can you tell us?
Bashir: It was amazing. They pieced together the entire story of how Damar came to power. Weyoun is the Dark Prince, Gul Dukat is the deposed King, Damar is the Pretender to the throne, and Ziyal is the innocent Princess he murdered. And now the Pretender is wracked with guilt over what he's done.
Kira: And they got all this just from watching Damar's speech?
Bashir: Well, they were fascinated by the whole thing. They kept bombarding me with questions about Cardassia and the war. I've never seen them so engaged.
Dax: And you want to keep them engaged.
Bashir: I'd like to try. I'm just running out of material.
Kira: What do you mean?
Bashir: They've already gone through everything the computer has on Cardassia and the Dominion.
Sisko: Roll out the red carpet.
Dax: Visitors?
Sisko: Starfleet has decided to listen to what Damar has to say. He and Weyoun will be arriving in the morning. I am the lucky one who gets the chance to sit across the table from them.
Bashir: That's great.
Kira: It's hard to believe that the Dominion really wants peace. I wouldn't be surprised if they were just stalling for time in order to regroup.
Bashir: Sir, is there any chance I can get a transcript of the negotiations?
Sisko: You can do better than that. The Dominion has insisted on recording the proceedings so that everyone can see that their desire for peace is sincere.
Bashir: Perfect.
Dax: You shouldn't have agreed to that, Benjamin. Now you'll have to be on your best behavior.
Jack: So the Pretender and his Dark Knight are coming to the station?
Patrick: The story's not over.
Lauren: Peace talks. Could be interesting.
Bashir: I'd say so. And the best part is, we're going to have ringside seats.
Weyoun: Ah, Major.
Kira: Welcome to Deep Space Nine.
Weyoun: How nice to see you again.
Kira: Can I give you a word of advice, Weyoun?
Weyoun: By all means.
Kira: You're welcome to play your little 'we're all friends here' act with me, but I wouldn't try it with Captain Sisko. He's not in the mood.
Damar: We're on a mission of peace, Major. Maybe he should get in the mood.
Damar: This is the border as it existed before hostilities broke out. This is the border we are now proposing.
Weyoun: This arrangement would award disputed star systems to the side that already has effective control over them. On the balance, we're giving up more than you.
Damar: As you can see
Jack: Computer, freeze program. Computer. Hi. Er, listen. Go to native language mode and replay time code seven six one through seven six nine.
Weyoun: Eee ja maa'na hoo'va baa'li jen'ku'rada sen'to.
Jack: Got you. Did you hear that? He used the passive voice transitive.
Bashir: Since when could you speak Dominionese?
Jack: Since this morning. That phrasing is only used to make a request, not a statement. They are up to something.
Bashir: What is it, Patrick? Did you see something? You can tell us.
Patrick: They want the Kabrel system.
Bashir: How do you know?
Patrick: They kept avoiding it with their eyes.
Bashir: You're sure?
Patrick: They kept avoiding it.
Jack: Told you they were up to something.
Bashir: End program.
Bashir: All right, they want the Kabrel system. But why?
Lauren: I don't know, but they're willing to give up a lot to get it. The mizinite deposits on Holna Four alone are enough to keep their shipyards running for years.
Jack: Yes, yes, yes. That's a typical Dominion strategy. They offer to give up something valuable in order to hide the fact that they want something even more valuable in the long term. See, that's how they think. Big picture. They don't worry about what's going to happen tomorrow, no, no, no, they're thinking long term. They're thinking what's going to happen a year from now, a decade, a century. Yes, yes.
Bashir: There must be something special about the Kabrel system.
Lauren: Nothing on the first planet but some simple protozoids and trinucleic fungi. The second planet has some cormaline deposits, but they're common enough.
Jack: Okay, okay, okay. Maybe there's another reason. Does it have any strategic value?
Lauren: Not that I can see. They wouldn't want to build a base there.
Jack: Why not? Why not? Seems perfectly suitable.
Lauren: It's not an optimum situation. It's a binary system, there's a lot of ionic interference.
Jack: All right, forget that.
Bashir: Does this have anything to do with what we're talking about, Sarina? Can we take it?
Jack: Think, think. Any evidence that Kabrel used to support an advanced civilisation? Maybe they're looking to excavate something valuable like an ancient technology.
Lauren: There's no evidence of anything like that.
Bashir: Any idea what this might mean?
Sisko: Chemistry was never my strong suit. What is it?
Bashir: It shows how you can break down tri-nucleic fungus to make yridium bicantizine, one of the active ingredients in Ketracel White. That's why the Dominion wants the Kabrel system, so that they can manufacture the drug right here in the Alpha Quadrant. According to our calculations, they'll be able to make enough White to supply the Jem'Hadar indefinitely.
Sisko: I was going to recommend that the Federation accept the proposed border. It could have cost us the Alpha Quadrant.
Bashir: Actually, sir, we should give them Kabrel.
Sisko: Why is that?
Bashir: If we don't, the Dominion will be forced to attack before their stockpile of White runs out. Here are the casualty projections. As you can see, an attack would result in devastating casualties for both sides.
Sisko: You're suggesting we stall?
Bashir: It'll buy us time to rebuild our defenses and bring the Romulans into the alliance.
Sisko: The Romulans?
Bashir: According to our analyzes, there it is, they'll vote to abandon their non-aggression pact with the Dominion at next year's plenary session. By which time, internal pressures between the Cardassians and the Dominion will have erupted, and after three years six months and twenty seven days, we predict that
Sisko: Hang on a minute, Doctor. How'd you come up with all this? Two days ago you said these people were impossible to deal with, now they're turning out projections that it would take Starfleet Intelligence months to come up with.
Bashir: We're mutants. I know, we're not exactly qualified for this kind of work and it could be said that it is beyond the limits of what people like us should be allowed to do. But I think if you allow me to walk you through our analyzes, you'll be impressed.
Sisko: All right, Doctor. Go ahead.
Bashir: Thank you, sir. The way our statistical analysis works, the farther into the future you go, the more accurate the projection. It's based on a kind of non-linear dynamics, whereby small fluctuations tend to factor out over time. The net result is
Sisko: Just a minute, Doctor. Why don't we go back to the beginning and take me through this step by step, nice and easy.
Bashir: Gladly, sir.
Bashir: Captain Sisko said he would take our analyzes to Starfleet Command right away.
Jack: Imagine that, Starfleet Command.
Lauren: All those admirals.
Patrick: It's a party!
Bashir: It is now.
Lauren: We need music.
Bashir: Computer, music. Make it grand.
Lauren: A waltz.
Lauren: Care to dance?
Lauren: Coward.
Bashir: He tried.
Lauren: I meant her.
Bashir: Come in. Chief, what a pleasant surprise.
O'Brien: I, er, I need to replace that power coupling.
Bashir: Don't mind us.
O'Brien: Hi.
O'Brien: No, thanks.
Patrick: It's a party.
O'Brien: No. I need to get to work.
O'Brien: I didn't mean to. It's just that I need to get this coupling replaced.
Bashir: What did you do, Chief?
O'Brien: Nothing.
Bashir: What's the matter, Patrick?
Patrick: He doesn't like me.
O'Brien: Sure I do. See?
Lauren: The Chief doesn't like any of us, do you Chief?
O'Brien: Julian, I
Jack: He's just jealous you're spending so much time with us.
Lauren: His wife's away. He misses his friend.
O'Brien: I do not.
Lauren: It's all right, Julian, go play with your friend. We'll be fine.
Bashir: You want me to play with you, do you, Chief?
O'Brien: No!
Lauren: Yes, you do.
Bashir: Come on. Let's go to Quark's.
O'Brien: I'm going to need those.
Patrick: No, you don't. There's nothing wrong with that power coupling.
O'Brien: Well, it's going to have to be replaced sometime.
Bashir: Ready?
O'Brien: Ready, yeah.
O'Brien: I'm sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was upset them.
Bashir: It's all right. The only reason Patrick gets so emotional is because he likes you.
O'Brien: He does?
Bashir: Yeah, they all do.
O'Brien: What, because I got rid of that noise?
Bashir: No, no, it's not just that. They fell comfortable be around you. What was the word Jack used? Uncomplicated.
O'Brien: Uncomplicated.
Bashir: Oh, yes, they're amazingly insightful. They have ways of seeing things other people don't.
O'Brien: And saying things other people don't.
Bashir: They are pretty candid, aren't they.
O'Brien: They sure are.
Bashir: Funny thing is, I'm actually beginning to enjoy their company.
O'Brien: Hey, what are you doing? Get back.
Bashir: You know, I was thinking Starfleet Command might do all right to take them on as a team of advisors.
O'Brien: Oh, I don't know. I can't imagine them in a room with a bunch of admirals, unless they're going to teach them how to dance.
