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The 34th Rule is a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel by Armin Shimerman and David R. George III. It was published in January 1999, with an audio book released in February of the same year. Quark finds himself at the center of a crisis between the Ferengi Alliance and Bajor after Grand Nagus Zek refuses to return an Orb of the Prophets to the Bajorans.

Description[]

For once, business is going well for Quark, not that anyone on Deep Space 9 truly appreciates his genius for finding profit in the most unlikely of circumstances. Quark is even looking forward to making the deal of a lifetime -- when he suddenly finds himself stuck right in the middle of a major dispute between Bajor and the Ferengi Alliance. It seems that the Grand Nagus is refusing to sell one of the lost Orbs of the Prophets to the Bajoran government, which has responded by banning all Ferengi activity in Bajoran space.
With diplomatic relations between the two cultures rapidly breaking down, Quark loses his bar first, then his freedom. But even penniless, he still has his cunning and his lobes, and those alone may be all he needs to come out on top -- and prevent an interstellar war!

Summary[]

Prelude: The Sixty Second Rule[]

Quark is working on a lucrative business deal, Grand Nagus Zek was briefly on Deep Space 9 and Quark has spied on Zek's plan to use a loophole in the rules of the Bolian Credit Exchange to earn a vast amount of profit. Zek meanwhile is meeting with a Bajoran delegation, who are seeking to obtain the Orb of Wisdom from Zek. Zek has been building demand for the orb, and the Bajorans are willing to pay an unreasonable amount of money for it. Zek decides to hold an auction for the orb.

Part I: The Second Rule[]

Several days later, Major Kira visits Quark looking for a favor. Zek has expelled the Bajorans from the auction of the orb, so Kira is hoping that, with Quark's influence with Zek, Quark might be able to convince him to allow the Bajorans back into the bidding. Quark tells her that there is nothing that he can do to change Zek's mind. Later, the Bajorans announce that if they are not admitted back into the auction, all Ferengi will be banned from Bajoran space and lose access to the wormhole and thus the Gamma Quadrant. Quark will be forced to leave DS9 and his bar taken over by the Bajoran government. With only three days until this happens, this spurns Quark into action, and he uses his contacts on Ferenginar to find out if Zek will allow the Bajorans back into the auction. He talks to Zhrel, one of Zek's financial functionaries and is shocked to hear from Zhrel that Zek is not readmitting the Bajorans to the auction.

On Bajor, First Minister Shakaar and Kai Winn meet, with the Kai imploring Shakaar to not back down, although Shakaar expresses regret that Ferengi civilians will suffer from the sanctions due to Zek's actions. Quark and Rom arrive at Shakaar's office, but Shakaar refuses to met with them. Back on DS9, Quark meets with Captain Sisko, seeking his help. Sisko's hands are tied, as the Federation Council has passed a resolution that states that the current situation is a Bajoran matter, Sisko cannot get involved. Sisko questions why Quark would want to stay on DS9 anyway, but Quark brings up the events of the first time they met, when Sisko released Nog from holding cell in exchange for Quark continuing to operate his bar. Quark accuses Sisko of being biased against the Ferengi people.

Later, Sisko discusses his meeting with Quark with his son Jake. Sisko thinks back to a similar conversation that he and Quark had a couple of years earlier, in which Quark had commented that the Federation was never sure what to make of the Ferengi. Jake speaks plainly in pointing out that his father is worried that he is racist towards all Ferengi. Jake points out that someone with a bias would not be wresting with the issues at hand like Sisko is.

Meanwhile, Quark has been trying to sell his bar without success. He speaks to his cousin Gaila to see if he could find someone to buy the bar, but Gaila only offers Quark a job with Gaila's arms dealing venture. With the deadline fast approaching, Quark decides to open the bar earlier to make some final profit from it. Kira arrives and demands to know why Quark has not left the station. She begins to insult Quark personally, but Jadzia admonishes her for her behaviour. Quark actually ready to leave, but Jadzia questions what would happen if he stayed on past the start of the Bajoran edict. Quark and Rom load their possessions onto a departing shuttle, but at the airlock Quark decides that he is remaining on the station.

The edict comes into effect, but Quark continues to operate his bar. Odo knows that Quark's presence in the Bajoran system is now illegal, but he is taking no action as the matter is not one fir station security. However, the Bajoran Militia sends Lieutenant Carlien and Sergeant Onial to arrest Quark and Rom. Carlien and Onial track Quark and Rom to a holosuite, where a program of a Risan resort is running. The pair are arrested, but are revealed to be holograms when they disappear at the holosuite door. The real Quark and Rom are at an airlock, but the ship that they were expecting to leave on is not there. Quark checks the departure schedule and sees that an Andorian freighter to due to depart the station. They attempt to elude security, but are stopped by Odo. Odo finds the experience unpleasant, but Quark and Rom are nonetheless removed from the station. Quark and Rom are taken to Bajor, but not to the capital as Quark supposed. They arrive at a cold, desolate camp, where a Colonel Mitra welcomes them to Gallitep.

