Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999): Season 3, Episode 15 - Destiny - full transcript

Station Log, Stardate 48543.2.

A team of Cardassian scientists

is coming to the station
to assist us

in deploying a subspace relay
in the Gamma Quadrant.

If successful,
it will allow communication

through the Wormhole
for the first time.

I've assigned these quarters

to the senior Cardassian
scientist, her name is Ulani.

Her colleague, Gilora,
has the adjacent room.

It's warm in here.

I take it you reset
the environmental controls.



I also had Chief O'Brien
reprogram

the replicators to provide
Cardassian food.

Security measures?

I've assigned two of my people

to follow the Cardassians
at all times.

Fine, have them
keep their distance.

I want the Cardassians

to feel like guests,
not prisoners.

Commander, there are
still elements opposed

to the peace treaty
between Cardassia and Bajor

on both sides.

We have to be prepared
for trouble.

I realize that, but while
the Cardassians are here

I want the Bajorans



to get used to seeing them
walking on the Promenade...

buying from their shops,

eating from their restaurants...

getting to know them
as something other

than brutal overseers.

I just received the final update
from the Cardassians

on the transceiver they designed
for the communications relay.

How does it look?

I'm still not convinced
it's going to work.

The Cardassians seem
sure that it will.

I hope they're right.

Whose quarters are these--

Gilora's or Ulani's?

Ulani's.

And how do you know their names?

I was just informed an hour ago.

Odo, please...

I have a bottle of kanar
for each of them...

along with a personal
invitation to Quark's.

Where did you get real kanar?

I've had three cases
in my storeroom

since the occupation.

There hasn't been much call
for it the past few years...

but that's about to change.

There are only two Cardassians
coming to the station.

How much kanar do you think
they can drink?

There may only be two for now,
but there'll be more

thanks to the peace treaty.

And as the 34th Rule
of Acquisition states

"Peace is good for business."

That's the 35th Rule.

Oh, you're right.
What's the 34th?

"War is good for business."

It's easy to get them confused.

The way I see it, it won't be
long before there's a permanent

Cardassian presence
on the station...

scientists, diplomats...

spies.

And they'll all
be welcome at Quark's.

As long as they can pay.

Rumor has it that the shop
next door to mine

is going out of business.

I'm thinking of renting it
and setting up

a few Cardassian
gaming concessions.

There'll be no live vole fights
on the Promenade, Quark.

I would never be party

to anything so cruel
and inhumane.

But, of course,
if some Cardassians

happen to bring
their voles along

and they happened
to get into a fight

I could hardly be
held responsible for...

Oh, yes, you could.

And you will be.

Fine.

Forget the vole fights.

But I'll tell you this.

Good kanar is hard to find.

And I have three cases of it.

But that's just the beginning.

Soon, Quark's will become
known as the best place

for Cardassian food and drink
in this sector.

I'll probably set up
daily shipments from Cardassia.

I may even need to buy
my own transport ship.

Quark, this kanar has gone bad.

What?!

I suggest you take your bottles
and leave, Quark

before I have you arrested

for attempting
to poison our guests.

Excuse me, Commander.

There's a Vedek Yarka
here to see you.

He says it's urgent.

Thank you for seeing me,
Emissary.

What can I do for you?

I am here with a warning
from the Prophets.

They don't want you
to let the Cardassians

come aboard this station.

If you do, you will bring
destruction on us all.

Are you making
some sort of threat, Vedek?

Not at all.

I'm simply telling you
what was foretold

in the ancient texts.

Ancient texts...
you mean a prophecy?

Trakor's Third.

When he first encountered
the Orb of Change.

I'm afraid I don't know it.

Perhaps you should
make more time

to study the texts, child.

Are you saying that the arrival
of the Cardassian scientists

was foretold
in a Bajoran prophecy?

Exactly.

Trakor's words are clear.

"When the river wakes, stirred
once more to Janir's side

three vipers will return
to their nest in the sky."

The river has awoken, Emissary.

The Qui'al Dam was just
put back into operation

to divert water to the city.

Just as Trakor prophesied
over 3,000 years ago.

