Post by magicmuggle01 on May 20, 2019 9:50:56 GMT
Originally shown as a Two-hour Pilot Movie, but in syndication is shown as 2 separate episodes.
Three years after his wife died at the hands of the Borg and following the Cardassian withdrawal from the planet Bajor, Commander Benjamin Sisko and a new crew of Starfleet and Bajoran officers take command of an abandoned Cardassian space station and make an incredible discovery that will change the galaxy and Sisko's future. (Series premiere)
Summary
Locutus of Borg
Starfleet engages the Borg
Benjamin Sisko on board the
USS Saratoga
On stardate 43997, Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation starship Enterprise was kidnapped for six days by an invading force known as the Borg. Surgically altered, he was forced to lead an assault on Starfleet at Wolf 359.
In 2366 (around stardate 44002.3) Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Sisko is the executive officer of the USS Saratoga as it battles the Borg, led by Locutus (the former Captain Jean-Luc Picard), at Wolf 359. Its shields drained by the Borg cube, the ship sustains a direct hit, which kills most of the bridge crew save Sisko and the Bolian tactical officer and causes the beginnings of a warp core breach: they have five minutes to evacuate the crippled vessel. Sisko orders the lieutenant to help the surviving civilians to the escape pods and goes in search of his own family. In his quarters, he finds his young son Jake and wife Jennifer buried under a pile of rubble. Although he is able to rescue Jake, Jennifer remains trapped. As Sisko digs through the rubble, the Bolian lieutenant scans Jennifer with a tricorder and finds she is already dead. Sisko ignores the lieutenant's desperate pleas to escape and continues trying to rescue his wife; he is ultimately dragged away screaming to an escape pod. Together with Jake and the other survivors, he watches from the escape pod as the Saratoga is destroyed.
Stardate 46379.1: Three Years Later
"Is that it?"
Commander Benjamin Sisko approaches Jake, now a teenager, who is fishing from a lake in an Earth-like setting. Jake seems dismayed they will be soon living on a space station rather than Bajor, the planet the station orbits. Sisko assures Jake that he will have fun and meet lots of new friends, but they are interrupted by a voice from the bridge, informing Sisko that they are approaching Deep Space 9 and will be docking in seven minutes. Sisko ends the program and they leave the holodeck. Walking past a window, Sisko and Jake get their first look at Deep Space 9, the former Cardassian mining station which will now be their new home.
Act One
"Commence Station Log, Deep Space 9. Commander Benjamin Sisko, Stardate 46388.2. At the request of the Bajoran Provisional Government, Starfleet has agreed to establish a Federation presence in this system following the withdrawal of the Cardassian occupational forces. The first contingent of officers, including my Chief of Operations, Miles O'Brien, arrived two days ago on the Enterprise."
Sisko and Jake arrive at Deep Space 9 and are dismayed to find the station in a state of disarray, ransacked by the Cardassians following the Occupation of Bajor; the planet itself is in a similar state. Neither Benjamin nor his son find the place, or their quarters, accommodating but they decide to "rough it" for the time being. Chief O'Brien reports that most systems are offline and a lot of vital equipment is missing or severely damaged. O'Brien also notes that Captain Picard wishes to meet with Sisko, a prospect the latter does not seem to relish.
Ascending to Ops, Sisko enters the prefect's office and finds his Bajoran liaison officer, Major Kira Nerys, in heated argument with one of the Provisional Government's ministers, whom she hangs up on. Kira, a former member of the Bajoran Resistance, is openly hostile to the idea of another foreign power occupying Bajor. When Sisko says the Federation is only there to assist the Bajorans, she retorts that the Cardassians said the same thing when they arrived sixty years earlier.
Their conversation is interrupted by an alarm from the Promenade, where Kira and Sisko capture a thief and his accomplice, a young Ferengi named Nog. Here, Sisko also meets Odo, the station's security chief, who aids in the apprehension of the two criminals. Quark, Nog's uncle and the proprietor of the local bar, urges Sisko to release Nog into his custody so the Ferengi may evacuate, but Sisko refuses, appearing to have something else in mind. Before he can elaborate to Kira, he is reminded that Captain Picard is waiting to meet with him. As he cannot put it off any longer, he heads for the Enterprise. Sisko assures Kira that the meeting will not take long.
Act Two
When Sisko meets with Picard in the observation lounge, it is now Sisko's turn to be brusque and distrusting. He begins by "re-introducing" himself, mentioning that he has already "met" Picard (or rather Locutus) at the Battle of Wolf 359. Picard is obviously troubled by his memories of the event, so he begins discussing the havoc wreaked upon Bajor by the Cardassians. Bajor has applied for Federation membership, however their entrance will not be simple; with the Cardassians gone, several factions are now fighting for control of the planet. He tells Sisko that his mission aboard the station is to do everything short of violating the Prime Directive to secure Bajor's entrance into the Federation. Picard then notes that Sisko had objections to taking the assignment, and Sisko tells Picard with barely-restrained anger that he's raising his son alone and that a damaged space station is not the ideal environment. Sisko also says that he is thinking of resigning his Starfleet commission to return to Earth for civilian service, but until he makes the decision he will do his job to the best of his ability. The conversation is dominated by thinly-veiled hostility on Sisko's part, as he faces the man he holds responsible for the death of his wife. Picard dismisses Sisko.
In Odo's security office, Sisko and Odo interview Quark, encouraging him to stay on the station and reopen his establishment. The Promenade is the vital heart of life on the station, and someone has to step forward and lead the other vendors in rebuilding. As Quark is less than eager to stay – citing that "when governments fall, people like me are lined up and shot" – Sisko uses the incarcerated Nog as a bargaining chip, offering to free Nog if Quark agrees to his terms. Odo starts to warm up to the new Starfleet commander.
