Power has been restored and a planetwide state of emergency has been declared, but Sisko and Odo are still no closer to figuring out how the Dominion sabotaged their power relays. Then Odo notices that the Starfleet Academy's "Red Squad" got transported back to headquarters 26 minutes after the power went out. The commandant of the academy is evasive about the operation and asks Sisko to destroy the records, which only heightens his suspicions.
Sisko orders Nog to provide names of cadets in Red Squad. Even though the roster is officially classified, no one can keep a secret from a Ferengi. Soon, Cadet Riley Shepard visits Sisko and admits that he and Red Squad perpetrated the sabotage believing it to be an official mission. Sisko and Odo reason that, because no invasion resulted after the blackout, the Dominion were probably not even involved. The conspiracy must have originated inside Starfleet to engineer a crisis and assume power. And who has gained more power than Admiral Leyton? They bring their theory to President Jaresh-Inyo, who is skeptical and demands proof. Sisko promises to return with it.
Leyton meets with Sisko and admits to his plans, arguing that they're necessary to protect the Federation and will only be temporary. He urges Sisko to honor the chain of command and follow his orders, but Sisko refuses, so Leyton relieves Sisko of his position as Chief of Starfleet Security and orders him back to Deep Space Nine. On his way out, Sisko bumps into Miles O'Brien but instantly realizes that O'Brien is lightyears away. It's a Changeling, who confides in Sisko that even though there are only four Changeling infiltrators on Earth, the Federation's fear of them will ultimately destroy it. Sisko can do nothing but listen and allow the Changeling to escape.
On the pretense of taking shoreleave, Sisko remains on Earth and gathers evidence against Leyton, finding that he's been stacking his command with officers personally loyal to him. When Sisko goes to Jaresh-Inyo to give his report, he's confronted by a room full of Leyton's officers, who give him a blood test that gives a false positive. Sisko is arrested as a Changeling and sent to the brig. Leyton promises to release him after he assumes power, which will be just before Jaresh-Inyo's next speech.
Meanwhile, a force of Deep Space Nine officers led by Worf has captured Leyton's agent who was forcing open the wormhole to make it look like a cloaked Dominion fleet was going through. They're en route to Earth in the Defiant to have the agent testify and bring Leyton down. Odo rescues Sisko from the brig, allowing the commander to confront Leyton in his office. He says that the admiral's actions, though meant to protect the Federation from external threats, will result in a civil war. Leyton is unmoved and orders Benteen, whom he has recently promoted, to intercept the Defiant, telling her that it is crewed by Changelings. She obeys, in spite of her reservations.
Benteen's Lakota and the Defiant blast the hell out of each other. Both ships are within one last salvo of destruction. Worf refuses to take the killshot, and Benteen also backs down. Worf announces to Sisko that the Lakota is escorting the Defiant to Earth. Leyton has lost. Odo has already informed the President of Leyton's actions, and the Defiant will soon provide the necessary proof. Leyton reluctantly concedes and resigns his position, leaving his rank insignias on his desk.
It's time to head home. Everyone seems to agree that they can't let fear dictate how they will live even if Changelings are among them, so they will carry on as normal. Ben and Jake bid Joseph Sisko a fond farewell. After they depart, Joseph opens his doors to a crowd of eager diners.
Tropes
- Anti-Interference Lock Up: Leyton frames Sisko as a Changeling and has him thrown in the brig to keep him from exposing the coup.
- Anti-Villain: Leyton is attempting a Military Coup of the Federation because he truly believes declaring martial law on Earth is the best course to save the Federation from Changeling infiltrators. After his plans are thwarted, Leyton hopes that he was wrong and his coup wasn't necessary.
- Bait-and-Switch: Intentionally invoked by the creators as a followup to the plot of the previous episode's cliffhanger.René Echevarria: "We go out of Part I saying, 'There's going to be a big battle, and we're going to stop them. Martial law – yes! Clamp down on rights – yes! Blood tests – yes! No civil rights – yes!' And then in Part II we find out that the real point of the story is how dangerous this feeling is."
- Bavarian Fire Drill:
- Sisko pulls off an accidental one, contacting an admiral at the Academy to inquire about a record which shows that Red Squad were transported back to the Academy just after the power went out, only to then be redeployed a few hours later. The admiral assumes Sisko's in on the conspiracy, thanks him for bringing it to his attention, and tells Sisko to make sure the record is expunged. Sisko quickly realizes what's going on and plays along with it.
