Scene: Station log, stardate 47182.1. DS-Nine has been temporarily evacuated due to a violent plasma disruption. Until the disturbance ends, we'll be forced to maintain the station with a skeleton crew.
Sisko: How are we holding up?
Kira: So far, so good. I'll say one thing for the Cardassians, they built this place to last.
Dax: Just in case it doesn't, I've got the Orinoco prepped and ready at pad C.
Sisko: Any word from Chief O'Brien?
Dax: He and Odo checked in about an hour ago. They sealed off the airlocks in the upper and lower pylons and were moving on to the docking ring.
Sisko: Sisko to O'Brien.
O'Brien: O'Brien here.
Sisko: What's your
Sisko: Status, Chief?
O'Brien: Almost done, Commander. We've sealed all the airlocks on levels twenty one, twenty two and twenty three, but we still have to check the outer bulkheads to make sure there hasn't been any crystallization
O'Brien: From the plasma diskharges. It shouldn't take too long.
O'Brien: O'Brien out.
Odo: Did you hear that?
O'Brien: Hear what?
Odo: I could've sworn I heard something.
O'Brien: Quark.
Odo: What are you doing here? You're under strict orders from Sisko to stay in the bar.
Quark: I'm not a prisoner, Odo. I volunteered to stay and help you protect the station.
Odo: The only reason you volunteered is because there wasn't any room on the evacuation shuttles for six hundred bars of gold-pressed latinum. Which still doesn't explain what you're doing out here in the docking ring.
Quark: I was saying goodbye to my brother.
Odo: Your brother? His shuttle left three hours ago.
Quark: Funny, it's only been three hours and I'm already lost without him.
Odo: Oh, please. Don't try to tell me you've been sitting out here all this time pining for Rom.
Quark: I know, I know. He couldn't find a cup of water if you dropped him in a lake, but even if he is an idiot, he's still my brother.
Odo: And you'd betray him in a second if it suited your interests.
Quark: That doesn't mean I don't love him. Chief, do you have any brothers?
O'Brien: As a matter of fact, I have two.
Quark: And did you ever have to say goodbye to them?
O'Brien: Sure, when I joined Starfleet.
Quark: And did it bring a tear to your eye?
O'Brien: I suppose so.
Quark: Try explaining that to him.
Dax: The storm's intensity is up thirty-seven percent.
Kira: Is there any way of telling how long it'll last?
Dax: Your guess is as good as mine. Plasma storms are extremely rare. But look at the bright side, this gives us a great opportunity to study one.
Kira: Oh, lucky us.
Bashir: You should see the view from the Promenade. It's simply amazing.
Sisko: I assume the Promenade is secure.
Bashir: Oh, yes, sir. I've struck the sails and battened the hatches, so to speak.
Dax: Benjamin, you'd better look at this. I'm detecting a small vessel headed this way at one quarter impulse.
Kira: They're hailing us.
Sisko: On screen.
Kira: I can't get a visual.
Verad: This is the cargo ship Ekina. We've been caught by the storm. Our engines have been severely damaged. We need emergency assistance. Can you read me? Repeat, this is the cargo ship Ekina
Kira: I've lost it.
Sisko: Can we get a transporter lock on the crew?
Kira: There's too much interference.
Sisko: Engage the tractor beam. Bring them into the closest docking bay.
Bashir: There might be casualties. I'll get down to the Infirmary.
Sisko: Good idea. Sisko to O'Brien.
O'Brien: O'Brien here.
Sisko: Chief, we've got some storm victims coming into docking bay five. They may be in need of assistance.
O'Brien: I'll have to release the emergency seal on the airlock before they can board the station. On my way.
O'Brien: Stand clear.
O'Brien: Are you all right? Is anyone hurt?
T'Kar: Not yet.
O'Brien: What the hell do you think you're doing?
T'Kar: No questions.
O'Brien: This is a nice way to showing your gratitude. We just saved your lives out there.
T'Kar: You see? The ever-helpful Federation. So predictable.
O'Brien: Listen, friend, in case you haven't heard the Federation and the Klingon Empire are allies now.
T'Kar: The Empire is governed by doddering fools and frightened old women who aren't worthy of the name Klingon. Mareel, the comm. badge.
Mareel: This one must be the shape-shifter.
Yeto: Go on. What are you waiting for?
O'Brien: You're a Trill.
T'Kar: You, shifter. Inside.
Odo: And what if I refuse?
Verad: Please, do as he says and no one will get hurt.
T'Kar: Now. Or this one dies.
T'Kar: Let's go, ally.
Bashir: Chief, were there any casualties?
T'Kar: That depends on you.
Bashir: What's this is all about?
T'Kar: Yeto, get the Ferengi. Any more questions?
Verad: Don't hurt him.
T'Kar: Mareel, the box. Put it in your stasis chamber. Now. Or I will destroy it.
Bashir: Is that supposed to be some kind of threat?
O'Brien: They've got Odo in there.
Bashir: I see. Well, in that case.
Dax: I'm still not getting a response from O'Brien or Odo.
Sisko: Run a level three security scan.
T'Kar: Don't bother.
Verad: Please take your hands away from the controls.
T'Kar: Now! Get to the center of the room.
Sisko: Do as he says.
Mareel: Don't worry, Verad. It's going to be all right.
T'Kar: Get with the others. Move. Your turn, little man.
Verad: Don't forget to disable the backups as well as the primary systems.
O'Brien: It's my fault, Commander. They caught us by surprise. Somehow they must have neutralized the security systems in the docking ring.
Sisko: How did they manage that?
O'Brien: I'm not sure, but I've got a pretty good idea. We ran across Quark in an airlock a little while ago.
Kira: When this is over, Quark and I are going to have a little talk.
Sisko: Do you know him?
Quark: Ah, Yeto. It's such a pleasure doing business with Klingons. You're so punctual. I see that your ship was rescued according to plan. I've got your merchandise right here but I don't see any latinum.
Yeto: You Ferengi, you think you're so clever but you're stupid.
Quark: Now, now. There's no need for name calling. If you don't want these liquid data chains, I'm sure I can line up dozens of other buyers.
Yeto: Go right ahead.
Quark: Yeto, you expect me to believe you've come all this way, braved the storm, just to tell me that the deal is off?
Yeto: Stupid Ferengi.
T'Kar: I said no one moves.
Sisko: I'm commander of this station. What is your business here?
T'Kar: You'll have to ask my employer.
Verad: I'm, I'm sorry about this. If everyone would just cooperate, I promise it will all be over soon.
Sisko: What will be over soon?
Quark: This is an outrage. I demand to be released at once.
Yeto: Enough of your whining.
Quark: Who are these people? What do they want from us?
Kira: Funny, I was about to ask you that question.
Mareel: That's enough.
Sisko: I agree. Now tell me what you want here.
Verad: Dax. I want Dax.
Sisko: She's not going anywhere with you.
Verad: No, no. I don't want the girl. I only want what is rightfully mine. What should have been mine years ago. I want Dax.
Dax: The symbiont, Benjamin. He's come to steal my symbiont.
Bashir: You can't remove Jadzia's symbiont. If you do, she'll die.
Sisko: He knows that, Doctor.
Verad: I'm, I'm sorry about all this. Please, believe me, I wish I didn't have to do this.
Sisko: Then don't.
Verad: I don't have any choice. I spent my whole life trying to qualify for the joining. I studied constantly every day, every waking hour. I sacrificed everything and then I went before the Symbiosis Evaluation Board and they reduced my entire life to one word. Unsuitable.
Dax: It's nothing to be ashamed of. Neither of my parents or my sister underwent symbiosis. And they live happy and productive lives. Only one Trill in ten is chosen to be joined.
Verad: That's easy for you to say. They chose you.
Dax: I was one of the lucky ones.
Mareel: Now it's Verad's turn to be lucky.
Kira: Why Dax? There are thousands of symbionts on Trill. Why her?
Verad: I did research. I worked it all out. The Dax symbiont is the best match for me. We have mutual interests. Science, diplomacy
Sisko: Verad. There's another reason, isn't there? The wormhole. After you've stolen the symbiont, you plan on escaping to the Gamma Quadrant, don't you.
Mareel: Can you think of a better place to start a new life?
Dax: I understand your frustration, But there could be dozens of reasons why the Board didn't select you for symbiosis. They have to be very careful. An improper joining can cause permanent psychological damage to both the symbiont and the host. They were only looking after your best interests.
Verad: Your best interests, maybe, but not mine. All they've done is condemn me to a life of, of mediocrity. Well, I refuse to accept it. I'm not going to spend the rest of my life dreaming about what I could have been, what I should have been. I deserve more and I'm going to get it.
Mareel: Yeto, T'Kar. It's time.
Bashir: I'll have no part in this.
Verad: I, I understand.
Verad: Keep away from him. There, you see? I've taken the first step. Even if I don't get what I want, my life is over. So either you help me or you and your friends will die. It's your choice.
Dax: He'll help. I don't want anyone else hurt because of me. But you have to give me your word that no one else on the station will be harmed.
Verad: I promise. Doctor?
Dax: Do as he says, Julian. Please.
Bashir: Let me treat Chief O'Brien's phaser wound first. It won't take long. There's an emergency medical kit in the console.
T'Kar: Get it.
Bashir: Hold still, Chief. There. There should be no permanent damage. Apply this every twenty minutes or so. It should help the wound regenerate.
T'Kar: Enough stalling.
Sisko: Do as he says, Doctor. This is no time to be a hero.
T'Kar: Take them to the Infirmary.