Part II[]

A month later, Sisko meets with Kira and Worf to get their opinions on why the number of ships docking at DS9 has dramatically dropped. Neither are sure why traffic has dropped, so Sisko takes the Defiant, out on patrol. The crew discover a ship, the Alerica, that has been attacked and two Ferengi D'Kora-class marauders. Sisko realises that the Ferengi are starting to blockade Bajor. On Bajor itself, Kira meets with First Minister Shakaar and Kai Winn to inform them of the Ferengi blockade. Bajor is already seeing food supplies fall, with the situation deemed to become much worse in less than a month. Kira relates that Captain Sisko has asked the Federation Council to allow him to negotiate with the Ferengi to allow food and medical supplies through the blockade. Kai Winn condemns the Ferengi, pointing out that they do not seem to even care about Ferengi civilians detained and now considered political prisoners. Shakaar is not willing to rescind the edict banning all Ferengi from Bajoran space, instead he plans some way to break the blockade. Shakaar wants to obtain ships capable of opposing the Ferengi fleet, but Kira points out that this will lead to war. Shakaar asks Kira to approach Captain Sisko with this request for ships, but Sisko is naturally unwilling to help. He warns Kira that Bajor's actions could hurt its chances of joining the Federation.

Sisko takes the Defiant out again, this time to make contact with the commander of one of the Ferengi ships blockading Bajor. Sisko speaks with daiMon Bractor and Bractor agrees to come aboard the Defiant. Sisko asks Bractor to pass on Sisko's request to let the Federation deliver food and medicines to Bajor, and to delay the auction of the orb until the crisis is over. Bractor leaves the Defiant, but several days later Sisko meets with Bractor again, and gives Sisko a message from Zek which astonishes Sisko.

Shakaar meets with a Yridian called Xillius Vas, who has agreed to provide the Bajorans with ships procured from the Gamma Quadrant. When the crew of DS9 detects the ships headed towards the wormhole and unsure of their intentions, Sisko asks Bractor for aid. Shakaar reveals that the ships, which are a combination of Starfleet, Ferengi, Klingon, Cardassian and Romulan technologies, are for the Bajorans.

At Gallitep, Rom reflects that he and his fellow Ferengi were treated well until the Ferengi blockade started. Colonel Mitra is a cruel man, and his prisoners are held in freezing barracks, and the guards give out brutal beatings, such as to Quark when he went to help Rom when Ron passed out and fell during a forced march. One of the guards, Argan, tries to help the prisoners by providing medical supplies and new shoes.

Sisko meets with Shakaar again, pleading with him not to start a war with the Ferengi. Shakaar reveals the price of buying the ships from the Yridians: the Bajorans are to give the Yridian all of the information that DS9 obtains on the Gamma Quadrant. If Starfleet does not allow access, the Bajorans may reconsider allowing Starfleet to operate DS9. Talking to Admiral Wheatley, Sisko expresses his concerns that the Yridians will sell the data, and Worf counsels that neither the Federation leaving DS9 or handing over the data are suitable options. Whatley orders them to determine a third course of action. Worf ponders why the Yridians would have ships readily available to sell, when the Yridians primarily deal in information. Sisko and Worf speculate that the Dominion, the Romulans or the Cardassian Obsidian Order could be manipulating Bajor and Ferenginar into war. They realise that they can only determine who is responsible by finding out the source of the ships.

A day later, sensor buoys deployed by the Defiant detect weapons fire: two of the new Bajoran ships are running the blockade and are being fired on by the Ferengi marauder Neemis. Sisko orders the Defiant to move between the Ferengi and Bajoran ships to shield the Bajorans from attack. The two Bajoran vessels start to attack the area of the Ferengi ship that houses its plasma weapon, and a radiation surge on the Ferengi ship apparently kills its crew, allowing the Bajoran vessel to escape. Worf questions the veracity of what they have seen, so Doctor Bashir and Chief O'Brien takes the shuttlecraft da Vinci to take a closer look at the Ferengi ship and take proximity scans. The Ferengi vessel suddenly powers up and moves away. Bashir and O'Brien are beamed off the shuttle to sickbay and the shuttle itself is brought back to the Defiant, which sets out in pursuit of the Ferengi ship. They lose track of the vessel, so they return to DS9.