- Sisko, now realizing Red Squad had something to do with the power outage, hauls in a Red Squad cadet. Sisko then demands the cadet walk him through the plan to sabotage the planetary power grid to explain their "damn sloppy work", all the while never once betraying that he has no idea what happened as the cadet spills the entire plan.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Leyton initially seemed like a Reasonable Authority Figure who was simply taking measures necessary to protect Earth and the Federation. Turns out he's probably the most Insane Admiral Starfleet has ever produced.
- Bond Villain Stupidity: Leyton and his cronies apparently made no effort to disable or capture Odo before having Sisko framed and arrested.
- Boring, but Practical: This episode demonstrates why Starfleet has kept the Excelsior-class ships in service for a century. The re-fitted Lakota manages to go toe-to-toe with the Defiant, a ship designed to fight the Borg, and could have won were Benteen more ruthless.note The fact that the Lakota had a close loss/surrender rather than a lopsided defeat is a testament to Starfleet's flexibility in design.
- Brick Joke: Last episode, Jake was reluctant to visit his grandfather, fearing he'd be made to chop vegetables. In this episode, Joseph recruits Jake to chop up some okra, and Jake winces.
- Broken Pedestal: Leyton's actions kill Sisko's respect for him, even if Sisko does understand why Leyton is doing what he's doing.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Nog's admiration of Red Squad seemed disconnected from the plot in the last episode. Here, it turns out that Red Squad is actively involved in Leyton's plans, and Nog gives Sisko the opening he needs to get some answers.
- Evil Former Friend: Downplayed with Admiral Leyton; he's more of a Well-Intentioned Extremist than a full-on villain, but it's clear that his actions have terminally damaged his friendship with Sisko.
- Evil Gloating: The O'Brien changeling mocks Sisko's efforts to uncover their infiltration and gloats about how much havoc they've wrought on Earth. Notably, he doesn't actually take credit for the blackout and says that the Federation's fear of them is the greater threat, a hint that the blackout wasn't Dominion sabotage and the actual problem is closer to home than Sisko thinks.
- False Flag Operation: Leyton's preferred modus operandi. Leyton has Red Squad disable Earth's entire power grid, then blames it on Changeling infiltrators. He also had a subspace beacon placed on the far end of the wormhole that would repeatedly open and close it to make it look like a Dominion fleet was coming into the Alpha Quadrant and faked Sisko's blood test for his meeting with the President to make it look like he was a changeling.
- Faux Affably Evil: The changeling impersonating O'Brien acts just as jovial as the real thing, even asking about Sisko's father, but quickly becomes horribly menacing while gloating about the superiority of the Founders and how much damage a mere four changelings managed to do to Earth.
- For Want Of A Nail: If not for the Academy commandant's carelessly assuming that Sisko was in on Leyton's plot and just blabbering the details of Red Squad's mission to him in response to a query about an unexplained transporter log entry, there's a good chance that the coup would have succeeded.
- Frame-Up: Leyton fakes a blood screening to make Sisko look like a Changeling infiltrator, thus getting him out of the way.
- Friendly Enemy: Despite Leyton's plans putting him at odds with Sisko, he still treats him as a friend.
- The Ghost: Lieutenant Arriaga, Leyton's mole on DS9 and the one who was causing the wormhole to open and close at random to simulate a cloaked Dominion fleet entering the Alpha Quadrant. His discovery and arrest is what prompts Leyton to order the Lakota to attack the Defiant, but he never once appears onscreen.
- Good Versus Good: The Lakota versus the Defiant. The crew of the former, save for Benteen, believe they're defending Earth from another changeling attack, while the latter are trying to deliver the evidence to prevent the coup.
- Graceful Loser: Once it's clear Leyton cannot win, he quietly takes off his rank insignia in resignation.
- Hand Wave: Sisko asks (as might the audience) where Leyton got the changeling sample used in his frame-up. Leyton responds by asking whether that detail really matters at the moment, and Sisko concedes that it doesn't.
- Heel–Face Turn: Benteen ultimately can't bring herself to destroy the Defiant and stands down, dashing Leyton's plans to pieces. Sisko even points out that if Benteen, Leyton's most loyal subordinate, can't bring herself to follow his orders, he can't count on anyone else being willing to follow him in a war with the rest of Starfleet.
