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May 12, 1997
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45 minutes
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139
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2024-09-13 19:12:33
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Version 2
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SUMMARY
Stardate: Unknown. Driven to desperation by the Dominion, the Maquis launch a massive bio-weapons strike towards Cardassia. Sisko must trust the traitor Eddington to try to stop them.
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TRANSCRIPT
[Sisko's quarters]
(Dinner time.)
NOG: Squid. My favourite human food. Mmm. Delicious, sir.
JAKE: Terrific as always, Dad.
SISKO: I'm glad you like it.
NOG: Sir, if I may say so, this sauce tastes very familiar.
SISKO: Well it should. It's puree of tube grubs.
(Jake vomits into his napkin.)
JAKE: Tube grubs?
SISKO: I figured if Nog is willing to eat squid, it's only fair that we try tube grubs. Besides, you said it was terrific.
JAKE: That was before I knew what it was.
SISKO: Eat. You need more meat on your bones. So, tell me, Nog. How do you like working security?
NOG: It's very interesting, sir.
JAKE: That's not what you told me.
NOG: Jake.
SISKO: Something wrong?
NOG: No, sir. Everything's quite satisfactory. Thank you, sir.
JAKE: Could've fooled me.
SISKO: Cadet, if there's a problem, I want to hear about it.
NOG: Well, sir, it's the Klingons, sir.
SISKO: What about them?
NOG: It's their attitude, sir. It's bad.
SISKO: Bad?
NOG: They're loud, obnoxious, and if I may say so, sir, generally intoxicated. They walk around the station like they own the place, and whenever a station security officer tries to talk to them, say to ask them to keep the noise level down on the Promenade, they ignore him.
JAKE: You mean they ignore you.
NOG: They never look me in the eye when I try to talk to them, sir. They just stare over my head and pretend I'm not even there. I hate it when they do that.
SISKO: I can see how that might be annoying.
JAKE: Not as annoying as listening to him complain about it all the time.
SISKO: Here is what I suggest, Cadet. The next time the Klingons refuse to acknowledge your presence, do what a Klingon would do. Confront them about it. If you stand up to them, you'll earn their respect.
JAKE: Or get your butt kicked. One or the other.
SISKO: Either way, they'll never ignore you again.
(Doorbell)
SISKO: Enter.
MARTOK: Captain, I need to speak to you. Alone.
NOG: That does it.
SISKO: Not now, Nog.
NOG: But sir.
JAKE: Come on, Nog, let's go.
(Jake drags Nog out.)
MARTOK: Captain, my crew and I were patrolling the Cardassian border. We intercepted a very disturbing message.
(Martok hands over a PADD.)
SISKO: This is a Maquis code.
MARTOK: I was as surprised as you. I thought the Maquis were wiped out by Cardassia and their new Dominion allies, but it would appear I was mistaken.
SISKO: Were you able to decode it?
REBECCA [on PADD]: Michael, I hope you get this message. We've launched the missiles. They should reach Cardassia in thirteen days. It may not bring back our dead, but at least they'll have a lot of company.
SISKO: Did you detect any missiles?
MARTOK: No. But that proves nothing. A few months ago, the Klingon High Council decided to aid the Maquis in their fight against Cardassia. We provided them with thirty class four cloaking devices. It was our understanding they would use them on their ships.
SISKO: But they could have been mounted on the missiles instead.
MARTOK: You see the problem.
SISKO: The Maquis had access to tricobalt explosives, biogenic weapons, antimatter warheads.
MARTOK: The death toll could be in the millions.
SISKO: I knew the Maquis were desperate, but I didn't believe that they would resort to something like this.
MARTOK: A sabre bear is most deadly when it is trapped with no hope of escape.
SISKO: Cardassia is under Dominion protection. If millions of their citizens are killed by human terrorists, they'll demand revenge.
MARTOK: And their Dominion allies will see that they get it. They'll launch a counterstrike against the Federation, the Klingon Empire, and the entire Alpha Quadrant.
SISKO: And start a war that could destroy us all.
[Ops]
(The Defiant has just returned to the station)
SISKO: Report.
DAX: Do the words needle in a haystack mean anything to you?
WORF: We spent over fifty hours searching the Badlands for signs of the Maquis missiles, without success.
DAX: We would have stayed longer, but we had a hard time avoiding the Jem'Hadar patrols.
