Body Parts (DS9 episode)

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"Body Parts" is the title of a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode, from the fourth season. Its episode number is 425, and it first aired on June 10, 1996.

[edit] Main plot

Quark makes a trip to Ferenginar to get a physical, in order to get his life insurance renewed. The physical reveals that he will die from a rare disease. In the usual Ferengi manner, he auctions off his vacuum-desiccated remains on the Ferengi Futures Exchange, to raise money to pay off his debts.

After being on the market for a while, he gets a buyer at 500 bars of gold-pressed latinum, and sells them. A few hours later, he finds out that his medical exam was in error, and in fact he isn't going to die. He therefore cancels the arrangements he already made to pay his debts.

The next day the buyer of the vacuum-desiccated remains comes to his quarters on the station: it is his old adversary Brunt, from the Ferengi Commerce Authority. Brunt wants what he has already paid for: Quark's desiccated remains, no more, and no less. Quark explains that he isn't going to die, but Brunt already knows about the incorrect medical results. Brunt does not care: he still wants what he paid for. Quark thus faces the dilemma of either killing himself, or breaking a contract, thereby going against rule of acquisition #17 "a contract is a contract is a contract (but only between Ferengi)."

In order to honour his contract, like a good Ferengi, he consults with Garak, and hires Garak as an assassin to kill him. After looking at what Quark wants his death to be, Garak decides just to leave it a secret.

That night, Quark dreams about being in the Divine Treasury, and seeing Grand Nagus Gint, who tells him to break the contract, and that the rules of acquisition he made up were for marketing purposes; quoting them would sound bad if they were called "suggestions" of acquisition.

The next morning, he tells Brunt that he is breaking his contract. Brunt then revokes Quark's Ferengi business license, and liquidates Quark's business in its entirety, all Quark's personal assets, and all family assets.

Quark's close customers help him out by using his bar as a "storage facility" for all the items he needs to conduct business, and he is shortly back in business, with no contact with any Ferengi except his brother Rom.

[edit] Sub-plot

While this is all going on, Major Kira, Doctor Bashir and Keiko O'Brien return to the station in a heavily damaged runabout. Fearing for his pregnant wife, Miles O'Brien rushes to the Infirmary to find that, as a result of his wife's injuries, Miles's unborn son had been transplanted into Major Kira, as it was the only way to insure his survival.

Kira has no problem with being a surrogate mother, but Keiko and Miles are at first uncomfortable with the thought of another woman carrying their child. They eventually come to terms with it, and ask Major Kira to move in with them so they can be closer to the child.

Preceded by: "The Quickening"

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes

Followed by: "Broken Link"