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Waltz

SISKO: Captain's Log, Stardate 51408.6.

I've been aboard the Honshu for two days now

and I still haven't spoken to him

although the doctors have assured me

that he's made a full recovery.

Maybe that's what I'm afraid of.

Maybe I prefer to think of him as a crazy man... a broken man.

He'd be less dangerous that way.

As terrible as it sounds,

there's a part of me that wishes he were dead,

but that's a thought unworthy of a Starfleet Officer.

He lost an empire, he lost his daughter, and he nearly lost his mind.

Whatever his crimes isn't that enough punishment for one lifetime?

I heard you were aboard.

I was wondering if you'd make an appearance.

How are you?

Better.

( sighs )

The doctors tell me I've made a remarkable recovery.

They told me the same thing.

Good.

I'd hate to think they were patronizing me.

So I'm a war criminal.

In the Federation, you're innocent 'till proven guilty.

So I'm told.

Do you believe I'm guilty, Benjamin?

I haven't seen all of the charges.

It's not like you to equivocate.

I'm trying to be fair.

You won't be tried until the war is over.

Your appearance before the special jury is just a formality.

And you'll be testifying for the prosecution.

I will tell them what I know.

Care to elaborate?

Not really.

I see.

I never got a chance to tell you how sorry I am about Ziyal.

Do I detect the fine hand of Dr. Cox at work once again?

I told him I wanted to offer my condolences.

I'm sorry.

The good doctor encourages me to talk about Ziyal whenever possible since it was her... death... that brought on my momentary instability.

I shouldn't be so suspicious.

It's all right.

Well... we should be arriving at Starbase 621 by noon tomorrow.

I will see you at the arraignment.

Benjamin... about my daughter... you and Major Kira took care of her for almost a year.

I wanted to thank you for that.

It was very generous.

Ziyal... was a very special young woman.

It was a pleasure to have her with us even if it was only a short time.

A short time is all she ever had.

Is there anything I can get for you?

Hmm.

A bottle of kanar and an Orion slave girl would be nice.

I'll see what I can do.

( alarm blares )

CREWMAN: Battle stations.

Damage control teams report to Level 5-J.

It's confirmed.

USS Honshu was destroyed this morning at 1030 hours by an attack wing of Cardassian destroyers.

Starfleet has picked up the distress beacons from three escape pods and one shuttlecraft so there are survivors.

ODO: The signals are coming from this area.

The last reported position of the Honshu was here which means there could be survivors in any of these adjacent star systems.

That's a pretty large area.

How many ships in the search party?

Two-- the Constellation and the Defiant.

Two? It could take days.

KIRA: With all the Dominion activity along the border, it's all Starfleet can spare at the moment

and the Defiant has another appointment.

In 52 hours you need to be at this rendezvous point outside the Badlands.

You are the escort for a Federation troop convoy.

It will take 12 hours just to arrive at the coordinates where the Honshu was destroyed.

And 12 more to reach the Badlands, I know, but this convoy is completely unprotected.

They've been using the plasma fields in the Badlands to hide their movements and when they emerge, they're helpless without the Defiant.

Can't they delay the convoy?

I mean, if Captain Sisko is still alive we have to give him every chance.

I raised the same objection myself and the orders still stand.

Now, every minute spent arguing here is one less minute spent searching for the Captain.

Prepare for immediate departure.

KIRA: Worf... there are over 30,000

Federation troops in that convoy.

You have 52 hours, not one second longer.

Understood?

Understood.

Defiant.

( whoosh of hypospray )

DUKAT: Benjamin, can you hear me?

Dukat?

Yes.

Everything's all right but don't try to move too quickly.

The left side of your body is covered with plasma burns.

We were in the brig and the ship went to Red Alert.

We were attacked by a wing of Cardassian ships, ironically.

I was headed to Engineering.

Well, you didn't get very far.

A plasma conduit exploded before you got 15 meters down the corridor.

That's where Lieutenant McConnell and I found you when the order came to abandon ship.

Where's McConnell?

Dead.

A piece of shrapnel hit him in the head just as we were carrying you into the shuttle.

Any other survivors?

I saw a few escape pods leaving the ship just before it exploded but I had my hands full just trying to keep us in one piece.

The engines were damaged from the shock waves and I set us down here, wherever "here" is.

