What a weekend this has been! I’ve done some cleaning, work
at school, a bit of grocery shopping, lunch with a friend, and some Dr. Who. I
also ran a total of 8 miles over the two days. Today I ran 5 miles and it was a
bit of a challenge especially for the last mile but I made it through. I have
also decided that I 5 miles is my limit on the treadmill because well it is
simply because of sheer boredom. Tomorrow I am taking my sister out for her
birthday to go and see Maroon 5, one of her favorite bands. She is a bit more
excited about it than I am but I’m still really pumped to see the show.
Day 1- 3 miles in 35 minutes
Day 2- 5 miles in 60 minutes
The Search, Parts I & II
Part I
Sisko has spent the last few months at Starfleet command to review to new
potential threat of the Founders and the Jem’Hadar. He is now back with a
prototype Starfleet warship, the Defiant but this ship has a few surprises in
addition to its huge arsenal of weaponry. The ship has also been equipped with
a cloaking device, which the Federation got from the Romulans in order to
assist them with the mission at hand. Starfleet has put Sisko in charge of
contacting the Founders and trying to relay a message of peace. He recruits
everyone on the senior staff to take part in the mission, even Quark is asked
to help with the mission. The only now part of the mission is Odo, who
Starfleet has requested to be taken off senior Staff. Kira convinces Odo to go
along as a representative of Bajoran interests. Once in the Gamma Quadrant
Quark is charged with making contact with his business associates who then
relay them onto a specific planetary relay station. Dax and O’Brien beam down
to the relay station and are captured by the Jem’Hadar. Soon after the Defiant
is under attack by several Jem’Hadar ships and they are easily over taken by
the superior Dominion force. Odo and Kira escape the ship in a shuttle and make
for the Omarion Nebula, a place that Odo has felt drawn to since he entered the
Gamma Quadrant. Once there he and Kira are greeted by a shape shifter who
welcomes him home.
Part II
Odo and Kira are greeted on the surface of the planet and the female shape
shifter begins giving Odo a bit of a introduction to the lives and history of
the shape shifters. Odo is delighted and seems to ignore Kira for a bit. Later
she wants to send a transmission but the other shape shifters deny her request
to keep their location secret. The shape shifters have a massive distrust of “the
solids”, their name for anyone who is non shape shifter. Meanwhile Sisko and
Bashir are in a shuttle on the verge of death when they are picked up by Dax
and Sisko in a shuttle. They all return to the station and find that things are
moving and a shaking politically. The top Starfleet command officers are there
and so are the Founders. They are engaged in a series of peach talks to form an
alliance but things are a bit off and so Sisko and company agree to make a run
for the wormwhole and collapse it to keep the Dominion away. Meanwhile back in
the Omarion Nebula kira continues to attempt a communication but finds a
mysterious power signal underneath the surface. With Odo’s help the door is
unlocked and all of the survivors from the Defiant are in some type of
suspended animation. The female shape shifter enters and explains that they
were testing them to see what would happen if a Dominion invasion were to
happen. The shape shifters are revealed to be the Founders and seek to eventually
take over the Alpha Quadrant. Odo decides to leave and the rest of the Defiant
crew is allowed to leave as well.
Simply a great start to the third season of Deep Space Nine!
Also once the Defiant showed up it allowed the series a little more freedom of
movement and even just a bit more action as far as space battles go. From this
moment on as well it is a slow and steady build up to the Dominion War which
will take place in the last few seasons of the show.