Sisko with Kira on the damaged
Promenade
While discussing Bajoran politics, Kira expresses her belief that Kai Opaka, the spiritual leader of Bajor, is their only hope to unite the people and keep the Provisional Government intact. When Sisko meets the kai on Bajor, she urges him to explore his pagh, or life-force, and declares Sisko to be the Emissary of the Prophets, though she doesn't tell him everything at first. She leads Sisko to the Orb of Prophecy and Change, which grants him his first orb experience: he is mentally transported to Gilgo Beach, years earlier (circa 2354), at the time and place he met Jennifer, his wife. He re-lives the moment of their first encounter in vivid detail, promising to prepare his father's famous Aubergine stew for dinner, and is distraught when the vision ends.
As Kai Opaka shuts away the Orb safely in its container, she explains that this Orb is one of nine known Orbs that have appeared in the skies over Bajor in the last ten thousand years; the Cardassians took the other eight. She also informs Sisko that his destiny, whether he believes it or not, consists entirely of finding the Celestial Temple of the Prophets, from where the orbs originated. To help him in his task, she gives him the Orb for further study.
Act Three
Back on DS9, Sisko finds his son sleeping on the floor, still thinking of the image of his wife. Kira soon calls him to the Promenade, where he finds Quark has indeed unpacked and is entertaining the very diverse array of people on the station. He gets a drink and Quark implies he agrees to Sisko's terms.
"Station log, stardate 46390.1. The Enterprise has been ordered to the Lapolis system. They're scheduled to depart at zero-five hundred hours after offloading three runabout class vessels. Meanwhile, our medical and science officers are arriving… and I'm looking forward to a reunion with a… very old… friend."
"You and Dr. Bashir go ahead.
I'm afraid I have to put Lieutenant
Dax to work right away."
Sisko then greets his new chief medical officer, Doctor Julian Bashir, who is obviously smitten with Jadzia Dax, the station's new chief science officer. Sisko's meeting with Dax is really a reunion, because Dax is a Trill symbiont whom Sisko knew as Curzon Dax years earlier. Bashir offends Kira by referring to his new assignment as "frontier medicine"; to Kira, Bajor is home, not some frontier in the wilderness. Sisko quickly puts his old friend Dax to use, asking her to conduct research on the Orb and leaving her alone in the science lab. When she touches the Orb, it grows extremely bright and gives her a vision of her own.
The Dax symbiont is transferred
from Curzon to Jadzia
From high above, she sees herself (as the un-joined Jadzia) lying on an operating table, receiving the Dax symbiont from a dying Curzon, realizing the first moment of her new self-awareness. The vision has a noticeably powerful effect on her emotionally, as strong as Sisko's vision of Jennifer.
On the Enterprise, Miles O'Brien stands outside the captain's ready room on the bridge, deciding whether to go inside or not. He decides not to, and after a final look at the bridge heads to transporter room 3. Upon entering, he asks Ensign Maggie Hubbell to beam him to the transporter pad in Ops. Just before he transports to the station, Captain Picard walks in, and dismisses the ensign. Picard notes that transporter room 3 is the chief's favorite one to use, and says that just the other day he called down and asked for him without thinking, and how it won't be the same without him. O'Brien smiles, and tells Picard that "it's just a transporter room", and requests permission to disembark. Picard operates the transporter console and beams O'Brien to the station. For a moment, Picard quietly laments the loss of his long time transporter chief and leaves the room. The Enterprise then sets off for the Lapolis system.
Act Four
Barely has the Enterprise left orbit than a Cardassian warship enters the system, transmitting fulsome good wishes from its commander, Gul Dukat – the former Cardassian Prefect of Bajor. Sisko hosts Dukat in his office (which used to be Dukat's office just two weeks prior, when the station was still under Cardassian control). With great diplomacy, Dukat "welcomes" the Federation to the region and pledges his "support" to their efforts to rehabilitate Bajor (especially in light of the fact that the Enterprise has departed the region). In his unctuous manner, Dukat fishes for information about the Orb Sisko brought to the station, as he had believed that the eight "acquired" by the Cardassians were the only ones in existence. He offers to share what the Cardassians have learned from those eight, but Sisko coolly says he knows nothing about any Orb. Smiling politely, Dukat says his ship will remain in system for a few days, in case Sisko changes his mind, and asks Sisko's permission for his men to enjoy the services on the Promenade.
In her lab, Dax has plotted a central location common to the pathways of all the known Orbs, the Denorios belt, a charged plasma field. Sisko is intrigued and wants to take a closer look, but is wary of being followed by the Cardassians. So he concocts a ruse…
In Quark's, the Cardassians are winning heavily at the dabo tables, when Kira strides in and announces the bar is being closed until further notice. Quark assures his customers that it is only temporary, and one of his waiters hands them a tote bag to carry their winnings back to their ship. The "bag" is actually Odo; once aboard the ship, he sabotages their computers, disabling their sensors and engines, allowing Sisko and Dax to depart in the runabout USS Rio Grande. Kira tells O'Brien to beam Odo back to the station, but O'Brien is having trouble operating the Cardassian transporter. When the machine refuses to respond to his commands, he kicks it in frustration – which works, energizing Odo back.
Act Five
The discovery of the first stable
wormhole
The coast is now clear for Sisko and Dax to embark toward the Denorios belt, the coordinates of the focal point of the Bajoran Orbs. As Dax steers the vessel toward high proton counts and the external wave intensifies, while internal wave intensifies remains unaffected, a wormhole suddenly opens directly in front of them. They are pulled into it, as DS9 loses contact with them, picking up only major subspace disruptions. The Rio Grande emerges in the Gamma Quadrant, some 70,000 light years from its previous location. Sisko suspects that the wormhole is the source of the Bajoran Orbs, and realizes that they have discovered the first stable wormhole known to exist, so they turn around and attempt to return to the Alpha Quadrant.
However, the Rio Grande loses power and velocity while in the wormhole; they land on a "planet" with breathable atmosphere. To Sisko, it appears to be a barren wasteland, raging with electrical storms; to Dax, however, the planet appears beautiful, like an idyllic garden setting. A hovering Orb appears and scans their bodies; it engulfs Dax and takes her through the wormhole safely, and she materializes in Ops on DS9. Sisko is transported from the imaginary planet to the Celestial Temple, where he begins another vision, this one being his first communication with the Prophets of the Celestial Temple.
