Overview of Season 4 of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
“You’re not the real Curt.”
“… I could be if you let me. I don’t want you to be alone, Millie. Even if I’m not him, I love you just as much as he did.”
“I know, sweetie, I know. These last couple days have been some of the happiest I’ve had in ages. You’ve made this old broad feel young again, if only for a little while. But now I need to keep moving on with my life and live for myself. And don’t you worry about me. I’m never alone – I have friends and family who’ll always be there for me. Besides, those thugs the Orion Syndicate sends after me can be real party animals after a few synthales!”
“I… I guess it’s time I was going, then. I know it won’t mean anything, but could you give the kids and Andy hugs for me?”
“I don’t see why not.”
“Thank you, and… and I’m sorry if I caused you any discomfort.”
“Don’t be sorry. Just promise me you won’t do something like this to someone else.”
“Honestly, I don’t think there’s anyone else quite like you, Millie… One more kiss before I go?”
“Sure.”
“So long, Starshine.”
“Goodbye… Curtis.”
- Mildred confronts "Curtis" at the conclusion of
The Last Serenade. Dialogue written by
@The Chimera Virus
Ghosts by
@Plus-Sized Scribe
Navarch Winn contacts Kira, asking her why exactly she recommended the Kdaptists come to Bajor. They’ve been making terrible nuisances of themselves and seem to be convinced they’ve stumbled onto an insidious secret. If she doesn’t have somebody take care of this problem, Winn will recommend the government have the Kzinti come and deal with them. Kira quickly brings this to Sisko, who suggests they head down to the planet with Kelly to sort things out. K’Rene, who’s on shore leave, parts from Dax to join them. Sisko defers a meeting with the young new Vulcan ambassador, T’Preike, to do this… much to her understated annoyance. She insists on joining the away team and ensuring everyone follows Federation procedure to the letter, much to Kira’s vocal annoyance.
Planetside, Kdapt-Missionary greets them; he’s very glad they’re here and invites them to come into the archaeological dig they’ve started. This has been done without government permission, but it seems to have immense significance. Indeed, they’ve discovered a massive cave system that goes so deep that it becomes anoxic and requires breathing apparatuses to explore. The system is almost two million years old and at the very bottom lies something astonishing – something K’Rene recognizes as pictures of the fabled enemy of the Klingon Empire: the Hur’q.
These are pictographs depicting the terraforming of Bajor by the Hur’q, followed by at least one-and-a-quarter-million years of it being a Hur’q colony world. The early Bajorans were genetically altered Hur’q. K’Rene is horrified, which is only marginally worse than everyone else’s reaction.
Three months later, a wealth of information has been uncovered and Bajor is teetering on the brink of civil war between those who believe and those who don’t. Kai Bareil refuses to comment, while Winn is, of course, the leader of the latter camp. In her opinion, it doesn’t matter whether it’s true or not; if the Bajoran people accept this, they are putting themselves at undue risk of becoming targets to the Klingons. Does anyone really want another occupation or, even worse, an extermination?
The Federation is displeased by this turn of events and sends Ambassador Delenn, a Minbari, to shadow Sisko in this situation. She is accompanied by a religious attaché, Prof. Lennier of the Chudomo Fane, who’s intrigued by the ramifications this discovery will have for the Bajoran religion. Delenn proves to be “a bitch in sheep’s clothing,” as Mildred Kelly puts it. Commander Solaris agrees – she’s dealt with Delenn before. Garak explains that the Romulans, as a rule, despise the Minbari due to both races never telling the whole truth. Lennier, meanwhile, is just plain annoying, though does find a rather begrudging friend in Bareil.
Winn is proven all-too-correct in her views shortly thereafter when Klingon forces arrive and demand the Bajorans’ unconditional surrender. There is a long stand-off as the USS Lakota and USS Defiant (captained by Kelly) protect Bajor. Meanwhile, DS9 gets to show off its new armaments (the same that it lied about having in Emissary) to the separatist Gorn battalion drawing their attention.
In the end, Bareil and Kira make an impassioned plea to the Klingons that the Bajorans cannot be held responsible for sins of their forebears. Gowron backs down here, but declares that since the Federation is “protecting the Hur’q,” there will be consequences. The question of whether or not the discovery is true remains unsolved, but most seem to think that it is…. At the end of the episode, Kira finally manages to inform the Kdaptists that they are being asked to leave. They do so without fuss, noting that with a possible conflict with the Klingons on the horizon, they’d rather not stick around. Besides, such a busy hub like Bajor is really not their scene. All they ask is that the Hur’q Hole (as it’s been dubbed) not be abandoned. “To squander knowledge is a crime,” Kdapt-Missionary says. Bajor agrees.
Afterwards, the crew of DS9 reflects on how much the planet has changed in just four years.
Recurring Cast: Mädchen Amick as Ambassador T’Preike, Virginia Madsen as Lt. K’Rene, Mark Allen Shepherd as Morn, Max Grodénchik as Rom, Aron Eisenberg as Nog, Robert O’Reilly as Chancellor Gowron, J.G. Hertzler as General Martok, Philip Anglim as Kai Bareil Antos, Louise Fletcher as Navarch Winn Adami, and Mira Furlan as Ambassador Delenn
Guest Stars: Bill Mumy as Lennier, Frank Welker as the voice of Kdapt-Missionary, and Dee Bradley Baker as the voice of Gorn Captain Ssilgresssh
The Visitor
An elderly Jake Sisko is visited by a fan, Melanie, who is curious as to why he gave up writing. He tells her his story.
Many years ago, Captain Sisko took him on the Valiant to observe the Bajoran wormhole inverting. During the event, a bolt of energy from the warp core struck the elder Sisko, leaving him trapped in subspace. A few months later, Jake catches sight of his father, but he disappears. One year after the incident, Sisko manifests again, but the crew are unable to return him to normal space.