But that shuttle's never going to reach orbit again.

The shuttle's distress beacon was damaged...

( beeping softly ) but I think I managed to repair it.

So now all we have to do is wait for someone to pick up our signal.

Whose signal are you transmitting--

Starfleet or the Dominion, hmm?

It's a general distress call, Benjamin.

Whoever gets here first will find one comrade-in-arms... and one prisoner.

That's fair, isn't it?

Fair enough.

Did you do this?

You shattered most of the bones in your arm.

There was a bone regenerator in the medkit but I'm afraid I'm not much of a doctor so I just put on the cast.

You did plenty.

Thank you.

We have enough field rations to last us a few weeks, but I'd feel better if I could locate another source of food and water.

The surface is inhospitable, to say the least, but I did manage to find some firewood and kindling so there's a good chance there's edible vegetation out there-- I just have to find it.

You could have left me behind.

Why didn't you?

I didn't want to.

I'll be back within the hour.

What are you planning to do with him?

The Captain and I have a lot to talk about.

Such as?

It's of a personal nature.

I see.

You're going to share your feelings of loneliness and sorrow with your long-time adversary.

Dr. Cox would be so proud.

Go away.

You should kill him now while you still can.

That won't be necessary.

He's in no condition to challenge me.

I can afford to be patient.

You should kill him.

I don't care for your tone!

Spare me your endless posturing.

You're lucky I speak to you at all after that pathetic display back at the hospital.

That's enough.

Oh, I see. It's a sensitive topic.

I wonder what Captain Sisko would think if he'd seen you curled up in a ball crying yourself to sleep every night.

Stop it!

I doubt he'd still have the same respect for you if he'd heard you screaming and screaming and screaming like a madman 'till the nurses came and the doctors had to sedate you.

( laughing ) No!

Is that breakfast?

( chuckling )

Possibly.

Good morning.

Morning.

What's it like outside?

Oh, the wind has died down and the temperature has gone up 20 degrees.

I rather like it but I think you'll be more comfortable in here where it's cooler.

Too much.

I'm doing the cooking here, thank you.

Pardon me.

You're not the only officer who learned how to cook, you know.

How are you feeling?

A little better.

Good.

After last night,

I was beginning to get worried.

Last night?

You don't remember?

Now that you mention it, I remember waking up and I was feeling a little dizzy.

You had a bout of nausea.

Not exactly a little bout.

Oh. I'm sorry.

That's all right.

I've had to clean up a lot worse in my time.

Once, when I was a newly minted glinn on the Kornaire,

I had to help clean out a compartment where three men had gone through an explosive decompression.

( chuckles )

I didn't sleep for a week after that.

Let's change the subject.

The Emissary has spoken.

Oh, come on, Benjamin.

Have a sense of humor about all this.

I'm not in much of a joking mood.

Well, that's a shame because there's so much to laugh about.

You don't see it, do you?

Benjamin, just a few hours ago

I was a prisoner on my way to trial and you were my dear old friend come to visit me in my cell.

( laughing )

Now look at us.

I'm free, and you're a prisoner of your own battered body, and there's a good chance we'll be rescued by the Dominion.

( laughing )

You've got to laugh at a universe that allows such radical shifts in fortune, Benjamin.

I will laugh when a Federation starship arrives and puts you back in a cell.

( laughs )

Whatever you say.

What?

Nothing.

It's probably just the wind.

How is it?

Needs salt.

There's probably some in one of the ration packs.

You know... we didn't get much of a chance to catch up before the attack.

How is everybody on what I'm sure you're once again calling Deep Space 9?

Odo and... Kira? Quark?

They're all fine.

And, no, they don't miss you.

Perhaps not.

They never really did give me much of a chance.

They were too busy plotting my downfall.

Pepper.

If you only want me to tell you what you want to hear, just say so.

Well, I hope they at least told you that my policies toward the Bajorans were most generous this time.

They told me Weyoun didn't give you much of a choice.

Major Kira knows full well I made every effort to heal the wounds between Cardassia and Bajor.

Since the very beginning, it was my intention to rectify the mistakes of the past and begin a new chapter in our relations.

Are you going to put that in my soup?

Oh.

Well?

Better.

( sighing )

You're not going to give me the benefit of the doubt are you, Benjamin?

Do you really care what I think?

Don't you care what your old friends think of you?