And even now, the vipers
are making their way here.

And I take it you think
the vipers are a reference

to the Cardassian scientists?

Yes, and this station
is their nest in the sky.

And how exactly
is their presence here

going to bring destruction
on us all?

Trakor said

"When the vipers try to peer
through the temple gates

"a sword of stars
will appear in the heavens.

The temple will burn, and
the gates will be cast open."

You must not let
the Cardassians come here.

You must not let them
violate the Celestial Temple

or they will destroy it

and Bajor will be cut off
from the Prophets forever.

Slow down.
Now, let me get this straight.

You're saying that the vipers--
the Cardassians--

are going to destroy
the Wormhole?

Don't you see?

This communications relay
you hope to create

is part of the prophecy.

It will allow the vipers to peer
through the temple gates--

the wormhole, as you call it.

And if they do, the temple
will be destroyed.

Even if we accept that
the Cardassians are the vipers

there are only two of them
coming, not three.

Isn't it possible
that there are other mistakes

in your interpretation
of the prophecy as well?

There will be three vipers,
you will see.

Do you understand
what this communications relay

could mean for Bajor?

If it works,
we'll be able to stay in contact

with ships
in the Gamma Quadrant.

It'll facilitate exploration

help us monitor
Dominion activity

give us warning
in case of an attack.

None of that matters.

You must listen to me.

I know it is difficult
for you to accept

because you are not Bajoran.

I have studied the prophecies
all my life.

We are on the verge
of a great disaster.

Is the Bajoran Assembly
aware of this prophecy?

Yes...

as is the Kai herself.

Yet, they still want us
to proceed

with the establishment
of a communications relay.

They have chosen
to ignore the signs.

And that is why I came
to you, Emissary

because I have faith in you.

I know that you will do
what must be done.

Vedek...

I have the utmost respect
for your beliefs

but I have no intention
of calling this project off.

I hope that you will reconsider,
Emissary.

My followers and I
will remain on the station

and pray that you
change your mind.

You are free to do that,
of course.

Major, have Odo find out
everything he can

about Vedek Yarka
and his followers.

I don't want them
making any trouble

while the Cardassians are here.

I'm Commander Benjamin Sisko

and, on behalf of the
United Federation of Planets

and Starfleet Command

I'd like to welcome you
to Deep Space 9.

Thank you, Commander.

I'm Dr. Ulani Belor.

Gilora Rejal.

The Cardassian government
wishes to express its gratitude

to the Federation for agreeing

to work together
on this project.

It is our hope that it is the
first of many such projects

between our peoples.

That's a hope I can
assure you we share.

This is my First Officer,
Major Kira.

And on behalf of the Bajoran
provisional government

I'd like to welcome you.

It is our belief
that this project

will mark the beginning
of a new era of peace

for Bajor and Cardassia.

Thank you, Major.

Well...

now that we've gotten
the formalities out of the way

how was your trip?

Exhausting.

We spent most of it rehearsing

what we were going to say
when we got here.

We're scientists,
not diplomats.

You did very well.

Please feel free to let
the Central Command know that.

In the past few days

I've been contacted by Guls
I haven't even heard of

all of them wanting to emphasize
how important this mission is.

I know what you mean.

I've gotten three calls

from Starfleet Command
just this morning.

Major Kira

I want to thank you personally
for allowing us to come here.

Me?

You're the ranking

Bajoran officer on this station.

I'm sure we wouldn't be here

if you had been opposed
to working with us.

I'll work with anyone
who's interested in peace.

I'm glad we already
have so much in common.

Well, why don't I show you
to your quarters?

The signaling platform
we've designed

is intended to be positioned

in the Gamma Quadrant,
at this point--

two kilometers from the
far mouth of the wormhole.

Our transceiver is being
configured to fit inside it

and use its existing power grid.

A similar transceiver

will be put in place
here on Terok Nor--

on Deep Space 9.

Ulani, I've looked over
your design specifications.

I'm not clear on what
sort of carrier wave

you're planning on using

to cut through the interference
on the inside of the wormhole.

We're planning to test various
types of soliton pulses.

One of them should maintain
the required signal integrity.

