DAX: Kira, we've got six Byzatium transports coming in this afternoon. I've got to have more cargo space.
KIRA: All right. Have them offload into cargo bays three and four, but that's it. We are pushing our storage capacity as it is.
O'BRIEN: That reminds me. We got a message last night saying the Byzallians want to move their conference up by a week.
KIRA: I haven't had a chance to read through last night's reports. Is there anything else I should know?
O'BRIEN: Well, er.
KIRA: What?
DAX: Starfleet wants a complete report done on our computer calibration subroutine.
KIRA: The whole subroutine? When?
O'BRIEN: Tomorrow.

[Infirmary]

BASHIR: Major, the scheduled transport's been delayed and I need those medical supplies by the end of the week.
KIRA: We can't spare a runabout to go all the way to Vulcan right now.
BASHIR: I'm supposed to setting up a field hospital for a new colony on Campor Three next week. If I don't have get those medical supplies, the entire colonisation schedule could be set back by at least
KIRA: Listen to me. You can't have a runabout, you can't get your medical supplies, and I don't give a damn about the colonisation schedule. Those colonists can make do with a box of bandages for all I care.
BASHIR: Stop right there, Major. When was your last day off?
KIRA: I don't know. What does that have to do with anything?
BASHIR: If you can't remember, then it's been too long. You're off duty as of this moment.
KIRA: What do you mean, I'm off duty? You can't do that.
BASHIR: Oh yes I can, And not even Commander Sisko can overrule my judgement as Chief Medical officer.
KIRA: Now, wait a minute, Julian. Just because I snapped
BASHIR: My diagnosis is that you're overworked, and suffering from extreme stress and borderline exhaustion. As for my prescription? Follow me.

[Quark's]

QUARK: Karvino juice, Lorvan crackers, a holosuite programme, a jumja stick and gambling tokens.
BASHIR: Now, at least two of these items must be used and fully enjoyed before you can leave this facility.
KIRA: Julian, I
QUARK: I'll be giving you a full report of her activities, Doctor.
BASHIR: If I hear you didn't completely relax and enjoy yourself tonight, we'll do this every night until you do. Have fun.
(Bashir leaves, Kira smiles and takes a sip of her juice, then a familiar voice comes out of the blue - or beard.)
RIKER: Looks like you've got your evening all planned. Hope you've got room for the unexpected.

[Commander's office]

SISKO: Welcome aboard, Commander.
RIKER: Thank you. Call me Will.
SISKO: What brings you to Deep Space Nine?
RIKER: Strictly pleasure. Actually, I've built up about three months of leave and Doctor Crusher finally insisted that I take some of it. She nearly shoved me out the airlock.
SISKO: DS Nine isn't exactly known as a vacation spa.
RIKER: Actually I was just passing through on my way to Risa. The last time I was here, I was only able to spend a couple of hours at Quark's, but by the time I left I had all of his latinum and a date with one of his dabo girls, so I thought I might try my luck again.
SISKO: You be careful. Quark's dabo wheel has been a little stingy recently. And one of his dabo girls is dating my son.
RIKER: In that case, maybe I better spend my time in the holosuites. It sounds safer, all the way around.

[Ops]

DAX: Who's in there?
KIRA: What?
DAX: Who's in with Benjamin?
KIRA: Oh, it's Will. Commander Will Riker from the Enterprise.
DAX: Will Riker.
KIRA: You know him?
DAX: Yeah, I met him a year ago at Quark's. He's quite a dabo player. Do you know him?
KIRA: Yes, a little. I met him at Quark's last night.
DAX: You met him last night and?
KIRA: And we talked.
DAX: And then?
KIRA: And then we talked. For three hours. No, we just talked. And yes, he's a warm, charming man, but I'm involved with someone.
DAX: Of course. So why do you keep glancing back at Sisko's office?
(Riker and Sisko enter.)
SISKO: If you can find the time, you have an open invitation for dinner with me and Jake.
RIKER: Thank you, I may take you up on that.
DAX: I hope you're not here for another loan. Don't tell me you've forgotten who staked you three strips of latinum when your winning streak ran dry?
RIKER: I'm sorry. Of course. Most of that night's still a blur. How've you been, Dax?
DAX: Fine.
RIKER: Well. I'd better get out of your way. I know you've all work to do. I hope I see you again. Major.
KIRA: Commander.

