Destiny (DS9 episode)
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Destiny is a third season episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. A joint Federation-Cardassian mission to establish a communications relay on the other side of the wormhole is complicated by an ancient Bajoran prophecy of doom.
[edit] Plot Summary
A team of Cardassian scientists is coming to Deep Space 9 to assist in deploying a subspace relay to allow communication through the Bajoran wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant for the first time. The entire crew is getting ready for their arrival and for the experiment, and even Quark has taken steps to welcome them -- and perhaps unload some old kanar he's had since the Cardassian occupation. He's actually quite excited about welcoming Cardassians back onto the station, and reveals his plans to set up Cardassian gaming concessions if things go well. But Odo informs him that there will be no live vole fights on the promenade, and Quark's Kanar has gone bad over the years it sat in his store room.
Soon afterwards Vedek Yarka requests a meeting with Commander Sisko. Yarka is an older vedek who seems kindly but has come to discuss a serious matter. Sisko, he insists, must not allow the Cardassians aboard the station, for Trakor's third prophecy warns that doing so would bring catastrophe. The prophecy reads: "When the river wakes, stirred once more to Janir's side, three vipers will return to their nest in the sky. When the vipers try to peer through the temple gates, a sword of stars will appear in the heavens. The temple will burn, and its gates will be cast open." Allowing the Cardassians to enter the wormhole will destroy it.
Sisko is more than a little skeptical, especially since the Kai and the Vedek Assembly have already approved of the communications relay. He makes clear that he respects Bajoran beliefs, but that he must allow the project to go forward. Establishing communication with the Gamma quadrant is too important. What's more, there will be only two Cardassians -- or "vipers" -- and not the three Trakor prophesied. Yarka expresses his hope that Sisko will change his mind, but leaves his office without incident.
Ulani and Gilora, the two Cardassian scientists also arrive without incident and brief the DS9 crew on their plans. Chief O'Brien will need to help modify the station's signaling array while the Defiant positions and monitors a signaling satellite at the other end of the wormhole. Aside from some tension between O'Brien and Gilora over the quality of the Chief's earlier work at building a signaling platform, the meeting goes smoothly -- until Ulani mentions offhand that a third Cardassian scientist, Dejar, will be joining them. Sisko is unfazed by the announcement, but Kira is awed at the realization that there will now be three "vipers," just as Yarka (and indeed Trakor) predicted.
Odo, however, soon reports that Vedek Yarka is actually no longer a Vedek, having been stripped of his title three months earlier. He also reminds Sisko that his decision to proceed with the project may be influenced by his desire to distance himself from his Emissary title. Since Yarka insists that it's up to the Emissary to prevent the impending disaster, Sisko may be unwilling to put himself in that position. Sisko is skeptical, but hears what Odo has to say.
What's more, Vedek Yarka has begun trying to convince Major Kira that she must influence Sisko's decision. She wants to keep her role as an officer distinct from her religion, but Yarka points out that she may no longer be able to do so.
O'Brien and Gilora begin modifying the station, and again encounter personal tension when Gilora discovers some of the Chief's modifications -- and then refuses to listen to his suggestions. She's further annoyed when he reveals that her planned modifications won't work and finally admits that on Cardassia men aren't generally adept at the sciences. She does seem amused, or even pleased, when Miles finally steps in and begins making modifications himself.
With assurances that the station will be ready in time, however, the Defiant heads through the wormhole to deploy the relay. There they discover something that could be a much bigger problem than any personal differences: a comet headed their way -- "the sword of stars," Kira observes. It will be passing near the wormhole, but not near enough to be a threat, so the crew proceeds with the mission.
Sisko isn't thrilled that Kira voiced her interpretation of the comet, though, and takes her to crew quarters to discuss it privately. She admits that she does view him as The Emissary, and not just as a Starfleet Officer. To satisfy the need for a solid, reasonable, "Starfleet" reason for calling off the mission, Kira reminds the Commander that the Prophets don't exist in linear time and may indeed have revealed knowledge of what Humans and Bajorans would consider "the future" to Trakor three millennia ago. It's a convincing argument, but given the ambiguity in Trakor's words he still refuses to turn back. They deploy the relay and begin testing it.
Their second attempt causes trouble. The wormhole opens, its gravity well increases threefold, and shakes the ship until they terminate the test. The signaling array is undamaged, but when the wormhole got "heavier" during the test it drew the comet toward it. The silithium in the core of the comet will cause a cascade reaction if it enters the wormhole and destroy it forever. The worst of Trakor's prophecy seems to be coming true.
Sisko takes the USS Defiant back to the station to meet with the entire science team, but they have few options. A tractor beam would only break apart the comet, as would ordinary phasers. Chief O'Brien suggests modifying the phasers to generate a wide beam that can encompass the entire comet and destroy it evenly, but he can't have the modifications readily until two hours before the comet is due to enter the wormhole. While working, he experiences still more personal differences with Gilora, but of a very different sort. She has interpreted his "overt irritability" as a sign that he was interested in pursuing a physical relationship. She's embarrassed and quite upset upon realizing that "overt irritability" means something very different to Humans than to Cardassians, and leaves Miles to finish the maintenance by himself.
With the Chief's modifications to the phasers, the Defiant heads back into the Gamma quadrant. The modified phasers don't work, though. The Defiant fires a standard burst that splits the comet into three pieces, all still on course for the wormhole. Worse, the entire system shorts out leaving the Defiant defenseless. O'Brien's examination of the system suggests he made a mistake even a first-year Engineering student wouldn't make. Gilora defends him, however, by revealing that Dejar is a member of the Obsidian Order and she sabotaged the system in order to prevent peace talks from progressing between Cardassia and Bajor.
That still leaves the problem of protecting the wormhole from the comet. Ulani suggest creating a subspace field around the fragments that would keep the silithium from reacting with the wormhole, but the Defiant is too large to fit between the fragments. Sisko decides to take a runabout out instead and Kira asks to accompany him as an assistant to the Emissary. He agrees.
The plan nearly works, and does protect the wormhole from serious damage, but some silithium still leaks out and reacts with the wormhole. When they meet the Defiant on the Alpha terminus of the wormhole, though, they get good news. The Defiant is receiving the signaling relay's text signal. The silithium interacted with the wormhole just enough to let a subspace filament form along the entire length of the wormhole.
With awe, Kira realizes that the entire prophecy actually came true. The three vipers were three comet fragments. The silithium ignited the wormhole, burning the temple gates -- so they'd never close again. Sisko finally agrees: Trakor saw it all and wrote it down three thousand years before. He's even willing to discuss another prophecy that deals with the Emissary with Vedek Yarka as the Cardassians depart the station.
[edit] Memorable Quotes
Quark reveals his future plans.
Quark: Rumour 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.
Odo: There'll be no live vole fights on the promenade, Quark.
Quark: I would never be part of anything so cruel and inhumane...But, of course if some Cardassians brought their voles along, and they happened to get into a fight, I could hardly be held responsible.
Odo: Oh yes you could be.
Sisko: And you will be.
| Preceded by: "Heart of Stone" |
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes | Followed by: "Prophet Motive" |
