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February 10, 1999
RUNTIME
45 minutes
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144
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2024-09-12 19:45:35
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Version 2
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SUMMARY
Stardate: Unknown. To help find the apparently untraceable murderer of a young ensign, who had recently received a battlefield decoration, Ezri Dax reluctantly calls up the residual consciousness remnant of her symbiont?s past, the psychopathic murderer host, Joran.
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TRANSCRIPT
[Quark's]
BASHIR: Listen up. Listen up. To Lieutenant Hector Ilario, living proof that Starfleet Academy produces the finest fighter pilots in the galaxy.
O'BRIEN: Hear, hear.
BASHIR: I haven't finished.
KIRA: Don't ruin it, Julian. That was just what a toast should be. Short and to the point.
ILARIO: I wouldn't mind hearing a little more.
EZRI: Now, now. Modesty above all.
BASHIR: This is no time to be modesty. This man, this youth, this mere pup still wet behind the ears.
ILARIO: I'm twenty two.
BASHIR: I was speaking metaphorically. This inspired cherub masterfully piloted the Defiant into battle against a half dozen Jem'Hadar attack ships, and once all the smoke had cleared, only one ship remained intact, and that, ladies and gentlemen, was the USS Defiant.
O'BRIEN: The kid's a born helmsman.
BASHIR: And so say all of us.
ALL: Hear, hear.
ILARIO: Thanks. I'm just glad to be here.
O'BRIEN: It's the best posting in the galaxy.
BASHIR: If there's anything you want, anything at all, just ask.
ILARIO: Well, there is one thing.
O'BRIEN: Name it.
ILARIO: Next time you two go to the holosuite, I'd like to come along.
O'BRIEN: Sorry.
BASHIR: Can't be done.
O'BRIEN: No, it's out of the question.
BASHIR: It's impossible.
KIRA: Don't take it personally. They're very serious about their leisure activities.
BASHIR: It's a good way to relieve stress.
O'BRIEN: Yeah, I highly recommend it.
BASHIR: Just not with us.
O'BRIEN: No. You know, when you have a holosuite visit, it's sort of a personal experience.
BASHIR: He's very particular about anybody seeing him in his coonskin cap. You understand.
ILARIO: I suppose.
QUARK: Gentlemen, your holosuite is ready.
BASHIR: Terrific. Now if there's anything else you need?
O'BRIEN: Just let us know.
(O'Brien and Bashir go up the stairs)
ILARIO: Have you ever gone to the holosuite with them?
KIRA: Me? Never.
EZRI: I know when I'm not wanted.
(Later, the bar is almost empty.)
ILARIO: To the class of seventy two. Another round?
EZRI + KIRA: No.
ILARIO: Time to go?
KIRA: It was time to go about an hour ago.
ILARIO: Okay.
KIRA: Okay, we'll get you home.
EZRI: I'll take him. His quarters are on my way.
KIRA: Sure.
EZRI: He won't be the first drunken Ensign I've escorted home. Someday remind me to tell you about a bar on Bolarus and a certain young Mister Sisko. This way.
[Corridor]
ILARIO: I never had real Saurian brandy before. It's Captain Sisko's favourite.
EZRI: Kind of sneaks up on you, doesn't it?
ILARIO: Speaking of sneaking up on you. Here we are. Home sweet home.
[Ilario's quarters]
EZRI: Are you all right? Do you want some raktajino?
ILARIO: I'm fine. I'm fine. I wish they could have been there.
(A picture of him and his classmates, laughing.)
ILARIO: They would have loved it. See me fly the Defiant into battle. It was incredible.
EZRI: I should get going. Make sure you get some sleep.
ILARIO: You know something, Lieutenant? You're very beautiful.
EZRI: And you're very drunk.
ILARIO: True enough. But in the morning, I'll be sober and you'll still be beautiful.
EZRI: Good night, Ilario.
ILARIO: Good night, Lieutenant.
[Ezri's bedroom]
COMPUTER: The time is oh six hundred hours. The time is oh six hundred hours and ten seconds.
EZRI: Yeah, yeah. I'm up.