Kira: This isn't over, Dax. I promise you.
Sisko: Dax.
Dax: I know, Benjamin. You'll do all you can. And just in case it isn't enough, I want you to know It's been fun.
Mareel: Let's go. Good luck.
Verad: It won't be long now, and then you'll see. Everything will be just as I promised.
Mareel: I know.
Verad: What's that?
Bashir: It's a delta wave inducer, to keep you asleep during the operation. It also increases your body's natural endorphin production to help accelerate the healing process.
Verad: I don't want it.
Bashir: I strongly recommend that you use it. The surgery will be much easier on you if you
Verad: I don't want your advice. I want to be awake. Use a neuroelectrical suppressor and set up a monitor so I can watch the procedure. That way, if you run into any trouble, I can assist you. Now, let's get started.
Bashir: I'm sorry, Jadzia.
Dax: Don't blame yourself, Julian. You did everything you could.
Bashir: This'll help you sleep.
Dax: Thank you.
Bashir: Forgive me.
Kira: How long can Dax survive without the symbiont?
Sisko: Once the symbiont is removed, the host usually dies within hours. But Jadzia is young and healthy. Bashir will do what he can. She'll make it through the night.
O'Brien: That still doesn't give us much time
T'Kar: No talking!
Mareel: I don't want to kill you, Commander, but I will.
Quark: This is ridiculous. Don't you realize they're going to kill us? What are you people sitting around for? Do something.
Kira: Do you have any suggestions?
Quark: Why should I have any suggestions? I'm not the military mastermind. I'm just a victim of circumstances.
Kira: Really? Then maybe you'd like to tell me how four armed terrorists got by our docking ring security grid.
Quark: Security grid? I don't know anything
Kira: Save it, Quark. You crossed the line this time. You sold us out and now Dax may die because of it. Whatever happens next, one thing is certain. You're through here.
Mareel: Are you all right?
Kira: I'll live.
Mareel: Don't try that again. I don't want to have to hurt anyone.
Kira: Tell that to Jadzia.
Mareel: That's different.
Kira: Do you really believe that?
Mareel: You heard Verad. They didn't leave him any other choice.
Kira: That's his reason. What's yours?
Mareel: I owe him. I grew up on the streets of Khefka Four. I never would've made it out of there without Verad.
Sisko: What was he doing on Khefka Four?
Mareel: He was the communications clerk at the Federation consulate. He used to come by the accommodation house where I worked. I used to help him relax. When he was recalled to Trill he asked me to go with him. We've been together ever since.
Kira: And that's it? He got you out of a bad situation and now you're willing to kill for him?
Mareel: I owe him my life. If there's anything I can do for him, I'll do it.
Sisko: Even if it means losing him?
Mareel: Losing him?
Sisko: After the surgery, Verad won't be just Verad anymore. He'll be a blending of Verad, Dax, and all the previous hosts. Their memories, their knowledge, even their personalities.
Mareel: Verad told me that you'd say things like that. I know he'll change. He'll be smarter, more confident, but in all the important ways, he'll be the same.
Sisko: I'm sorry, but if he told you that, he's lying. Once a Trill is joined, it's like a rebirth. He'll be an entirely different person.
Mareel: If you think I'm going to betray Verad, you're wrong. It doesn't matter what you say. I love him, and I'm going to stand by him no matter what.
Verad: I never doubted it.
Mareel: Verad.
Verad: No, not just Verad. I'm Verad Dax.
Bashir: Take this. Come on, we haven't got much time. Just move it back and forth over the wound in slow even strokes.
Yeto: Why bother? She'll be dead in a few hours anyway.
Bashir: Not if I have anything to do with it. Now help me.
Yeto: Why should I? She let herself be slaughtered like a mindless t'gla. If she wanted to live, she should have fought back.
Bashir: She did what she did to save the rest of us.
Yeto: Then she is a fool and she deserves her fate.
Bashir: Now listen to me, Yeto, or whatever your name is. I don't care about your warrior ethic, or your Klingon philosophy. This woman is dying and I need your help to save her. Now take this instrument.
Yeto: So the little human has some spark after all.
Bashir: Come on, come on.
Dax: Julian.
Bashir: Oh, thank God, I thought I'd lost you.
Dax: The symbiont. It's gone.
Bashir: Everything went perfectly. The operation was a complete success.
Dax: I feel so alone.
Bashir: I've got you stabilized. If only we could get the symbiont back in time.
Dax: I'm scared, Julian.
Bashir: You're not going to die. Do you hear me? I'm not going to let you die.
Dax: I've never felt so empty.
Bashir: Just rest.
Sisko: Dax?
Verad: That's right, Benjamin. It's me.
Sisko: Curzon, Tobin, Jadzia, all the others. They're all a part of you now.
Verad: It's amazing. So many ideas. So many memories.
Sisko: Eight lifetimes of memories. It must be incredible.
Verad: It's better than I ever imagined.
Sisko: The station must look very different to you.
Verad: It does. I, I know this place. And I know you Benjamin.
Sisko: Of course you do. Remember when we first met?
Verad: Pelios Station.
Sisko: Anastasia?
Verad: And that trip we took to the cliffs of Bole.
Sisko: All the months we served aboard the Livingston?
Verad: And Science officer Kustanovich. What was it, eight helpings of Andorian redbat?
Sisko: I've never seen anybody eat so much. Remember my wedding?
Verad: I remember your bachelor party, or some of it anyway.
Sisko: And the time we diskovered the wormhole? My, my, my.
Verad: One of Jadzia's proudest moments.
Sisko: And now that woman is bleeding to death in the Infirmary.
Verad: I'd rather not discuss that, Benjamin.
Sisko: You have to discuss it, Dax. You know as well as I do we can't let her die.
Verad: But she's not going to die. She'll live on, in me.
Sisko: Jadzia's memories will live on, but Jadzia herself will die and you will have killed her.
Verad: You think I don't know that? I'll never be able to forget it. But I promise you, Benjamin, I'll do all I can to make up for it. I'm not going to the Gamma Quadrant to hide. There are entire worlds who can benefit from my knowledge and experience. I can help them, and I will.
Sisko: I have a better idea.
Verad: What's that.
Sisko: Help Jadzia. Come with me down to the Infirmary. Put the symbiont back where it belongs.
Verad: I can't do that, Benjamin, even if I wanted to. Don't you see it's too late. The integration is already under way.
Sisko: But there's still time to stop it. Jadzia's life can still be saved.
Mareel: Don't listen to him. He's just trying to confuse you.
Verad: It's all right, Mareel. Benjamin, the symbiont's still weak from the operation. If we attempt another joining so soon, it might not survive. Are you willing to risk that?
Sisko: I am. The question is, are you?
Mareel: Why are you wasting your time with him?
Verad: Because he's my friend! Now go watch the others. We are still friends, aren't we, Benjamin?
Sisko: I hope so. Come with me down to the Infirmary and prove it.
Verad: I can't do that.
Sisko: Then you're not the Dax that I know. Our friendship's over.
Mareel: Here, drink this.
O'Brien: What is it?
Mareel: Senarian egg broth. It'll keep your strength up. All right, don't drink it. It makes no difference to me.
O'Brien: Hold on. Thank you.
Sisko: He even looks different, doesn't he? The way he stands, the way he moves, talks.
Mareel: He's better than he was.
Sisko: I'm glad you think so.
Mareel: I do.
Sisko: Really? The way he dismissed you before. Verad never did that.
Mareel: He's under a lot of stress.
Sisko: Verad was under stress the minute he stepped onto this station. But he never turned on you, did he?
Mareel: What's your point, Commander?
Sisko: I think you know.
Mareel: You're trying to turn me against Verad.
Sisko: Verad no longer exists. You know that better than I do.
Mareel: All right then, Verad Dax. But it won't work. Nothing has changed between us.
Sisko: You really believe that?
Mareel: Yes.
Sisko: All right, then make me believe it. Go in there and talk to him.
Mareel: Talk to him about what?
Sisko: I don't know. Whatever you want. I'm sure the two of you have a lot to say to one another.
Mareel: I don't want to disturb him.
Sisko: Why not?
Mareel: Because I don't want to.
Sisko: Look at him, sitting in there all alone. He needs you.
Mareel: That's enough.
Sisko: I don't understand why you're being so reluctant. This is a perfect time for the two of you to get reacquainted.
Mareel: I said, that's enough!
Verad: Mareel? Is anything wrong?
Mareel: No. Everything's fine.
Verad: Good. Be careful. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you.
Quark: I got him! I got him!
Mareel: Stay back.
Quark: Maybe we should talk about this?
Quark: My ear!
T'Kar: Pathetic.
Verad: Mareel, take him to the Infirmary.
Bashir: What is it now?
Quark: Please. It hurts.
Bashir: All right. Hold on. The damage appears to be fairly superficial. But Ferengi ears are incredibly sensitive, so I'd better run some further tests.
Verad: The storm's intensity's dropped another twenty percent. I know this has been hard for you, Benjamin. It's been hard for both of us. But it's almost over.
Mareel: Good. I'm getting tired of waiting here. How are you feeling?
Verad: Better than ever, thanks to you. I couldn't have done this without you. I would have spent the rest of my life a mediocre man only dreaming of what might have been. You know what you have to do.
Mareel: You just worry about getting through the wormhole. The Klingons and I'll make sure that no one stops you.
Verad: Remember, I don't want you staying here any longer than you have to. Give me an hour, then head for the wormhole. The runabout's on pad C.
Mareel: The sooner you leave, the sooner I can follow, and the sooner we can be together.