O'BRIEN: Let me guess. They homed in on your plasma wake.
DAX: Even though we were cloaked, they were still able to track us.
O'BRIEN: The Defiant's warp engines are too powerful. They ionise the nebular gases in the Badlands.
DAX: It's like a Ligorian mastodon moving through the forest. You may not be able to see it, but it definitely makes the leaves rustle.
SISKO: I need answers, people. If those missiles do exist, they're only eleven days from their target. I want to know where they are and how to stop them.
WORF: We need more information, a way to narrow our search.
SISKO: I think I know someone who can help.
[Starbase brig]
SISKO: Eddington, wake up.
EDDINGTON: I'm dreaming, right? This is a nightmare.
SISKO: This is a nightmare, all right, but you are wide awake.
EDDINGTON: I was wondering when you'd show up. I expected to see you here weeks ago.
SISKO: I've been busy.
EDDINGTON: But now you're here. So enjoy yourself. Savour the moment. I know you've been wanting to gloat over my defeat for a long time.
SISKO: I'm not here to gloat.
EDDINGTON: You deserve to. You won. I betrayed Starfleet by joining the Maquis. You swore you'd track me down and you did. You got your revenge.
SISKO: Actually, that's what I'm here to talk to you about. Revenge.
EDDINGTON: One of my favourite topics.
(The cell forcefield is lowered for Sisko to throw the PADD in)
SISKO: I believe that was intended for you.
REBECCA [on PADD]: Michael, I hope you get this message. We've launched the missiles. They should reach Carda
SISKO: Don't you want to hear the rest of it?
EDDINGTON: Why should I? It has nothing to do with me. Michael is a very common name.
SISKO: True. But somehow I think you're the right one.
EDDINGTON: Guess again.
SISKO: If those missiles hit Cardassia, it could start a war. Billions of people will be killed.
EDDINGTON: If you expect me to shed a tear, you're going to be disappointed. I used up all my tears when the Dominion slaughtered the Maquis. I sat here in this cell for three days and listened to the reports as they came in. In those three days, everyone and everything I cared about was wiped out.
SISKO: I heard the same reports. It was a tragedy.
EDDINGTON: Your generosity of spirit touches me. But you don't give a damn about what happened to us, and I don't give a damn about what happens to you.
SISKO: You may have taken off the uniform, but you're still a Starfleet officer. And you don't want a war between the Federation and the Dominion any more than I do.
EDDINGTON: What you want and what I want doesn't really matter. There's nothing you can do to stop those missiles from hitting their targets. They're cloaked, highly manoeuvrable, programmed to change course at random. You'll never find them.
SISKO: Maybe we can't locate the missiles, but that doesn't mean we can't stop them. You must have programmed in an abort code, some way to deactivate the missiles by remote.
EDDINGTON: Even if there was such a thing, you'd have to transmit it from the launch site. And I don't think you're going to find that either. No code, no launch site. I'm afraid you're out of luck, Captain. Looks like everyone's out of luck.
SISKO: That's it? You're just going to lie there and do nothing.
EDDINGTON: That's what you do when you're in prison. Nothing. Just sit back and wait for the next counselling session, the next psychological evaluation, the next rehabilitation seminar.
SISKO: What if I could get you out of here? Arrange a pardon in exchange for your helping me?
EDDINGTON: You like this, don't you, Ben? You like deciding the fate of others. It makes you feel important.
SISKO: It's not about me. Do you want your freedom or not?
EDDINGTON: Freedom, huh? Tell me. If they did release me, where would I go? What would I do?
SISKO: Anything you want.
EDDINGTON: What about bringing the Maquis back from the dead? Can I do that? Can you? Can anyone? No, I didn't think so. In that case, I'll tell you what I want. I want to lie here until the Jem'Hadar blow this place to pieces and me along with it.
[Infirmary]
(Quark has an injury above his eye.)
QUARK: Careful, that hurts.
BASHIR: I haven't done anything yet.
QUARK: Well, what are you waiting for? I told you it hurts.
(Odo and Kira enter.)
ODO: You'll survive.
QUARK: Did you catch him?
ODO: We caught him. Or rather I should say Major Kira caught him.
KIRA: I didn't really do anything. I was in the Bajoran shrine, meditating, and he burst in stark naked, and fell to his knees crying out to the Prophets for protection.