[Ezri's quarters]
EZRI: Fanalian tea. Hot.
(There is a commotion outside. She looks outside to see armed security running past.)
MAN: I don't know. Full security alert.
MAN 2: Yes, sir.
(Ezri follows them to -)
[Ilario's quarters]
(Odo, Bashir and security are with a body)
EZRI: What happened?
ODO: Lieutenant Ilario has been killed.
EZRI: Killed? How?
BASHIR: It appears someone shot him.
(After the opening titles, Sisko has arrived and O'Brien is doing the CSI tricorder thing.)
ODO: He was killed by what appears to have been some kind of chemically propelled projectile weapon.
SISKO: A gun?
ODO: Doctor Bashir recovered a single tritanium bullet from Ilario's chest.
BASHIR: He was shot through the heart.
O'BRIEN: You don't see one of those every day.
ODO: No one uses projectile weapons anymore.
SISKO: You said this is tritanium, right?
ODO: That's correct.
SISKO: Chief, did you ever hear of a TR one one six rifle?
O'BRIEN: It was a prototype. Developed by Starfleet Security to operate in energy dampening fields or radiogenic environments.
SISKO: That's right. Anywhere where a normal phaser would be useless. If I'm not mistaken, the TR one one six rifle fired a chemically propelled tritanium bullet.
ODO: You say a prototype. Were they ever mass produced?
O'BRIEN: No. Starfleet abandoned the TR one one six in favour of regenerative phasers.
SISKO: That doesn't mean the killer couldn't have gotten hold of the rifle's replication patterns.
O'BRIEN: But only Starfleet officers have access to those files.
SISKO: Disturbing thought, isn't it?
BASHIR: Starfleet officers do not go around murdering other officers.
ODO: Not usually, anyway.
O'BRIEN: Hold on a minute. That's odd. According to these readings, the bullet only travelled eight or nine centimetres.
SISKO: Then the killer must have fired at point blank range.
ODO: I don't think so. There are no powder burns on the body.
BASHIR: What are powder burns?
ODO: At close range, chemically propelled weapons leave residual combustion products on the skin and clothing of the victims.
SISKO: How did you know that?
ODO: I read twentieth century crime novels. Raymond Chandler, Mike Hammer, that sort of thing.
SISKO: So, if the killer did fire from close range, why aren't there any powder burns?
O'BRIEN: I don't know.
ODO: But we'll find out.
EZRI: What was the time of death?
BASHIR: Oh three seventeen.
EZRI: That's only ten minutes after I left.
SISKO: Was he alone?
EZRI: I didn't see anyone, but I wasn't here for very long.
SISKO: What do we know about Ilario, outside of his service record?
ODO: Not a great deal. He's only been on the station for ten days.
EZRI: As far as I could tell, he was intelligent, dedicated, eager to please. Everyone liked him.
SISKO: Not everyone. I want to know everything there is to know about him. Who his friends were, if he made any enemies. I also want increased security throughout the station.
ODO: Yes, sir.
SISKO: And Constable
ODO: You want whoever did this caught. I understand, Captain.
[Quark's]
BASHIR: Ilario once told me he came from a big family. Three brothers and two sisters.
O'BRIEN: I thought it was two brothers and three sisters.
BASHIR: I don't think so.
O'BRIEN: You sure?
BASHIR: Are you?
EZRI: Don't look at me. We never discussed his family. Mostly he talked about the Academy and about the two of you.
BASHIR: Us?
EZRI: He really admired both of you.
BASHIR: We should have let him come to the holosuite with us.
O'BRIEN: You're right, we should've.
EZRI: I just wish I hadn't left his quarters so quickly. Maybe he'd still be alive.
BASHIR: Or you'd be dead right there with him.
EZRI: Odo will catch whoever did this, won't he?
BASHIR: If anyone can.
O'BRIEN: We really should've let him come to the holosuite with us.
[Mortuary]
(Ezri is standing by the flag-draped torpedo case when Bashir enters.)
BASHIR: Ezri.
EZRI: Shouldn't you be in bed?
BASHIR: I was about to ask you the same question.
EZRI: I just couldn't sleep.
