Meanwhile, Garak takes in a springball game with Bashir and becomes distracted by Ziyal, the bastard daughter of Gul Dukat and the only other person with Cardassian blood on the station. Bashir advises Garak to stay away from her, as she's under the protection of Dukat and Kira, two people with very low opinions of him.
Sisko allows the security team to make up a pretext to inspect Yates' ship. When she promptly complains to Sisko, he cancels the search but has Eddington take the Defiant and follow her while cloaked. Her ship breaks off from its planned destination for a rendezvous with a Maquis ship, proof that Yates is a collaborator after all. Sisko takes the news hard but plays it slow, not confronting Yates when she returns. She's got another run to make in a few hours, and Sisko keeps his distance from her.
Ziyal and Garak have an awkward but pleasant interaction in a turbolift, and Ziyal later visits Garak in his shop. She invites him to share a holosuite recreation of a Cardassian sauna, and Garak agrees to the date, looking shocked. When Kira hears about it, she gives him the old "If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her..." speech. Garak meekly accepts her threats, much to Quark's amusement.
Sisko orders the Defiant to follow Yates a second time and confront her if she meets another Maquis ship. Eddington asks to stay behind this time, saying he doesn't want to be responsible for killing Sisko's girlfriend should she put up a fight. Sisko agrees and opts to captain the ship himself. They track her ship to the meeting area, but the Maquis ship doesn't arrive. Sisko and company board her ship, and Yates spills her guts. She is a Maquis smuggler, but she doesn't know why the Maquis ship never arrived. Sisko realizes that this has all been a ploy to lure all the Starfleet senior staff off the station... everyone except Eddington. They rush back to the station, leaving Yates and her ship behind.
By the time they arrive, Eddington has already phasered Kira and made off with the industrial replicators that were bound for the Cardassians. Eddington contacts Sisko and tells him that the Maquis won't bother the Federation any more if they stay out of the conflict between them and the Cardassians. A coldly furious Sisko vows to hunt Eddington down and bring him to justice no matter how long it takes.
Garak shows up to his holosuite date and confronts Ziyal, asking why she's being so friendly to him. He's afraid she's trying to kill him. She counters that she simply thought they might share a common bond as Cardassians and outcasts. Garak is convinced. He puts down his hidden phaser and joins her on the heating rocks.
Yates returns to the station alone and meets with Sisko. She tells him that she could not abandon her relationship with Sisko even if it means she will likely get arrested. Sisko still has his duty to do and calls in a security team to haul her away, but he says he'll be waiting for her at the station when she returns.
Tropes
- Age-Gap Romance: Garak and Ziyal go on a date, though Garak is about as old as her father.
- Analogy Backfire:
- Eddington probably thought he scored one on Sisko by saying the Federation is worse than the Borg... not thinking that he's making this comparison to a man who lost his wife, his ship, and most of his crew during the Borg massacre of the Federation fleet at Wolf 359. Though it's also possible he knew exactly how this would land with Sisko, and said it to twist the knife.
- Earlier, Worf dismisses the Maquis as criminals and when O'Brien says they're fighting for their beliefs, Worf snaps that no matter what the threat to his world, he wouldn't become a terrorist. O'Brien dryly points out Worf shouldn't say that in front of Kira.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Eddington plays the entire crew like a set of spoons.
- The Bus Came Back: The Maquis return after a season and a half-long absence (following "Defiant"). Justified, as the outbreak of the Klingon-Cardassian War (and Voyager's debut and reliance on the Maquis) made their usage on DS9 less of a priority.
- Come Back to Bed, Honey: Sisko tries this on Kasidy when she has to meet with her engineer. It doesn't work, but he still has her pillow.
- Continuity Nod: Kassidy reminds Sisko how much the Tholians care about punctuality. Jim Kirk and his crew know about that.
- Defector from Decadence: How Eddington views himself. Sisko is not impressed.
- Demanding Their Head: Discussed. In a side plot, the exiled Cardassian spy-turned-tailor Elim Garak, who was responsible for the torture and death of Gul Dukat's father years ago, is befriended by Dukat's daughter, Tora Ziyal. Consequently, Garak fears that Ziyal has been instructed by her father to kill him and believes that she's going to present his severed head to Dukat as a birthday gift. Ultimately, however, Ziyal convinces Garak that she is sincerely interested in being his friend, as the only other Cardassian on Deep Space Nine.