We tried something similar about
a year ago without much success.

Yes, the Bajoran government
made your data available to us.

I believe the problem
had to do with

the phase variance
in your transceiver coils.

Well, I configured
those coils myself.

The variance was less
than .01 percent.

Which, as you saw,
was unacceptably high.

Our new design has less
than half that variance.

You don't mind
if I look at the specs?

If you think it's necessary.

Commander...

we'll need to make
a few adjustments

to the station's signaling array
so that it can accommodate

the type of transmissions
we're planning to use.

Chief O'Brien's people
can assist you with that.

And when you're ready

we'll take the Defiant
to the Gamma Quadrant

deploy the communications relay
and start running tests.

Excellent.

Well, it's been a long day.

We'd like to get some rest
so we can start fresh tomorrow.

I'll have someone
show you to your quarters.

Thank you,
but that won't be necessary.

Thank you.

Now, those are about

the two friendliest vipers
I have ever met.

I'll explain later.

Commander, I almost
forgot to tell you.

Another colleague of ours, Dejar

will be arriving later today.

I'll arrange quarters.

Thank you.

So...

we need to discuss

what we're going to do about...

What is it, Major?

There are going to be
three of them.

Yes?

Three vipers...

just like in the prophecy.

It turns out that Vedek Yarka
is no longer a Vedek at all.

He was stripped of his title
two months ago.

Why?

Officially, for teachings

not in keeping
with the Bajoran faith.

But according to my sources,
he was defrocked because he led

a series of protests
against the Vedek Assembly

when they endorsed the peace
treaty with Cardassia.

So Yarka may be
using this prophecy

as a way to scuttle
the peace treaty.

That would seem
to be his agenda.

And it's probably coloring
his view of the prophecy

just as your agenda
colors how you see it.

I don't have an agenda, Odo.

I want this project to succeed

because I want
the peace treaty to succeed.

If I thought for a moment
that there was any possibility

that this communications relay

could cause damage
to the wormhole

I'd put a stop to it right now.

That's not the agenda
I was referring to, Commander.

Oh?

I was referring

to your desire
to distance yourself

from the title of Emissary.

It's just an observation,
of course

but it's always seemed to me

that you've never been
comfortable with it.

I can't deny that.

Are you suggesting

that I'm dismissing
this prophecy too easily

because I don't want
to be the Emissary?

I'm not suggesting anything

but it's been my experience

that all humanoids have
an agenda of some sort

and that their agendas
can influence them

without their even realizing it.

Morn came by the Infirmary
this afternoon.

He had an acute case
of food poisoning.

Morn? I didn't think anything
could make him sick.

Well, he said he had

a bad glass of kanar
at Quark's.

He should ask for a refund.

Apparently, it was on the house.

Major, may I have
a word with you?

I'll see you later.

What can I do for you, Vedek?

Have you been able
to convince the Emissary

to reconsider his decision?

I haven't tried
and I'm not planning to.

But you must.

If not, the Celestial
Temple will be destroyed.

I'm not convinced
that's going to happen.

Don't you believe
in the prophecies?

Yes.

And don't you believe

that Commander Sisko
is the Emissary?

Vedek, you have to understand
my position here.

Commander Sisko is
my superior officer.

I have to deal with him
on that basis first.

So you do believe
he is the Emissary.

You just don't want
him to know that.

I understand.

You want him to know

that he can count
on you as an officer

under his command.

You want to keep your work
and your faith separate.

Yes, and for three years now,
I have.

I'm afraid
that's no longer possible.

The Prophets have chosen you

to help the Emissary
make this decision.

A decision that has profound
implications for all of Bajor.

You must convince him
to make the Cardassians leave

before the sword of stars
appears.

Vedek, if you're asking me to...

It is not I who is asking,
it is the Prophets.

If you turn your back
on them now

you're abandoning your faith.

And without your faith, Nerys

what do you have left?

I prefer the serialist poets

from the First Republic,
like Iloja of Prim.

He's easily my favorite
Cardassian writer.

It is so rare to meet
a non-Cardassian

who appreciates our literature.

