Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999): Season 4, Episode 2 - The Visitor - full transcript
Jake Sisko, now an old man, is living alone in a house in a bayou. He gets an unexpected visit from Melanie. She's an aspiring writer and considers Jake as her favorite author. She was surprised he published only two works. At the age of 40, Jake simply stopped writing and Melanie wants to know why. Jake starts telling her the story of how his father died in an accident on the Defiant. Benjamin and Jake went to see the wormhole undergo a subspace inversion, that only happens once in several decades. Something was wrong however and the warp core was about to breach. After repairing it, Sisko was hit by a beam and disappeared. Few months later things were returning to normal for Jake, but suddenly he saw his father in his bedroom, only to disappear a moment later. But this wasn't the only time his father reappeared.
I'm sorry to bother you.
I just, um... been...
You're hurt.
Yeah, I must have
scraped myself on a branch.
Ah, that's what happens
when you go tromping
around the bayou
in the middle of the night.
Come on, warm yourself up
by the fire.
Now, I have a first aid kit
around here somewhere.
Where is it?
So, what are you
doing out here anyway?
I'm a writer.
At least I want to be.
And the truth is...
I was looking for you.
Oh?
You are Jake Sisko, the writer?
Yes.
I can't believe
I'm really here...
talking to you.
You are my favorite author
of all time.
You should read more.
I mean it.
Your books, they're so...
insightful.
I'm glad you like them.
There.
Good as new.
Thank you.
I didn't realize people
still read my books.
Of course they do.
A friend recommended
Anslem to me
and I read it straight through
twice in one night.
Twice in one night?
It made me want to read
everything you'd ever written
but when I looked
all I could find
was your Collected Stories.
I couldn't believe it.
I'd finally found someone
whose writing I really admired
and he'd only published
two books.
Not much to show
for a life's work, is it?
I'm going to go get us some tea.
I savored those stories.
I read them slowly,
one each day
and when I was done
I wished I hadn't
read them at all.
So I could read them again
like it was the first time.
There's only one first time
for everything, isn't there?
And only one last time, too.
You think about such things
when you get to be my age.
That today may be the last time
you sit in your favorite chair
or watch the rain fall
or enjoy
a cup of tea by a warm fire.
Can I ask you something?
Of course.
Why did you stop writing?
I lost my favorite pen
and I couldn't get
any work done without it.
You're joking.
You weren't even 40
when you stopped writing.
I never understood
why you gave it up.
It's a long story.
I have time.
Tell me.
Please.
If you had shown up yesterday
or the day before or a week ago
I would have said no
and sent you on your way
but here you are,
today of all days
and somehow it seems like
the right time for me
to finally tell this story.
It begins many years ago.
I was 18
and the worst thing
that could happen to a young man
happened to me.
My father died.
We were very close,
my father and I
partly because
we'd lost my mother
several years earlier.
I know.
I read a biography about you.
It said that you stopped writing
so you could conduct
scientific research.
Ah, it's not quite that simple.
You see, just before
my father died
I was working on a short story.
I don't remember
what it was about
but I do know that I was
taking it very seriously.
I worked on it night
and day for weeks
and I wasn't making any headway.
It was making me miserable.
I suppose my father saw
that I needed a break
because he insisted
I come with him
to the Gamma Quadrant
to watch the wormhole undergo
what they call
"a subspace inversion."
Jake-o, let's go.
Of course,
what he didn't realize
was that I could hide away
on the Defiant
just as easily
as I could on the station.
Yeah?
Jake, this only happens
once every 50 years.
You will never forgive
yourself if you miss it.
Yeah, I'll be right there.
Well, that's what you said
ten minutes ago.
I just want to get this
last paragraph right.
I thought you were going
to put that aside for a while.
I tried, but it's all
I can think about.
Well... I'm no writer
but if I were
it seems to me I'd want
to poke my head up
every once in a while
and take a look around
see what's going on.
It's life, Jake.
You can miss it
if you don't open your eyes.
Now... what do you say
you come up
to the Bridge with me
and we'll watch
the wormhole do its thing.
And then I'll read
what you've got
and we'll talk about it.
Deal?
Deal.
Sisko to Bridge.
what happened?
The wormhole's gravimetric field
is surging.
Pull us to a safe distance.
I'm on it, Benjamin,
but we've got another problem.
The power output
from the warp core
just jumped off the scale.
Sisko to Engineering.
Engineering, report.
Dax, I'm going to see
what's going on down there.
Stay here, Jake.
