Post by magicmuggle01 on Feb 6, 2019 10:52:43 GMT
Bashir and O'Brien lure a Section 31 agent to the station in a desperate search for the cure to the disease that is killing Odo. (Part 7 of 9)
Summary
Doctor Julian Bashir treats Odo in the Deep Space 9 infirmary, still unable to make any significant progress in curing his sickness. He estimates Odo has one week, perhaps two, before dying. Odo persuades Kira to leave his bedside to accompany Damar back to Dominion space in order to help the Cardassian Resistance, for his sake as well as hers. Elim Garak reminds Kira that they need to leave quickly before the Dominion border patrols are changed. Odo appears to be in an advanced state of decomposition, yet this does nothing to dampen their love for one another. He knows how hard it was for Kira to watch Vedek Bareil die in this very sickbay, and doesn't want her to see him die either. He makes it a request from him, to not to have to see pain in Kira's face. She decides to go, making it easier on the man she still loves.
Chief Miles O'Brien informs Captain Sisko that Starfleet now has the Breen energy-dampening weapon Kira and the others were able to procure, and a defense is being worked on. When Captain Sisko inquires of Odo's prognosis, O'Brien suggests that a medical cure is not the only option they have been pursuing, at which point Sisko demands to know the whole story. Doctor Bashir reluctantly discloses his belief that Odo's sickness is a virus created by Section 31 to wipe out all Changelings, leaving Sisko shocked that people who call themselves Federation citizens are attempting to commit genocide. Bashir also says that he has transmitted a report to Starfleet Medical, falsely claiming to have found a cure for Odo's sickness, in order to lure a Section 31 operative to the station; once captured, the agent would be interrogated to help point Bashir in the right direction of finding a cure. Sisko then asks why they didn't tell him. Bashir answer that if they told him, then he'd alert Starfleet Command and Section 31 would cover up their tracks once they realize they were discovered. They also tell the Captain they plan on using Romulan mind probes, which are illegal in the Federation. Sisko knows that what his officers are doing is not only illegal but also highly unethical, but since the two are being forced to play dirty in a dirty game, he has no choice but to allow them to continue.
Act One
Later that evening, O'Brien stumbles across Bashir throwing darts in a closed Quark's; each man is restless and feeling down in the dumps. Bashir tells O'Brien that he, after thinking over the conspiracy to infect the Founders with the disease, has concluded that at least seventy-three people must have been involved in the plot; a fact that leaves a very bitter taste in his mouth. The two friends each view Section 31 as an evil that's crawled its way into the heart of the Federation, and that it must be destroyed.
Afterward, Bashir awakens in his quarters to find Section 31 operative Luther Sloan sitting comfortably in a chair overlooking Bashir's bed, as he normally appears, saying he has another assignment; but this time, Bashir is ready for him. The doctor activates a containment field, trapping Sloan where he sits. Bashir tells Sloan that he needs the cure to the morphogenic virus; Sloan is confused, he thought Bashir had already had it but he soon realizes he doesn't. Sloan is impressed, but indicates that turning him over to security won't do any good. Bashir tells Sloan that he is not interested in turning the latter over to security, then stuns Sloan unconscious with a phaser.
Sloan, attached to the multitronic
engramatic interpreter
Sloan awakens in sickbay, immobilized with a force field encompassing his body. Sloan asks O'Brien about his family, implying that if he dies, Section 31 will harm them. Yet Bashir doesn't believe him and tells Miles to not to listen to him. Bashir deduces that Sloan must have known the cure in order to find it in Julian's lab and destroy it.
Bashir and O'Brien prepare to use the Romulan mind probes on Sloan, who, for once, appears lost for a backup plan. He resorts to pleading with Bashir, saying he is genuinely sorry Odo has to die, but he cannot risk the millions of lives that might be lost if the Founders learn about the cure and the war is allowed to continue. Bashir coolly replies that Sloan no longer has any say in the matter. Ruefully acknowledging that he underestimated Bashir, Sloan activates a neuro-depolarizing device in his brain, killing himself.
