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November 18, 1996
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45 minutes
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131
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2024-09-13 19:05:39
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Version 2
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SUMMARY
Stardate: Unknown. Sisko, Dax, Odo and Garak find themselves in the past when the Cardassians controlled the station, and a crime that Odo investigated may be the key.
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TRANSCRIPT
[Runabout]
GARAK: If I'd known what I was walking into, I never would have gone.
DAX: It was your idea to attend the conference in the first place, Garak.
GARAK: I thought the Bajorans would be grateful to hear someone provide them with an opposing philosophical view.
DAX: Opposing view? Garak, you were trying to defend the military occupation of their world. How grateful did you think they would be?
GARAK: My understanding of this conference was that it was supposed to be an examination of the occupation from a dispassionate historical perspective. Instead, everyone went out of their way to dismiss virtually everything I had to say.
SISKO: I thought the Bajorans bent over backwards to be polite to you, Garak.
GARAK: Giving me a name tag that read, 'Elim Garak, former Cardassian oppressor' was hardly polite.
DAX: And what did you want it to say? Former spy?
GARAK: What I would have liked was less posturing and more debate. It's clear to me now that the Bajorans aren't really interested in discovering historical truth as much as they are in promoting the myths and legends of the glorious Resistance.
DAX: Well, Odo wasn't a member of the Resistance and he managed to attract a fair amount of attention.
GARAK: Yes, it seems you have quite a fan club on Bajor. I half expected you to be signing autographs at the end.
DAX: Don't let him get to you, Odo. You should be proud of what you did during the Occupation.
ODO: I've nothing to be proud of. I tried to bring order to a chaotic situation, that's all.
SISKO: You need to give yourself more credit, Constable. Keeping order during the Occupation would be a tough job for anyone, but you not only did it, you did it by earning the trust of both sides.
DAX: What was it the Moderator said? That you may have worked for the Cardassians, but your only master was justice.
SISKO: And a legend is born.
[Ops]
OKALA: Sir, Captain Sisko's runabout is approaching the station.
WORF: Very well. Clear them for docking on landing pad one.
OKALA: Aye, sir. Commander, something's wrong. They're not responding, and sensors show unusual EM signatures along their hull. The runabout's on auto-pilot
WORF: Lifesigns?
OKALA: Four, very weak.
WORF: Disengage the auto-pilot. Bring the runabout to within transporter range. Doctor Bashir to transporter room five. Medical Emergency.
[Runabout]
(Worf, Bashir, and Security beam in. Everyone is unconscious in their seats.)
WORF: Check the aft compartment.
(Bashir scans Sisko.)
BASHIR: He's alive, but there's an excess of neural energy in his cerebral cortex.
WORF: What does that mean?
BASHIR: I'm not sure of that.
WORF: Can you revive them?
BASHIR: I'm not sure of that, either.
[Terok Nor Ghetto]
(Sisko wakes up back in the Cardassian occupation, wearing a Bajoran miners overall. Odo, Dax and Garak are nearby.)
CARDASSIAN [OC]: All prisoners return to your quarters.
(Sisko is pulled to his feet.)
BELAR: Show some dignity. Look at you. No wonder the Cardassians think we're animals. Get up! Get up! If you're going to spend the night taking chemicals, stay off the Promenade. We don't need another cleansing today.
DAX: What happened?
SISKO: Not here.
GARAK: I couldn't agree more.
(They help Odo to his feet and set off along the Promenade.)
CARDASSIAN [OC]: All bio-organic materials must be disposed of according to regulations.
[Surgery]
BASHIR: There's a high level of neural activity which suggests that their conscious minds are active, and yet there's no response to any external stimuli. What's the word on the runabout?
WORF: We have found preliminary indications that the ship encountered a class two plasma storm which irradiated the vessel.
BASHIR: Computer, are current neural readings for subjects Odo, Sisko, Dax and Garak consistent with the effects of encountering a class two plasma storm?
COMPUTER: There are no recorded causal relationships between plasma storms and specified neural readings.
BASHIR: None? Computer, how many medical records are there on space plasma phenomena?
COMPUTER: Five thousand twenty one.