[Promenade]

(Riker walks into Kira as he comes out of a shop)
RIKER: I'm sorry.
KIRA: It's all right.
RIKER: My mind was a million light years away. I should've been paying attention to where I was going.
KIRA: Are you doing some shopping?
RIKER: Actually I was just exploring the Promenade. I thought about going into Quark's, but I wasn't really in the mood. Where are you off to?
KIRA: I'm just getting off duty. I was about to call it a night.
RIKER: I see. Well, goodnight.
KIRA: Goodnight.
(Kira walks on then turns back.)
KIRA: Commander, would you like a tour of the station?
RIKER: I'd love one. Where should we begin?
KIRA: We can walk along the Promenade for a start. There's quite a bit to see here.
RIKER: Do you think we might get a chance to take a look at that new starship of yours? What's she called?
KIRA: The Defiant.
RIKER: Yeah, the Defiant. I hear it's quite a vessel.
KIRA: I'm sure that could be arranged.

[Airlock]

(The Defiant is very well guarded - human and computer.)
COMPUTER: Please identify for access to USS Defiant.
(It's a palm and voice print device)
KIRA: Major Kira Nerys, Bajoran militia.
COMPUTER: Identity confirmed.
RIKER: Commander William Riker, Starfleet.
COMPUTER: Identity confirmed.
(The airlock opens for them.)

[Bridge]

(O'Brien is still working under a console.)
KIRA: Chief. I didn't know there was anyone aboard tonight.
O'BRIEN: Oh, I hadn't planned to. (bumps head) I was just getting a little extra work done on the deflector targeting arrays.
(Comes out and stands up.)
O'BRIEN: Commander. I'd heard you were aboard, but I hadn't
RIKER: I have nothing to say to you, O'Brien. I think you know why.
KIRA: Oh. Maybe we should come back another time.
O'BRIEN: No, no, no, Major. It's all right. I was just leaving. Commander.
(O'Brien leaves.)
KIRA: What was that all about?
RIKER: It's a long story. I'd rather not get into it. Let's take a look at this ship of yours.
KIRA: Okay. I'll show you the tactical systems first. I think you're going to be surprised at how big a punch this little ship has.

[Airlock]

(O'Brien comes out, stops and thinks, then moves on.)

[Bridge]

RIKER: Running the plasma conduit through the primary phaser coupling has almost doubled your phaser power. Doesn't that cut into your warp drive efficiency?
KIRA: Not at all. In fact, it's thirty percent more efficient.
RIKER: That's ingenious. I'd like to see how it's all routed through the tactical display.
COMPUTER: Command authorisation required.
KIRA: New security procedure. Computer, release Bridge lockout. Authorisation Kira delta five four seven alpha.
(And everything lights up)
RIKER: Thank you.
(He produces a phaser and stuns Kira, then taps some controls and two people beam in)

[Ops]

(Red alert sounds and Sisko comes out of his office.)
SISKO: What's going on?
DAX: I'm not sure but something's happened to the warp core on the Defiant. It looks like it's going to breach in fifty seven seconds.
SISKO: Anyone on board?
DAX: O'Brien was working there this morning, but I don't know if he. Incoming signal from the Defiant. It's Commander Riker.
SISKO: On screen.
RIKER [on viewscreen]: Commander Sisko, there's been an accident. One of the plasma conduits has exploded. Major Kira's been injured. We are forty five seconds from a core breach. Release the docking clamps. I will get us away from the station.
SISKO: We'll beam the two of you away as soon as you're clear.
DAX: Docking clamps released.
RIKER [on viewscreen]: I'm engaging thrusters.
(O'Brien enters Ops.)
DAX: Fifteen seconds.
SISKO: Lock on and beam them away, Chief.
O'BRIEN: I can't get a lock. The Defiant's shields are up.
SISKO: What?
(Defiant goes zoom!)
DAX: She's gone into warp. I've lost them.