Bashir: We were celebrating.
O'Brien: Yeah, whatever.
Bashir: They really are quite brilliant, though. I mean, once we actually started working, it was incredible. We were all on the same wavelength, talking in shorthand, finishing each other's sentences. I've never had that with anyone else.
O'Brien: After being with them, I can see how the rest of us must seem a little uncomplicated.
Bashir: I wouldn't say that, exactly. More like slow.
O'Brien: Ha, ha. Must very be frustrating for you.
Bashir: I don't mind. Makes me feel superior.
O'Brien: Glad to be of service.
Bashir: I appreciate it. It's not always easy walking amongst the common people.
O'Brien: Yes, it's probably best to keep your expectations low.
O'Brien: That way we can surprise you now and then. Another game?
Bashir: Sure. But do I have to stand so far back?
O'Brien: I make one lucky throw and you're ready to come down to my level?
Bashir: I like to win, just like the next man.
O'Brien: Get back there. Come on.
Bashir: I've got good news. Starfleet Command was so impressed with our analysis, they've agreed to let us have access to classified information regarding Starfleet's battle readiness. Is something wrong?
Jack: We have new long term projections. You'd better take a look.
Lauren: You're not going to like it
Jack: Well?
Bashir: Everything checks out.
Lauren: I was hoping you were going to find a flaw.
Bashir: No.
Jack: So then you agree with our conclusion?
Bashir: It's inescapable. There's no way the Federation is going to be able beat the Dominion. We have no choice. We're going to have to surrender.
Sisko: Surrender to the Dominion. Not on my watch.
Bashir: Sir, I understand how you feel. I don't like it any more than you do, but it's the best option. We've run dozens of different scenarios. Even if something unlikely were to happen tilting the scales in our favor, such as an anti-Dominion coup on Cardassia, we'll still lose this war.
Sisko: But that doesn't mean we should just give up and roll over.
Bashir: If we fight, there will be over nine hundred billion casualties. If we surrender, no one dies. Either way we're in for five generations of Dominion rule. Eventually a rebellion will form, centring on Earth. It'll spread, and within another generation, they'll succeed in conquering the Dominion. The Alpha Quadrant will unite and a new, stronger Federation will rule for thousands of years. Since we can't win this war, why don't we save as many lives as we can? I know it's difficult to accept.
Sisko: I don't accept it. Your entire argument is based on a series of statistical probabilities and assumptions.
Bashir: They're not just assumptions. If you want me to take you through the equations, I will.
Sisko: Even if I knew with a hundred percent certainty what was going to happen, I wouldn't ask an entire generation of people to voluntarily give up their freedom.
Bashir: Not even to save over nine hundred billion lives?
Sisko: Surrender is not an option. Now I'm happy to hear your group's advice on how to win this war, but I don't need your advice on how to lose it.
Bashir: We can't win this war.
Sisko: I don't care if the odds are against us. If we're going to lose, then we're going to go down fighting so that when our descendents some day rise up against the Dominion someday, they'll know what they're made of.
Bashir: With all due respect, sir, aren't you letting your pride get in your way?
Sisko: All right, Doctor. You've made your recommendation. I'll pass it on to Starfleet Command.
Bashir: Without add your voice to it, they'll dismiss it out of hand.
Sisko: I'm counting on it.
Bashir: So we go down fighting. How terribly courageous of us.
Bashir: What do you think?
O'Brien: It's pretty grim.
Bashir: It's not just grim, it's hopeless. We can't beat them, Miles.
O'Brien: No, it doesn't look like it, does it?
Bashir: We have to avoid a long, drawn out war.
O'Brien: You mean surrender?
Bashir: I know, it's an ugly word, but facts are facts.
O'Brien: I don't know, Julian.
Bashir: Don't tell me you agree with the Captain.
O'Brien: I suppose I do.
Bashir: Is there some part of the analysis you didn't understand, because if there is I'd be happy to explain.
O'Brien: I understood it perfectly. Believe it or not.
Bashir: That's not what I meant. All I'm saying is that you have to look at the bigger picture.
O'Brien: I'm trying. Maybe I'm too uncomplicated to see it.
Bashir: I didn't say that.
O'Brien: You don't have to. The way you're acting, you'd think nobody with half a brain could possibly disagree with you.
Bashir: Frankly, I don't see how they can.
O'Brien: I can see two possible explanations for it. Either I'm more feebleminded than you ever realized, or you're not as smart as you think you are.
Voices: Dabo!
Quark: Looks like your lucky day.
Bashir: Please. You and I both know these games of chance are no such thing. The odds are in the house's favor.
Quark: Shh. Don't say that. People are trying to have fun.
Bashir: Sooner or later, no matter how perfectly I play, no matter how well I hedge my bets, I'm going to lose.
Quark: Why are you trying to spoil everyone's good time? Look around, these people are enjoying themselves. Half of them know the odds are against them, but they don't care. They're here because they want to believe they can win. Is that so bad?
Bashir: They're fools.
Quark: Why don't you just take your winnings and call it a day?
Bashir: Because I'm trying to prove a point. There is no way to win.
Quark: Stop saying that.
Bashir: There, you see? We're all as good as dead.
Quark: Doctor, take it easy. It's just a game.
Bashir: You're right. It's not as if nine hundred billion lives were at stake.
Bashir: I just got word. Starfleet rejected our recommendations.
Jack: I knew it.
Lauren: It's kind of a relief, in a way. I mean, who wants to wave a white flag?
Jack: They're the cowards! They don't have the courage to see the truth.
Bashir: You may be right, but there's nothing we can do.
Jack: No, no, no. We can't just take this lying down. The stakes are too high. We've got to take matters into our own hands.
Patrick: How, Jack? What can we do?
Bashir: We can't force Starfleet to surrender.
Jack: If we can't head off the war, then there might be a way to make it a lot less bloody.
Lauren: How?
Jack: Look at this. Starfleet battle plans, fleet deployments. Do you know what the Dominion could do with this information?
Lauren: They could take the Alpha Quadrant in a matter of weeks.
Jack: With a lot fewer Federation casualties than in a drawn out war.
Lauren: There wouldn't be more than two billion casualties.
Jack: That's a lot better than nine hundred billion.
Bashir: Wait a minute! It's one thing for us to try and avert a war, but it's quite another for us to take it on ourselves to trigger an invasion that's going to get a lot of people killed. It's not our place to decide who lives and who dies. We're not gods.
Jack: Maybe not, but we're the next best thing.
Bashir: Can you hear yourself? That's precisely the kind of thinking that makes people afraid of us.
Jack: I don't care. I'm willing to make this decision.
Bashir: It's not ours to make. We presented our case to Starfleet Command. They rejected it. Case closed.
Jack: Not closed! We're going through with this.
Bashir: I'm not going to be a party to treason.
Jack: Call it what you want, but I am willing to do it if it means saving billions of lives. So are you with us?
Bashir: No. Haven't you been listening?
Jack: Fine.
Lauren: So how do we contact the Dominion?
Weyoun: Still at it, I see.
Damar: I've been looking over Sisko's latest counter-proposal. We don't seem to be getting anywhere with him.
Weyoun: Not very encouraging, is it?
Damar: I don't know why you had me call for peace talks in the first place.
Weyoun: My, my, how quickly you've taken to your new role. And to think only a short time ago you were nothing more than Gul Dukat's adjutant.
Damar: I appreciate the faith you've shown in me.
Weyoun: Then show some faith in me. Don't be like your predecessor, second guessing my every move. It should be clear to you by now that no one is irreplaceable. Now, I just received a very interesting message from an unidentified party claiming to have some information that could be very beneficial to us.
Damar: What sort of information?
Weyoun: I don't know but we're going to find out.
Bashir: Computer. Computer, respond.
Bashir: Sarina, where is everyone? Did they arrange a meeting with the Dominion? Listen, we have to stop them before it's too late. Untie me. Please, Sarina. You don't want the deaths of so many people on your hands. It's Jack, isn't it? Are you worried what he'll think? I've seen the way you look at him when you think no one's watching. I know how much you care, but if you don't let me stop them, you know what's going to happen? They're going to be arrested and charged with treason and you're never going to see any of them again. You're never going to see Jack again.
Patrick: I'm Patrick.
Jack: Patrick! Come on.
Bashir: Hello, everyone.
Patrick: He's not supposed to be here.
Jack: No, no, no he's not. I don't understand.
Bashir: Well, why don't we all go back to your quarters and I will explain it to you.
Jack: No, we've got to do this. Lives are at stake.
Lauren: Don't interfere, Julian.
Jack: You have no right.
Bashir: You're in enough trouble already, Jack. Don't make it any worse. Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way. It's up to you.
Damar: Where are they?
Weyoun: They'll be here.
