When three Cardassian fugitives seek refuge on Deep Space 9, Quark discovers one of them is a past love.
Summary
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When a damaged Cardassian starship shows up near Deep Space 9, Sisko has it brought in and he and O'Brien greet the passengers. Natima Lang and her students, Rekelen and Hogue, claim their ship was damaged in a meteor storm and request repairs. They then visit the Promenade, where Quark recognizes Natima and greets her excitedly. Natima slaps Quark and tells him she never wants to see him again, but as she walks away, Quark tells Odo, "Today's the best day of my life."
Quark and Natima were once lovers and it is apparent as he follows her that she still has feelings for him. However, the second he quotes a Rule of Acquisition, any such feelings seem to vanish. Garak and Bashir pass by and Garak acknowledges Natima politely, prompting her to panic. She tells Sisko that she and her students must leave quickly, but O'Brien has discovered that her ship was actually damaged by Cardassian phaser fire. Natima reveals they are political outcasts intent on reforming the Cardassian government.
While Natima talks to Sisko, Quark visits Garak's shop and asks for advice on Cardassian fashion. The tailor describes Natima's taste in fashion as "too radical" for his liking and warns that a poor choice in fashion can be detrimental to one's health. A Cardassian warship arrives shortly thereafter, ignoring communication attempts and targeting the station with its weapons. Garak visits Ops to explain that Central Command wants Hogue and Rekelen, whom he describes as terrorists. Sisko warns Garak that if the Cardassians try to take them by force, he will respond in kind.
Desperate to get Natima back, Quark offers Hogue and Rekelen a cloaking device to help them escape, but as part of the agreement he requires that Natima stay with him. Natima tries to reason with Quark, explaining that she cannot stay, and threatens to shoot him with a phaser. Believing she is bluffing, Quark dares her to do so; she fires the phaser but looks as surprised as Quark. Natima tells him she barely touched the trigger and did not mean to fire, after which she declares her love for him. As the two of them happily reminisce about the past, Odo enters Natima's quarters and places her under arrest.
The Bajoran government has agreed to turn Natima, Hogue, and Rekelen over to the Cardassians in exchange for the release of several Bajoran prisoners. A former rival of Garak's, Gul Toran, visits Garak's shop and tells the tailor that Central Command has changed its mind; it wants the prisoners dead. In exchange for killing the prisoners, Garak will be allowed to return to Cardassia.
Meanwhile, Quark convinces Odo to help Natima and takes her and her students to their ship. Garak greets them at the airlock, where he laments that he must now kill Quark as well as Natima and her students. Quark attempts to reason with Garak, but before Garak can respond, Toran emerges from behind a cargo container. Teran reveals that he only used Garak to learn Hogue and Rekelen's whereabouts; Garak then shoots him.
Before Natima leaves, Quark tries one final time to convince her to stay. She tells him she must return to Cardassia until her work is done. "So all I have to do to get you back is wait until Cardassia becomes a free and democratic society?" he asks. Smiling, Natima tells him they will meet again some day and promises to make it worth the wait. Once she leaves, Quark asks why Garak shot Toran, to which Garak asks why Quark helped Natima. "I had no choice — I love her," Quark says. "And I love Cardassia, which is why I had to do what I did," Garak responds.
References
Characters
- Julian Bashir • Broik • Jadzia Dax • Elim Garak • Hogue • Kira Nerys • Natima Lang • Morn • Miles O'Brien • Odo • Quark • Rekelen • Benjamin Sisko • Toran
- Referenced only
- Rom • Sarek • Mickey Spillane • Yiri
Locations
- Deep Space 9 • Garak's Clothiers • Habitat ring • Operations center • Promenade • Quark's • Station commander's office • Quark's
Starships
- Referenced only
- Cardassian transport
Races and cultures
- Bajoran • Cardassian • Changeling • Ferengi • Human • Lurian • Trill
- Referenced only
- Trelonian
States and organizations
- Bajoran Militia • Cardassian dissident movement • Cardassian Guard • Cardassian Information Service • Cardassian Union • Starfleet • United Federation of Planets
- Referenced only
- Bajoran Provisional Government • Cardassian Central Command • Chamber of Ministers • Obsidian Order
Other references
- Cardassian phaser • cloaking device • commander • dabo • disruptor • engine core • Ferengi Rules of Acquisition • flitterbird • gul • holosuite • honey • I, the Jury • kanar • latinum • life support • meteor • mooring clamp • Mordian butterfly • professor • Samarian sunset • tractor beam
Appendices
Related stories
- Lang would later appear in the DS9 relaunch novel This Gray Spirit. Her time working for the Information Service and her life aboard Terok Nor were featured in the Star Trek: Terok Nor novels Night of the Wolves and Dawn of the Eagles.
- Andrew Robinson included Toran in his novel A Stitch in Time.
Cast
- Avery Brooks as Benjamin Sisko
- Nana Visitor as Kira Nerys
- Rene Auberjonois as Odo
- Terry Farrell as Jadzia Dax
- Alexander Siddig as Julian Bashir
- Armin Shimerman as Quark
- Andrew J. Robinson as Garak
External links
- Profit and Loss article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Profit and Loss (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Connections
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous episode: Playing God |
DS9 episode produced | Next episode: Blood Oath |
| Previous episode: Playing God |
DS9 episode aired | Next episode: Blood Oath |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous Adventure: Genesis |
Next Adventure: Whatever You Do, Don't Read This Story | |