Mareel: It's going to be all right, isn't it?
Verad: Just wait for me at the rendezvous point.
Yeto: Stop whining or I'll put you out of your misery.
Bashir: It's not his fault. He's got a deep contusion of the auricular lobe and a possible dislocated malleus. In a Ferengi, either condition could be fatal. But if you want him to stop, give me a hand with this.
Yeto: I'm not your nurse.
Bashir: Look, let's not go through that again. Just hold this against his ear.
Bashir: Not too hard.
Bashir: Just another second. Relax.
Bashir: There.
Quark: Thank you, Doctor. I feel better already. How is she?
Bashir: I've have her stabilized, but there's no telling how much time she's got left. We've got to get the symbiont back before it's too late.
Quark: What are you doing?
Bashir: Odo's in here.
Quark: He is?
Bashir: Yes, and we've got to get him out.
Quark: Are you sure?
Bashir: Quark. If we only knew the access code.
Quark: Allow me.
Quark: Standard Delgorian locking mechanism. Sophisticated, but vulnerable if you know its weaknesses. Hand me that laser scalpel.
Quark: It's a gift.
T'Kar: The storm's decreased another fifteen percent.
Verad: Excellent. That should be more than enough to allow safe passage to the wormhole. Verad to Yeto. Verad to Yeto.
T'Kar: Yeto, report!
Verad: The doctor must have overpowered him.
T'Kar: The doctor? Impossible.
Verad: It's the shape-shifter. He must have freed the shape-shifter. T'Kar, get me to the ship.
Mareel: You better take a hostage, just in case.
Sisko: I'll go with you.
Verad: I'd love your company, Benjamin, but somehow I don't think you have my best interests at heart. Kira, I hate to inconvenience you.
Kira: That's all right. If Odo's free, there's no way you're getting off this station.
Verad: Mareel.
Mareel: Good luck.
Verad: Well, Benjamin, I guess this is goodbye. Not many friendships last over two lifetimes. I wish we could have made it three.
Sisko: You'll be seeing me again, Verad.
Sisko: So, where's this rendezvous going to be?
Mareel: You don't really expect me to tell you?
Sisko: No, but I hope you like it there, because you'll be waiting for Verad a long time.
Mareel: How would you know?
Sisko: You told me yourself. I saw the look on your face when he asked you to wait for him.
Mareel: The plan was the was supposed to get there first. That he would wait for me, not the other way around.
Sisko: Well, maybe it was an honest mistake, a slip of the tongue.
Mareel: He lied to me. He's never lied to me before. He's not coming. He doesn't need me anymore.
Sisko: No, you're wrong. He does need you now, more than ever.
Mareel: You never give up, do you? I told you I'm not going to betray him.
Sisko: I'm not asking you to. I'm asking you to save him. To help us save him.
Mareel: All you care about is Jadzia.
Sisko: That's right. And you care about Verad. And we can save them both. Don't you see? Dax and Verad were never meant to be joined. We've got to remove the symbiont while there's still time.
Mareel: If you hurt him, I'll kill you.
Sisko: I don't doubt it.
Verad: The ship. It's gone.
Odo: That's because I released the docking clamps.
Sisko: Looks like that goodbye was a little premature.
Verad: Don't be ridiculous. You're not going to shoot me.
Sisko: What makes you so sure?
Verad: This is Dax you're talking to, Benjamin. We both know that if you shoot me, even on stun, you risk killing the symbiont.
Sisko: If I let you go, Jadzia dies.
Verad: But Dax will live. What's one girl's life compared to eight lifetimes of knowledge and experience? You're not going to shoot me. You know that and so do I. Goodbye, Benjamin.
Sisko: Verad. Don't call me Benjamin.
Verad: I feel strange. So empty.
Sisko: It's over now, Verad. The symbiont is back where it belongs.
Verad: So close. I had it. I had it and now I'm alone.
Mareel: You're not alone, Verad. I'm here. I'll always be here.
Verad: I can't remember any of it. The knowledge, the confidence, it's all gone.
Bashir: Commander?
Sisko: Jadzia. Are you?
Dax: I'm fine. I remember it all, Benjamin. Everything he thought, everything he did, and it's so sad. I guess he'll always be with me.


Garak: Tarkalean tea again, Doctor?
Bashir: Yes, and you're drinking Rokassa juice again, aren't you, Garak.
Garak: How did you know?
Bashir: The odor is unmistakable.
Garak: So it is. Rokassa juice soothes my nerves. I had a very demanding customer today. A Bajoran engineer who comes to the shop constantly just to plague me.
Bashir: You know, I've always wondered about that. About who your steady customers really are. I can't imagine Bajorans frequenting a shop run by a Cardassian.
Garak: I like to think that my expertise and willingness to serve overcome any general resentments any of my clientele may have.
Bashir: Ah. And perhaps your expertise and willingness to serve go so far as to establish a certain trust between you and your customers?
Garak: Trust is very important
Bashir: And once they trust you, they're much more open with you, and they tell you things.
Garak: Really, Doctor, must we always play this game? I'm no more a spy than you are a
Bashir: A doctor.
Garak: I'm afraid you really do allow your imagination to run away with you. What else can I say to finally convince you that I'm just
Bashir: Plain, simple Garak?
Garak: Precisely.
Garak: Now there's something you don't see every day.
Zolan: Have a seat. I'll get us all some refreshment.
Bashir: That was odd. Do you know him?
Garak: On the contrary. I've never seen him before in my life.
Garak: I hope I'm not intruding, but I couldn't help noticing what a handsome young man you have here.
Garak: Argh!
Bashir: I'm sorry I'm late. The damnedest thing just happened. Garak the tailor was attacked.
Odo: Attacked? Where?
Bashir: At the Replimat. He was bitten on the hand.
Dax: Another unsatisfied customer?
O'Brien: He always cuts the pants too long.
Bashir: Actually, it was a boy. A Cardassian boy.
Sisko: I wasn't aware we had any Cardassian children on the station.
Odo: We don't.
Bashir: He's just arrived on a Bajoran transport with an adult Bajoran who says he's his father.
Kira: The boy was probably one of the orphans left behind after the Cardassians pulled out. We had no choice but to take care of them. You have an incoming subspace transmission from Cardassia, Commander. It's Gul Dukat.
Sisko: In my office.
Dukat: Commander, it's been brought to my attention that the sole Cardassian living on your station has been assaulted.
Sisko: I'm surprised how quickly the news reached you, Dukat. I only heard about it myself a minute ago.
Dukat: Is it true he was attacked by a Cardassian boy brought to the station by a Bajoran?
Sisko: A Cardassian boy appears to have be involved, yes.
Dukat: Exactly as I feared. Exactly as I've been warning my colleagues.
Sisko: Warning them?
Dukat: The Cardassian war orphans, Commander. Abandoned when we left Bajor. It's a disgrace. Obviously these children are being raised to hate their own kind. This incident is proof.
Sisko: You're assuming a lot from one incident.
Dukat: Am I? Then why would this boy attack poor Garak? An amiable fellow, if there ever was one.
Sisko: If you like, I'll try to find out.
Dukat: That would be most appreciated, Commander. I need to find out everything I can about this boy, so that I can use his story in my fight to bring these orphans back to their homeland. This is a tragedy that all of Cardassia is going to have to address.
Proka: We didn't come here to cause trouble. Has this Garak filed a complaint?
Sisko: No, but the Cardassian officials asked that look into the incident.
Proka: I wish they'd shown as much concern when they left my boy and dozens like him to fend for themselves.
Sisko: How did you come to adopt him?
Proka: My wife and I felt that Rugal shouldn't suffer for crimes committed by others.
Sisko: But why would he attack another Cardassian?
Proka: That Cardassian should have minded his own business.
Bashir: Garak was only trying to be friendly. The boy seemed terrified of him on sight.
Sisko: The Cardassians are suggesting that the Bajorans are raising these orphans to hate their own people.
Proka: To hate Cardassians? It shouldn't be too hard, should it? We told him the truth, Commander. The truth about what Cardassia did to Bajor. He needed to know, and for that I make no apologies. To us, he isn't even one of them anymore. He isn't Cardassian, he's Bajoran. And we love him just as if he were our own flesh and blood.
Zolan: All right, here we go. Here we go. Baby, come on. Dabo!
Quark: There's nothing quite so depressing as a winning streak that won't stop streaking.
Zolan: Dabo!
Bashir: It would appear as if you have this game all figured out.
Zolan: Dabo! Dabo is a passion of mine. I remember you. You're Doctor
Bashir: Bashir.
Zolan: Bashir, yes. How's the Cardassian? Still has all his fingers, I presume?
Bashir: Yes. Luckily there were no broken bones. I've never seen a boy take a bite out of a man's hand like that.
Zolan: He's a strange boy, Rugal.
Bashir: Do you know the family well?
Zolan: Dabo!
Bashir: Do you?
Zolan: Look, this is really none of my business.
Bashir: You were a witness. I just want to get my facts right for the medical report.
Zolan: I'd really rather you asked someone else.
Bashir: Frankly, I don't understand your attitude. All I asked was if you know them well.
Zolan: Well enough. I heard the father was looking for a new job several months ago and I offered to help. I visited them on Bajor several times.
Bashir: Did you find anything troubling?
Zolan: It must be torture for that boy living like that. Hated by people he thinks of as his parents. Told day after day that he's worthless Cardassian scum. Beaten if he even looks the wrong way. Rugal is their revenge. Their revenge against all Cardassians.