Damar: This is ridiculous. Sneaking into a storage bay for a secret meeting. I'm not some agent of the Obsidian Order, I'm the leader of the Cardassian Empire.
Weyoun: Don't let it go to your head. You serve only at the Dominion's pleasure. Besides, I think it's exciting.
Weyoun: They're here. Odo?
Odo: Yes, I know. I honor you with my presence.
Weyoun: We seem to have gotten ourselves lost.
Odo: They're not coming.
Damar: Who's not coming?
Odo: I had a feeling you were going to say that. Shall I escort you to your quarters?
Bashir: Captain Sisko has decided not to press charges. You won't be going to prison.
Patrick: What are they going to do to us?
Bashir: Nothing bad. You'll be going back to the Institute together.
Jack: It doesn't matter what happens to us. Don't you realize what you've done?
Bashir: I kept you from committing treason.
Lauren: Are we supposed to thank you? Nine hundred billion people are going to die.
Bashir: We don't know that.
Jack: Didn't you sit here and go through the projections with us? Didn't you?
Patrick: He was here, Jack. I remember.
Bashir: Maybe our projections were wrong.
Jack: How can you say that? We factored in every contingency, every variable. The equations don't lie. You. You ruined everything.
Bashir: What do you make of that, Jack? Why didn't you anticipate that? Why didn't you factor her into your equation? Because you thought you knew everything, but you didn't even know what was going to happen in this room. One person derailed your plans. One person changed the course of history. Now, I don't know about you, but that makes me think that maybe, just maybe, things may not turn out the way we thought.
O'Brien: I heard what happened. It was a pretty close call.
Bashir: Yeah. Luckily I managed to intercept them in time.
O'Brien: No, that's not what I meant. I was talking about when you had to decide whether or not to meet with the Dominion. Can't have been easy for you. I know you wanted to try to save as many lives as possible. It's probably what makes you such a good doctor.
Bashir: Fortunately this doctor is also a Starfleet Officer. We thought we were so smart. We thought we could predict the future. It's my fault, not theirs. I should never have let things go so far. If I hadn't been so bent on trying to prove to the world that they had something to contribute.
O'Brien: They did contribute. It seems to me we've become far too complacent about the Dominion. We may have driven them back into Cardassian space, but we've haven't beaten them yet.
Bashir: We can only hope.
O'Brien: Well, the odds are stacked against us. All we can do is give it our best shot.
Quark: You're not going to cause any more trouble, are you?
Bashir: Not this time. I'll double down.
Quark: Risky.
Bashir: Maybe there's a better bet, but sometimes when the odds are so stacked against you, you've just got to take a chance.
Quark: I admire your courage.
Crowd: Dabo!
Quark: Well, what do you know. We have a winner.
O'Brien: O'Brien to Bashir.
Bashir: Go ahead.
O'Brien: You wanted to know when a certain transport was leaving.
Bashir: Oh, thanks.
O'Brien: There is one problem, though. We've got some passengers that are refusing to board unless you come see them.
Bashir: I didn't think you'd want to see me again.
Lauren: Believe me, I wouldn't mind if our predictions turned out to be wrong. Jack's still furious, but I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye.
Patrick: Will you come visit us?
Bashir: What? Oh, yes, I'd like that. You did the right thing, you know. One of these day he'll understand that. So, you ready to go?
Jack: Not so fast. There's one thing I need to know, Doctor. If we can come up with a way to beat the Dominion, will you listen?
Bashir: I can't think of anything I'd like better.
Jack: Good, good, good. Let's go then. Let's go.
Bashir: Bashir to O'Brien. Four to beam out.


Quark: Just set them on the bar. Morn, no touching. You know what this is? Three cases of syrup of squill.
Leeta: I love syrup of squill on my groatcakes, but I haven't seen a jar in over a year.
Quark: No one has.
Odo: Does that mean the drought on Balancar is over?
Quark: There never was a drought on Balancar. It was all a ploy by their Agricultural Consortium. They've been stockpiling squill so they could drive the price up.
Leeta: That's dishonest.
Quark: I couldn't agree more. You see, I once did business with the nephew of the cousin of the stepsister of a friend of the secretary to the Consortium's chief accountant. Nephew, cousin, stepsister, friend. Yeah, that's right. And he told me, in passing, that the accountant had bought himself a very nice pair of Ferengi rain slippers.
Odo: And if there was a drought, he wouldn't need rain slippers.
Quark: My thoughts exactly. So I set up a meeting with this accountant and I told him that he either provide me with a shipment of syrup, or I would expose their deception to the entire quadrant. Tomorrow morning, we are having a special on groatcakes, topped with syrup of squill. That is, for everyone who can afford it. What are you standing around for? Get these crates in the storeroom. This stuff is worth its weight in latinum. Which reminds me of another little economic episode of mine. It happened, say, oh, eleven or twelve years ago, shortly before I came on the station
Leeta: Dax, Julian! You're back! I was so worried.
Dax: I told you we'd be okay.
Leeta: Then why all the secrecy about your mission?
O'Brien: We weren't supposed to talk about it.
Bashir: But now it's okay. The mission's over, we've been debriefed. We took the Defiant behind enemy lines.
O'Brien: We're the first reconnaissance mission into Cardassian space since the Dominion's retreat. The first one to make it back, anyway.
Dax: And if that isn't reason to celebrate, I don't know what is.
O'Brien: Three synthales.
Leeta: Coming right up.
Odo: Something wrong, Quark?
Quark: Yes, something's wrong. A bunch of self-satisfied Starfleet officers just stole my audience.
Odo: They're not just Starfleet officers, they're heroes. Let's face it, Quark, there's nothing heroic about earning profit.
Quark: There is on Ferenginar.
Odo: We're not on Ferenginar.
Quark: The Nagus calling me now? He must have found out about the squill. I have to send him a jar. No, better make it a dozen. He loves squill.
Quark: Oh, there you are. I've been looking all over the station for you.
Rom: Well, you found me. Now you go hide and I'll search for you.
Quark: Rom, brace yourself. I have bad news. Our mother's been taken prisoner by the Dominion.
Rom: Moogie? A prisoner?
Quark: It gets worse. The Nagus wants me to rescue her.
Rom: You? Rescue Moogie? From the Dominion?
Quark: Yeah.
Rom: Uh oh.
Quark: Uh oh is right.
Rom: So, how do you plan on rescuing Moogie?
Quark: You mean, how do we plan on rescuing Moogie.
Rom: I don't recall you saying the Nagus wanted me to go along.
Quark: Maybe he doesn't, but I do. Besides, Ishka's your mother too.
Rom: And I love her. But I can't go with you. I'm a married man. I have responsibilities. And my responsibilities don't want me to die.
Quark: I don't want to die either. So let's just concentrate on the reward the Nagus is offering.
Rom: Reward?
Quark: Fifty bars of gold pressed latinum.
Rom: Fifty bars! Ow.
Quark: Which I'm willing to share with you.
Rom: An even split?
Quark: Absolutely. Thirty bars for me and twenty for you.
Rom: That's not even.
Quark: It is when you include my finder's fee.
Rom: Right.
Rom: There's one thing I still don't understand. How did the Dominion get a hold of Moogie?
Quark: They captured the transport ship she was on.
Rom: But she's a female. They're forbidden to travel off of Ferenginar.
Quark: Moogie's an exception. The Nagus gave her special dispensation to travel to Vulcan for her operation.
Rom: What operation?
Quark: She wanted to have her ears raised.
Rom: I had no idea.
Quark: That she was so vain?
Rom: That the Nagus could be so generous.
Quark: He certainly is.
Rom: But why is he being so good to Moogie?
Quark: Brother, there's something I need to tell you
Rom: You mean that ten bars of latinum is an overly generous finder's fee? I already know that.
Quark: It's about the Nagus and Moogie.
Rom: What about them?
Quark: They're lovers.
Rom: No.
Quark: It's been going on for over a year.
Rom: No.
Quark: She's his secret financial advisor. She helps him run the entire Ferengi Alliance.
Rom: No!
Quark: Would you stop saying that.
Sisko: May I help you, gentlemen?
Rom: I was following you.
Quark: We must have taken a wrong turn.
Sisko: It looks that way.
Quark: Much better.
Rom: You know, brother I've been thinking. We can't rescue Moogie from a Dominion internment center. Not alone, anyway.
Quark: You're right. We're going to need help.
Rom: We could put together a commando team. Gather the toughest mercenaries we can find. Nausicaans, Breen, Klingons.
Quark: Shh. We don't need Nausicaans, Breen or Klingon.
Rom: Humans?
Quark: We'll just use Ferengi.
Rom: Then we'll all die.
Quark: No, we won't. Ferengi can be just as tough as Klingons.
Rom: They can?