The Prophets are non-corporeal entities, appearing to Sisko as people in his life: his late wife Jennifer, Picard, the kai, and Jake. They seek contact with other lifeforms, but do not consider him worthy, since he is corporeal, and relies on crude linguistics for communication. As he tries to defend himself and his species, Sisko seeks to develop some form of communication protocols with them.
"First officer's log, stardate 46392.7. We're preparing to launch a rescue mission to find Commander Sisko, but first, our navigational sensors must be recalibrated to work under the conditions reported by Lieutenant Dax."
Once Kira realizes what Sisko and Dax discovered, she recognizes its tremendous importance and orders the entire DS9 space station to be moved to the mouth of the newly-found wormhole. With only six functional maneuvering thrusters, O'Brien states that it would take a month to cross the 116 million kilometers to the wormhole. Kira replies that it has to be done by the next day, stating that the Bajorans have to stake a claim to the wormhole, then in an apparent change of attitude, notes that the Federation's presence would strengthen the claim. Dax suggests they lower the inertial mass of the station with the deflector array; O'Brien begins work on this endeavor. Dax contacts Starfleet for assistance; the nearest starship is the Enterprise, which is two days away. Kira, Dax, and Doctor Bashir decide to set out toward the wormhole in another runabout, the USS Yangtzee Kiang, to rescue Sisko. Odo insists on joining their expedition, citing his own discovery in the Denorios belt and how his origins may be related to the wormhole phenomenon.
Act Six
Sisko watches his memories
unfold as he tries to explain
linear time
Back inside the wormhole, Sisko communicates with some non-corporeal aliens who take the form of several people he knows; Jake, Picard, Locutus of Borg, Kai Opaka, Jennifer, and the Saratoga crew, among others. The aliens discuss destroying the intruder, while Sisko insists he was sent by the Bajorans. In order to prove he means no harm he offers to allow the aliens to share in his experiences and his past. However, it turns out the wormhole aliens have no concept of linear time. They refuse the idea that the past, present, and future are in any way different from one another.
As Sisko and the wormhole aliens try to understand one another, O'Brien and the crew attempt to find a way to safely move DS9 to the mouth of the wormhole, but the Cardassian computer is less than cooperative to the point where it refuses to cooperate with some of his requests. With great difficulty, O'Brien manages to move DS9; however, Dukat has become aware of the wormhole's presence.
Suspecting Sisko of already striking a deal with "whomever" in the wormhole, Gul Dukat races toward the wormhole himself; his Cardassian vessel, easily out-pacing Kira and the runabout, proceeds through the wormhole.
Meanwhile, Sisko is showing the aliens a moment in his past when he and Jennifer were sharing a picnic. The aliens mention that Jennifer is a part of Sisko's existence, but Sisko tells them that while she was a very important part she is not anymore as she is no longer alive… he lost her. The aliens are now very confused, unable to understand what "lost" means. Sisko tells them that when in linear time, people are unable to go back to the past, when something is lost it is gone forever. The aliens cannot understand how any species could possibly survive in this manner.
Sisko goes on to explain that this day is important as it affected every one that followed; it is the day he and Jennifer decided to have a child. As the two echoes kiss, Sisko starts to explain about touch and pleasure when suddenly…
…he finds himself back on the Saratoga, standing over his wife's body. The aliens explain this is his existence. Sisko tells them that this memory is more difficult than any of the others because this is the day he lost Jennifer. The aliens don't accept this, and they ask Sisko why he exists here. Sisko doesn't understand what they're asking, but they insist that he exists here.
Suddenly, everything stops. Gul Dukat's ship is traveling through the wormhole and emerges in the Gamma Quadrant. In anger, the aliens seal the wormhole, preventing the Yangtzee Kiang from following.
Act Seven
The aliens explain to Sisko that whenever someone travels through the wormhole their existence is disrupted, therefore they have closed it. The aliens tell Sisko that his linear nature makes him naturally destructive and he doesn't understand the consequences of his actions, a charge Sisko denies. He tells them he is aware that every choice he makes will have a consequence, even if he doesn't know what it is. To help, he uses past experiences to guide him. For example, he cites the day he met Jennifer on the beach and how their past experiences helped them realize they had a future together and when they got married they accepted any of the consequences that would come from that act… including the birth of their son.
The aliens are starting to understand but still need help, so Sisko decides to use the game of baseball as an example. He tells the aliens that when he throws the baseball anything could happen, the batter could swing and miss or he might hit the ball perfectly. A person prepares for every consequence as they happen, and as a result the game will start to take shape even though no one knows what the outcome will be. Now the aliens start to get it, but now can't understand why Sisko values his ignorance of the future. Sisko tells the aliens that the unknown is what drives his species, that they are always exploring and looking to the future to expand the boundaries of their knowledge. He explains that he isn't there to conquer them, but to co-exist and share their knowledge.
"If all of this is true, why do you exist here?!"
Sisko is once again on the Saratoga looking at his wife's body under the debris, confused why the aliens keep returning him to this point.
"First officer's log, supplemental. We've rendezvoused with the space station at the former coordinates of the wormhole. Unfortunately, our scans have revealed no trace of either the wormhole or Dukat's ship. A few minutes ago three Cardassian warships crossed the border, no doubt on their way to search for Dukat."
In light of Dukat's disappearance, the station is soon approached by three Cardassian warships, which take a threatening posture. Gul Jasad demands to know the location of Dukat's vessel; he refuses to believe Kira's "wormhole" explanation, since there is no sensory evidence of such. Jasad allows Kira one hour to prepare for surrender, but with the Enterprise still twenty hours away, Kira knows that surrender is not a viable option.
