Whispers

I feel like I am in the middle of a hazard zone at this very moment. Everyone and I mean everyone in my life is sick with some form of the flu or other ailment. At school there are numerous students out sick and so are several of my friends and colleagues. I’m starting to wonder if maybe I am the carrier, like a Typhoid Mary of the present day. I have been sanitizing my hands and the surfaces in my environment, eating healthy, getting plenty of sleep and fluids I have even considered prayer as a viable option.

Whispers
O’Brien is traveling alone in a runabout heading towards the Gama Quadrant and begins a personal log detailing how everything on the station has turned upside down. He is apparently on a mission to warn the Parada’s about something, though he is unsure what of. O’Brien has spent the last week with the Paradans learning about them and helping to prepare for a series of peace talks. O’Brien believes that things on the station were odd the moment he returned to the station with his wife and daughter acting bizarrely along with Sisko, Kira, Jake, and Bashir. Everyone seems to be keeping O’Brien away from the preparations for the Paradan negotiations and he is getting just a little mad about it and does some investigations. He discovers that he has been locked out of the security systems and so he decides it is time to head back to the Parada System to warn the government. While he is escaping the senior staff does their best to capture him but he gets away and once everyone gets to Parada IV a major secret is revealed. Apparently O’Brien was a clone of the real O’Brien who had been captured by the Paradan government. It turns out that they had intended to use him as a weapon against the peace negotiations. In the end the fake O’Brien is dead and the real O’Brien is returned to normal duty on the station. 

Armageddon Game

This weekend I realized that there are only about 4 months left until the new Star Trek film comes out and I couldn’t be more excited. I really love these new Star Trek movies but it really makes me long for a new Star Trek series to hit the airways. I think it would be cool to see a new series set in the 25^th century and leap forward where we can marvel in a new age of technology. This is just my hope and it probably won’t come true but there it is. Also I could not be more excited that J.J. Abrams will be directing the new Star Wars movie because he has done such a wonderful job with the new Star Trek movies.

Elliptical Machine: Calories- 570, Miles- 3.57

Armageddon Game
Bashir and O’Brien are assisting two alien races to dispose of their biological weapons of mass destruction known as “Harvesters”. The T’Lani and Kellerun have been engaged in a war for hundreds of years and have only recently settled a peace agreement. The two men have worked with a team of scientists from both races to destroy the Harvesters and they succeed. When the last devices are about to be destroyed a team of soldiers enter and start shooting everyone in the room. In the process Bashir and O’Brien escape to the surface of the planet but some of the hazardous material has hit O’Brien’s arm. The T’Lani and Kellerun visit Deep Space Nine to declare the two men dead and they bring a surveillance video that shows they died from a security laser pulse that was set off accidentally. The crew of the station takes it all very well all things considering and Mrs. O’Brien elects to watch the video tape of her husband’s death. Meanwhile on the surface of the planet Bashir and O’Brien hunker down and start trying to fix a communicator they have found and O’Brien’s health continues to deteriorate. On the station Mrs. O’Brien notices her husband drinking coffee in the afternoon which she is convinced he would never do, therefore the tape must have been tampered with. Dax and Sisko go to pick up the runabout in orbit around T’Lani III and they take a little time to do some investigating. They learn that the tape was indeed tampered with and they pull up Bashir and O’Brien just as they were about to be shot by a group of T’Lani and Kellerun. It turns out that to ensure peace these two races want to destroy the Harvesters and everyone who has any knowledge of them to be killed too. The Starfleet crew escapes narrowly and returns to the station. O’Brien who is now healthy asks for a cup of coffee to which Keiko replies that he doesn’t drink coffee in the afternoon but he says he does. Bashir and O’Brien now seem to have a deeper respect for each other now. 

The Alternate

The long week has come to an end and all I can say is that it has been the longest short week ever! I have had a busy work week, a night of broom ball, an eye exam, lots of yearbook work and a night at home with a friend. Also in the mix is has been a good week for working out but I continue to struggle with getting my weight back below 200 pounds. I am confident that I can get there again and am determined to make it happen.