Act Two
Bashir stabilizes Sloan's body, but the higher cortical functions in his brain will cease within the hour, so Bashir prepares a multitronic engrammatic interpreter to link minds with the dying Sloan. This will allow him to see information through Sloan's memories, though the memories could be anything from Sloan's past, including his childhood. Miles insists on accompanying the Doctor on this potentially lethal travel through someone else's mind. Bashir explains to O'Brien that when they are ready to exit, he will use his genetically-enhanced nervous system to raise his blood pressure, thus sending a signal to the device to pull them out.
When they activate the mind link, they find themselves in a turbolift, which neither of them remember entering. They realize it is merely an abstraction in Sloan's mind.
Act Three
The turbolift doors opens to a recreation of DS9; a cooperative Sloan greets the two, and seems to be aware of their place within his own dying mind. This Sloan tries to tell the two the cure, which is a simple nucleotide sequence but the dominant Sloan personality is preventing him from telling them what it is. He leads the two mind-travelers to a reception, being held in Sloan's honor, where he delivers a farewell speech to his family and friends, apologizing for all the pain he has caused in his life. After he finishes, he prepares to give Bashir and O'Brien the cure on a PADD, but suddenly another Sloan appears, killing the first (cooperative) Sloan with a phaser, and running away down a corridor of Sloan's dying, yet still active, mind as cooperative Sloan's party disappears.
Act Four
Bashir and O'Brien receive phaser wounds from a character "guarding" Sloan's mind. The wounds are causing them physical pain, meaning that Sloan is sending sensory stimuli to their brains, as well as thought patterns.
When Bashir is unable to disengage the mental connection, the two men fear they will die (in reality) because their minds are linked to a dying mind; they ponder friendship, marriage, love. As O'Brien wishes he had written Keiko a goodbye letter, Bashir confides that he loves Ezri, but has never told her.
They then see... the light at the end of the corridor. They resist the urge to quit; instead, they regain their bearing, and prepare to open another door.
Suddenly, Bashir and O'Brien wake up with Sisko, Worf, and Ezri around them. Bashir tries furiously to save Sloan and the knowledge of the cure, but it is no good and he dies.
Act Five
Devastated, Bashir tells Odo that he has no hope of finding a cure. Odo thanks Bashir for all his help, asking to be left alone to die. Outside, Bashir and O'Brien feel terrible that their plan failed but now there's nothing else they can do. The two friends part ways and sadly decide to turn in for the night.
Later, Bashir tries to take his mind off the matter by reading Jadzia's copy of A Tale of Two Cities that Ezri loaned to him, but finds that after turning the page from where he left off, the book simply begins again from the start. Knowing the book can't be misprinted, Bashir realizes that he and O'Brien are still in Sloan's mind, and that is another trick being played by Sloan, who is trying to keep Bashir and O'Brien linked to him long enough to ensure that they will die with him. They remember they were about to open a door before their false awakening, and realize the cure must be there.
Sloan's inner mind
When they finally reach the "inner sanctum" of Sloan's decaying mind, he tempts them with information tablets about every aspect of Section 31 that he knows. Bashir starts reading, and is shocked to find information powerful enough to bring the organization down. However, O'Brien realizes that it is one final ploy by Sloan, knowing that one of Bashir's deepest desires is to destroy Section 31. It's meant to distract them from finding the cure. Miles finds the correct tablet, and persuades Bashir to reluctantly walk away from the information.
Bashir wakes up (for real, this time) in sickbay with Sisko, Ezri, and attending medical staff. O'Brien awakens, and promises that will be the last mind link he is ever a part of. Sloan is dead, but Bashir has discovered the cure. Later, having synthesized the cure, Bashir injects it into Odo, who experiences a quick and complete recovery.
Later that night, Bashir is playing darts again in Quark's, and O'Brien comes by to invite the doctor to dinner. O'Brien finds a bottle of the 'good stuff' which is older than Bashir, and the two friends share a toast to 'aging gracefully and to Odo'. Bashir accepts the dinner invitation, and reminds O'Brien that Sloan had the perfect bait for Bashir with all the information on Section 31, however O'Brien was the one that saved him. The two drink another toast, this time to friendship and leave for the dinner which Keiko has prepared.