Proka: It is not true. It is not true. Rugal will tell you. We have not mistreated him. Is this some Cardassian?
Sisko: There'll be ample opportunity to go over the matter in detail, but during the investigation, we'd like for Rugal to stay with our schoolteacher, Mrs O'Brien. She's expecting him now.
Proka: What if I refuse?
Sisko: Then I'll have to call Security and have them remove him from your quarters. I don't think either of us wants that.
Rugal: Why?
Proka: It'll be all right
Rugal: I didn't do anything wrong!
Proka: I know. I know. It'll be all right. I promise.
Rugal: I didn't do anything wrong.
Sisko: Nobody's accusing you of a crime, Rugal. You're not being arrested. My name is Commander Sisko. I believe you already know Doctor Bashir.
Bashir: Hello, Rugal.
Sisko: I'm sure all of this will be straightened out in a day or two. If you want to visit with your father tomorrow, you can.
Proka: Go on, Rugal. We'll talk tomorrow. They won't hurt you. They're humans, not Cardassians.
Bashir: Actually, something good did come out of all of this, Garak.
Garak: Oh?
Bashir: If it hadn't happened, we never would have diskovered Rugal's situation. And a bite on the hand is certainly worth saving a boy's life, wouldn't you say?
Garak: I suppose it depends on whose hand. Just joking, Doctor.
Bashir: Perhaps it might even help Gul Dukat in his efforts to resolve the entire war orphan predicament.
Garak: I beg your pardon?
Bashir: Gul Dukat. He called Commander Sisko right after this happened. Apparently he was quite concerned with your well-being. You never mentioned you were friends.
Garak: You said Dukat is doing something about war orphans?
Bashir: He wants to bring them all home from Bajor.
Garak: Does he.
Bashir: Am I missing something?
Garak: Tell me, Doctor. Is there a single trait would you ascribe to me and to my fellow Cardassians? Would it not be our attention to detail? Do you think we simply forgot about those poor little orphans when we left Bajor? Do you think they simply slipped from our minds? And who would you guess was in charge of the Cardassian withdrawal from Bajor?
Dukat: I don't know how to thank you.
Sisko: Don't thank me too quickly, Dukat. The boy could be returned to his adoptive parents.
Dukat: After the accusations this businessman has made.
Sisko: That's all it is for the moment. An accusation.
Dukat: We would not take kindly to the boy being returned to the Bajorans. However, I have complete confidence in your ability to be thorough, Commander. And if there's anything I can do.
Sisko: As a matter of fact, there is. If it is decided the boy should be returned to Cardassia, to whom would we return him? It might help to find out if he still has any living relatives.
Dukat: I was going to suggest that you forward us a sample of the boy's DNA and we'll run it through our data banks immediately.
Sisko: We'll send it right away.
Bashir: Excuse me, Gul Dukat. I have a question.
Dukat: Doctor Bashir, isn't it?
Bashir: Yes. Isn't it true you were in charge of the evacuation of Bajor?
Dukat: Yes, I was.
Bashir: Then it would have been your responsibility to ensure that these orphans were in fact part of that evacuation, yet you chose to leave them behind. Why?
Dukat: I did not choose to leave them behind, Doctor. I was ordered to leave them behind.
Bashir: Ordered? By whom?
Dukat: By the civilian leaders. They
Bashir: Excuse me, but if I understand the Cardassian political system correctly, the civilian leaders have no direct authority over military officers.
Dukat: Who's been tutoring you in Cardassian social studies, Doctor?
Bashir: Your old friend, Garak.
Dukat: Well then, perhaps you should remind my old friend Garak the withdrawal of Bajor was a decision made by the civilian leaders. One that I clearly opposed. And yes, they made the decision to leave the orphans behind. A decision I've regretted ever since. Thank you for your concern, Doctor. Good day, Commander.
Bashir: He's lying.
Sisko: Is that an opinion, or do you have evidence to support it?
Bashir: I have Garak.
Sisko: Garak.
Bashir: He seems to think there's more going on here than we realize.
Sisko: What exactly does he think is going on?
Bashir: I'm not sure. He doesn't actually tell me what he really thinks. I sort of have to deduce it.
Sisko: So, you deduced that Garak thinks Dukat is lying about something you're not sure of and you proceeded to interrupt my conversation to confront him about whatever that may be.
Bashir: I'm sorry, Commander. It just seemed an opportune
Sisko: Don't apologize. It's been the high point of my day. Don't do it again.
Dax: Why would Garak want to undermine Gul Dukat?
Bashir: I'm not really sure. I don't think he likes Dukat very much.
Sisko: I'd like to ask Garak about this myself. Have him in my office at twenty one hundred hours.
Bashir: Yes, sir.
Keiko: Hi.
O'Brien: Here, let me.
Keiko: Thanks.
O'Brien: Good idea.
Keiko: What?
O'Brien: Three settings. I assume you sent Molly over to stay with the Fredericks.
Keiko: She's asleep. She and Rugal played all afternoon. He wore her out.
O'Brien: You let them play together?
Keiko: Why not?
O'Brien: The boy almost bit somebody's hand off.
Keiko: I was with them all afternoon. He's not like that. He's really very gentle.
O'Brien: Gentle was bred out of these Cardassians a long time ago.
Keiko: You know, that was a very ugly thing you just said.
O'Brien: I only said.
Keiko: I don't need to hear it twice.
Keiko: Rugal, dinner's ready. I hope you like it.
O'Brien: Keiko, darling, what is this?
Keiko: I found some Cardassian recipes in the memory bank of our food replicator. It's a stew, made with Cardassian zabu meat. I thought Rugal might enjoy a dish that's popular on his own world.
O'Brien: Can't sleep?
Rugal: What're they going to do with me?
O'Brien: I'm not sure. You might have something to say about that, you know. I mean, you should be telling Commander Sisko what you want.
Rugal: I want to go home.
O'Brien: He'll understand that. You're a Cardassian. They should've taken you home when they left.
Rugal: No, I mean home. To Bajor.
O'Brien: It must be tough for you, living on Bajor.
Rugal: Why?
O'Brien: Being Cardassian.
Rugal: That's not my fault. I was born that way.
O'Brien: That's not what I meant. There's nothing wrong with being a Cardassian.
Rugal: Yes, there is.
O'Brien: Who taught you that?
Rugal: It's the truth. Everybody knows it.
O'Brien: How do your parents feel about Cardassians?
Rugal: They hate them.
O'Brien: Why would you want to live with someone who hates you?
Rugal: They hate other Cardassians, not me. My parents have never done anything wrong to me.
O'Brien: Come on, even I got my bottom whacked by my Dad once or twice.
Rugal: Not me. My parents follow the teachings of the Prophets. What do you think of Cardassians?
O'Brien: Me? Well, I can't say, really.
Rugal: Why not?
O'Brien: Well, you can't judge a whole race of people. You can't hate all Cardassians or all Klingons or all humans. I've met some Cardassians I didn't like, and I've met some I did. Like you.
Rugal: Do you know how many Bajorans the Cardassians murdered during the occupation? Over ten million. We had a test on it in school. I wish I wasn't Cardassian.
Garak: Come, Doctor, get dressed. We need to be going.
Bashir: Going? Going where?
Garak: To Bajor.
Sisko: I assume this couldn't wait until morning?
Bashir: No, sir. I need to use a runabout.
Sisko: I'm waiting.
Bashir: It's Garak, sir. He wants to go to Bajor.
Sisko: Bajor? For what?
Bashir: He wouldn't tell me.
Sisko: Oh, well, by all means. Will one runabout be enough?
Crewman: Ops to Sisko.
Sisko: Go ahead.
Crewman: Commander, there's an urgent communication for you from Gul Dukat.
Dukat: I'm sorry to disturb you at such a late hour, Commander, but thanks to the DNA gene type you sent us, we've diskovered the boy's actually the son of one of our most prominent politicians, Kotan Pa'Dar.
Sisko: When was Pa'Dar on Bajor?
Dukat: Over eight years ago. He was Exarch for a Cardassian settlement there. The boy was believed to have died in a Bajoran terrorist attack.
Sisko: Has he been told his son is alive?
Dukat: Of course. As you can imagine, he's overwhelmed with joy. He's already on his way to the station to reclaim him.
Sisko: It's not that simple.
Dukat: I don't understand.
Sisko: The boy wants to go back to Bajor.
Dukat: Back> To live with the same brutal people?
Sisko: I can't find any evidence to support that accusation. I can't even find the man who made it in the first place.
Dukat: Nevertheless, when the boy finds out his real father's alive, surely he'll change his mind. And even if he doesn't, it would be in the boy's best interests.
Sisko: We'll just have to see what happens when Pa'Dar gets here. Sisko out.
Bashir: It can't just be a coincidence, sir. Garak must have heard about Pa'Dar before he woke me up. What could he be looking for on Bajor?
Sisko: There's only one way to find out.
Bashir: Excuse me, is this the Tozhat Resettlement Center?
Deela: Yes.
Bashir: I'm Doctor Bashir from the Federation command at Deep Space Nine. I've been trying to find some information on a Cardassian war orphan who was apparently placed for adoption here.
Deela: Yes, the Bajorans opened their hearts to many abandoned children.
Bashir: The boy's name is Rugal, and the Bajoran who adopted him is named Proka Migdal.
Deela: I don't recognize either of the names. What was it you were trying to find out about them?
Bashir: Yes, exactly what are we trying to find out about them?
Garak: The circumstances surrounding the young man's adoption. It took place about eight years ago.
Deela: The Cardassians were still here. You'll never find anything from back then.
