lt's funny that the files were in Ops protocols.
The encryption system was easy to break.
- They wanted us to find these? - Or didn't care.
There's nothing of strategic value,
just personal logs and files on Bajoran terrorists.
But it is a glimpse into Cardassian minds.
Warn Kira before she sees her file.
Warn me? About what?
We discovered some of the last Prefect's personal files.
You may find the file on you disappointing.
l'm a big girl, Commander.
- Bashir to Sisko. - Sisko here.
l'm at airlock 14. You'd better get down here.
What's wrong?
l was about to off-load some medical specimens and...
the Kai is here.
Kai Opaka. Why would she be here?
She said you once offered her a tour of the station.
''A minor operative whose activities are limited
''to running errands for the leaders''?
Major, when you're through feeling underappreciated
you can join me in welcoming the Kai.
She's never been here?
She's never even left Bajor.
Excuse me for saying so but she looks...preoccupied.
ls something wrong, Opaka?
Contemplating prophecy.
lt's interesting you chose this viewport.
The wormhole is just out there.
lt's a spectacular sight to see.
lt can only be seen when a ship enters it or exits.
There's nothing scheduled for today.
A shame.
- Sisko to O'Brien. - Go ahead.
Prepare a runabout for launch.
We're taking the Kai through the wormhole.
Right away, sir.
Thank you.
- l won't keep you, Doctor. - lt's a slow day.
All right. This way.
- ls the ship ready? - All prepped and ready for departure.
After you.
- You have a child, don't you? - l do. l have a little girl, ma'am.
Yes.
Would you give this to her for me?
We'll be entering the wormhole soon.
Thank you again for indulging me.
You honour us with your presence.
Yangtzee Kiang to DS9.
Estimated time of return, 14:00 hours.
We'll expect you then.
Flight stabilisation at maximum.
Here we go.
- Spectacular, isn't it? - More than l imagined.
My smoothest ride yet, Major.
There's ldran, the closest system. lt's a ternary star.
A doorway into the unknown.
The Gamma Quadrant
is 70,000 light years from Bajor.
lt would take our fastest starship 67 years to get here.
l'm glad l got the chance to see it.
You'll see what it's worth to Bajor in a few years.
lf that is to be my fate.
- Should l reverse course? - So soon?
There's not much else to show you.
Prophecy can often be vague.
That's why we must test it.
l don't understand, Opaka.
You may return.
- Take us back to the wormhole. - Coming about.
- We're getting a subspace signal. - What do you make of it?
Statistical data followed by a request for a reply.
l'm not reading any response.
Launch a probe. We'll follow it up later.
You're not investigating it now?
That's not a good idea.
There's no telling what it may be.
Please, Commander. l don't get out often.
Can you get a fix on the source?
.35 light years, bearing 229, mark 41.
We'd better take a look.
This is definitely the origin of the signal.
l can't pinpoint the source.
lt's not coming from the surface.
There's your answer.
A network of artificial satellites.
One of them is malfunctioning. lts orbit is unstable.
The signals were from the system trying to repair it.
Commander, sensors indicate life-forms
in 12 square kilometres on the surface.
- They may be humanoid. - Can you verify that?
l can't resolve the bio-patterns. There's too much interference.
Take us in closer.
We're being scanned by a satellite.
l don't like this. lt's heading toward us.
Shields up.
Reading an energy build-up. 600 megawatts... 900.
lt's firing.
Shields are down. Forward thrusters are gone. We're losing power.
Compensating with secondary boosters.
- lmpulse generator's failing. - Hold on.
- Check fuel cell output. - Holding at 65%.
- Doctor, watch the hull temperature. - Aye, sir.
Stabilising attitude control response.
- 20 degrees. - Hull temperature 900 C.
950, 1,100.
- We're holding profile. - 1,200 C, 13...
- Ejecting antimatter pod. - 60 degrees.
- Prepare for braking. - Brace for impact.
Commander...
Her upper vertebrae have been crushed.
Stay with us, Opaka.
l'm sorry.
"Ahn"-"kay ya..."
"ay"-"ya vasu."
"Coh"-"ma"-"ra..."
"di"-"nay"-"ya."
"Ahn"-"kay ya..."
"ay"-"ya vasu."
We've got company.
- No contact with Sisko? - Not yet.
- They're three hours overdue. - Three and a half.
Opaka's people are on subspace every five minutes.
We found a trace of a warp eddy current from their ship.
We'll be able to tell where they were headed.
You have no idea what the Kai means to them on Bajor.
When Sisko took her into the wormhole...