BASHIR: Me neither. You mustn't blame yourself, you know, for Ilario's death.
EZRI: I don't, not really.
BASHIR: Then what is it?
EZRI: It's just knowing that he was murdered.
BASHIR: It's difficult to accept. The whole concept of someone killing another person in cold blood, it's almost incomprehensible, isn't it?
EZRI: Not to me.
BASHIR: Meaning what?
EZRI: Meaning that I know exactly what it feels like. To feel the urge, the need, to take a life.
BASHIR: You're talking about Joran.
EZRI: He killed three people. He was a host to the Dax symbiont, just like me.
BASHIR: He was nothing like you.
EZRI: I try not to think about it. Jadzia felt the same way. She tried to bury his memories as deeply as she could. But they're still there. The victims. What they looked like.
BASHIR: They weren't your victims.
EZRI: I know. But then something like this happens. Just the thought of someone like him being here right now.
BASHIR: You really should get some rest.
EZRI: You're right. Even if it does mean lying in my bed, staring at the ceiling for a few more hours. Goodnight, Julian.
BASHIR: Good night.
(Ezri leaves, Bashir sits on one of the two rows of chairs set out for the memorial.)
[Corridor]
ODO: Save your complaints for the magistrate.
EZRI: Is this the one we've been looking for?
ODO: Ilario's killer. Quite a clever one at that.
EZRI: Why? Why did you do it?
ILARIO: You tell me, Counsellor.
EZRI: But you're dead.
ILARIO: Don't tell me, tell him.
ODO: I'm sorry, Lieutenant. There's nothing more annoying than a corpse with a mind of its own.
EZRI: What?
(Ezri's hands are covered in blood. Suddenly she is in -
[Ilario's quarters]
(With the corpse on the floor.)
EZRI: Dax to Security. Odo? Kira? Anyone there? Security, please answer me. Joran!
JORAN: You recognise me. How nice.
EZRI: What do you want?
JORAN: Respect. Understanding. Love.
[Quark's cafe / Promenade upper level]
(Down below, Joran is playing a keyboard instrument.)
JORAN: I wish you'd stop being afraid of me. It's not like we're strangers. That worm in your belly used to be mine. Which means I'm part of you.
EZRI: Joran.
JORAN: And you're part of me.
EZRI: I'm nothing like you.
JORAN: Is that so? You want to find out who killed Ilario, don't you? Then what are you waiting for? Perform the Rite of Emergence and just ask for my help, and then we can get to work.
EZRI: I don't want your help.
JORAN: Maybe not, but you need it.
EZRI: You murdered three people. I don't want anything to do with you. Now me leave me alone!
JORAN: How can I? There's nowhere else for me to go. I'm within you, Ezri. All the time. Use me.
EZRI: No!
JORAN: I can help. I know how he thinks. We can catch him, Ezri, you and me together. And then we'll make him pay.
(Joran throws himself and Ezri over the railing onto the Promenade.)
[Ezri's quarters]
(Ezri wakes from her nightmare.)
SISKO [OC]: Sisko to Dax. Report to Habitat Ring, level J seventeen.
EZRI: What is it, Ben?
SISKO [OC]: There's been another murder.
[Vanderweg's quarters]
SISKO: Report.
ODO: Lieutenant Commander Greta Vanderweg. Science Officer. Human, age thirty seven. Twelve years of service, the last three here on Deep Space Nine.
BASHIR: Cause of death, tritanium bullet fired at close range. No powder burns.
SISKO: Did Ilario and Vanderweg know each other?
ODO: I'll look into to it, but it's doubtful. Ilario was only here for ten days, seven of them he was on the Defiant.
SISKO: But why Ilario? And why Vanderweg? Did someone have a personal grudge against either one of them? Or is someone just killing our officers at random?
BASHIR: I still can't believe anyone in Starfleet could be doing this.
ODO: There are over nine hundred Starfleet officers posted on the station.
SISKO: Odo, we have to narrow the field of suspects.
ODO: Sir.
SISKO: How well did you do in forensic psychology at the Academy?
EZRI: It wasn't my favourite subject.
SISKO: We have to find out why the killer's doing this.