Most of the time, I knew enough
to do what my father told me
but that day, for some reason,
I didn't.
Sisko to Sick Bay.
I need a medical team
down here right away.
Dax to Sisko.
The warp coils are locked
into a feedback loop.
You've got to realign them
or the core is going to blow.
I'm on it!
Jake, I need
an interphasic compensator.
Warning. Warp core breach
in 40 seconds.
Dax, better stand by
to eject the core.
We can't.
The ejection system's off line.
Jake, where's that compensator?
It's not here!
Warning. Warp core breach
in 30 seconds.
Got it.
I'm going to try shunting
the excess power out through
the deflector array.
Warning. Warp core breach
in 20 seconds.
Just a little more.
There.
No!
He was gone.
I'm not sure I could
ever get over
Iosing somebody like that
right in front of my eyes.
People do.
Time passes
and they realize
that the person they lost
is really gone...
and they heal.
Is that what happened
to you?
No.
I suppose not.
There was a memorial service
aboard the station.
People came forward
and talked about my father--
what they remembered
most about him
and why they would miss him.
Benjamin Sisko
was more
than my commanding officer.
He was the Emissary
to my people
sent by the Prophets
but most importantly,
he was my friend.
I didn't step forward.
I couldn't.
I felt that no matter
what I said about him
I'd be leaving
so much more out
and that didn't seem right.
I'd never felt more alone
in all my life.
Everyone went out of their way
to look after me
especially Dax.
She was my father's
closest friend
and I guess she felt
responsible for me.
After a few months, things
started returning to normal...
for everyone else, that is.
Jake, I'm almost done.
We have Holosuite 3
for half an hour.
Great.
Nog, get down to the storeroom
and bring up five kegs
of Takarian mead.
Yes, Uncle.
Sorry, looks like
we're going to lose
our holosuite reservation.
Uh, you know, Nog, things seem
to be slowing down a bit.
I'll get someone else
to bring up those kegs.
You and Jake
go and have some fun.
Are you sure?
Go now, before I change my mind.
Next time we go ion surfing
remind me to keep clear
of those whip curls.
I don't know if I really
want to try it again.
You know, Jake,
I'm going to be gone soon.
We probably won't
see each other for a while.
I know.
So, what are your plans?
Well, I was thinking of taking
that deferred admission
and going to Pennington
in the fall.
Ah, that would be great!
We'd both be on Earth together.
But maybe I'll just
stick around here.
I don't know.
I haven't decided yet.
It's late.
I think I'll turn in.
Okay.
Jake.
Dad?
What happened?
I told Dax
about what had happened--
how it felt so real
not like a dream at all.
And she very kindly
obliged me and did
a very thorough scan of my room.
I felt vaguely ridiculous,
like a child insisting
his parents check under
the bed for monsters.
She tried to tell me it was
probably just a nightmare
and I did my best
to put the entire episode
out of my mind.
I puttered around the station
for the next eight
or nine months.
Nog was off at Starfleet.
My stories stubbornly refused
to write themselves.
I filled my time playing dom-jot
and tried not to think
about how alone I really felt.
Dax and the others
were worried about me
but before long, they had
bigger things to worry about.
Tensions with the Klingons
were continuing to rise.
My father was
a kind of religious figure
to the Bajoran people,
and when he died
they took it as a sign
from the Prophets
that the Federation
wouldn't be able
to protect them
from the Klingons.
Eventually, Bajor entered
into a mutual defense pact
with the Cardassians
and the Klingons
didn't like that at all.
The station's
civilian population
was leaving en masse.
They knew that if war broke out
against the Klingons
Deep Space 9 was going
to be on the front line.
Jake.
Where are you going?
I, uh, I thought I'd watch
the ships leave
from one of the Upper Pylons.
You should be on
one of those ships.
I don't have to go, do l?
No.
It's a voluntary
resettlement
not an evacuation.
But it would be prudent
that you leave at this time.
I suppose I wasn't feeling
very prudent that day
because I ignored their advice.
Jake...
I wanted to talk
to you about something.
I spoke with your grandfather
and he told me that he asked you
to go live with him.
Even if this sector
weren't on the brink of war
I would like to see you
leave this station.
I'm not going anywhere.
Oh, Jake...
I could order you to go
if I wanted to.
Please don't make me leave.
Not yet.
This is my home.
When my dad and I came here
this place was just
an abandoned shell.
He turned it into something.
Everywhere I look,
it's like I see a part of him.
If I leave...
I won't have
anything left of him.
Oh...
all right.