BASHIR: Well, it would appear that a common phenomena has had an uncommon effect on our people.
WORF: Well, the runabout is still being analysed. We should have more information soon.
BASHIR: Good. In the meantime I have some reading to do.
[Terok Nor Ghetto]
SISKO: This is Terok Nor. DS Nine during the occupation.
DAX: Time travel?
GARAK: No, it's more than that. Our clothes have changed.
ODO: Could we be in a holosuite?
SISKO: Computer, end programme. Let's assume that's a no for the moment.
DAX: Benjamin, we're not attracting any attention.
SISKO: And we should be. Humans, Trills and changelings didn't just stroll through Terok Nor unnoticed.
GARAK: Then I should be getting some attention as well. We are in the Bajoran sector, and Cardassians weren't exactly welcome here.
SISKO: I don't think they see you as a Cardassian. I'm beginning to think they don't see any of us as who we really are.
GARAK: The clothes we're wearing are Bajoran. They're treating us like Bajorans.
SISKO: Maybe they see us as Bajorans. Any theories, old man?
DAX: Some kind of cross-dimensional transfer? Our conscious minds might've been moved through time and space into the bodies of four Bajorans on Terok Nor.
GARAK: But then why are we still seeing each other as we really are instead of as Bajorans?
DAX: I just ran out of speculation.
SISKO: The last thing I remember was sitting in the runabout.
DAX: There was a plasma anomaly on the sensors, and then there was this sound.
GARAK: No, not a sound. More like a strong vibration
SISKO: I remember. Odo?
ODO: I don't recall. But whatever's happened, we have to leave this place. Get off the station.
GARAK: Then I suggest we go directly to the authorities and explain our situation.
ODO: Garak.
GARAK: I have knowledge of certain security codes that would be sufficient to prove that I am in fact a Cardassian, even if their eyes say otherwise. I could always say I'm an undercover operative posing as a Bajoran and
ODO: Captain, the authorities on Terok Nor will not be looking for reasons to help us. They will be looking for a reason to interrogate us, and believe me, you do not want to be interrogated by the Cardassians.
SISKO: I tend to agree with the Constable. If they should discover that we're actually from the future
DAX: Gul Dukat's on the second level.
SISKO: Let's move on.
(Odo bumps into a man with a phaser burn on his chest.)
SISKO: Odo? (the man vanishes) Who was that?
ODO: I don't know.
GARAK: You should. It was your predecessor.
ODO: My predecessor? Oh, yes. The man talking to Dukat. His name is Thrax. He was in charge of security on the Promenade before me.
DAX: That means we've gone back at least nine years.
SOLDIER: You. Come with us.
(They grab Dax.)
SISKO: What's she done?
SOLDIER: Nothing. Yet.
GARAK: Perhaps there's been some misunderstanding. If I may be so bold, you may find something which will bring you infinitely more profit than the arrest of a Bajoran woman.
SOLDIER: Latinum?
GARAK: Two strips.
SOLDIER: Where is it?
GARAK: Ah. But our friend is still in your custody.
(Dukat is watching so the soldier hits Garak, making his nose bleed.)
SISKO: Don't move.
SOLDIER: Tempting offer. Maybe next time. This one's been selected.
DAX: I'll be all right.
[Surgery]
WORF: Doctor.
(Garak's nose is bleeding.)
BASHIR: Garak's septial capillaries burst at this point. The pattern of his delta waves shows some unusual activity at the same moment. The bleeding might be the result of some kind of psychosomatic response.
WORF: You mean he thought he was injured?
BASHIR: Under certain conditions, people have been known to alter their blood pressure, lower their body temperature, even manifest a tumour as a result of psychological stimuli.
WORF: Could these stimuli cause more serious injuries?
BASHIR: I don't think he could spontaneously break a bone, but he could certainly stop his heart or break a key blood vessel in his brain.
WORF: But what is causing all of this?
BASHIR: At the risk of repeating myself, I just don't know.
[Terok Nor Ghetto]
CARDASSIAN: Step back from the gate.
SISKO: He said she's been selected. What the hell does that mean?
ODO: A random interrogation, forced labour relocation. It could be anything.