[Bridge]

KALITA: We're beyond their sensor range.
RIKER: Set course for the Badlands. Warp seven. Tamal, secure that conduit.
TAMAL: Right.
KALITA: Course laid in. We'll be in the Badlands in six hours.
(Riker removes his sideburns, and we realise who he is.)
KALITA: You did it, Tom.
RIKER: It's not over yet.

[Wardroom]

ODO: Nine years ago, a transporter accident created two William T. Rikers. One of them returned to his ship, the other was marooned on Nervala Four.
SISKO: The second Riker was finally discovered two years ago. He chose to use his middle name Thomas to distinguish himself from the other Riker.
ODO: The two men are physically identical in all respects, right down to their DNA coding. There was no way for the security computer to know that it was Thomas, not William, who boarded the Defiant.
DUKAT: This is a very entertaining story, but why am I listening to it?
SISKO: We have reason to believe that Thomas Riker is a member of the Maquis.
DUKAT: What?
ODO: Thomas Riker was serving aboard the starship Gandhi. While he was there, he began to express certain political opinions. Opinions that supported the Maquis and their goals.
DUKAT: Are you telling me that one of the most heavily armed warships in this quadrant is now in the hands of Maquis terrorists? Do you have any idea what kind of response this will provoke from the Central Command?
SISKO: They'll probably want to send ships into the Demilitarised zone to conduct a search. We understand that. But any entry into the zone must be a joint operation between Cardassia and the Federation.
DUKAT: The Central Command will not be interested in any joint operation, Commander. They won't believe your story about transporter duplicates and security failures. They will assume that Starfleet wanted the Maquis to have the Defiant, and they will respond accordingly.
ODO: And what does that mean, exactly?
DUKAT: It means they will seize this opportunity to finally eliminate the Maquis. They'll send a fleet into that zone.
SISKO: Starfleet will cooperate in a search for the Defiant, but they will not allow the Central Command to use this as an excuse for a full-scale invasion.
DUKAT: Of course not. So you will send your own fleet into the zone to protect Federation colonies. But at some point the two fleets will meet, tensions will rise, nerves will fray, and someone will make the tiniest mistake.
SISKO: And we'll have a war on our hands.
DUKAT: It is a prospect I do not relish, Commander.
SISKO: Neither do we.
ODO: That's why we need to work together to prevent it from happening.
DUKAT: Unless I can bring something back to Central Command to prove your good faith and your willingness to help stop the Defiant, I don't believe anything can prevent this conflict from beginning.
SISKO: Then bring me with you. I can help you stop the Defiant and prove our good faith. I was in charge of the shipyard where the Defiant was built. I helped design it. I know her vulnerabilities and her weaknesses.
DUKAT: You'll help us destroy one of your own ships?
SISKO: I want to try and disable it first.
DUKAT: Oh, I'm sure you do, but you're in no position to bargain here, Commander. You want to prevent a war? You come back to Cardassia with me and you help me destroy the Defiant.

[Cabin]

KIRA: I don't care who you are or what your name is.
RIKER: I am sorry about lying to you, and I'm sorry about using you. It was an operational necessity. You were a resistance fighter. You know at certain times you do things that you're not proud of to accomplish the mission.
KIRA: Well, you accomplished your mission, so now what? Everyone's going to be looking for you. The Cardassians and Starfleet. How far do you think you're going to get with this ship before they find you?
RIKER: A lot farther than people anticipate.
KALITA [OC]: Kalita to Riker. We've reached the rendezvous point.
RIKER: I'm on my way.

[Bridge]

KALITA: The other Maquis ships just arrived.
TAMAL: The rest of the team's ready.
RIKER: Lower the shields and beam them aboard.
TAMAL: The Maquis ships are heading for the border, Tom.
KALITA: All defence systems online and operational. Warp power standing by.
RIKER: Lay in a course for the Cardassian border. Warp eight.
KALITA: Course already laid in.
RIKER: This ship was built to fight. I think it's time she got her chance. Engage.

