Battle Lines

Well I am now officially 30 years old and I don’t feel any different than I did a few days ago when I was a mere spring chicken of 29 years old.  The funny thing about birthdays is that they really do make you reflect and think about what you have going on in your life and what isn’t happening. All in all I am pretty pleased with how things have been going. I have lost a significant amount of weight and I am doing pretty well in my promise to stick to it and not gain the weight back. I have a job that I love even if it has been driving me crazy this year with an incredibly high caseload. At the end of the day though I love my students and I love what I do. I am even getting ready to take on a student intern for ten weeks so I will have the opportunity to “pay it forward” as it were.  I have a house an amazing family and group of friends. My dad is alive and doing well and the future looks bright in that respect. The only thing that is not in my life is a relationship and really is that a big deal? I would ideally like to meet my future husband in the near future but for now I am ok just being me at the moment.

Elliptical Machine- Calories: 600, Miles: 3.70
Weigh-In: 197 pounds

Battle Lines

Kai Opaka turns up on the station apparently taking Sisko up on an invitation for a tour of the station. The Kai wishes to see the wormhole but since there is not scheduled departures He, Kira and Bashir take her through the wormhole on a runabout. Before the departure the Kai is acting strangely and even gives a necklace to O’Brien for his young daughter, whom she has never met.  While on the other side of the wormhole a transmission is picked up and the Kai persuades them investigate. The transmission is coming from a small moon and the planet’s surrounding satellite network attacks the ship. Once the runabout crash-lands everyone is fine except the Kai who has died. Sisko, Kira and Bashir now find themselves at the mercy of a group called the Ennis who are at war with another faction called the Nol-Ennis. The two groups have been at war for centuries and we soon learn that they have also been on this planet for hundreds of years and are implanted with devices that keep them alive. These devices not only keep them alive but prevent death. The Kai now re-enters the picture and seems find with her fate and is determined to help the inhabitants to find peace. Along the way she even helps Kira to come to terms with her violent past. These two groups continue their fight even after Sisko offers to help the hatred between them has become to deep. Meanwhile O’Brien and Dax have located them and develop a way to beam the crash survivors to safety. The Kai must stay on the planet and again seems satisfied with her decision yes somehow weary of the struggle ahead of her.

This episode sets up the ongoing struggle on Bajor to elect a new Kai. The Kai is their people’s spiritual leader and really the center of their religious lives, much like the Pope to the Roman Catholic faith.