Post by magicmuggle01 on Mar 11, 2019 11:30:24 GMT
Sisko's crew crash land their Jem'Hadar ship into the waters of an alien ocean on a world where a group of Jem'Hadar have also crash landed with only one vial of ketracel-white remaining. Meanwhile, on Terok Nor, Kira finds she cannot live with herself working side by side with the Dominion.
Summary
"Captain's log, supplemental. O'Brien needed three days to restore main power to our commandeered Dominion ship, but he's not going to get them. Sensors have detected two Jem'Hadar fighters heading our way, and without main power our chances of survival are slim to none."
Benjamin Sisko and crew are stranded deep in Dominion-held space on a captured Jem'Hadar ship with a disabled warp drive. Chief Miles O'Brien and Nog are busy making repairs. Two Jem'Hadar ships approach Sisko's ship and attack. Their only option is to make a run for an uncharted dark-matter nebula. Before they can get inside it, Jadzia Dax is injured when a Jem'Hadar volley rocks the ship. Doctor Julian Bashir thinks the symbiont has been injured too. All ship functions disabled, they begin to descend towards an unknown class M planet.
Act One
Garak on the planet
The ship crash lands into a sea just off a coast but everyone escapes with their lives. A Vorta named Keevan and a group of Jem'Hadar had crashed onto the planet two days earlier. The Jem'Hadar First and Second are dead, Keevan is badly wounded, they are running out of ketracel-white, and they cannot establish communications with any Dominion forces off-planet.
Crawling onto shore with what few items from the ship they could take with them, Sisko and the others have a much-needed laugh when O'Brien frets, absurdly, over his torn pant leg.
Back on Dominion-controlled Deep Space 9, once again referred to as Terok Nor, Major Kira Nerys wakes up at 0500 for another day of duty working with the Dominion and their Cardassian allies. She boards the lift, already filled with Jem'Hadar and Cardassians. Arriving at her station in ops, she thanks Mavek, a Cardassian, for her raktajino.
In a cave on the planet, Keevan discusses their dire situation with Third Remata'Klan. It will be ten days before they can even attempt to establish communications. Keevan distributes a very limited dose of white to the Jem'Hadar soldiers. Meanwhile Sisko and the crew set up camp in another cave where Bashir can stabilize Dax's condition.
Nog and Elim Garak go on a survey mission to find water and food. Nog is apprehensive around Garak ever since he tied him up and threatened to kill him. Garak recalls that there were extenuating circumstances but Nog says he won't ever turn his back on him again. Garak tells Nog "there may be hope for you yet." Then, several Jem'Hadar soldiers appear around them and they are taken prisoner.
Act Two
Nog and Garak are being interrogated in the Jem'Hadar camp. Nog refuses to give more than his name and Starfleet serial number, and Keevan turns to Garak. Garak claims to be one Kamar, one of the Dominion's Cardassian allies who has been captured by the USS Centaur (the ship encountered by Sisko and his crew while infiltrating Cardassian territory). Keevan sees through this lie, holding up the Starfleet combadge Garak was wearing. Keevan says he has only one question: is there a doctor in Garak's unit. Garak, weighing his options carefully, decides to tell the truth, and says, yes. Nog is furious with him, but Keevan says he just saved both their lives. Keevan sends Third Remata'Klan to assess the Federation group's strength, but firmly orders him not to engage.
Sisko fires back.
On Terok Nor, Jake Sisko is interviewing Odo and Kira about the Dominion's plans to send four hundred Vorta "facilitators" to Bajor despite Weyoun still blocking his transmissions to the Federation News Service. Jake also informs them that Vedek Yassim is planning a demonstration on the Promenade the next day. Jake's pointed questions quickly get under Kira's skin and she ends the interview.
Back on the planet, Sisko and a few others are searching for Nog and Garak. Despite the order from Keevan not to engage, the Jem'Hadar open fire.
Act Three
After determining who fired the first shot, the Jem'Hadar leader orders a withdrawal from the engagement with the Starfleet party. Running out of ketracel-white, the Jem'Hadar are becoming anxious and none of them can shroud themselves any longer.