The Cardassians retake control of Deep Space Nine, and Jake returns to Earth, becoming a highly successful writer, marrying Anna Sheridan. When Sisko reappears once more, Jake shows him all that he has accomplished, but apologizes for moving on from him. Sisko says that he is proud of his son, but when he disappears, Jake returns to school to become an expert in subspace marriage, abandoning his career and marriage to Anna.
Decades later, the wormhole is scheduled to undergo another inversion, so Jake gets the old Deep Space Nine crew together to try to re-create the incident and save Sisko. They succeed in sending Jake into subspace, and he reunites with his father. Sisko is disappointed that Jake has abandoned his passion and urges him to write again, to live his life for himself. Jake returns to normal space without his father and tries to find out what went wrong with the rescue attempt. However, after he cannot find out why, he decides to return to writing.
On the night of Melanie’s visit, Jake has calculated that Sisko will appear again and injects himself with a lethal hypospray. The next morning, Sisko appears as calculated, and Jake tells him that his death will give them both a “second chance.” Jake dies in his father’s arms, and Sisko wakes up on the Valiant before the energy discharge. He dodges it, and embraces Jake. Jake asks what happened, and Sisko replies, “I guess we got lucky.”
Special Guest Star: Deborah Messing as Adult Anna Sheridan
Guest Stars: Tony Todd as Adult Jake and Nicole de Boer as Melanie
Indiscretion
Major Kira is accompanied by Gul Dukat as she investigates the disappearance of the Ravinok, a Cardassian ship from six years prior. They find twelve graves, but surmise that there are likely survivors, as there were more than 12 people on-board. Dukat confesses that he had a Bajoran mistress, and that his daughter, Tora Ziyal, was on the ship. If he finds her alive, he intends to kill her to save his position in the government. Kira and Dukat manage to rescue the survivors from their Breen captors, and Kira manages to convince Dukat not to kill Tora.
Recurring Cast: Marc Alaimo as Gul Dukat and Melanie Smith as Tora Ziyal
Notes: The Breen are presented very differently here than in All Good Things…, much to the confusion of some fans. When Kelly hears tell of their adventures later in the season when Kira introduces him to Ziyal, this is addressed. The Breen previously encountered by the Federation were genetically modified to interact more efficiently with outside cultures. The “alt-Breen” would later prove highly important.
Needs and Aides based on a proposal by
@Ogrebear
Given its strategic significance, and importance in recent affairs, the Federation Council decides that Deep Space Nine, though technically a Bajoran-owned station, should become an important diplomatic outpost. There are some ambassadors there already, but this move sees consulates of various polities being established on the station. The ambassadors quickly become something of a nuisance, with more and more of Sisko’s time being taken up dealing with them.
The senior staff initially cannot come to a consensus as to who should be the primary point of contact for the ambassadors, as they have no diplomatic officer. They decide that each of the ambassadors should be given an aide from the junior officers. The aides will then be able to come to Sisko, or whichever officer is best suited, at a fixed time each week.
The system works, especially as many of the junior officers are eager to get ahead in their career by helping out. Sisko comments that it is a “temporary fix,” however. To that end, he will be sending a request for diplomatic personnel to be sent to the station to help.
Meanwhile, the Enterprise arrives for shore leave on Bajor. Captain Picard and Commander Riker find themselves conflicted as Counselor Troi leaves to join the crew following Sisko’s request for a permanent counselor on the station. A reunion of Enterprise crew still occurs (offscreen) before Picard heads off to the Hur’q Hole, and goes on into the wee hours of the morning. Later, Kelly helps Troi settle in. The counselor finds herself swamped with requests for appointments. Troi is overjoyed that she will be able to help more here than she could on the Enterprise. Riker is likewise happy for his imzadi, but privately admits to Kira and Kelly that it hurts him to be apart from Troi once more. They assure him that if subspace calls don’t cut it, he’s always welcome to visit. He thanks them, then inquires about the time his transporter clone hijacked the Valiant.
Over the course of the episode Juvmol, the Klingon ambassador (a former soldier who “hates diplomacy, but is useless anywhere else”), and Harben, the Cardassian ambassador (a former gul who “did quite well for himself”), have constant arguments, much to the annoyance of Tholian Ambassador Xorava, whose office is between theirs. These arguments culminate in a knock-down, drag-out fight between the pair on the Promenade, which quickly hurtles through Quark’s. Odo is able to subdue them with help from security and Riker, but only after he shifts into the shape of a tribble. The sight causes Juvmol to blanche, securing Harben the knockout blow before he’s tackled to the floor.
Juvmol furiously departs the station and Sisko is ready to send Harben packing, too. The Cardassian refuses, and Sisko receives a very curt message from the Cardassian government. They will not allow their ambassador to be recalled, lest there be an interstellar incident. Sisko subsides, while Harben becomes insufferably smug that he “sent that dirty Klingon packing all by [himself],” which pleases no one. Troi remarks that she’s going to have her work cut out for her here.
Recurring Cast: Marina Sirtis as Counselor (Cmdr.) Deanna Troi and Mira Furlan as Ambassador Delenn
Special Guest Stars: Patrick Stewart as Captain Julien Picard and Jonathan Frakes as Commander William Riker
Guest Stars: Cree Summer as the voice of Ambassador Xorava, Adrian Paul as Ambassador Harben, and Paul S. Eckstein as Ambassador Juvmol
Trials and Tribble-ations
The crew of the Valiant are returning from Cardassia with the Orb of Time, and have picked up a hitch-hiker by the name of Barry Waddle. The crew discuss how the Cardassians and the Klingons have had a total diplomatic falling out. Suddenly, they find themselves sent over 100 years back in time, near Deep Space K7, by the original USS Enterprise. Waddle has disappeared, and the crew determine that he was actually Arne Darvin, a Klingon spy who tried to kill Kirk, and is now trying to kill him again.