Commander's log, stardate 48467.3. Gul Dukat and I have arrived on Cardassia Prime. I am about to do something which goes against twenty years of Starfleet training. Help an enemy hunt down one of our own ships.

[War room]

(Cardassian NORAD)
DUKAT: This is where I will be conducting the search for the Defiant. From this room, I can control every Cardassian ship, outpost, and space station anywhere in our
(Enter a woman)
DUKAT: Ah. Commander, allow me to introduce Korinas, our observer from the Obsidian Order. Commander Sisko.
SISKO: Korinas.
KORINAS: Welcome to Cardassia Prime, Commander.
SISKO: Thank you.
KORINAS: Excuse me. (to soldier) Secure that console while the human is here. Anything else classified level four or above should also be secured. I'm sure you can understand that although we all respect Gul Dukat's decision to bring you here, we must take some precautions.
SISKO: Of course. I would have done the same. But then I would have been more discreet.
KORINAS: Since you are here to provide technical expertise on the Defiant, I suggest you begin by briefing us on the ship's defensive capabilities. Please, describe for us in detail the weapon systems of the Defiant, beginning with the ship's phaser array and
SISKO: Before we discuss weaponry, there is a more urgent matter that I think you should be aware of. The Defiant is equipped with a cloaking device.
KORINAS: I wondered if you were going to share that little detail with us.
DUKAT: You knew about this?
KORINAS: The Obsidian Order has known for some time about the loan of a cloaking device from the Romulans to the Federation.
DUKAT: And the Order chose not to share this intelligence with the Central Command?
KORINAS: Until now, the Order had not considered this one cloak to be a threat against Cardassia.
SISKO: Under the terms of our agreement with the Romulans, the cloaking device was to be used only in the Gamma Quadrant and then only in exchange for all our intelligence reports on the Dominion.
DUKAT: Well, your Lieutenant Riker isn't likely to respect that agreement with the Romulans. And there's no way to locate a ship under cloak.
SISKO: There is one possibility. The Dominion managed to penetrate the cloak by using some kind of anti-proton beam.
DUKAT: Can you give us the specifications of that beam?
SISKO: Not precisely, but I can give you everything we've learned from our sensor logs. It'll give you a chance to find the Defiant before she attacks.

[Bridge]

KALITA: We're approaching the security perimeter, Tom.
RIKER: All right, this is it. Red alert. Cloak the ship. Stand by weapons.

[Cabin]

(Kira starts doing something clever with the replicator)

[Bridge]

TAMAL: Squadron Baker has arrived at their checkpoint.
RIKER: Transmit the go-ahead signal.
KALITA: We'll be in Cardassian sensor range in five minutes.

[War room]

SOLDIER: There is a perimeter alert in the Almatha sector.
DUKAT: Put it on the main viewer. Who's commanding the outpost nearest that ship?
SOLDIER: Gul Toran of the Sixth Order, and he's identified the vessel. It's the Defiant.
DUKAT: Order all warships in that sector to converge on the Defiant.
SISKO: Something's wrong. Why wouldn't they be cloaked? Can you show me the sensor information on the Defiant?
SOLDIER: The Defiant is attacking outpost sixty one.
DUKAT: Tell Gul Toran that he has permission to pursue the Defiant into the Demilitarised zone.
SISKO: No, don't pull your ships off the border.
DUKAT: Commander, you don't expect me to break off pursuit of the Defiant simply because the treaty
SISKO: That's not the Defiant. It's a decoy. They're trying to draw your patrol ships out of position. That ship's sending out a fake warp signature identical to the Defiant, but the phase variance and subspace harmonics don't match.
DUKAT: Order Toran to break off pursuit. Have him redeploy his
SOLDIER: Sir, another perimeter alert. Outpost forty seven has detected a cloaked ship with their anti-proton beam.
DUKAT: Tell Toran to head for Outpost forty-seven!
SOLDIER: The Defiant has decloaked and begun to attack the outpost. We've lost contact with outpost forty seven. Incoming message from Gul Toran. The Defiant has recloaked and it's last know heading was one four eight, mark two one five.
DUKAT: It's headed directly into the heart of Cardassian territory.
KORINAS: Commander Sisko, you should be commended. I only wish we had someone with such keen tactical instincts who could have prevented this invasion of our territory.