Kira tries to convince Vedek Yassim not to hold her protests. Yassim asks Kira what Kira's doing to fight the Dominion. Kira says that this is different from the Cardassian occupation – fighting isn't the answer here. Yassim accuses Kira of becoming an apologist for the Dominion, "a defender of evil".
While Sisko is planning an assault on the Jem'Hadar position, Third Remata'Klan visits the cave to make a deal: exchanging Sisko and Bashir for Nog and Garak. Sisko surprises him by quoting a Jem'Hadar proverb ("Obedience brings victory"). He tries to sow suspicion and resentment in Remata'Klan for his Vorta handler by referring to the joint Dominion-Starfleet operation after which a Vorta was killed by the Jem'Hadar First, and points out that even though Remata'Klan is the senior surviving Jem'Hadar, Keevan has not seen fit to promote him beyond the rank of Third. But Remata'Klan will not have it, and states that he was only instructed to deliver the message. Sisko claims not to trust Vorta, and asks for Remata'Klan's word that the conditions of the exchange will be honored. Remata'Klan vows to carry out his orders, and Sisko accepts the deal.
Act Four
Kira and Jake are shocked at
Vedek Yassim's protest
The prisoner exchange is carried out. Meanwhile, on Terok Nor, Kira waits on the Promenade ready to deal with Vedek Yassim if she causes any trouble, but everything is quiet. Jake turns up, telling Kira that Yassim asked him to be there. Just as Kira starts to tell Jake he won't find a story today, Vedek Yassim yells "Evil must be opposed!" and steps off from the upper level of the Promenade. The noose around her neck snaps taut just before her feet can touch ground. The next morning, Kira is sleepless when the alarm clock chimes for another day of duty on the Dominion-occupied station, she boards the lift, and thanks Mavek for her coffee. She looks around and realizes what she's doing. Then she leaves, startled.
Arriving at the Jem'Hadar cave, Bashir performs surgery and saves Keevan's life. After asking his soldiers to leave, Keevan offers Sisko another deal. With only one vial of white left, Keevan fears that his soldiers will soon go on an uncontrollable rampage, killing everyone, including themselves. Keevan plainly tells Sisko that he plans to send the Jem'Hadar on a suicide attack, so that Sisko and his crew can kill them all, immediately after which Keevan would then surrender himself to Starfleet, providing the crew with a damaged but salvageable com unit with which they can repair and thus signal for a rescue.
Act Five
Returning to the cave and informing the crew, the Starfleet officers debate the right course of action. While some of the officers don't like the idea of killing the Jem'Hadar in such an underhanded way, Garak argues that they're in the middle of war, and the Jem'Hadar would not hesitate to kill them. Just as the argument begins to get heated, Sisko stops the debate, reminding them that it's his decision alone, then declares that Garak is right ... they're in the middle of a war, and if it's a choice between his crew and the Jem'Hadar soldiers, then there is no choice. Everyone heads out to face the Jem'Hadar, while Sisko confides to Dax that he's hoping there's a third choice.
Back on the station, Kira is disgusted with herself, and tells Odo that during the Occupation of Bajor as far as she was concerned, you're either fighting the enemy, or helping them. While half the Alpha Quadrant are risking their lives fighting the Dominion, she was ready to arrest Vedek Yassim for protesting the station occupation. Since she is not fighting the Dominion, it follows that she is helping them and defending them ... which makes her a collaborator. Out of self-disgust, Kira vows to start fighting back. She and Odo will put together a resistance cell to fight the Dominion and their Cardassian allies.
In an arid canyon on the planet, before the Jem'Hadar assault, Sisko tells Remata'Klan that the Jem'Hadar were betrayed by the Vorta, but it turns out that Remata'Klan already understood the massive tactical error of approaching the group from this canyon. Despite how it may appear, the Jem'Hadar are often one step ahead of the Vorta. Sisko offers to allow the Jem'Hadar to surrender, but Remata'Klan can't / won't even consider that option. Sisko tells Remata'Klan that Keevan doesn't deserve their loyalty but the Jem'Hadar replies that Keevan doesn't "need" to deserve it. From the day they're created, Jem'Hadar know that they are pledged to follow the Founders' orders without question, and the Vorta are the conduits of those orders - "it is the order of things." Sisko asks him if "the order of things" is worth giving up his life, but Remata'Klan counters that his life has never been his to give up. Seeing that Remata'Klan won't be swayed from his orders, Sisko grimly rejoins the other officers.