Elliptical: Calories- 667, Miles- 4.10

The Alternate
Dr. Mora Pol has arrived on the station to pay Odo a quick visit and get the use of a runabout. Dr. Mora is the man who studied and looked after Odo when he was first discovered on Bajor years before. The two departed on very bad terms but Odo still feels an attachment to Dr. Mora and goes along with his request. Dr. Mora reveals that he may have found a metamorphic lifeform on a planet in the gamma quadrant. On the planet the team discovers a life form but are nearly killed when a mysterious gas starts leaking out of the surface. Once back to the station Dax , Dr. Mora and the other Bajoran scientist are out so O’Brien starts to analyze the new lifeform but soon afterwards the lifeform becomes larger and escapes from containment. It is later found apparently dead but strange incidents and attacks continue to happen. Through a great creative detective process Mora and Odo discover that it must be Odo responsible for the attacks and that the gas on the planet has impacted him somehow. When things get worse Odi is drawn out the alien lifeform that is really Odo attacks and is defeated just in time to save odo and then Odo and Mora decide to attempt to be in part of each other’s lives in some way or another. 

With the way certain shots are filmed and the nature of the story this is very similar in structure to Alien 3. Just watch the two and you will see some similarities. 

Rivals

Good god does it have to be this fucking cold outside? I only ask because this year more than other years I am freezing all the damn time, and honestly I’m sick of it. I have two friends who are planning on moving out of state this year to warmer destinations and I’m really jealous of them both until I realize that I do love it here in Minnesota. I guess what I am more jealous of is the fact that there lives seem to be moving on in fun and exciting ways and mine seems to be in a bit of a stand still mode right now. I know that I have a lot of good things going for me at the moment and I am quite happy with life most of the time but I feel as though I’m missing some of the adventure. Maybe this is just part of being 30 now but I’m not sure I’m ok with that feeling either. As for right now I am on the hunt for some type of change or interesting mix up to my life. If any of you have any ideas of what could change life you let me know OK?

Rivals

Odo puts an El-Aurian named Martus in the brig for trying to scam an old woman out of her money. In the jail Martus meets a strange alien with a gambling toy but he dies after explaining his string of bad luck with the device. Martus takes the device and gets out of jail soon after and takes up with a Bajoran woman to open a bar right across from Quark’s. The two become rivals for profit and employees, even Rom defects to Martus’ place for higher profit.

Meanwhile O’Brien has built a racquetball court and can’t wait to play until he finds out that Bashir wants to play as well. Of course Bashir is an excellent player and proceeds to Kick his ass on the court multiple times. In an attempt to boost his customer base Quark arranges a match between O’Brien and Bashir and even though both men are not interested they go ahead with the match.

While all of this is happening cases of good and bad luck are popping up all over the station and Sisko, Kira and Dax start taking notice of the strange occurrences. They eventually link everything to the large gambling devices in Martus’ bar, which mess with neutrino patterns, or something like that. In the end all is returned to normal and Martus is put in jail. 

Sanctuary

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!!!!!

Elliptical: 635 calories, 3.97miles

Sanctuary

A damaged vessel has come through the wormhole and the people on board have a very complicated language that the universal translator is not able to translate. Initially the crew must work together to help get them around the station and develop an understanding. The female is drawn to Kira and ignores the male staff members completely. Once the translator kicks in she reveals herself to be a woman named Haneek of the Skrreeaa a group of people who have been looking for their new promised land on the other side of the “eye of the galaxy”. Haneek tells Kira that there are at least 3 million more Skrreeaa due to arrive once they are notified of the new place. Sisko and Dax start to look for a place to settle these new inhabitants of the alpha quadrant. Haneek being the smart woman she is determines that the Skrreeaa should settle on Bajor to help them recover from the Cardassian occupation. The tensions on the station begin to rise as the Skrreeaan people cause more trouble amongst the station’s normal population. The Bajoran government meets to discuss the Skrreeaan situation but turn down their request to immigrate. Haneek is very mad at this decision and blames Kira. Meanwhile Haneek’s son, Tumak, steals a ship and heads to Bajor. His she ends up being destroyed on accident and this just cements the Skrreean’s ned to find a different home. There is a bitter departure between Haneek and Kira.

Second Sight

Second Sight

Essentially this story is a bit weak so I am not really going to dignify it with a wonderful write up.

Sisko keeps running into this mysterious woman named Fenna and he is really infatuated with her but she is a big mystery. At the same time the station is playing host to the galaxy’s most pompous scientist who plans on reactivating a dead star. We learn that his wife looks just like Fenna. Basically his wife Nidell is a telepath and projects Fenna from her mind when she is stressed. Seyetik, the scientist, says it is because she is stressed out being married to him but she only mates for life so she is stuck. To solve the problem he flies into the new star to release her. In the end she is just find and no one seems to sad that Seyetik is dead but everyone is worried about Sisko’s heartbreak.   

