Star Trek: Deep Space Nine s03e06 Episode Script

Dabo! Dabo! Dabo! You aren't leaving? - Well|- Come on.
Aren't you feeling lucky? All right, then, one more time.
|Let it ride.
Karjinko.
Sorry.
Wait a minute there.
|My name is Okalar.
What's yours? Busy.
- You are evil.
|- Who, me? He was going to walk away a winner.
The first rule of dabo is,|''Watch the wheel, not the girl.
'' So, what's on the menu|tomorrow night? Tomorrow night?|Dinner with your father? - What?|- He didn't tell you? He came by and invited me|to dinner tomorrow night.
- He said it was your idea.
|- My idea? l might have mentioned something|about having you over.
- l thought he forgot.
|- lt is all right, isn't it? l mean, you don't mind, do you? Oh, no.
No, of course not.
lt'll be great.
|You're going to love my dad's cooking.
This is a surprise.
- A pleasant one, l hope.
|- So do l.
l have some salvage for you, Quark.
This isn't a good time|to be selling your kind of salvage.
lt's perfectly legal,|and it's really salvage this time.
l'm not looking for junk right now.
l'm more in the market|for entertainment.
You'll like this junk, Quark.
lt's the wreckage from a ship|that crashed in the Gamma Quadrant.
You're still going|to the Gamma Quadrant? l love bold women.
How much? Three bars of latinum,|and you can have it.
- What kind of ship is it?|- l don't know.
- Can l see it first?|- There's no time.
Quark, you and l|have been doing business for years.
Don't you trust me? Three bars of latinum? lt was worth it.
No No.
No! No.
You bought a child? l thought l was buying some wreckage.
How could l know there was a baby|in there? lnspect the merchandise first.
lsn't there a Rule of Acquisition for that? There is, and l dousually.
We haven't been able to trace the Boslic Captain.
Her flight plan said she was headed|for Risa, but we can't put much faith in that.
l haven't identified his species,|but he seems healthy.
Seems? He has a very fast metabolic rate.
His cells are dividing at a pace l haven't seen outside of a laboratory.
There are no thyroid|or hypothalamic problems, so this may be natural for his species,|but l'd like to do further tests.
Very well.
What do we know about the boy's ship? Chief O'Brien is analysing the wreckage.
We should have a report soon.
Wait a minute, l paid good money|for that wreckage and And now it's yours.
Enjoy.
Hi there.
We should tell an orphanage on Bajor we might have someone for them.
l was talking about an orphanage.
Oh, right.
Have Major Kira|make the appropriate arrangements.
And keep me informed about him.
Yes, sir.
- What?|- You are positively glowing.
Oh, come on.
l haven't seen|that look on your face since Since Jake stopped wearing diapers.
l never thought|l'd hear myself saying this, but l miss taking care of Jake|when he was a baby.
l miss holding him,|singing to him at night, feeding him Listening to him cry, changing|his diapers, worrying when he was sick.
l haven't forgotten.
But there are times when l would|give almost anything for the days when l could make Jake happy|just by lifting him over my head.
Good night.
Hey.
How about a hug for the old man? Why didn't you tell me|you were going to invite Mardah? l did.
Weeks ago.
l told you if you didn't invite her soon,|l'd invite her myself.
l still wish|you'd given me a little more warning.
l didn't realise a dinner invitation|required so much warning.
lt doesn't,|and it's not a problem or anything.
lt just caught me by surprise.
Dinner isn't until tomorrow night.
That will give you a day|to prepare her for the traumatic experience|of dining with the old man.
Yeah.
l mean,|there's nothing to prepare her for.
- lt's just dinner.
|- Exactly.
Right.
All right.
- You wanted to see me, Doctor?|- Yes.
lt's about our new visitor.
ls something wrong with the baby? No, but he's not a baby any more.
There are many species with what|we would call accelerated growth rates, but they're usually small,|physiologically simple creatures.
l've never seen such a rapid|maturation process in a humanoid.