I took an interest

because I had
the chance to meet Iloja.

You knew him?

One of my previous hosts

Tobin, met him while he
was in exile on Vulcan.

As I recall,
he had quite a temper.

Really?

I believe this is the party
you're looking for.

Dejar.

May I introduce Jadzia Dax

and Miles O'Brien.

Our colleague, Dejar.

We weren't expecting
you so soon.

I was able to arrange
special transportation.

I'm sure you were.

I took the liberty
of preparing

a few of our special
Cardassian delicacies.

Tojal in yamok sauce.

Regova eggs

All fresh, not replicated.

Well, enjoy.

Is something wrong?

It's just...

I don't really care
for Cardassian cuisine.

We try to avoid it
whenever possible.

Fortunately, those of us
in the Science Ministry

are provided with a wide variety
of off-world food.

Yes, we're
actually quite spoiled.

Some of us even think
of ourselves

as better
than the average Cardassian.

The main switching relays
are in here.

I think we should hook
your transceiver

to the ODN interface
through the...

What happened
to these couplings?

What? Oh, I-I made
some modifications.

Well, these relays
don't have nearly

as much carrying capacity
as before.

They won't be able to handle

the signal load
from the transceiver.

Well, in order
to bring the system

up to Starfleet code, I had
to take out the couplings

to make room
for a secondary backup.

Starfleet code requires
a second backup?

In case the first one fails.

What are the chances that
both a primary system

and its backup would
fail at the same time?

Well, it's very unlikely,
but, in a crunch

I wouldn't like to be caught
without a second backup.

Well!

What's done is done.

I'll try to figure out
what we should do next.

Well, I think our best
bet would be to go...

Please, please just
give me a moment to think.

Fine.

I'll just sit here quietly.

Huh. In that case, could you
get me a cup of red leaf tea?

Why not?

We've loaded
the communications relay

into the Defiant's cargo bay.

Good.

How are Chief O'Brien
and Gilora coming along?

They've run into
some kind of problem

but the Chief says
the transceiver

should be on line
in about four hours.

We won't be ready much
before that anyway.

We've received clearance
from Ops, Commander.

Release docking clamps

and set a course
for the Wormhole.

Full scan.

No sign of Dominion activity.

No other ships in the area.

All right,
take us into position.

Stand by to deploy the relay...

Wait a minute.

What is it?

I'm reading a large mass
of ice and ionized gas

entering sensor range,
bearing 215 mark 3.

It looks like a rogue comet.

Let's have a look.

Put it on screen.

It's beautiful.

Its core contains

unusually high concentrations
of silithium.

That's why its tail
is so bright.

The sword of stars.

That's a very colorful way
to describe a comet, Major.

It's just a figure of speech.

Well, your sword of stars

is going to pass
very near the Wormhole

but not close enough
to interfere with our plans.

We're in position, Benjamin.

Begin a final systems check
on the relay station.

I want to deploy it
within the hour.

Major, can I have
a word with you?

The sword of stars?

It certainly looked
like that to me.

That's open to debate

but what is not debatable
is that this prophecy

has no place
on the Bridge of the Defiant

especially in front
of the Cardassians.

At the moment, they are
not even aware of it

and I want to keep it that way.

You're right.

It won't happen again.

Well...

I take it, Major

that you believe
the prophecy is coming true.

Yes, I do.

So you think I should
call this mission off?

Look at what's happened already.

The river has returned to Janir,
the three vipers

now the sword of stars--

each of them predicted
by Trakor's prophecy.

And then there's you...

the Emissary.

You're here.

You have a decision to make,
just like in the prophecy.

Do you really believe
that I'm the Emissary?

I guess I always have.

I... never wanted
to admit it to myself.

It's hard to work for someone
who's a religious icon.

I hope I don't offend
your beliefs

but I don't see myself as an
icon, religious or otherwise.

I'm a Starfleet officer, and
I have a mission to accomplish.

If I call it off, it has to be
for some concrete reason

something solid,
something Starfleet.

All right, how about this?

The Prophets...

the aliens who live
in the Wormhole

as you call them

exist outside of linear time.

They know the past,
present and future.