Garak: Oh, the Cardassians are quite meticulous record keepers, Madame. They've taught many worlds, including this one, how to keep records. I find it difficult to believe that none exist from that time period. Certainly computer entries made on a regular basis.
Deela: I wouldn't know. I wasn't a volunteer then. I was in the underground.
Garak: Really? Perhaps we have met.
Bashir: Look, can we just check your computers?
Deela: Our computers don't work. I can't get a technician to come out. We're not exactly a top priority.
Garak: Perhaps I can be of service.
Bashir: You can fix computers?
Garak: I dabble with isolinear data subprocessors. It's a hobby of mine.
Bashir: I continue to underestimate you, Garak.
Garak: It's no more difficult than sewing on a button, actually. Excuse me.
Bashir: You carry this everywhere with you, do you?
Garak: A simple tailoring tool. You'd be surprised how often someone needs their pants let out. Oh, it's not there.
Bashir: What's not there?
Garak: Rugal's name, his father's name, none of it.
Bashir: You managed to find eight year old files that quickly?
Garak: It's simply a question of knowing what you're looking for, Doctor. Excuse me. Now, it's either been misfiled, under a wrong name, or this is entirely the wrong relocation center.
Bashir: I'm not going to any other district until I know.
Garak: That won't be necessary. We can access the files of this entire province from here and download them onto a data clip.
Bashir: That'll be thousands of files.
Garak: Tens of thousands, actually.
Asha: Excuse me, sir. Have you come to take us back to Cardassia?
Garak: I'm afraid not, child. Come, Doctor. I believe you'll find your computer system fully functional now, Madame.
Garak: Computer, set up a data bank, cross-referencing age groups, sex and year of adopt.
Bashir: Computer, disregard that request and shut down all engines.
Garak: I'm sorry you're upset about the orphans. Children without parents have no status in Cardassian society. The situation is most unfortunate, but I don't make the rules.
Bashir: But you do play the game, don't you, Garak. And there is a game being played right now, as we speak, isn't there.
Garak: There are always games, Doctor.
Bashir: The trouble is, I don't have the slightest idea what this game is about. So you're going to tell me what's going on inside that plain and simple head of yours, my Cardassian friend, or we're going to sit here until we rot!
Garak: Tell me, Doctor, why do you think the Cardassians left Bajor?
Bashir: Gul Dukat said it was a decision made by your civilian leaders.
Garak: And isn't it interesting that one of Cardassia's most notable civilian leaders has recently entered this scenario.
Bashir: Rugal's father? You're saying Kotan Pa'Dar was involved in the decision to evacuate Bajor?
Garak: Very good, Doctor. I'm glad to see our little get-togethers haven't gone for naught.
Bashir: Which makes him a political enemy of Gul Dukat's. Who lost his job as Prefect when they withdrew.
Garak: And seemingly out of nowhere, Dukat takes an interest in this orphan boy who recently arrives on our station. And then soon afterwards, with Gul Dukat's assistance, we diskover that the orphan boy isn't really an orphan boy, but Pa'Dar's long lost son.
Bashir: Another coincidence?
Garak: I believe in coincidences. Coincidences happen every day. But I don't trust coincidences.
Pa'Dar: I am Kotan Pa'Dar.
O'Brien: Miles O'Brien. Come in. Sit down.
Pa'Dar: Where is my son?
O'Brien: He's with my wife. They'll be back shortly. I thought it might be a good idea if we talked first. Your son, Rugal
Pa'Dar: At least they didn't change his name.
O'Brien: When was the last time you saw him?
Pa'Dar: On Bajor. He had just had his fourth birthday. He probably doesn't even remember me. Does he?
O'Brien: I think he's spent most of his life trying to forget you.
Pa'Dar: I don't think I understand.
O'Brien: The boy hates everything he is. He hates Cardassians, he hates being a Cardassian.
Pa'Dar: Yes, I've heard those stories. Well, I suppose after growing up among the Bajorans. But now that I'm back in his life.
O'Brien: He may not want you back in his life.
Pa'Dar: I am his father. Mister O'Brien, I know very little about human culture. I don't know how you view the family.
O'Brien: We'd do almost anything to protect our families. I have a daughter myself. She's four, the same age your son was when you lost him.
Pa'Dar: Then I expect you can imagine what I'm feeling right now. On Cardassia, family is everything. We care for our parents and children with equal devotion. In some households, four generations eat at the same table. Family is everything. And I have failed in my responsibilities to my family.
O'Brien: You had no way of knowing he was still alive.
Pa'Dar: I should have tried harder. I should have looked everywhere. To abandon my son, to allow him to be raised a Bajoran. I have disgraced that everything a Cardassian believes in.
Pa'Dar: Hello, Rugal. Do you remember my face? Even a little?
Rugal: No.
Pa'Dar: Would you like to see some pictures of you when you were a child?
Rugal: No.
Pa'Dar: Rugal, you have to understand. There was nothing left of the house after the attack. Your mother was dead and you. I cried for you, Rugal. I missed you so much. I could not even stay on Bajor. It was too close to the happy memories of you.
Rugal: It was your own fault. You deserved it. You are Cardassian. What the Bajorans did, they had to do.
Pa'Dar: I understand why you say that.
Rugal: You can't understand. You are a Cardassian butcher! A butcher. They killed your son for your crimes.
Pa'Dar: Rugal.
Rugal: You are not my father! And I will never go back to Cardassia. Never.
Pa'Dar: I have no intention of allowing a Bajoran court to rule on the custody of my son.
Proka: You gave up custody when you abandoned him here.
Pa'Dar: He is my natural born child. As Cardassian law clearly stipulates
Proka: There is no more Cardassian law on Bajor
Sisko: Gentlemen, I think you may need an arbitrator to settle this.
Proka: It must be someone who is neither a Cardassian nor a Bajoran. What about you?
Sisko: I'd be willing, but wouldn't you have objections because of the Federation's relationship with Bajor?
Pa'Dar: No, Commander. You are a father too. You would be acceptable to me.
Sisko: Very well then. I'll schedule a
Odo: Odo to Commander Sisko.
Sisko: Yes, Odo. What is it?
Odo: I thought you might be interested to know Gul Dukat has just arrived on the station.
Sisko: Captain's log, stardate 47177.2. The arrival of Gul Dukat only powers my suspicion that we are being manipulated in some unseen manner. Doctor Bashir and Garak continue to search for anything of relevance in the adoption files. So far, they've found nothing. And the decision on custody for Rugal cannot wait much longer
Sisko: You've come a long way just to view a custody hearing.
Dukat: Pa'Dar is an eminent member of the civilian assembly. This matter has generated a great deal of interest at the highest levels of our government.
Sisko: So, you're here representing your government?
Dukat: Not exactly. I like to think that I'm here representing the children. All of the children abandoned on Bajor. I want to see Rugal reunited with his father.
Sisko: Well, I'm sure Pa'Dar is grateful for your support because I was under the impression that you were political adversaries. Isn't that so, Pa'Dar?
Pa'Dar: We have disagreed in the past, but Commander, I don't see
Dukat: And I must object, Commander. The past is the past. It has no relevance here. What is relevant are the children. What are we going to do about the children?
Sisko: If you don't mind, I'd like for you to go over the events leading up to the disappearance of Rugal eight years ago.
Garak: How perfectly foolish of me.
Bashir: Don't tell me you've decided you were wrong. Not after searching seven thousand, four hundred and twenty files for a misspelling.
Garak: Dukat is much smarter than that.
Bashir: Than what?
Garak: Think about it, Doctor. He would never have left a file to be found.
Bashir: Do you really think he purged the file on Rugal?
Garak: I would have.
Bashir: There was something in that file he didn't want anybody to see.
Garak: Exactly. We have one last chance, to find the person who wrote that file in the first place.
Bashir: How do you ever hope to find him?
Garak: Her.
Bashir: Her? How do you know?
Garak: Because I've already found her name. Jomat Luson.
Sisko: Do you remember anything from back then, Rugal?
Rugal: No.
Sisko: Do you remember being adopted?
Rugal: No.
Sisko: What's the first thing you do remember?
Rugal: My father teaching me how to swim.
Jomat: I know exactly the one you're talking about.
Bashir: You do?
Jomat: He was the only Cardassian boy we had at the time. We had several girls.
Bashir: Are you sure his name was Rugal?
Jomat: That's what we were told.
Bashir: Somebody told you his name?
Jomat: Yes, that was the most unusual thing about his arrival. Virtually all of the other Cardassian children turned in to us were found on the streets by Bajorans. Rugal was brought in by a Cardassian.
Bashir: A Cardassian military officer, by any chance?
Jomat: Yes, as a matter of fact, she was.
Bashir: A woman?
Jomat: I don't remember her name, but she was attached to the command post at Terok Nor. Is there anything else, Doctor?
O'Brien: The boy accused him of being a butcher. He hates Cardassians, sir. Pa'Dar was heartbroken. I can only imagine how I'd feel in his shoes.
Bashir: Commander, can I ask O'Brien a few questions? Chief, didn't Pa'Dar tell you about the humiliation he feels right now?
O'Brien: He said he had disgraced everything a Cardassian believes in.
Bashir: Has the news of your son's diskovery become public knowledge on Cardassia?
Pa'Dar: The government has not chosen to reveal it to the people yet.
Bashir: What happens when it is revealed?
Pa'Dar: It will be the end of my political career.
Bashir: That's a shame. Especially considering the timing.
Pa'Dar: The timing?