EZRI: I'll do my best.
[Replimat]
O'BRIEN: I wonder why he chose a TR one one six?
BASHIR: Instead of a phaser?
O'BRIEN: Yeah. I mean, why use a rifle if you're going to shoot somebody from close range?
BASHIR: I don't know. He or she may have originally intended to kill their victims from a great distance, so they replicated a long-range weapon. Or they had some special connection to this particular rifle. A fetish or psychological obsession, perhaps?
O'BRIEN: I suppose so.
BASHIR: Did you ever read that biography I gave you on Davy Crockett last month?
O'BRIEN: No. But I'll get to it.
BASHIR: There was this fascinating section about the mythology that grew up around Crockett and his rifle. There was this notion that a man could have a special relationship with a weapon. Some frontiersmen even went so far as to give their rifles names, female ones at that, thus changing the relationship between owner and object to something resembling man and woman.
O'BRIEN: Maybe I'll start calling my tricorder Sally.
BASHIR: There's some great tall tales in that book. There's one particular story where Crockett was supposed to have put up a target against a tree and arranged a series of tin frying pans nearby in a complicated pattern. The idea was that he was going to shoot a bullet at one of these pans which would then ricochet to another and then to another and then to another and then to another.
O'BRIEN: Wait a minute. That's it. Displaced targeting. That's how he did it.
BASHIR: Who?
O'BRIEN: The killer. He set up an alternate bullet trajectory, one that didn't require a direct line of sight between him and the victim. Julian, you're a genius.
BASHIR: Don't thank me, thank Davy Crockett.
[Science lab]
EZRI: What do you think?
ODO: Nice melon.
(It's blue, by the way.)
EZRI: But what does it have to do with us?
ODO: I have no idea. All I know is that Chief O'Brien wanted me to bring you here. He said he had something to show us.
O'BRIEN [OC]: O'Brien to Science Lab.
ODO: Go ahead, Chief.
O'BRIEN [OC]: Are you ready?
EZRI: For what?
O'BRIEN [OC]: You'll see. First put on those goggles that are on the counter in front of you. Now take a step back away from the melon. A little further. I've only done this a couple of times.
EZRI: How's this?
O'BRIEN [OC]: Good.
(Bang! And the melon breaks. O'Brien enters with a rifle and eyepiece.)
O'BRIEN: Wow.
ODO: Are you all right?
EZRI: Better than that melon.
O'BRIEN: It worked! I was able to fire a bullet into that melon while standing outside in the corridor.
EZRI: You fired through the wall?
ODO: I don't see any bullet holes.
O'BRIEN: I attached a micro transporter to this TR one one six. When I fired, the bullet was beamed into this room a few centimetres away from the melon.
ODO: Where it continued its trajectory. So if the killer used a similar transporter device, that would explain the lack of powder burns on the victims.
O'BRIEN: And by using an exographic targeting sensor, he was able to scan through the bulkheads.
ODO: So he could have been firing from anywhere on the station. Can you trace the bullet's transporter signatures back to where the killer was when he fired?
O'BRIEN: I'm afraid not. The signature is too weak.
ODO: It's an ingenious weapon.
EZRI: Whoever he is, he's smart.
[Ezri's quarters]
(Ezri is comparing Hector and Greta's service records.)
EZRI: Nothing. No connection.
[Promenade]
(Late night. Morn escorts a dabo girl to the turbolift. Ezri leaves the Replimat. She hears sounds.)
EZRI: Who's there? Who is it? Quark? Is that you?
[Promenade - upper level]
EZRI: This isn't funny.
(More banging sounds then a figure looms from the gloom.)
EZRI: Worf!
WORF: It is late. You should be in your quarters.
EZRI: Were you following me?
WORF: It is dangerous for you to be wandering the Promenade alone.
EZRI: You were worried about me?
WORF: There is a killer on the station. You have no right to endanger yourself this way.
EZRI: You were worried about me. Thank you, Worf. That's sweet.
WORF: You are a fellow officer. I would have the same concern for Chief O'Brien or Doctor Bashir.
EZRI: Of course. I didn't mean to imply otherwise.