Act Eight
Inside the wormhole, Sisko demands to know why the aliens keep bringing him back here to the Saratoga but the aliens tell him they are not bringing him here, he is taking them there. Sisko asks for the power to take them somewhere else, but the aliens tell him that he already has the power but is denying himself it and should look inside himself for the answer. Sisko then looks back, and sees himself from three years earlier, desperate to free his wife despite the knowledge she was dead. Sisko notes that he was ready to die with her.
Sisko is clearly in pain at recalling the most horrific of his memories, and the aliens sense this and try to comfort him. As he sees his past self dragged away he realizes inside that he never completely left the Saratoga. As he looks down at his wife, and through his tears, he tells the aliens that the moment he looked down at Jennifer's dead body has always been in his mind, he sees the same image when he is in the darkness or when he closes his eyes. The aliens realize that none of Sisko's past experiences helped prepare him for this consequence and Sisko confesses he's never been able to get over losing her and that inside he does still exist here. But finally Sisko realizes that Jennifer is really gone and he has to let her go forever. He grieves properly this time, letting go of his emotions, but finally starts to leave the trauma of his wife's death behind him.
Kira launches six photon torpedoes – the station's entire complement – as a bluff, to make Gul Jasad believe that Starfleet has replenished DS9's weaponry after taking over the station. The bluff fails, however, as the Cardassians begin assaulting the station, easily penetrating its weak shields and causing an explosion on the Promenade which leaves many people injured. Odo calls for medical assistance from Doctor Bashir who immediately leaves Ops to tend to the wounded. Dax reports that their shields are down to eighteen percent and rapidly falling, then suddenly reports a huge neutrino disturbance 15 kilometers off the docking ring; the wormhole is back.
Gul Dukat's ship being towed
The wormhole opens in an explosion of brilliant, neon-like light; the Cardassians, shocked to see it for the first time, immediately cease firing on DS9. To everyone's surprise, Commander Sisko emerges in the Rio Grande, towing Gul Dukat's disabled vessel from the wormhole to safety. Once securely back in the Alpha Quadrant, Dukat orders the Cardassian vessels to stand down.
Luckily there were no fatalities on DS9, just various injuries being treated by Doctor Bashir and Odo, who has been pressed into medical duties, for the time being. Sisko, back aboard DS9, joyously greets Jake. The aliens living in the wormhole, whom the Bajorans believe to be the Prophets, have granted Sisko and all other corporeal beings free passage through the wormhole. And with the return of the Enterprise, the Cardassian vessels retreat back to Cardassian space.
"Station Log, Commander Benjamin Sisko, Stardate 46393.1. The lifeforms who created the wormhole have agreed to allow safe passage for all ships traveling to the Gamma Quadrant. With the arrival of the Enterprise the Cardassians have left the area."
The Enterprise returns to Deep
Space 9
Meeting once again with Captain Picard, this time in Commander Sisko's office, he is congratulated on finding the wormhole; Bajor will now undoubtedly become a commercial and scientific hub, as well as a strategic military focal point for the Federation. Sisko retracts his earlier conversation with Picard, about possibly resigning his commission. Picard, who had not forwarded the information up the chain of command, nevertheless asks Sisko if he is sure about staying at the helm of DS9. Sisko assures him that he is; Picard shakes his hand, and leaves for the Enterprise, wishing Sisko good luck.
Kira warns Quark to not cheat his customers anymore, but allows him to keep his bar open. As the repairs continue, Dax and O'Brien inform Sisko about the impending arrival of three Frunalian science vessels and a related problem with the airlocks, as the station and its crew begin their new roles in galactic affairs.
Memorable quotes
"Resistance is futile. You will disarm your weapons and escort us to Sector 001. If you attempt to intervene, we will destroy you. file info"
- Locutus of Borg, at the Battle of Wolf 359 (first spoken line of the series)
"I suppose you want the office."
"I thought I'd say hello first, and then take the office, but we can do this in any order you'd like."
"… Hello."
- Kira and Sisko
"It's been a long time, Captain."
"Have we met before?"
"Yes, sir. We met in battle. I was on the Saratoga at Wolf 359."
- Commander Sisko and Captain Picard
"You know, at first, I didn't think I was going to like him!"
- Odo, after seeing what Sisko thinks of Quark
"Nine Orbs, like this one, have appeared in the skies over the past ten thousand years. The Cardassians took the others. You must find the Celestial Temple before they do."
"The Celestial Temple?"
"Tradition says the Orbs were sent by the Prophets to teach us. What we have learned has shaped our technology. The Cardassians will do anything to decipher their powers. If they discover the Celestial Temple, they could destroy it."
- Kai Opaka and Benjamin Sisko
"I can't unite my people until I know the Prophets have been warned. You will find the Temple. Not for Bajor, not for the Federation, but for your own pagh. It is, quite simply, Commander, the journey you have always been destined to take."
- Kai Opaka, to Benjamin Sisko
"How's the local synthale?"
"You won't like it. I love the Bajorans. Such a deeply spiritual culture, but they make a dreadful ale. Never trust ale from a god-fearing people, or a Starfleet Commander that has one of your relatives in jail."
- Benjamin Sisko and Quark
"This is going to take some getting used to."
"Don't be ridiculous. I'm still the same old Dax. More or less."
- Benjamin Sisko and Jadzia Dax
"I'll be honest with you, Commander. I miss this office. I was not happy to leave it."
"Drop by any time you're feeling homesick."
- Gul Dukat and Commander Sisko
"Red alert! Shields up!"
"What shields?
- Kira and O'Brien
"I see her like this, every time I close my eyes. In the darkness, in the blink of an eye, I see her like this."
- Commander Sisko
"You don't think Starfleet took command of this space station without the ability to defend it, do you?"
- Major Kira
"Major? Remind me never to get into a game of Roladan Wild Draw with you."
- O'Brien, to Major Kira after she bluffs belligerent Cardassians
"Bloody Cardassians! I just got the damned thing fixed!"
- O'Brien
"We're not done with the Cardassians yet. Not with the strategic importance of that wormhole."