Keevan
Telling his men, "our death is glory to the Founders," Remata'Klan leads his men on a futile charge towards the ridge, opening fire. Returning fire, the Starfleet contingent guns them all down, at the cost of one of their own. A few seconds later, Keevan arrives, glancing at the soldiers who he gladly sacrificed to save his own life, and offers himself as a prisoner of war, remarking that if he'd had two more vials of white was the only reason Sisko and his men weren't slaughtered days ago. Sisko is driven by the urge to shoot the smug and treacherous Vorta there and then, but manages to push past his own disgust to order that Keevan be taken into custody, and tells O'Brien to start repairing the communications system. Then Sisko orders a burial detail for Gordon and the dead Jem'Hadar.
Memorable quotes
"Try it now. Reroute the damn gyrodyne through the damn thruster array."
"Got it."
"Nog, did you reroute that damn gyrodyne?"
"I'm trying, but the damn thruster array won't take the input."
"Try the lateral impulse thrusters and watch your mouth!"
- Miles O'Brien and Nog, trying to deal with the quirks of the Dominion ship
"Hooooold on!"
- Elim Garak, just before the crash
"Until we re-establish communications, we will hold this world for the Dominion."
"And if we can not restore communications?"
"Then we will hold this world for the Dominion... until we die."
- Remata'Klan and Limara'Son
"Oh no!"
"What?"
"I don't believe it!"
"What?"
"I tore my pants!"
"You... You tore your pants?"
"Yeah, I tore my pants. I guess... I guess I'm really in trouble now!"
- Miles O'Brien and Benjamin Sisko, laughing uproariously
"Lucky for you it ripped on the seam."
"Can you fix it?"
"Unlucky for you my sewing kit went down with the ship."
- Garak, examining O'Brien's trousers
"Does this have anything to do with that unfortunate business between you and me last year?"
"You tied me up and threatened to kill me."
- Garak, asking why Nog is trying to stand behind him all the time
"Madame, your pants are ready. Your boots and vest will take a little longer. While you wait, I might suggest that you browse through the hotel's gift shop."
"No, thank you. But I would like to lodge a complaint."
"Hmm?"
"This bed is as hard as a rock."
- Sisko trying to make an injured Dax comfortable in a cave
"You can either stand in front of me or walk beside me, but I won't turn my back on you again."
"Cadet, there may be hope for you yet."
- Nog and Garak, after recalling the events of "Empok Nor"
"It is the order of things."
- Remata'Klan
"They're not here to protect me. They've just never seen what the inside of a Vorta looks like."
- Keevan, as the Jem'Hadar crowd around before Bashir operates on him
"I am alive..."
"No self-diagnoses, please. I'm the doctor here."
- Keevan and Bashir
"Why are you doing this?"
"That... that's a communications system. It needs repair but I'm willing to bet that you've brought one of those famed Starfleet engineers who can turn rocks into replicators. He should have more success repairing it, than a Jem'Hadar suffering from withdrawal."
- Sisko and Keevan
"I'm going to order the Jem'Hadar to attack your position tomorrow... regardless of whether you agree to my terms or not. So you can either kill them... or they'll kill you. Either way, they're coming."
- Keevan, to Sisko
"In case you've forgotten, we're in a war."
"There are rules, Garak, even in a war!"
"Correction. Humans have rules in war. Rules that make victory a little harder to achieve, in my opinion."
- Garak and Miles O'Brien, about ambushing the Jem'Hadar
"Despite what Keevan may think, the Jem'Hadar are often one step ahead of the Vorta."
"You can still stay one step ahead. Surrender."
"I have my orders."
"Keevan doesn't deserve the unwavering loyalty you're giving him."
"He does not have to earn my loyalty, Captain. He has had it from the moment I was conceived. I am a Jem'Hadar. He is a Vorta. It is the order of things."
"Do you really want to give up your life for the 'order of things'?"
"It is not my life to give up, Captain – and it never was."
- Remata'Klan and Sisko
"What did he say?"
"All the wrong things."
- Miles O'Brien and Sisko, regarding Sisko's talk with Remata'Klan before battle
"Our death is glory to the Founders."