The show does feature a fun performance by Richard Kiley but in general it is a total downer. 

Necessary Evil

Today I encountered a product at Wal-Mart that made me incredibly proud to be a ‘Merican citizen. Ladies and gentlemen I saw a box of “Grapples”! What is a Grapple you ask? Well a grapple is a regular old apple that has been tampered with so that it “crunches like an apple but tastes like a grape” which is a direct quote from the packaging. Essentially it is an apple that has been coated with horrible artificial flavors to make it taste different than a normal apple. The reason this makes me proud to be an American is because there is no other place on Earth you would encounter such a product that makes a statement so ridiculous. Basically this product says “I’m not satisfied with the apple how can I better this perfect fruit”. In other parts of the world people are satisfied with an plain old apple, you know because they are starving, but not here in America. Being the schmuck that I am, I purchased the apples (4 for $3.98). Essentially these apples taste just like you would think, an apple that has been soaked in grape Shasta pop for about a week and a half.

I am behind in my write-ups so this will be the only blog post with a good idea behind it for the day the rest will be just story summaries.

Elliptical: 575 calories, 3.51 miles

Necessary Evil

Quark is attacked in his bar after retrieving a list of names from a wall in an old chemist shop on the station. The shop belonged to a woman named Vaatrick and her husband. The husband was murdered on the station a number of years earlier. The story is told in a series of flashbacks to the original investigation and the current investigation. In the past we learn that this was Odo’s first investigation on the station and how he met Kira. It turns out that the Vaatrick woman believed Kira was having an affair with her husband and then shot him but Kira denies this was the case. When pressured Kira confesses to being a member of the underground and was sent on the station to sabotage the oar processing plant. Odo is convinced of this and no one is convicted of the crime.  In the present the names on the list are being put together and they all appear to be paying the Vaatrick woman great sums of money for some reason. A few of them are even beginning to mysteriously die. Soon after an attempt is made on Quark’s life but the murder is caught the Vaatrick woman states that she is innocent and Odo believes her because he has already figured I out. It seems the list was a group of collaborators who worked with the Cardassians during the occupation and gained profit from the deal. Odo has also figured that Kira really was the murder from all those years ago and that she was sent to kill the collaborator. Odo and Kira must now confront the lie that has been between them for years. 

Rules of Acquisition

The Golden Globes are on as I am watching this and I am loving pretty much every minute of it! The hosts are incredible, the winners are being gracious and the show is moving along very nicely. Watching these shows it does make me think about what people in other countries think of the decadence of the American society. When you think of it there is a ton of money in that room from the gowns, to the jewels to the statues themselves.

A pleasant surprise was Jodie Foster’s acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMile award for lifetime achievement. A star who has been known to be gay finally came out publicly. The best part of the speech was that she acknowledged that it shouldn’t be anyone’s business and who really cares what someone does in their own private life. I could not agree more! It seems so often that we try to figure out people and we want to categorize them into different boxes and we are not happy until we have fully classified that person. Why? I don’t get this at all and I am sure that I do it though I try not to these days. I will say that I feel this pressure though. As a man who is single and in now in his 30’s people want to figure out why I am single and they seem to need to have me paired up with someone or at least know what the gender of that person may potentially be. Is it not just enough that we know a person and share friendship or do we have to compartmentalize people? This all being said though I think Jodie Foster is a bit crazy based up on her delivery of the speech! But You Go Girl!!

Elliptical Machine: Calories- 500, Miles- 2.85

Rules of Acquisition

The Nagus shows up once again to present a deal to Quark for an expansion into the Gamma quadrant. Quark is to make a connection to a race called the Dosi, who have Tulaberry Wine that the Ferengi want. The Ferengi wish to distribute the wine in the Gamma quadrant to make their business presence know. Meanwhile Quark has made quite a good partnership with a new bartender named Pel. The two work together to set up and negotiate the deal with the Dosi. During a Tongo game Dax figures out that Pel is in love with Quark but then Pel reveals that he is actually a she who has disguised herself as a man so that she can make something of her life. On the Ferengi homeworld women are not allowed outside of the house, to wear clothing or to gain profit. While on a mission in the Gamma quadrant she kisses Quark but the real truth is not told quite yet. Back on the station Rom is suspicious and does some sneaking around and finds out about Pel’s secret. Meanwhile Quark finds out that all the Nagus wants is more information on an organization known as the dominion. In the end Pel confronts Quark and the Nagus with the truth and she is told to go away quietly and she will not be taken into custody. The ending is bittersweet as it is evident that Quark really loves Pel.

