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Change of Heart

Sell at 20.

Is that a joke?

Do I look like I'm joking?

Evade.

She has him.

-She's down 50 strips. -Not for long.

What makes you so sure?

Well, Jadzia's playing a very deep game.

Her strategy will become apparent any moment now.

I see.

You have absolutely no idea how this game is played, do you?

-No. -( chuckles )

But I have developed a new appreciation for it.

-Oh? Since when? -Since I married a Tongo player.

But one thing I am certain about--

She will defeat the Ferengi bartender.

I don't know about that. Quark's on a roll.

In the last month, he's won 206 straight games.

Would you care to make a wager on the outcome?

Oh, I wouldn't want to bet against a man's wife.

-Well, if you are afraid-- -Name your stakes.

One bottle of bloodwine against one bottle of scotch whiskey.

Done.

A sale at 50 and a purchase at 100.

Pretty big talk for a lady who's lost 50 strips.

Are you afraid I can't cover my bets?

Perish the thought!

I just hate to kick somebody when they're down.

I'll buy at 100... and confront.

Well, if you're gonna kick me, I'm gonna have to kick back.

QUARK: unbelievable.

( exclaims in native langauge )

I like my bloodwine very young and very sweet.

-Is he a friend of yours? -Just a fan.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint all your fans.

A full consortium?

207.

A single malt, preferably something from the highlands.

I will need some time.

Oh, your credit's good.

Whoo, 207 straight.

QUARK: 36 strips of gold press latinum.

-Did you lose a bet? -It is of no consequence.

I'm sorry about that.

I would rather lose a bet on you than win on someone else.

Ooh, good response.

Are you still running that drill tomorrow afternoon?

I was planning to. Why?

Because I wanted to recalibrate the external sensors before the night watch comes on duty.

We should be done by 1600 hours.

Well, I think that'll work.

Oh, the Sutherland is going to be here the day after tomorrow and...

-You were saying? -Nothing.

I don't feel like talking anymore.

-( beep ) -Kira to Worf.

Worf here.

KIRA: Sorry to bother you, Commander, but I need to see you and Jadzia

in the Captain's office, immediately.

We're on our way.

Jadzia... Get up.

I'm coming!

Hey!

We don't have a lot of time, so I'll get right to it.

For the last two months,

Starfleet has been receiving military intelligence from a Cardassian operative.

That operative has now sent an emergency signal indicating he needs to speak to someone in a face-to-face conversation.

In 13 hours, he'll beam an encrypted subspace transmission to these coordinates in the badlands.

Who is the operative?

Intelligence told me that his name is Lasaran,

But that's all they'll say about him.

They did emphasize several times that he is very important to them and that we should send someone to the badlands as soon as possible.

So, with the Defiant gone, and most of the runabouts off on exercises with the Ninth Fleet...

We just volunteered for a trip to the badlands.

Afraid so.

The Shenandoah's prepped and ready to go on landing pad "A."

Good luck.

{\an8}-No. -No?

{\an8}No, I'm not going to spend two weeks

{\an8}hiking across Vulcan's forge in the middle of their summer.

{\an8}I thought you always wanted to see the forge.

{\an8}See it, yes. Honeymoon there, no.

{\an8}Well, there's a mountain-climbing expedition on Andor

{\an8}that caught my attention.

{\an8}Worf... My love...

{\an8}Let me make this very clear.

{\an8}I do not want to spend my honeymoon

{\an8}climbing, hiking, sweating, bleeding, or suffering in any way.

{\an8}-All right, what do you want? -Room service.

{\an8}-Room service? -Room service.

{\an8}I want to be pampered.

{\an8}I want a staff to cater to our every whim.

{\an8}I want to be embarrassed by the size of our room.

{\an8}I want a balcony with a view that would make you want

{\an8}to break down and cry from the sheer beauty of it all.

{\an8}And I don't want to spend one moment of our honeymoon

{\an8}suffering from anything

{\an8}except guilt about our complete self-indulgence.

Risa.

Not this time.

Welcome to Casperia Prime, the vacation capital of the Horvarian cluster.

You have been planning this all along.

Well, it seemed fair. You did plan the wedding.

Very well. Room service.

-Really? -Really.

Well, that was easy.

Did you want to fight over it?

No. It's just...

I didn't expect you to surrender so quickly.

-Surrender? -Bad word.

-Very bad. -OK.

But you have to admit you've been unusually...accommodating lately.

What is wrong with that?

Nothing. It's just...

Unusual.

Are you feeling all right?