BASHIR: Morn, of all people. Who would have thought he'd just snap like that?
ODO: Certainly not me. Which makes me wonder what could've pushed him over the edge?
QUARK: Why are you looking at me? I'm the victim here. He hit me with a barstool.
KIRA: Why did he hit you?
QUARK: I don't have the faintest idea.
KIRA: Think harder.
ODO: Witnesses say you were talking to him right up to the second he went berserk.
QUARK: Of course I was talking to him. That's what bartenders are supposed to do, talk to their customers.
KIRA: What exactly was it that you were talking to him about?
QUARK: All I said was that the military personnel on this station were starting to look a little nervous. When they get nervous, I get nervous.
ODO: And that's all you said?
QUARK: Basically. I might've done a little harmless theorising.
BASHIR: About what?
QUARK: Oh, something like it was only a matter of time before the Dominion launched a full-scale assault against the Federation and when that happened the station would undoubtedly be their first target. And I might've idly suggested that there wasn't a chance in hell that any of us would get out of here alive.
ODO: And that's when Morn hit you with a barstool and ran out onto the Promenade screaming, 'We're all doomed.'
QUARK: Some people just don't react well to stress. Ow!
DAX [OC]: Ops to Major Kira.
KIRA: Go ahead.
DAX [OC]: There's an incoming transmission from Captain Sisko.
KIRA: I'll be right there. Probably wants to warn us that the first wave of Jem'Hadar is on the way.
(Kira leaves)
QUARK: Ha, ha, ha. Very funny. She's joking, right?
BASHIR: Hold still.
[Captain's office]
SISKO [on viewscreen]: My plan is to go into the Badlands, find the launch site, and deactivate those missiles.
KIRA: You make it sound so easy. You sure you don't want me to send the Defiant.
SISKO [on viewscreen]: The Defiant would just attract unwanted attention.
KIRA: Maybe, but I'd feel a hell of a lot better if you weren't out there alone.
SISKO [on viewscreen]: Don't worry, Major. I'm not alone.
(Michael Eddington is not a happy handcuffed bunny)
[Runabout]
SISKO: Dinner.
EDDINGTON: What about these?
SISKO: What about them?
EDDINGTON: It makes it a little difficult to eat.
SISKO: You'll manage.
EDDINGTON: Replicator entrée number one oh three. Curried chicken and rice with a side order of carrots. Or at least that's what they want us to believe. But you and I both know what we're really eating. Replicated protein molecules and textured carbohydrates.
SISKO: It's not that bad.
EDDINGTON: It may look like chicken, but it still tastes like replicated protein molecules to me.
SISKO: If you don't want it, don't eat it.
EDDINGTON: Remember that Thanksgiving dinner you cooked for the senior staff last year? How many months did it take you to grow all those vegetables in the hydroponic garden? Every ingredient fresh, real. Though you did put too much tarragon in the stuffing.
SISKO: I wasn't aware that you were a food critic.
EDDINGTON: I wasn't, until I joined the Maquis and started eating real food. Food that I'd grown with my own hands. Fresh corn, sweet as a baby's smile. And tomatoes. Do you know how hard it is to grow tomatoes? There's always too much rain or not enough. It's too hot, it's too cold. I wonder what happened to those tomato plants? Probably burned to the ground along with everything else.
SISKO: If we don't stop those missiles, a lot of things are going to burn to the ground. And not just on Cardassia.
EDDINGTON: You never give up, do you, Ben? Here we are, having a pleasant conversation about food, and all you're thinking about is the mission and how to get me to cooperate. You're wasting your breath. As far as I'm concerned my life is over. I'm dead.
SISKO: For a dead man, you talk a lot.
EDDINGTON: Then why didn't you leave me in prison?
SISKO: Because I have a job to do and I can't do it without you.
EDDINGTON: You're going to have to. I told you when you dragged me out of my cell that I wasn't going to help you. I meant it then and I mean it now.
SISKO: I am trying to prevent a war.
EDDINGTON: You're the one who set the ground rules when you came after me, Ben. You're the one who made it personal. You could've looked the other way. You could've left the Maquis alone, but you didn't do it. You hunted us, hounded us, fought us every chance you got. And in the end, you set us up for the slaughter. I expected better of you than that. So did a lot of people. People like Cal Hudson. I bet you haven't heard that name in a while.