This is essentially the movie Yentl but with Star Trek elements thrown into the mix and the result is a very touching episode dealing with gender roles in the 24^th century. This is also the first time we hear about the Dominion, a theme that will impact the rest of the show’s run. 

Melora

I would like to take a ride in the Tardis to maybe a few hours ago so that I can redo this evening that I wasted just hanging around doing nothing. What I should have done was write this blog about two hours ago and gone to bed but I didn't do that so I really can’t complain can I? Oh and for those of you who noticed my Dr. Who reference well done! I have really fallen in love with this TV show and so I tried the other day to watch one of the older episodes from the 60’s and they were painful to get through so I gave up after a few minutes of one episode. I then tried to watch an episode from the 80’s and that wasn't bad but it still wasn't that good either so I have decided to stick to the new episodes from the rebooted series.

Elliptical Machine: Calories- 644, Miles- 3.94

Melora
The station is about to play host to Ensign Melora Pazlar, a woman from a low gravity planet and there for she needs special accommodations on the station. Melora needs a chair to help her get around and when she is not in a chair she is in a rigged apparatus to help her move in the extreme gravity of the station. Everyone is very helpful and willing to work with her but the only problem is that she is a total bitch to everyone in sight. Bashir sees right through it and confronts her about her attitude and how she uses is to keep people away. Bashir begins to form a relationship with this woman and the pair start to discuss helping her remap her brain so that she can function normally outside of her world. The two find some level of success with the program though it is short lived. Meanwhile an old friend of Quark’s returns to kill him after Quark landed him in jail. Instead of killing him Quark offers him a business deal so he takes it but in the process he kidnaps Quark, Melora, and Dax in a runabout. The criminal is outsmarted by Melora who uses her low gravity roots to overcome the criminal. In the end Melora decides not to go through the procedure and remains chair bound. 

The Individuals With Disabilities Act Meets Star Trek Deep Space Nine and it is a touching and well done episode. Bravo!! The actress playing Melora is the only person to have leading appearances in both Dr. Who and Star Trek so well done!

Cardassians

I slept for ten hours last night and it was incredible to say the least! I don’t see why I don’t force myself to sleep like that more often? I would totally feel better about everything if I did if I were to get ten or more hours of sleep. I would also like to report that I did not snack or nibble on anything other than the food I intended to eat today and I am happy to report that I ended the day at a lower weight than I began so whoop whoop! I am also very sad to report that there is nothing of interest happening in my life at the moment which leads to a quite boring blog. Sorry Folks!

Elliptical Machine: Miles- 3.96, Calories- 646

Cardassians
While having lunch on the promenade with Bashir, Garak is attacked by an adolescent Cardassian boy in the care of a Bajoran man. Garak is fine but the boy becomes the center of a political nightmare between the Cardassians and Bajorans. It appears that after the Cardassians left Bajor several hundred children were left behind and the Bajorans had no choice but to take care of these children. The young man in question Rugal was adopted by a Bajoran family but has been raised to hate Cardassians and who he is, a note that gets back to the Cardassian home world quite quickly. This leads to an unpleasant conversation between Gul Dukat, Sisko and Bashir in which Bashir accuses Dukat of political maneuvering. Bashir begins investigating and hears of abuse on the part of Bajoran parents of Cardassian children and thus Rugal is taken into custody and a hearing is set up on the station. Low and behold Dukat finds the father of Rugal, still alive on Cardassia and he just happens to be a high ranking political official. Garak enlists Bashir’s help once more and the pair travel to Bajor to visit an orphanage. They discover a list of names and Rugals is mysteriously missing from the list. Further research shows that Rugal was brought to the orphanage by a Cardassian woman who worked on Terok Nor (DS9’s former name). Meanwhile Rugals father Kotan Pa’Dar arrives to take Rugal home to Cardassia but he doesn’t want to. During the hearing between Rugal’s Bajoran parent and Pa’Dar Bashir enters with the evidence of Rugals adoption and Dukat is exposed for his political meddling and leaves the station behind. It seems that Pa’Dar and Dukat are political rivals and this was done as a way to humiliate Pa’Dar in the future if needs be. In the end Rugal is returned to his Cardassian father and taken home to Cardassia. The question of the remaining orphans on Bajors seems to be left unanswered. 

