Recap / Star Trek Deep Space Nine S 05 E 21 Soldiers Of The Empire

How Martok got his groove back.

Martok: On the bridge, during the fight, when you dropped your guard - how did you know I would not kill you?
Worf: I did not know.

Upon returning from captivity, Martok is given a new command, Rotarran. His mission is to rescue a Klingon ship lost patrolling the border. Before setting out, he asks Worf to come along as first officer. Worf has developed a close relationship with Martok and agrees, receiving permission from Sisko. Dax surprises Worf by arranging to come along as well behind his back. Worf changes into a Klingon uniform but declines to wear his baldric, since the House of Mogh no longer exists.

The Rotarran turns out to be an ignominious ship with a combat history of failures and escapes. The crew is dispirited and believe the ship to be cursed. They also resent their lack of Klingon Blood-Wine. The second ailment at least is solved when Dax provides a large supply for the crew, but that hardly solves the greater problem. Worf tries to lead the crew in a rousing Klingon Battle Chant but receives only a begrudging and half-hearted response.

Not helping matters at all is Martok's distressing caution. After years of living as a captive of the Dominion, he sees plots and threats around every turn. When they spot a Jem'Hadar ship, Martok refuses to pursue out of concern that the ship might get off a distress call. Worf disagrees, understanding the value of raising morale with a victory, but he stands by Martok. However, Dax grows increasingly concerned that a mutiny is brewing. She urges Worf to do something, but his respect for Martok prevents him from acting.

They continue their voyage until they reach the border and find the distressed ship. Martok again refuses to engage, believing that the ship has been left as a trap. This time is enough. Worf challenges Martok for command. After a brutal knife-fight in which Worf initially gains the upper hand, Martok manages to stab Worf and win, though he does not follow up and kill Worf. Revitalized by his victory, Martok leads his equally enthusiastic crew in a rousing war song as they prepare to engage.

The Rotarran returns to Deep Space Nine having successfully rescued the marooned survivors and defeated a nearby Dominion ship. Back onboard the station, Martok reveals that he knows Worf deliberately lost their duel to help him regain his courage, even though Worf did not know whether Martok would ultimately spare him. In gratitude, he offers to adopt Worf into his house, which Worf accepts.

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Tropes:

• Battle Chant: Helpfully translated.
  • In Klingon:
    Qoy qeylIS puqloD
    Qoy puqbe'pu'
    yoHbogh matlhbogh je SuvwI'
    Say'moHchu' may' 'Iw
    maSuv manong 'ej maHoHchu'
    nI'be' yInmaj 'ach wovqu'
    batlh maHeghbej 'ej yo' qIjDaq
    vavpu'ma' DImuv
    pa' reH maSuvtaHqu'
    mamevQo'. maSuvtaH. ma'ov
  • And in English:
    Hear! Sons of Kahless. Hear! Daughters too.
    The blood of battle washes clean
    The warrior brave and true.
    We fight, we love, and then we kill.
    Our lives burn short and bright.
    Then we die with honor and
    Join our fathers in the black fleet,
    Where we battle, forever battling, on
    Through the eternal fight.
• Battle Couple: Worf and Jadzia, Also two Klingon crew members, Tavana and Ortakan.
• Canon Immigrant: "The Warrior's Anthem" that is heard twice in the episode was originally written for the Star Trek: Klingon video game.
• Chastity Couple: Dax and Worf, temporarily at least. Presumably to avoid conflict of interest.
  Dax: On this trip Leskit, my bed is as empty as yours. But mine is empty by choice.
• Chekhov's Lecture:
  • Worf tells Sisko that back at the Dominion prison camp, he and Martok had a moment of tova'dok, or understanding, that gave Worf the will to keep fighting. They share another such moment on the Rotarran during their Duel to the Death.
  • Martok's injury turns out to be from a sparring match with Worf, and he's injured in the same manner that Worf is later, by failing to parry a blow.
• Cruel to Be Kind: Worf incites Martok to help him find his courage again.
• Drill Sergeant Nasty: Worf, as first officer, calls the battle record a list of failures and says that the crew is clearly unworthy of his leadership before saying that he will nonetheless stand for them as first officer.
• The Drunken Sailor: Klingons need a large quantity of Blood-Wine to be happy.
• Exact Words: Jadzia assures Worf that she's not planning a lengthy goodbye... and then follows him into the airlock, because she's signed onto the crew as well.
• Eyepatch of Power: Martok rejects Bashir's offer to replace his eye, though he also does not wear an eyepatch in his episode.
• Fiery Redhead: Tavana, the ship's engineer. She strikes up a quick friendship with Jadzia and promises to protect her once the fighting breaks out.
• Flynning: Worf and Martok use huge, telegraphed swings during their knife fight, though Worf's last swing is deliberately wide to allow himself to be defeated.
• Four-Star Badass: Martok is a general and a great warrior, though he's crippled by caution for most of the episode.
• Grudging "Thank You": Martok gives one to Julian for patching him up. Julian then roasts Martok for getting blood on the carpet. Martok realises he's being trolled and can't help smiling.
• Honest Advisor: Dax to Worf, Worf to Martok.
• How Did You Know? I Didn't: Knowing that Worf lowered his guard deliberately, Martok asks how Worf knew he wouldn't kill him. Worf replies simply, "I didn't". Martok is so impressed he officially adopts Worf as a member of his House.
• I Owe You My Life: Worf to Martok, as to why Worf is so eager to serve on the Rotarran. In the Dominion prison camp, Worf's weariness of the arena fights made him decide to lose deliberately, until he made eye contact with Martok. Realizing that Martok could see his intention to commit Suicide by Cop, Worf couldn't go through with it and continued fighting.
• Klingon Promotion: Discussed Trope; a conversation between Miles and Dax clarifies that this rule is not intended for personal advancement, but the good of the ship. A Klingon may challenge his superior officer (though only his direct superior) if he believes he's not fit for duty. This means it falls to Worf as First Officer to challenge his Fire-Forged Friend when he realises Martok is failing in that duty.
• Meaningful Look: Klingons describe a certain kind of Look as "tova'dohk," a moment of wordless understanding between two warriors.
• No Man Left Behind: What nearly pushes the Klingon crew into true mutiny: Martok has lost his nerve and refuses to go and rescue the captured warriors.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: The Rotarron's duel with the Jem'Hadar ship.
• Only Sane Man: For a while, Dax is the only one that can see the critical morale problems of the crew.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Martok wants to avoid a fight with the Jem'Hadar? That gets the attention of everybody on the bridge.
• Planet of Hats: Discussed. Some of the DS9 crew are incredulous at the thought of cowardly Klingons, but Dax explains that Klingons are like any other race, and not all of them live up to their own ideals. And as we later see, the crew of the Rotarran have fallen far from the Proud Warrior Race Klingon ideal.
• Proud Warrior Race: Klingons obviously. However, we see that a record of unfortunate defeats can turn even the most bloodthirsty Klingon into a sullen layabout.
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: Martok refuses to give up his Empty Socket of Power. "I-do-not-want-an-artificial eye!"
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The Rotarran.
• Really Gets Around
  Tavana: My mother met the great Curzon on the Homeworld once. She said he was very taken with her.
  Dax: Curzon was very taken with many people.
  Tavana: So was my mother.
• Screaming Warrior: Martok lets out a roar of triumph after he stabs Worf.
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Discussed between Worf and Martok. The crew of the Rotarran has suffered so many defeats that they've come to expect more of the same, thus leading to even more defeats.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: Martok has suffered so much at the hands of the Dominion that he now thinks they're practically undefeatable.
• Slut-Shaming: Leskit suggests that Jadzia is sleeping with Martok as well as Worf. She shuts him down thusly, to the approval of the crew:
  "On this ship, my bed is as empty as yours, Leskit. But mine is empty by choice."
• Sworn Brothers: Worf and Martok became Fire-Forged Friends back in the Dominion POW camp, but here Martok solidifies their bond by granting Worf the crest of House Martok.
• Take a Level in Badass: When they destroy the Jem'Hadar ship.
• Take a Third Option: Worf does this when faced with the choice of not challenging Martok and letting the crew descend into bloodlust and kill each other, or challenging Martok and killing him. He challenges Martok and deliberately throws the fight, to both remind Martok of what it's like to be a warrior and to let him keep his honor. Martok rewards Worf by admitting him into the House of Martok at the end.
• Think Nothing of It: When Martok thanks Worf for reminding him of his duty as a Klingon warrior, Worf tries to brush it off by saying he was just returning the favor.
• Throwing the Fight: Worf takes a dive in the knife fight between him and Martok, so Martok can get his mojo back.
• Title Drop: When Dax is giving Worf a chewing-out in the corridor for being selectively oblivious to the morale breakdown on-board, she drops the episode title.
• Triumphant Reprise: Worf and Dax sing the warrior's song early in the episode, but at a slow tempo, and are only joined by a couple of others while the rest of the crew rolls their eyes. At the end, the crew start the song and sing enthusiastically.
• Worthy Opponent: One of the Klingons wears a necklace of Cardassian neck bones and speaks admirably of the Cardassian foes he's killed. He then transitions into saying that the Jem'Hadar's unworthiness makes them better than Cardassians and Klingons, which doesn't sit well with the other crew.
• Wrench Wench: The ship's engineer is a woman, Tavana.