Tell them we're doing our best. Runabout pad C.
Have the Bajorans station a ship on the Gamma side.
We'll stay in touch.
Move.
Our first visitors. You're not all the same race.
l'm a Bajoran.
l'm Commander Benjamin Sisko.
Major Kira Nerys and Dr Julian Bashir.
A doctor?
How ironic.
l'm Golin Shel-la, leader of the Ennis. Why are you here?
We were attacked by one of your satellites. We crashed.
Of course. But why did you come here?
We recently discovered a permanent wormhole
linking our quadrant with yours.
l command a space station at its mouth.
You know nothing of our home planet or the punishment.
We don't know this sector. Our home is on the other side...
- Major. - l'm all right.
The hell you are.
She needs treatment.
l'd like my medical case...
if you don't mind.
For God's sake!
l apologise for our cautious nature.
We're at war.
- Who are you fighting? - A brutal enemy.
We maintain a constant vigil.
- This is an energy weapon. - Yes.
The Ennis stopped using these weapons centuries ago -
not damaging enough.
Your arrival complicates matters.
- We won't be here long. - Will you repair your ship?
A rescue team is probably on its way.
They'll have to deal with the defence net.
You don't control the satellites?
We're all prisoners on this moon.
Then this is a penal colony?
My concern is your partisanship.
You'll be considered our allies.
All your lives are in danger.
The latest victims of the Nol-Ennis.
- Where are your doctors? - We have none.
No doctors? How do you survive without...?
We have few resources.
Since you're in similar circumstances we can help each other.
This should make you feel better.
Major...
l'm so sorry.
l would have done anything.
lt's all so senseless.
Opaka's been a symbol of hope to me.
Her words gave our struggle meaning.
And now she's dead.
Her life ends on some unknown moon...
and for what?
Dr Bashir will help you, but understand, we can't take sides.
lt doesn't matter what l understand if the Nol capture you.
We're in the middle of an ugly war.
Shel-la will protect us in exchange for your services.
l can train them in field triage.
Do what you can. How's the shoulder, Major?
- l'll live. - l'll run a scan when we get back.
Don't count on a quick rescue. This moon is a prison colony.
Over here!
Major!
- Let's go! - Leave him!
Commander!
Put your phaser down, Kira.
Her vital signs are normal, but she was...
l was there.
Opaka, do you know what happened?
The surface was approaching so quickly.
l must admit, l... l closed my eyes, Commander.
There was a deafening whine.
l felt the impact. A wall of heat seemed to...
pass through me.
And then...
nothing.
After we crashed,
we pulled you from the wreckage but you were...
Dead.
How do you explain this?
Her physiology has been radically altered.
- How? - l'm not sure.
The tricorder indicates a biomechanical presence.
- You mean something artificial? - l wish l knew.
lt seems to be controlling her metabolic processes.
- ls she in any danger? - l'm sorry but l don't know.
lf the runabout's computer were functional
l might be able to run a full analysis.
Commander. Over here.
lt's OK. lt's all right.
There's no sign of them on any of the scanners.
Not even a transponder signal.
We should at least be getting something from their transponder.
The warp eddy has traces of meson particles.
lt's a Starfleet power reactor.
Their heading was approximately 230 mark 4.
- Anything interesting there? - An uncharted star system.
lt's time to chart it.
Setting a new course.
His readings are the same as Opaka's.
Every cell shows this biomechanical presence.
lt has brought him back to life.
- You died before? - Too many times to count.
l'd like to return to the runabout
and get the computer working.
Doctor, this is a war.
This could be a huge breakthrough.
- lt's too dangerous. - l'll see to his protection.
l'd like to know more about this breakthrough.
- Your doctor acts like he's seen a miracle. - He's not alone.
lf you'd lived with it as we have
you'd see it as a curse.
- How long have you been here? - lt feels like an eternity.
lt's all part of the punishment.
What is this punishment?
Everything here is designed to prolong our suffering.
What was your crime?
The Ennis and the Nol-Ennis are ancient enemies.
For generations we've fought the same war.
Our leaders were unable to mediate a peace.
Finally, they sent us all here
to serve as an example for the rest of civilisation.
How did your fight begin?
Some say it was water, some say land.
lt's not relevant now.
- What do you hope to gain? - Vengeance.
All of our families have suffered at the hands of the Nol.
- The Nol can say the same thing. - They do.
lf you must fight your war, fight it more effectively.
- What? - There are no guards at the entrance.
You can not alert your forces of an attack.
Your people are unprepared for fighting close-quartered.