The crew don contemporary uniforms, and go undercover on K7 and the Enterprise to stop Darvin while altering history as little as possible. O’Brien, Bashir, Kelly, K’Rene and Odo end up involved in a bar fight, though they manage to apprehend Darvin. He gloats that he has planted a bomb in a tribble, and given their rate of reproduction, it will be near-impossible for them to find it.
Shadowing Kirk, Sisko and Dax are able to find the tribble that has been trapped, and the Valiant beams it out into space. The crew returns to the Valiant, though not before Sisko has a chance to meet Kirk. Back on the station, they are interviewed by the Department of Temporal Investigations, though they are let off. Bashir makes a comment about the DTI Investigators seeming familiar, but being unable to place them; Sisko responds that it’s probably intentional. The crew is relieved that history seems unchanged, but they soon receive a call down to the promenade, where Quark’s has been overrun with tribbles.
Recurring Cast: Virginia Madsen as K’Rene
Guest Stars: Avery Brooks and Peter Davison as DTI Investigators #9 & #5 (uncredited) and Charlie Brill as Arne Darvin/“Barry Waddle”
Sanctuary adapted by
@Plus-Sized Scribe
A race of aliens called the Skrreea arrive through the wormhole. The universal translator has issues translating their language, so they’re encouraged to keep talking. A series of cultural mishaps occur, not endearing the Skrreeans to the station, nor the Bajorans. This is compounded further by the Skrreeans’ skin naturally flaking constantly, causing most to see them as dirty.
The leader, a woman named Haneek, will deal with Kira due to the Skrreeans’ beliefs that only women are fit to lead. Once the translator cracks their language, Haneek reveals that ten million Skrreean refugees are have just escaped their masters, the T-Rogorans (who were conquered and likewise enslaved by the Dominion), and are due to come through the wormhole on Haneek’s word. A simple farmer, it is daunting for Haneek that she is now the representative for the entire race. What’s more, they believe Bajor to be Kentanna, the mythical homeworld of their species, fabled to lie beyond the Eye of the Universe – what they see the wormhole as being. They petition the Bajoran government to integrate into Bajoran society.
For many reasons, the Bajorans reject the Skrreeans’ petition. The Federation directs them to the uninhabited Draylon II. The Skrreeans leave, dejected and disillusioned, and Kira wonders if the right decision has been made.
Recurring Cast: Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi, Aron Eisenberg as Nog, Rosalind Chao as Keiko O’Brien, and Brenda Song as Molly O’Brien
Guest Stars: Deborah May as Haneek and Andrew Koenig as Gimak
A Whole-Body Tragedy by
@Plus-Sized Scribe
Lt. Commander KulinXap sh’Var (AKA “Kulin”) is transferred to the USS Lakota as its new chief engineer following the death of the previous one, Commander Granholm Voorhees. Kulin is irritable, reclusive, and hypervigilant. Within her first week onboard, she has been written up three times for false reports. Sheridan is sympathetic, but quickly losing his patience with the situation. He has a ship to run and, eventually, asks her to stay behind on DS9 and work with O’Brien while her immediate subordinate takes point for a mission to Klingon space.
Troi attempts to speak to her during this, but gets nowhere. Everything is very tense until, finally, Kulin meets Solaris and reacts violently. Solaris manages to defend herself and Kulin is arrested by Odo. Sheridan returns the next day to find Solaris demanding that Kulin be discharged from Starfleet and extradited to Romulus to face trial. Sisko firmly shuts that down and continues to run interference while Sheridan and Troi attempt to figure why Kulin reacted the way she did.
What follows is a frank and mature discussion of post-traumatic stress disorder, which Troi describes as “a whole-body tragedy,” a term Kulin doesn’t deny. Worse, the incident wherein Kulin gained such a hatred for Romulans – a firefight near the Neutral Zone that claimed the USS zh’Deneed and left the survivors adrift in escape pods for nearly two weeks – isn’t even well-known. It is considered a minor blip on the Federation’s radar, and yet it has utterly upended Kulin’s peace of mind and her life.
In the end, Solaris is pacified by Garak (which is never explained) and Kulin is formally demoted to lieutenant. Though Sheridan allows her to retain her position as chief engineer so long as she works with the Lakota’s own counselor to work through her problems.
Recurring Cast: Linda Hunt as Commander Solaris, Andrew Robinson as Garak, Peter Capaldi as Captain John Sheridan, Bryan Cranston as Commander Arpad Tigan, Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi, and Kirsten Dunst as Anna Sheridan
Guest Stars: Katey Sagal as Lt. Commander KulinXap sh’Var
The Way of the Worrier by
@Plus-Sized Scribe
Troi has established her practice on DS9. Things are going quite well, and Troi feels she’s making more of an impact here than she did on the Enterprise. There’s just one problem… and his name is Rom. The Ferengi is increasingly panicked by hypothetical scenarios in which he fails his brother and in which his son Nog flunks out of Starfleet Academy. Troi tries several methods to help him gain confidence and stand up to Quark. These fail in increasingly comedic fashions before, finally, Rom simply spontaneously develops his own spine. Exasperated, Troi simply congratulates him and goes to replicate a chocolate malt – she needs it! (Thankfully, she’s able to assuage his fears about Nog much more easily by putting a good word in.)
Meanwhile, both Sisko and Quark try to blandish T’Preike for their own purposes – Sisko strategic and Quark monetary. In the end, T’Preike grows annoyed and leaves them both hanging. Additionally, it’s discovered that she has a one-night stand with Morn. Her explanation as to why? “While his views on gender may be rather archaic, he is otherwise possessed of a truly logical mind.”