- Remata'Klan, to his men (his last words)
"Evil must be opposed!"
- Vedek Yassim, seconds before committing suicide on the Promenade in protest against Dominion occupation of the station
Summary
"Captain's log, supplemental. O'Brien needed three days to restore main power to our commandeered Dominion ship, but he's not going to get them. Sensors have detected two Jem'Hadar fighters heading our way, and without main power our chances of survival are slim to none."
Benjamin Sisko and crew are stranded deep in Dominion-held space on a captured Jem'Hadar ship with a disabled warp drive. Chief Miles O'Brien and Nog are busy making repairs. Two Jem'Hadar ships approach Sisko's ship and attack. Their only option is to make a run for an uncharted dark-matter nebula. Before they can get inside it, Jadzia Dax is injured when a Jem'Hadar volley rocks the ship. Doctor Julian Bashir thinks the symbiont has been injured too. All ship functions disabled, they begin to descend towards an unknown class M planet.
Act One
Garak on the planet
The ship crash lands into a sea just off a coast but everyone escapes with their lives. A Vorta named Keevan and a group of Jem'Hadar had crashed onto the planet two days earlier. The Jem'Hadar First and Second are dead, Keevan is badly wounded, they are running out of ketracel-white, and they cannot establish communications with any Dominion forces off-planet.
Crawling onto shore with what few items from the ship they could take with them, Sisko and the others have a much-needed laugh when O'Brien frets, absurdly, over his torn pant leg.
Back on Dominion-controlled Deep Space 9, once again referred to as Terok Nor, Major Kira Nerys wakes up at 0500 for another day of duty working with the Dominion and their Cardassian allies. She boards the lift, already filled with Jem'Hadar and Cardassians. Arriving at her station in ops, she thanks Mavek, a Cardassian, for her raktajino.
In a cave on the planet, Keevan discusses their dire situation with Third Remata'Klan. It will be ten days before they can even attempt to establish communications. Keevan distributes a very limited dose of white to the Jem'Hadar soldiers. Meanwhile Sisko and the crew set up camp in another cave where Bashir can stabilize Dax's condition.
Nog and Elim Garak go on a survey mission to find water and food. Nog is apprehensive around Garak ever since he tied him up and threatened to kill him. Garak recalls that there were extenuating circumstances but Nog says he won't ever turn his back on him again. Garak tells Nog "there may be hope for you yet." Then, several Jem'Hadar soldiers appear around them and they are taken prisoner.
Act Two
Nog and Garak are being interrogated in the Jem'Hadar camp. Nog refuses to give more than his name and Starfleet serial number, and Keevan turns to Garak. Garak claims to be one Kamar, one of the Dominion's Cardassian allies who has been captured by the USS Centaur (the ship encountered by Sisko and his crew while infiltrating Cardassian territory). Keevan sees through this lie, holding up the Starfleet combadge Garak was wearing. Keevan says he has only one question: is there a doctor in Garak's unit. Garak, weighing his options carefully, decides to tell the truth, and says, yes. Nog is furious with him, but Keevan says he just saved both their lives. Keevan sends Third Remata'Klan to assess the Federation group's strength, but firmly orders him not to engage.
Sisko fires back.
On Terok Nor, Jake Sisko is interviewing Odo and Kira about the Dominion's plans to send four hundred Vorta "facilitators" to Bajor despite Weyoun still blocking his transmissions to the Federation News Service. Jake also informs them that Vedek Yassim is planning a demonstration on the Promenade the next day. Jake's pointed questions quickly get under Kira's skin and she ends the interview.
Back on the planet, Sisko and a few others are searching for Nog and Garak. Despite the order from Keevan not to engage, the Jem'Hadar open fire.
Act Three
After determining who fired the first shot, the Jem'Hadar leader orders a withdrawal from the engagement with the Starfleet party. Running out of ketracel-white, the Jem'Hadar are becoming anxious and none of them can shroud themselves any longer.
Kira tries to convince Vedek Yassim not to hold her protests. Yassim asks Kira what Kira's doing to fight the Dominion. Kira says that this is different from the Cardassian occupation – fighting isn't the answer here. Yassim accuses Kira of becoming an apologist for the Dominion, "a defender of evil".