Log Entries
"Chief Medical Officer's Log, Stardate 52645.7. Colonel Kira, Garak and Odo have returned to the station. Despite my best efforts, I have yet to make any progress toward finding a cure for Odo's disease. "
Memorable quotes
"Genocide – committed by people who call themselves Federation citizens."
- Sisko, learning of Section 31's plan to eradicate the Founders
"Remember these? Romulan mind probes. Not the most pleasant devices, but very efficient."
"They're also illegal in the Federation."
"Oh, I hope you can appreciate the irony of that statement."
- Doctor Bashir and Luther Sloan
"I misread you. I thought you were just a misguided idealist. But you're a dangerous man. People like you would destroy the Federation. Fortunately, there are people like me who are willing to die in order to protect it."
- Luther Sloan
"As I stand here, reunited with my friends and my family for one last time, I want you, the people I love, to know how sorry I am for all the pain that I've caused you. I've dedicated my life to the preservation and protection of the Federation. This duty, which I carried out to the best of my ability, took precedence over everything else: my parents, my wife, my children. I lived in a world of secrets, of sabotage and deceit. I spent so much time, erasing my movements, covering my tracks, that now as I look back on my life, I find nothing. It's as if I never really existed. I cheated you all out of being in my life, and what's more, I cheated myself as well. Now I know a simple apology won't change that. Still, I feel the need to apologize anyway. No tears, please. My death isn't a tragedy. It's a celebration. In death I can finally step out of the shadows, and prove to myself that I existed, that I lived."
- Luther Sloan
"You're in a restricted area."
"I thought we were in the cerebellum."
- O'Brien and Bashir looking for Sloan inside his head
"It's the tunnel."
"What tunnel?"
"Y'know, the tunnel to the great beyond."
"It is. I must say I'm a bit disappointed. I expected it to be a bit more elaborate."
- O'Brien and Bashir
"Hey Julian, the next time you take a trip inside someone's mind, you're going on your own."
- Miles O'Brien
"Aha! Here we go. I knew Quark was hoarding a bottle of the good stuff."
"This is older than I am."
"What? I'm drinking with a child."
- O'Brien and Bashir
"I should warn you, you may feel some discomfort."
"If you mean it's going to be painful, just say so."
"It's going to be painful."
- Bashir and Odo
Summary
Doctor Julian Bashir treats Odo in the Deep Space 9 infirmary, still unable to make any significant progress in curing his sickness. He estimates Odo has one week, perhaps two, before dying. Odo persuades Kira to leave his bedside to accompany Damar back to Dominion space in order to help the Cardassian Resistance, for his sake as well as hers. Elim Garak reminds Kira that they need to leave quickly before the Dominion border patrols are changed. Odo appears to be in an advanced state of decomposition, yet this does nothing to dampen their love for one another. He knows how hard it was for Kira to watch Vedek Bareil die in this very sickbay, and doesn't want her to see him die either. He makes it a request from him, to not to have to see pain in Kira's face. She decides to go, making it easier on the man she still loves.
Chief Miles O'Brien informs Captain Sisko that Starfleet now has the Breen energy-dampening weapon Kira and the others were able to procure, and a defense is being worked on. When Captain Sisko inquires of Odo's prognosis, O'Brien suggests that a medical cure is not the only option they have been pursuing, at which point Sisko demands to know the whole story. Doctor Bashir reluctantly discloses his belief that Odo's sickness is a virus created by Section 31 to wipe out all Changelings, leaving Sisko shocked that people who call themselves Federation citizens are attempting to commit genocide. Bashir also says that he has transmitted a report to Starfleet Medical, falsely claiming to have found a cure for Odo's sickness, in order to lure a Section 31 operative to the station; once captured, the agent would be interrogated to help point Bashir in the right direction of finding a cure. Sisko then asks why they didn't tell him. Bashir answer that if they told him, then he'd alert Starfleet Command and Section 31 would cover up their tracks once they realize they were discovered. They also tell the Captain they plan on using Romulan mind probes, which are illegal in the Federation. Sisko knows that what his officers are doing is not only illegal but also highly unethical, but since the two are being forced to play dirty in a dirty game, he has no choice but to allow them to continue.