- That's enough. - We have only his forces to protect us.
- We must defend ourselves. When the... - That's enough!
- We must be ready! - This is not your war.
We used to defend ourselves better, Major.
Safety perimeters, counterattacks, pre-emptive strikes.
And then we realised...
that it was all pointless.
When you cease to fear death
the rules of war change.
You'll understand as the years begin to pass, Major.
Listen to me, Shel-la.
Our rescue will not take years.
Days, weeks, maybe, but they will find us,
and they'll transport us out of here.
Then you will be luckier than us.
We'll transport all of you away from here.
Away from here?
To live one life, to die in peace...
To us this is ancient prayer that has never been answered.
You would do this for us?
For the Ennis and the Nol-Ennis.
You can go wherever you want, but end this nightmare.
Stop fighting long enough to get off this moon.
The leader of the Nol would never agree to a cease-fire.
- Ask him. - All they care about...
What do you care about? At least try to end the suffering.
Set a meeting with this Zlangco.
Talk about this.
This is hopeless.
But l will talk...
if he will.
l'm not reading a single M-Class planet.
lf they went down here they couldn't survive.
Can we believe the scans?
- There's a lot of radiation. - That'd foul up our scanners.
We'll have to survey each planet.
Not to mention... two dozen or so moons
and an asteroid belt.
Bloody needle in a haystack.
A needle in a haystack.
What we need is a magnet!
A magnet?
To find a piece of metal, you use a magnet.
l'm not following you, Chief.
Runabout hulls interact with magnetic fields.
We could send probes to scan the system
for those specific magnetic resonance patterns.
lf Sisko's runabout is here
we might pick up a fluctuation in the hysteresis curve.
The magnetic deflection is weak.
The probes won't detect it.
They will with a differential magnetometer.
A differential magnetometer?
l've never heard of one. How does it work?
l'll let you know when l've made one.
Nice work, Julian.
l'm surprised. Zlangco has agreed to listen to your proposals.
- Good. When? - Right away.
We'll meet near your vessel.
We've agreed to carry no firearms.
What if they set a trap?
We've taken the appropriate precautions, Major,
but if you would care to check the security,
l'm sure you can accompany us.
Major Kira will be staying with the Kai.
What a shame.
You can't bury it, Kira.
What?
Do you recognise yourself in these people?
Me?
Not at all. l...
They're content to die.
l've always fought to stay alive.
l don't want you to have the wrong impression of me, Opaka.
What impression do you think l have?
That l enjoy any of this. l...
l don't enjoy fighting.
Yes, l've...
l've fought my entire life,
but for our freedom, our independence.
lt was brutal and ugly, and...
But that's over for me now.
That's not who l am.
l don't want you to think that l am this...
violent person without a soul, without a conscience.
That is not who l am.
Don't deny the violence inside of you, Kira.
Only when you accept it can you move beyond it.
l've known nothing but violence since l was a child.
ln the eyes of the Prophets,
we are all children.
Bajor has much to learn from peace.
l'm afraid the Prophets won't forgive me.
They're waiting for you to forgive yourself.
22 minutes into launch.
All readings within normal parameters.
Probe B approaching planet six. Three moons.
No change in the hysteresis curve.
Probe C approaching planet seven.
No change.
What would they be doing here? lt's a waste of time.
They could be 20 light years from here and we wouldn't know.
Probe A approaching planet three. One moon.
Chief...
Probe A measuring a .0012 fluctuation in the hysteresis curve.
- lt's the third planet. - No, it isn't.
This is something from its moon.
Laying in a new course, full impulse.
Any progress?
Yes, sir. The computer's up. lt's processing the data.
l can confirm that these microbes are artificial.
Like nanites. l should have a complete analysis soon.
- What's going on? - Talks about a cease-fire.
How did you arrange that?
l told them we'd transport them off this moon.
lsn't that like assisting a jailbreak?
l don't need you to interpret the Prime Directive.
Of course. l...
Whatever crimes they've committed they've paid for.
They've been altered and abandoned by their world.
The Federation would recognise them as separate and unique.
Yes, sir.
l should be checking on that analysis.
So...
you are the leader of the aliens.
Benjamin Sisko, Commander of a Federation space station.
- Federation? - What does it matter?
lt matters to me.
The Federation is made up of 100 planets
who have allied themselves for mutual benefits.
We're on a mission to explore the galaxy.
Such a noble purpose.
There'll be no reward for our release.
You are being a fool, as usual.
A fool who always outwits you,
as l have proven over and over.
You care to die once again, just ask.
lf you've had enough of this,
then make your leaders listen.
