Jake is milling around his old hangout spot on the second floor and feeling lonely now that Nog is gone. When Quark starts grousing about losing a good waiter, Jake returns to his quarters and discovers his father in deep conversation with... his late mother?!
Sisko quickly explains that this Jennifer Sisko is from the Mirror Universe, which Jake has heard all about. She brings news that, after receiving Sisko's help last time, the Terrans were able to seize control of Terok Nor. Jake is amazed to see his mother's image standing before him, and Sisko lets the two of them get acquainted as he's called away to business. But when Sisko is finally able to return to his quarters, Jake is gone. He's snuck away to the Mirror Dimension with Jennifer. Angered, Sisko recruits O'Brien and Kira to help retrieve his son.
But when Sisko beams into Terok Nor, he's alone. Smiley is on hand to state that only Sisko was invited. In fact, this is more of an abduction. Smiley needs Sisko's help again, and the captain won't be able to leave until he provides it. Smiley stole the blueprints to the Defiant off of Deep Space Nine's computers and needs Sisko's help ironing out the kinks before an impending battle. Sisko can only agree, but first he needs to get Jake.
Sisko finds Jake trying to make friends with this version of Nog, who owns the bar on Terok Nor. Jake admits to his father that he wanted to get to know more about his alternate-dimension mother. Sisko insists that, whatever she looks like, she's not his mother. Sisko then confronts Jennifer for duping him into this scheme, but she insists that the Terrans need Sisko's help to survive, so she won't apologize. After starting his repairs on the Defiant, Sisko finds Bashir torturing the captive Kira and convinces him to stop. Kira is unbroken, however, and promises to reward Sisko if he rescues her. He's unmoved.
Meanwhile, the head of the Alliance forces is none other than Worf. He's got Garak on a leash and holds him accountable for losing Terok Nor, but Garak pleads that it was all Intendant Kira's fault. Worf plans a full assault on the station and is angered when he learns that he'll be facing a new threat in the Defiant.
Sisko is still pissed at Jennifer, but over the course of the repairs, his mood softens, and she reminds him that she's not his enemy. She particularly likes being around Jake, seeing him as the son she never had. But the battle is looming. Sisko visits Kira and convinces her to reveal some technical weakness of Alliance ships after he points out that Garak has probably destroyed her reputation in the Alliance.
Jennifer tells Sisko that she's revealed her ulterior motives to Jake, but Jake didn't care. Then she suggests that whatever bond there was between her and Sisko is broken, and he doesn't deny it. She collects Jake, who is having an ironic confrontation with Nog about loitering on the promenade. But the Alliance ships have already arrived and begin attacking. Sisko decides to captain the Defiant and fight in the battle.
As the battle rages, Nog breaks Kira out of the brig as thanks for killing his father and uncle, but she promptly kills him to ensure he can't blab about her fate. Kira finds Jennifer and Jake. She tries to shoot Jake, but Jennifer jumps in front of him and takes the shot. As Jennifer lies dying, Kira realizes that Jake is Sisko's son, so she spares his life and tells him that Sisko owes her one.
Sisko duels with the Alliance flagship captained by Worf and gets the better of the exchange. Garak convinces Worf to flee and is overjoyed when the Klingon blames his defeat on Kira. Back on the station, Sisko visits a dying Jennifer, who says she knew that they still shared a connection. Sisko replies, "Always," before Jennifer dies. Jake and Sisko embrace in sorrow and prepare to return home.
Tropes
- Aside Glance: Sisko gives a brief one to the camera when it sounds like Smiley is guilt-tripping him into staying and helping with the battle.
- Attack Pattern Alpha: Played with. O'Brien isn't in Starfleet, so he doesn't know the attack patterns that Sisko orders. When Sisko orders the Defiant to attack Worf's flagship directly, O'Brien calls it "Pattern Suicide."
- Big Damn Heroes: After initially making light work of the Klingon support ships, the Defiant has major trouble facing off against Worf's much larger flagship. Just when it looks like it might all be over, the raider piloted by Bashir and Dax flies in to take out the last bird-of-prey that had the Defiant in its sights, and both ships then work together to disable the flagship's weapons and force Worf to withdraw.