[Bridge]

KALITA: We're past the security perimeter, out of their sensor range.
RIKER: They're using anti-proton beams to scan for us. Adjust the cloak's resonance frequency so they can't detect us again.
KALITA: Right.
RIKER: Damage report.
TAMAL: We took six hits on the port shields. There's been some minor damage to the outer hull but all systems are operational.
RIKER: Tough little ship. Set course for the shipyard at Omekla Three. We'll let that be the place
(Bang!)
RIKER: Report.
KALITA: We've lost main power and the cloak is offline.
TAMAL: It looks like two plasma conduits blew out.
RIKER: Where?
TAMAL: Deck three, section fifteen. Crew quarters.
RIKER: It looks like Major Kira has been busy.

[Cabin]

(There's a nice hole in the bulkhead, and Kira has minor burns which are being treated.)
RIKER: You crossed the replicator power converter with the plasma manifold, I take it?
KIRA: That's right.
RIKER: Nice work. You know I'll have that thing bypassed in thirty minutes.
KIRA: At least that'll be thirty minutes that we're visible.
RIKER: Fortunately, I was able to take us into a nebula. No one's going to see us.
(Tamal finishes tending to Kira.)
KIRA: Thanks.
(Tamal leaves)
RIKER: You're lucky you only got singed. You know the whole plasma relay could've exploded.
KIRA: Yeah, that was the idea.
RIKER: You've been fighting Cardassians most of your life. I know that you sympathise with what we're doing here.
KIRA: I fought the Cardassians because they invaded my home. You don't live in the Demilitarised zone, you don't have family there. Why are you in this fight?
RIKER: Because people are dying in the Demilitarised zone and Starfleet isn't doing anything about it.
KIRA: Taking the Defiant only raises the stakes. The Cardassians are going to send a fleet after you. They are going to kill more people hunting you down than they ever did during those border raids.
RIKER: You're assuming the Defiant is going to stay in the Demilitarised zone. Let's go to the bridge. I think we'd all feel better having you someplace we can keep an eye on you.

[War room]

SISKO: Fifteen outposts have checked in. No sign of the Defiant. Twenty-six warships have scanned fourteen cubic light years of space with anti-proton beams. No Defiant. What are the possibilities? They're still under cloak and heading deeper into Cardassian space. They're laying low and waiting for some unknown reason. Dukat, are you listening to me?
DUKAT: Oh, I'm sorry, Commander. I was thinking about my son's birthday.
SISKO: Really?
DUKAT: Yes. Today is his eleventh birthday. I'd promised to take him to the amusement centre in Lakarian City. He always wanted to go but I never have the time. I told him, this year will be different this year, Mekor. This year I will make the time.
SISKO: I've had the same experience with Jake. At that age they never understand, do they. You just hope that one day they'll look back and say, now I understand, now I know why he did that.
DUKAT: When my son looks back on this day, the only thing he'll remember is that a Federation officer on a Federation ship invaded his home and kept his father away from him on his eleventh birthday. And he won't look back with understanding, he'll look back with hatred. And that's sad.