Quark: Of course they can. They just need the opportunity, the training, and a couple of bars of latinum as incentive.
Rom: Coming out of my share, I suppose.
Quark: No, we'll split the reward with whoever joins us. All twenty bars of it.
Rom: But the Nagus offered fifty.
Quark: As far as anyone else is concerned, he said twenty.
Rom: Twenty it is then.
Quark: Now the only question is, who's our first recruit?
Nog: Not me.
Rom: But Nog, Moogie needs you!
Quark: Not to mention your Nagus.
Rom: They need you, we need you. Say you'll join us. Please.
Nog: I'm a Starfleet officer. I can't go running off with you on some half baked rescue mission. I have duties to perform.
Rom: But you know how to fire a phaser.
Quark: Forget it, Rom. Don't beg. Too bad, though. We were going to make you Strategic Operations officer.
Nog: You mean like Commander Worf?
Quark: Exactly like Commander Worf. Think of it, Nog. You'll devise the tactics, come up with a plan of action.
Rom: You can be the team's drill instructor. Put us through our paces. Prepare us for combat.
Quark: Turn us into soldiers.
Nog: That's a big job.
Quark: That's why we need you.
Nog: How big is the team?
Quark: Right now?
Quark: Now remember, Leck is not your typical Ferengi. His priorities are different than ours.
Rom: I understand, brother.
Quark: No you don't, but you will.
Leck: I hope this is a secure channel.
Quark: I followed your instructions to the letter.
Leck: Very good. Who do you want eliminated?
Quark: It's not that kind of job.
Leck: Then why call an eliminator?
Rom: What's an eliminator?
Quark: Shh. I'm putting together a little rescue mission and I'd like you to be part of my team.
Leck: I work alone.
Quark: You'll be paid in latinum.
Leck: I don't care about latinum.
Rom: You're right. His priorities are different.
Quark: All right, forget the latinum. I've been told you like the opportunity to test your abilities.
Leck: I enjoy a challenge.
Quark: Then you should know this. that the person we're going to rescue is being held by the Dominion.
Leck: The Dominion?
Quark: Should be quite a challenge.
Quark: How the mighty have fallen.
Gaila: Cousin Quark.
Quark: I hear you were arrested on Thalos Six for vagrancy.
Gaila: And it's all your fault. I was a thriving weapons merchant until I went into business with you. You ruined me. If I ever get out of here, cousin, I'll make you pay for what you did to me.
Quark: Lower the forcefield. Now what exactly is it you're going to do to me?
Gaila: I don't understand.
Rom: Quark paid your fine. You're a free man.
Gaila: What do I have to do in return?
Quark: Earn some latinum.
Gaila: Tell me more.
Nog: On the bar, you will find a PADD with a schematic of a Dominion internment center. You may now examine the schematic.
Leck: How can we be sure these schematics are accurate?
Nog: Sir.
Leck: No need to stand on formality here. Just call me Leck.
Nog: No, I meant you should call me sir.
Leck: Don't be ridiculous.
Nog: You mean, don't be ridiculous, sir.
Quark: Gentleman, please. Let's not squabble. We're a team, Nog.
Rom: We're a team, sir.
Quark: Stay out of this. Listen to me, Nog.
Nog: That's it, I quit.
Quark: You can't quit. This is not a game.
Gaila: How are we supposed to get to this internment center anyway?
Rom: By ship.
Gaila: Do we have a ship?
Quark: We'll get one.
Leck: We don't have a ship?
Quark: I said we'll get one.
Nog: How?
Quark: We'll find one.
Leck: Where?
Quark: I don't know. Think of it as a challenge.
Rom: Liquidator Brunt.
Brunt: That's ex-liquidator Brunt. Thanks to your brother, I'm no longer with the Ferengi Commerce Authority. A child, a moron, a failure and a psychopath. Quite a little team you've put together.
Quark: What do you want, Brunt?
Brunt: I'm here to sign up. I'm going to help you rescue your mother.
Quark: What?
Rom: How did you know about Moogie?
Brunt: I know a lot of things.
Quark: You think if you help save my mother, the Nagus will give you your old job back.
Brunt: When do we leave?
Quark: We're not leaving. Not with you.
Rom: That's one thing we can all agree on.
Leck: No one likes Liquidators.
Nog: Or even ex-liquidators.
Quark: The team has spoken.
Gaila: Besides, there's a twenty bar reward to consider.
Nog: Better to split it five ways than six.
Brunt: Fine. I'll just get in my ship and leave.
Leck: Did you say ship?
Brunt: That's right. Why?
Rom: Now we are six.
Quark: Don't move! You're surrounded.
Brunt: Don't shoot! I surrender!
Nog: No, no, no! Computer, freeze program. Reset Jem'Hadar.
Rom: I think we're getting better.
Nog: No, you're not. This is the eighth run through and you haven't been able to hit a single Jem'Hadar. And you shot Moogie.
Leck: I saw we weren't going to rescue her so I put her out of her misery.
Gaila: Who invited him along?
Brunt: Maybe we should start off with something easier.
Nog: Like what?
Brunt: Like ambushing a couple of Bolians.
Nog: You couldn't ambush a Bolian if he was blindfolded and tied to a tree.
Quark: That's enough! Get out of here, all of you. You heard me. Go.
Rom: But, Brother, don't you want to keep practicing?
Quark: We're wasting our time, Rom. We couldn't get anywhere near Moogie, let alone rescue her.
Rom: I guess we're not cut out to be heroes after all.
Quark: And to think, just a few short days ago I was sitting on top of the world. The king of squill. You should've been there, brother. It was a very delicate negotiation. It could've gone either way. But I took my time, picked my moment, then went in for the kill. It was beautiful to behold.
Rom: Brother, I think we've been going about this the wrong way. We're not commandos, we're negotiators. We make deals. That's what we're good at. The Dominion has something we want, so we need to find something they want.
Quark: And then we make a trade. That way, everyone goes home happy.
Rom: Happy and alive. Now, what do we have to trade?
Quark: Captain, I can't thank you enough for all your help.
Sisko: Don't thank me, thank Major Kira. She's the one that convinced me to talk to Starfleet on your behalf.
Kira: Consider it payback, Quark, for rescuing me from the Dominion.
Sisko: Breaking you out of the station's holding cell is one thing. What you're planning to do is considerably more dangerous.
Quark: Every negotiation has its share of danger, Captain.
Sisko: If you say so.
Quark: I guess it's time for me to pick up my prisoner.
Kira: Just be careful you don't turn your back on him, Quark. He's not to be trusted.
Quark: Neither am I.
Gaila: Excuse me.
Rom: Sorry.
Leck: This isn't a ship, it's a closet.
Brunt: You don't like it here, leave.
Gaila: I'll go. That way there'll be more room for the rest of you. Besides, this isn't a rescue mission anymore, it's a simple prisoner exchange. I don't know why Quark needs any of us.
Leck: Because he doesn't trust the Dominion. And neither do I.
Brunt: Why would the Dominion pick a deserted Cardassian space station to make the trade?
Nog: They didn't pick it, Quark did. I've been there. It's the same design as Deep Space Nine, so we know the layout.
Leck: Well, you have nothing to worry about. You'll have plenty of places to run and hide.
Quark: Everyone, this is Keevan. We're going to trade him for Ishka.
Rom: Hi. I'm Rom. This is Nog, that's Brunt.
Quark: Rom, he doesn't care.
Keevan: Truer words have never been spoken. I'll advise you all to send final messages to your loved ones and make sure your wills are in order.
Rom: Why?
Keevan: Because the moment we leave this station, you'll have signed your death warrants. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to take a nap.
Nog: All clear!
Quark: Are you sure?
Nog: Tricorder indicates no other lifeforms on the station.
Nog: All right, let's head for base camp.
Gaila: Base camp?
Quark: He means the Infirmary. It's right over there.
Nog: Come on, let's move it. On the double. Well, what are you waiting for?
Quark: Two slips of latinum for the first man who makes it to the Infirmary. I mean base camp.
Nog: You don't pay your soldiers to do their duty.
Quark: You do if they're Ferengi.
Leck: Great, another closet.
Nog: We've chosen this spot for a reason. For one thing, it's a confined area with only two ways in or out. This one, and the one in there. Secondly, it's near the airlock which gives us access to our ship. And third, it's on the Promenade where the prisoner exchange will take place. Don't touch that.
Rom: Some of this medical equipment is still functioning.
Gaila: Anything for an upset stomach?
Leck: What you need is a new backbone.
Gaila: Hey, I'm a weapons dealer, not a soldier.
Quark: Cousin!
Nog: Sir, may I suggest we set up our defense perimeter?
Quark: Good idea. How much is this going to cost me?
Nog: Don't worry, no charge.