SISKO: That's not good enough. I want to know where they've taken her.
GARAK: But before we can help Commander Dax, we need to find out who we are in this reality.
SISKO: If we could get to a computer terminal, we could ask for a simple ID scan.
ODO: Computer access was extremely limited on Terok Nor.
GARAK: What about a Cardassian comp-link? I took the liberty of borrowing this from the gentlemen who thought my nose needed adjustment.
ODO: I see I'm going to have to add the word pickpocket to your resume.
GARAK: It's only a hobby.
ODO: Interesting that a simple tailor should just happen to have a high-level security code.
GARAK: Yes, isn't it? And if my nose didn't hurt so much, I'd tell you with a fascinating story about how I came to possess it. Ah, yes. Captain, you are actually a Bajoran electronics engineer. You're thirty eight years old, you have no criminal record, your family resides in Rakantha province and your name is Ishan Chaye. Lucky me. I'm an artist. I'm fifty five, I've been arrested three times for disturbing the peace. I must be incorrigible. I also reside in Rakantha and my name is Jillur Gueta.
SISKO: And the Constable?
GARAK: Ah, yes. His profession is
ODO: I'm a bookkeeper. Forty six years old. I have a wife and two sons in Rakantha Province, and my name is Timor Landi.
GARAK: That's right.
SISKO: How'd you know that? Odo?
QUARK: Congratulations, gentlemen. You get to work today. And you'll be labouring in the finest establishment on the station. My establishment. Twelve hours of work, two five minute breaks, one slip of latinum each. Let's go. Didn't you hear me? I'm offering you work. What are you waiting for?
SISKO: Nothing. Just show us the way.
QUARK: Open it. Start by stepping through the gate that the nice man has opened for you. Very good. You three must be warp engineers. Now we're going to walk down the Promenade to the bar. Would you like me to hold your hands or can you manage it?
SISKO: We'll manage.
QUARK: I'm so glad.
ODO: How much damage would it do to the timeline if Quark were to suffer a mysterious accident?
SISKO: I'm not sure. But maybe we should conduct a little experiment and find out.
[Dukat's office]
(Dax is brought in, keeping her eyes down.)
DUKAT: Name?
DAX: Leeta.
DUKAT: Look at me when I speak to you, Leeta.
(He gestures for her to turn around.)
DUKAT: She'll do.
(The soldier leaves)
DUKAT: Kanar.
(Dax pours a glass)
DUKAT: For two. Have you ever had kanar?
DAX: No.
DUKAT: Well, then this is an occasion. You're trembling. Despite what you may have heard, I'm a fair man, Leeta. Rest assured, you have nothing to fear from me. I did not bring you here to be abused.
DAX: Then why am I here?
DUKAT: It may surprise you to hear this, but my position is a lonely one. I'm isolated from the people who live under my protection. I require someone to talk with. In short, a friend.
DAX: You want me to be your friend?
DUKAT: Ironic, isn't it, that I should choose a simple Bajoran girl to share my inner thoughts with. But as you get to know me, Leeta, I think you'll find that I'm a complicated man.
DAX: You're different than I imagined.
DUKAT: To the beginning of your education.
[Terok Nor - Quark's]
(After hours, and our gang are cleaning up half eaten meals.)
GARAK: I never knew we were such messy conquerors. I remember the occupation being a little more tidy than this.
SISKO: Everything's tidy when someone else is doing the cleaning.
GARAK: The Bajorans were much more suited for this sort of thing than we were. Servile work is in their nature.
SISKO: I'll remember to mention that to Major Kira when we get back.
GARAK: There are exceptions to every rule.
(Odo sees three Bajorans with chest wounds walk along the Promenade.)
SISKO: You all right?
ODO: The smell's making me sick.
SISKO: How did you know your name would be Timor Landi in this, this, whatever this is.
ODO: I recognised the other two names from the security files kept during the Occupation. Timor, Ishan and Jillur were the names of three Bajorans who were accused of attempting to assassinate Gul Dukat on the Promenade.
SISKO: Half the resistance tried to kill Dukat.
ODO: These three were innocent. However, no one knew that at the time and Dukat wanted to make an example of them, so he had them led out onto the Promenade and publicly executed.