You stay a while longer
if you want to
but you have to promise me
when the time comes
and I tell you to go
you'll do it.
Dad?
It wasn't
until I actually touched him
that I knew
this wasn't a dream.
But something was wrong.
I didn't understand
everything they were saying
but Dax and the others seemed
to think that the accident
had somehow knocked
my father's temporal signature
out of phase.
Benjamin, what's the last
thing you remember?
I was in Engineering,
on the Defiant.
It feels like a few minutes ago.
Dad, it's been over a year
since the accident.
A year?
How could that be?
We think the warp core discharge
pulled you into subspace.
If we're right,
that would explain
why you didn't experience
the passage of time.
According to these readings
unless we can realign
your temporal signature
you'll be pulled
back into subspace again
within the next few minutes.
Maybe we can set up
some sort of containment field.
Jake, they'll have me
fixed up in no time.
How are you doing?
It's all right.
Everything's going
to be all right.
I thought it was a dream.
What was?
When l, uh, when I saw you
in my quarters
I, uh... I should have
felt you were alive.
I should have known it.
It's not your fault, Jake.
I'm here now.
That's what matters.
We're losing him.
Look at me.
I need to know
you're going to be all right.
His temporal signature
is fluctuating.
I need that containment
field now, Chief.
Right away.
Field active.
It's not working.
Jake...
Dad!
Going to try
Iocking on to him
with the transporter beam.
Don't leave me!
Don't leave me.
I didn't think
anything could be worse
than losing him that first time
on the Defiant
until I was standing there
staring down at his empty bed,
knowing he was alive
yet trapped somewhere
that existed outside of time.
I can't imagine what that
must have been like for you.
Can I get you something?
No... nothing.
Telling me all this
is hard for you.
Maybe I should come back
some other time.
No. There won't be
any other time.
You see...
I'm dying.
You must understand
that when a person
my age says he's dying
he's only admitting
to the inevitable.
Besides, we old people
need to remind everyone
to pay special attention to us.
If that's what you're up to,
you shouldn't have bothered.
You have my attention already.
You're a good listener.
That's important in a writer.
I'm not a writer yet.
Sounds like you're waiting
for something to happen
that's going
to turn you into one.
I'm not waiting.
I'm doing a lot of reading
you know, to see how it's done
and I'm still trying
to figure out
what it is
I want to write about.
I see.
So what happened?
With your father, I mean.
Did you ever see him again?
For the next few months
Dax and O'Brien tried
to find a way to locate him.
They even considered
recreating the accident
but that was impossible
since the wormhole
wasn't going to undergo
an inversion for decades.
Eventually the situation with
the Klingons came to a head
and the Federation
decided to turn over
control of the station
to the Klingon Empire.
There was nothing I could do.
I had to leave my home
of five years
and give up
whatever hope there was
of seeing my father again.
Did the Klingons
ever contact Starfleet
to say that your father
had reappeared?
No.
I was left with no choice
but to try
and get on with my life.
I went to Earth, drifted around,
and eventually ended up
studying writing
at the Pennington School.
After graduation,
I settled here in Louisiana
so I could be near
my grandfather.
He had a restaurant
in the French Quarter, you know.
I've been there.
It's still called Sisko's.
And on the wall, there's a copy
of the letter
your publisher sent you
when he accepted
your first novel.
Grandpa was always showing off
his famous grandson.
He was just as proud of me
as my father would have been.
You wrote Anslem in this house,
didn't you?
At that desk, right over there.
It came out to generally
favorable reviews
and little by little
I began to think
less and less about the past.
After a while, I met a woman...
fell in love
we got married, and for a while,
this house was a happy one.
I'm back!
Nog!
I didn't realize
you were here already.
I was trying
to finish a painting
before the light changed
and I guess the time
got away from me.
It's good to see you.
You, too.
Did you start the grill?
Mm-hmm.
Oh, what are we having?
Blackened redfish,
fresh from the bayou.
Fish?!
When these woods are crawling
with perfectly good slugs?
I suppose you're going to ask me
to chew your food for you.
I have to admit I've been
more popular with women
since I stopped
asking them to do that.
I tried to tell you
that 20 years ago.
I'm a slow learner.
I'm going to get some champagne.
I'm glad you're here, Nog.
I see you've got another
pip on your collar.
You keep that up,
you're going to make Captain
by the time you're 40.
The last time we talked,
you mentioned
you might be heading back
to the Bajoran sector.
The Klingons agreed
to let Starfleet
send an expedition
through the wormhole.