Recurring Cast: Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi, Mädchen Amick as Ambassador T’Preike, Max Grodénchik as Rom, and Mark Allen Shepherd as Morn
Narn based on a proposal by
@Ogrebear
With rising tensions between the Cardassians and Klingons, one of the Cardassian client races, the Narn, have decided to declare their independence. They have already managed to defeat the Cardassian garrisons in their territory, and are assembling a navy to protect their independence. The newly appointed “Ambassador to the Gamma Quadrant,” G’Kar, arrives on Deep Space Nine, though issues soon arise with the Cardassian ambassador and former gul, Harben. The Cardassians refuse to recognize the Narn Regime’s independence, and are threatening to cut off diplomatic relations with any polity that does.
While G’Kar settles in, he tries to convince Sisko to ask the Federation council to recognise the Narn Regime, as it would almost certainly end the diplomatic stand-off. Sisko refuses, as the new regime in Cardassia could prove to be a valuable ally against the Dominion, should war break out. Eventually, the stand-off is resolved when Bajor signs a mutual defence pact with the Narn. The two polities are becoming fast allies, and together, retaking the Narn world is more trouble than it is worth for the Cardassians. Begrudgingly, the Cardassian regime recognises the Narn as independent.
Recurring Cast: Andreas Katsulas as G’Kar
Guest Star: Adrian Paul as Ambassador Harben
Little Green Men
While taking Nog to Earth so that he can begin studying at Starfleet Academy, he, Rom and Quark are sent back in time to Roswell in 1947, where their ship crashes. They are apprehended by the US military, who try to communicate with them. While Quark attempts to manipulate the humans into trading with him, Odo, who unbeknownst to them has stowed away, repairs the ship. Eventually, they escape and return to the present with the help of a nurse and her boyfriend, a linguistics professor.
Recurring Cast: Max Grodénchik as Rom and Aron Eisenberg as Nog
Guest Stars: Megan Gallagher as Nurse Garland and Charles Napier as General Denning
Return to Grace
Dukat, now a freighter captain after his rank was stripped following the revelation of his daughter, is to take Kira to a conference concerning the Klingon Empire. Upon arrival, they find the facility destroyed by a Bird-of-Prey still in orbit. The Bird-of-Prey leaves, and Kira suggests that they use the defence equipment from the facility to outfit the freighter. They cripple the Bird-of-Prey, capturing it. Dukat takes the ship as his prize, beaming the Klingons over to the freighter and destroying it with them onboard. He offers Kira a place on his crew, but she declines, returning to Deep Space Nine with Ziyal. Dukat is disappointed that his victory is not recognised by the Cardassians and that they are continuing to pursue a peaceful solution to the Klingon problem. He vows to wage a one-man-war against the Klingons.
Recurring Cast: Marc Alaimo as Gul Dukat, Casey Biggs as Damar, and Melanie Smith as Tora Ziyal
Creatures of Logic based on a proposal by
@Ogrebear
The Vulcans, amidst growing disputes with the rest of the Federation, decide to formalize their consulate on the station. T’Preike, now a permanent fixture on-board, reveals that many of the Vulcans see the increasing militarization of Starfleet as a threat to the foundations of the Federation.
Shortly after her arrival, she is attacked by a group of pro-Federation Vulcans, highlighting the divide in Vulcan society. An investigation reveals the presence of Changeling DNA at the site, suggesting that the Founders are trying to break apart the Federation from the inside. Though T’Preike is grateful to the crew for their help, she remains clear in her view that “unless the Federation becomes more like the one we first joined, Vulcan will have no choice but to leave it.”
Meanwhile, Bashir finds himself discussing the Vulcan/Romulan divide with Solaris. As he does so, he grows paranoid that the Romulans may be manipulating the situation to their advantage. In the end, he decides to be honest with Solaris, who finds the idea a logical conclusion, but laughably quaint. She chides Bashir, telling him he’s been hanging around “that bothersome Garak” too much. Annoyed, Bashir drops the issue. After he leaves, Solaris informs one of her colleagues in the Tal Shiar that their investigations into the Changelings need to be carried out by less clumsy operatives. The dropped Changeling DNA was very valuable.
Recurring Cast: Mädchen Amick as Ambassador T’Preike and Linda Hunt as Cmdr. Solaris
Guest Star: Michael O’Keefe as Attoqe (Solaris’ Tal Shiar colleague)
Notes: Which pro-Federation Vulcan was actually a Romulan deep-cover agent is a continued debate amongst fans. One with no clear answer. Though that hasn’t stopped Expanded Universe and fanfiction writers alike from trying to provide one… often to ridiculous results.
An Embarrassment of Riches by
@Plus-Sized Scribe
The wormhole is experiencing a period of turbulence, putting off excess Bixby radiation; this has caused it to turn a ruddy shade of reddish-purple. The radiation is dangerous enough that DS9 has been pushed out to a further point from the wormhole. There is a threat to Bajor as well, and so Starfleet has placed a series of ships with projectable shields in front of Bajor facing the wormhole. Due to an unexpected systems failure on the USS Perrin, the USS Lakota has been modified with shield projection technology and will act as a relief ship. The Perrin’s Halkan chief engineer, Lt. Zhommas Brelk, has temporarily transferred to the Lakota to oversee the modifications to the shields, much to the ire of Lt. Kulin.
While maneuvering into position with the other parts of the fleet, Kulin makes adjustments to the warp core with Chief O’Brien supervising. On the bridge, Kira and Bashir, both onboard for “reasons bordering on political,” take in the oddness of seeing the wormhole like this. Suddenly, the radiation and the dilithium crystals have an unprecedented interaction due to the altered shield harmonics and cause a localized incoherent transtemporal shift (LITS). The crew on the station are horrified to see the Lakota simply vanish into nothingness.
