- Sell at 20. - ls that a joke?
Do l look like l'm joking?
Evade.
- She has him. - She's down 50 strips.
- Not for long. - What makes you so sure?
Jadzia's playing a very deep game.
Her strategy will become apparent any moment.
l see.
You have absolutely no idea how this game is played, do you?
No. But l have developed a new appreciation for it.
- Since when? - Since l married a "tongo" player.
One thing l am certain about - she will defeat the bartender.
l don't know about that. Quark's on a roll.
ln the last month, he's won 206 straight games.
Will you bet on the outcome?
l wouldn't want to bet against a man's wife.
- lf you are afraid... - Name your stakes.
A bottle of bloodwine against a bottle of whisky.
Done.
A sale at 50 and a purchase at 100.
Pretty big talk for a lady who's lost 50 strips.
You think l can't cover my bets?
No. l just hate to kick somebody when they're down.
l'll buy at 100 and confront.
lf you kick me l'll have to kick back.
Unbelievable!
Eshta, par'machkai!
l like my bloodwine very young and very sweet.
- ls he a friend of yours? - Just a fan.
l'm going to have to disappoint all your fans.
- A full consortium? - 207.
A single malt, something from the Highlands.
- l will need some time. - Your credit's good.
207 straight.
36 strips of gold-pressed latinum.
- Did you lose a bet? - lt doesn't matter.
l'm sorry about that.
l would rather lose a bet on you than win on someone else.
Ooh, good response.
- Are you running that drill tomorrow? - Yes. Why?
l want to recalibrate the external sensors
before the night watch comes on duty.
We should be done by 1600 hours.
l think that'll work.
Oh, the Sutherland is going to be here day after tomorrow and...
- You were saying? - Nothing.
l don't feel like talking anymore.
Kira to Worf.
- Worf here. - Sorry to bother you,
but l need to see you both in the Captain's office.
We're on our way.
- Jadzia, get up. - l'm coming!
Hey!
l'll get right to it.
Starfleet has been receiving intelligence from a Cardassian operative.
He has now sent an emergency signal
indicating he needs to speak to someone face-to-face.
ln 13 hours he'll beam an encrypted subspace transmission
to these coordinates in the Badlands.
Who is the operative?
His name is Lasaran. But that's all lntelligence will say.
They did emphasise that he is very important to them
and we should send someone to the Badlands.
So with the Defiant gone
and most of the runabouts off with the Ninth Fleet...
We just volunteered for a trip to the Badlands.
The Shenandoah is ready to go on landing pad A. Good luck.
- No. - No?
l'm not hiking across Vulcan's Forge in the middle of their summer.
- You want to see the Forge. - See it, yes. Honeymoon there, no.
There's a mountain-climbing expedition on Andor.
Worf, my love. Let me make this very clear.
l do not want to spend my honeymoon climbing, hiking, bleeding
or suffering in any way.
- What do you want? - Room service.
l want to be pampered.
l want a staff to cater to our every whim.
l want to be embarrassed by the size of our room.
l want a balcony with a view that would make you cry from the beauty of it all
and l don't want to spend one moment of our honeymoon
suffering from anything except guilt about our complete self-indulgence.
- Risa. - Not this time.
Welcome to Casperia Prime,
the vacation capital of the Horvian Cluster.
You have been planning this all along.
lt seemed fair. You did plan the wedding.
- Very well. Room service. - Really?
- Really. - That was easy.
Did you want to fight over it?
No. lt's just...l didn't expect you to surrender so quickly.
- Surrender? - Bad word.
OK. But you have been unusually accommodating lately.
- What is wrong with that? - Nothing. lt's just...unusual.
- Are you feeling all right? - l am a married man.
l have to make certain adjustments in my lifestyle.
Adjustments? Worf, you're practically easygoing.
- What's next, a sense of humour? - l have a sense of humour!
On the Enterprise l was considered amusing.
That must've been one dull ship.
That is a joke. l get it. lt is not funny, but l get it.
l don't know if l can get used to the new you. lt's kind of eerie.
Your problem is you cannot accept change.
- l can't accept change? - That is correct.
You've got to be kidding. l've changed bodies six times.
- You are still very set in your ways. - And look who's talking.
l do not have to sleep on the same side of the bed every night
or brush my hair exactly 50 strokes every night
or eat the same thing for breakfast every day
or read the last page of the book first, or...
l get the point.
How can you live with someone so monotonous?
lt is not easy.
That was a joke.
This is going to be a very, very long trip.
Come in.
You're not dressed.
- ls it time? - 1700 on the dot.
We have a holosuite for three hours. Three British agents have disappeared.
Ml5 suspects the Soviets were involved.
The Americans have intercepted...
