Star Trek: Deep Space Nine s03e22 Episode Script

Explorers

Excuse me.
|You're Dr Bashir, aren't you? - That's right.
|- l'm Leeta.
l've been meaning to come by|the infirmary to see you.
Oh, dear.
How long have you had|that cough? A few days now.
May l? Cough for me.
ls it serious, Doctor? No, but we need to start|your treatment immediately.
Bring me a Fanalian toddy,|very hot.
Make that two.
l'm feeling a cough|coming on myself.
l'm sorry to hear that, Doctor.
No, please.
Call me - Julian.
|- Hi.
- l'm Jadzia.
|- Leeta.
Before l forget here's that immunological data|you asked for.
How nice of you to put it together|for me so quickly.
l think l'll go over it right now.
Oh, by the way, l hear the Lexington's|docking here for a few days.
The Lexington? Excuse me for just one second.
Stay there.
Jadzia.
Do you know when the Lexington|is coming in? Three weeks.
|Don't you have a friend aboard? - Do l?|- The medical officer.
- Elizabeth Lense?|- Elizabeth Lense She may have been in my class|at Starfleet Medical.
- Wasn't she valedictorian?|- That's right.
- And you were salutatorian?|- Second in my class.
lf l hadn't mistaken|that pre-ganglionic fibre For a post-ganglionic nerve.
|l know.
l would've been valedictorian.
You must be looking forward|to seeing her.
l can hardly wait.
- Hey, Jake.
|- Hey, Dad.
Hey! - What is this?|- l thought it was time for a change.
- What do you think?|- l like it.
- How was Bajor?|- You should have come with me.
The re-opening of a library|isn't my idea of a good time.
Not just a library.
We're talking|about the most extensive collection of Bajoran antiquities.
l saw manuscripts that dated back|to before the fall of the First Republic.
- Great.
|- Here.
- Look at this.
|- What is it? Some kind of ship? The ancient Bajorans used ships|like these to explore their star system When humans were sailing the oceans,|Bajorans were going to other planets? Some say they made it all|the way to Cardassia.
That seems hard to believe.
|What are these? Solar sails.
These ships were propelled|by light pressure.
- Like a sailboat catching the wind.
|- Exactly.
l wonder if a ship like that|could really fly? l don't know.
That's why l'm going to build one.
l'm expecting a lumber shipment|from Bajor this afternoon.
Which reminds me.
|l'll need a sabre saw.
You know, to cut wood.
Why not use a laser cutter? l want to use the same types|of tools the Bajorans had.
As soon as these containers are|out of the way, l'll start construction.
l've looked over the specifications|you brought back from Bajor.
l'm not sure this design is spaceworthy.
A ship like this could never have made it - from Bajor to Cardassia.
|- Why? At sublight speeds,|the trip would have taken years.
One unexpected ion storm|would have torn the sails to pieces.
Maybe they were lucky|and didn't go into any storms.
l don't see how this ship|could have made the trip.
There's only room|for a few weeks' air supply.
Maybe they recycled it, used some kind of photosynthetic plant.
Maybe.
You sound just like a Cardassian.
They have denied the possibility|of ancient contact for decades.
They cannot accept that Bajor|had interstellar flight before them.
You're beginning to sound|like a Romulan.
There's no technology they don't claim|they invented first.
l don't plan to spend the next few years|sailing to Cardassia.
All l want is to build one ship|and prove that it's spaceworthy.
A computer model could do that.
|Why go to all that trouble? Why? Because it'll be fun.
Oh, yes.
l've been thinking.
|According to the star charts, the most difficult part of the trip|between Bajor and Cardassia is getting through the Denorios Belt.
After that, it would be smooth sailing|the rest of the way.
Making that part of the trip|would demonstrate that the Bajorans could|have made the journey to Cardassia.
Seems reasonable.
lt should only take|about four, five days.
- That's not so long.
|- So? - What?|- Come with me.
We'll have a great time.
|The ship will be ready in a week.