Act One
Later that evening, O'Brien stumbles across Bashir throwing darts in a closed Quark's; each man is restless and feeling down in the dumps. Bashir tells O'Brien that he, after thinking over the conspiracy to infect the Founders with the disease, has concluded that at least seventy-three people must have been involved in the plot; a fact that leaves a very bitter taste in his mouth. The two friends each view Section 31 as an evil that's crawled its way into the heart of the Federation, and that it must be destroyed.
Afterward, Bashir awakens in his quarters to find Section 31 operative Luther Sloan sitting comfortably in a chair overlooking Bashir's bed, as he normally appears, saying he has another assignment; but this time, Bashir is ready for him. The doctor activates a containment field, trapping Sloan where he sits. Bashir tells Sloan that he needs the cure to the morphogenic virus; Sloan is confused, he thought Bashir had already had it but he soon realizes he doesn't. Sloan is impressed, but indicates that turning him over to security won't do any good. Bashir tells Sloan that he is not interested in turning the latter over to security, then stuns Sloan unconscious with a phaser.
Sloan, attached to the multitronic
engramatic interpreter
Sloan awakens in sickbay, immobilized with a force field encompassing his body. Sloan asks O'Brien about his family, implying that if he dies, Section 31 will harm them. Yet Bashir doesn't believe him and tells Miles to not to listen to him. Bashir deduces that Sloan must have known the cure in order to find it in Julian's lab and destroy it.
Bashir and O'Brien prepare to use the Romulan mind probes on Sloan, who, for once, appears lost for a backup plan. He resorts to pleading with Bashir, saying he is genuinely sorry Odo has to die, but he cannot risk the millions of lives that might be lost if the Founders learn about the cure and the war is allowed to continue. Bashir coolly replies that Sloan no longer has any say in the matter. Ruefully acknowledging that he underestimated Bashir, Sloan activates a neuro-depolarizing device in his brain, killing himself.
Act Two
Bashir stabilizes Sloan's body, but the higher cortical functions in his brain will cease within the hour, so Bashir prepares a multitronic engrammatic interpreter to link minds with the dying Sloan. This will allow him to see information through Sloan's memories, though the memories could be anything from Sloan's past, including his childhood. Miles insists on accompanying the Doctor on this potentially lethal travel through someone else's mind. Bashir explains to O'Brien that when they are ready to exit, he will use his genetically-enhanced nervous system to raise his blood pressure, thus sending a signal to the device to pull them out.
When they activate the mind link, they find themselves in a turbolift, which neither of them remember entering. They realize it is merely an abstraction in Sloan's mind.
Act Three
The turbolift doors opens to a recreation of DS9; a cooperative Sloan greets the two, and seems to be aware of their place within his own dying mind. This Sloan tries to tell the two the cure, which is a simple nucleotide sequence but the dominant Sloan personality is preventing him from telling them what it is. He leads the two mind-travelers to a reception, being held in Sloan's honor, where he delivers a farewell speech to his family and friends, apologizing for all the pain he has caused in his life. After he finishes, he prepares to give Bashir and O'Brien the cure on a PADD, but suddenly another Sloan appears, killing the first (cooperative) Sloan with a phaser, and running away down a corridor of Sloan's dying, yet still active, mind as cooperative Sloan's party disappears.
Act Four
Bashir and O'Brien receive phaser wounds from a character "guarding" Sloan's mind. The wounds are causing them physical pain, meaning that Sloan is sending sensory stimuli to their brains, as well as thought patterns.
When Bashir is unable to disengage the mental connection, the two men fear they will die (in reality) because their minds are linked to a dying mind; they ponder friendship, marriage, love. As O'Brien wishes he had written Keiko a goodbye letter, Bashir confides that he loves Ezri, but has never told her.
They then see... the light at the end of the corridor. They resist the urge to quit; instead, they regain their bearing, and prepare to open another door.
Suddenly, Bashir and O'Brien wake up with Sisko, Worf, and Ezri around them. Bashir tries furiously to save Sloan and the knowledge of the cure, but it is no good and he dies.
Act Five
Devastated, Bashir tells Odo that he has no hope of finding a cure. Odo thanks Bashir for all his help, asking to be left alone to die. Outside, Bashir and O'Brien feel terrible that their plan failed but now there's nothing else they can do. The two friends part ways and sadly decide to turn in for the night.