SISKO: You're right about that.
EDDINGTON: He told me the two of your were friends at the Academy.
SISKO: And a long time after.
EDDINGTON: Until he joined the Maquis.
SISKO: He betrayed his oath to Starfleet.
EDDINGTON: If it makes you feel any better, he paid for his sins. He was killed in a skirmish with the Cardassians.
SISKO: He was a good man.
EDDINGTON: He felt the same about you. He thought you were wrong about the Maquis, but he forgave you, which is ironic considering you never forgave him. You can't forgive any of us. And not because we betrayed Starfleet or the Federation, but because we betrayed you. That's what this is all about. Your ego. Where Benjamin Sisko leads, all must follow.
SISKO: Is that what you really believe?
EDDINGTON: It's the truth, isn't it? The Maquis were never much of a threat to the Federation, but we were a threat to you. We were a stain on your record and you couldn't have that. Not when you were so busy measuring yourself for an admiral's uniform.
SISKO: You want to blame me for what happened to the Maquis? Fine. Go ahead, blame me. Blame Starfleet. Blame the Federation. Blame everyone except Michael Eddington.
EDDINGTON: The Maquis won its greatest victories under my leadership.
SISKO: Your leadership. Your shining moment of glory. Michael Eddington gets to take off his gold uniform and play hero. That's what you always wanted, to lead troops in a glorious cause. Well, you had your chance and look where you led them. Right into their graves.
EDDINGTON: They died because I wasn't there when they needed me most. Because you put me in jail.
SISKO: They died because you filled their heads with false hopes. Sold them dreams of a military victory when what they needed was a negotiated peace.
EDDINGTON: We had the Cardassians on the run.
SISKO: And they ran right into the arms of the Dominion. End of story.
EDDINGTON: Not quite the end.
SISKO: That's right. A few survivors of your noble crusade have decided to launch a pointless retaliatory strike against Cardassia.
EDDINGTON: It's not so pointless. If you can't have victory, sometimes you just have to settle for revenge.
SISKO: Is that what you want? To be remembered as the man who helped bring about the worst war in Federation history?
EDDINGTON: Not quite the legacy I had in mind, but I can live with it.
SISKO: Can you?
[Quark's]
(Two Klingons are having a head-butting contest.)
MARTOK: No, no, no. You can do better than that. You're barely making contact. Again! More wine!
(Nog and Jake are at a table)
JAKE: I don't care what anyone says. That's got to hurt.
(Nog has his chair tilted on it's back legs, like Henry Fonda.)
NOG: They're at sixty five decibels. Loud, but not loud enough.
JAKE: What are you talking about?
NOG: Five more decibels and they'll be legally disturbing the peace.
JAKE: And then what?
NOG: And then I'm going to escort them to a holding cell.
JAKE: You're going to arrest General Martok for disturbing the peace?
NOG: I am.
JAKE: Aren't you going to at least call for backup?
NOG: Jake, you heard what your father said. They won't respect me until I stand up to them, alone.
JAKE: Personally, I think respect is overrated.
(Loud laughter.)
NOG: That's it. Seventy decibels. They're mine.
(But his chair tips him backwards instead.)
NOG: Whoaaa! (The Klingons laugh at him)
JAKE: You okay?
NOG: I'm fine. Just tell me when everyone leaves.
JAKE: Why?
NOG: Because I'm not getting up until they do.
[Runabout]
(Into the plasma storms of the Badlands.)
SISKO: Eddington.
EDDINGTON: (waking) Are we there yet?
SISKO: Where?
EDDINGTON: That's the question, isn't it?
SISKO: There's something here I want you to see.
EDDINGTON: I'll pass, thanks.
SISKO: Suit yourself. Maybe it's nothing. It is hard to get an accurate sensor reading in the Badlands. But unless I'm mistaken, two Jem'Hadar warships are headed our way.
(Eddington looks at the console he's been sleeping on.)
EDDINGTON: Yeah, those are Jem'Hadar warships all right. You've got a problem.
SISKO: We both do. They're getting closer. One AU away. Point nine AU. You said you wanted to be blown to bits by the Jem'Hadar? Well, it looks like you're going to get your wish.
EDDINGTON: I have faith in you, Captain. You'll get us out of this.