- What are you doing? - l'm brushing up on my game.
- You play "tongo?" - Sure.
Well, l used to.
l played a game once, a long time ago,
with a Ferengi privateer and a Romulan mercenary.
The Americans have intercepted a series of messages from lstanbul
to an island in the South Pacific.
Let's play a hand. Just one hand.
- Why? - l need the practice.
- l want to beat Quark. - Good luck.
Luck has nothing to do with it.
"Tongo" is a game of strategy and calculated risk.
- l don't even know the rules. - Here.
Let's play.
Shenandoah log, stardate 51597.2.
We have arrived at the designated coordinates
and are awaiting Lasaran's transmission.
- This is it. - Very sophisticated.
Whoever he is, he's good.
- Who are you? - l'm Commander Worf.
This is Commander Dax. We are here to receive your transmission.
- Why did they have to send a Klingon? - l'm a Trill. ls that better?
- Are you trying to be funny? - Not at all. He's the funny one.
- What is it you want? - We'll get to that.
First l have something that you want - information on the Founders.
l know how many are in the Alpha Quadrant,
where they are and what they're doing.
- We're listening. - l'm sure you are.
Now let's talk about what l want.
- l want out. Now. - You want to defect.
The Vorta advisor here is asking questions,
making security checks in my section.
l can't stay here any longer.
Starfleet lntelligence will arrange to bring you out.
l can't wait for that.
ln 15 minutes l am leaving here for the Dominion base on Soukara.
This may be the last time they'll let me leave here.
So l need to take advantage of this opportunity.
Soukara is inside Dominion space.
lt will not be easy to make a rendezvous near that planet.
Don't work your brain too hard. l've taken care of it.
Three days from now, at exactly 1730 hours local time,
l will leave the base and walk into the jungle.
lt'll be two days before they know l'm missing.
All you have to do is get me off the planet.
Transporter scramblers protect Soukara
so you can't beam me aboard.
You're going to have to land and meet me at a rendezvous point on foot.
l am sending you all the information you'll need to avoid the sensors.
Follow my instructions.
Meet me at this rendezvous point and have a ship waiting.
- We've got the information. - We will need time to study the plans.
l don't have time.
Once l leave here, l can't contact you again.
l have to know if you're going to be there or not and l have to know now!
We will be there.
How far l've fallen...
risking my life on the word of a Klingon.
Three days. Don't be late.
All right. l'll buy at 30 with sales at 35.
Buy at 35, sell at 150 and index the margin at ten per cent.
- ''lndex the margin''? - Give it up.
- This just isn't your game. - We'll see about that.
Evade.
Do you realise that Quark has won 207 straight games of "tongo?"
- So? - So someone has to beat him.
- And that someone is you? - Why not?
For one thing, you can't play "tongo." Confront.
- Damn! - Had enough?
- Not by a long shot. - lt'll take 20 years to take on Quark.
One more.
Why are you so determined to beat him?
- lt's the challenge. - Challenge?
Why do you think l became an engineer?
The challenge.
What do you think has kept me kayaking for the last seven years?
The challenge.
Why would l play darts against somebody genetically engineered?
- The challenge. - Exactly.
l have keep my mind off the fact that Keiko's been away for six months.
Hold on. Maybe l can't beat Quark...
but you can.
You and your genetically engineered brain.
- l've only just learned how to play. - Yeah, in about ten seconds flat.
We can do it, Julian. We can beat him.
''We''? You're talking about me.
You're good at calculation but weak on strategy.
- l'll be your coach. - No, thank you.
- Think of it as a challenge. - That's not my obsession.
- Do it for the latinum. - Nice try.
Do it for the satisfaction of the look on Quark's face
when he's beaten at a game of "tongo" by a lowly ''hew-mon.''
Deal the cards.
- We are approaching Soukara. - Stand by to bring us out of warp. Now.
There is an asteroid field directly ahead.
The Dominion's sensor grid has three gaps
and they're all in that field.
- Want me to slow down? - Not unless you think you should.
- Not at all. ln fact, it could go faster. - By all means.
A man after my own heart.
Most impressive.
Nothing that any 300-year-old pilot couldn't do.
- We are being scanned. - Taking evasive manoeuvres.
- Did they get a fix on us? - l do not think so.
Good. We've come too long a way just to get shot down.
l'll scan the surface for a landing site.
There's the base, the rendezvous point
and the Dominion sensor perimeter.
There's a valley 20 kilometres north of the rendezvous point.
lt's a long way but we can't risk taking the ship any closer.
Agreed.
We have less than two days to get there.
Ten kilometres a day shouldn't be too bad.
Do not underestimate the task.
We have to penetrate the sensor grid and avoid the Dominion patrols.