- Downer Ending: Eddington escapes, Kasidy is arrested, and Sisko is left alone again.
- "Eureka!" Moment:
- Odo is baffled as to why Kasidy's ship is waiting around for hours in the Badlands; if you're a terrorist and your contact doesn't show for a secret rendezvous, you amscray pronto. Worf suggests that her cargo may be so valuable to the Maquis that the Xhosa may not have a choice but to wait around as long as possible. This observation makes Odo realize that Worf is right...and that the cargo is Sisko. If it was anyone but Kasidy captaining the Xhosa, Sisko wouldn't be there, meaning someone wants Sisko to be off the station and part of this mission.
- Sisko gets this himself when he realizes that Kasidy has been set up to draw suspicion away with her multiple runs before it hits him why.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: Sisko starts asking why someone would want to draw him away from Deep Space 9 if the station wasn't going to be attacked, wondering what else would be going on there, and then pauses mid-sentence as he realizes it's about the industrial replicators.
- Fantastic Racism: Eddington doesn't state it out loud, but given that the Maquis are stealing industrial replicators meant to rebuild Cardassia's infrastructure and help the populace after the Klingon invasion, it's made clear that the Maquis consider simply being born a Cardassian to be a crime.
- He Who Fights Monsters: Eddington makes his case for the Maquis' cause. But his actions in the episode had him stealing humanitarian aid intended for the Cardassian government. The old military government the Maquis fought against no longer exists, so the only end goal behind his actions is simply causing pain to the Cardassians.
- Honor Before Reason: After Sisko declines to arrest Kasidy so he can return to DS9 and try to protect the industrial replicators (he fails), Kasidy chooses to turn herself in rather than go on the lam.
- If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: Kira is very adamant to Garak on not doing anything to hurt Ziyal.
- Irony: Eddington was originally assigned to DS9 because Starfleet didn't trust Odo. Ultimately, Eddington joined the Maquis and abused his position as head of security to help them, and Odo remained loyal to Starfleet.
- It's Personal: Eddington's defection becomes this for Sisko. Not only does the man completely pull the wool over his eyes and betray him, but he then twists the knife by calling him up to gloat.
- Mama Bear: Kira makes sure Garak understands that if he hurts Ziyal in any way, he can expect to bear the full brunt of her wrath.
- Mole in Charge: Crossed with Hired to Hunt Yourself. Eddington is the Starfleet chief of security for Deep Space 9 and is in charge of hunting down a Maquis mole on the station, who just happens to be himself.
- Motive Rant: A big one delivered by Eddington.Eddington: I know you. I was like you once, but then I opened my eyes. Open your eyes, Captain. Why is the Federation so obsessed with the Maquis? We've never harmed you. And yet we're constantly arrested and charged with terrorism. Starships chase us through the Badlands and our supporters are harassed and ridiculed. Why? Because we've left the Federation, and that's the one thing you can't accept. Nobody leaves paradise. Everyone should want to be in the Federation. Hell, you even want the Cardassians to join. You're only sending them replicators because one day they can take their "rightful place" on the Federation Council. You know, in some ways you're even worse than the Borg. At least they tell you about their plans for assimilation. You're more insidious. You assimilate people and they don't even know it.
- The Mutiny: Eddington gets Sisko, Odo, and most of the rest of the senior staff off-station, then stuns Kira with a phaser to take command and carry out his plan.
- My Country, Right or Wrong: Eddington gives this as his stance on the Maquis while shadowing Kassidy. If Starfleet says to hunt them, he'll hunt them. If Starfleet says to help them, he'll help them.
- Not a Date: Garak says this about his upcoming holosuite time with Ziyal, but Quark knows better.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Eddington uses this as part of his Motive Rant, telling Sisko that the Federation is in some ways no different, if not worse than the Borg.
- Oh, Crap!: Kasidy's reaction to the Defiant de-cloaking in front of the Xhosa.