I am a married man.

I have to make certain... adjustments in my lifestyle.

Adjustments?

Worf, you're practically easygoing.

What's next, a sense of humor?

I have a sense of humor.

On the Enterprise, I was considered to be quite amusing.

Well, that must've been one dull ship.

That is a joke!

I get it.

It is not funny, but I get it.

I don't know if I can get used to the new you.

It's kind of eerie.

Your problem is you cannot accept change.

-I can't accept change? -That is correct.

Oh, you've got to be kidding.

I've changed bodies six times, Worf.

Yes, but you are still very set in your ways.

And look who's talking.

Well, I do not have to sleep on the same side of the bed every night, or brush my hair exactly 50 strokes every night, or eat the same thing for breakfast every day, or read the last page of the book before the beginning,

-or lift up-- -I get the point.

I don't know how you can live with someone so monotonous.

It is not easy.

That was a joke.

This is going to be a very, very long trip.

( door chimes )

Come in.

You're not dressed.

-Is it time? -1700 on the dot.

We have the holosuite for the next three hours, and we're going to need every minute of it.

Three British agents have disappeared in West Berlin.

Now, M.I. Five suspect the Soviets were involved of course.

However, the Americans have intercepted a, uh...

What are you doing with a Tongo wheel?

I'm brushing up on my game.

-You play Tongo? -Sure.

Well, I used to.

That is, I played the game once, a long time ago, with a Ferengi privateer and a Romulan mercenary.

Fascinating.

Anyway, the Americans have intercepted a series of messages from Istanbul to a remote island in the South Pacific

-which might indicate-- -Let's play a hand.

Miles...

-Just one hand. -Why?

I need the practice.

( sighs )

I want to beat Quark.

Good luck.

Luck has nothing to do with it.

Tongo is a game of strategy and calculated risk.

I don't even know the rules.

Well, here.

All right, let's play. I'll deal.

WORF: Shenandoah log: Stardate 51597.2.

We have arrived at the designated coordinates

near the badlands and are awaiting the transmission from Lasaran.

JADZIA: This is it.

A very sophisticated encryption matrix.

Whoever he is, he's good.

Who are you?

I'm Commander Worf. This is Commander Dax.

Starfleet Intelligence has sent us here to receive your transmission.

A Klingon.

Why did they have to send a Klingon?

I'm a Trill. Does that make you feel any better?

-Are you trying to be funny? -Oh, not at all. He's the funny one.

-What is it you want? -We'll get to that in a minute.

First, I have something that you want, badly...

Information on the Founders.

I know how many of them there are in the Alpha Quadrant,

where they are, and what they're doing.

-We're listening. -I'm sure you are.

Now let's talk about what I want.

I want out, now.

You want to defect.

The Vorta advisor here is getting suspicious...

Asking questions,

making a lot of routine security checks in my section.

I can't stay here any longer.

WORF: Very well.

We will relay your message to Starfleet Intelligence and they will arrange to bring you out.

I can't wait for them to make arrangements.

In 15 minutes, I am leaving here for the Dominion base on Soukara,

and I have a feeling this is going to be the last time

that they let me leave Cardassia Prime.

So, I need to take advantage of this opportunity.

Soukara is inside Dominion-controlled space.

It will not be easy to make a rendezvous near that planet without being detected.

Don't work your brain too hard, Klingon.

I've taken care of everything.

Three days from now at exactly 1730 hours local time,

I will leave the base and walk into the jungle.

It'll be at least two days before they know I'm missing.

All you have to do is get me off the planet.

Now, there are transporter scramblers protecting Soukara

so you can't beam me aboard your ship.

You're going to have to land and meet me at a rendezvous point on foot.

I am sending you all the information you'll need

to avoid the Dominion sensors on the ground.

Follow my instructions.

Meet me at this rendezvous point and have a ship waiting.

We've got the information. It looks pretty thorough.

We will need time to study these plans.

You haven't been listening. I don't have time.

Once I leave here, I can't contact you again.

I have to know if you're going to be there or not,

and I have to know now!

We will be there.

How far I've fallen... ( sighs )

Risking my life on the word of a Klingon.

Three days. Don't be late.

All right. I'll buy at 30 with sales at 35.

Buy at 35, sell at 150 and index the margin at 10%.

-Index the margin? -Miles, give it up.

-This just isn't your game. -We'll see about that.

( sighs )

Evade.

Do you realize that Quark has won 207 straight games of Tongo?

So?

So, someone has to beat him.

And that someone is you?

Why not?

