With the Dominion on track to winning the war against the Federation, Sisko and his crew take a captured Jem’Hadar ship into enemy territory with a mission to cut off the Jem’Hadar’s supply of ketracel-white in the Alpha Quadrant.

Contents

Summary

Teaser

A battered Federation and Klingon fleet move through space, attesting to the fact the war is not going well. Three months have passed since the Dominion occupied Deep Space 9 and hostilities began. The USS Defiant has been on the run from the Jem’Hadar for 78 hours. Everyone on board is tense and exhausted. On the Defiant‘s bridge, Nog gets anxious that news of the Seventh Fleet‘s counterassault has not arrived, while Chief Miles O’Brien is sick and tired of running from the Dominion. In the medical supply room, Doctor Julian Bashir is treating Elim Garak for a small head wound. Bashir estimates their chances of survival at 32.7%. Garak is not impressed with Bashir’s calculations, notwithstanding Bashir’s recently revealed genetic enhancements.

The Defiant and Klingon General Martok‘s IKS Rotarran rendezvous and Worf and Jadzia Dax are reunited in the Defiant‘s mess hall. After a joyous hello, Worf reveals that he is upset that Dax has scheduled the ritual sacrifice of the targ to occur after their wedding feast. Dax gives in, saying, “first we’ll shed blood, and then we’ll feast.” When Martok points out that Worf wasn’t talking about anything else in days, Dax puns, “He’s such a worrier.“. As Worf and Dax leave, Captain Benjamin Sisko suggests that they not break any bones, to which Dax only responds with the crossing of her fingers. Bashir enters and says they’ve been ordered to Starbase 375, and he has word of the Seventh Fleet’s engagement in the Tyra system: out of 112 ships, only fourteen ships have returned. “We can’t keep taking these kinds of losses sir, not if we expect to win this!” Bashir exclaims to Sisko. Sisko quietly thanks the doctor and tells him that will be all. After Bashir leaves with Martok to treat his arm, an angry Sisko slams his fist on a tabletop, breaking the glass.

Act One

On the reclaimed Terok Nor, Gul Dukat narrates a log entry, quite pleased with how the war is going. Reports of victories arrive daily and with the enemy retreating on nearly every front, “it is a good time for Cardassia… and the Dominion.” Weyoun is happy that life seems to be returning to normal on the station. Kira wants Bajoran security returned to the station, but Dukat is concerned about the implications of allowing armed Bajorans on board. Weyoun is disturbed by the way Dukat seems to be undermining the Dominion’s position because of his antipathy towards the Bajorans, but lets the matter rest for the moment. After Kira leaves, Weyoun demands Damar leave and then, to Dukat, to be included in all decisions on station policy henceforth. Further, Weyoun is impatient with Dukat’s slow progress on clearing the minefield that is blocking the wormhole, preventing Dominion reinforcements from getting through from the Gamma Quadrant. Dukat complains that destroying these self-replicating mines is difficult because when they attempt to destroy one, its neighbor replicates another, but assures Weyoun that he will eventually get it done.

In Quark’s, business is looking up again; Cardassians ring the gaming tables, though Quark also has to contend with several tables of Jem’Hadar, who do not eat, drink, or relax, but just sit, looking baleful. At the bar, Quark gives Kira a complimentary drink as she and Odo are discussing the Occupation. Quark says that as occupations go, this one’s not so bad. Kira acidly says that must be true for someone concerned solely with profit and monthly balance sheets, but Quark reminds her that all three of them have vivid memories of the horrible conditions for Bajorans on the station during the last occupation, none of which are present this time. Quark admits that he wants the Federation back as much as they do but encourages them to keep in mind that “things could be a lot worse.” Odo reluctantly agrees and that the Dominion is (for the moment) treating Bajor as a friend. Kira asks, if that’s true, why are there no Bajoran security officers on the station?

After the Defiant‘s arrival at Starbase 375, Admiral William Ross surprises Sisko by informing him he has a new office on the starbase and he is relieving him of command of the Defiant. Ross tells Sisko that he’ll be informed of his new assignment later.

Act Two

While waiting, Sisko contacts his father Joseph in New Orleans, Earth. His father is very upset that his grandson Jake is still on Deep Space 9, and a heated argument arises. Sisko says that staying behind was Jake’s choice, but the elder Sisko doesn’t care about this. Benjamin promises his father that he’ll get Jake back soon. Joseph then asks if things are as bad as the news services say. Sisko says they’re worse. Joseph wonders how, if space is so infinite and vast why people can’t just leave each other alone. Sisko admits that it should work that way, but it just doesn’t. Joseph needs to get back to his customers but begs his son to get Jake back and the two convey their love for the other.

Meanwhile on Terok Nor, Jake wants an interview with Weyoun, but learns that Weyoun has been censoring his Federation News Service articles by blocking Jake’s transmissions. Weyoun explains that he thinks Jake’s reporting is biased against the Dominion, using words like “occupying force”. Jake objects, but Weyoun refuses the interview for now. However, he invites Jake to keep writing with the bias in mind, and he will continue to read his articles and consider allowing his transmissions to go through.