GARAK: If we're them
SISKO: If we're them, we'd better find a way out of here before Dukat makes an example out of us.
(Thrax, the Cardassian Security chief, enters)
THRAX: Quark. I understand you had a visit from a Talavian freighter captain this morning. A Captain Livara, I believe.
QUARK: I had a lot of visitors this morning. It was a busy day.
THRAX: I'm surprised you're being so indiscreet. Captain Livara is a known smuggler.
QUARK: You don't say? Such a nice, friendly man, too. I guess you can never tell what some people are really like.
THRAX: Rumour has it that the Obsidian order has had him under surveillance for several months.
QUARK: The Obsidian Order?
THRAX: Rumour also has it that they're planning on bringing in all of Livara's co-conspirators for questioning.
QUARK: Well, you know how rumours are.
THRAX: Yes. They're usually true. So when the Order asks me for a list of all of Livara's known associates on board the station
QUARK: He was here for ten minutes. He wanted to unload a shipment of maraji crystals, but I wasn't interested. I can't move maraji crystals. The Cardassians don't like them and the Bajorans can't afford them, so I sent him on his way, all right?
THRAX: And that's all?
QUARK: That's all.
THRAX: I hope so. Because if I find out that you've been dealing in illegal crystals, I'll hand you over to the Order myself.
(Thrax leaves)
QUARK: Always a pleasure.
SISKO: I see you're not the first man around here to keep Quark on his toes.
ODO: Yes.
(Garak uses the stolen ID device.)
GARAK: Something's wrong. Thrax talked about a Captain Livara.
SISKO: Does that name mean something to you?
GARAK: Livara wasn't just another smuggler. He was a Romulan spy and he didn't begin working in this sector until seven years ago. But seven years ago, Thrax wasn't on Terok Nor, you were, Odo. Odd contradiction. So I checked the date. This is seven years ago. Thrax shouldn't be here. You should be the Security Chief.
ODO: None of this makes any sense, Garak. Now I suggest we concentrate on finding a way out of here. That's our priority.
SISKO: I tend to agree.
GARAK: Well, you'll get no argument from me. But how?
SISKO: We need to contact the Bajoran resistance. They might be able to get us off the station, maybe even to the Federation. Kira once told me about a prearranged signal the resistance used on Terok Nor to set up a meeting. Once we're finished here, we'll head back to the Bajoran sector and I'll make the signal.
[Terok Nor Ghetto]
(Sisko picks up a vase from a trader's shelf, looks it over then puts it back. They go to the soup kitchen, get a ladle of gruel and sit down.)
CARDASSIAN [OC]: All recreation passes are suspended for alpha unit personnel until further notice.
GARAK: The Bajorans never did have a sense of style. Turn the vase over and the resistance appears.
ODO: It's simple and effective.
SISKO: And they did it for years, right under the Cardassian's noses.
GARAK: Not under my nose, Captain. Under his.
(Dukat enters the ghetto, followed by Dax.)
SISKO: At least Dax is all right
GARAK: Look at him. The Commander of Terok Nor. Just another swaggering, self-important Gul with too much vanity and not enough ability.
SISKO: Maybe, but he's no fool.
(Odo starts to drink his soup but his hands are covered in blood and he drops the spoon in panic.)
SISKO: Are you all right?
ODO: (the blood is gone) Yes. Just slipped out of my hand.
BELAR: You wanted a meeting? Don't look at me, eat your soup.
SISKO: I didn't think you would come while Dukat was here.
BELAR: Everyone's watching our gentle dictator stroll the Promenade with his new girlfriend. Now, I hate soup and I have no intention of finishing this entire bowl, so whatever you want, let's hear it.
SISKO: We need to get off the station.
BELAR: Why?
GARAK: Does it matter?
BELAR: Yes, as a matter of fact, it does. We're not a commuter service. If you're running from a dispute over chemicals or women or smuggling, you're on your own. If you've killed one of the spoonheads
GARAK: Spoonheads?
SISKO: Garak!
BELAR: That's a different matter.
SISKO: We're not who we seem to be.