Your only reason to live is to make each other suffer.
lf you've had enough of suffering, then make them stop.
l'm not here to be a mediator,
but l'll give you an alternative.
We're listening.
When our rescue party arrives,
l can transport you and your people off this moon,
if both sides can only cooperate until then.
Zlangco, they will resettle us on different planets.
lf that's what you wish.
You seem to have discussed this plan in detail.
His crew has been with us for two days.
Why did you choose to ally yourself with the Ennis?
We are allied with no one.
- One of your people fired at us. - ln self-defence.
l think you're lying.
l don't know the alien but l know Shel-la.
l know how his mind works.
l promise you, this is an Ennis trick
to lure our entire population out of hiding.
That's not true... !
Then the Ennis are surely willing
to make the first gesture of peace.
Let them bring their people out of hiding first.
Do you think that l would allow
a single Nol to escape this planet alive?
No more than l would let an Ennis go free.
l'm sorry but we can't die here. Not even once.
lt's an artificial satellite system which our probe picked up.
There are life-forms on the surface. Some are human.
lf the ship's down there, why wouldn't the transponder...?
- We're being scanned. - lncreasing orbital altitude.
Only a damping field could block out a transponder signal.
That requires a low-level satellite system.
Suddenly we're being scanned, so...
They had something to do with our missing runabout.
They're putting out an induction field
that would block out 99% of all transmissions.
Can we get a com line through?
l've got one per cent to work with.
The analysis is very clear.
Once the microbes have restored a body
that body becomes permanently dependent on them.
- Permanently? - And it gets worse.
They're environment specific.
lf the microbes are removed from this ecosystem,
they'll stop functioning.
So if we transport anyone off this planet we kill them.
l'm afraid so.
The Kai?
Rio Grande to Sisko. This is O'Brien.
- Go ahead, Chief. - ls everyone all right?
We're alive, but the Yangtzee Kiang was destroyed.
- Can you beam us up? - Not yet.
We've got to penetrate these satellites.
lt's impossible to lock on to anything.
Those satellites will come after you if you get too close.
- One of them cut us down easily. - We figured as much.
- Tell me before you're ready to try. - Acknowledged. Rio Grande out.
We have to talk to the Kai.
- ls there a cease-fire? - No.
l'm not at all surprised.
You were right. They don't know how to do anything but die.
They've forgotten how to live.
Dax and O'Brien are in orbit in the Rio Grande.
They're trying to penetrate the defence system.
l'll be staying, Commander.
What?
This is the answer to all the prophecies of my life.
You can't stay here!
l didn't know why, but when we came through the wormhole,
l knew l wouldn't be returning.
Tell our people l have answered the call of the Prophets.
l was brought here because it is time for these people
to begin their healing process,
just as you were brought here to begin yours.
We need to create a gap in the net.
Maybe a photon would destroy a satellite.
Maybe, but they'd have that in mind.
You shoot one, the rest might swarm up.
We need to go for something simpler.
All l need is a 15% increase in the opening in the net.
- Rio Grande to Sisko. - Go ahead, Chief.
We're going to poke a hole up here if you're ready to go.
Only three of us are coming back. Kai Opaka is remaining.
Benjamin, did you say we're not transporting the Kai?
That's correct. l'll explain later.
We need a few minutes. Rio Grande out.
Leaving without us?
My analysis of these microbes that keep you alive
showed that if you left you'd die.
Then there is no end.
Commander...l find myself caught in a moral dilemma.
l am dedicated to the preservation of life,
but we could help these people end to this torture.
- How could you do that? - The microbes can be reprogrammed.
lf l could disable the mechanism in the microbes,
these people would be able to die.
You've seen our life here.
Please, it's the only solution left.
Reprogramme these microbes and we'll end this war.
You think the fear of death will end the fighting?
Never has in any other war.
No.
But it will allow us to win, to wipe out the Nol for good.
Your disabled microbes would be the ultimate weapon.
We could finally and truly destroy our enemies!
Rio Grande to Sisko. Stand by for transport.
- Ready. - Coordinates set.
Launching probe.
- 12 seconds to intercept. - Go on. Go for it.
One of the satellites is breaking orbit.
That's it.
lt's showing a power build-up - about 800 megawatts.
Probe destroyed.
Rio Grande to Sisko. Trying to lock on.
- Establishing pattern lock. - You can't leave without...
Energise when ready, Chief.
Opaka, if we can ever find a way...
My work is here now, Commander.
But your pagh and mine...
will cross again.
Energising.

---

---