Quark: Starfleet has really corrupted you, hasn't it? You could start by getting the external sensors back online. I want to know the minute a Dominion ship gets within ten million kilometers of this station.
Rom: I'll set up a transport jamming signal. That way, the Dominion won't be able to beam our prisoner away without our say so.
Keevan: We certainly wouldn't want that to happen, would we?
Leck: You don't seem to be too happy at the prospect of being rejoining your people.
Keevan: Believe me when I tell you I have nothing to be happy about. Vorta are supposed to commit suicide when they're captured. I failed to follow that rather harsh policy.
Rom: They're going to execute you?
Keevan: After what is surely going to be a most unpleasant debriefing.
Quark: I'm sorry to hear about that, but it's not my problem. All I want is my Moogie back.
Keevan: By the time the Dominion is done with you, all you'll want is a quick death.
Quark: Take him in the next room and see that he stays there.
Nog: We'll post a guard on him at all times. Four hour shifts.
Leck: You heard him, move. Perhaps you can help me clarify something. What's the most vulnerable part of a Jem'Hadar's body?
Nog: All right, you have your orders. Let's get to work.
Rom: My son the soldier.
Quark: They've ruined him.
Quark: What was that?
Nog: Who's screaming?
Leck: It's Gaila!
Quark: The Vorta, where is he?
Gaila: I don't know.
Nog: What do you mean, you don't know?
Brunt: You were guarding him.
Gaila: He must've slipped away while I was sleeping.
Rom: Sleeping? Who said you could sleep?
Gaila: I couldn't help it. I was tired. I couldn't get any rest on the ship.
Quark: The ship!
Nog: If Keevan gets away, we're finished.
Quark: Going someplace?
Keevan: Apparently not. I couldn't get the impulse engines online.
Quark: That's because I had Rom disengage the induction matrix.
Keevan: Then why did you bother chasing me?
Quark: Because sometimes my brother gets things wrong.
Quark: All right, everyone relax. No harm done. We still have our prisoner.
Gaila: What's that?
Nog: It's the alarm I set up. It means a Dominion ship is approaching.
Quark: To the Infirmary!
Nog: Let's go!
Nog: Now what?
Brunt: Someone turned the alarm off.
Gaila: Maybe it went off by itself.
Rom: Do you hear something?
Gaila: Someone's out there.
Brunt: One of us should go check to make sure. I nominate Quark.
Quark: Me?
Nog: I'll go.
Jem'Hadar: Firing line, take aim.
Quark: Anybody there?
Nog: You could say that.
Rom: I wonder what they're doing out there.
Quark: Shh.
Gaila: I don't hear anything.
Quark: Quiet.
Nog: Why are we hiding?
Gaila: There are Jem'Hadar out there.
Nog: Of course they're out there. We asked them to come.
Brunt: He's right. Everything's going according to plan. Now all you have to do, Quark, is negotiate the prisoner exchange. Remember, be firm, strong.
Gaila: But don't get them angry.
Rom: Good luck, brother. Say, hi to Moogie for me.
Quark: What if it's a trap?
Keevan: Of course it's a trap. They're not here to negotiate. They're here to kill us all.
Quark: You think?
Brunt: Don't listen to him. He's just trying to save his own neck.
Keevan: I'm trying to save all our necks.
Yelgrun: Ferengi. Show yourself. We're here to trade.
Keevan: Don't go out there. We must get back to the ship. Our only hope is to escape.
Nog: We're not going anywhere, not without Moogie. Right, uncle?
Quark: Right.
Yelgrun: Ferengi, I don't like to be kept waiting.
Quark: I'm coming. I'm coming! And you two are coming with me.
Rom: I was afraid he was going to say that.
Quark: Rom.
Rom: Moogie!
Ishka: My boys. I knew you'd come.
Rom: You look beautiful.
Ishka: My lobes haven't been this firm in over a century.
Quark: I guess that makes this all worthwhile.
Ishka: Don't you start with me, Quark.
Yelgrun: What a touching and heartfelt reunion. I'm glad I was here to witness it. Now, where's Keevan? I wish to conclude this transaction.
Quark: All in good time. But first, I need some assurances.
Yelgrun: What kind of assurances?
Quark: Well, for one thing, I don't want any Jem'Hadar soldiers on this station.
Yelgrun: That would leave me in a very vulnerable position. One Vorta against six Ferengi.
Quark: If it makes you feel better, these two can stay.
Yelgrun: I feel safer already. Now where's Keevan?
Quark: Hold on, I'm not done yet. Then you're going to tell your helmsman to head back to Dominion territory, warp nine.
Yelgrun: That would leave me stranded here.
Quark: For a few days.
Yelgrun: I see. And by the time they return, you'll be long gone.
Quark: That's the idea.
Yelgrun: On the other hand, I could have my Jem'Hadar storm the Infirmary and kill you all.
Rom: I like our plan better.
Quark: You attack the Infirmary and Keevan will be the first to die.
Yelgrun: Keevan's fate has already been sealed.
Quark: Maybe. But before he dies, I'll bet you'll want to know what Dominion secrets he's revealed to the Federation.
Ishka: He's got you there, Yelgrun.
Yelgrun: Your people have a reputation for cunning. I see that it's well earned. Perhaps one day the Ferengi will take their place as valued members of the Dominion.
Quark: Anything's possible.
Yelgrun: I will begin to evacuate the Jem'Hadar at once.
Quark: We can exchange the prisoners in let's say, half an hour?
Yelgrun: We'll be waiting.
Nog: One more thing. How do we know that's really Moogie and not a changeling?
Ishka: I think that uniform is too tight on you, Nog. It's cutting off circulation to your brain.
Rom: Sounds like Moogie.
Nog: Only one way to find out.
Yelgrun: Wait. This should be interesting.
Ishka: Oww!
Quark: Yeah, that's blood all right.
Rom: I knew it was Moogie.
Ishka: Now let's see if you're a changeling.
Nog: Oww!
Rom: That's no way to tell if he's a changeling.
Ishka: You're right. Give me that knife.
Quark: I don't think so. Family. You understand.
Yelgrun: Not really. I was cloned.
Rom: No parents? That explains a lot.
Ishka: No parents, no sweetheart, no investment portfolio.
Yelgrun: And no patience. We'll meet back here in one half hour. Don't be late.
Ishka: You heard him, Quark. Rom, I'm counting on you. Remember, Moogie loves you.
Rom: You should've seen my brother. He was brilliant!
Nog: In a half hour we'll have Moogie back and we can all go home.
Gaila: Home to the torrential rains of Ferenginar.
Brunt: You know what I miss most? The rotting vegetation.
Quark: Yep.
Rom: And the dampness.
Leck: Oh, to stand once more in those rivers of muck.
Keevan: I only wish I could be there with you.
Rom: I can't believe it. We're actually going to get the reward money. Fifty bars of gold pressed latinum.
Brunt: Fifty bars? You said the reward was twenty.
Quark: That's what Rom said, twenty.
Leck: He said fifty.
Rom: I thought you said you didn't care about latinum?
Leck: I don't. I just don't to be cheated.
Nog: Everyone calm down.
Gaila: Calm down? When my dear cousin is trying to cheat me?
Quark: I'm not trying to cheat anyone.
Brunt: Then what about the other thirty bars?
Nog: There are no other thirty bars. Are there?
Rom: I, I, no, not really.
Leck: He's lying. They're in it together.
Brunt: You're not going to get away with this, Quark.
Gaila: I come here, risk my life and for what? You've had this coming for a long time, cousin.
Nog: No!
Rom: Look out!
Keevan: I hate Ferengi.
Leck: You idiot.
Rom: What are we going to do? We can't have a prisoner exchange without a prisoner.
Brunt: If they find out Keevan's dead they're going to kill us.
Quark: Will you stop saying that.
Gaila: Maybe if we surrender, they won't hurt us.
Brunt: I have a better idea. Let's sneak back to my ship and try to escape.
Rom: It's a big station, easy to get lost in. If we hide, maybe they won't find us.
Quark: No one's hiding and no one's escaping, and no one's surrendering. What's wrong with you people? Have you forgotten the Battle of Prexnak?
Rom: Who could forget the most important battle in Ferengi history?
Quark: Ten Ferengi stood alone against two hundred and seventy three Lytasians.
Gaila: As I recall, all ten Ferengi were slaughtered.
Quark: The point is, we Ferengi are just as tough as anybody in the galaxy. And this is our chance to prove it once and for all.
Leck: Quark's right. Let's do it for Ishka. Let's do it for the Grand Nagus. Let's do it for Ferengis everywhere.
Brunt: Let's do it for equal shares of fifty bars of gold pressed latinum.
Quark: It always comes down to profit with you people, doesn't it.
Gaila: We're Ferengi.