Well, for one thing, you can't play Tongo.

Confront.

( groans ) Damn!

-Had enough? -Not by a long shot.

Miles, at this rate, it's going to take you another 20 years to be ready to take on Quark.

One more.

( sighs ) Why are you so determined to beat him?

-It's the challenge. -A challenge?

Isn't it enough?

I mean, why do you think I became an engineer, eh?

The challenge.

What do you think's kept me kayaking down the same river week after week for the last seven years?

The challenge.

Why would I keep playing darts against somebody with a genetically engineered hand/eye coordination, huh?

-The challenge. -Exactly.

I have to do something to keep my mind off the fact that Keiko's been away for the last six months.

Hold on.

Maybe I can't beat Quark...

But you can.

You and that genetically engineered brain of yours.

Me? I've only just learned how to play the game.

Yeah, in about 10 seconds flat!

We can do it, Julian.

We can beat him.

"We"?

You're talking about me.

Yeah, well, you're good at calculation but a little weak on strategy.

-I'll be your coach. -No, thank you.

Think of it as a challenge.

That's your obsession, Miles, not mine.

Do it for the latinum.

Nice try.

Do it for the satisfaction of the look on Quark's face when he's beaten at a game of Tongo by a lowly "hu-man."

Deal the cards.

We are approaching the Soukara system.

Stand by to bring us out of warp.

Now.

There is an asteroid field directly ahead.

That's what we want.

The Dominion's sensor grid in the system has three gaps and they're all in that asteroid field.

JADZIA: Want me to slow down?

No, unless you think you should.

Not at all. In fact, we could go faster.

By all means.

Ooh! A man after my own heart.

Most impressive.

Nothing that any 300-year-old pilot couldn't do.

We are being scanned from the surface.

JADZIA: Taking evasive maneuvers.

Did they get a fix on us?

WORF: I do not think so.

JADZIA: Good. We've come too long a way just to get shot down.

If you take the helm, I'll scan the surface for a landing site.

There's the base...

The rendezvous point...

And the Dominion sensor perimeter.

There's a valley about 20 kilometers north of the rendezvous point.

It's a long way to go on foot in the jungle, but I don't think we can risk taking the ship any closer to their sensors.

Agreed.

We have less than two days to reach the rendezvous point.

About 10 kilometers a day, that shouldn't be too bad.

Do not underestimate the task ahead.

We still have to penetrate the sensor grid and avoid the Dominion patrols.

( sighs ) I know, find a man in the middle of an alien jungle, then walk him out without getting caught.

Piece of cake.

-Ready? -After you.

OK.

Go to 25 joules.

WORF: 25 joules.

Done.

That's it. We're linked.

Here, check my work.

Dominion encryption lockouts bypassed, tricorder link to their sensor grids, life signs masked.

Nicely done.

Thank you.

Of course, our tricorders will be useless from now on.

There you go again, looking for the cloud in the silver lining.

I am not complaining.

I look forward to walking through the jungle without a map and no idea of what lies ahead.

Well, the funny thing is you probably are.

This is a Ferengi-only game, gentlemen.

You let Dax play.

She's an exception, the only exception.

You're afraid I'll clean you out.

I'm afraid you'll embarrass yourself and ruin the game for the rest of us.

I think I can keep up.

The question is, can you keep up with me?

Don't try and scare me with that genetically engineered intellect of yours, Doctor.

Tongo is more than just number crunching.

They have yet to create the computer that can master this game.

Then you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

You realize we are not playing for drinks.

This is a high stakes game.

We came to play.

Gentlemen?

( grunting )

All right.

The buy-in is five strips, and you're dealing.

You better get off to a fast start.

They won't know what hit them.

Buy at 300, sell at 350.

You're a quick study, Doctor. I'll give you that.

You mean quick for a "hu-man," don't you, Quark?

I would never say anything so distasteful during a game.

No, you'd wait until it was over.

Of course.

Evade.

Dax was a quick study too.

She told me it only took her two weeks to win her first match.

That's practically unheard of.

Dax specializes in the unexpected.

Still buying at 300, selling at four.

I'd like to index the margin at 20%.

Interesting.

She certainly did the unexpected when she married Commander Boring.

That's for sure.

When they first started seeing each other, I thought,

"This can't last. I give it two months."

I'll buy at 400...

And sell at five.

I had the same thought.

Although, to tell you the truth, I only gave it a month.

Confront.

She's a real heart-breaker, that one.

That she is.

Leverage the buy-in and sell at 550.

You know...