Find a man in an alien jungle,
then walk him out without getting caught. Easy.
- Ready? - After you.
OK. Go to 25 joules.
25 joules.
- Done. - That's it. We're linked.
Here. Check my work.
Encryption lockouts bypassed,
tricorder linked to their sensors, life signs masked.
- Nicely done. - Thank you.
Our tricorders will be useless from now on.
You're looking for the cloud in the silver lining!
l am not complaining.
l look forward to walking through the jungle
without a map and no idea of what lies ahead.
The funny thing is you probably do.
This is a Ferengi-only game.
- You let Dax play. - She's an exception. The only one.
- You're afraid l'll clean you out. - l'm afraid you'll ruin the game for us.
l think l can keep up. But can you keep up with me?
Don't try and scare me with that genetically engineered intellect.
"Tongo" is more than just number crunching.
- No computer can master this game. - Then you shouldn't worry.
You realise we are not playing for drinks.
- This is a high-stakes game. - We came to play.
Gentlemen?
All right. The buy-in is five strips, and you're dealing.
- You better get off to a fast start. - They won't know what hit them.
Buy at 300, sell at 350.
Ach!
You're a quick study, Doctor.
- You mean quick for a ''hew-mon''? - l'd never say that during a game.
- You'd wait until it was over. - Of course.
Evade.
Dax was a quick study, too.
lt only took her two weeks to win her first match.
Dax specialises in the unexpected. Still buying at 300, selling at four.
l'd like to index the margin at 20%.
lnteresting. She did the unexpected when she married Commander Boring.
- That's for sure. - At first l thought to give it two months.
l'll buy at 400 and sell at five.
l had the same thought, although l only gave it a month. Confront.
- She's a real heartbreaker, that one. - That she is.
Leverage the buy-in, and sell at 550.
You know, you go through a lot of ups and downs in my business.
When the profits are down and the customers are scarce
you think you'll never see another strip of latinum again.
And then Jadzia comes in and flashes that smile of hers.
Suddenly things don't seem so bad after all.
l know exactly what you mean.
You know, sometimes she walks past and all she does is wink.
Somehow that makes my whole day look a little brighter.
Focus, Julian. Focus.
l'll... buy that 550, and index the exchange at ten.
- And now she's married. - Married.
Out of reach.
l'm converting my reserves and selling at 600.
You know what's really sad, what really keeps me awake at night?
She's out of reach because we let her go.
l suppose so. But some things just weren't meant to be.
- Evade. - Julian. Are you sure you want to...?
Please. You know the rules. No coaching during a round.
You're probably right.
But what if that's a convenient rationalisation?
What if deep down we both know she's something unique,
something we may never see again - a chance at true happiness?
And we let her slip through our fingers.
What if 50 years from now we each look back and say, ''What a fool l was''?
Confront. Doctor?
- Confront. - Oh. Sorry. Um...
Full consortium.
- Total monopoly. - What?
- You seem to be out of money. - Miles?
- We're busted. - Thanks for the game.
- Welcome back anytime. - Wait.
Quark, did you really mean all that?
About Dax being my one last chance for true happiness?
Doctor, you don't expect me to show you all my cards, do you?
- You lost. - What happened to ''we''?
We weren't mooning over lost love with a Ferengi holding a total monopoly.
- All that was meant to distract me? - Obviously.
- l can't believe l let him get to me. - Not your fault.
Genetically engineered or not, you're still ''hew-mon.''
- l guess. - Let's get a drink.
Let's not stand on pride, shall we?
Trills don't like the heat and Klingons don't like the cold.
- Thank you. - You're welcome.
How are you enjoying your honeymoon?
- Are you suffering enough? - Almost.
ls there anything l can get for you?
More pain. Less cold.
l don't know why that's funny but it is.
- Mating call? - 500 metres. That way.
- That didn't take long. - Less than 300 metres.
Another happy couple.
When l was a boy,
my father used to take my brother and me on camping trips.
We would listen to the wolves howling in the distance.
Nikolai was afraid but l would lay in my tent for hours, just listening.
l remember being seized by the urge to just rip off my clothes
and run into the night and live in the forest
and become something wild.
He must have been rejected. He's moving away.
- She's not happy. - Aren't they're getting further away?
Yes, but it is because something is coming.
And it is close.
Jadzia!
- Lie still. - l think l can do that.
Can l have the good news first?
- No vital organs were damaged. - Now the bad news?
The disruptor burst left an anti-coagulant in your system.
- So you can't stop the bleeding? - No.
l must not have taken the whole burst.
l'm not haemorrhaging that bad yet.
Keep me pumped full of painkillers and let's go.
- Moving could make it worse. - Staying here isn't an option.