Bashir: Isn't there an inquiry about to begin concerning the Cardassians who were involved in the attempted military coup on Bajor?
Pa'Dar: Yes.
Bashir: And isn't Gul Dukat one of the key witnesses in that inquiry?
Dukat: This is irrelevant and insulting. Commander, you've lost control here.
Sisko: Yes, it seems that I have.
Dukat: I suggest we return to the issue of the children.
Bashir: All right, let's talk about children. Have you ever been to the Tozhat Resettlement Center on Bajor where Rugal was adopted?
Dukat: Never.
Bashir: Of course, Tozhat is the province where Pa'Dar was stationed eight years ago.
Dukat: I'm aware of that.
Bashir: I've been trying to find records of Rugal's adoption, but they're missing from the files.
Dukat: How unfortunate.
Bashir: Yes, but we have found someone who was working at the center at the time Rugal was brought in. Do you know a Bajoran social volunteer named Jomat Luson?
Dukat: No.
Bashir: Jomat Luson remembers Rugal being brought in by a Cardassian military officer. A woman who seemed familiar with him. Even knew his name.
Dukat: Is there a question?
Bashir: The question is whether or not this officer deliberately left the son of Kotan Pa'Dar at the Relocation Center with full knowledge that he was not an orphan. Perhaps even with the hopes of humiliating Pa'Dar someday.
Dukat: I wouldn't know.
Bashir: Would you happen to know then of a base known during the occupation as Terok Nor?
Dukat: Terok Nor? It was here. This space station.
Bashir: Jomat Luson clearly recalls that the officer who brought in Rugal was attached to Terok Nor.
Bashir: Gul Dukat! Who was the commanding office at Terok Nor eight years ago?
Bashir: For the record, the commanding office of Terok Nor eight years ago was Gul Dukat.
Sisko: Captain's log, stardate 47178.3. After long and difficult deliberations, I have decided to allow Pa'Dar to take his son back to Cardassia. Although I am convinced his Bajoran foster parents treated him with love, Rugal has been the clear victim in this conspiracy. I believe it's time for his healing to begin.
Pa'Dar: Your doctor has given me the leverage I need, Commander.
Sisko: Leverage?
Pa'Dar: Dukat will never allow these events to be made public now, and I certainly won't choose to discuss them.
Sisko: A stalemate.
Pa'Dar: A stalemate. You've helped me salvage my political career. I won't forget that.
Sisko: Perhaps you'll use your influence to help other Cardassian orphans on Bajor.
Pa'Dar: Well, yes, we'll see.
O'Brien: Remember what I said. If you ever want to come back and visit, just let me know and I'll arrange it.
Pa'Dar: Hello, Rugal. Ready to go?
Pa'Dar: I suppose it'll take time.
Bashir: But there's one more question I haven't figured out, Garak. Why did you want to expose Dukat? What's the truth about you and him?
Garak: Truth, Doctor, is in the eye of the beholder. I never tell the truth because I don't believe there is such a thing. That's why I prefer the straight line simplicity of cutting cloth.
Bashir: You're not going to tell me.
Garak: But you don't need me to tell you, my friend. Just notice the details. They're scattered like crumbs all over this table we regularly share. Until next time.


Scene: Medical log, stardate 47229.1. Chief O'Brien and I have been working overtime to prepare for the arrival of a new cartographer. Ensign Melora Pazlar is the first Elaysian to join Starfleet and, as such, requires special accommodations.
Dax: I haven't seen one of these in three hundred years. I'm surprised it was even on file in the replicator's data bank.
Bashir: It isn't. Ensign Pazlar sent me the specifications.
Dax: She really uses one like this?
Bashir: Her normal anti-grav unit isn't going to work here. Same problem we had with the Starfleet cargo lifts. Cardassian construction just isn't compatible.
Kira: Ops to Bashir. The Yellowstone has just docked at airlock fourteen, Doctor.
Bashir: We're on our way.
Bashir: Just think what she's gone through to get here, Jadzia. What it must be like to adjust to our gravity after growing up on a planet with such low surface gravity.
O'Brien: Doctor. We've done the best we can with the ramps. The Cardassians obviously didn't have her in mind when they built this place.
Bashir: I've managed to modify the maximum vertical clearance of the chair three centimeters to a slope of fifty six degrees.
O'Brien: That still leaves a lot of places around here she won't have access to.
Dax: Can't we just use the transporter to help her get around?
O'Brien: It makes sense to me, but she sent word that it wasn't be acceptable to her.
Dax: I wonder why.
Bashir: I know exactly why. She went through the Academy the same way. Once her basic needs are met, she refuses any special assistance. She's extraordinary.
Dax: You make it sound as though you've known her for years.
Bashir: I almost feel as though I have. I've pulled all her personnel and medical files to get ready. Her quarters. They're ready, aren't they?
O'Brien: I've got the bumps on the head to prove it.
Bashir: Thanks, Chief.
O'Brien: Let me know if there's anything else I can do.
Bashir: That'll be something to see. When we turn off the gravity and she flies around the room.
Melora: Ensign Melora Pazlar reporting for duty.
Dax: Welcome to DS Nine, Ensign. I'm Chief Science Officer Jadzia Dax, and this
Melora: Doctor Bashir. We spoke on subspace.
Bashir: Good to meet you in person.
Melora: I see you have my trolley car ready to go.
Bashir: As requested.
Dax: Can I help?
Melora: I'm fine, thank you.
Melora: That's better. You've modified it.
Bashir: Yes. I wanted to give you as much mobility as I could.
Melora: I've been practicing on the model I requested for a month.
Bashir: Well, it's no problem. We can replicate the other design.
Melora: No, I'll just have to adapt.
Dax: I'll be accompanying you on your survey mission.
Melora: I really don't think that'll be necessary, Lieutenant. I'm perfectly capable of piloting a runabout.
Dax: Commander Sisko thought that it
Melora: I'm sure he thought what every officer I've ever served with has thought. That I need extra help to get the job done. Please tell him I don't.
Dax: Commander Sisko wouldn't allow any Ensign take a runabout into the Gamma Quadrant the day after she arrives.
Melora: I'm sure the Chief Science Officer has more important things to do than to chart a sector in the Gamma Quadrant.
Bashir: Um. Here we are.
Melora: You didn't modified the specifications I gave you for my quarters, did you?
Bashir: Not one iota. You can control the gravity unit with this device. If you'd care to try it out.
Melora: Thank you, I will. It was a pleasure meeting both of you.
Ashrock: Paltriss only created eighty of them. Each a work of art.
Quark: And I've come into possession of forty-two.
Ashrock: Forty-two? My world will honor your name for returning the Rings of Paltriss to his birthplace.
Quark: Honor my name all you want as long as your honor is accompanied by a hundred and ninety nine bars of gold-pressed latinum
Ashrock: I heard you drive a hard bargain.
Quark: Shall we celebrate our closing the deal with another drink?
Quark: Excuse me, I'm sorry but we're not open yet if you'll come back in
Quark: Have another drink on me.
Quark: Fallit Kot, is it really you? How long has it been?
Fallit: Eight years. Eight long years.
Quark: It can't be. I must say, you look terrific. Tanned, toned up, all of that baby fat has disappeared from your face.
Fallit: You don't keep extra weight on where I've been.
Quark: Just passing through, are you? I'll bet you have business in the Gamma Quadrant. You always had a sharp eye for fresh territories.
Fallit: I'm not going to the Gamma Quadrant. My business is right here. With you.
Quark: With me?
Fallit: That's right. I've come to kill you, Quark.
Dax: I've gone through her mission profile and she certainly seems to know what she's doing.
Sisko: Nevertheless, this is her first deep space assignment, and it doesn't make sense to me to. Here she is.
Sisko: Welcome, Ensign. I'm Commander Benjamin Sisko.
Melora: Am I late?
Sisko: Not at all.
Melora: It looked as though the meeting had already begun.
Sisko: Dax and Bashir were just telling me about your request to pilot a runabout alone.
Melora: Wouldn't it have been more appropriate to include me in that conversation?
Sisko: I was getting a briefing by my senior officers, Ensign. We discuss personnel matters all the time.
Melora: I'm sorry if I seem overly sensitive, but I'm used to being shut out of the Melora problem. The truth is, there is no Melora problem until people create one. This may sound ungrateful, because Doctor Bashir has been wonderfully helpful in the preparations for my arrival, but frankly, I wonder why a medical opinion is necessary in this discussion.
Dax: Julian knows more of your capabilities than any of us.
Melora: I don't need a medical opinion to tell me my own capabilities.
Sisko: Ensign.
Melora: I simply object to being treated like someone who is ill.
Sisko: I don't see anybody doing that.
Melora: Try sitting in the chair, Commander. No one can understand until they sit in the chair. I have been in one chair or another since I left my homeworld. My family gave me this cane. It's made from the wood of a garlanic tree. They had no idea what it would be like to live off-world in what you consider normal gravity. Only a handful of Elaysians have ever left home. But I always knew that I had to be one of them. I dreamt about exploring the stars as a child, and I wasn't going to allow any handicap, not a chair, not a Cardassian station, to stop me from chasing that dream.
Sisko: You must feel a great deal of pride about you've achieved.
Melora: And I've achieved that, Commander, without being dependent on anybody. To be honest, I prefer to work alone. It's simply easier for me.
Sisko: I am not comfortable sending you alone into the Gamma Quadrant.
Melora: Sir, I can focus on the job better, I can work at my own pace without being a bother to anyone else.
Sisko: Lieutenant Dax will be going with you.