SISKO: Not me, Mister Eddington. I don't know the Badlands that well. (Unfastening his handcuffs) But you do.
EDDINGTON: Where are you going?
SISKO: To get a raktajino.
EDDINGTON: Now?
SISKO: Throat's a little dry. One raktajino.
EDDINGTON: You're crazy. They're almost on top of us.
SISKO: One thing I will say about these replicators. They sure know how to make Klingon coffee.
EDDINGTON: They're scanning us.
SISKO: They should be in firing range any minute now.
EDDINGTON: Very clever, Captain, but it's not going to work. I am not going to take the helm.
SISKO: Suit yourself.
EDDINGTON: That is what you're trying to do, isn't it?
SISKO: I'm trying to see how serious your death wish really is. I'm betting that it doesn't even exist. Just like I'm betting you won't be able to sit back and let your friends start a war that could destroy the Alpha Quadrant.
EDDINGTON: That's an awfully big bet.
SISKO: I don't think so. Point seven AU.
(Eddington goes to the pilot seat and starts violent evasive manoeuvres)
SISKO: Can you lose them?
EDDINGTON: I plotted a spiral course around a plasma filament. It should dissipate our warp signature.
SISKO: Very fancy.
EDDINGTON: You can take over now.
SISKO: No, I don't think so.
EDDINGTON: Let's get one thing straight, Captain. I'll get you to the launch site and I'll help you deactivate those missiles. But then you and I are going to have it out once and for all.
SISKO: You want a fight, mister? I will give you one.
EDDINGTON: I don't intend to fight you, Captain. I intend to kill you.
(Later, and Eddington is still piloting.)
EDDINGTON: Captain, when I joined the Maquis, I left some personal items behind on the station.
SISKO: As far as I know, all your things were put in storage.
EDDINGTON: You didn't happen to see an old Earth coin, about this big with a bird on the front?
SISKO: A bird?
EDDINGTON: A loon, actually. My lucky looney. It's an old Canadian coin. Been in the family for over two hundred years.
SISKO: It's probably in some locker in the Assay Office, along with the rest of your things.
EDDINGTON: I hope so. I'd hate to think I'd lost it.
SISKO: Speaking of things you thought you'd lost.
(Jem'Hadar.)
EDDINGTON: There's no way those Jem'Hadar ships could have tracked us.
SISKO: Obviously there is. Can we lose them again?
EDDINGTON: Dissipating our warp signature didn't work.
SISKO: Don't tell me the Maquis didn't have plan B.
EDDINGTON: You're not going to like it.
SISKO: Half an AU and closing. If you do have a plan, I guarantee I'll learn to love it.
EDDINGTON: We're going to have to realign the impulse flow regulators.
SISKO: You mean shut down the engines? They'd be on us in a second.
EDDINGTON: Who said anything about shutting down the engines?
SISKO: You're thinking about realigning the emitter while the engines are engaged? One wrong move and the flow regulators will blow up in your face.
EDDINGTON: You mean, in your face. I'll be piloting the ship. When you finish, we can use the impulse exhaust to detonate the plasma field behind us. Even if the Jem'Hadar survive the blast, the shockwave should wipe out any trace of our ion wake. Point four AU and closing. You'd better get started.
SISKO: All right. But hold the ship steady. I don't want any accidents.
EDDINGTON: I'll do my best.
SISKO: Hmm.
[Runabout Jefferies tube]
COMPUTER: Warning. Attempting to access impulse flow regulators while engines are engaged is not recommended.
SISKO: Tell me something I don't know. Disengage safeties. Authorisation Sisko A four seven one.
COMPUTER: Acknowledged. Safeties disengaged.
(Sisko takes off the panel and starts disconnecting fibre optic cables. Bang. Red alert.)
SISKO: Damn it, Eddington, I told you to hold this ship steady.
[Runabout]
EDDINGTON: Sorry, captain. We ran into a pocket of boron gas.
[Runabout Jefferies tube]
SISKO: Don't do it again.
EDDINGTON [OC]: You still there, Captain?
SISKO: Disappointed?
EDDINGTON [OC]: Just checking. Captain, I hate to rush you
[Runabout]
EDDINGTON: But things are going to get very unpleasant if we don't get out of here soon.
[Runabout Jefferies tube]
SISKO: I'm aware of the problem. (big bang) Eddington!