Back at Starbase 375, Ross reveals Sisko’s and the Defiant crew’s new assignment. They’re to destroy the Dominion’s main ketracel-white storage facility in the Alpha Quadrant, located deep in Dominion territory. Instead of the Defiant, they’re to use the Jem’Hadar attack ship Sisko captured last year to infiltrate Dominion space. “Do you even know how to fly that thing?” Bashir asks Sisko. The captain responds, “Not yet – but I intend to learn.“

Act Three

Two weeks later, while on board preparing for departure, the crew starts to complain about the “design flaws” of the Jem’Hadar ship: no chairs, no food replicators, no viewscreen on the bridge, and no infirmary. Garak joins the crew at Sisko’s invitation, as his knowledge of Cardassian space and Cardassian contacts may be useful. They are cleared to leave, and Sisko, putting on the virtual sensory display, orders the ship to be taken out and to head for the Cardassian border at warp six.

On Terok Nor, Dukat is ensconced in Captain Sisko’s office and is amusing himself by playing with Sisko’s baseball. Dukat wants to spend more time with Kira, so calls for her, noting their only interactions have been for station business. Kira is disgusted by Dukat, and tries to leave, but Dukat pulls rank. When asked, she says he betrayed everyone, including his own people by joining the Dominion. He tries to convince her of the dire situation he was faced with, saying Cardassia was a third-rate power. He says he’s getting the Alpha Quadrant in return for the high price he’s paid, but Kira is skeptical that will happen. Dukat says he’s patient with her, and clearly expects an intimate relationship at some point. She soon slaps his hand away when he reaches for her face. Then, he lets her leave and spins Sisko’s baseball on the desk.

Sisko’s Jem’Hadar ship, en route to Dominion space, Sisko is having trouble with the headset as it is inducing a migraine. Garak offers to wear the other one, reasoning that as Dukat was wearing one during the Dominion attack on Deep Space Nine the device is more compatible with Cardassian physiology. Soon, the ship is discovered by the USS Centaur captained by Charlie Reynolds, an officer Sisko is acquainted with. Just as they are about to cross the Cardassian border, the Centaur fires on them.

Act Four

With the communication system down, Sisko orders Dax to make a run for the border. However, the Centaur is still on them, damaging a guidance thruster. Sisko orders Dax to fire back, targeting the Centaur‘s weapons array only. Luckily, three Jem’Hadar ships enter the fray and the Centaur warps away. The Jem’Hadar ships don’t acknowledge them, and instead chase the Centaur. Although unhappy about leaving Captain Reynolds and his crew to fight off the three ships on his own, they still have a mission to perform so must continue on.

In order to return Bajoran security to the station, Kira urges Odo to take advantage of his god status as a Changeling with Weyoun. Odo is very uncomfortable with this, but reluctantly agrees. When Odo presents his demand to Weyoun, he immediately agrees: “Consider it done.” Dukat objects, but Weyoun tells Dukat to keep out of it. It is strictly between Weyoun and Odo. But Weyoun asks Odo for a favor in return: he asks Odo to sit on the station’s Ruling Council, along with Weyoun and Dukat. When Odo tells Kira about Weyoun’s request, she is concerned that Weyoun may be using Odo to validate the Dominion’s occupation. Odo says he thought that we were using them, and besides, he has walked this fine line before. Kira remains uneasy.

Meanwhile, Sisko’s Jem’Hadar ship arrives at the ketracel-white storage facility, which is built into a small asteroid. After they observe another ship go through the exchange process, Garak requests 84 canisters of ketracel-white. O’Brien says he has 83 empty canisters standing by, and one not-so-empty one which is filled with ninety isotons of enriched ultritium. This should be enough to take out the whole storage facility. Sisko’s ship moves inside into the depot’s security zone. O’Brien sets the detonator for three minutes. After the exchange of (mostly) empty canisters for canisters full of white takes place, Garak asks the facility for clearance to leave. Instead, the facility raises their security net, trapping Sisko’s ship inside, while the bomb is still ticking.

Act Five

The facility orders Sisko’s ship to stand by. The crew concludes that if they stay inside the net the bomb will destroy the ship along with the depot. The explosion will also take out the security net. But if they attempt to escape too early, they’ll smash into the inside of the security net before it comes down. Dax and Bashir calculate that if the ship goes to impulse exactly 1.3 seconds before the bomb detonates, they will avoid both the explosion and the security net. Dax programs this into the computer and hands the piloting controls over to it.

But the bomb goes off early. Dax takes back helm control and gets the ship out of there. The Jem’Hadar ship barely makes it out, the huge explosion chasing at its tail. But they survive, and the plan worked. The ship suffered heavy damage, however. The core matrix is fried and there is no warp drive. Bashir informs everyone that the closest Federation starbase is “seventeen years, two months, and three days away – give or take an hour.” Sisko’s crippled Jem’Hadar attack ship, now without warp capacity, starts the long journey back.