WORF: Then we understand each other.
EZRI: Perfectly.
WORF: How is the investigation coming?
EZRI: Slowly.
WORF: If I can assist you in any way?
EZRI: I appreciate it, but you can't, really. Nobody can. Actually, that's not true. There is someone who could help, but I don't want to ask him,
WORF: Why?
EZRI: It's complicated.
WORF: Nevertheless, if he can help?
EZRI: It wouldn't be pleasant.
WORF: Perhaps not, but I am certain that you will do whatever is necessary to complete your task.
EZRI: And how do you know that?
WORF: You are Dax. It is your way.
[Ezri's quarters]
(There's a bubbling cauldron of mud.)
EZRI: I'nora, ja'kala vok 'za Ezri. Zhian'tara rek pora'al Zheem Dax tanas rhem Joran. 'za Ezri tanas rhem Joran. Come on, Joran. Don't make me beg. Joran tanas rhem. Vok Ezri, Joran tanas rhem.
(Joran replaces her face in the mirror)
JORAN: You won't regret this, Ezri.
(Then he's not in the mirror.)
JORAN: I promise. Joran, the forgotten host. The outcast.
EZRI: The murderer.
JORAN: I'm sure you never thought that little character trait would prove useful.
EZRI: It seems so strange separating you from the others, seeing you standing there.
JORAN: But I'm not really standing here, am I? It's all in your mind. At least now I know you're listening me. I've been ignored for far too long. Curzon and Jadzia didn't quite know what to do with me.
EZRI: They buried your memories as deep within them as possible.
JORAN: That was a mistake. I have so much to offer.
EZRI: We'll see about that. Now, let's get to work. We have a killer to catch.
JORAN: Where should we begin?
EZRI: I want to know how he thinks.
JORAN: Then we'll start with his choice of weapons.
EZRI: We already know how he modified the TR one one six.
JORAN: But you haven't held it in your hands, have you? You haven't looked through its tracking display, picked a target, felt the power as you lock its sensors on your unsuspecting prey. If you want to catch a killer, Ezri, you have to learn to think like one.
[Science lab]
(Ezri opens the rifle's container.)
JORAN: Handsome weapon.
EZRI: If you say so.
JORAN: Even you have to admire the aesthetic qualities inherent in its design. It conveys a sense of danger, of power. Just looking from the trigger to the muzzle conjures up images of death. Take it down.
(Ezri lays it on the table.)
JORAN: I meant hold it in your hands.
EZRI: Why?
JORAN: Because I want you to feel what the killer felt. This isn't going to work if you fight me.
EZRI: I'm holding the gun.
JORAN: Stop placating me. You wanted my help? Now do as I say. Put on the targeting display.
(Ezri puts the yellow lens over her left eye.)
JORAN: Now, hold the weapon as if you're going to use it. Feels good, doesn't it?
EZRI: I've held a rifle before.
JORAN: You mean in combat? It's not the same thing. That kind of killing's too random, too chaotic. This is more controlled. You can savour the moment. Now, tell me, what do you see?
EZRI: I'm moving through different levels of the docking ring.
JORAN: He didn't kill anyone in the docking ring. Remember, you're trying to put yourself in his mind. Move to the habitat ring.
EZRI: I'm there. In one of the corridors.
JORAN: Good. Our killer is a hunter. So start hunting.
EZRI: I see a Bajoran Deputy.
JORAN: You don't want to be in the corridors. Look in the quarters.
EZRI: No one's here.
(Next door.)
EZRI: A male Starfleet officer. An engineer, about thirty five.
JORAN: Good. We have a victim. You have him in your sights. How do you feel? Truth now.
EZRI: Powerful. In control
JORAN: That's good. That's what the killer's feeling.
EZRI: I'm not angry or excited.
JORAN: You're calm, relaxed.
EZRI: Detached.
JORAN: Now you're getting it. You do your killing from a distance. You're cold, methodical. Maybe you're a scientist or a doctor?
EZRI: Maybe. But why kill like this? Why not choose a victim on the Promenade or in Quark's?
JORAN: If you want to know the answer, pull the trigger and find out. Don't think about it, do it! Do it!