He looks about eight or nine years old.
|How old is he in reality? From his cellular kinetic profile, l'd say|he's no more than two weeks of age.
Who are you? l'm Benjamin, and that's Julian.
|Do you have a name? l need food.
With your metabolism,|l'm not surprised.
l'll get you something in a minute.
- Where am l?|- On a space station.
- Do you know what that is?|- No, but l want to learn.
l'd say we have|a lot to learn from each other.
Erm l'll be right back.
- Advanced language skills.
|- And cognitive reasoning.
He didn't pick those up|by listening to us.
This is either a natural ability or some basic intelligence|implanted into his genetic structure.
- lmplanted? You mean artificially?|- Yes.
l discount the possibility|that it is a natural ability.
His biomolecular diffusion gradient|suggests that his cellular mitosis|has been artificially enhanced.
So he may have been|part of some experiment.
Possibly.
lf so, he's an example|of very advanced genetic engineering.
His cognitive abilities are developing|without any external stimuli.
Test his mental abilities,|see if they increase.
He might get to the point where he can|tell us who he is and where he's from.
This is where Quark said|he found the boy.
lt seems to be a stasis chamber|that was damaged in the crash.
Perhaps they didn't want him|to begin maturing while he was aboard.
- What about the rest of the wreckage?|- lt's some kind of transport vessel.
- Did you find any information systems?|- Not yet.
Most of it's just junk -|twisted bulkheads, burnt deck plating We should have|a full inventory by tomorrow.
Good.
The replicators in my quarters|are on the blink again.
Could you spare someone to fix them? That's right,|tonight's the dinner with Mardah.
- You know about that?|- Jake mentioned it.
lt's the only thing on his mind.
You'd think l was going to court martial|her by the way he's acting.
lt's only natural.
Bringing a girl home|for the first time is traumatic.
Quark may call her a dabo girl,|but she's 20 years old.
She's a woman, and Jake's 1 6.
|lt has to stop.
- So why did you invite her over?|- Curiosity, mostly.
- l wanted to see what l was up against.
|- What if it turns out you like her? She's a dabo girl,|and she's dating my son.
l don't want to like her.
Godspeed, Jake.
- Major.
|- Odo.
For you.
Ah.
Let me guess|decoration for my new quarters.
Just something to brighten your room.
That's very thoughtful of you.
You're welcome.
l suppose you'd like to see my quarters.
Everyone wants to see your quarters.
|lt's called curiosity.
Uh-huh.
lt's not really finished yet.
|This is just the start.
The start of what? l want to make this room into a place|where l can explore what it truly means|to be a shape-shifter.
l thought it had to be|something like that.
l mean, you don't need an entire|set of quarters just to sit in your bucket.
l don't use the bucket anymore.
l've kept it to remind me|of how l used to be.
But now, when l need to regenerate, l simply revert to my gelatinous state|anywhere in this room.
Here, l can experiment|with different shapes, textures l can bring in various forms to emulate,|and l can do it in private.
l'm sorry if l intruded.
|Maybe l should leave.
No, please.
|You're always welcome here, Major.
Well Where shall we put it? Ah Perfect.
The boy's DNA sequence|has definitely been altered.
The nucleotide analysis proves that.
He's a product of genetic engineering.
|But why? Was he a unique experiment, or is this|sort of thing common in his species? His blood chemistry shows that|he's missing a key isogenic enzyme.
Without large quantities of it|his circulatory system would shut down.
- Can you replicate this enzyme?|- l've found a temporary substitute.
But why would anyone|genetically engineer someone with such an obvious flaw? Nurse Hortak to Doctor Bashir.
|You're needed in the infirmary.
On my way.
Listen, no one's going to hurt you.
|Let's go back inside and Security to the Promenade.
Stop! Stay where you are! - Dax to Sisko.
|- Go ahead.
We've solved the mystery|of our young visitor.
He's a Jem'Hadar.
l've just spoken|with Starfleet Command.
They want to send him to Starbase 201 , where he'll be handed over|to a team of specialists.
Sounds good.
|The sooner, the better.