The Lakota is seriously damaged in the LITS. Looking around, the crew finds that DS9 has, oddly, returned to a now-restabilized wormhole. Oh, and the entirety of Bajor is dead, its surface one huge industrial complex with the core of the planet having been hollowed out and replaced with a massive warp engine. Everyone is horrified, and the damaged Lakota is boarded by a ship from DS9. Garak, wearing something that resembles both the vedek vestments and the Obsidian Order uniform, storms onto the bridge soon after. He punches Sheridan out, then informs everyone else that they are now prisoners and property of the Holy Bajora-Cardas Imperium and are to be brought to Terok Nor for interrogation by Intendant Kira Nerys.
Aboard Terok Nor, it is discovered that this is the Mirror Universe. Brelk explains that this legend has been passed down by his people since their first meeting with Kirk’s Enterprise back in the day. O’Brien also chimes in with more up-to-date information from Picard’s Enterprise’s time in the Mirror Universe. It seems that Picard’s remark to Mirror Worf about a rebellion went a long way, and the Terran Empire has split into three separate blocs with the HBCI on one side, the Kzinti-Tholian Alliance opposite them, and Vulcanic Romulus rounding out the six-way cold war. And those are just the main players. While there is no longer one overarching evil empire, there is now a surfeit of smaller polities not involved in the war. It is also noted that the Vulcans were the first to pull out of the Terran Empire after the slave revolts started, which is remarked upon as being definitely not the Prime Universe Vulcans’ style at all.
With most of the Lakota’s crew is enslaved in Terok Nor’s ore-processing facility, overseen by Mirror Odo. The slaves are almost entirely humans (including Mirror O’Brien) with some other species such as Tholians. One Tholian, Aiceon, takes an immediate dislike to Tigan and begins to bully him. Intendant Nerys is overjoyed by Kira’s appearance and is titillated by the thought keeping her Prime counterpart as “the crown jewel of [her] harem,” much to Prime Kira’s revulsion. The Intendant notes that may even be able to convince “His Pureness Dukat” to rejoin the Imperium if she can swing this the right way (quite how that would work is an exercise best left to equally insane viewers).
The dangerous rogue “Sheer Terror Sheridan” who’s been spoken of provides a welcome distraction. However, it’s not John Sheridan’s Mirror counterpart, but Anna’s! She rams her stolen Kzinti ship into the station and begins blasting! (“Just like her parents in any universe!” Sheridan remarks proudly.) In the resulting chaos, Garak is killed, as are the Tholian and Odo, who are shot by Tigan and Bashir. The Lakota’s crew (and associated guests) hijack a ship to get back to the Lakota, where Kulin is able to reverse the LITS effect by carefully tuning the warp core. Sheridan commends her and tells her that if she pulls another miracle like that, he’ll promote her. The only reason he hasn’t is because she’s the one who got them into that mess in the first place!
Recurring Cast: Andrew Robinson as Garak/Mirror Garak, Peter Capaldi as Captain John Sheridan, Bryan Cranston as Commander Arpad Tigan, and Kirsten Dunst as Mirror Anna “Sheer Terror” Sheridan
Special Guest Star: Mark Hamill as the voice of Aiceon
Guest Stars: Katey Sagal as Lt. KulinXap sh’Var and Chris Penn as Lt. Zhommas Brelk
Starship Down
The Jem’Hadar discover the Valiant conducting secret trade negotiations with the Karemma, a Dominion client species. They open fire, forcing the ship into the atmosphere of the gas giant it is orbiting. With minimal power, the crew have to not only defeat the Jem’Hadar, but also repair their ship and rescue the Karemma. Quark and Trenoff, the trader, are trapped in a room with an unexploded torpedo, Dax and Bashir are trapped in a lift, while Kira tends to a gravely injured Sisko.
Guest Stars: James Cromwell as Trenoff
The Last Serenade by
@Plus-Sized Scribe
Mildred Kelly announces that she’s moving to DS9 full-time, much to her grandson’s delight. She makes her triumphant return… with a surprise. Kelly’s excitement turns to horrified confusion as his late grandfather, Curtis, arrives as well. People don’t just come back from the dead (well, unless they’re Spock, but that’s a special case), and Kelly is immediately suspicious. This man looks, talks, and sings just like the real thing; he even calls Mildred “Starshine” like the late Curtis did. Kelly begins investigating with Odo’s help. Nothing odd crops up and it gets to the point that they actually anger Mildred, who informs Kelly that if he wants to believe such terrible things about this “miracle” and ruin her happiness that he can just stay out of her life!
Devastated, Kelly stops investigating and tries to accept that his grandfather has apparently returned from the dead. Therefore, it’s Odo who finds out that “Curtis” is a fraud. He is able to record the imposter vanishing the moment no one can see him, instead turning into a ball of light. Mildred is horrified, but insists on confronting him herself over Kelly and Odo’s protests. In an emotional heart-to-heart, Mildred informs the imposter that she has to live her life as a widow. As much as she misses her late husband, and through the imposter the void in her life can be filled, this approximation ultimately shouldn’t do that as it’s insulting to Curtis’s memory. The imposter explains that he simply wanted to help Mildred stop feeling such grief and that stopping the charade would hurt… but in the end he vanishes after one last kiss.
Mildred mourns, but despite it all… life goes on.
Recurring Cast: Betty White as Mildred Kelly
Special Guest Star: Robert Goulet as the imposter Curtis Kelly
Our Man Bashir
When some of the crew return on a runabout, they have to be beamed out when it is discovered that the warp core has been sabotaged. The patterns cannot be re-materialized, as the transporters are damaged. Eddington, who is in charge of the station for now, is forced to store the transport patterns in the station’s computers, which requires the wiping of the computer systems. The neural patters are stored in the main computer, while the physical patterns are in the holodeck. Bashir and Garak are in the middle of a program which sees them as Bond-esque spies, and they realize that in order to save the crew, they will have to make sure that none of the characters die, a hard task.