Agreed.

It seems perfectly reasonable
that they could've communicated

their knowledge of the future
to a Bajoran named Trakor.

He wrote down that knowledge
in the form of a prophecy

and now, 3,000 years later

we are seeing
those events unfold.

To me, that reasoning
sounds concrete, solid.

I'd even call it "Starfleet."

But that all hinges
on how you interpret

an ancient text
that's been translated

and retranslated
over the centuries.

Words that were couched
in metaphor to begin with.

I'm sorry, Major

but where you see
a sword of stars

I see a comet.

Where you see vipers,
I see three scientists.

And where you see the Emissary

I see a Starfleet officer.

Dax to Sisko.

Go ahead.

We're ready to deploy the relay.

On my Way-

All right.

Now we just have
to shunt the ODN line

through the secondary
field coils.

We can't do that.

Why not?

Because those coils
aren't configured

to handle ODN output.

Why not?

Did you modify them, too?

Actually, I replaced them.

They were always
shorting out on us.

Frankly, I don't
see how this station

kept running during
the occupation.

Why didn't you tell me

you'd replaced
the secondary field coils?

If you had told me

what you were planning
to do, I would have.

I don't have time
to explain everything.

What? You think I won't
be able to understand?

It has been
my experience that it...

What?

That humans aren't
good engineers?

No, not humans-- males.

I beg your pardon?

Men just don't seem to have
a head for this sort of thing.

That's why women
dominate the sciences.

Maybe on Cardassia,
but on this station

this man is Chief of Operations

and I know more
about these systems

than anyone, including you.

I think I know
what the problem is

so if you want to get
that transceiver on line

hand me the laser-torch
and give me some room.

Are we ready on this end?

Almost. I'm just
about to activate

the relay's transmission array.

Dejar?

Standing by.

I am receiving
the relay's test signal.

Target the signaling array
toward the wormhole

and initiate a carrier wave
in the delta band frequency.

Initiating carrier wave.

If they receive it
on the station

they'll send
an acknowledging signal

in the same frequency.

I'm not receiving anything.

Then we have to assume
it didn't work.

Let's try
the theta band frequency.

Initiating carrier wave.

Something's wrong.

I'm picking up a neutrino surge
from the Wormhole.

Report!

Somehow the carrier wave
caused the Wormhole to open.

The wormhole's gravity well has
increased by a factor of three.

Terminate the carrier wave
and maintain our position.

Gravimetric fields have returned
to normal.

What happened?

I'm not sure.

The carrier wave shouldn't have
affected the wormhole at all.

Was there any damage
to the relay?

None. I'm still receiving
the test signal.

Benjamin,
the gravitational surge

altered the course of the comet.

It's now heading directly
toward the wormhole.

If the comet enters the Wormhole

the silithium in its core
will cause a cascade reaction.

And collapse the Wormhole
permanently.

Commander's Log, supplemental.

With less than five hours

before the comet
reaches the Wormhole

I've brought the Defiant
back to the station

and convened a meeting
of the entire science team.

Apparently,
the carrier wave we sent

created some sort
of subspace inversion

inside the Wormhole.

That's what caused
the gravity well to form.

The possibility

of subspace inversion
was predicted in one

of our computer models.

Well, that wasn't included
in the data you sent us.

The probability
of such an occurrence

was less than two percent--
well within safety limits.

We saw no reason to include it
in the data we sent you.

It would seem that our
scientific methodologies

differ slightly.

It is our practice to examine
all possibilities

no matter how unlikely, before
we proceed with field tests.

We would, of course, prefer
to operate that way, as well.

However, since
the Science Ministry

falls under the jurisdiction
of the military

we have to follow certain rules.

One of them is not
to make any project

look unnecessarily dangerous.

We'll keep that in mind

when we resume work
on the communications relay.

That is an extremely
unlikely possibility, Commander.

The Science Ministry
will undoubtedly wish

to assemble a new team
before proceeding further.

That is, of course,
an internal Cardassian matter.

Chief...

Dax feels we can't risk

using tractor beams
to deflect the comet.