- Papa Wolf: When Sisko confronts Kasidy about the Maquis' activities, his biggest worry is whether or not Jake might get hurt in an attack.
- Properly Paranoid:Garak: "Paranoid" is what they call people who imagine threats against their life. I have threats against my life.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Eddington accuses the Federation of being too concerned with diplomacy so that it can spread itself to new worlds, which he argues comes at the expense of people being hurt in real conflicts. Sisko won't stoop to debating him.
- Removing the Earpiece: Eddington leaves his combadge behind as he leaves DS9.
- Revenge Before Reason: The Maquis position at this point is the strongest it's ever been. The Cardassian Central Command has fallen from power, the government is controlled by the Detapa Council (the same body that ordered the withdrawal from Bajor) and their military and civilian infrastructure have both been devastated by the war with the Klingons (Sisko outright states that, with the Cardassians still trying to hold off the Klingons, they basically have a free hand). Had they simply focused their efforts on fortifying their position, maybe even offered to negotiate, they might very well have gained their independence as the Bajorans did; the Council would likely have decided they had bigger problems to deal with and let them be. Instead, they decide to focus on hurting the Cardassians, sabotaging the Federation's efforts to help them rebuild (which also puts them at odds with the Federation again).
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: Sisko responds to Eddington's rant with the speech detailed under Tranquil Fury before ending the call right on the spot.
- Spotting the Thread: Odo first suspects something's wrong when Kasidy waits for her (non-existent) contact, saying that in real smuggling operations, if your partner misses the rendezvous you make a run for it.
- Story Arc: While continuing the overall Maquis storyline, this episode kicks off what's informally known as 'The Eddington Trilogy', which will continue into Season Five's "For the Uniform" and conclude in "Blaze of Glory".
- Sympathy for the Devil: While O'Brien doesn't condone the Maquis' extreme acts of terrorism, he does find their motivation understandable. Worf, on the other hand, is considerably less sympathetic.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- The Klingon Invasion of the Cardassian Union means their military realistically cannot afford to station ships and troops in the Demilitarized Zone anymore. They've pulled out and with Starfleet likewise spread thin dealing with a now-hostile former ally, the Maquis have basically gained de facto control of the DMZ.
- Similarly, it's been previously established on TNG and DS9 that Cardassia's always been resource-poor — which is what prompted the Union's aggressive expansion and annexation of Bajor and other worlds. It's a delicate system and economy, which had already been disrupted by the collapse of the Obsidian Order and the Detapa Council's consolidation of power. The Klingon invasion and loss of key industrial worlds was merely the last domino to tip things into catastrophic chaos for the Cardassians.
- Take Our Word for It: The "brilliant move on the part of [Kira]" that neither Bashir nor the audience gets to see.
- Taking the Heat: Kasidy sends her crew away before returning to the station, saying she wasn't going to bring them back just to be thrown in prison.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Eddington and Odo's shared reaction when they first brief Sisko about their concerns Kasidy may be a Maquis collaborator. Of course, it gets subverted on the re-watch, knowing that Eddington's reaction is all just an act.
- Tranquil Fury: Sisko, after Eddington compares the Federation to the Borg, delivers a furious rebuttal that belies his otherwise restrained tone."You know what, Mr. Eddington? I don't give a damn what you think of the Federation, the Maquis, or anything else. All I know is that you betrayed your oath, your duty, and me. And if it takes me the rest of my life, I will see you standing before a court-martial that'll break you and send you to a penal colony, where you will spend the rest of your days growing old and wondering whether a ship full of replicators was really worth it."
- Unwitting Pawn: Eddington was just using Kasidy as a decoy so he could get away with the replicators headed for Cardassia. He also uses his own security staff to load up the replicators under the Bajorans' nose.
- Wham Shot: Eddington stunning Kira, revealing that he's with the Maquis.
- You Are in Command Now: Eddington places Lt. Reese in charge while he makes his escape. To Reese's credit, this seems to stick, since Reese is put in charge of arresting Kasidy Yates at the end of the episode.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Non-lethal variation. Eddington sacrifices Kasidy and the Xhoas — all of whom are friends to the Maquis — solely for the purpose of drawing Sisko off the Station as part of the heist.