[Runabout]
EDDINGTON: That wasn't me. They're firing at us.
[Runabout Jefferies tube]
SISKO: In that case, let her rip.
[Runabout]
(The exhaust streams out, the plasma ignites, and Sisko gets slammed against the tube wall and the Jem'Hadar get slammed by the shockwave.)
EDDINGTON: Well, that got the adrenaline pumping. No sign of the Jem'Hadar. Looks like we lost them, Captain. Captain? Computer, locate Captain Sisko.
COMPUTER: Internal sensors are offline.
EDDINGTON: Of course they are.
(Sisko shoves Eddington against a console. He has a nasty graze on his forehead.)
SISKO: I told you to keep the ship steady.
EDDINGTON: You're alive. What a pleasant surprise.
SISKO: I'm sure. Now, get us to the launch site!
[Promenade]
JAKE: I understand, but all I'm saying, Nog, is next time you know I have a girl over, just call me before you come home.
NOG: The two of you were only talking.
JAKE: Well, you never know.
NOG: Jake, I know your track record. You never get past talking.
JAKE: Now that's a scurrilous lie.
NOG: Scurrilous? Is that worse than a regular lie?
JAKE: Look, I don't know what the big deal is. Just check before you come home, okay?
NOG: Okay. And you do the same.
JAKE: Nog, you haven't had a date since you left the Academy. Unless you're counting holosuites.
NOG: Now who's being scurrilous?
(Martok and some Klingons are in Nog and Jake's favourite place on the upper level.)
NOG: I don't believe this.
JAKE: What's wrong?
NOG: They're loitering on the Promenade in our old spot.
JAKE: I guess they know a good view when they see one.
NOG: Jake, don't you get it? They know I'm territorial about that spot. They're purposely doing this to insult me.
(They go upstairs)
JAKE: Nog, you are definitely getting stranger as you get older.
[Promenade - upper level]
NOG: I can't let them do this to me. Stay back, Jake. This could get ugly.
(Nog walks up behind Martok.)
NOG: All right, it's time for you to move along.
MARTOK: We will decide when it is time to move.
NOG: Station regulation eight two slash seven B clearly states that loitering on the Promenade is prohibited.
MARTOK: Is that so?
NOG: It is. Now either move or I'm going to have to place you under arrest.
(Martok bends down to look Nog right in the eye)
MARTOK: You are either very brave or very stupid, Ferengi.
NOG: Probably a little of both.
MARTOK: (smiles) Indeed. Courage comes in all sizes. But don't tempt fate. Khi-gosH.
(The Klingons leave.)
JAKE: Nog, I'm impressed.
NOG: Klingons. You just have to know how to handle them.
[Runabout]
(They arrive at a planet.)
EDDINGTON: Next stop Athos Four, a grim little fogbound piece of rock in the middle of nowhere.
SISKO: What better place to hide a missile launching site?
EDDINGTON: We thought so.
SISKO: The sensors aren't detecting anything.
EDDINGTON: That's the general idea. There's too much interference to detect anything, but it's there.
SISKO: We'll never get a transporter through all this static.
EDDINGTON: We don't need to. There's a shuttle pad not far from the launch site.
SISKO: Then take us down.
[Tunnel]
(Underground, of course.)
SISKO: How far?
EDDINGTON: A few kilometres. This tunnel will take us most of the way.
SISKO: These tunnels are man-made.
EDDINGTON: I know. I helped dig them myself.
[Maquis settlement]
(It's a proper pea-souper in the town square, guv, and no mistake. Eddington and Sisko climb out of the well.)
SISKO: Now where?
EDDINGTON: Give me a minute to get my bearings. It's been a while.
SISKO: You hear something?
(Jem'Hadar soldiers walk past in the fog. A gunfight starts. Eddington and Sisko dive for cover behind convenient barrels and crates.)
SISKO: These barrels are made of duridium. That should hold them off for a while. I thought you said the Jem'Hadar would never find this place.
EDDINGTON: I didn't think they would. I was wrong. I say we rush them. In this fog, they'll have as much chance of hitting each other as hitting us.
SISKO: Too risky.
EDDINGTON: You never would've made it in the Maquis with that kind of attitude.
SISKO: It's not me that I'm worried about, it's you. If you get killed, there'll be no way to stop those missiles.
(Sisko gives Eddington the phaser.)