They said it was in the spirit
of scientific exchange.
But I think they were happy
to have us test the waters
in the Gamma Quadrant
after all these years.
Find out how
the Dominion would react
to ships coming through.
Did you see the station?
I'm sorry to say it's looking
a little run-down these days.
But you'll never guess
who's still there.
Not your father?
No, no. He and my uncle
left years ago.
Quark finally
got that little moon
he was always talking about
and my father, as usual,
is making sure
it doesn't fall out of orbit
but Morn is still there,
running the bar.
Talking his customers' ears off
and drinking himself
out of business, I'll bet.
Well, why don't we
get to the point
of today's little celebration?
To my dear friend Jake Sisko--
winner of this year's
Betar Prize
for his Collected Stories.
May the years continue
to be good to you
may your muse continue
to inspire you
and may someone
make a holoprogram
out of one of your stories
so you can start
raking in the latinum.
Are you all right?
Do you want me to call a doctor?
No.
I'll be fine.
You should rest.
No, you came a long way
to find out why I
had stopped writing
and you deserve an answer.
Later that night,
after Nog had left
I stayed up working.
My new novel was going well
and when it's going well,
you don't want to stop.
Coming to bed?
Um...l'm not tired.
Neither am l.
You know, l-l wanted
to ask you something.
How would you feel
about designing the cover
of my new book?
Do you mean it?
What was that?
Jake?
Did you get through?
I talked to someone
at Starfleet Science.
They're going to get a team
here as soon as they can.
This is Korena, my wife.
Your wife?
I never thought I'd have
the pleasure of meeting you.
The pleasure is mine.
How long have you two
been married?
Seven years.
Do I have any grandchildren?
Not yet.
We were married
in New Orleans
in your father's restaurant.
He insisted.
Just about everybody came.
Dax, Kira, O'Brien.
That must have been something.
I got to go call Starfleet.
Whoa.
They'll get here
as soon as they can.
Talk to me.
I've missed so much.
Let's not waste
what little time we have.
I have a feeling
you might want to see these.
They're Jake's.
You did it.
I always knew you would.
Oh, Jake.
I'm sorry.
For what?
For giving up on you.
No one could be expected
to hold out hope for this long.
No, l-l-l should have
just kept trying
to find you,
and I just went on with my life.
And I'm proud
of what you've accomplished.
None of it matters
now that I know that you're
out there lost somewhere.
Of course it matters.
You have a wife
a career.
And don't think
because I'm not around much
that l...
don't want grandchildren.
Within a few seconds,
he was gone again.
I don't know what to say.
You don't have to say anything.
Just listen,
because there isn't much time
and there's so much more
for me to tell you.
I consulted with Dax,
and we realized
that the accident
must have created
some sort of subspace link
between my father and myself.
That's why he always appeared
somewhere near you
even if you were hundreds
of light years away
from where
the accident happened.
We also realized that there was
a pattern to his appearances.
They were governed
by fluctuations
in the wormhole subspace field.
Dax's calculations also showed
that the next time he appeared
I'd be an old man.
So, I decided
to put aside my novel
and try to find a way
to help him.
And at the age of 37
I went back to school
and started studying
subspace mechanics.
At first,
Korena was very patient.
She supported
what I was trying to do
but I got so caught up
in my work
I didn't notice
I was losing her.
By the time I became
a graduate student
we were no longer
living together
and by the time I had entered
my doctoral program
it was over between us.
But I pressed on
with what I was doing
and one day years later,
it hit me.
I figured out a way
to recreate the accident.
It had been almost 50 years
and the wormhole would soon
be undergoing another inversion.
There was only one other thing
I needed.
The Defiant.
Nog was a Captain by then
and he helped me round up
the old crew
and get the ship pulled out
of mothballs.
Worf threw his weight around
with the Klingon High Council
and they gave us permission
to enter the Bajoran system.
Take us out of warp.
I think I remember
how to do that.
I haven't worked
a two-dimensional control panel
in a long time.
How did we manage?
We always seemed
to muddle through somehow.
Look.
Maybe after we've got
Captain Sisko back
we can all stop by Morn's
for a drink.
For old time's sake.
I designed
a subspace flux isolator
and we set it up in Engineering.
Are you ready over there, Dax?
As ready as I'll ever be
considering the replicators
were just about the only things
still working
when we came aboard.
It's a lucky thing, too.
Dax isn't any good
to anybody these days
without a cup of coffee
in her hands.
It's the only thing
that's kept me awake
while you've prattled on
about your latest paper
or your new backhand
or your kids' science projects.