Dukat, we're not old friends.

You saved my life and I'm grateful, but that's as far as it goes.

You keep hearing something.

Are you sure there's nothing out there?

It's just the wind.

I'm certain.

But I'm going to double-check, just to make sure.

No.

I won't do it-- not yet.

You're wasting time.

It's my time to waste, Damar.

Remember your place.

I mean no disrespect-- you know that-- but without you, the war will be lost and Cardassia will lie in ruins.

Don't let this one man stand in the way of your final triumph.

I have to know that he respects me.

I think I've earned it.

Of course you have.

He's just trying to deny you the satisfaction of hearing him say it.

You know in your heart he secretly admires you.

Isn't that enough?

Kill him and be done with it.

( groaning )

Think of it... the leader of Cardassia bringing the dead body of the Emissary back to the Bajoran people.

They'll take it as a sign that the Prophets have abandoned them.

The Shakaar government will be overthrown and the Federation position on Terok Nor will become untenable.

Very tempting thought.

You've made some good points, Damar, but there will be time enough for all of that later.

It's all right.

I know you have my best interests at heart.

I wanted to get some water out of the kit.

Oh.

Here.

Thanks.

Oh...

Anything out there?

Hmm?

Uh, no. No.

Some rocks slid down the cliff.

I think something's wrong with the com system.

Oh?

It was beeping a second ago.

It might need recalibrating.

I'll check.

Well... everything's fine.

The unit's still on line.

If you open up the casing, you'll be able to run a full diagnostic.

Better safe than sorry.

You're right.

Ah...

Nothing to worry about.

It's working fine.

That's all I wanted to know.

WORF: Ship's Log, supplemental.

We have picked up a total of 12 Honshu survivors so far

but there is still no sign of Captain Sisko.

We have less than 12 hours

before we must abandon the search.

( grunts )

( beeping )

( powering down )

Damn.

( taps on console )

( beeping softly )

( sighs )

( console beeps )

Commander, I'm picking up a distress signal.

( footsteps approaching )

Good evening.

( turns flashlight off )

Pleasant dreams, I hope.

I don't remember.

Is it still dark out?

I do apologize for bringing you to such a gloomy latitude.

The nights seem to last 18 hours, the days less than five.

Sit up.

Well, looks like you're planning a long stay.

Oh, no, not at all.

Someone's bound to pick up our signal any time now but I see no reason why we shouldn't be comfortable in the meantime.

How's that?

That's just fine, thank you.

Good.

Ah!

Much better, hmm?

You know, when I was out there in the shuttle just now, it occurred to me that the Bajorans would be very confused if they could see us here sharing the same food, the same hardships.

What do you think they would say if they knew the Emissary of the Prophets and the evil Gul Dukat were sitting here, together getting along just like the two old friends that they really are?

Oh...

I... forgot.

You don't think of me as your old friend do you, Benjamin?

It's all right.

There's no one here.

Just the two of us.

No one to impress.

No one to judge what you say.

We can be honest with each other.

So tell me... what do you really think of me?

I'll tell you what I think.

I think you're an evil, sadistic man who should have been tried as a war criminal years ago-- put up against a wall and shot.

( chuckling )

You probably agree with Major Kira don't you, Benjamin?

I am the former Prefect of Bajor-- an evil man who sent thousands of Bajorans to their deaths to satisfy his own sadistic desires, hmm?

Of course, he agrees with me and it was millions.

I don't think there's any point in discussing this.

I do.

My name and reputation have been slandered and twisted ever since the end of the occupation of Bajor.

I have been vilified... by ignorant, small-minded people throughout the Quadrant for the past six years.

I just want to know if you're one of them, Benjamin.

I wasn't there during the occupation.

I didn't see all the things you had to struggle with day after day.

I don't think I can pass judgment.

He just doesn't want to anger you.

He really thinks you're a vicious cold-blooded killer, Dukat, and so do I.

I don't care what you think, so I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself.

I don't think you're being entirely honest with me, Benjamin.

You're not a man who hesitates to make snap judgments when the situation calls for it.

It's one of the signs of a good commander.

Now, I'm asking for your opinion of me, and I'd find it hard to believe you don't have one.

All right.

I think you're right.

You have been judged unfairly.

I've judged you unfairly but I think you probably had good reasons for everything you did on Bajor.