Quark: And that's why I love you. Fifty bars it is, minus my usual finder's fee.
Nog: Well, there's no doubt about it. According to these readings, this man is dead.
Quark: Thank you, Doctor Nog.
Nog: I just wanted to be sure. I thought maybe we could revive him but I guess not.
Gaila: He's alive!
Nog: No, he isn't. It's just the neural stimulator. It caused a reflexive impulse in his cerebellum.
Rom: I never knew you studied medicine at the Academy.
Nog: I didn't, but if you think about it, medicine isn't that different from engineering. It's all about keeping things running, fixing broken parts.
Quark: Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
Nog: Find me more neural stimulators.
Yelgrun: It's time, Ferengi. Bring out your prisoner.
Nog: Stall them, Uncle.
Quark: I'll try.
Yelgrun: I've done as you asked. The Jem'Hadar are on their way back to Dominion territory. We are alone on the station.
Quark: Wonderful.
Yelgrun: Now bring out Keevan and we can conclude our business.
Quark: Keevan. Right. Absolutely.
Yelgrun: I'm waiting.
Quark: He'll be right out. But first my brother has to run some sensor scans to make sure the Jem'Hadar have really left.
Yelgrun: That is unnecessary. The Jem'Hadar are gone. Now bring me Keevan.
Quark: I will, in a few minutes.
Yelgrun: No, not in a few minutes, now! Or maybe you've changed your mind and you don't want your mother back. Kill her.
Quark: No!
Ishka: Give them what they want, Quark.
Quark: I intend to.
Yelgrun: Excellent.
Quark: As soon as my brother completes his sensor scans.
Yelgrun: And I thought the Breen were annoying. Very well, five minutes. But I will not tolerate any more delays.
Ishka: Neither will I.
Quark: That goes for me, too. You see, we're all in agreement. One more thing.
Yelgrun: Why am I not surprised?
Quark: The prisoner exchange. I'd like for it to take place outside airlock three.
Yelgrun: What's wrong with the Promenade?
Quark: Nothing, except my ship is docked at airlock three. You understand.
Yelgrun: Only too well. But I must say your lack of trust saddens me.
Quark: Ah, well, a sign of the times.
Quark: Nog, you've got five minutes.
Nog: All right, here we go.
Yelgrun: Seventy five hundred lots of hipicate futures?
Ishka: The hipicate root is very versatile. It's used in certain medicines, defractive optics, and even some beauty supplies. Here, feel how smooth my head is. Cream of hipicate. I apply it twice a day. You see, a diversified financial portfolio can mean greater profits and healthier looking skin.
Yelgrun: Fascinating. I'd love to hear more, but if your son doesn't show up soon I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you.
Quark: Yelgrun, you ready?
Yelgrun: I've been ready for hours.
Quark: On a count of three, we release our prisoners. Agreed?
Yelgrun: Agreed.
Quark: One, two three.
Yelgrun: What have they done to him?
Quark: Straighten him out, straighten him out.
Nog: I'm trying.
Yelgrun: Stop them! A bulkhead opens and Leck downs a Jem'Hadar with a thrown knife. Yelgrun drops to his knees, Rom shoots the other Jem'Hadar and Keevan keeps bumping.)
Quark: Would you please turn him off?
Nog: I can't. The transceiver is jammed.
Ishka: Oh Quark, the Grand Nagus is going to be so proud of you. I know I am.
Rom: Moogie.
Brunt: What do we do with this one?
Quark: We'll take him with us. He'll be our gift to Starfleet. They gave us a Vorta, we'll give them one.
Yelgrun: Ferengi.
Quark: I know, I know. You hate us.
Gaila: All right you, get moving.
Leck: This is the sloppiest, most amateurish operation I've ever seen. If you ever do something like this again, count me in.
Quark: You'll be the first one I call. If I even think about doing something like this again, shoot me.
Rom: So, Brother, how does it feel to be a hero?
Quark: You tell me.
Rom: It feels good?
Quark: You bet it does.


Scene: Captain's log, stardate 51408.6. I've been aboard the Honshu for two days now and I still haven't spoken to him, although the doctors have assured me that he's made a full recovery. Maybe that's what I'm afraid of. Maybe I prefer to think of him as a crazy man, a broken man. He'd be less dangerous that way. As terrible as it sounds, there's a part of me that wishes he were dead. But that's a thought unworthy of a Starfleet officer. He lost an empire, he lost his daughter, and he nearly lost his mind. Whatever his crimes isn't that enough punishment for one lifetime?
Dukat: I heard you were aboard. I was wondering if you'd make an appearance.
Sisko: How are you?
Dukat: Better. The doctors tell me I've made a remarkable recovery.
Sisko: They told me the same thing.
Dukat: Good. I'd hate to think they were patronizing me. So I'm a war criminal.
Sisko: In the Federation, you're innocent till proven guilty.
Dukat: So I'm told. Do you believe I'm guilty, Benjamin?
Sisko: I haven't seen all the charges.
Dukat: It's not like you to equivocate.
Sisko: I'm trying to be fair. You won't be tried until the war is over. Your appearance before the special jury is just a formality.
Dukat: And you'll be testifying for the prosecution.
Sisko: I will tell them what I know.
Dukat: Care to elaborate?
Sisko: Not really.
Dukat: I see.
Sisko: I never got a chance to tell you how sorry I am about Ziyal.
Dukat: Do I detect the fine hand of Doctor Cox at work once again?
Sisko: I told him I wanted to offer my condolences.
Dukat: I'm sorry. The good doctor encourages me to talk about Ziyal whenever possible, since it was her death that brought on my momentary instability. I shouldn't be so suspicious.
Sisko: It's all right. Well, we should be arriving at Starbase six two one by noon tomorrow. I'll see you at the arraignment.
Dukat: Benjamin. About my daughter. You and Major Kira took care of her for almost a year. I wanted to thank you for that. It was very generous.
Sisko: Ziyal was a very special young woman. It was a pleasure to have her with us, even if it was only a short time.
Dukat: A short time is all she ever had.
Sisko: Is there anything I can get for you?
Dukat: A bottle of kanar and an Orion slave girl would be nice.
Sisko: I'll see what I can do.
Crewman: Battle stations! Damage control teams report to level five J.
Kira: It's confirmed. USS Honshu was destroyed this morning at ten thirty hours by an attack wing of Cardassian destroyers. Starfleet has picked up the distress beacons from three escape pods and one shuttlecraft, so there are survivors.
Odo: The signals are coming from this area. The last reported position of the Honshu was here, which means there could be survivors in any of these adjacent star systems.
O'Brien: That's a pretty large area. How many ships are in the search party?
Odo: Two. The Constellation and the Defiant.
Dax: Two? It could take days.
Kira: With all the Dominion activity along the border, it's all Starfleet can spare at the moment. And the Defiant has another appointment. In fifty two hours you need to be at this rendezvous point outside the Badlands. You are the escort for a Federation troop convoy.
Worf: It will take twelve hours just to arrive at the coordinates where the Honshu was destroyed.
Kira: And twelve more to reach the Badlands, I know. But this convoy is completely unprotected. They've been using the plasma fields in the Badlands to hide their movements, and when they emerge they're helpless without the Defiant.
Bashir: Can't they delay the convoy? I mean, if Captain Sisko is still alive, we have to give him every chance to
Kira: I raised the same objection myself and the orders still stand. Now, every minute spent arguing here is one less minute spent searching for the captain.
Worf: Prepare for immediate departure.
Kira: Worf, there are over thirty thousand Federation troops in that convoy. You have fifty two hours, not one second longer. Understood?
Worf: Understood. Defiant.
Dukat: Benjamin, can you hear me?
Sisko: Dukat?
Dukat: Yes. Everything's all right, but don't try to move too quickly. The left side of your body is covered with plasma burns.
Sisko: We were in the brig and the ship went to Red Alert.
Dukat: We were attacked by a wing of Cardassian ships, ironically.
Sisko: I was heading to Engineering.
Dukat: You didn't get very far. A plasma conduit exploded before you got fifteen meters down the corridor. That's where Lieutenant McConnell and I found you when the order came to abandon ship.
Sisko: Where's McConnell?
Dukat: Dead. A piece of shrapnel hit him in the head just as we were carrying you into the shuttle.
Sisko: Any other survivors?
Dukat: I saw a few escape pods leaving the ship just before it exploded, but I had my hands full just trying to keep us in one piece. The engines were damaged from the shockwaves and I set us down here, wherever here is. But that shuttle's never going to reach orbit again. The shuttle's distress beacon was damaged, but I think I managed to repair it.
Dukat: So now we have to do is wait for someone to pick up our signal.
Sisko: Whose signal are you transmitting? Starfleet or the Dominion?