What sort of specialists|are we talking about, Commander? There will be a team of xenobiologists|and exopsychologists waiting for him.
They're going to study him|like a laboratory specimen.
- He'll be very well treated.
|- So he'll be a well treated specimen.
l agree with Odo, Commander.
We can't just ship him off|like some biological sample.
He's a sentient life form.
But the Founders could have removed|his sense of free will.
He may be a genetically|programmed killing machine.
We don't want|one of them on this station.
Fine.
lf you want answers|about the Jem'Hadar, l'm the one who can find them for you.
|Let me get to know him.
l'll be responsible|for his conduct while he's here.
Odo, do you really think|you can control him? He's already shown|a certain deference to me.
That's probably another genetic|alteration implanted by the Founders to insure the Jem'Hadar's loyalty.
l can keep him from harming anyone.
l'd like to speak with the Constable|in private for a moment, please.
Talk to me, Odo.
|Tell me what's really going on here.
What the Founders did to the boy,|to all the Jem'Hadar, is not your fault.
Maybe not, but l feel an obligation|to undo some of the damage that my race has done to this boy.
l know what it's like|to be a specimen in a laboratory.
l'm sure they'll treat him well.
|No one will risk harming their new prize.
They'll be courteous, caring,|treat him like he's among friends, but in the end,|he'll be just another specimen to them, something to be|analysed and catalogued.
Give me the chance to find out if he|is just a programmed killing machine or if we can help him|become something else.
l'll tell Starfleet|we have some preliminary tests to run before we send him to Starbase 201 .
- Thank you, Commander.
|- Just be careful, Odo.
He is still a Jem'Hadar.
Listen to me.
Your body is craving|a certain chemical compound.
That is why you're feeling anxious|and having muscle spasms.
There's nothing wrong with me.
Yes, there is,|and denying it won't make it go away.
Leave me alone.
You can wait outside.
l think everything is under control now.
Please.
Sit down.
- You don't look well.
How do you feel?|- Something's wrong with me.
l feel sick when l eat.
l have pains in my head, in my chest.
He is addicted to an isogenic enzyme.
He's experiencing|symptoms of withdrawal.
Addicted?|Can you replicate this enzyme? l've had success with triglycerides,|but they're just a stopgap measure.
l can't get an exact chemical formula|without further tests, but he's resistant to that idea.
- l don't want tests.
|- Dr Bashir is trying to help you.
You should let him.
You may run your tests.
- My name is Odo.
|- l don't have a name.
When your tests are done, l can|maybe show you around the station.
- lf you wish.
|- What do you want? Do you have any needs of your own? - l want to fight.
|- Who? Me? - No, the others.
|- Why? l don't know, but that's|what l want to do.
ls that wrong? We need to find|other interests for you to pursue.
For the moment, why don't you relax? Try not to be so tense.
Take it easy.
Smile.
A smile, you know.
We'll work on that.
Smells good.
What is it? Shrimp Creole with Mandalay sauce.
|One of my father's recipes.
You'll love it.
l hope you like spicy food.
|This sure has a bite.
So, Mardah,|tell me a little about yourself.
- What do you want to know?|- Anything.
Family.
There isn't much to tell.
|lt's a pretty familiar story.
Parents killed during the occupation, raised by my neighbours until l was 1 3,|then l moved out on my own.
l have a sister and a brother on Bajor,|but we haven't talked in years.
Why not? Sarjeno and Koran weren't thrilled when|l told them l worked as a dabo girl.
Then l told them|what l thought of their lives, and we stopped speaking.
l see.
lt's amazing|how some people will judge you based on nothing more than your job.
- Did l mention that Mardah's a writer?|- Really? Yeah.
Mrs O'Brien said that Mardah|should try to get her stories published.
They aren't that good.
|Nothing like your poetry.
You don't have enough faith in yourself.
Poetry? You write poetry? Sort of.
Not really.
Now who doesn't have|enough faith in themselves? He writes some of the most|beautiful things l've ever read.
That's what won me over.