SISKO: Take this. I'll go around and try to draw their fire. You should be able to catch them off guard when they come after me.
EDDINGTON: I can barely see two metres in front of me. How will I know what I'm aiming at?
SISKO: I'll be the one holding the pipe.
EDDINGTON: Attacking two Jem'Hadar soldiers with a pipe? That's a brilliant plan.
SISKO: It could be worse.
EDDINGTON: I know. It could be me holding the pipe.
SISKO: Exactly.
(The shooting stops. Tapping sounds divert the Jem'Hadar one way then Sisko hits one around the head from the other side and wrestles the second for his rifle. Eddington shoots the first one and watches until Sisko is on the floor. Then he shoots the second Jem'Hadar.)
SISKO: You've got sharp eyes.
EDDINGTON: Not really. I just waited to see which of you was knocked down first, and then I shot the one still standing.
SISKO: Thank you for your vote of confidence.
EDDINGTON: Now help me drag these bodies over to the well. Maybe that way the other Jem'Hadar will look for their friends and not us.
(They chuck the bodies down the well.)
SISKO: In a couple of minutes this entire settlement is going to be crawling with Jem'Hadar. I suggest you get us to the launch site now.
EDDINGTON: That way.
SISKO: Are you sure?
EDDINGTON: Reasonably.
(They make their way through various streets and alleys lit with lamps on the sides of the buildings.)
EDDINGTON: We're close.
SISKO: Then let's keep moving.
(They advance a few steps.)
SISKO: Wait.
(There's a body on the ground.)
EDDINGTON: Vance.
SISKO: You knew him?
EDDINGTON: He was a shuttle pilot, and a friend.
SISKO: There are more.
(There are corpses lying across barrels and crates, and all down the next alley.)
EDDINGTON: This wasn't supposed to happen. We were winning. The Cardassian Empire was falling into chaos. The Maquis colonies were going to declare themselves an independent nation.
SISKO: Eddington, listen to me. This is not the time.
EDDINGTON: It's over.
SISKO: It's not over. We still have to stop those missiles.
EDDINGTON: That's all you care about? The missiles?
SISKO: It's too late for us to help these people. But if we don't stop the missiles, this'll just be the beginning.
EDDINGTON: I was their leader. I was responsible for them and I failed. I failed them all.
SISKO: Maybe we all failed them. Maybe we could've prevented this from happening. I don't know. It's going to take a long time and a lot of soul-searching before I find the answer, but right now we have a mission to complete.
(Eddington points the rifle at Sisko.)
EDDINGTON: I wish I knew for certain that killing you would make me feel better. But I suppose that can wait for another time.
[Outside the Command Centre]
EDDINGTON: That's it.
SISKO: You're sure.
EDDINGTON: You want to stand here and argue about it? Come on. It looks clear.
SISKO: Wait.
(Sisko opens fire with the Jem'Hadar rifle. Two shrouded Jem'Hadar appear and fall.)
EDDINGTON: I'm glad one of us remembered they can do that.
(At the door, Eddington's code doesn't work. Sisko makes to blast it.)
EDDINGTON: No, wait. I don't want to damage any of the equipment. Let me try something.
(He works the inside of the panel and the door opens.)
[Command Centre]
(There is a group of people inside.)
REBECCA: Michael, I wondered when you'd get here.
EDDINGTON: I came as soon as I could. Captain Sisko, I'd like you to meet Rebecca Sullivan. My wife. All right, we're getting out of here. We've got a runabout hidden at the landing site. We can still access the tunnels through the old well. Stick together. Try not to lose each other in the fog.
(Eddington gives Rebecca his Jem'Hadar rifle.)
SISKO: Wait a minute. What about disarming the missiles?
EDDINGTON: Look around you, Ben. Does this look like a launch site?
SISKO: Eddington, I want the truth. Now.
REBECCA: There never were any missiles, no retaliatory strike against Cardassia. It was all a ploy, a way to let Michael know that we'd made it here.
EDDINGTON: This was our fall back position. But I needed your help to evacuate these people.
SISKO: What would you have done if I hadn't forced you to come with me?
EDDINGTON: I would have volunteered. You should be smiling, Ben. That Dominion counterstrike you were so worried about, it's not going to happen.
SISKO: Yes, you're right. That is good news. But I still don't like being lied to.
(And he hits Eddington. Hard.)