Recurring Cast: Andrew Robinson as Garak, Max Grodénchik as Rom, and Kenneth Marshall as Michael Eddington
United We Fall (Part I)
The USS Lakota is called to the front lines of the war with the Klingons. Before he leaves, Sheridan asks Kelly to accompany him, to cover for his tactical officer, Cmdr. Porg, who is ill. Kelly agrees, and the Lakota departs. While on the way to the rest of the fleet, Kelly mingles with much of the crew, discussing the war. To this point, there have only been minor skirmishes, almost all of which have been inconclusive. It is the Federation’s hope that by drawing the Klingons into one fight where they win decisively, they can force a ceasefire.
Back on the station, Sisko receives a vision from the Prophets, warning him that “Shadows are cast over the Quadrant.” He searches for meaning, and Kira suggests that he contact Kai Bareil. Bareil invites him to consult The Book of Shadows, which details how some Prophets were cast out of the Celestial Temple. It’s noted in the book most of those cast out of the Celestial Temple died from “being forcibly ripped away from their kin, and therefore all they knew of themselves.” The broken-bodied survivors were forced to adapt to life outside the Temple; in doing so, they went mad and “became as shadows, and so claimed the term as their name.”
Dax later points out that what would presumably happen in real life is consistent with what the book is describing. The Prophets would have immense difficulty being removed from the exceptional environment in which they evolved. Being aliens with no sense of continuity, just pure existence at all points, having to adjust to living within the progressive flow of time would likely cause damage to their brains and bodies. Odo finds it oddly convenient that this ancient text so accurately describes this event.
While reading the book, Sisko receives a more hostile vision, warning him not to interfere and telling him that “your struggle makes you stronger. Do not waste it.” He believes this to be from “the Shadows,” the survivors of the Prophets who were cast out. The crew hypothesize that the Shadows may have had a role in the increasing tensions in the Alpha Quadrant, following their belief that the only way to truly grow stronger is through conflict.
Meanwhile, the Lakota reaches the rest of the fleet at Archanis VI and prepares to engage a Klingon force. Most of the Federation fleet is made of older models, such as the Excelsior-class Lakota. At first, the battle goes well, but a larger Klingon fleet de-cloaks and starts disabling or destroying many Federation ships. The Lakota’s weapons and shields are disabled and is under heavy fire. As the “neck” of the ship is nearly severed by a volley of torpedoes, Sheridan orders the ship abandoned, giving one final order to the ship’s computer: “After the last pod is out, engage ramming speed! WARP FIVE!” As his pod, the last, is launched, he watches with tears in his eyes as his ship and home rips clean through a significant portion of the Klingon fleet before finally exploding. He sees the Klingons capturing some of the pods, but after the remaining Federation force disengages, the aggressors leave the remaining pods for dead.
To be continued…
Recurring Cast: Peter Capaldi as Captain John Sheridan, Bryan Cranston as Commander Arpad Tigan, Virginia Madsen as Lt. K’Rene, and Kirsten Dunst as Anna Sheridan
Guest Stars: Katey Sagal as Lt. KulinXap sh’Var
Divided We Stand (Part II)
News of the defeat at Archanis VI reaches Deep Space Nine, and the crew mourns as many friends and family are presumed dead. (Especially considering the devastating warp explosion reported.) Morale on the station drops, and talk of the Federation accepting the Klingon claims is commonplace. Troi finds herself inundated with requests for sessions from people who have lost someone. Dax, despite her experience in the matter, is struck with grief more than anyone else, seemingly having lost K’Rene. Anna Sheridan, too, is inconsolable at the news that her father is presumed dead, finding comfort with Jake and subspace calls with Nog.
Many of the escape pods from the ships have made it onto a nearby planet, where what remains of the crews band together in an attempt to survive, and attract the attention of the Federation. Sheridan has fallen into a deep depression at the loss of his ship, so Arpad and Kelly take command of the Starfleet personnel. Arpad leads a team to gather supplies, while Kelly leads the effort to make a base camp, and to send a signal to any friendly ships nearby. Much of the personnel are worried that they will only attract more Klingons, and get themselves captured. Kelly has the engineers create a primitive scanner that should be able to determine the allegiance of any nearby ships.
Back on the station, Sisko has received an offer from Dukat to strike the Klingons and win a symbolic victory, on the condition that Dukat take point strategically. With the consent of Admiral Gardener, Sisko assembles a makeshift fleet that accompanies Dukat to a remote Klingon outpost.
Kelly has determined that many of the ships nearby are non-combatant Bajoran vessels, though plenty of Klingon vessels remain to patrol the area. It is clear now that it is only a matter of time before they are found and taken prisoner. Meanwhile, one of the survivors from another vessel, Lt., j.g. Ezri Perim, helps Sheridan to break out of his depression and to help. Kelly is having difficulty in keeping morale up, and Ezri suggests that he make a decisive move to boost morale.
Vuris Gell, one of the Bajoran survivors, has an idea. They could encrypt their message using a Bajoran cipher used by the resistance. Most Bajoran vessels would be able to decipher, but it would appear as background noise to the Klingons. Kelly decides to do this, as a Klingon patrol approaches the planet. The Klingons detect the survivors, and move to intercept, but a passing Bajoran freighter beams the survivors up before the Klingons enter transporter range. Arpad urges the Bajorans to go to warp and leave Klingon space.
Dukat’s raid is a success, and the fleet succeeds in taking out a small Klingon force, which boosts morale. They return to Deep Space Nine to resupply, arriving shortly before the survivors of Archanis VI. Many on the station are overjoyed to see the return of people they thought lost, not least Dax and Anna, though just as many have their worst fears confirmed. Troi prepares for an increased workload even as she and O’Brien hug Kelly so hard his back cracks.
Sheridan has started to improve, and takes Kelly and Ezri to one side. He reveals that he has been offered the captaincy of a new top of the line ship, which is nearing completion, and wants them to join his crew. Ezri agrees, though Kelly decides to remain on Deep Space Nine. Sisko and Kelly reflect that though the crew is damaged, it has, at least, started to heal.