- Big "NO!": Jennifer shouts one out right before throwing herself in the way of a phaser blast meant for Jake.
- "Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word: Smiley says that "kidnapped" is an ugly word. But accurate, as far as Sisko is concerned.
- Body Motifs: Jake notes how Jennifer's hands feel just like his mother's. When Jennifer dies, Sisko is holding her hand.
- Casual Danger Dialogue: During Bashir and Dax's Big Damn Heroes moment:Bashir: Aren't you going to welcome me back?
O'Brien: I never thought I'd be happy to hear your voice.
Dax: You'll get over it.
- Doppelgänger Gets Same Sentiment: Jake treats Jennifer as if she really were his mother. In return, she starts to view him as the son she never had. He also tries this with Nog, but discovers that the sentiment is very much not reciprocated.
- Easily Forgiven: Jennifer, as far as Jake's concerned.
- Evil Counterpart: Nog shows up for the first time to reveal that he too is an example. He's a pompous jerk who betrays the Terran rebellion to thank Kira for murdering his family, which allowed him to inherit the bar.
- Genre Blind: A mirror universe resident just pops by for a visit? Why not leave your son alone with her?
- He Knows Too Much: Why Kira shoots Nog.
- I Have Your Wife: In this case, I Have Your Son. How the rebels force Sisko's cooperation.
- Instant Death Bullet: Nog shot from far away? Dead as a doornail. Jennifer shot point blank? Survives long enough for a token dramatic death.
- Kneel Before Zod: Garak is made to kneel before Worf, as if the dog collar and chain weren't humiliating enough.
- A Lady on Each Arm: How Nog is introduced. He offers to share one with Jake.
- My Fist Forgives You: Bashir punches Sisko as repayment for Sisko having punched him last time. Similarly, Dax slaps Sisko for sleeping with her under false pretenses.
- Mythology Gag: One of Worf's lines: "Make it so."
- Never My Fault:
- Kira and Garak blame each other for the Alliance's losing control of Terok Nor, with Kira believing that Garak and his men were too indiscriminately violent, and Garak accusing Kira of not being violent enough.
- Worf is naturally infuriated and disbelieving at losing the battle, so Garak "helpfully" suggests that Kira must have helped the rebellion, with Worf readily turning her into The Scapegoat and vowing revenge when they next meet. He's actually correct — Kira did inform the rebellion that the Alliance's ships targeting sensors can be fooled with warp shadows, delaying them and buying the rebels enough time to get the Defiant combat-ready — but Worf nonetheless refuses to contemplate even for a moment that his own arrogance and complacency played a role in his defeat.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Nog frees Kira as thanks for killing his father and uncle, which allowed him to inherit the bar. She repays him with a phaser blast to the chest.
- Scotty Time: It took two weeks to overhaul the structural integrity field on the Defiant. Sisko has four days to do the same to the Mirror Defiant—and in an interesting bit of role reversal, it's O'Brien's Mirror counterpart giving Sisko the deadline.
- Shipper on Deck: When Jake meets his mother's mirror counterpart, he wants to get her and his father together faster than you can say "Kasidy who?"
- Slave Collar: Worf keeps Garak in one.
- Taking the Bullet: Jennifer takes a phaser shot from Kira meant for Jake.
- Too Kinky to Torture: Kira laughs off the Electric Torture.
- Unfinished, Untested, Used Anyway: The Mirror Defiant.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Nog helps Kira escape from her cell—and she shoots him so that he can't talk.
- We Will Meet Again: Before fleeing, Kira decides to spare Jake when she learns he's our Sisko's son (albeit it ends up being an Aborted Arc, as Sisko never interacts with her again on-screen after this episode)."Well, in that case, give your father a message for me: tell him I spared your life. That's a debt I intend to collect."
- Would Hurt a Child: Okay, Jake's technically in his mid-late teens by this point, but Kira shows absolutely no compunctions about killing him, and spares him for reasons unrelated to his age.
- You're Not My Type: Worf's response to Garak's comment that as much as he hated Kira, he was at least able to "please her" (clearly sexually).