EDDINGTON: I hope you're ready to finish what you started.
REBECCA: Michael, we don't have time for this.
EDDINGTON: We'll finish this later.
REBECCA: All right, you heard what Michael said. Stick together.
[Maquis settlement]
SISKO: You should've told me the truth. If I had known the Jem'Hadar were going to be here, I would have brought more men.
EDDINGTON: The Jem'Hadar weren't supposed to be here. No one knew about this base but us.
REBECCA: They landed three days ago. We tried to fight.
EDDINGTON: I know. I saw the bodies. I thought for a while there
REBECCA: I didn't think I'd make it either, but they kept all the leaders alive. They were going to make a present of us to the Cardassian government. Now I guess we'll end up in a Federation prison.
EDDINGTON: No, we're not going to prison. Not if I have anything to say about it.
SISKO: Right now, I suggest you concentrate on getting off this planet. We can worry about the rest later.
EDDINGTON: There's nothing to worry about. You're not going to put us in prison. Not this time.
SISKO: Damn it, you never give up, do you, Mister Eddington?
EDDINGTON: Never.
(One of the Maquis gets shot in the back.)
SISKO: Move!
(They run. Eddington takes up a defensive position behind yet more handy barrels.)
EDDINGTON: Go. Whatever happens, don't stop until you get to the runabout. (to Rebecca) You, too.
REBECCA: I'm staying with you.
EDDINGTON: I'll be right behind you. Now get going.
(Rebecca leaves. Sisko joins Eddington and they hold back the Jem'Hadar.)
SISKO: I didn't know you were married.
EDDINGTON: We held the ceremony two weeks before you captured me.
SISKO: Not much of a honeymoon. I suggest we fall back now.
EDDINGTON: For once, you'll get no argument from me.
(Eddington is shot.)
SISKO: Go!
EDDINGTON: You'd better get to the runabout.
SISKO: What about you?
EDDINGTON: I'd only slow you down. Just get Rebecca and the others to safety.
SISKO: I'm not going to let you just
EDDINGTON: Go!
SISKO: Mister Eddington, you are one stubborn, headstrong son
EDDINGTON: I told you only one of us would be coming back from this mission.
[Tunnel]
REBECCA: Where's Michael?
SISKO: He's not coming.
REBECCA: What do you mean, he's not coming?
SISKO: Rebecca, we have to go. Now.
[Maquis settlement]
(The Jem'Hadar prepare to storm his position.)
EDDINGTON: Okay, Crenshaw, Yuen, circle around to the left. Try to hit 'em from behind. Stiles, Dimitris, watch our right flank. Right. Seems like a perfect time for a song. Wish I could think of one. Does anyone know a good song? Something rousing? Too bad.
(He stands up and gets thoroughly shot.)
EDDINGTON: Rebecca.
(Sisko gets the survivors away safely.)
[Promenade]
NOG: Major.
KIRA: My earring clip. Where'd you find it?
NOG: In maintenance conduit thirty three A. I guess it fell off when you were doing the deflector grid inspection.
KIRA: You must've searched every crawlspace in the central core.
NOG: Just doing my job.
KIRA: And doing it with style.
NOG: Glad to be of help.
(Martok steps off the turbolift and nods to Nog.)
MARTOK: Cadet.
NOG: General. Now that's better.
KIRA: What was that all about?
NOG: Respect.
[Sisko's quarters]
DAX: I'll say this for him, he was a complicated man. If you ask me, Eddington couldn't have picked a better way to go, at least from his point of view. He was a romantic, and what is more romantic than a glorious death in defence of a lost cause.
SISKO: He died fighting for what he believed in. I called him a traitor once, but in a way he was the most loyal man I ever met. He was a Maquis, right up to the bitter end.
DAX: Is that what this is? The end of the Maquis?
SISKO: Who knows? There could still be more of them out there, hiding from the Dominion, biding their time.
DAX: You almost sound hopeful.
SISKO: There is something attractive about a lost cause.
DAX: Maybe you have more in common with Eddington than you want to admit.
SISKO: Maybe.
DAX: Good night, Benjamin. Get some rest.
(Dax leaves, Sisko goes to the window and stares at the stars. The Delta Quadrant, where the last of the Maquis are?)
2024-09-13 19:12:33 -
Pike:
Added the transcript.