- Historical In-Joke: The Starship Lakota commanded by an officer named Benteen
? Hmmmm... Double points for the Lakota and Benteen fighting a last stand for a seriously deluded officer. - Hypocrite: Leyton tries to get Sisko to back down by stressing the importance of the chain of command. The head of the chain of command is the President, whom Leyton himself is planning to overthrow. Later, he accuses Sisko of not understanding the importance of loyalty, which Sisko furiously calls him out on.
- Insignia Rip-Off Ritual: Sisko pulls off Leyton's combadge when demanding his resignation. Leyton then takes off his admiral bars when admitting defeat.
- I Shall Taunt You: A Changeling takes the form of Chief O'Brien and has a chat with Sisko simply to taunt him."We're smarter than solids. We're better than you. And most importantly, we do not fear you the way you fear us. In the end, it's your fear that will destroy you."
- Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: Admiral Leyton's methods to "Strengthen Earth" wind up shifting into violent zealotry. He's basically trying to establish a burgeoning dictatorship. His final step is declaring he will hold and defend Earth against the rest of Starfleet.
- Just Following Orders: Leyton believes that subordinates must follow orders whether they agree with them or not.
- Karma Houdini: No Changelings are ever caught. If the fake O'Brien is to be believed, the episode ends with four still hidden on Earth.
- Let's You and Him Fight: Insane Admiral Leyton sets the Lakota against the Defiant by convincing Captain Benteen that the latter ship is full of changelings.
- Literary Allusion Title: To John Milton's Paradise Lost.
- Named After Somebody Famous: Cadet Riley Aldrin Shepard shares two names with astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Alan Shepard.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: See For Want of a Nail.
- Not Me This Time: Yes, Changelings have infiltrated Earth. But they're innocent in this particular instance.
- Paranoia Gambit: The Changeling elaborates on this to Sisko. There are only four changelings on Earth (well, so the changeling says, anyway), but just the mere thought of infiltration has sent the planet into panic.
- Rage Against the Mentor: Sisko lets Leyton have it for plotting against Jaresh-Inyo.Leyton: I only wish I'd taught you more about the importance of loyalty.
Sisko: You want to talk to me about loyalty? After you broke your oath with the Federation, lied to the people of Earth, ordered one of our own starships to fire on another! You don't have the right.
Leyton: You don't understand me at all, do you?
Sisko: I used to think I did. I used to think that you were a man of principles, a man of honor. I see that I was mistaken. - Rank Up: Benteen is promoted to captain and given command of the USS Lakota. Whether she kept that rank after her collaboration with Leyton is another matter.
- Reasonable Authority Figure:
- Admiral Leyton is a subversion. In "Homefront", he seemed like most reasonable Starfleet admiral ever, but this episode reveals he was actually insane all along.
- President Jaresh-Inyo is a deconstruction. He's so reasonable that not only does he listen to the heroes, he also listens to the villains. After all, it's perfectly reasonable for a president to listen to his Starfleet chief of staff, especially when that admiral has evidence proving his accuser is actually a changeling.
- Red Shirt: Two off-screen on the Defiant, and several more on the Lakota.
- Resigned in Disgrace: Once it becomes clear that Sisko and his crew have thwarted his plans, Leyton quietly takes off his admiral's bars and resigns.
- Revealing Cover-Up: Sisko and Odo notice a transporter log indicating that Red Squad was beamed back to San Francisco just after the blackout, demobilized, then mobilized again just three hours later. When the Academy commandant asks Sisko to erase that log entry, because it might cause problems, it's their first hint that something bigger is at work.
- Sci-Fi Writers Have No Sense of Scale: Even under ideal circumstances, the largest Starfleet ships can only transport a few tens of people per minute at most. With only the Lakota available during the power outage, it would have taken far more than a day or two to garrison every city on Earth. Either they're using a very conservative definition of "city", or only a token force was provided to each one. (Which might well be the case, since Leyton, knowing the attack was bogus, would have cared more about providing the illusion of security to sway public opinion.)
- Sheathe Your Sword: The Defiant has the Lakota on the ropes, but doesn't deliver the killing blow. This convinces Benteen to disobey her orders and turn on Leyton.