[Bridge]

(The Defiant goes back under cloak.)
TAMAL: The cloak is operating within normal parameters but the plasma conduit damage has caused a slight neutrino leak in the port nacelle. The Cardassians might be able to detect it even through the cloak.
RIKER: A chance we have to take. Lay in a course for Omekla Three. Engage at warp eight.
KALITA: Warp eight, aye sir.
KIRA: Omekla Three? You're headed for the shipyard? There have to be half a dozen better targets in this sector alone.
RIKER: I hope the Cardassians have the same reaction. What is he doing, and why?
KIRA: All right, you're trying to keep them off-balance, keep them guessing. Why?
RIKER: The Maquis have been hearing rumours about shifting loyalties in the Cardassian government. Certain hardline elements were unsatisfied with the Federation Treaty and are doing whatever they can to scrap it. We had our hands on an intelligence report outlining a suspected military buildup in the Orias System. A secret buildup that even the Central Command isn't aware of.
KIRA: You're telling me you did all of this to attack some secret base that may or may not exist?
RIKER: I'm convinced that it does. They are building an invasion fleet. If we let them finish it, these renegade Cardassians are going to use it.
KIRA: You're really not cut out for this, are you? Being a terrorist, I mean. You're not very good at it.
RIKER: Really?
KIRA: You're acting more like a Starfleet officer who's more interested in intelligence reports and Cardassian politics than in actually hurting Cardassians. You have one of the most powerful ships in this quadrant under your command. Why aren't you out attacking every Cardassian outpost along the border?
RIKER: Because these stakes here are far greater than border outposts.
KIRA: Not for the Maquis, there're not, because the Maquis are terrorists and the only thing terrorists care about is attacking the enemy. I know. I was a terrorist. And if I'd had this ship then, I would've destroyed Deep Space Nine. I would've hit the Cardassians so hard they would have screamed for peace, but I certainly wouldn't have gone flying off into the middle of Cardassia on some wild goose chase.
RIKER: I guess we're different kinds of terrorists.
KIRA: No, you're trying to be a hero. Terrorists don't get to be heroes.
RIKER: We'll see.

[War room]

SISKO: This is how your ships were deployed before the first Defiant attack. And this is where they are now. Don't you see what happened? Each Defiant attack was designed to draw your ships away from that sector, leaving it virtually defenseless.
DUKAT: But there's nothing of any value in that sector.
SISKO: There must be something. Are there any Class-M planets there?
DUKAT: There's one. Orias Three. But it's uninhabited, it's desolate.
SISKO: But everything seems to point to the Orias System. It might be worth your sending one of your warships there just in case the Defiant does show up.
DUKAT: All right. Contact Gul Ranor. Tell him to dispatch one warship
KORINAS: No. You'll send no ships to the Orias system.
DUKAT: You're here as an observer. You have no authority
KORINAS: That sector is under direct control of the Obsidian Order and you will not enter it.
DUKAT: Why?
KORINAS: That matter's classified.
DUKAT: Well you can file a complaint with the Central Command later. Open a channel to Gul Ranor now.
KORINAS: Any warship sent into the Orias system will be destroyed.
DUKAT: Are you saying that you will fire on another Cardassian ship?
KORINAS: What I am saying is that the Obsidian Order will take whatever steps are necessary to protect the Orias system. And so will I.
(A short time later, Dukat returns to the room.)
DUKAT: I've spoken to a few friends in the Central Command. The Obsidian Order isn't giving them any answers either.
SISKO: The Order has to answer to someone.
DUKAT: In theory they answer to the political authority of the Detapa Council, just as the military does. In practice we both run our own affairs.
SISKO: Not the most efficient system.
DUKAT: It's worked for over five centuries.
SOLDIER: There's an incoming message from the warship Kraxon. They say they've found an unusual neutrino signature in their sector. It looks like radiation from a damaged warp plasma relay.
DUKAT: Is this signature moving?
SOLDIER: No. But they're scanning the area with their anti-proton beams.
DUKAT: Where is the Kraxon?
(The location is brought up on the viewscreen)
SISKO: If it is the Defiant, they're in position to make a run for the Orias system.
DUKAT: We still don't know that Orias is the target. Until we do, I can't risk pulling ships away from other potential targets to chase down a neutrino signature.

[Bridge]

KALITA: They're coming around for another pass.
RIKER: Are there any other ships nearby?
KALITA: There are nine Galor-class cruisers about six light years away.
RIKER: Any ships between us and the Orias system?
KALITA: No.
KIRA: If you make a run for it, that ship out there's going to see our neutrino signature go through a phase change. They're going to call their nine friends and you are going to have a small fleet chasing you all the way to Orias.
RIKER: They can chase me all they want, as long as they don't catch me.