It would probably
break into smaller pieces

and we'd have
a bigger mess on our hands.

The same thing would happen

if you tried to destroy it
with a phaser beam.

Not necessarily.

I could modify
the Defiant's phaser array

to generate a beam wide enough
to encompass the entire comet.

Vaporizing it evenly,
so it won't break up.

How long would
the modifications take?

Three hours.

Get on it.

We'll be cutting this one
pretty close.

I've accessed the Defiant's
primary phaser relay.

I'm going to try shunting it
through the warp drive.

Won't that overload the relay?

Not if we bypass
the plasma emitter.

I hadn't thought of that.

The emitter coupling
is over there.

What are you doing now?

I'm decoupling the servos,
so they don't lock up.

You have very steady hands.

Well they get the job done,
I guess.

And right now,
the most important job

is bypassing the plasma emitter.

I assure you, I'm quite fertile.

I could provide you
with many healthy children

if that's your concern,
but, quite frankly

I think you're getting
a little ahead of yourself.

Children?

What are you talking about?

I already have a child

and a wife.

You're married?

Yes, happily!

Then why have you been
leading me to believe

that you wanted me?

I haven't.

All we've done
since we've met is argue.

I took your overt irritability
toward me as a signal

that you wished to pursue
some physical relationship.

Of course.

Well, that's how Cardassians,
uh, do things?

Oh! my'

I'm afraid this is a case

of cross-cultural
misunderstanding.

I think so.

Oh.

I'm not remotely
interested in you.

Well, that's not what I meant.

Look, you are very attractive

and I'm flattered,
of course. but...

Please, Mr. O'Brien

there's no need to continue.

You've made your feelings clear.

Gilora, we-we have
to finish this.

I'm sure you can complete
the job on your own.

Chief O'Brien
said the modification

to the Defiant's phasers
would be ready

within half an hour.

Half an hour ahead
of schedule, hmm?

The Chief's a born engineer.

He always gives himself

a comfortable margin
with his repair estimates.

Let me guess.

You're reading up
on Bajoran prophecies

concerning the Emissary.

There are hundreds of them.

Most of them are vague,
some are contradictory.

But just enough truth in
a few of them to make me wonder.

You mean some of them
have come true?

If you interpret them
in a certain way, yes.

So now you're wondering
if Trakor's prophecy

is going to come true, as well.

I have to admit,
it's getting harder to ignore.

But, Benjamin,
there's every reason

to believe we'll be able
to destroy the comet.

I know.

But I'm becoming
more and more concerned

that if I don't send
the Cardassians home

something else will go wrong.

And the "gates of heaven
will burn and be cast open."

Let me ask you something.

If you never heard
Trakor's prophecy

what would you do?

I'd continue working
on the communications relay.

Then it seems to me
you have a choice.

You can either
make your own decisions

or you can let these prophecies
make them for you.

As soon as the Defiant is ready

have the Cardassians
meet us on board.

Yes, sir.

The comet is directly ahead.

Distance, 200 kilometers.

Bring us to within
ten kilometers.

Chief, are your phaser
modifications on line?

Aye, sir.

Phasers are locked on target.

Holding position
at ten kilometers.

Shields up.

Go to Red Alert.

Fire!

Chief, what the hell happened?

I don't know, sir.

The entire weapons relay
just blew.

All defensive systems are down.

Benjamin, the sensors show

that the modified phasers
never came on line.

We fired a standard burst

and it shattered the comet
instead of vaporizing it.

There's no way they should have
misfired like that.

I modified the systems myself.

Commander, the three fragments

are still on course
for the Wormhole.

How soon before
they reach the entrance?

26 minutes.

And without weapons,
we have no way of stopping them.

The main emitter coupling
has been depolarized.

I must have accidentally
inverted the power flow

when I tried to modify
the phaser array.

I can't believe it.

A first-year engineering student

wouldn't make
a mistake like that.

This wasn't your fault,
Mr. O'Brien.

And it wasn't an accident.

Gilora...

Dejar is a member
of the Obsidian Order.

She was assigned to our team
for security reasons.

I believe
she sabotaged this coupling.

The Order has always
been opposed

to the peace treaty with Bajor.