- Sisko, to Picard
"Good luck, Mr. Sisko."
- Jean-Luc Picard's departing words to Sisko
Three years after his wife died at the hands of the Borg and following the Cardassian withdrawal from the planet Bajor, Commander Benjamin Sisko and a new crew of Starfleet and Bajoran officers take command of an abandoned Cardassian space station and make an incredible discovery that will change the galaxy and Sisko's future. (Series premiere)
Summary
Locutus of Borg
Starfleet engages the Borg
Benjamin Sisko on board the
USS Saratoga
On stardate 43997, Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation starship Enterprise was kidnapped for six days by an invading force known as the Borg. Surgically altered, he was forced to lead an assault on Starfleet at Wolf 359.
In 2366 (around stardate 44002.3) Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Sisko is the executive officer of the USS Saratoga as it battles the Borg, led by Locutus (the former Captain Jean-Luc Picard), at Wolf 359. Its shields drained by the Borg cube, the ship sustains a direct hit, which kills most of the bridge crew save Sisko and the Bolian tactical officer and causes the beginnings of a warp core breach: they have five minutes to evacuate the crippled vessel. Sisko orders the lieutenant to help the surviving civilians to the escape pods and goes in search of his own family. In his quarters, he finds his young son Jake and wife Jennifer buried under a pile of rubble. Although he is able to rescue Jake, Jennifer remains trapped. As Sisko digs through the rubble, the Bolian lieutenant scans Jennifer with a tricorder and finds she is already dead. Sisko ignores the lieutenant's desperate pleas to escape and continues trying to rescue his wife; he is ultimately dragged away screaming to an escape pod. Together with Jake and the other survivors, he watches from the escape pod as the Saratoga is destroyed.
Stardate 46379.1: Three Years Later
"Is that it?"
Commander Benjamin Sisko approaches Jake, now a teenager, who is fishing from a lake in an Earth-like setting. Jake seems dismayed they will be soon living on a space station rather than Bajor, the planet the station orbits. Sisko assures Jake that he will have fun and meet lots of new friends, but they are interrupted by a voice from the bridge, informing Sisko that they are approaching Deep Space 9 and will be docking in seven minutes. Sisko ends the program and they leave the holodeck. Walking past a window, Sisko and Jake get their first look at Deep Space 9, the former Cardassian mining station which will now be their new home.
Act One
"Commence Station Log, Deep Space 9. Commander Benjamin Sisko, Stardate 46388.2. At the request of the Bajoran Provisional Government, Starfleet has agreed to establish a Federation presence in this system following the withdrawal of the Cardassian occupational forces. The first contingent of officers, including my Chief of Operations, Miles O'Brien, arrived two days ago on the Enterprise."
Sisko and Jake arrive at Deep Space 9 and are dismayed to find the station in a state of disarray, ransacked by the Cardassians following the Occupation of Bajor; the planet itself is in a similar state. Neither Benjamin nor his son find the place, or their quarters, accommodating but they decide to "rough it" for the time being. Chief O'Brien reports that most systems are offline and a lot of vital equipment is missing or severely damaged. O'Brien also notes that Captain Picard wishes to meet with Sisko, a prospect the latter does not seem to relish.
Ascending to Ops, Sisko enters the prefect's office and finds his Bajoran liaison officer, Major Kira Nerys, in heated argument with one of the Provisional Government's ministers, whom she hangs up on. Kira, a former member of the Bajoran Resistance, is openly hostile to the idea of another foreign power occupying Bajor. When Sisko says the Federation is only there to assist the Bajorans, she retorts that the Cardassians said the same thing when they arrived sixty years earlier.
Their conversation is interrupted by an alarm from the Promenade, where Kira and Sisko capture a thief and his accomplice, a young Ferengi named Nog. Here, Sisko also meets Odo, the station's security chief, who aids in the apprehension of the two criminals. Quark, Nog's uncle and the proprietor of the local bar, urges Sisko to release Nog into his custody so the Ferengi may evacuate, but Sisko refuses, appearing to have something else in mind. Before he can elaborate to Kira, he is reminded that Captain Picard is waiting to meet with him. As he cannot put it off any longer, he heads for the Enterprise. Sisko assures Kira that the meeting will not take long.
Act Two
When Sisko meets with Picard in the observation lounge, it is now Sisko's turn to be brusque and distrusting. He begins by "re-introducing" himself, mentioning that he has already "met" Picard (or rather Locutus) at the Battle of Wolf 359. Picard is obviously troubled by his memories of the event, so he begins discussing the havoc wreaked upon Bajor by the Cardassians. Bajor has applied for Federation membership, however their entrance will not be simple; with the Cardassians gone, several factions are now fighting for control of the planet. He tells Sisko that his mission aboard the station is to do everything short of violating the Prime Directive to secure Bajor's entrance into the Federation. Picard then notes that Sisko had objections to taking the assignment, and Sisko tells Picard with barely-restrained anger that he's raising his son alone and that a damaged space station is not the ideal environment. Sisko also says that he is thinking of resigning his Starfleet commission to return to Earth for civilian service, but until he makes the decision he will do his job to the best of his ability. The conversation is dominated by thinly-veiled hostility on Sisko's part, as he faces the man he holds responsible for the death of his wife. Picard dismisses Sisko.
In Odo's security office, Sisko and Odo interview Quark, encouraging him to stay on the station and reopen his establishment. The Promenade is the vital heart of life on the station, and someone has to step forward and lead the other vendors in rebuilding. As Quark is less than eager to stay – citing that "when governments fall, people like me are lined up and shot" – Sisko uses the incarcerated Nog as a bargaining chip, offering to free Nog if Quark agrees to his terms. Odo starts to warm up to the new Starfleet commander.