While Sisko is planning an assault on the Jem'Hadar position, Third Remata'Klan visits the cave to make a deal: exchanging Sisko and Bashir for Nog and Garak. Sisko surprises him by quoting a Jem'Hadar proverb ("Obedience brings victory"). He tries to sow suspicion and resentment in Remata'Klan for his Vorta handler by referring to the joint Dominion-Starfleet operation after which a Vorta was killed by the Jem'Hadar First, and points out that even though Remata'Klan is the senior surviving Jem'Hadar, Keevan has not seen fit to promote him beyond the rank of Third. But Remata'Klan will not have it, and states that he was only instructed to deliver the message. Sisko claims not to trust Vorta, and asks for Remata'Klan's word that the conditions of the exchange will be honored. Remata'Klan vows to carry out his orders, and Sisko accepts the deal.
Act Four
Kira and Jake are shocked at
Vedek Yassim's protest
The prisoner exchange is carried out. Meanwhile, on Terok Nor, Kira waits on the Promenade ready to deal with Vedek Yassim if she causes any trouble, but everything is quiet. Jake turns up, telling Kira that Yassim asked him to be there. Just as Kira starts to tell Jake he won't find a story today, Vedek Yassim yells "Evil must be opposed!" and steps off from the upper level of the Promenade. The noose around her neck snaps taut just before her feet can touch ground. The next morning, Kira is sleepless when the alarm clock chimes for another day of duty on the Dominion-occupied station, she boards the lift, and thanks Mavek for her coffee. She looks around and realizes what she's doing. Then she leaves, startled.
Arriving at the Jem'Hadar cave, Bashir performs surgery and saves Keevan's life. After asking his soldiers to leave, Keevan offers Sisko another deal. With only one vial of white left, Keevan fears that his soldiers will soon go on an uncontrollable rampage, killing everyone, including themselves. Keevan plainly tells Sisko that he plans to send the Jem'Hadar on a suicide attack, so that Sisko and his crew can kill them all, immediately after which Keevan would then surrender himself to Starfleet, providing the crew with a damaged but salvageable com unit with which they can repair and thus signal for a rescue.
Act Five
Returning to the cave and informing the crew, the Starfleet officers debate the right course of action. While some of the officers don't like the idea of killing the Jem'Hadar in such an underhanded way, Garak argues that they're in the middle of war, and the Jem'Hadar would not hesitate to kill them. Just as the argument begins to get heated, Sisko stops the debate, reminding them that it's his decision alone, then declares that Garak is right ... they're in the middle of a war, and if it's a choice between his crew and the Jem'Hadar soldiers, then there is no choice. Everyone heads out to face the Jem'Hadar, while Sisko confides to Dax that he's hoping there's a third choice.
Back on the station, Kira is disgusted with herself, and tells Odo that during the Occupation of Bajor as far as she was concerned, you're either fighting the enemy, or helping them. While half the Alpha Quadrant are risking their lives fighting the Dominion, she was ready to arrest Vedek Yassim for protesting the station occupation. Since she is not fighting the Dominion, it follows that she is helping them and defending them ... which makes her a collaborator. Out of self-disgust, Kira vows to start fighting back. She and Odo will put together a resistance cell to fight the Dominion and their Cardassian allies.
In an arid canyon on the planet, before the Jem'Hadar assault, Sisko tells Remata'Klan that the Jem'Hadar were betrayed by the Vorta, but it turns out that Remata'Klan already understood the massive tactical error of approaching the group from this canyon. Despite how it may appear, the Jem'Hadar are often one step ahead of the Vorta. Sisko offers to allow the Jem'Hadar to surrender, but Remata'Klan can't / won't even consider that option. Sisko tells Remata'Klan that Keevan doesn't deserve their loyalty but the Jem'Hadar replies that Keevan doesn't "need" to deserve it. From the day they're created, Jem'Hadar know that they are pledged to follow the Founders' orders without question, and the Vorta are the conduits of those orders - "it is the order of things." Sisko asks him if "the order of things" is worth giving up his life, but Remata'Klan counters that his life has never been his to give up. Seeing that Remata'Klan won't be swayed from his orders, Sisko grimly rejoins the other officers.