Later, Bashir tries to take his mind off the matter by reading Jadzia's copy of A Tale of Two Cities that Ezri loaned to him, but finds that after turning the page from where he left off, the book simply begins again from the start. Knowing the book can't be misprinted, Bashir realizes that he and O'Brien are still in Sloan's mind, and that is another trick being played by Sloan, who is trying to keep Bashir and O'Brien linked to him long enough to ensure that they will die with him. They remember they were about to open a door before their false awakening, and realize the cure must be there.
Sloan's inner mind
When they finally reach the "inner sanctum" of Sloan's decaying mind, he tempts them with information tablets about every aspect of Section 31 that he knows. Bashir starts reading, and is shocked to find information powerful enough to bring the organization down. However, O'Brien realizes that it is one final ploy by Sloan, knowing that one of Bashir's deepest desires is to destroy Section 31. It's meant to distract them from finding the cure. Miles finds the correct tablet, and persuades Bashir to reluctantly walk away from the information.
Bashir wakes up (for real, this time) in sickbay with Sisko, Ezri, and attending medical staff. O'Brien awakens, and promises that will be the last mind link he is ever a part of. Sloan is dead, but Bashir has discovered the cure. Later, having synthesized the cure, Bashir injects it into Odo, who experiences a quick and complete recovery.
Later that night, Bashir is playing darts again in Quark's, and O'Brien comes by to invite the doctor to dinner. O'Brien finds a bottle of the 'good stuff' which is older than Bashir, and the two friends share a toast to 'aging gracefully and to Odo'. Bashir accepts the dinner invitation, and reminds O'Brien that Sloan had the perfect bait for Bashir with all the information on Section 31, however O'Brien was the one that saved him. The two drink another toast, this time to friendship and leave for the dinner which Keiko has prepared.
Log Entries
"Chief Medical Officer's Log, Stardate 52645.7. Colonel Kira, Garak and Odo have returned to the station. Despite my best efforts, I have yet to make any progress toward finding a cure for Odo's disease. "
Memorable quotes
"Genocide – committed by people who call themselves Federation citizens."
- Sisko, learning of Section 31's plan to eradicate the Founders
"Remember these? Romulan mind probes. Not the most pleasant devices, but very efficient."
"They're also illegal in the Federation."
"Oh, I hope you can appreciate the irony of that statement."
- Doctor Bashir and Luther Sloan
"I misread you. I thought you were just a misguided idealist. But you're a dangerous man. People like you would destroy the Federation. Fortunately, there are people like me who are willing to die in order to protect it."
- Luther Sloan
"As I stand here, reunited with my friends and my family for one last time, I want you, the people I love, to know how sorry I am for all the pain that I've caused you. I've dedicated my life to the preservation and protection of the Federation. This duty, which I carried out to the best of my ability, took precedence over everything else: my parents, my wife, my children. I lived in a world of secrets, of sabotage and deceit. I spent so much time, erasing my movements, covering my tracks, that now as I look back on my life, I find nothing. It's as if I never really existed. I cheated you all out of being in my life, and what's more, I cheated myself as well. Now I know a simple apology won't change that. Still, I feel the need to apologize anyway. No tears, please. My death isn't a tragedy. It's a celebration. In death I can finally step out of the shadows, and prove to myself that I existed, that I lived."
- Luther Sloan
"You're in a restricted area."
"I thought we were in the cerebellum."
- O'Brien and Bashir looking for Sloan inside his head
"It's the tunnel."
"What tunnel?"
"Y'know, the tunnel to the great beyond."
"It is. I must say I'm a bit disappointed. I expected it to be a bit more elaborate."
- O'Brien and Bashir
"Hey Julian, the next time you take a trip inside someone's mind, you're going on your own."
- Miles O'Brien
"Aha! Here we go. I knew Quark was hoarding a bottle of the good stuff."
"This is older than I am."
"What? I'm drinking with a child."
- O'Brien and Bashir
"I should warn you, you may feel some discomfort."
"If you mean it's going to be painful, just say so."
"It's going to be painful."
- Bashir and Odo