EZRI: No!
(Ezri rips off the eyepiece and puts down the weapon.)
JORAN: Ezri, the gun isn't loaded.
EZRI: Then why did you tell me to pull the trigger?
JORAN: Do you want to know what the killer feels or don't you?
[Promenade - upper level]
JORAN: I'm sorry, Ezri. I didn't mean to push you so far.
EZRI: I'm not a murderer. I'm not you.
JORAN: Maybe not, but you have my memories. You remember what it was like. The excitement, the passion, the looks on their faces as they realised we were the last thing they'd ever see.
EZRI: That has nothing to do with me. You're the killer.
QUARK: Ezri? I think you need a vacation. You're talking to yourself.
EZRI: I'm just thinking out loud.
JORAN: I don't know what you see in this Ferengi. He's repulsive.
QUARK: Can I get you a drink or something to eat?
JORAN: No, we don't have time. We have work to do. EZRI: No, thanks. I'm not hungry, really.
QUARK: Well, when you are, you know where to come.
(Quark goes back to his cafe.)
JORAN: How I'd love to slip a knife between his ribs.
EZRI: I have a better idea. Let's get back to work. The sooner we find our killer, the sooner you and I can part company.
JORAN: I thought we were having fun together.
EZRI: Think again.
JORAN: I suppose I'll have to make myself more endearing. Now, I suggest we visit the victims' quarters to see what answers we can find there.
[Ilario's quarters]
EZRI: What are we looking for?
JORAN: Clues, what else?
EZRI: We don't even know if the killer ever set foot in here.
JORAN: Both victims were in their quarters when they were killed. Is that a coincidence or a connection?
EZRI: I don't know.
JORAN: Think about it. Look around. And remember, whatever you see is what the killer saw. What do we know about these classmates of Ilario's?
EZRI: Odo checked with Starfleet Command. The one on the left was killed in combat five weeks ago. The one in the middle is stationed on the USS Truman. The Truman hasn't come anywhere near Deep Space Nine in months.
JORAN: Pity. Keep looking.
[Vanderweg's quarters]
JORAN: Greta was quite a packrat, wasn't she?
EZRI: She was here a long time. This was home.
JORAN: A monument to bad taste. Just an observation.
(A holopicture of the laughing bride in her husband's arms.)
EZRI: Vanderweg's husband is a micropaleontologist on Mora Five. She was married, Ilario was single. She was on Deep Space Nine for three years, he just got here. She was a mature woman, he was practically a kid. Besides the uniform, they had absolutely nothing in common. Which means they could have just been chosen at random. And if that's the case, then we're wasting our time.
[Quark's]
JORAN: You're thinking about giving up, aren't you?
EZRI: I didn't say that.
JORAN: You don't have to. You have failure written all over you.
EZRI: I'm sorry to disappoint you.
JORAN: It's not the lack of clues that's keeping you from finding the killer, it's you.
EZRI: Me?
JORAN: You're holding back, Ezri. You refuse to see with his eyes, feel with his hands, think with his mind.
EZRI: You want to turn me into a killer, make me like you.
JORAN: You are me.
EZRI: You want me to kill someone? What do you say I start with you.
JORAN: That's the spirit.
SECURITY: Hold it! Stop him!
(Upstairs, a Starfleet officer is being chased by Bajoran security.)
EZRI: They've found him!
SECURITY: Stop that man!
(The man runs down the stairs. Ezri kicks a chair over to slow him up and then throws him to the floor. The man hits her.)
JORAN: A weapon. Over there. (Ezri picks up a knife.) Yes. Yes, do it. Do it!
(But Odo takes the knife from her.)
ODO: That's enough!
[Captain's office]
SISKO: You mind explaining this? I'm told that if Odo hadn't stopped you, you'd have stabbed Ensign Bertram.
EZRI: I was trying to stop him from getting away, all right? He hit me, I reacted. I guess I overreacted.
SISKO: I'd say so.
JORAN: He could be a little more appreciative, don't you think?
EZRI: I'm sorry things get out of hand, but Bertram killed two people.
SISKO: Bertram didn't kill anyone.