Sisko with Kira on the damaged
Promenade
While discussing Bajoran politics, Kira expresses her belief that Kai Opaka, the spiritual leader of Bajor, is their only hope to unite the people and keep the Provisional Government intact. When Sisko meets the kai on Bajor, she urges him to explore his pagh, or life-force, and declares Sisko to be the Emissary of the Prophets, though she doesn't tell him everything at first. She leads Sisko to the Orb of Prophecy and Change, which grants him his first orb experience: he is mentally transported to Gilgo Beach, years earlier (circa 2354), at the time and place he met Jennifer, his wife. He re-lives the moment of their first encounter in vivid detail, promising to prepare his father's famous Aubergine stew for dinner, and is distraught when the vision ends.
As Kai Opaka shuts away the Orb safely in its container, she explains that this Orb is one of nine known Orbs that have appeared in the skies over Bajor in the last ten thousand years; the Cardassians took the other eight. She also informs Sisko that his destiny, whether he believes it or not, consists entirely of finding the Celestial Temple of the Prophets, from where the orbs originated. To help him in his task, she gives him the Orb for further study.
Act Three
Back on DS9, Sisko finds his son sleeping on the floor, still thinking of the image of his wife. Kira soon calls him to the Promenade, where he finds Quark has indeed unpacked and is entertaining the very diverse array of people on the station. He gets a drink and Quark implies he agrees to Sisko's terms.
"Station log, stardate 46390.1. The Enterprise has been ordered to the Lapolis system. They're scheduled to depart at zero-five hundred hours after offloading three runabout class vessels. Meanwhile, our medical and science officers are arriving… and I'm looking forward to a reunion with a… very old… friend."
"You and Dr. Bashir go ahead.
I'm afraid I have to put Lieutenant
Dax to work right away."
Sisko then greets his new chief medical officer, Doctor Julian Bashir, who is obviously smitten with Jadzia Dax, the station's new chief science officer. Sisko's meeting with Dax is really a reunion, because Dax is a Trill symbiont whom Sisko knew as Curzon Dax years earlier. Bashir offends Kira by referring to his new assignment as "frontier medicine"; to Kira, Bajor is home, not some frontier in the wilderness. Sisko quickly puts his old friend Dax to use, asking her to conduct research on the Orb and leaving her alone in the science lab. When she touches the Orb, it grows extremely bright and gives her a vision of her own.
The Dax symbiont is transferred
from Curzon to Jadzia
From high above, she sees herself (as the un-joined Jadzia) lying on an operating table, receiving the Dax symbiont from a dying Curzon, realizing the first moment of her new self-awareness. The vision has a noticeably powerful effect on her emotionally, as strong as Sisko's vision of Jennifer.
On the Enterprise, Miles O'Brien stands outside the captain's ready room on the bridge, deciding whether to go inside or not. He decides not to, and after a final look at the bridge heads to transporter room 3. Upon entering, he asks Ensign Maggie Hubbell to beam him to the transporter pad in Ops. Just before he transports to the station, Captain Picard walks in, and dismisses the ensign. Picard notes that transporter room 3 is the chief's favorite one to use, and says that just the other day he called down and asked for him without thinking, and how it won't be the same without him. O'Brien smiles, and tells Picard that "it's just a transporter room", and requests permission to disembark. Picard operates the transporter console and beams O'Brien to the station. For a moment, Picard quietly laments the loss of his long time transporter chief and leaves the room. The Enterprise then sets off for the Lapolis system.
Act Four
Barely has the Enterprise left orbit than a Cardassian warship enters the system, transmitting fulsome good wishes from its commander, Gul Dukat – the former Cardassian Prefect of Bajor. Sisko hosts Dukat in his office (which used to be Dukat's office just two weeks prior, when the station was still under Cardassian control). With great diplomacy, Dukat "welcomes" the Federation to the region and pledges his "support" to their efforts to rehabilitate Bajor (especially in light of the fact that the Enterprise has departed the region). In his unctuous manner, Dukat fishes for information about the Orb Sisko brought to the station, as he had believed that the eight "acquired" by the Cardassians were the only ones in existence. He offers to share what the Cardassians have learned from those eight, but Sisko coolly says he knows nothing about any Orb. Smiling politely, Dukat says his ship will remain in system for a few days, in case Sisko changes his mind, and asks Sisko's permission for his men to enjoy the services on the Promenade.
In her lab, Dax has plotted a central location common to the pathways of all the known Orbs, the Denorios belt, a charged plasma field. Sisko is intrigued and wants to take a closer look, but is wary of being followed by the Cardassians. So he concocts a ruse…
In Quark's, the Cardassians are winning heavily at the dabo tables, when Kira strides in and announces the bar is being closed until further notice. Quark assures his customers that it is only temporary, and one of his waiters hands them a tote bag to carry their winnings back to their ship. The "bag" is actually Odo; once aboard the ship, he sabotages their computers, disabling their sensors and engines, allowing Sisko and Dax to depart in the runabout USS Rio Grande. Kira tells O'Brien to beam Odo back to the station, but O'Brien is having trouble operating the Cardassian transporter. When the machine refuses to respond to his commands, he kicks it in frustration – which works, energizing Odo back.
Act Five
The discovery of the first stable
wormhole
The coast is now clear for Sisko and Dax to embark toward the Denorios belt, the coordinates of the focal point of the Bajoran Orbs. As Dax steers the vessel toward high proton counts and the external wave intensifies, while internal wave intensifies remains unaffected, a wormhole suddenly opens directly in front of them. They are pulled into it, as DS9 loses contact with them, picking up only major subspace disruptions. The Rio Grande emerges in the Gamma Quadrant, some 70,000 light years from its previous location. Sisko suspects that the wormhole is the source of the Bajoran Orbs, and realizes that they have discovered the first stable wormhole known to exist, so they turn around and attempt to return to the Alpha Quadrant.
However, the Rio Grande loses power and velocity while in the wormhole; they land on a "planet" with breathable atmosphere. To Sisko, it appears to be a barren wasteland, raging with electrical storms; to Dax, however, the planet appears beautiful, like an idyllic garden setting. A hovering Orb appears and scans their bodies; it engulfs Dax and takes her through the wormhole safely, and she materializes in Ops on DS9. Sisko is transported from the imaginary planet to the Celestial Temple, where he begins another vision, this one being his first communication with the Prophets of the Celestial Temple.