Invasive Procedures

Cross Country skiing was a total success yesterday and I honestly can’t wait to go again. My ass and legs are a little sore but it is totally worth the pain. I am also very proud of myself because I only fell down once on sketchy terrain so I am much better suited to Cross Country Skiing than I am to Downhill Skiing. I finally have an excuse to call winter my favorite season other than enjoying large bulky sweaters.

Elliptical Machine: Miles- 3.75, Calories: 608

Invasive Procedures

The station has been evacuated due to an electrical storm in space that has engulfed that station. The only people left on board are Bashir, Odo, Sisko, Kira, O’Brien and Quark. The only reason Quark is still on board is because he couldn’t take all of his latinum with him, or so he wants everyone to believe. Odo and O’Brien find him in an airlock but what goes unnoticed is the device he has planted in the security systems. Soon a ship has come claiming that they need help but once on board the crew of a female, two klingons and a trill take over the station. Once they make it to Ops their intention is made clear, the trill wishes to steal the Dax symbiont. Verad, the trill, explains that he was denied a shot at the joining and feels this is his only way to get what he wants. The plan is to steal the symbiont, make Bashir implant it and then Verad and company are going to be off to the Gamma Quadrant to hide. Dax agrees to the surgery to save everyone else’s lives and soon Verad is back in Ops as Verad Dax and his dear female friend/lover Mareel begins to see some unwelcome changes in his behavior. In the infirmary Bashir is trying to keep Dax alive so that they can get the symbiont back into the right place. In Ops Quark attacks one of the klingons and gets himself sent to the Infirmary there he and Bashir work to overthrow the other klingon and then free Odo from the lockbox he was put into. Sisko is now trying to convince Mareel that Verad has changed and she eventually realizes it and gives Sisko permission to go get him. In the end the symbiont is put back in the correct place and Dax lives to see another day.

The episode features a guest appearance by Tim Russ who went on to play Tuvok in Star Trek: Voyager. It seems that there is always at least one guest actor form a series that goes onto the next show in some form or another. Also it features a strong performance from John Glover as the pitiful Verad, he is most famous for a few guest starring roles as a villain in several shows and for playing Lex Luthor’s father on Smallville. 

The Siege

So here is the second episode that I did today. I worked out for a total of 90 minutes straight and went at a pretty good clip the entire time. I am really pretty proud of myself.

The Siege

This story has two major stories so I will go through them as such. One note is that in the last post I failed to mention that Kira had an orb visit in which she and Dax were wearing the costumes of a Bajoran Nun, Kira was speaking in the minister of chambers and she was naked with Vedek Bariel.

Deep Space Nine
The station is being evacuated but Li, Sisko, Bashir, O’Brien, Quark, Odo, and a few others have remained on board to slow the progress of the takeover. They are hoping to delay the take over long enough to get the evidence of Cardassian involvement to the chamber of ministers on Bajor. The remaining Starfleet officers use sabotage, trickery, and even a few phaser fights to take over the station. In the end Sisko uses Li Nalas to persuade General Krim to stop the attack and support the provisional government. As the General is giving up the station an hot headed Colonel decides to shoot Li Nalas and he dies.

Dax and Kira
Kira and Dax are dropped off on a Bajoran moon to use an old stunt fighter to get information to the chamber of ministers. The ship is extremely old but it is able to fly, kind of, and they are on their way to Bajor. The two are attacked and crash land on Bajor but Kira is badly hurt, but luckily they are picked up by Bariel’s monks and brought to the monastery. Kira and Dax sneak in as Nuns and present the information to the ministers and Jaro is stopped partially because Winn betrays him to save her position as Vedek and the possible next Kai. 

The Circle

Today was the first day back to school and it zoomed by at a million miles per hour! I think part of what helped is that I was busy making sure that my new student intern was getting enough information and felt prepared for the next ten weeks. I am so looking forward to having an intern but it is also a little nerve wracking to be in charge of someone else who is a student in your profession. It is a lot of responsibility. Oh well I am confident it will be a wonderful experience for both of us. In other news there really isn’t any new news in my world and 2013 has really gotten off to a very grand start so I’m happy. A fun note is that tomorrow is the 20^th anniversary of Star Trek Deep Space Nine. Incredibly enough I can remember when the show premiered and I was a giddy little 10 year-old. I am very glad that I am re-watching it now because well the themes and ideas of this show in particular are well beyond the grasp of a 10 year old boy.