EZRI: Then why was the Security team chasing him?
SISKO: Because a month ago, he accessed the replicator patterns on TR one one six without authorisation.
JORAN: Sounds guilty to me.
EZRI: Why would he replicate a rifle unless he was going to use it?
SISKO: Because he collects weapons. Federation, Klingon, and Cardassian.
JORAN: What a coincidence.
EZRI: That doesn't rule him out as a suspect.
SISKO: True. But the fact that he was on Bajor when the first murder occurred does. You've been under a lot of stress lately, so
EZRI: Ben, please don't give up on me. I can find this murderer. I know I can. I just need more time.
[Turbolift]
JORAN: I don't know what you and Jadzia and Curzon all see in that man. He's so insufferable, so Starfleet. I'm surprised the killer hasn't targeted him. I'm joking of course. But he did come perilously close to derailing our investigation.
[Corridor]
JORAN: And you have to take some of the blame for that.
EZRI: What did I do?
JORAN: It's what you didn't do, really. You should have told him about me.
EZRI: You're kidding. One word about you and he'd have pulled me off the case.
JORAN: Well then, I guess I'll have to remain your little secret and be glad that you're still in his good graces. Not that it matters, really. We would have continued on without Sisko's blessing. Right?
[Ezri's quarters]
(Ezri lights the fire beneath the mud cauldron.)
JORAN: What are you doing?
EZRI: What does it look like? I'nora, ja'kala vok.
JORAN: Do you really think you can get rid of me this easily?
EZRI: Zheem Dax nah sass eye ahn
JORAN: Don't you realise we've made Dax whole again?
EZRI: D'za oo bah zheest.
JORAN: Don't back away now.
EZRI: Joran rhee jehr hey dah. Joran rhee jehr hey dah.
JORAN: (her reflection in the mirror) You won't catch the killer without me.
ODO [OC]: Odo to Lieutenant Dax. Report to the habitat ring on H forty three.
EZRI: I'm on my way.
[Brott's quarters]
ODO: Petty Officer Zim Brott. Bolian. Five years of service on Deep Space Nine.
EZRI: I knew him. Or at least Jadzia did. He has a wife and co-husband on Bolarus.
O'BRIEN: So much for the theory that our killer only targets humans.
BASHIR: Captain.
SISKO: The bullet pierced his heart?
BASHIR: At close range.
JORAN: Why am I not surprised.
(Later, Ezri is alone searching the room.)
JORAN: What happens if we don't catch him? Will he keep shooting Starfleet officers till there are none left on the station? How could anyone be so happy with such unattractive children?
(A picture of the laughing family.)
EZRI: What did you say?
JORAN: This photo.
EZRI: That's it. It's the pictures! He's laughing!
[Vanderweg's quarters]
EZRI: She's laughing.
[Ilario's quarters]
EZRI: That's what the victims have in common. Pictures of laughing faces.
JORAN: A killer who hates laughter. Who hates emotion.
EZRI: A Vulcan.
JORAN: All Vulcans distrust emotions, but they don't go around killing people for smiling.
EZRI: This one does. Something happened to him, something so emotionally painful it's making him lose control. When he looks through the targeting sensor and sees those pictures, the laughter seems to mock him.
JORAN: You're thinking like he thinks. Good, Ezri.
EZRI: Computer. How many Vulcan Starfleet Officers are on the station?
COMPUTER: There are forty eight Vulcans serving on Deep Space Nine.
JORAN: Now all we have to do is eliminate forty seven of them.
EZRI: I should tell Odo.
JORAN: Not until we have proof.
EZRI: Then let's get some.
[Science lab]
EZRI: We still have twenty eight suspects. Vulcans who have suffered a personal loss of some kind.
JORAN: We've narrowed the field.
EZRI: Not by enough.
[Promenade - upper level]
(There are Vulcans seemingly everywhere.)
EZRI: There's one thing I don't understand. If he hates laughter, then why doesn't he seek out his victims in Quark's or in a holosuite?
JORAN: Maybe it's not just the laughter.
EZRI: You're right. Maybe it has something to do with the way the photograph freezes the emotion, making it seem like the laughter is going to last forever.