His poetry? - And the way he plays dom-jot.
|- You play dom-jot? - Oh, your son is quite the hustler.
|- A hustler? Why don't l see how dessert's coming? Jake seemed like|just another teenage boy at first, but there's more to him than that.
l'm beginning to realise that myself.
l care about him very much.
And so do l.
Now, tell me more|about my poet-hustler son.
lt's over here.
This is it.
We tried to run an analysis, but the computer|couldn't make heads or tails of it.
This is the drug the boy's addicted to? The Founders would have kept|a supply of the enzyme aboard his ship.
Hopefully Dr Bashir|can determine if this is it.
Why would they engineer someone|to be addicted to a certain chemical? lt's another way of insuring the loyalty|of the Jem'Hadar to the Founders.
lf your soldiers are addicted to a drug that can't be replicated|and only you can provide, that gives you control over them.
Seems a pretty cold-blooded|thing to do.
My people don't have blood, Chief.
l believe this tube delivers the|chemical agent into the carotid artery.
- How large a dose is required?|- l'm not sure yet.
This supply could last for a week,|a month or even a year.
l'll have to experiment|to find the right dosage.
We'll start with two milligrams.
|Let me know if you feel uncomfortable.
His heart rate is slowing, some increase|in neurotransmitter activity, and his cortical impulse readings|are levelling out.
Let's try three cc's.
We can hold it there for now.
- How do you feel?|- Good.
Thank you.
You should rest now.
We'll talk later.
|l'll be in my quarters.
Wait.
- l want to go with you.
|- The doctor will take care of you.
l want to stay with you.
He doesn't have to stay here as long|as l can monitor his condition regularly.
Well,|it seems l have my first houseguest.
You can change|into any of these objects? With varying degrees of success.
Some forms are more difficult|to emulate than others.
- Like what?|- Like this one.
As you can see,|l haven't mastered the humanoid face.
l've found it to be quite challenging.
Why do you want to look|like a humanoid? You're better than they are.
|You're a changeling.
That doesn't make me better,|just different.
But l know in here|that l am inferior to you.
But everyone else here is inferior to me.
That may be|what your instincts tell you, but it's not true.
No one on this station|is better than anyone else.
We're all equal.
Then l must be at fault, because l know|that you cannot be wrong.
The first thing we have to establish|is that l'm not infallible.
l'm no different from you in that respect.
You have to begin to think for yourself, to make decisions based on|what you want, not what l want.
Do you understand? What do you want right now? Don't think about it.
Just tell me|the first thing that comes to mind.
l l want|l want to know more about my people.
Who l am and where l come from.
l can understand that.
l was also found by aliens.
l didn't know who l was|or what my people were like.
- Did you ever find them?|- Yes.
But sometimes|the truth is not very pleasant.
Computer, display|bridge security log USS Defiant, stardate 4821 4.
5,|time index 31 0.
- These are my people?|- Yes.
They're a race of brutal warriors, but that doesn't mean|you have to be like that.
You can channel your|feelings of aggression in other ways.
How? Computer, run programme Odo One.
- This is not a real person?|- That's right.
He can't be injured or killed.
|He's just a computer simulation.
- How strong is he?|- As strong as you make him.
The computer will adjust his strength,|agility, speed - anything you want.
ln here, you can indulge yourself, let your instincts take over,|fight until you're ready to stop.
But at a price.
|Out there you have to control yourself.
You have to learn restraint,|to live peacefully among others, regardless of how you may feel, learn to contain your feelings|of aggression and violence.
Can l? Can l do it again? Can l have a stronger opponent? Computer,|increase difficulty to level two.
lt's too easy.
Make it more difficult.
Computer, increase to level three.
Can l speak to you for a moment? Computer, increase to level five.
l heard you let him move in with you.
lt was his idea.
|He feels safer with me around.
Of course he does, Odo.
|He was programmed to feel that way.
lt's more than that.
l've begun to form a real connection|with him.
He trusts me.
But can you trust him? How long|do you think you can control him? l'm not trying to control anybody.
l'm trying to give him some choices other than becoming a laboratory|specimen or a Jem'Hadar soldier.