[War room]

SOLDIER: The Kraxon reports that the neutrino signature has just phase-shifted, and is moving now at warp speed directly toward the Orias system.
DUKAT: Order the Kraxon to pursue at maximum warp. Order all other ships in the sector to follow.

[Bridge]

KALITA: The Kraxon is pursuing but they won't catch us before we reach Orias.
RIKER: Full scan. I want to see everything that's in that system.

[War room]

DUKAT: When you make out your report for the Obsidian Order be sure to mention the fact that I could have prevented the Defiant from reaching Orias if you hadn't interfered.
KORINAS: They will never reach Orias. You can count on that.
SOLDIER: Three more ships have just appeared in the Orias system.
DUKAT: What kind of ships?
SOLDIER: Cardassian warships. Keldon Class.
DUKAT: Whose ships are those, Korinas?
KORINAS: Why are you asking me?
DUKAT: Because if they were military ships, I would know about them. So that leaves the Obsidian Order.
SISKO: I thought the Obsidian Order didn't have any ships.
DUKAT: They're not supposed to. In fact, they are explicitly forbidden from having military equipment of any kind.
(Korinas smiles and walks out.)

[Bridge]

RIKER: It looks like we're going to have to fight our way to Orias.
KIRA: Listen to me. Those three ships up ahead are going to lock onto our neutrino leak and open fire. That means you'll have to fight back.
RIKER: With this ship it'll be a short fight, I promise you that.
KIRA: Let's say you disable or even destroy those three ships up ahead of us. Fighting them at all is going to slow us down and then those ten ships behind us are going to catch up, and not even the Defiant can win against those odds.
RIKER: We have come too far to quit now.
KIRA: You are an experienced Starfleet officer, Tom. Analyse the situation, Tom. Going to Orias is suicide. Now the smart move is to make a run for it while we still can.
RIKER: Maybe that's what an experienced Starfleet officer would do. Maybe that's what Will Riker would do. But it's not what I'm going to do. I'm going to continue the mission.
KIRA: It's not the mission you're thinking about, is it, or even the colonists in the zone. This is about you, isn't it? You and that other Will Riker out there. The man with your face, your name, your career. You are looking for a way to set yourself apart. Some way to be different.
RIKER: You shouldn't go fishing today. You won't catch anything. Take us in.

[War room]

SISKO: You want to know what's going on in the Orias system? I know how you can find out. Give Riker a chance to surrender. The Defiant's scanned the Orias system by now. Its sensor logs can tell you everything you want to know.
DUKAT: I'd be happy to accept his surrender but I doubt he'll be willing to hand over his logs.
SISKO: He will if you agree to release Major Kira, the ship and the Maquis over to the Federation.
GUL DUKAT: Impossible. I cannot allow a group of terrorists to just walk away after invading our territory and
SISKO: Then you must decide which is important to you. Your sense of Cardassian justice or the information contained in the Defiant's sensor logs.
DUKAT: I do want that information, Commander, and I would be willing to return your wayward ship. But someone has to pay for what's happened here and I don't want that someone to be me.
SISKO: If you return the Maquis to the Federation, I can promise that you they will stand trial for what they've done.
DUKAT: A Federation trial
SISKO: It's the best I can do.
DUKAT: All right. I would be willing to hand over Major Kira, the Maquis, and the ship, but not Riker. He led the mission. If I can bring him to justice and obtain the information on Orias, that might be enough for Central Command.
SISKO: I might be able to get him to do it on one condition. We both know that Cardassian sentences are determined well in advance of the trial. I'd like you to arrange a sentence other than death.
DUKAT: I'll have to clear that with the Ministry of Justice.
SISKO: You'd better make it quick.