We're picking up
temporal distortions
in the subspace field.
The wormhole's
beginning to invert.
According to our readings
it's going to kick out
a gravimetric wave
Iike the one that almost
destroyed the Defiant last time.
Don't worry,
I've modulated the shields
to channel the energy wave
into this apparatus.
Once subspace begins to fragment
we'll try to locate the Captain.
Since the accident
created a subspace link
between him and Jake
there'll be a path
of bread crumbs to follow.
I'd better get back
to the Bridge.
Good luck.
The wormhole wouldn't undergo
another inversion for decades,
so this was my only chance.
Subspace field fragmentation
is beginning.
It's working.
I think I've got
the Captain's signature.
Something's happening.
I'm losing him.
We're losing them both.
They're being pulled
into subspace.
Jake... how long has it been?
14 years.
What is this place?
I don't know.
We could be inside some sort
of subspace fragment.
Sisko to Dax.
Can you read me?
I brought the Defiant back
to the wormhole.
We're trying to rescue you.
Dax, if you can read me,
try to lock onto my signal.
Look at you.
You're older than I am.
Damn it.
Why can't they lock onto us?
Jake, they're doing
the best they can.
There's nothing
we can do from here.
It's been so long.
I need to know what I've missed.
What about those grandchildren
we talked about?
Korena and I are...
We're no longer together.
She left me.
I'm sorry.
I shouldn't have let her go
but there was
so much I had to do.
This has taken years
of planning.
What about your writing?
Dax, try boosting
the carrier amplitude.
Maybe you can...
Jake, what's happened to you?
This is the last chance
I'm ever going to have
to help you.
No!
Jake, it's over.
It's not going to work.
It has to.
Let go, Jake.
If not for yourself,
then for me.
You still have time to make
a better life for yourself.
Promise me you'll do that.
Promise me!
I want you to see something.
Go over to my desk.
Go ahead.
It's a collection
of new stories.
I decided
to honor my father's request
and try to rebuild my life.
Writing those stories
is the best way
I knew to do that.
I'd like you to have a copy.
Let me get you one.
Um...
can I have these instead?
Well, if you'd like
but those have handwritten notes
all over them.
I know.
I want to study them
so I can see
the changes you made.
Because you want to be
a writer someday.
Can I ask you why you
haven't published these?
Well, l...
I was tinkering with the last
story just this morning.
Besides, if you
publish posthumously
nobody can ask you
for rewrites.
I was hoping to finish
another two stories
but there isn't enough time.
You keep on saying
there's no more time.
You see, Melanie
after the last attempt
to rescue my father failed
I spent months trying
to figure out what went wrong.
Eventually, I came
to understand the nature
of what was happening to him.
It was as if he
was frozen in time
at the moment of the accident
and the link between us
was like an elastic cord.
Every so often, the cord
would grow taut enough
to yank him forward
into my time
but only for a few minutes.
I realized that
if my motion through time
came to a stop
the cord would go slack
and he'd be lost
in subspace forever
but if I could cut the cord
when the link
was at its strongest--
while we were together--
he'd return to the moment
of the accident.
Your father's coming here,
isn't he?
Soon.
Yes.
You're going to cut the cord,
aren't you?
I want you
to promise me something.
Anything.
While you're studying my stories
poke your head up
every once in a while.
Take a look around.
See what's going on.
It's life, Melanie.
And you can miss it
if you don't open your eyes.
Thank you...
for everything.
It was a pleasure meeting you,
young lady.
Jake.
Mmm...
I've been expecting you.
I'm glad to see
you're still in this house.
You seemed happy here.
And this...
I-l can't tell you how good
it makes me feel
you got back to writing.
Jake, what is it?
Read the dedication.
"To my father...
who's coming home."
Thank you, but l...
I don't understand.
It was me.
It was me all along.
I've been dragging you
through time like an anchor
and now it's time
to cut you loose.
Jake, what are you saying?
It won't be long now.
Jake, no!
When I die, you'll go back
to where this all began.
Just remember
to dodge the energy discharge
from the warp core.
Jake, you could still have
so many years left.
No.
We have to be together
when I die.
Jake, you didn't have
to do this...
not for me.
For you and for the boy
that I was.
He needs you...
more than you know.
Don't you see?
We're going to get a second...
chance.
Jake...
my sweet boy.
You okay?
H-How'd you know
that was coming?
I guess we were just
lucky this time.
You okay, Dad?
I am now, Jake.
I am now.