Melora: Yes, sir. When do you wish to leave, Lieutenant?
Dax: Your schedule is fine with me.
Melora: Then tomorrow at oh seven thirty.
Bashir: Is it working? The low-grav field actuator. I just heard it go off.
Melora: It's working fine.
Bashir: So you were just
Melora: For me, it's like slipping into a hot tub at the end of a long day.
Bashir: Really? I'm a shower man myself. Look at this. Is this your husband? Boyfriend?
Melora: Doctor, if you came for an apology, Doctor, I apologize.
Bashir: Apology?
Melora: My speech wasn't intended to attack you personally.
Bashir: I'm sure you never set out to attack anyone personally, but you do seem to attack a lot.
Melora: That's rather insensitive of you, Doctor.
Bashir: Julian. I'm no longer your doctor.
Melora: I see. You've decided I need a friend.
Bashir: Was that an attack? You see, you do it so well, with such charm, it's hard to tell.
Melora: I really don't mean to
Bashir: Sure you do.
Melora: I beg your pardon?
Bashir: Of course, you mean to. All of these broad shots you fire it's your way of keeping the rest of the universe on the defensive. Has to be. You're too good at it.
Melora: Well, it always seemed to work pretty well. Until now.
Bashir: That is the nicest thing you've said to me, or anybody else. Are you hungry? I came here thinking about asking you to dinner.
Melora: Then afterward we'll go dancing, I suppose.
Bashir: Red alert.
Melora: Sorry.
Bashir: Come on. There's a new Klingon restaurant open on the Promenade, if you like that sort of thing.
Melora: All right.
Quark: Dinner is served.
Fallit: I didn't order dinner.
Quark: What better way to mollify, satisfy a hungry traveler than with a delicious home-cooked meal? Starting with a delicate Vak clover soup.
Quark: Why spoil your appetite with soup? Here's the real treat. Jumbo Vulcan mollusks. Sautéed in rhombolian butter. A taste so exquisite, it's to die for. Or to live for, for that matter.
Quark: Do you know dabo, Fallit? It's a wonderfully entertaining game and easy to learn. I took the liberty of lining up a couple of excellent tutors I know.
Quark: Be sure to ask them about their double down betting strategy. If I haven't made it clear, I intend your stay here as pleasurable as you could ever imagine. So, allow me to propose a toast to old friends.
Fallit: Old debts.
Chef: Gagh Tek Or.
Bashir: Shall I order for us both?
Melora: All right.
Bashir: Let's see we'll have some racht of course
Chef: Racht.
Bashir: And a double order of gladst. No sauce please.
Chef: Gladst usu bal.
Bashir: And a side order of zilm'kach. Is that too much for two?
Chef: Zilm'kach.
Chef: Drak doo.
Melora: May I?
Bashir: Don't be alarmed.
Melora: Excuse me, Julian, but I can't eat this.
Bashir: I know how it looks but
Melora: P'kar tel Durg Le Frakn'l?
Chef: Dug a bul, rah'tar!
Melora: D'tel klop a bul!
Chef: Pak't pol!
Melora: D'kar tel G'denna!
Chef: I like a customer who knows what she wants.
Melora: G'denna. There's nothing worse then half dead Racht.
Chef: Gagh Tek Or.
Bashir: When I was ten, my father was a Federation diplomat on Invernia Two. One day, when we were out on a remote part of the planet, we were hit by a massive ionic storm. While we were waiting it out, we found an Invernian girl about my age who was sick. After the storm cleared, my father went for help, but it was too late. I sat there and watched her die. The next day when he returned, his guide told us that we could have treated her with a simple herb that was growing all around. I could have saved her life.
Melora: And so you started to study medicine.
Bashir: Actually, first I started to study tennis.
Melora: Tennis?
Bashir: I really thought about making a career of it.
Melora: You must be very good.
Bashir: Well, I used to think so, but then I went to my first major competition. my opponent served first and I heard the ball bounce past me. The computer announced it was good and I realized I was in trouble. Turned out I had more talent at medicine than tennis.
Melora: I have an early mission tomorrow. I better get some rest.
Bashir: Of course.
Dax: Dax to Pazlar. Computer, level one security access.
Dax: Ensign Pazlar? Computer, locate Ensign Melora Pazlar.
Computer: Docking level twenty two, section fourteen.
Dax: Section fourteen?
Dax: We need to get you to the Infirmary.
Melora: It's my own fault. I decided I could use an extra astrometric array after going through the mission profile again. I came to the storage bay to get one. My mind was already in the Gamma Quadrant. I wasn't paying enough attention to what I was doing. I guess my boot didn't make the lip of the door. I fell on my controls.
Dax: Dax to Bashir. Ensign Pazlar's had a minor accident. We need to see you in the Infirmary.
Bashir: Acknowledged. I'll be there in three minutes.
Melora: What kind of an architect would deliberately design a raised rim at the entrance to every door?
Melora: So much for the dangers of the Gamma Quadrant. I didn't even make it there.
Bashir: You will. There's no concussion. You can reschedule your mission for tomorrow.
Melora: It was so. Flopping back and forth like a broken toy. I didn't want anyone to find me like that but I couldn't get up by myself.
Bashir: Why didn't you wait for Dax before you went into an area that was unmodified with ramps?
Melora: I didn't need Dax. If I'd just paid attention.
Bashir: Melora, no one on this station is completely independent. In space we all depend on one another to some degree.
Melora: I just want you all to know that you can depend on me.
Bashir: You've proven that. Now, what do the rest of us have to do to convince you?
Melora: Of what?
Bashir: That you can depend on us.
Bashir: Have you ever heard of the work Nathaniel Teros did with low gravity species thirty years ago?
Melora: Neuromuscular adaptation? It had no practical success at all.
Bashir: No, but the principles were sound and a lot of progress has been made in neurochemistry since then.
Melora: You think some day I could throw away the chair?
Bashir: Theoretically, perhaps.
Melora: Would you like to come in?
Bashir: Oh, no. I know how much you look forward to turning down the gravity.
Melora: Don't let that stop you.
Melora: You may want to brace yourself until you get used to it.
Melora: Come on, Julian.
Bashir: What do I do?
Melora: Just give a gentle push. It's easy.
Bashir: This is astonishing. I can't tell you how curious I was about this.
Melora: Most people are. Sometimes they make me feel like a carnival attraction. So, usually I prefer to keep everyone out.
Bashir: Thank you for letting me in.
Melora: He's my brother.
Bashir: Who?
Bashir: Oh.
Melora: Setting course twenty eight mark one forty two.
Dax: Confirmed.
Melora: Computer, any Vulcan etudes on file?
Computer: Affirmative.
Melora: If you have no objections? Computer, play something by Delvok.
Dax: Delvok never seems a Vulcan to me. There's too much emotion in his music.
Melora: It's pretty. Tell me something, Lieutenant. You think there's room for romance in Starfleet?
Dax: I think so.
Melora: You've made it work?
Dax: Now and then.
Melora: I mean, really work.
Dax: Oh, really work. Well, for that I'd have to go back a hundred and fifty years.
Melora: That's a long time.
Dax: Could it be that Doctor Bashir's bedside manner's won you over?
Melora: Our species are just so different.
Dax: Since when has that ever stopped anybody? I knew a hydrogen-breathing Lothra who fell hopelessly in love with an Oxygene.
Melora: You're kidding! How could they even be in the same room?
Dax: Forty minutes a day without their breathing apparatus, that's all. Fifty seven years they were together.
Melora: What about career conflicts? Two friends of mine from the Academy got engaged even though they knew they were being assigned to different starships.
Dax: Subspace relationships? That's a tough one.
Melora: They may not be together for a year or more and even then only for a few weeks.
Dax: Love across light years, it's just so
Melora: It lacks intimacy.
Dax: You could say that.
Melora: I finish my mission here, I move on to the next one. What kind of future is that for a romance?
Dax: Look at the alternative.
Melora: I guess.
Odo: Oh. It's you.
Quark: Don't be so happy to see me.
Odo: All right, I won't.
Quark: Odo, there's a desperate criminal on board the station.
Odo: You wouldn't be talking about Fallit Kot, who just finished eight years in a labor camp for hijacking a shipment of Romulan ale, and whose name was right next to yours on the original indictment?
Quark: I had nothing to do with the hijacking itself. I was only the, er, middleman.
Odo: Trafficking in stolen goods should have been enough to get you your own cell at that Romulan camp. Unless, of course, you sold out your partner.
Quark: I can honestly say justice was served.
Odo: I would imagine Fallit Kot is looking for his own kind of justice now.
Quark: He threatened to kill me. What?
Odo: Nothing. Just a passing thought.
Quark: Odo, he means it. Nothing I do seems to change his mind. You've got to do something.
Odo: I'll do my job, Quark.
Odo: Unfortunately.
Melora: Racht, anyone?
Bashir: I've been waiting for you. I've got something to show you.
Melora: What is it?
Bashir: It's a computer model of an elevated neural output from the brain's gross motor cortex. It's stimulating acetylcholine absorption to increase muscular tensile strength.
Melora: The neuromuscular adaptation theory?
Bashir: It was a theory thirty years ago, but with the development of neo-analeptic transmitters during the last decade, it's not even that complicated. It's just that no one's gone back to re-examine the ideas of Nathaniel Teros, until now.
Melora: This could actually work?
Bashir: No more servo-controls, no more chair.
Fallit: Have I done something wrong?
Odo: Not that I'm aware of. We have something in common.
Fallit: We do?
Odo: I don't like Quark either, but I can't let you kill him.