Recurring Cast: Peter Capaldi as Captain John Sheridan, Bryan Cranston as Commander Arpad Tigan, Virginia Madsen as Lt. K’Rene, Kirsten Dunst as Anna Sheridan, Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi, Aron Eisenberg as Cadet Nog, Pierce Brosnan as Admiral David Gardener, Marc Alaimo as Gul Dukat, and Casey Biggs as Damar
Guest Stars: Reese Witherspoon as Lt., j.g. Ezri Perim and Katey Sagal as Lt. KulinXap sh’Var
“You’ll make a great captain someday, Andrew.”
“Thank you, sir. I think I’ll settle for this new pip for now, though.”
“You earned it. You stepped up where I couldn’t. I’m sorry to hear you won’t be joining me on the Brigid, but I doubt that this will be our last time working together.”
“I certainly hope not. Stay safe, captain.”
“I’ll see you around, commander.”
- Sheridan and Kelly discuss the latter’s promotion to Lt. Cmdr. after their return to DS9.
Hard Time
While visiting the planet Agrathi, O’Brien is convicted of espionage after asking one question too many. He is sentenced to experience twenty years of prison. However, due to the Agrathi technology, this takes only a few minutes. However, O’Brien comes out a changed man. He has trouble adjusting to life on Deep Space Nine again, refusing to talk about his time in prison. He hallucinates a former cell-mate, whom he had killed near the end of his sentence, believing that he was hoarding food.
Eventually, O’Brien is forced onto medical leave, and is living separately from his family. O’Brien goes to one of the cargo bays, taking a phaser from a weapons locker, intending to take his own life, but Bashir finds him. Bashir talks him down, and O’Brien opens up. Bashir sets O’Brien on a new intensive treatment plan with Troi, and he soon starts recovering.
Recurring Cast: Rosalind Chao as Keiko O’Brien, Brenda Song as Molly O’Brien, and Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi
Guest Stars: Craig Wasson as Ee’char
The Quickening
Kira, Dax, K’Rene, and Bashir visit a planet that has been afflicted with a “blight” by the Jem’Hadar. This blight causes black lesions on the body that will eventually “quicken,” killing the host. Bashir tries to find a cure, but discovers that much of his equipment causes the quickening to come faster. As Dax and Kira return to Deep Space Nine, Bashir decides to stay for a while to help. Eventually he discovers what he thinks might be a cure. Unfortunately, it is only a vaccine, meaning that the current generation will be doomed to die from the blight. He returns to Deep Space Nine, but continues work on a cure, reflecting on what he perceives to be his own arrogance.
Recurring Cast: Virginia Madsen as Lt. K’Rene
Apocalypse Rising
Odo surmises from his visions from the Great Link that Klingon Chancellor Gowron has been replaced by a Changeling. He, Sisko, O’Brien and K’Rene decide to go on a mission, disguised as Klingons, to expose Gowron, in the hopes that it will end the war once the Klingons realise that they have been manipulated.
Dukat uses his Bird-of-Prey to take them to Qo’noS. On the ship, K’Rene trains Odo, Sisko and O’Brien in becoming Klingons. On Qo’noS, the four find their plans complicated by the interference of Gowron’s second-in-command, General Martok. When Sisko is called to meet Gowron, he tries to activate the devices they have brought with them to expose Changelings, but Gowron recognises him before he can, and knocks him to the ground.
Martok comes to Sisko in his cell, revealing that he suspects Gowron to be a Changeling, and offers to help them kill him. When the group is released and returns to the hall, however, they realise that Gowron is showing honour, something that Changelings do not care for. Odo realises that the Changeling is Martok, and is attempting to take control of the Empire. Odo exposes Martok, who is killed by the Klingons in the room. Gowron agrees to a ceasefire, though he expresses doubt that the war will come to an end.
Recurring Cast: Virginia Madsen as Lt. K’Rene, Marc Alaimo as Gul Dukat, J. G. Hertzler as Martok, and Robert O’Reilly as Gowron
The Long Dark based on a proposal by
@Ogrebear
An early Human vessel approaches Deep Space Nine. It is brought in close and boarded by the crew. O’Brien surmises that it was an early warp-capable vessel, from before the days of the Federation. Two cryonic cells are still active, though the inhabitant of one has died. Bashir takes the body to the sick bay to perform an autopsy while the other cryonic cell is opened. A woman awakes, and is brought up to speed with the event that have transpired in the nearly 300 years since she entered stasis.
Kira sees the vessel, and is filled with anxiety. She goes to Sisko, telling him that a “Darkness” is aboard the ship, but Sisko dismisses it. Bashir determines that the man died from organ failure, as he has no organs. They cannot be located on the ship, provoking a mystery.
A civilian is found dead, with their organs also missing. Kira believes that it is the work of a “Soldier of Darkness,” manufactured beings that were said to be subservient to the Shadows in Bajoran mythos. Sisko asks if there was any way to defeat them, but Kira says that there is none. Much of the Bajoran population goes into a panic. Sisko and Kira do their best to calm the ones on the station while Kai Bareil and Navarch Winn report that they’re dealing with much the same on Bajor below.
The woman, Mariah, seems to be able to detect the being as it moves around the station. Sisko hypothesizes that they may be able to destroy it if they can corner it. They track it down to one of the maintenance levels, where it is feeding off of one of the militia workers. Though a phaser blast seems to have little effect, Kelly suggests that they could fire concentrated beams from multiple phasers – effectively a death by a thousand cuts. It succeeds, and the Soldier is destroyed.
As life returns to normal, Sisko talks with Kira about the route of the ship. He mentions that it had set course directly for Vahdama, a moderate-sized settlement that was the religious capital of Bajor until around 11,600 years ago. Kira, Bareil, and Winn agree that it was likely more than a mere coincidence.