You are listening to your heart,|not your head.
That boy was created in a laboratory.
|His body, his mind, his instincts are all designed to do one thing -|to kill.
My body, mind and instincts|were designed to be a Founder.
You were trained to be a terrorist,|but we chose to be something different.
l just want to give him|the same chance we've had.
All right.
Give him a chance.
Just don't forget he's a Jem'Hadar.
|He's dangerous.
- l'm well aware of the risk, Major.
|- l hope so.
Computer, end programme.
Everyone keeps looking at me.
|They're afraid of me.
They're mostly curious,|but they're also afraid.
They should be.
|l could kill any of them.
ls that all you can think about?|Killing? - Don't you care about anything else?|- l don't think so.
There is so much more to life than that, so much more for you|to discover and experience.
Maybe there is for you.
And maybe there is for all these|other people here, but for me - Sisko to Odo.
|- Go ahead, Commander.
- l need to see you in my office.
|- On my way.
Wait for me in our quarters.
Something's wrong.
Starfleet is sending|the USS Constellation to pick up the boy|and then take him to Starbase 201 .
They'll be here in five hours.
l thought we had an agreement.
l'm sorry, Odo.
Starfleet considers|the boy a top priority.
l did everything l could,|but orders are orders.
l You're not sending me anywhere.
- What do you want?|- A runabout.
- To go where?|- That's not your concern.
- This is not the way.
|- l know what l'm doing.
l'm leaving,|and you're going with me.
You don't belong here|any more than l do.
All right.
|lt won't be necessary to hurt anyone.
Commander Sisko will see to it|that no one interferes.
lf they do, l'll kill them.
- Where are we going?|- To the Gamma Quadrant.
lt's where our people are.
|lt's where we both belong.
l don't belong there,|and you don't either.
l won't let them put me in a laboratory.
|l won't go with them.
All right, but we needn't go|to the Gamma Quadrant.
We can find a place|where no one will bother you, where you can learn about yourself without worrying|about being sent to some laboratory.
lt's a big galaxy.
All we have to do is head out for|unexplored space and keep on going.
l am willing to do this with you, to help start you on your new life, if that's what you want.
You just don't understand, do you? l want to be with my people.
l don't want to be anywhere else.
l'm not like these other humanoids.
l'm a Jem'Hadar,|and that's what l want to be.
You're not like these humanoids either,|but they've done something to you.
They've filled your mind with ideas,|with these beliefs.
l don't know|what the other changelings are like, but l know they're not like you.
No.
They're not.
Spread out,|but remember not to fire until you hear my command|or the boy fires first.
- This is as far as you go.
|- Let us go, Commander.
l'm leaving of my own accord.
l'll take the boy back to his people,|then return in the runabout.
lf he boards the Constellation|when it arrives, he'll either kill a lot of innocent people|or be killed himself.
What makes you think|he'll let you come back? l don't believe|he could injure a changeling.
When the Constellation arrives|l'll tell them that l couldn't stop you from leaving, that l would have had to kill the boy|to keep him here.
Admiral Nechayev|won't like that answer, but it has the virtue of being the truth.
Sisko to O'Brien.
Release the security|fields around the airlock, Chief.
Aye, sir.
l'll see you when you get back.
He was afraid of me.
l could see the fear in his eyes.
Commander Sisko|was trying to help you.
He's not my friend.
He's my enemy.
l now know that anyone|who is not a Jem'Hadar is my enemy.
Does that include me? Station log, supplemental.
Starfleet is disappointed|over the missed opportunity to learn more about the Jem'Hadar.
But l'm happy to report that|with the boy gone, life on the station|has returned to normal.
We can get|the upper sensor grid back on-line.
Good.
|We'll need it in the next few days.
Weren't you going to|lower the boom on those two? l was, but some things came up|at dinner l didn't expect.
Got to know her a little better? No, l got to know Jake a little better.
Have you ever played|dom-jot with him? - No.
|- Don't.
Major, about the boy You were right.