BELAR: I hope not, because you seem to be wasting my time.
SISKO: Let's just say we're involved with the Federation.
BELAR: Let me guess. You're Starfleet agents operating under cover, posing as indigent Bajorans who happen to be
(Flash! BOOM! Dukat and Dax are injured.)
SISKO: Dax!
ODO: Captain, no!
(Belar and Garak go the other way)
CARDASSIAN [OC]: Secure all exits on floor alpha.
ODO: Captain, we can't stay. They'll take care of her but we must go
SOLDIER: Don't move.
(Sisko, Odo and Garak are arrested violently.)
[Terok Nor - Holding cell]
(The cells are crowded and noisy)
GARAK: You'd think they'd put us in our own cell block, instead of with the common criminals. After all, we are accused of attempting to assassinate the station commander. That deserves some respect.
SISKO: Maybe they'll salute when they execute us.
THRAX: Quiet down. Quiet down. Quiet. Quiet please! Quiet please! Kara Polus, Brin Tusk and Marat Kobar. Your sentence is five years hard labour. Trial to confirm this sentence will take place at seventeen hundred hours. Benten Vek, your fine has been paid and you'll be free to go within the hour. Lobo, Horis, Romara, Pelin and Gramm. You are being transferred to Cardassian authorities on Bajor for interrogation.
WOMAN: No, no, please.
(The guards start removing prisoners)
THRAX: Timor, Ishan, Jillur. You came aboard the station two days ago from Rakantha Province. Yesterday you paid a visit the chemist shop and then fell asleep on the Promenade. Last night you were hired as a cleanup crew by the Ferengi, and after you were paid, you went back to the Bajoran sector and attempted to murder Gul Dukat with a chambered plasma grenade.
SISKO: We were sitting at a table eating when the grenade went off. There are witnesses.
THRAX: None of which have come forward.
ODO: Why would the witnesses risk their lives for three strangers? They're out there, but you have to go look for them.
THRAX: Epidermal scans revealed the presence of trinitrogen chloride on your hands and clothing. TNC is one of the components used in plasma grenades.
ODO: TNC is also a cleaning solution, which is what we were using in Quark's.
THRAX: Or you used the opportunity of working at Quarks to obtain the TNC in the first place. You all have ties to the Bajoran underground. (Garak) You have three cousins who are known Resistance members. (Sisko) Five of your friends are suspected sympathisers.
ODO: After fifty years of occupation, is there anyone left on Bajor who doesn't have some tie to the resistance?
THRAX: Quiet! That may be true. But you were seen rushing toward Dukat after the explosion. Everyone else was running away.
SISKO: I wanted to help my friend. She was injured in the blast.
THRAX: The report of the Cardassian guard states that you were found over the body of Gul Dukat, attempting to strangle him.
GARAK: That's a lie.
ODO: Interrogate the troops yourself, don't just take their report at face value.
THRAX: I don't interrogate members of the Cardassian military.
ODO: Then run a ballistic analysis of the explosion. If you examine the fragmentation dispersal pattern, you'll find that we couldn't have thrown the grenade from our position at the table. It had to have come from
THRAX: Quiet! Quiet down! There is sufficient evidence for a conviction.
ODO: All of which is circumstantial. Go beneath the surface. Conduct a real investigation.
THRAX: This investigation is over. Your case is going before a special tribunal this afternoon. You will be informed of the sentence just before it meets.
ODO: No! Wait! I need to talk to you! Let me talk to you alone for just a moment! Please, listen to me!
[Dukat's office]
DUKAT: That's enough.
(The medic leaves. Dax is eating well)
DAX: How do you feel?
DUKAT: Better than last time.
DAX: Last time?
DUKAT: This is the fourth assassination attempt I've survived.
DAX: Maybe you should find another job.
DUKAT: Maybe I should. I'm glad to see you have your appetite back.
DAX: I don't get to eat like this very often.
DUKAT: I've wanted to increase rations in the Bajoran sector for some time now, but the resistance makes it almost impossible to show any sort of kindness to your people.
DAX: You really want to help my people, don't you?
DUKAT: Yes, of course. The Bajorans are, well, they're like my children, I suppose. And like any father, I want only what's best for them.