Special Guest Star: Louise Fletcher as Navarch Winn
Guest Stars: Anne-Marie Johnson as Mariah and Philip Anglim as Bareil Antos
For the Cause
While preparing for the arrival of a Cardassian delegation to discuss a peace agreement to the Federation-Klingon war, an explosion destroys much of the Cardassian consulate. It is clear that it was an attack by the Maquis, though thankfully, nobody is hurt. Suspicion soon falls on Sisko’s girlfriend, Kasidy Yates, who had visited the consulate shortly before the explosion. Though he doubts that she was involved, Sisko orders that the Valiant follow Kasidy’s ship when she next leaves.
Kelly follows her from a distance, finding that she does rendezvous with a Maquis vessel. Upon hearing this, Sisko requests to join the crew, so he can be there when they apprehend Kasidy, and Odo joins him. Kasidy admits that she has been delivering medical supplies to the Maquis, but would never commit an act of terrorism.
Back on the station, Eddington, now in command, orders a lockdown of the station, claiming that the Maquis are moving in to attack. While escorting them to their rooms, Eddington kills the Cardassian consulate staff, including the Cardassian Ambassador. He then beams off the station to a nearby Vulcan vessel which is Maquis-aligned. Eddington contacts Sisko to reveal his alliances, saying that if he is left alone, he will have no quarrel with the Federation. Sisko condemns his actions, vowing to apprehend him.
Kasidy returns to the station, turning herself in for her co-operation with the Maquis. She and Sisko embrace before she is taken to the brig.
Recurring Cast: Penny Johnson Jerald as Kasidy Yates and Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi
To the Death
Deep Space Nine is attacked by a rogue group of Jem’Hadar that have commandeered a freighter. Sisko, Dax, Kelly, O’Brien, and Odo pursue in the Valiant, encountering a crippled Jem’Hadar warship. Sisko meets with the Vorta commander, Weyoun, who reveals that they were attacked by the same rogue Jem’Hadar.
Weyoun proposes that they work together to stop the rogue Jem’Hadar from activating and using an Iconian gateway, which would give them the ability to topple the Dominion and the Federation. Sisko agrees to help, though much of the crew is wary at the prospect of working with the Dominion. Weyoun discloses that the Jem’Hadar have not been informed of the gateway’s existence, out of a fear that they too would rebel.
It soon becomes clear that Omet’iklan and the rest of the Jem’Hadar have found out about the gateway, but remain loyal. The Starfleet crew have varying experiences with the Jem’Hadar they are paired with, culminating in a fight between O’Brien and his partner, which drives a wedge between the two contingents. Omet’iklan tells Sisko that he will kill him when the mission is over.
Upon arriving at the planet with the gateway, the group finds their weapons deactivated by the radiation from the gateway. At the gateway, Sisko saves Omet’iklan’s life, and the group escapes shortly before O’Brien’s explosives destroy it. Before it is destroyed, Sisko gets a good look at the active gateway, seeing it cycle through various different destinations, including the Bajoran Fire Caves.
Omet’iklan kills Weyoun for not trusting him and his men, but lets Sisko live. He does, however, warn him that the next time they meet, it will be as enemies… though he does admit he rather looks forward to it.
Recurring Cast: Jeffery Combs as Weyoun and Clarence Williams III as Omet’iklan
Homefront (Part I)
27 people are killed at a conference in Antwerp, on Earth, and Changelings are the prime suspects. Admiral Gardener, who has been appointed Head of Starfleet Operations, asks for Sisko to come to Earth to investigate. Sisko is accompanied by Odo, Jake, and Kelly on a runabout. On Earth, Jake and Sisko discuss why Sisko has no relationship with his father (even implying the man is dead). The conversation is fruitless and Jake eventually decides to go with Nog and O’Brien to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Meanwhile, Anna joins her father on a trip to Scotland to visit the captain’s mother, Nancy. They arrive, only to find that Sheridan’s estranged father, the humorless, strait-laced Cambridge academic Dr. David Sheridan, is in attendance. They learn that the elder Sheridans have rekindled their romance and plan to get remarried after 17 years of divorce. However, Dr. Sheridan detests both his son’s career choice and his accent; the two continually erupt into arguments, much to Nancy and Anna’s irritation.
Kelly and Odo help Gardener to devise new methods to capture Changelings, though they are held back somewhat by President Sulu’s reluctance to implement some of the more draconian measures. The lack of a clear method to detect Changeling imposters is of increasing concern to Starfleet, and is beginning to cause unrest on Earth. Sisko even briefly worries that Jake may have been replaced before he is confronted.
Earth suffers a planet-wide power outage, during which President Sulu is incapacitated and placed in Bashir’s care. Gardener decides to take temporary control of the planet, declaring a state of emergency, and imposing marital law. Sisko is largely supportive of this move, being given the position Head of Starfleet Security. Kelly is horrified, as is his mother, Francine. They threaten to resign their commissions and Gardener forces Sisko to place them in jail. Jake, Nog, and O’Brien watch as Starfleet personnel beam in to the streets of Dearborn, while the Sheridans observe the same in Glasgow. Dr. Sheridan blames his son for this.
In San Francisco, Gardener receives a report that Vulcan has unilaterally decided to secede, denouncing his actions as a military coup. In Earth orbit, a Vulcan civilian transport is fired on by defence satellites on Gardener’s orders. As Sisko watches in horror, it’s announced that there were no survivors. Gardener asks Sisko if he’s willing to stomach what’s to come, but receives no reply.
To be continued…
Recurring Cast: Pierce Brosnan as Admiral David Gardener, Peter Capaldi as Captain John Sheridan, Kirsten Dunst as Anna Sheridan, and Aron Eisenberg as Nog
Special Guest Star: George Takei as Federation President Hikaru Sulu
Guest Stars: Kate Mulgrew as Commodore Francine Kelly, Phyllida Law as Nancy Hyatt, and Richard Griffiths as Dr. David Sheridan