Fallit: Kill him? Did he tell you I was going to do that?
Odo: I know your history together.
Fallit: Let bygones be bygones, I always say.
Odo: I always say you can tell a man's intentions by the way he walks.
Fallit: How do I walk?
Odo: Like someone carrying a lot of weight on his shoulders.
Fallit: Must be the memory of those Romulan bricks I carried for eight years.
Odo: Must be.
Fallit: But you can't lock a man up for the way he walks, can you?
Quark: Well?
Odo: I'd say he's a man with nothing to lose.
Quark: As opposed to me.
Odo: I have no reason to hold him for now and he knows it. I'll watch him the best I can, but I suggest you carry a comm. badge with you at all times. Call me at the first sign of trouble.
Quark: What if the first sign is the last sign?
Odo: You people sell pieces of yourself after you die, don't you?
Quark: Yes.
Odo: I'll buy one.
Melora: My heart is pounding.
Bashir: I'd like to think that has more to do with me than the neo-analeptic infusion.
Melora: Would that also explain why my backside is getting warm.
Bashir: That's more likely the result of the neuromuscular tissue stimulation due to increased activity in the motor cortex. I'd say that's enough first time out. It's good that you've already been using your muscles in this gravity environment. It'll make it easier to adapt. Feel any different?
Melora: No.
Bashir: Nothing at all?
Melora: I'm sorry, Julian.
Bashir: The acetylcholine absorption is precisely at fourteen percent above normal. Increased tensile strength would be the inevitable result.
Melora: Julian? I can lift my leg.
Bashir: Your neural pathways are beginning to adapt. Endurance and coordination might take awhile, but we should have you walking within the hour.
Sisko: How's the upgrade coming?
O'Brien: We've been able to get it to about seventy percent of what we'd get with a standard EPS, but it looks like that's going to be
O'Brien: I'll be damned.
Melora: I wanted to give you our first day's mission summary myself, Commander.
Sisko: A pleasure, Ensign.
Dax: Julian, how did you?
Bashir: Oh, it was simply a matter of increasing the output on the brain's motor cortex. Someone else's research actually. I just dotted the i's and crossed the t's.
O'Brien: Well, you'll get your name into the medical journals for this one.
Bashir: Yes, I know.
Melora: Julian, I don't know how to tell you this, but I'm not sure I can make it.
Bashir: Easy now. It's just the first day's treatment beginning to wear off.
Melora: Thank you.
Bashir: Nothing to be concerned about. Look, I'd better get you back to your quarters. I want you to get a good night's rest tonight.
Melora: Thank you.
Bashir: Habitat ring, level fourteen.
Bashir: With each progressive treatment you should get stronger, and the effects should last longer.
Melora: What about this?
Bashir: A low-grav environment now would really confuse your motor cortex.
Melora: I understand. Julian.
Bashir: You let me fly for the first time. I let you walk. We're even. I'll see you in the morning.
Quark: Lights. Computer, turn on. Quark to Odo.
Fallit: No one can hear you, Quark. It's just you and me.
Quark: Fallit. I wasn't prepared to entertain this evening, but make yourself at home.
Fallit: I already have.
Quark: What's mine is yours. All you have to do is ask.
Fallit: I'm tired of your gifts, Quark. All I want is your miserable life.
Quark: Wait! Everything's negotiable. Believe me, I'm worth much more to you alive.
Fallit: How's that?
Quark: How does a hundred and ninety nine bars of gold-pressed latinum sound to you?
Fallit: It's a start.
Melora: The mattress felt like rocks and every one of my muscles ached all night long.
Bashir: You'll adjust to that after a few more treatments. This time the effects should last for several hours.
Melora: Exactly when does this become irreversible?
Bashir: Melora, if you're not certain?
Melora: Oh, I'm sure it's just some strange form of buyers remorse. I'll be fine.
Bashir: Tell me exactly what you're feeling.
Melora: Last night, I just missed. I didn't feel like me.
Bashir: If you want to end your dependence on the chair and the servo controls, you're going to have to give up the low-grav environment. You knew that that was the trade-off.
Melora: And it seemed like a good trade, until I realized I couldn't do it anymore. If I could just spend
Bashir: I'm just concerned that going back and forth could ultimately lead to a loss of fine motor control.
Melora: Meaning?
Bashir: Your ability to perform complex tasks could be affected. The effects are fully reversible for the next few days. We can pull the plug at any time before then. But after that, if all goes well, your motor cortex impulses will kick in on their own. Permanently.
Melora: It's starting to wear off again. I don't understand myself. How could I possibly have second thoughts? This would mean real independence. It's everything I ever wished for. But then I start to think about home and how I won't be able to go back. Well, maybe just for a short visit, but never really go back.
Dax: The Little Mermaid.
Melora: Mermaid?
Dax: It's an Earth fable by Hans Christian Andersen. She trades her magical life under the sea for a pair of legs to walk on land.
Melora: Didn't she live happily ever after?
Quark: Ashrock. Right on time. May I present my longtime business partner, Fallit Kot.
Quark: For your inspection.
Ashrock: Exquisite.
Quark: Then our transaction is complete.
Fallit: Not quite.
Fallit: I'll be taking them too.
Ashrock: They warned me about you.
Quark: Not true. A deal is a deal. Rule of Acquisition number sixteen. Kot, you got what you came for. Now let's be reasonable.
Fallit: Pick it up. Pick it up! Move! Hurry up! Move! Move. Let's go.
Odo: Priority one security to level twenty two, section five.
Dax: I'm sure Julian will understand. Besides, he can still publish the results from your first treatments.
Fallit: Both of you, back into the ship. Let's go! Move it! Come on, move it.
Fallit: Now get us out of here.
Quark: He's already shot a man. Do as he says. I'll just wait in the back.
Fallit: In the front where I can see you. There. Hurry up.
Melora: I'm moving as fast as I can.
Dax: She's an Elaysian. She's needs motor support in our gravity.
O'Brien: They're in the Orinoco. Docking clamps have been released, thrusters engaged.
Sisko: Ready a tractor beam. Open a channel.
Kira: Open.
Sisko: This is Commander Benjamin Sisko. Return to the station at once.
Kira: No reply.
Sisko: Engage the tractor beam.
Dax: They've locked on to us with a tractor beam.
Fallit: Open the channel to that Commander of yours. Release this ship or I'll kill a hostage.
Sisko: I'm willing to negotiate your freedom but first release those
Fallit Kot: Didn't you hear what I just said?
Fallit Kot: No, I have something
Fallit: Special in mind for you.
Fallit: Do I make myself clear? Release the ship now.
Sisko: Doctor, Chief, with me. Beam us to the Rio Grande. Give us ten seconds and then disengage the tractor beam.
Kira: Understood. Energizing.
Dax: They've released us.
Fallit: Through the wormhole.
Fallit: What was that?
Dax: I'm not sure.
Fallit: What was it?
Dax: Another ship coming through the wormhole.
Fallit: Take us to warp.
Dax: We haven't even set a course yet.
Fallit: I don't care about the course. Just go to warp
Dax: If we don't set a course, we could warp ourselves into oblivion.
Fallit Kot: Fine. Set a course. Just get us out of here.
O'Brien: They're powering up their warp drive.
Sisko: Stay with them.
O'Brien: Engaging warp engines.
Bashir: Can we beam them aboard at warp?
O'Brien: I wouldn't recommend that.
Fallit: Get the phasers ready.
Dax: I'm not going to fire at them.
Fallit: You'll do it or you'll die. It's your choice.
Dax: Fine. Then I hope you can fly this ship.
Fallit: Just sit down and do what I told you. Now!
Dax: Quark, how well do you know this man?
Quark: We've been friends for years, not counting today.
Dax: I suggest you explain to him that Starfleet isn't going to give up and stop chasing us.
Quark: That's true, Fallit. You don't know these Starfleet types.
Fallit: Then we'll all die.
Quark: Great. We escape and he's got something special planned for me. We don't escape, I just die with everyone else. Am I missing a choice, Fallit?
O'Brien: They've dropped out of warp.
Sisko: Go to impulse.
O'Brien: Sir, their gravity generators are off.
Bashir: Melora's alive.
O'Brien: Gravity's been reinstated. All engines are down.
Sisko: Come on, Doctor.
Quark: I think we have the situation in hand, Commander.
Sisko: Sisko to Rio Grande. Everything's under control. We're going home.
O'Brien: Aye, Commander. Setting course for the wormhole.
Melora: Why didn't the phaser kill me?
Bashir: I don't know. Maybe all the neuro-stimulants we've been pumping into your system.
Melora: That's what I was wondering too.
Bashir: You know, it might make an interesting side effect of the treatment. It's worth exploring.
Melora: Julian, I'm not going ahead with the treatments.
Bashir: Well, you can always try it again someday, if you change your mind.
Melora: I don't think I will. I like being independent, but to give up everything that I am to walk on land. Well, I might be more independent but I wouldn't be Elaysian anymore. I'm not sure what I'd be. Besides, maybe independence isn't all it's cracked up to be. I kind of like how it feels to depend on someone for a change. And I'm glad you got me to unlock the doors to my quarters so I could finally let someone into my life.
Bashir: So am I.
Chef: Aler acht'jar Aler act'jar T'lembda boool-gah toh-gal. Aler acht'jar Aler act'jar T'lembda boool-gah toh-gal.
Bashir: You must be exhausted. If you don't want to stay.
Melora: Let's just sit a while and listen.
Chef: Rom, rom. Keldor
Melora: I want to remember all of this.