Dukat: It's a general distress call, Benjamin. Whoever gets here first will find one comrade in arms and one prisoner. That's fair, isn't it?
Sisko: Fair enough. Did you do this?
Dukat: You shattered most of the bones in your arm. There was a bone regenerator in the medkit, but I'm afraid I'm not much of a doctor, so I just put on the cast.
Sisko: You did plenty. Thank you.
Dukat: We have enough field rations to last us a few weeks, but I'd feel better if I could locate another source of food and water. The surface is inhospitable to say the least, but I did manage to find some firewood and kindling, so there's a good chance there's edible vegetation out there. I just have to find it.
Sisko: You could have left me behind. Why didn't you?
Dukat: I didn't want to. I'll be back within the hour.
Weyoun: What are you planning to do with him?
Dukat: The Captain and I have a lot to talk about.
Weyoun: Such as?
Dukat: It's of a personal nature.
Weyoun: I see. You're going to share your feelings of loneliness and sorrow with your longtime adversary. Doctor Cox'd be so proud.
Dukat: Go away.
Weyoun: You should kill him now, while you still can.
Dukat: That won't be necessary. He's in no condition to challenge me. I can afford to be patient.
Weyoun: You should kill him.
Dukat: I don't care for your tone.
Weyoun: Spare me your endless posturing. You're lucky I speak to you at all after that pathetic display back at the hospital.
Dukat: That's enough.
Weyoun: Oh, I see. It's a sensitive topic. I wonder what Captain Sisko would think if he'd seen you curled up in a ball, crying yourself to sleep every night?
Dukat: Stop it!
Weyoun: I doubt held still have the same respect for you if he'd heard you screaming and screaming and screaming like a madman till the nurses came and the doctors had to sedate you!
Dukat: No!
Sisko: Is that breakfast?
Dukat: Possibly. Good morning.
Sisko: Morning. What's it like outside?
Dukat: The wind has died down and the temperature's gone up twenty degrees. I rather like it, but I think you'll be more comfortable in here where it's cooler.
Sisko: Too much.
Dukat: I'm doing the cooking here, thank you.
Sisko: Pardon me.
Dukat: You're not the only officer who learned how to cook. How are you feeling?
Sisko: A little better.
Dukat: Good. After last night, I was beginning to get worried.
Sisko: Last night?
Dukat: You don't remember?
Sisko: Now that you mention it I remember waking up and I was feeling a little dizzy.
Dukat: You had a bout of nausea. Not exactly a little bout.
Sisko: Oh, I'm sorry.
Dukat: That's all right. I've had to clean up a lot worse in my time. Once, when I was a newly minted glinn on the Kornaire, I had to help clean up a compartment where three men had gone through an explosive decompression. I didn't sleep for a week after that.
Sisko: Let's change the subject.
Dukat: The Emissary has spoken. Oh, come on, Benjamin. Have a sense of humor about all this.
Sisko: I'm not in much of a joking mood.
Dukat: Well that's a shame, because there's so much to laugh about. You don't see it, do you? Benjamin, just a few hours ago I was a prisoner on my way to trial and you were my old friend come to visit me in my cell. Now look at us. I'm free and you're a prisoner of your own battered body, and there's a good chance we'll be rescued by the Dominion. You've got to laugh at a universe that allows such radical shifts in fortune, Benjamin.
Sisko: I will laugh when a Federation starship arrives and puts you back in a cell.
Dukat: Whatever you say.
Sisko: What?
Dukat: Nothing. it's probably just the wind.
Dukat: How is it?
Sisko: Needs salt. There's probably some in one of the ration packs.
Dukat: You know, we didn't get much of a chance to catch up before the attack. How is everyone on what I'm sure you're once again calling Deep Space Nine? Odo, Kira, Quark?
Sisko: They're all fine. And no, they don't miss you.
Dukat: Perhaps not. They never really did give me much of a chance. They were too busy plotting my downfall.
Sisko: Pepper. If you only want me to tell you what you want to hear, just say so.
Dukat: Well I hope they at least told you that my policies toward the Bajorans were most generous this time.
Sisko: They told me Weyoun didn't give you much of a choice.
Dukat: Major Kira knows full well I made every effort to heal the wounds between Cardassia and Bajor. Since the very beginning it was my intention to rectify the mistakes of the past and begin a new chapter in our relations.
Sisko: Are you going to put that in my soup?
Dukat: Well?
Sisko: Better.
Dukat: You're not going to give me the benefit of the doubt, are you, Benjamin?
Sisko: Do you really care what I think?
Dukat: Don't you care what your old friends think of you?
Sisko: Dukat, we're not old friends. You saved my life and I'm grateful, but that's as far as it goes.
Sisko: You keep hearing something. Are you sure there's nothing out there?
Dukat: It's just the wind, I'm certain, but I'm going to double check just to make sure.
Dukat: No. I won't do it. Not yet.
Damar: You're wasting time.
Dukat: It's my time to waste, Damar. Remember your place.
Damar: I mean no disrespect, you know that. But without you the war will be lost and Cardassia will lie in ruins. Don't let this one man stand in the way of your final triumph.
Dukat: I have to know that he respects me. I think I've earned it.
Damar: Of course you have. He's just trying to deny you the satisfaction of hearing him say it. You know in your heart he secretly admires you. Isn't that enough? Kill him and be done with it.
Damar: Think of it. The leader of Cardassia bringing the dead body of the Emissary back to the Bajoran people. They'll take it as a sign that the Prophets have abandoned them. The Shakaar government will be overthrown and the Federation position on Terok Nor will become untenable.
Dukat: Very tempting thought.
Dukat: You've make some good points, Damar, but there will be time for all of that later. It's all right. I know you have my best interests at heart.
Sisko: I wanted to get some water out of the kit.
Dukat: Ah. Here.
Sisko: Thanks. Anything out there?
Dukat: Hmm? No, no. Some rocks slid down the cliff.
Sisko: I think something's wrong with the comm. system.
Dukat: Oh?
Sisko: It was beeping a second ago. It might need recalibrating.
Dukat: I'll check. Everything's fine. The unit's still online.
Sisko: If you open up the casing, you'll be able to run a full diagnostic. Better safe than sorry.
Dukat: You're right.
Dukat: Nothing to worry about. It's working fine.
Sisko: That's all I wanted to know. Ship's log, supplemental. We have picked up a total of twelve Honshu survivors so far, but there is still no sign of Captain Sisko. We have less than twelve hours before we must abandon the search.
Sisko: Damn.
O'Brien: Commander, I'm picking up a distress signal.
Dukat: Good evening. Pleasant dreams, I hope.
Sisko: I don't remember. Is it still dark out?
Dukat: I do apologize for bringing you to such a gloomy latitude. The nights seem to last eighteen hours, the days less than five. Sit up.
Sisko: Looks like you're planning on a long stay.
Dukat: No, not at all. Someone's bound to pick up our signal any time now. But I see no reason why we shouldn't be comfortable in the meantime. How's that?
Sisko: Just fine, thank you.
Dukat: Good. Ah, much better. You know, when I was out there in the shuttle just now, it occurred to me that the Bajorans would be very confused if they could see us here, sharing the same food, the same hardships. What do you think they would say if they knew the Emissary of the Prophets and the evil Gul Dukat were sitting here together, getting along like the two old friends that they really are? Oh, I forgot. You don't think of me as your old friend, do you, Benjamin. It's all right. There's no one here. Just the two of us. No one to impress, no one to judge what you say. We can be honest with one another. So tell me. What you really think of me?
Kira: I'll tell you what I think. You're an evil, sadistic man who should've been tried as a war criminal years ago, put up against a wall and shot.
Dukat: You probably agree with Major Kira, don't you, Benjamin? I am the former Prefect of Bajor. An evil man who sent thousands of Bajorans to their deaths to satisfy his own sadistic desires.
Kira: Of course he agrees with me. And it was millions.
Sisko: I don't think there's any point in discussing this.
Dukat: I do. My name and reputation have been slandered and twisted ever since the end of the occupation of Bajor. I have been vilified by ignorant, small minded people throughout the quadrant for the past six years. I just want to know if you're one of them, Benjamin.
Sisko: I wasn't there during the occupation. I didn't see all the things you had to struggle with day after day. I don't think I can pass judgment.
Kira: He's just doesn't want to anger you. He really thinks you're a vicious, cold blooded killer, Dukat, and so do I.
Dukat: I don't care what you think so I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself. I don't think you're being entirely honest with me, Benjamin. You're not a man who hesitates to make snap judgments when the situation calls for it. It's one of the signs of a good commander. Now I'm asking for your opinion of me and I find it hard to believe you don't have one.
Sisko: All right. I think you're right. You have been judged unfairly. I've judged you unfairly. But I think you probably had good reasons for everything you did on Bajor.