The Prophets are non-corporeal entities, appearing to Sisko as people in his life: his late wife Jennifer, Picard, the kai, and Jake. They seek contact with other lifeforms, but do not consider him worthy, since he is corporeal, and relies on crude linguistics for communication. As he tries to defend himself and his species, Sisko seeks to develop some form of communication protocols with them.
"First officer's log, stardate 46392.7. We're preparing to launch a rescue mission to find Commander Sisko, but first, our navigational sensors must be recalibrated to work under the conditions reported by Lieutenant Dax."
Once Kira realizes what Sisko and Dax discovered, she recognizes its tremendous importance and orders the entire DS9 space station to be moved to the mouth of the newly-found wormhole. With only six functional maneuvering thrusters, O'Brien states that it would take a month to cross the 116 million kilometers to the wormhole. Kira replies that it has to be done by the next day, stating that the Bajorans have to stake a claim to the wormhole, then in an apparent change of attitude, notes that the Federation's presence would strengthen the claim. Dax suggests they lower the inertial mass of the station with the deflector array; O'Brien begins work on this endeavor. Dax contacts Starfleet for assistance; the nearest starship is the Enterprise, which is two days away. Kira, Dax, and Doctor Bashir decide to set out toward the wormhole in another runabout, the USS Yangtzee Kiang, to rescue Sisko. Odo insists on joining their expedition, citing his own discovery in the Denorios belt and how his origins may be related to the wormhole phenomenon.
Act Six
Sisko watches his memories
unfold as he tries to explain
linear time
Back inside the wormhole, Sisko communicates with some non-corporeal aliens who take the form of several people he knows; Jake, Picard, Locutus of Borg, Kai Opaka, Jennifer, and the Saratoga crew, among others. The aliens discuss destroying the intruder, while Sisko insists he was sent by the Bajorans. In order to prove he means no harm he offers to allow the aliens to share in his experiences and his past. However, it turns out the wormhole aliens have no concept of linear time. They refuse the idea that the past, present, and future are in any way different from one another.
As Sisko and the wormhole aliens try to understand one another, O'Brien and the crew attempt to find a way to safely move DS9 to the mouth of the wormhole, but the Cardassian computer is less than cooperative to the point where it refuses to cooperate with some of his requests. With great difficulty, O'Brien manages to move DS9; however, Dukat has become aware of the wormhole's presence.
Suspecting Sisko of already striking a deal with "whomever" in the wormhole, Gul Dukat races toward the wormhole himself; his Cardassian vessel, easily out-pacing Kira and the runabout, proceeds through the wormhole.
Meanwhile, Sisko is showing the aliens a moment in his past when he and Jennifer were sharing a picnic. The aliens mention that Jennifer is a part of Sisko's existence, but Sisko tells them that while she was a very important part she is not anymore as she is no longer alive… he lost her. The aliens are now very confused, unable to understand what "lost" means. Sisko tells them that when in linear time, people are unable to go back to the past, when something is lost it is gone forever. The aliens cannot understand how any species could possibly survive in this manner.
Sisko goes on to explain that this day is important as it affected every one that followed; it is the day he and Jennifer decided to have a child. As the two echoes kiss, Sisko starts to explain about touch and pleasure when suddenly…
…he finds himself back on the Saratoga, standing over his wife's body. The aliens explain this is his existence. Sisko tells them that this memory is more difficult than any of the others because this is the day he lost Jennifer. The aliens don't accept this, and they ask Sisko why he exists here. Sisko doesn't understand what they're asking, but they insist that he exists here.
Suddenly, everything stops. Gul Dukat's ship is traveling through the wormhole and emerges in the Gamma Quadrant. In anger, the aliens seal the wormhole, preventing the Yangtzee Kiang from following.
Act Seven
The aliens explain to Sisko that whenever someone travels through the wormhole their existence is disrupted, therefore they have closed it. The aliens tell Sisko that his linear nature makes him naturally destructive and he doesn't understand the consequences of his actions, a charge Sisko denies. He tells them he is aware that every choice he makes will have a consequence, even if he doesn't know what it is. To help, he uses past experiences to guide him. For example, he cites the day he met Jennifer on the beach and how their past experiences helped them realize they had a future together and when they got married they accepted any of the consequences that would come from that act… including the birth of their son.
The aliens are starting to understand but still need help, so Sisko decides to use the game of baseball as an example. He tells the aliens that when he throws the baseball anything could happen, the batter could swing and miss or he might hit the ball perfectly. A person prepares for every consequence as they happen, and as a result the game will start to take shape even though no one knows what the outcome will be. Now the aliens start to get it, but now can't understand why Sisko values his ignorance of the future. Sisko tells the aliens that the unknown is what drives his species, that they are always exploring and looking to the future to expand the boundaries of their knowledge. He explains that he isn't there to conquer them, but to co-exist and share their knowledge.
"If all of this is true, why do you exist here?!"
Sisko is once again on the Saratoga looking at his wife's body under the debris, confused why the aliens keep returning him to this point.
"First officer's log, supplemental. We've rendezvoused with the space station at the former coordinates of the wormhole. Unfortunately, our scans have revealed no trace of either the wormhole or Dukat's ship. A few minutes ago three Cardassian warships crossed the border, no doubt on their way to search for Dukat."
In light of Dukat's disappearance, the station is soon approached by three Cardassian warships, which take a threatening posture. Gul Jasad demands to know the location of Dukat's vessel; he refuses to believe Kira's "wormhole" explanation, since there is no sensory evidence of such. Jasad allows Kira one hour to prepare for surrender, but with the Enterprise still twenty hours away, Kira knows that surrender is not a viable option.