Odo meanwhile has boarded a Bajoran ship to find out where it actually came from. Odo discovers that the ship was originally built for the Karemma. Chief O'Brien makes a discovery of his own: the apparent deaths of the Ferengi crew were faked using false sensor readings. The whole thing was a false flag operation to implicate Bajor in the deaths of hundreds of Ferengi. The crew learn that the Neemis is one of Grand Nagus Zek's honor guard vessels.

In Gallitep, Quark and Rom have been physically and mentally tortured by Mitra and the prison staff. The staff are in a way prisoners as well, as Mitra does not allow them to leave the camp. Only Argan and Jessel's medical aid is keeping the Ferengi prisoners alive. Wyte forcefully escorts Rom to meet with Colonel Mitra. Mitra has gone insane, calking himself a Gul and praising Cardassia. He wants to know which of his men has been helping the prisoners. Rom refuses to answer, but Mitra knows that it is Argan and Jessel. Quark and Rom are able to overpower Wyte, but Mitra overpowers them and ties Rom up. Rom realises that Mitra was a prisoner at Gallitep when the Cardassians ran it. Corporal Prana enters and confronts Mitra; Prana has discovered that Argan and Jessel have been murdered. Prana fires his phaser.

On Deep Space 9, Sisko is considering what could happen if the Ferengi conquer Bajor: they could sell control of the planet to the Cardassians, or the Dominion or the Romulans. Odo suggests that the only person who can negotiate with Zek is Quark. Jadzia agrees with Odo's suggestion. Kira speaks on front of the Bajoran government and asks them to release Quark. The meeting is interrupted by a message from Zek, who declares war on Bajor.

Part III: The 76th Rule[]

In Gallitep, Prana had shot Mitra, who may be dead but as Prana's phaser was not set to kill they are unsure. The three head for the barracks, expecting to find the Ferengi prisoners also murdered by Mitra and Wyte, but find them all still alive. The hungry prisoners break open the prison's food stores and make an escape plan. Two of the Ferengi prisoners report back that Mitra had vanished. Rom tries to engineer a way of contacting the outside world, but it appears that they will otherwise have to wait for spring to arrive to melt the snows around Gallitep.

Sisko, hoping to find a way to stop the war, meets with Shakaar on Bajor, offering to obtain the Orb of Wisdom from Zek, if Shakaar then rescinds the edict banning all Ferengi from Bajoran space. Shakaar is amenable to the plan, but doubts that Sisko can succeed. On Deep Space 9, the crew are monitoring the regrouping of the Ferengi fleet. The Bajorans too are regrouping their fleet around Bajor. Admiral Whatley contacts Sisko with very bad news: Starfleet is pulling Sisko's crew from Deep Space 9.

In Gallitep, Cort, one of the Ferengi prisoners, has been able to modify a medical scanner with phaser components to send a homing signal to his shuttle. Quark is skeptical that the Bajorans would not have confiscated the shuttle, but with no other hope agrees to wait and see if the shuttle arrives. The shuttle does indeed arrive. When Quark goes to tell Cort, Cort transports away. Quark worries that Cort has transported to his shuttle and will leave without them, but this is not the case. Cort lands the shuttle, one of Bajoran design, and the prisoners board. The shuttle soon takes off and leaves Bajor's atmosphere. They plan to head for the wormhole, but suddenly an explosion rocks the shuttle. The explosion is detected by the Defiant, and Captain Sisko orders the shuttle inhabitants transported aboard. The Defiant crew were expecting to rescue Bajorans, but Sisko is pleased to see Quark. Quark asks Sisko for asylum and tells him of his experiences in Gallitep. Shocked by Quark' s experience, Sisko offers Quark and Rom sanctuary. Sisko asks for Quark's help to resolve the crisis, although Quark retorts that Sisko has not helped him. Quark comments that few of the DS9 crew like him, but never consider that despite the fact that they don't share the same values, doesn't make Federation civilization superior to the Ferengi civilization. Sisko posits a Ferengi victory over the Bajorans and DS9 passing to Ferengi control: Zek would be unlikely to allow Quark to return to running the bar, no doubt an associate of Zek's would be given it. Quark agrees to talk to Zek to convince him to allow the Bajorans to purchase the orb, with Sisko guaranteeing him amnesty from Bajoran criminal charges against Quark and Rom.