[Bridge]

TAMAL: We're approaching the first cruiser. They'll be in phaser range in fifteen seconds.
RIKER: Go to impulse. Decloak the ship, Raise shields and stand by phasers. Go to heading one one eight, mark three zero one. Lock on phasers. Fire.
KALITA: Direct hit on the cruiser's port nacelle. Their shields are down by thirty percent.
(Boom)
TAMAL: We've been hit on our starboard shield.
(Boom)
TAMAL: Shields holding.
RIKER: Quantum torpedoes. Full spread.
TAMAL: Torpedoes locked on target.
RIKER: Fire.
KALITA: Their defence systems are offline and they've lost main power.
TAMAL: Tom, three more cruisers have just appeared in the Orias system. That makes five ships ahead of us and ten behind.
RIKER: Resume our original course to the Orias system. Stand by emergency power to the shields.
KALITA: Incoming message from Cardassia Prime. It's Gul Dukat and Commander Sisko.
RIKER: On screen.
DUKAT [on viewscreen]: This is Gul Dukat of the Second Order. I am authorised to tell you that if you surrender your ship none of you will be harmed.
RIKER: Is that right
SISKO [on viewscreen]: Listen to him, Lieutenant. If you surrender, the Defiant and your crew will be handed over to a Federation starship at the Cardassian border.
RIKER: Why the sudden generosity?
SISKO [on viewscreen]: He wants the Defiant's sensor logs on the Orias system. They're worth a lot more to him than Maquis prisoners.
RIKER: I don't buy it. The Cardassians aren't going to just let us just walk away.
SISKO [on viewscreen]: You're right. Someone has to pay the price.
RIKER: Me.
SISKO [on viewscreen]: The deal is you'll be tried and convicted in a Cardassian court and then sentenced to spend the rest of your life in the Lazon Two labour camp.
RIKER: No death sentence, huh? That must have taken some doing.
SISKO [on viewscreen]: Some.
RIKER: Give me a moment.
KIRA: Tom, there's no reason for you to continue. They're offering you a way out. The only reason not to take it is because you want to die.
RIKER: I have a mission to complete.
KIRA: That mission is over. You're never going to make it to Orias, you know that Tom. There are five ships out there ahead of you but there may be fifty waiting there for all we know. Be a Starfleet officer one last time. Think of your crew. I know you want Tom Riker to go out in a blaze of glory that they'll talk about for the next ten years. Don't drag them along with you.
RIKER: On screen. I agree to your terms.
SISKO [on viewscreen]: You need to reverse course and surrender the Defiant to one of the ships that've been following you.
RIKER: Why?
SISKO [on viewscreen]: It'll take too long to explain. But the ships coming out of the Orias system are not under Gul Dukat's control.
RIKER: I see.
DUKAT [on viewscreen]: I've ordered the Kraxon to put her shields around you as soon as you arrive. You'll be safe once you get there.
RIKER: Understood.
(transmission ends)
RIKER: Turn us about. Lay in a course for the Kraxon. Do it.

[War room]

(The chase is on the viewscreen.)
DUKAT: Those are faster than any Keldon class ships I've ever seen. What is going on in that system?

[Bridge]

KALITA: We're one hundred million kilometres from the Kraxon.
TAMAL: Incoming message
RIKER: Let's hear it.
RANOR [OC]: This is Gul Ranor of the Kraxon. Cut your engines in five seconds, and we will extend our shields around you.
RIKER: Acknowledged. Kalita?
KALITA: All stop.
(The little ship parks itself above the big warship.)

[War room]

DUKAT: They won't fire on another Cardassian ship. They can't.

[Bridge]

KALITA: They're moving off. They've set course back to the Orias System.
RIKER: Transmit the Orias Three sensor logs to the Kraxon, and tell them to prepare to beam me aboard. I'm turning command over to Major Kira. She'll get you back to the Federation. I'm holding you personally responsible to see that these people get a fair trial.
KIRA: I give you my word. We'll get you out of there, Tom. I promise you that.
(Riker kisses Kira.)
RIKER: Riker to Kraxon.
RANOR [OC]: Go ahead.
RIKER: One to beam up.
(Riker is beamed away.)
KIRA: Set course for the Federation. Warp eight.