Elliptical Machine: Miles-7.95, Calories- well over 1,200

Today I elected to finish the three-part story arch of The Homecoming, The Circle and The Siege, so I worked out for two whole episodes.

The Circle
With Kira on the outs everyone has stopped by to wish the Major well as she moves on to a new position on Bajor. During an impromptu party Vedek Bariel stops by to invite her to relax and study at his monastery on Bajor. Li Nalas has now taken his place as the first officer on board Deep Space Nine and he begins to help Sisko investigate the Circle organization. It has come into focus that the Cardassians are behind the weapons suppliers for the Circle though the Bajorans don’t know this fact. Minister Jaro and Vedek Winn have made a deal for her public support of him in exchange for him decreeing her to be the next Kai. Quark informs Odo that the Kressari are transporting weapons for the Cardassians and so Odo sneaks on board the ship to get hard proof. At the same time Sisko goes to Bajor to get a read on the situation and he is convinced that the military does not support the provisional government and so Sisko visits Kira to update her on the situation. Kira is soon abducted by the Circle where it is the officially revealed that Jaro is the Circle and he intends to throw over the government in a gigantic military coup. A group leaves to rescue Kira and they are of course successful. The Circle sends a message to Deep Space Nine that they have 7 hours to empty the station or else. Starfleet sends a verdict to evacuate the station. Sisko reluctantly orders the evacuation but decides that he and a select group of Starfleet officers will remain behind. 

The Homecoming

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! I had an absolute blast last night with my friends in St. Cloud Minnesota bringing in the New Year. Part of the night was spent at my friend’s house and the rest of the evening spent at the local drinking establishments in downtown St. Cloud. There is a gay bar in St. Cloud so naturally we stopped there and did the whole countdown business there before leaving. Not to sound judgmental but the gay bar in St. Cloud is a bit lame and there was a really nasty smell in the place. After that a trip to The Red Carpet brought dancing and drinking in the “Red Room” my absolute favorite bar room ever! The room is dark and done in all red colors and the music is anything from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s; country music to classic rock, pop, dance, and hair band metal. The drink of the evening was a Vodka Cranberry and it was flowing freely but thank god I woke up this morning hangover free. After getting home I worked out to get rid of those extra holiday pounds that have accumulated.  As I said I am making only one resolution this year and that is ‘To be open to whatever the universe brings my way’ but of course I may have to help the universe bring some things my way too!

Elliptical Machine: Calories- 654, Miles- 4.01

The Homecoming
Kira is given a special earring from Quark who received it from sexy purple-haired freighter captain. The earring belongs to a Bajoran hero named Li Nalas who was believed to be dead for the last ten years. It turns out he is living in a Cardassian labor camp on Cardassia IV. After a long and drawn out period of thinking Sisko agrees to let Kira take a runabout to rescue Li Nalas but demands that O’Brien go with her to help out in the recovery. Kira and O’Brien mount a successful rescue and they return safely to DS9 but are short a few men short as some had to stay behind. Sisko and Kira are hopeful that Li Nalas’ presence will help to calm the tensions on Bajor, most importantly they hope he will calm the actions of a terrorist group known as the Circle. The Circle have been making threats all over Bajor and have made their way to the station where they are vandalizing and even attack Quark. The Circle’s motto is Bajor for Bajorans and they intend to cleanse the planet of everyone who is not a Bajoran. Li Nalas is torn by what is happening but is pressed by visiting Minster Jaro to come to Bajor to help ease the tensions. Upon his return he informs Sisko that Li Nalas is his new liason officer and that Kira has been recalled to the planet for service. This is where the episode ends with a “To Be Continued” screen.

This episode is the first part of a three story miniseries, a first for the Star Trek franchise. The three part arch is the story of an attempted coup on Bajor from the terrorist group known as the Circle. The three part miniseries features some really good cameo performances including, Frank Langella, Richard Beymer, Louise Fletcher, Stephen Weber, Philip Anglim, and Marc Alaimo. Richard Beymer is most famous for playing Tony in the film version of West Side Story! Tony, Tony, Tony!