Dr. Bashir treats Quark's injuries, and is surprised to see Odo, who says that he is aboard to look after Quark during the journey to Ferenginar. Quark realises that it was Odo who suggested that Quark was the best person to negotiate with Zek. In their quarters, Rom comments that he thinks that Cort set them up. Quark questions the statement, as it was Cort who brought the shuttle that they escaped Gallitep in, but Rom reveals that the supposed homing device that Cort used to contact the shuttle was just a jumble of different parts and could not have been used to do anything. Cort must have had a way to contact the shuttle during all of the time they were in Gallitep. Quark wonders if Cort was working with Zek.

The Defiant is able to to get passed the Ferengi armada without being detected and reaches Ferenginar. Sisko talks to DaiMon Letek of the marauder Preekon, and asks that Quark be allowed to meet with Grand Nagus Zek. After what Quark notes is an unusually drawn out process, Letek agrees and Quark is transported to Zek's residence. Meeting with Zek, Quark tells Zek that he should sell the orb to the Bajorans, as refusing to do so will mean that Ferengi are denied access to the Gamma Quadrant. Zek comments that is why he has declared war on Bajor, to which Quark retorts that will lead to a loss of Ferengi lives and ships. Quark also points out that even if the Ferengi control access to the wormhole, hostile powers like the Dominion, the Klingon and Romulan empires, the Cardassians and the Tholians might all baulk at having to pay for access to to it and could try to take it for themselves. Zek tells Quark that he will consider what he has told him. Quark returns to the Defiant.

Zek makes a new proposal, but are unable to contact Bajor or DS9, so Sisko orders the Defiant to head for Bajor at maximum speed, hoping to avoid war. This hope proves futile, as nearing Bajor they detect weapons fire and Sisko orders the Defiant through the two battling fleets to reach orbit of the Bajoran capital city to transport down. When this proves impossible, Sisko boards the shuttlecraft da Vinci himself. The shuttlecraft itself is hit by a phaser blast, and then another, forcing Sisko to use the emergency transporter to beam out before the shuttlecraft hits the surface of Bajor and is destroyed. In the Bajoran capital, Sisko brings Shakaar Zek's offer: Zek will sell the orb if they pay the price of their last bid, turn over the ships that the Bajorans bought from the Yridians and rescind the ban on Ferengi entering Bajoran space. Shakaar accepts.

Coda: The 34th Rule[]

References[]

Characters[]

ArganJulian BashirBoritBractorBrocCarlien AnraCorlanCortCrimmonJadzia DaxDrayanEnkar SirsyGailaHoldbrookJesselKargKira NerysKrelnLenkLetekMitraMornM'PellaMiles O'BrienOdoOnialPhluggPranaQuarkRobinsonRomShakaar EdonBenjamin SiskoJake SiskoTarenTarkenXillius VasPatrycja WalenistaCharlie WhatleyWinn AdamiWorfWyraWyteZekZhrelunnamed Otevrel
Referenced only
Bareil AntosBreelCurzon DaxDarhe'elFurelElim GarakA. Bartlett GiamattiGintHannanIshkaKalem AprenKeldarKira TabanKlytaLeetaAlynna NechayevNogOpaka SulanParilkaPralonJackie RobinsonJennifer SiskoSorrettaEddie StankyAbe StarkSynta KayanilTrog

Locations[]

Alpha QuadrantBajor (AshallaGallitep) • Deep Space 9 (Docking ringHabitat ringKlingon restaurantOperations centerPromenadeQuark'sReplimatStation commander's office) • Ferenginar (Chamber of the SunGrand Nagus' Palace)
Referenced only
Alastron IVAndorArcher IV • Bajor (Dahkur ProvinceWyntara Mas ProvinceZhentu Province) • Bajoran wormhole/Celestial TempleCardassiaCardassia IIIDelta IVEarth (Ebbets FieldLouisianaNew OrleansSan Francisco) • Ferenginar (Sacred MarketplaceTerekol Chasm) • Gaila's moonGamma Hydra IV (Johnson City) • Gamma QuadrantKilandra ClusterMars (Bradbury Township) • Omarion NebulaRigel VRisaStarbase IcarusWormhole relay station

Starships[]

Alerica (DY-700) • Da Vinci (Starfleet shuttlecraft) • USS Defiant (Defiant-class) • Kreechta (D'Kora-class) • Neemis (D'Kora-class) • Preekon (D'Kora-class) • USS Rubicon (Danube-class)
Referenced only
USS Ad AstraAndorian freighterAran'tsahBokiraCalliopeDY-1100-classGalaxy-class MarginMaurit'li'ochUSS New YorkUSS OkinawaPerin ChenaseUSS SaratogaUSS Tian An MenWealth

Races and cultures[]

BajoranBolianChangelingDeltanFerengiFrunalianGornHumanKlingonLurianOtevrelTrillYridian
Referenced only
AlastronAndorianBorgCardassianKaremmaOrionProphetsRomulanTholian