Someone's going to come looking for them.
l'd rather take my chances on foot. You ready?
- You ready? - Ready.
Let's go.
We are twelve kilometres from the rendezvous point.
And only 20 hours left.
Well, it's time we stop having so much fun and pick up the pace, huh?
More plasma? No, thanks. l'm full.
Your blood pressure has dropped another 20%.
Love that bedside manner. You should have been a doctor.
Your bandage will need to be changed soon.
l think l'd like a blue chiffon bandage this time.
Maybe rhinestones. Something with pizzazz.
This is no joking matter. You are seriously injured.
- l'm just trying to lighten the mood. - This is neither the time nor the place.
What happened to that new Worf? The one with the sense of humour.
- That was a mistake. - What is that supposed to mean?
lf l had not been joking with you
l would not have allowed the Jem'Hadar to get so close.
- So this is all my fault. - No.
lt is mine. l was trying to be something l am not.
By letting down my guard
l allowed my wife to be injured and l put the entire mission in jeopardy.
- lt will not happen again. - That's not what happened.
- Without our tricorders... - l do not wish to debate this.
We have a long way to go and very little time.
Fine. Let's go.
Ready?
Hypo.
There. Good as new.
- l have to change your dressing. - That's four bandages in two hours.
That's got to be some kind of record.
Sorry. l forgot the new rules. Nothing funny.
Got to be serious. Life and death.
We've got a job to do.
Jadzia, l know you are tired,
but we have to cover three kilometres before nightfall. Can you do it?
As long as you got those painkillers,
l'll follow you through the gates of hell, sir.
That was almost a smile.
When this mission is over, l will smile all you want.
- You promise? - l promise.
Then let's finish this mission and get out of here.
Whoa.
l can stand. Just help me get my balance.
l got my balance. Maybe not.
Let me guess. Things aren't looking up.
Your blood pressure has dropped and your neural EDL readings are erratic.
So what's your prescription, doc?
- Surgery. At a starbase. - Could l get a second opinion?
Worf, you have to go on without me... and l know that. l understand.
l must complete the mission, regardless of my feelings.
Absolutely. You're a Starfleet officer. So am l. And l understand.
The information Lasaran has could be invaluable to the war effort.
You don't have to explain to me. l'm hurt. You're not.
And there's a job to be done.
l will be back tomorrow night.
Don't worry. l'm not going anywhere.
l can have you in the stasis chamber on the runabout in 45 hours.
No problem.
l will leave the med kit. Scan yourself every half hour.
The plasma hypospray will be set...
l took basic first aid. l know what l have to do.
Worf...
lt's been a great two months, hasn't it?
Yes.
- Jadzia, l just want to tell you how... - Just kiss me and go.
What's the word?
She is still in surgery but Dr Bashir is hopeful she will make a full recovery.
Lasaran's dead. Starfleet intercepted a transmission
saying he had been killed trying to re-enter Soukara.
- Could you have made the meeting? - Yes.
- Yet you turned back to save Jadzia. - Yes.
Did you know that the information he had could have saved millions of lives?
- Yes. - So what happened?
- You may not understand. - Try me, sir.
At my wedding, you heard the story of the first two Klingon hearts.
Nothing could stand against them.
They even destroyed the gods that created them.
l have heard that story since l was a boy
but l never understood it, l mean really understood it,
until l was standing in the jungle with my heart pounding in my chest,
and l found that even l could not stand against my own heart.
l had to go back and it did not matter what the consequences were.
She was my wife, and l could not leave her.
As your captain, it is my duty to inform you that you made the wrong choice.
l don't think Starfleet will file any formal charges.
Even a secret court-martial would reveal too much about lntelligence.
But this will go into your service record.
And to be completely honest,
you probably won't be offered a command on your own after this.
- l understand. - l've also issued new orders.
You and Jadzia are not to be assigned to a mission on your own ever again.
And one last thing.
As a man who had a wife...
lf Jennifer had been lying in that clearing...
l wouldn't have left her either.
Hey. l know you.
- We have met. - Oh, you're joking again.
That's a good sign. Did you make the rendezvous?
No.
l could not leave you there.
Not for Lasaran, not for the mission, not for anything else.
Lasaran?
Dead.
- Are you in trouble? - l have been in trouble before.
l'm sorry. l should have kept going.
You have nothing to be sorry about.
l know how much your career means to you.
You come first,
before career, before duty, before anything.
l do not regret what l did.
And l would do it again.
l don't know what to say.
You could say, ''Thank you for saving my life.''
Thank you for saving my life.
And you could say, ''l would do the same for you, Worf.''
Well, l'd have to think about that.
My career is very important to me, you know.
And you could say, ''l love you.''
l love you.
And l love you.
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