Yes.

Yes. That's it, exactly.

I had good reasons.

Some of the harsher actions I took were forced on me by Central Command.

I wanted to use entirely different tactics with the Bajorans.

I wanted to rule with a softer hand, but my superiors didn't see it that way.

You were a soldier, and you had to carry out your orders.

Precisely.

( raucous laughter )

You are such a fool!

Leave us alone!

This doesn't concern you!

He's patronizing you.

"You were a soldier and you had to carry out your orders."

He doesn't believe that lame excuse any more than I do.

DUKAT: This is growing tiresome.

Dukat?

Dukat!

I thought you wanted to talk to me.

Yes!

But Nerys won't leave well enough alone.

She's always interfering, always trying to upset me!

Maybe we should just ignore her.

Let's pretend that the Major's not even here.

I'm picking up two humanoid life-forms on the surface.

Bridge to Transporter Room.

There's no reason to get upset.

We're just talking.

Two old soldiers talking around the campfire.

KIRA: I'm going to enjoy watching this.

He's going to beat you, Dukat.

He's going to escape and go back to DS9 and his friends and we're all going to have a good, long laugh at your expense.

( laughing )

( screaming )

Enough!

( laughing )

( laughter continues )

( laughter fades away )

( beeping )

I've locked onto them.

Transporter Room to Bridge.

We have the survivors on board.

Two women--

an Ensign and a Lieutenant.

Dr. Bashir is checking them now.

That must have been very uncomfortable, Benjamin.

Look at that.

One of the tines is missing.

How did that happen?

Did you break it off?

But why would you want a small, thin piece of met...

Unless you needed a tool.

I see you've been busy.

A little repair work while I was gone.

Very thoughtful.

DAX: Worf!

What is it?

I thought I picked up another distress signal, but now it's gone.

You know, Benjamin,

I thought we had established a level of trust between us, but I was wrong.

If there's one thing

I can't abide, it's betrayal.

Our rescue efforts have been delayed.

If we could just have a few more hours.

( static ): The troop convoy

will be completely unprotected...

when they... the plasma...

...strict radio silence.

...they can acknowledge our signal even if...

...sorry, Worf, but you're going to have...

your search and...

I'm sorry, Captain.

There's some kind of subspace interference between us and the station.

I'll keep trying.

I couldn't understand a word Kira said.

Too much interference.

It looks to me like we're on our own.

I could understand what she was trying to say.

What about you, Chief?

Did you understand?

No, I couldn't understand a word.

Well, it doesn't really matter what we think.

Commander Worf is Captain here.

We all know what Major Kira's orders were.

It would be dishonorable to ignore them.

You will forgive me... if I don't consider your honor... to be worth Captain Sisko's life.

You may leave the Bridge, Doctor.

Helm.

Set a course for the third planet.

Aye, Captain.

You brought it on yourself, you know.

Just like all your victims.

All my victims.

It always comes back to that, doesn't it?

All my crimes.

I'm such a monster, such an evil man.

Behold... Benjamin Sisko... supreme arbiter of right and wrong in the universe... a man of such high moral caliber that he can sit in judgment on all the rest of us.

What the hell do you want from me?!

My approval?

Is that what this is all about?

You want me to give you my permission to cause more suffering and death?

Well, if that's what you're after, you might as well pull out that phaser and end this right now because I will never give it to you!

Good!

Good. I like this.

No more pretense.

No games.

Just you, me and the truth.

What do you know about the truth?

You bend the truth into whatever shape suits you.

( laughs )

Judge Sisko hands down another ruling.

But where's his evidence?

All right.

You really want to do this?

Here? Now?

Yes!

Okay.

Okay. Let's do it!

You were Prefect of Bajor during the occupation.

True or false?

True.

And you were responsible for everything that happened under your command.

True or false?

True.

So that means that you are responsible for the murder of over five million Bajorans on your watch.

True or false?!

False. I tried to save lives during my administration.

Evidence?!

Evidence!

He wants evidence.

By the time I became Prefect, the occupation had been going on for almost 40 years but the planet still wasn't ready for full-scale colonization.

Central Command wanted the situation resolved and they didn't care how it was done.

I was convinced that a gentler hand was required to deal with the Bajorans.

It was a noble, if misguided vision.

So in my first official act as Prefect,

I ordered all labor camp commanders to reduce their output quotas by 50 percent.