States and organizations[]

Bajoran MilitiaFerengi AllianceGreat AssemblyStarfleetStarfleet CommandUnited Federation of Planets
Referenced only
Bajoran ResistanceBolian Credit ExchangeBoston BravesBrooklyn DodgersCardassian Central CommandCardassian UnionDetapa CouncilDominionFederation CouncilFerengi Commerce AuthorityFirst Bank of FerenginarFirst FederationKlingon EmpireMajor League BaseballRomulan Star EmpireStarfleet AcademyVedek Assembly

Science and technology[]

cabrodinecardiostimulatorcloaking devicedeuteriumholosuiteinferniteisolinear rodneutroniumorbOrb of Prophecy and ChangeOrb of WisdomPADDplatinumpostganglionic nervepreganglionic fiberrodiniumshatterframetransporter platform

Ranks and titles[]

DaiMonEmissary of the ProphetsFirst Minister of the Republic of BajorGrand Nagus of the Ferengi AlliancekaiKlingon emperorlieutenantOrion chancellorPraetor

Foods and drinks[]

Archerian slug wineFinagle's Follykirilionamargaritapooncheenpooncheeneeraktajinorokeg blood pieSaurian brandytequilatranya

Florae and fauna[]

Denebian slime deviljebretneraktreni catvole

Other references[]

19491986198819891989 World SeriesarmadaBajoran religionbaseballbaseball (object)baseball batbaseball gloveblockadecriminal activity reportdabodartsDivine TreasuryEsquire Shoe PolishFederation ConstitutionFerengi languageFerengi Rules of AcquisitionlatinumMuriniri dollOccupation of Bajorpost-traumatic stress disorderPrime DirectiveResolution 49-535tsunamival-effWhen the Prophets Cried

Appendices[]

Related media[]

The 34th Rule alternate cover

The alternate cover.

  • The events of The 34th Rule are mentioned in the DS9 relaunch novel Twilight.
  • Grand Nagus Zek received the Orb of Wisdom and announced his plans to sell it to the Bajorans in the DS9 episode "Prophet Motive".
  • Quark recalls meeting Sisko in "Emissary" and mentions how he felt he was "blackmailed" into staying on the station. Sisko also recalls the conversation he had with Quark in "The Jem'Hadar", in which Quark claimed Humans were uncomfortable around Ferengi because they reminded them of how their species used to be.
  • Shakaar Edon recalls how he became First Minister in "Shakaar".
  • There is a reference to Sisko wanting to build a house on Bajor. Sisko would tell Admiral Ross about his plans to do so in "Favor the Bold" and would carry the project forward in the Final Chapter arc.

Background[]

  • Armin Shimerman dedicated the novel to his wife Kitty Swink.
  • The story was originally conceived as an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The pitch was unsuccessful but Shimerman and George decided to turn it into a novel instead. The novel was written as an allegory for the internment of Japanese American citizens (including TOS star George Takei) during World War II. [1] (also archived at [2])
  • Perhaps because Shimerman was the first actor to write a novel when the series was still on the air, Rick Berman had to approve it for publication. Shimerman commented: "Unlike any other Star Trek novel, our novel had to be personally vetted by Rick Berman. David and I weren’t quite sure Mr. Berman would continence our work because we drew many of the DS9 major characters as less than perfect. We got our share of notes from Pocket Books, including a directive to cut the concentration camp part of the story. David argued forcefully for it and they saw the wisdom of it." (Template:VoI)
  • An audiobook, abridged by George Truett and read by Shimerman, was released a month after the novel.
  • An alternate cover for the novel (pictured) features a Gallitep sign as well as barbed wire rather than forcefields.
  • The 34th Rule of Acquisition is "War is good for business". The 2nd Rule is given in this novel: "The best deal is the one that brings the most profit". The 76th Rule is: "Every once in a while, declare peace. It confuses the hell out of your enemies".
  • One running gag in this novel is that Letek, Bractor, and a Betazoid gift box all appear in this novel, and when they do, a character will make a remark about them looking familiar. Armin Shimerman, co-author of this novel and the actor portraying Quark also played these characters in "The Last Outpost", "Peak Performance" and "Haven" respectively, all early episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Reception[]

External link[]

Connections[]

Timeline[]

published order
Previous novel:
Vengeance
DS9 numbered novels Next novel:
The Conquered
chronological order
Previous Adventure:
Bar Association
Pocket Next Adventure:
Chrysalis
Previous Adventure:
Bar Association
Deep Space Nine Adventures Next Adventure:
Accession
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