Dukat: Yes. Yes, that's it exactly. I had good reasons. Some of the harsher actions I took were forced on me by Central Command. I wanted to use entirely different tactics with the Bajorans. I wanted to rule with a softer hand, but my superiors didn't see it that way.
Sisko: You were a soldier and you had to carry out your orders.
Dukat: Precisely.
Kira: You are such a fool.
Dukat: Leave us alone! This doesn't concern you!
Kira: He's patronizing you. You were a soldier and you had to carry out your orders. He doesn't believe that lame excuse any more than I do.
Dukat: This is growing tiresome.
Sisko: Dukat. Dukat! I thought you wanted to talk to me.
Dukat: Yes, but Nerys won't leave well enough alone. She's always interfering, always trying to upset me.
Sisko: Maybe we should just ignore her. Let's pretend that the Major's not even here.
Dax: I'm picking up two humanoid lifeforms on the surface.
Worf: Bridge to transporter room.
Sisko: There's no reason to get upset. We're just talking. Two old soldiers talking around a campfire.
Kira: I'm going to enjoy watching this. He's going to beat you, Dukat. He's going to escape and go back to DS Nine and his friends and we're all going to have a good, long laugh at your expense.
Dukat: Enough!
O'Brien: I've locked onto them.
O'Brien: Transporter room to bridge. We have the survivors on board. Two women.
O'Brien: An Ensign and a Lieutenant. Doctor Bashir is checking them now.
Dukat: That must have been very uncomfortable, Benjamin. Look at that. One of the tines is missing. Now did that happened? Did you break it off? But why would you want a small thin piece of metal? Unless you needed a tool.
Dukat: I see you've been busy. A little repair work while I was gone. Very thoughtful.
Dax: Worf.
Worf: What is it?
Dax: I thought I picked up another distress signal but now it's gone.
Dukat: You know, Benjamin, I thought we had established a level of trust between us, but I was wrong. If there's one thing I can't abide, it's betrayal.
Worf: Our rescue effort has been delayed. If we could just have a few more hours?
Kira: The troop convoy will be completely unprotected when they emerge from the plasma fields. They're under strict radio silence. No way they can acknowledge our signal even if. Sorry, Worf, but you're going to have to
O'Brien: I'm sorry, Captain. There's some kind of subspace interference between us and the station. I'll keep trying.
Bashir: I couldn't understand a word Kira said. Too much interference. Looks to me like we're on our own.
Dax: I could understood what she was trying to say.
Bashir: What about you, Chief? Did you understand?
O'Brien: No, I couldn't understand a word.
Dax: Well it doesn't really matter what we think. Commander Worf is captain here.
Worf: We all know what Major Kira's orders were. It would be dishonorable to ignore them.
Bashir: You will forgive me if I don't consider your honor to be worth Captain Sisko's life.
Worf: You may leave the bridge, Doctor.
Worf: Helm, lay in a course for the third planet.
Dax: Aye, Captain.
Dukat: You brought it on yourself, you know.
Sisko: Just like all your victims.
Dukat: All my victims. It always comes back to that, doesn't it? All my crimes. I'm such a monster, such an evil man. Behold Benjamin Sisko, supreme arbiter of right and wrong in the universe. A man of such high moral caliber that he can sit in judgment on all the rest of us.
Sisko: What the hell do you want from me? My approval? Is that what this is all about? You want me to give you my permission to cause more suffering and death? Well, if that's what you're after, you might as well pull out that phaser and end this right now because I will never give it to you!
Dukat: Good! Good, I like this. No more pretense, no games. Just you, me and the truth.
Sisko: What do you know about the truth? You bend the truth into whatever shape suits you.
Dukat: Judge Sisko hands down another ruling. But where's his evidence?
Sisko: All right. You really want to do this? Here? Now?
Dukat: Yes.
Sisko: Okay. Okay, let's do it. You were Prefect of Bajor during the occupation. True or false?
Dukat: True.
Sisko: And you were responsible for everything that happened under your command. True or false?
Dukat: True.
Sisko: So that means that you are responsible for the murder of over five million Bajorans on your watch. True or false!
Dukat: False. I tried to save lives during my administration.
Sisko: Evidence?
Dukat: Evidence? He wants evidence. By the time I became Prefect, the occupation had been going on for almost forty years, but the planet still wasn't ready for full scale colonization. Central Command wanted the situation resolved and they didn't care how it was done. I was convinced that a gentler hand was required to deal with the Bajorans.
Damar: It was a noble, if misguided, vision.
Dukat: So in my first official act as Prefect, I ordered all labor camp commanders to reduce their output quotas by fifty percent fifty percent. Then I reorganized the camps themselves. Child labor was abolished. Medical care was improved. Food rations were increased. At the end of one month of my administration, the death rate had dropped by twenty percent. Now how did the Bajorans react to all this? On my one month anniversary they blew up an orbital dry-dock, killing over two hundred Cardassian soldiers and workers.
Kira: We didn't want a reconciliation. We wanted to destroy you.
Dukat: So I had to order a response. But even then it was a carefully tempered one. I ordered two hundred suspected members of the Resistance rounded up and executed. Two hundred lives for two hundred lives. That's justice, not malevolence. Justice.
Weyoun: The Dominion would never have been so generous.
Dukat: But did I give up my efforts to reach out to the Bajorans? No. I tried again. And what did I get for my troubles? An assassination attempt on my own space station! Another round of executions followed once again, courtesy of the Bajoran resistance.
Kira: We never wanted peace. We hated you. We hated all of you.
Dukat: On and on it went, year after blood-soaked year. Time and again I would reach out with the open hand of friendship, and time and again they would slap it away.
Damar: The Bajorans understand a clenched fist, not an open hand.
Kira: Being reasonable only made us bolder.
Weyoun: The Dominion would have killed every man, woman and child on Bajor long ago.
Dukat: I hope you're listening to all this.
Sisko: Oh believe me, you have my undivided attention. Now let me get this straight. You're not responsible for what happened during the occupation, the Bajorans are.
Dukat: Yes, yes, exactly.
Sisko: So, why do you think they didn't appreciate this rare opportunity you were offering them?
Dukat: Because they were blind, ignorant fools. If only they had cooperated with us, we could have turned their world into a paradise. From the moment we arrived on Bajor, it was clear that we were the superior race. But they couldn't accept that. They wanted to be treated as equals when they most certainly were not. Militarily, technologically, culturally, we were almost a century ahead of them in every way. We did not choose to be the superior race. Fate handed us our role. And it would've been so much easier on everyone if the Bajorans had simply accepted their role. But no, day after day they clustered in their temples and prayed for deliverance, and night after night they planted bombs outside of our homes. Pride. Stubborn, unyielding pride. From the servant girl that cleaned my quarters to the condemned man toiling in a labor camp to the terrorist skulking through the hills of Dahkur Province. They all wore their pride like some twisted badge of honor.
Sisko: And you hated them for it.
Dukat: Of course I hated them! I hated everything about them! Their superstitions and their cries for sympathy, their treachery and their lies, their smug superiority and their stiff necked obstinacy, their earrings and their broken wrinkled noses.
Sisko: You should have killed them all.
Dukat: Yes! Yes! That's right, isn't it? I knew it! I've always known it! I should have killed every last one of them. I should have turned their planet into a graveyard the likes of which the galaxy had never seen! I should have killed them all.
Sisko: And that is why you're not an evil man.
Sisko: Do it!
Dukat: I'm so glad we had this time together, Benjamin, because we won't be seeing each other for a while. I have unfinished business on Bajor. They thought I was their enemy? They don't know what it is to be my enemy, but they will. From this day forward, Bajor is dead. All of Bajor. And this time, even their Emissary won't be able to save them.
Dax: It's time.
Worf: Plot a course out of the system, full impulse. Once we've cleared the outer planets, head for the rendezvous coordinates, maximum warp.
Dax: Course laid in. Engaging impulse engines.
O'Brien: Captain. I'm picking up a signal. It's from Gul Dukat. Ship's log, stardate 51413.6. We have rescued Captain Sisko, but we did not have time to locate Gul Dukat's shuttle. We are now en route to our rendezvous with the troop convoy near the Badlands, and the Captain is recovering in sickbay.
Dax: Benjamin? I've notified Starfleet of Dukat's last known position. They'll find him.
Sisko: No, they won't. You know, old man, sometimes life seems so complicated. Nothing is truly good or truly evil. Everything seems to be a shade of gray. And then you spend some time with a man like Dukat and you realize that there is really such a thing as truly evil.
Dax: To realize that is one thing. To do something about it is another. So what are you going to do?
Sisko: I'll tell you what I'm not going to do. I'm not going to let him destroy Bajor. I fear no evil. From now on, it's him or me.