Act Eight
Inside the wormhole, Sisko demands to know why the aliens keep bringing him back here to the Saratoga but the aliens tell him they are not bringing him here, he is taking them there. Sisko asks for the power to take them somewhere else, but the aliens tell him that he already has the power but is denying himself it and should look inside himself for the answer. Sisko then looks back, and sees himself from three years earlier, desperate to free his wife despite the knowledge she was dead. Sisko notes that he was ready to die with her.
Sisko is clearly in pain at recalling the most horrific of his memories, and the aliens sense this and try to comfort him. As he sees his past self dragged away he realizes inside that he never completely left the Saratoga. As he looks down at his wife, and through his tears, he tells the aliens that the moment he looked down at Jennifer's dead body has always been in his mind, he sees the same image when he is in the darkness or when he closes his eyes. The aliens realize that none of Sisko's past experiences helped prepare him for this consequence and Sisko confesses he's never been able to get over losing her and that inside he does still exist here. But finally Sisko realizes that Jennifer is really gone and he has to let her go forever. He grieves properly this time, letting go of his emotions, but finally starts to leave the trauma of his wife's death behind him.
Kira launches six photon torpedoes – the station's entire complement – as a bluff, to make Gul Jasad believe that Starfleet has replenished DS9's weaponry after taking over the station. The bluff fails, however, as the Cardassians begin assaulting the station, easily penetrating its weak shields and causing an explosion on the Promenade which leaves many people injured. Odo calls for medical assistance from Doctor Bashir who immediately leaves Ops to tend to the wounded. Dax reports that their shields are down to eighteen percent and rapidly falling, then suddenly reports a huge neutrino disturbance 15 kilometers off the docking ring; the wormhole is back.
Gul Dukat's ship being towed
The wormhole opens in an explosion of brilliant, neon-like light; the Cardassians, shocked to see it for the first time, immediately cease firing on DS9. To everyone's surprise, Commander Sisko emerges in the Rio Grande, towing Gul Dukat's disabled vessel from the wormhole to safety. Once securely back in the Alpha Quadrant, Dukat orders the Cardassian vessels to stand down.
Luckily there were no fatalities on DS9, just various injuries being treated by Doctor Bashir and Odo, who has been pressed into medical duties, for the time being. Sisko, back aboard DS9, joyously greets Jake. The aliens living in the wormhole, whom the Bajorans believe to be the Prophets, have granted Sisko and all other corporeal beings free passage through the wormhole. And with the return of the Enterprise, the Cardassian vessels retreat back to Cardassian space.
"Station Log, Commander Benjamin Sisko, Stardate 46393.1. The lifeforms who created the wormhole have agreed to allow safe passage for all ships traveling to the Gamma Quadrant. With the arrival of the Enterprise the Cardassians have left the area."
The Enterprise returns to Deep
Space 9
Meeting once again with Captain Picard, this time in Commander Sisko's office, he is congratulated on finding the wormhole; Bajor will now undoubtedly become a commercial and scientific hub, as well as a strategic military focal point for the Federation. Sisko retracts his earlier conversation with Picard, about possibly resigning his commission. Picard, who had not forwarded the information up the chain of command, nevertheless asks Sisko if he is sure about staying at the helm of DS9. Sisko assures him that he is; Picard shakes his hand, and leaves for the Enterprise, wishing Sisko good luck.
Kira warns Quark to not cheat his customers anymore, but allows him to keep his bar open. As the repairs continue, Dax and O'Brien inform Sisko about the impending arrival of three Frunalian science vessels and a related problem with the airlocks, as the station and its crew begin their new roles in galactic affairs.
Memorable quotes
"Resistance is futile. You will disarm your weapons and escort us to Sector 001. If you attempt to intervene, we will destroy you. file info"
- Locutus of Borg, at the Battle of Wolf 359 (first spoken line of the series)
"I suppose you want the office."
"I thought I'd say hello first, and then take the office, but we can do this in any order you'd like."
"… Hello."
- Kira and Sisko
"It's been a long time, Captain."
"Have we met before?"
"Yes, sir. We met in battle. I was on the Saratoga at Wolf 359."
- Commander Sisko and Captain Picard
"You know, at first, I didn't think I was going to like him!"
- Odo, after seeing what Sisko thinks of Quark
"Nine Orbs, like this one, have appeared in the skies over the past ten thousand years. The Cardassians took the others. You must find the Celestial Temple before they do."
"The Celestial Temple?"
"Tradition says the Orbs were sent by the Prophets to teach us. What we have learned has shaped our technology. The Cardassians will do anything to decipher their powers. If they discover the Celestial Temple, they could destroy it."
- Kai Opaka and Benjamin Sisko
"I can't unite my people until I know the Prophets have been warned. You will find the Temple. Not for Bajor, not for the Federation, but for your own pagh. It is, quite simply, Commander, the journey you have always been destined to take."
- Kai Opaka, to Benjamin Sisko
"How's the local synthale?"
"You won't like it. I love the Bajorans. Such a deeply spiritual culture, but they make a dreadful ale. Never trust ale from a god-fearing people, or a Starfleet Commander that has one of your relatives in jail."
- Benjamin Sisko and Quark
"This is going to take some getting used to."
"Don't be ridiculous. I'm still the same old Dax. More or less."
- Benjamin Sisko and Jadzia Dax
"I'll be honest with you, Commander. I miss this office. I was not happy to leave it."
"Drop by any time you're feeling homesick."
- Gul Dukat and Commander Sisko
"Red alert! Shields up!"
"What shields?
- Kira and O'Brien
"I see her like this, every time I close my eyes. In the darkness, in the blink of an eye, I see her like this."
- Commander Sisko
"You don't think Starfleet took command of this space station without the ability to defend it, do you?"
- Major Kira
"Major? Remind me never to get into a game of Roladan Wild Draw with you."
- O'Brien, to Major Kira after she bluffs belligerent Cardassians
"Bloody Cardassians! I just got the damned thing fixed!"
- O'Brien
"We're not done with the Cardassians yet. Not with the strategic importance of that wormhole."
- Sisko, to Picard
"Good luck, Mr. Sisko."
- Jean-Luc Picard's departing words to Sisko