That's when Leanne gets back|from Bajor.
l really want to see her.
Oh, well.
lf you can't do it,|you can't do it.
l'd like to, but it's just not|good timing, you know? Sure.
l understand.
Hi! - Hello, Jadzia.
|- l brought you something to eat.
Let me just finish this welding|and l'll take a break.
l can't believe the work|you've put into this.
l'm just following the blueprints.
You didn't need detail like this|to prove that the ship is spaceworthy.
l suppose not, but l want everything|to be just right.
lt's an exact replica,|except for the gravity net in the floor.
Weightlessness makes me queasy.
l haven't seen you like this|for a long time - so caught up in something,|so excited.
Not since Not since you|and Jennifer decided to have a baby.
The nursery.
No one's ever put such effort|into making a room for their child.
lt turned out pretty well.
Especially the starscape|on the ceiling.
Jake loved that ceiling.
|When we moved out, he couldn't understand|why we couldn't bring it with us.
You're disappointed|he's not going with you.
He has other things|he'd rather be doing, friends he'd rather be with.
lt's funny.
A year or two ago, nothing would have stopped him|from coming on an adventure like this.
l guess l waited too long.
You'll have other adventures, Benjamin.
They'll just be different.
l know.
l've been a father|a couple of times myself.
- l could tell you stories.
|- You already have.
That's right.
l have, haven't l?|Then you know l'm right.
Computer, are there any messages|for me? One.
From Wellington, New Zealand.
Display it on screen.
- Hello.
|- Welcome aboard, sir.
- So, what do you think?|- lt's wonderful.
Maybe a bit small for two people,|but l could get used to it.
That is, if you still want me along.
A Survey of Cygnian Respiratory|Diseases? Fascinating.
l'm reading everything l can.
l don't want to be caught flat-footed|by Dr Lense.
She's probably discovered the cure|to ageing by now.
The two of you are competitive? Absolutely.
We were neck and neck|until the final exam.
Then l blew it.
That's how|she wound up on the Lexington, a post everyone in our class|was hoping for.
lncluding you? No, this is the assignment l wanted.
- Then what does it matter?|- Don't you see? She could have taken this post|from me.
No matter what l accomplish here, that'll always make me feel|second best.
l understand you're planning a trip.
Word gets around.
l can't believe that you would|take stock in Bajoran fairy tales|about ancient contact.
You thought the Celestial Temple|was a Bajoran fairy tale until we discovered the wormhole.
l suggest you reconsider your plans.
Solar vessels are very fragile and it's a long way to the Denorios Belt|at sublight speeds.
l'll have emergency equipment.
|lf something goes wrong, Major Kira can have a runabout|to me within an hour.
An hour can be a very long time, especially if you encounter|something unexpected.
- Like what?|- A Maquis ship, perhaps.
Why would the Maquis|have any quarrel with an unarmed ship sailing toward|the Denorios Belt? They have nothing at stake here,|nothing to prove.
Or should l say disprove? Commander, l contacted you|out of concern for your safety, but you seem to be intimating|that l've made some sort of threat.
Then l'm glad l was wrong.
l thought that you had been|put in charge of the Cardassian Ministry for|the Refutation of Bajoran Fairy Tales.
Since l don't seem to be able|to dissuade you from undertaking this voyage,|l'll wish you luck instead.
Let's hope you don't need it.
First we have to deploy the mainsails.
|Take that winch there.
Release brakes.
When l give you the word,|crank it with all you've got.
And now.
- That's as far as they'll go.
|- Lock it off.
Let's work on the spritsails.
- lt's just|- Oh.
- Now get your back into it.
|- All right.
That's right.
|We'll make a sailor out of you yet.
These will trim the spritsails.
- Now l get it.
|- What? - Why you wanted to build this ship.
|- lt is beautiful, isn't it? Jake, trim the starboard sprit|about six degrees.
- How's that?|- That should do it.
We'll pick up speed|as the pressure on the sails builds.
- Dad, where do we sleep?|- We have hammocks.