Keevan
Telling his men, "our death is glory to the Founders," Remata'Klan leads his men on a futile charge towards the ridge, opening fire. Returning fire, the Starfleet contingent guns them all down, at the cost of one of their own. A few seconds later, Keevan arrives, glancing at the soldiers who he gladly sacrificed to save his own life, and offers himself as a prisoner of war, remarking that if he'd had two more vials of white was the only reason Sisko and his men weren't slaughtered days ago. Sisko is driven by the urge to shoot the smug and treacherous Vorta there and then, but manages to push past his own disgust to order that Keevan be taken into custody, and tells O'Brien to start repairing the communications system. Then Sisko orders a burial detail for Gordon and the dead Jem'Hadar.
Memorable quotes
"Try it now. Reroute the damn gyrodyne through the damn thruster array."
"Got it."
"Nog, did you reroute that damn gyrodyne?"
"I'm trying, but the damn thruster array won't take the input."
"Try the lateral impulse thrusters and watch your mouth!"
- Miles O'Brien and Nog, trying to deal with the quirks of the Dominion ship
"Hooooold on!"
- Elim Garak, just before the crash
"Until we re-establish communications, we will hold this world for the Dominion."
"And if we can not restore communications?"
"Then we will hold this world for the Dominion... until we die."
- Remata'Klan and Limara'Son
"Oh no!"
"What?"
"I don't believe it!"
"What?"
"I tore my pants!"
"You... You tore your pants?"
"Yeah, I tore my pants. I guess... I guess I'm really in trouble now!"
- Miles O'Brien and Benjamin Sisko, laughing uproariously
"Lucky for you it ripped on the seam."
"Can you fix it?"
"Unlucky for you my sewing kit went down with the ship."
- Garak, examining O'Brien's trousers
"Does this have anything to do with that unfortunate business between you and me last year?"
"You tied me up and threatened to kill me."
- Garak, asking why Nog is trying to stand behind him all the time
"Madame, your pants are ready. Your boots and vest will take a little longer. While you wait, I might suggest that you browse through the hotel's gift shop."
"No, thank you. But I would like to lodge a complaint."
"Hmm?"
"This bed is as hard as a rock."
- Sisko trying to make an injured Dax comfortable in a cave
"You can either stand in front of me or walk beside me, but I won't turn my back on you again."
"Cadet, there may be hope for you yet."
- Nog and Garak, after recalling the events of "Empok Nor"
"It is the order of things."
- Remata'Klan
"They're not here to protect me. They've just never seen what the inside of a Vorta looks like."
- Keevan, as the Jem'Hadar crowd around before Bashir operates on him
"I am alive..."
"No self-diagnoses, please. I'm the doctor here."
- Keevan and Bashir
"Why are you doing this?"
"That... that's a communications system. It needs repair but I'm willing to bet that you've brought one of those famed Starfleet engineers who can turn rocks into replicators. He should have more success repairing it, than a Jem'Hadar suffering from withdrawal."
- Sisko and Keevan
"I'm going to order the Jem'Hadar to attack your position tomorrow... regardless of whether you agree to my terms or not. So you can either kill them... or they'll kill you. Either way, they're coming."
- Keevan, to Sisko
"In case you've forgotten, we're in a war."
"There are rules, Garak, even in a war!"
"Correction. Humans have rules in war. Rules that make victory a little harder to achieve, in my opinion."
- Garak and Miles O'Brien, about ambushing the Jem'Hadar
"Despite what Keevan may think, the Jem'Hadar are often one step ahead of the Vorta."
"You can still stay one step ahead. Surrender."
"I have my orders."
"Keevan doesn't deserve the unwavering loyalty you're giving him."
"He does not have to earn my loyalty, Captain. He has had it from the moment I was conceived. I am a Jem'Hadar. He is a Vorta. It is the order of things."
"Do you really want to give up your life for the 'order of things'?"
"It is not my life to give up, Captain – and it never was."
- Remata'Klan and Sisko
"What did he say?"
"All the wrong things."
- Miles O'Brien and Sisko, regarding Sisko's talk with Remata'Klan before battle
"Our death is glory to the Founders."
- Remata'Klan, to his men (his last words)
"Evil must be opposed!"
- Vedek Yassim, seconds before committing suicide on the Promenade in protest against Dominion occupation of the station