You go through a lot of ups and downs in my business.

There are days when the profits are down, and the customers are scarce, and you think you'll never see another strip of latinum again,

And then, Jadzia comes in...

And flashes that smile of hers.

Suddenly things don't seem so bad after all.

I know exactly what you mean.

You know, sometimes she walks past the infirmary, and all she has to do is wink, and somehow, that... makes my whole day look a little brighter.

Focus, Julian. Focus.

Shh!

I'll, uh, buy that 550, and...

Index the exchange at 10.

And now she's married.

Married.

Out of reach.

I'm converting my reserves...

And selling at 600.

You know what's really sad?

What really keeps me awake at night?

She's out of reach because we let her go.

Yes, I suppose so...

But some things just weren't meant to be.

Evade.

Julian!

Are you sure you want to--

Chief! Please. You know the rules.

No coaching during a round.

You're probably right.

But what if that's a convenient rationalization?

What if deep down in our heart of hearts, we both know she's something unique...

Something we may never see again, a chance at true happiness?

And we let her slip through our fingers.

What if 50 years from now we each look back and say, "What a fool I was"?

Confront.

Doctor?

Hmm?

Confront.

Oh.

Sorry. Um...

Full consortium.

Total monopoly.

-What? -( Ferengis snickering )

You seem to be out of money.

Miles?

We're busted.

Thanks for the game.

Welcome back anytime.

BASHIR: Wait.

Quark, did you really mean all that about Dax...

Being my one last chance for true happiness?

Doctor, you don't expect me to show you all my cards, do you?

( money rattling )

( sighs ) You lost.

What ever happened to "we"?

We weren't mooning over lost love with a Ferengi holding a total monopoly.

You mean all that about Dax was meant to distract me?

Obviously.

I can't believe I let him get to me.

Ah. Well... Not your fault.

Genetically engineered or not, you're still "hu-man."

( rueful chuckling ) I guess.

-Let's get a drink. -( groaning )

( device humming )

Ow!

( shivering )

Oh, let's not stand on pride, shall we?

Trills don't like the heat and Klingons don't like the cold.

There's no shame in admitting it.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

So, how are you enjoying your honeymoon?

Are you suffering enough?

Almost.

Is there anything I can get for you?

More pain.

Less cold.

( laughing )

I don't know why that's funny, but it is.

( animal howling )

Mating call?

500 meters.

That way.

( howling )

Well, that didn't take long.

Less than 300 meters.

( howling )

( sighs ) Another happy couple.

When I was a boy, my father used to take my brother and me on camping trips in the Ural mountains.

Every night, we would listen to the wolves howling in the distance.

Nikolai was afraid of them, but I would lay in my tent for hours, just listening.

I remember being seized by the urge to just rip off my clothes and run into the night and live in the forest, and become something... wild.

( howling )

He must have been rejected. He's moving away.

( howling and growling )

She's not happy.

( twig snaps )

( growling )

What? They're getting further away, aren't they?

Yes, but it's because something is coming.

And it is close.

( brush rustling )

( device beeping )

( yelling and grunting )

( strangled gurgling yell )

( groaning )

Jadzia!

( gasping )

( gasping )

Lie still.

I think I can do that.

( groaning )

Can I have the good news first?

No vital organs were damaged.

Now the bad news?

The disruptor burst left an anti-coagulant in your system.

So you can't stop the bleeding?

No.

Well, I must not have taken the whole burst.

I'm not hemorrhaging that bad yet.

Just keep me pumped full of painkillers, and let's be on our way.

Moving could make the bleeding worse.

Staying here isn't an option.

Someone's going to come looking for them when they don't check in, and I'd rather take my chances on foot.

You ready?

-You ready? -Ready.

Let's go.

( grunting )

( groans softly )

We are still 12 kilometers from the rendezvous point.

And only 20 hours left.

Well, I guess it's time we stop having so much fun and pick up the pace, huh?

Oh, more plasma.

No, thanks. I'm full. ( chuckles weakly )

Your blood pressure has dropped another 20%.

Love that bedside manner.

You know, you should have been a doctor?

Your bandage will need to be changed soon.

Well, I think I'd like a blue chiffon bandage this time, maybe some rhinestones.

Something with a little pizazz.

This is no joking matter.

You are seriously injured, and we have a great deal of terrain to cover.

Just trying to lighten the mood.

This is neither the time nor the place.

What happened to that new Worf?

You know, the one with the sense of humor?

That was a mistake.

Oh, what is that supposed to mean?