They sent you here
to sabotage the relay

because
if the first joint venture

between Cardassia and Bajor
was a failure

it would probably be the last.

This is all speculation,
Commander.

You have no proof.

If it was sabotage, a DNA
scan on the coupling

should reveal who's responsible.

Take her to quarters
and detain her there.

Now that the comet's been
fractured into smaller pieces

can we use the tractor
beams to deflect them?

They'd just disintegrate further

releasing more silithium.

If we can't stop the fragments

is there any way that we
can prevent the silithium

from interacting
with the Wormhole?

Maybe if we could
contain it somehow.

If you could generate

a subspace field
around the fragments

that might contain
the silithium.

The warp drive...

it could create a subspace
bubble around the ship.

But we'd have
to maneuver the Defiant

between the fragments.

They're too close together.
There's not enough room.

A shuttlepod could
maneuver between them.

And its warp drive
should be able to create

a large enough subspace field.

Maybe, but it could
overload the engines.

That's the chance
I'll have to take.

Major, you have the Bridge.

I want you to take the Defiant
back into the Alpha Quadrant

as soon as I've cleared
the shuttle bay.

Commander.

I want to go with you.

Not just because I'm
your First Officer

but because I believe
I'm here to help the Emissary.

Dax, the Bridge is yours.

We've cleared the shuttle bay.

Signal the Defiant
that they can leave.

They're heading
for the wormhole.

I'm going to take us in
behind the comet fragments.

It'll be easier to maneuver
into position.

Hold position here.

They could be in
for a rough ride.

Stand by transporters
in case we need

to beam them off the shuttlepod
when they clear the wormhole.

We're in position.

Activate the subspace field.

Field engaged.

We'll reach the entrance
to the Wormhole in...

five seconds.

The subspace field
is losing integrity.

Some of the silithium
is starting to leak through.

Divert power from the engines
to the subspace field coils.

We'll let our own inertia
carry us the rest of the way.

That helped.

We're still losing silithium.

I'm picking up a neutrino surge.

Something's coming through.

Dax to Sisko.

Sisko here.

Are you all right, Benjamin?

There was some silithium leakage

inside the Wormhole,
but we're fine.

I don't believe it.

What is it, Chief?

I'm picking up the test signal
from the communications relay.

How is that possible?

I'm not sure.

We're reading
a subspace filament

leading back through
the Wormhole.

It's acting like some kind
of carrier wave.

The comet fragments...

they must have left a silithium
trail in the Wormhole.

It's almost like the wormhole
was wedged open just a crack...

just enough to let
subspace signals through.

The prophecy came true...

all of it.

We just misinterpreted
Trakor's words.

The three vipers.

He wasn't talking
about the Cardassians.

He meant
the three comet fragments.

The communications relay.

In a sense, we've been trying

to peer
through the temple gates.

The silithium
ignited the Wormhole

burning the temple gates.

So that they never close again.

And it's all because
the Emissary...

used the sword of stars.

And Trakor saw it all...

3,000 years ago.

I just want to say
that I appreciate

what you did on the Defiant.

I hope it doesn't cause
you too much trouble

when you get back to Cardassia.

My superiors in the Science
Ministry will protect me.

Frankly, I think Dejar's
in much more trouble than I.

The Order doesn't
reward failure.

Still, it was
a brave thing to do.

I didn't want you
to take the blame

for something
that wasn't your fault.

I know how proud you are
of your work.

Too proud, sometimes.

It's gotten me into trouble,
now and again.

What's your wife's name?

Keiko.

A lucky woman.

Emissary, I'm sorry
I doubted you.

I realize now I let
my distrust of the Cardassians

blind me to the Prophets' words.

It seems that the Prophets
want peace

between your two peoples,
after all.

Perhaps so.

There are signs
that Trakor's Fourth Prophecy

will soon come to pass, as well.

Don't tell me that it has
something to do with me.

You, Commander?

Well, it is a prophecy
about the Emissary.

Tell me about it.

Trakor's Fourth Prophecy

says that the Emissary
will face a fiery trial

and he'll be forced to choose...