Then I reorganized the camps themselves.

Child labor was abolished.

Medical care was improved.

Food rations were increased.

At the end of one month of my administration, the death rate had dropped by 20 percent.

Now, how did the Bajorans react to all this?

On my one-month anniversary, they blew up an orbital dry dock... killing over 200 Cardassian soldiers and workers.

We didn't want a reconciliation.

We wanted to destroy you.

So I had to order a response.

But even then, it was a carefully-tempered one.

I ordered 200 suspected members of the resistance rounded up and executed.

200 lives for 200 lives.

That's justice, not malevolence.

Justice.

The Dominion would have never been so generous.

But did I give up my efforts to reach out to the Bajorans?

No. I tried again, and what did I get for my troubles?

An assassination attempt... on my own station.

Another round of executions followed-- once again, courtesy of the Bajoran resistance.

We never wanted peace.

We hated you.

We hated all of you.

On and on it went, year after blood-soaked year.

Time and again, I would reach out with an open hand of friendship, and time and again they would slap it away.

The Bajorans understand a clenched fist, not an open hand.

Being reasonable only made us bolder.

The Dominion would have killed every man, woman and child on Bajor long ago.

I hope you're listening to all this.

Oh, believe me... you have my undivided attention.

Now, let me get this straight.

You're not responsible for what happened during the occupation, the Bajorans are, hmm?

Yes.

Yes!

Exactly.

So, why do you think they didn't appreciate this rare opportunity you were offering them, hmm?

Oh, because... they were blind, ignorant fools.

If only they had cooperated with us, we could have turned their world into a paradise.

From the moment we arrived on Bajor, it was clear that we were the superior race, but they couldn't accept that.

They wanted to be treated as equals when they most certainly were not.

Militarily, technologically, culturally-- we were almost a century ahead of them in every way.

We did not choose to be the superior race.

Fate handed us that role, and it would have been so much easier on everyone if the Bajorans had simply accepted their role.

But, no... day after day, they clustered in their temples and prayed for deliverance, and night after night, they planted bombs outside of our homes.

Pride... stubborn, unyielding pride.

From the servant girl that cleaned my quarters, to the condemned man toiling in a labor camp, to the terrorist skulking through the hills of Dahkur Province... they all wore their pride like some... twisted badge of honor.

And you hated them for it.

Of course I hated them! I hated everything about them!

Their superstitions and their cries for sympathy, their treachery and their lies, their smug superiority and their stiff-necked obstinacy, their earrings and their broken, wrinkled noses.

You should have killed them all, hmm?

Yes!

Yes!

That's right, isn't it?!

I knew it.

I've always known it.

I should have killed every last one of them.

I should have turned their planet into a graveyard the likes of which the galaxy had never seen!

I should have killed them all.

( Sisko yells )

And that is why... you're not an evil man.

( yelling )

( both grunting )

Do it!

( yelling )

I'm so glad we had this time together, Benjamin because we won't be seeing each other for a while.

I have unfinished business on Bajor.

They thought I was their enemy.

They don't know what it is to be my enemy, but they will.

From this day forward,

Bajor is dead!

All of Bajor!

And this time, even their Emissary won't be able to save them!

( yelling )

( groaning )

It's time.

Plot a course out of the system.

Full impulse.

Once we've cleared the outer planets, head for the rendezvous coordinates... maximum warp.

Course laid in.

Engaging impulse engines.

( console beeping )

Captain, I'm picking up a signal.

It's from Gul Dukat.

WORF: Ship's Log, Stardate 51413.6.

We have rescued Captain Sisko,

but we did not have time to locate Gul Dukat's shuttle.

We are now en route to our rendezvous

with the troop convoy near the Badlands

and the Captain is recovering in Sick Bay.

DAX: Benjamin?

I've notified Starfleet of Dukat's last known position.

They'll find him.

No, they won't.

You know, old man, sometimes life seems so complicated... nothing is truly good or truly evil.

Everything seems to be a shade of gray.

And then, you spend some time with a man like Dukat, and you realize that there is such a thing as truly evil.

To realize that is one thing.

To do something about it is another.

So, what are you going to do?

I'll tell you what I'm not going to do.

I'm not going to let him destroy Bajor.

I fear no evil.

From now on, it's him... or me.