It means if I had not been joking with you,

I would not have allowed the Jem'Hadar to get so close.

( sighs ) So this is all my fault.

No.

It is mine.

I was trying to be something I am not.

By letting down my guard, by ignoring my duty,

I allowed my wife to be injured, and I put the entire mission in jeopardy.

It will not happen again.

That's not what happened.

-Without our tricorders, there's no way-- -I do not wish to debate this.

We have a long way to go and very little time.

Fine. Let's go.

( grunts )

( device beeping )

Ready?

( softly ) Yeah.

( groaning )

( groans )

Hypo.

( groaning )

There. Good as new.

I have to change your dressing.

That's four bandages in two hours.

That's got to be some kind of record.

Oh, sorry. I forgot the new rules. Nothing funny.

Got to be serious.

Life and death.

We've got a job to do.

Jadzia, I know you are tired, but we have to cover three kilometers before nightfall. Can you do it?

As long as you got those painkillers,

I'll follow you through the gates of hell, sir.

Hmm...

Oh, that was almost a smile.

When this mission is over, I will smile all you want.

Oh, you promise?

I promise.

Then let's finish this mission and get out of here.

( both grunt )

Whoa.

( groans )

That's all right, I can stand.

Just help me get my balance.

Help me balance.

Or maybe not.

( gasps )

( grunting )

( beeping )

Let me guess. Things aren't looking up.

There's been another drop in your blood pressure.

And your neural E.D.L. readings are erratic.

So what's your prescription, doc?

Surgery... at a Starbase.

Could I get a second opinion?

Worf, you have to go on without me...

And I know that.

I understand.

My duty requires that I complete the mission regardless of my personal feelings.

Absolutely.

You're a Starfleet officer.

So am I, and I understand.

The information Lasaran has could be potentially invaluable to the war effort.

You don't have to explain to me.

I'm hurt. You're not.

And there's a job to be done.

I will be back tomorrow night.

Don't worry.

I'm not going anywhere.

I can have you in the stasis chamber on the runabout in 45 hours.

No problem.

I will leave the med kit.

Scan yourself with the tricorder every half hour.

The plasma hypospray will be set--

I took basic first aid. I know what I have to do.

Worf.

It's been a great two months, hasn't it?

Yes.

Jadzia, I just want to tell you how--

( whispers ) Just kiss me and go.

( sobbing )

( heart beating )

( beating louder )

( sighs )

What's the word?

She is still in surgery, but Dr. Bashir is hopeful she will make a full recovery.

Lasaran's dead.

Starfleet intelligence intercepted a transmission saying that he'd been killed trying to reenter the base at Soukara.

Could you have made the rendezvous?

Yes.

-But yet you turned back to save Jadzia. -Yes.

Were you aware that the information that man had could have saved millions of lives?

Yes.

So what happened?

-You may not understand. -Try me, sir.

You were at my wedding.

You heard the story of the first two Klingon hearts and how nothing could stand against them and how they even destroyed the Gods that had created them.

I have heard that story since I was a boy, but I never understood it...

I mean really understood it...

Until I was standing in the jungle with my heart pounding in my chest, and I found that even I could not stand against my own heart.

I had to go back.

And it did not matter what Starfleet thought, or what the consequences were.

She was my wife and I could not leave her.

As your captain, it is my duty to inform you that you made the wrong choice.

I don't think Starfleet will file any formal charges.

Even a secret court-martial would run the risk of revealing too much about their intelligence operations.

But this will go into your service record.

And to be completely honest, you probably won't be offered a command on your own after this.

I understand.

I've also issued new orders.

You and Jadzia are not to be assigned to a mission on your own ever again.

And one last thing.

As a man who had a wife...

If Jennifer had been lying in that clearing...

I wouldn't have left her either.

( door opens )

Hey.

( whispers ) I know you.

We have met.

Ah, you're joking again.

That's a good sign.

Did you make the rendezvous?

No.

( softly) I could not leave you there.

Not for Lasaran, not for the mission, not for anything else.

Lasaran?

Dead.

Are you in trouble?

I have been in trouble before.

I'm sorry.

I should have kept going.

You have nothing to be sorry about.

I know how much your career means to you.

You come first.

Before career, before duty, before anything.

I do not regret what I did, and I would do it again.

I don't know what to say.

You could say, "Thank you for saving my life."

Thank you for saving my life.

And you could say, "I would do the same for you, Worf."

Well... I'd have to think about that.

My career is very important to me, you know.

( sighs )

And you could say, "I love you."

I love you.

And I love you.