DAX: And you still feel like that now after some of your children have tried to kill you?
DUKAT: Bad manners are the fault of the parent, not the child. My weakness is I'm too generous, too forgiving. My heart is too big.
(Dax goes up behind him and knocks him out.)
DAX: And so is your ego.
(She starts using the computer)
[Terok Nor - Holding cell]
GARAK: Yes, I know I don't look Cardassian. You see, I was surgically altered to appear Bajoran. But what if genetic scans show no cardassian DNA in my cellular structure? In that case, I'll suggest
SISKO: Tell me about Thrax.
ODO: What do you want to know?
SISKO: Something about his background. He seems unusual. Doesn't have that casual brutality I've come to expect from Cardassian security officers. What makes Thrax different?
ODO: I wouldn't know. He was gone by the time I came aboard the station.
SISKO: That brings up a good point. Why is he here now? Garak said that you were the security chief during this time.
ODO: You're implying that I should know the answers, that I'm holding back information?
SISKO: I'm saying that maybe you know more than you think you do. You lived here, on Terok Nor. You're supposed to be out there now instead of Thrax. Think, Odo. There might be some connection between you and what's happening here.
ODO: I don't know!
(A hole is blown in the cell wall)
DAX: Miss me? ODO: It doesn't have to happen again
[Terok Nor - Corridor]
DAX: Dukat's personal shuttle is in docking bay three.
SISKO: What about the station defence system?
DAX: I've got their computer tied up in knots. I don't think they'll be able to
THRAX: Halt!
(Dax whirls and shoots the guard behind them, then gets shot herself. Odo fights that guard, Sisko fights Thrax. Garak shoots the guard who is throttling Odo is fighting. Sisko and Thrax trade blows, then Thrax morphs into goo and goes into a vent. They all help Dax up.)
GARAK: A changeling?
SISKO: We'll figure that out later.
[Terok Nor - Airlock]
DAX: Here it is.
(They step inside, Sisko closes the door and)
[Terok Nor - Holding cell]
(There's no hole in the wall.)
SOLDIER: We just got the word. Your execution's been scheduled for nineteen hundred. That's two hours from now.
ODO: We've got to find another way out of here.
DAX: We tried that. Escape doesn't seem to be the answer.
SISKO: How could Thrax be a changeling? In this time period, the Founders didn't know about the wormhole.
ODO: I don't know.
GARAK: Putting aside the newest shape-shifter in town for the time being, how did we end up back in this cell?
ODO: I don't know.
DAX: Care to guess?
ODO: What makes you think I have the answers?
SISKO: You've been acting strangely ever since we first woke up on the Promenade. Continually distracted, depressed and agitated.
GARAK: And you knew the names of the people we're supposed to be.
SISKO: You knew the details of their case like you were there.
GARAK: But you couldn't have been there because it happened before you came aboard the station.
SISKO: Everything seems to lead back to you and I want to know why.
THRAX: You said you wanted to see me?
ODO: Yes. It's urgent.
(Thrax lets Odo out)
[Terok Nor - Security office]
THRAX: I'm listening, but I don't have much time.
ODO: You're about to make a very serious mistake.
THRAX: Because you're innocent, of course. All of you.
ODO: That's right, and I can prove it. Compare this attack to recent bombings on Bajor. You'll find a similarity to four incidents in Musilla Province, none of which we could have done.
THRAX: That proves nothing. And under Cardassian law, the accused must prove his innocence. Since the evidence in this case is sufficient to warrant conviction, the investigation is over.
ODO: Your job is to find the truth, not obtain convictions.
THRAX: Truth? You want the truth? All right. The truth is that none of you would be accused, none of you would even be here if the Bajorans weren't fighting the Cardassians. It's futile. The occupation has lasted for fifty years and it will probably last another fifty.
ODO: I wouldn't be too sure about that.
THRAX: Why not accept it? If the Bajoran people would accept their place in history, none of this would be happening.
ODO: We're talking about the attempt on Gul Dukat's life, not the socio-political ramifications of the resistance.