- Shout-Out: The officers that Sisko mentions in the transfer log are named for characters from Catch-22.
- Smug Snake: Cadet Shepard is a smug asshole who casually boasts about having helped compromise Earth security. Don't worry, he'll get his. Also, it's not entirely clear whether the Red Squad cadets actually knew what was really going on and if they were in on the coup, so maybe he's just being proud of his work in general.
- Suspiciously Small Army: Starfleet having only one ship in the vicinity of Earth during a time of crisis; and despite an admiral whose followers include the head of Starfleet Academy, Leyton only has the Lakota to do his bidding even though Starfleet has thousands of ships as seen later in the Dominion War. This could be less that it's the only ship in the area and more it's the only ship in the area commanded by Leyton's most trusted lieutenant.
- Swiss-Cheese Security:
- Sisko is able to get from his holding cell all the way to Leyton's office without being stopped by security, all while supposedly being wanted as a changeling infiltrator. Especially egregious since the previous episode had shown Starfleet was beefing up security at its headquarters. Then again, as Odo points out, he and Sisko helped install the security upgrades, so they would know how to circumvent them.
- Also the whole blood test concept. Not only was Leyton able to relatively easily fake a result, over the course of the entire series there is not a single onscreen incident of the blood screenings actually catching a true changeling.
- In at least one case a non-Odo changeling makes it on the grounds of Starfleet Command, impersonating an officer, and escapes unmolested.
- It's pointed out by Odo in the past that the other changelings are much more skilled at infiltration than he is. And if Odo can defeat the new measures (with the help of foreknowledge about them), how good can they be against practiced Changeling infiltrators who know what they are doing?
- Take Our Word for It: The Starfleet occupation of Earth. Supposedly Starfleet has deployed armed troops to every major city on the planet and is enforcing martial law. But the most we see is a couple of lightly armed security guards hanging around outside the Siskos' restaurant and Jake and Joseph are able to move about town without any trouble.
- That's an Order!:
- When Nog is reluctant to provide Sisko with the names of Red Squad, Sisko points out that it wasn't a request. He wants a name, and he wants it now, and that is an order!
- Leyton reiterates his orders to Benteen to stop the Defiant by any means necessary, even if it means destroying her with quantum torpedoes. Fortunately, she's sane enough to stand down after Sisko appeals to her better nature.
- The Dead Have Names: When Sisko requests a casualty report, Worf states that Barlet and Ramsey are dead, as well as seven other personnel on the Defiant whom are seriously wounded.
- This Is Gonna Suck: When Leyton "exposes" Sisko as a changeling in front of Jaresh-Inyo, Sisko's response is just to toss his PADD aside in wordless frustration.
- The Un-Reveal: We never learn how Leyton and Benteen faked the blood screening to make it look like Sisko was a Changeling (when Sisko himself asks, Leyton asks "Does it matter?") Of course, it only serves to underscore the fact that the test isn't really that effective — if Leyton can find a way to fake a positive result, a Changeling can find a way to fake a negative one.
- Villainous Breakdown: Leyton seems to start one as his plans go south but ultimately reins it in and resigns quietly.
- We Have Reserves: Leyton claims he has enough forces to "make a fight out of it" after Benteen and the Lakota crew turn on him, but Sisko talks him down by pointing out that they aren't likely to help if even Benteen wasn't willing to follow through.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Sisko himself says that Leyton is enacting his coup out of genuine, but misguided, patriotism.
- We Need to Get Proof: While Jaresh-Inyo is willing to listen to Sisko's theory that Leyton is planning a coup, he can't take action without evidence. Sisko and Odo immediately start gathering that evidence, also contacting Kira for help on DS9.Jaresh-Inyo: If what you tell me is true, I'll have his resignation. Bring me the evidence; I promise I'll use it.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: While Leyton resigns in disgrace, we never learn if any of his conspirators resigned or were arrested, especially since Benteen and the Academy commandant seemed to have prior knowledge.
- Whole-Plot Reference: It's essentially Seven Days in May IN SPACE!
- With Due Respect: Shepard says this while countering Sisko's accusations that Red Squad did "some damn sloppy work" when they caused the power outage.
- You Have to Believe Me!: Sisko's attempt to convince Jaresh-Inyo that Leyton's plotting against him comes close to this, but Sisko remains rational enough to make Inyo willing to consider the evidence.