[Turbolift]
EZRI: Level twelve, central core.
JORAN: So, what do we do now?
EZRI: We go back over our list of suspects, see if we can't narrow it down. Then proof or no proof, we give the list to Odo.
(A Vulcan enters.)
VULCAN: Habitat ring, level K fifty five.
(Joran stares into the Vulcan's face.)
EZRI: What are you doing?
VULCAN: Are you addressing me?
EZRI: Sorry. Never mind.
JORAN: It's him, Ezri. I know it is. We've found our killer. I'm telling you, he's the one we're looking for. Look in his eyes!
EZRI: By the way, I'm Counsellor Dax.
VULCAN: I know.
(The Vulcan leaves.)
JORAN: What are you doing? He's getting away.
EZRI: We need proof. Something I can take to Odo.
JORAN: And while you're looking for that proof, what do you think the Vulcan will be doing? Let me tell you. He's going to pick another victim.
[Science lab]
EZRI: Science Officer Chu'lak. Age ninety seven. Assigned to Deep Space Nine three months ago. Before that, he served aboard the USS Grissom.
JORAN: Why was he transferred?
EZRI: The Grissom was destroyed by the Jem'Hadar in the battle of Ricktor Prime. He was one of only six crewmen to survive.
JORAN: Six survivors out of a crew of twelve hundred and fifty.
EZRI: He served on that ship for ten years. Those people who were killed were his colleagues, his friends.
JORAN: That's a painful loss, even for a Vulcan.
EZRI: That doesn't make him a killer.
JORAN: But your instincts tell you that he is. Listen to your instincts. Listen to me. It's him.
EZRI: Computer. Locate Science Officer Chu'lak.
COMPUTER: Lieutenant Chu'lak is in his quarters.
JORAN: Seeking out his next victim.
EZRI: Computer. Where are Chu'lak's quarters?
COMPUTER: Habitat ring, level D twelve.
(Ezri gets the rifle and puts on the eyepiece.)
JORAN: My thought exactly. What do you see?
EZRI: He's studying something on his computer console.
JORAN: Studying what?
(She zooms in over his shoulder.)
JORAN: What is it?
EZRI: Me. My service record.
JORAN: He knows we suspect him.
EZRI: He's going into the next room.
JORAN: What's he doing?
EZRI: He's back. He's carrying something.
JORAN: It's a rifle, isn't it. Isn't it?
EZRI: Yes.
JORAN: Shoot him.
(Ezri attaches the ammo clip to her rifle.)
JORAN: Don't think about it, just do it.
(Chu'lak puts on his targeting sensor.)
JORAN: Kill him!
(They look at each other down the barrels of their rifles. Ezri fires and hits him. Chu'lak's bullet hits the bulkhead behind her, breaching it.)
JORAN: Congratulations.
[Corridor]
JORAN: I'm proud of you.
[Chu'lak's quarters]
(Chu'lak is not dead. He is crawling for his weapon when Ezri arrives and picks it up.)
JORAN: Go ahead. Finish what you started.
EZRI: Tell me. Why did you do it?
VULCAN: Because logic demanded it.
JORAN: What are you waiting for? He deserves to die. You know that. Follow your instincts.
EZRI: Dax to Infirmary. I need an Emergency Medical team. Habitat ring D twelve.
BASHIR [OC]: On our way.
EZRI: Try not to look so disappointed.
[Ezri's quarters]
EZRI: Chzui vok Ezri sheyhal bashar. I'nora ja'kala vok.
JORAN: I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed our time together.
EZRI: Zheem Dax nah sass eye ahn. D'za oo bah zheest. Joran rhee jehr hey dah
JORAN: You won't be able to forget me or bury me as deeply as Curzon or Jadzia did.
EZRI: I know.
JORAN: I'm part of you now. As much as Audrid, Torias, any of them.
EZRI: I'll have to be careful. Tu Dax noh zhian 'vok j'zui.
(Joran fades away.)
EZRI: Joran rhem tanas Ezri.
2024-09-12 19:45:35 -
Pike:
Added the transcript.