THRAX: It's all part of the same problem. When your people resort to terrorism and violence, they're fighting against order, against stability, against the rule of law, and this must be stopped.
ODO: There is more to life than the rule of law.
THRAX: It has been my observation that only the guilty make that kind of statement.
ODO: I didn't want to tell you this. I don't know what the consequences will be, but we're not terrorists. We're not even Bajorans. There's been a temporal displacement of some kind. We don't belong in this time. We're from the future.
THRAX: I know.
ODO: You know? Then what are you going to do about it?
THRAX: What I am supposed to do, nothing more, nothing less. The question is, what are you going to do, Odo?
[Terok Nor Promenade - upper level]
(Blink and Odo is watching Sisko, Dax and Garak lined up against the railing for execution.)
THRAX: It's too late for them now. It's out of my hands.
ODO: Why aren't I with them?
THRAX: There were only three terrorists, Odo. You know that.
DUKAT: This the price for taking up arms against those who would protect you, who have only your best interests at heart.
ODO: They haven't done anything. They don't belong here.
THRAX: It's already happened, Odo.
ODO: But this isn't what happened. It wasn't these people.
THRAX: Proceed with the execution.
(A soldier levels his gun at Sisko.)
ODO: No! I'm not going to let this happen again! Not again!
(Odo knocks the gun out of the soldier's hands.)
ODO: You can't execute them. You don't even belong here. I do.
(Suddenly everyone is back in their proper clothes, and there is weapon fire nearby. The executions are taking place on another crossover bridge, with another Odo watching. Their eyes meet then the historical characters vanish.)
SISKO: Constable?
ODO: That's exactly how it happened seven years ago.
SISKO: It was you all along.
ODO: Yes. I was Chief of Security on the Promenade. I was the one who charged those men with a crime they didn't commit, and I was the one who turned them over to Dukat. Three days after the executions there was another bombing on the Promenade, identical to the one that almost killed Dukat. Timor, Ishan and Jillur were innocent. All the evidence was there. The inconsistencies in the reports of the soldiers who arrested them, a pattern of bombings, the ballistics. It was all there from the beginning but I was too busy, too concerned with maintaining order and the rule of law. I thought of myself as the outsider, the shape-shifter who cared for nothing but justice. It never occurred to me that I could fail, but I did. And I never wanted anyone to know the truth. That seven years ago, I allowed three innocent men to die.
(Sisko, Dax and Garak disappear.)
BASHIR [OC]: Constable?
[Surgery]
(Everyone is waking up.)
BASHIR: Whatever it is you've been through has taken its toll.
[Security office]
BASHIR: As far as I can tell, the four of you were locked into some version of the Great Link.
ODO: The Link? How is that possible? I'm a solid now.
BASHIR: Well, it seems you're not as solid as you think. When I ran a neurochemical scan of your brain, I found residual traces of morphogenic enzymes which I've only detected before in changelings.
ODO: When the plasma storm hit the runabout it activated the enzymes and initiated a telepathic response.
BASHIR: Your mind reached out to find other changelings to form the Link, but all it could find was Sisko, Dax and Garak.
ODO: And just before the accident, I was thinking about the executions. Somehow being in the Link must have forced me to relive it, and admit the truth about what I'd done.
BASHIR: It would make a fascinating paper. (gets a Look) Although I don't intend to write one.
(Kira enters)
BASHIR: If you have any questions, you know where to find me.
(Bashir leaves)
KIRA: When I first read your report I didn't know what to think. So I said to myself, that's all right, Nerys You're stunned. You need to let it sink in a little. But it's been two days, Odo. I still don't know what to think.
ODO: I'm guilty. What more is there to say?
KIRA: Maybe nothing. Maybe a lot. I believed in you. A lot of people did. You were special. You were the one man who stood apart from everyone else, the one man who stood for justice. Now what?
ODO: Now I'm just another imperfect solid.
KIRA: Okay. The Prophets know I'm not perfect. I guess the truth is that anyone who lived through the occupation had to get a little dirty. But I need to know that no other innocent people died on your watch, Odo. That this was the only time.
ODO: I'm not sure. I hope so.
2024-09-13 19:05:39 -
Pike:
Added the transcript.