- ls this the bathroom?|- Yes.
lt was designed for a zero-gravity|environment.
- How are you supposed to?|- You'll get the hang of it.
We'll tack against the light|most of the way.
We'll run like this for 90 minutes|or so, then come about and l'll calculate the next leg|of our trip.
- How about something to drink?|- Yeah, sure.
Don't tell me we only have|zero-gravity rations.
That's all the ancient Bajorans had.
Listen.
- l don't hear anything.
|- Exactly.
Not even the hum of an engine.
lt's almost like being on the deck|of an old sailing ship, except the stars are not just|up in the sky.
They're all around us.
lmagine how the ancient Bajorans|must have felt, heading into space|in a ship like this one, not knowing what they would find|or who they would meet.
Jake, l know that you really didn't|want to come on this trip.
l just want to say|l'm glad you're here.
There's something|l need to talk to you about.
What is it? First you should read this.
- lt's a story l wrote.
|- A story? That's why you put this away|every time l walked into the room.
lf you keep an eye on the rigging,|l'll read it now.
Deal.
lt looked better where it was.
You might want to know the Lexington|docked a few minutes ago.
Already? l thought it wasn't coming|for another day or two.
She's in Quark's.
OK.
- Are you going to talk to her?|- She's busy.
You never mentioned|she was beautiful.
l never mentioned her to you at all.
Morn gave me 3-1 odds|that you'll exchange pleasantries then say goodbye.
l'm betting that your charm|will take you further.
OK, then.
She's getting up.
See you there.
Bye.
So what do you think? - l liked it.
|- You're not just saying that? No, no.
lt's good.
What about the part where Jared|thinks he's been betrayed? l don't think that he would confront him|with it, not right away.
He could wait until he gets back|from the Demilitarised Zone.
That would make it more believable.
- You really think it was good?|- lt shows a lot of promise.
What? Promise? ln a few places you write about things|you haven't experienced.
l hope you haven't experienced.
Unless you've joined the Maquis|without telling me.
l can't talk about it.
l had you going there.
l really am impressed.
|You should keep writing.
- l'm thinking about it.
|- Don't think about it, just do it.
What l mean is l got a communication from the|Pennington School in New Zealand.
They offered me|a writing fellowship.
Jake, that's terrific.
- l didn't realise you had applied.
|- l didn't really.
l showed a story l wrote|to Mrs O'Brien.
She showed it to a friend|who knows someone at this school The starboard sprit is fouling|one of the mainsails.
Can we fix it? We have to jettison the sprit.
Lock that down|and give me a hand.
One more turn.
Lock it.
Good work.
l'm going to jettison the sprit.
That's better, but we're still getting|a lot of spill off the sails.
We won't be able to make|much headway with each tack.
l don't think we'll get|to the Denorios Belt like this.
The Bajorans probably ran|into these problems.
l suppose they did.
Did they give up and go home? We're here to prove|that they didn't.
What are we waiting for? Let's get to work.
|Lay out the port sprit.
Coming about.
Bring me my chariots of fire l will not cease from mental fight Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand Till we have built Jerusalem ln England's green and pleasant land That was really beautiful, Chief.
|You know what we should do? We should go to Quark's|and sing it for everybody.
l think we should switch|to synthale.
No, this isn'ta synthale kind of night.
She walked right past me, Chief.
Acted like l wasn't even there.
- Do you know what l think?|- What? l think she's in love with you.
- l don't think so.
|- lt's the only explanation.
Unless Unless she really ignored you|because she can't stand you.
lsn't there some explanation|in between? Well, you're not an in-between|kind of guy.
- What do you mean?|- People either love you or hate you.
Really? l hated you when we first met.
l remember.
But now And now? Wellnow l don't.
That means a lot to me, Chief.
|lt really does.
Really.
Now that is from the heart.
l really do not hate you any more.
Hey.
Do you know what l think? lf you want to know|why she ignored you, you have got to confront her.
You're right.
l'm going to go right up to her and ask her flat out where she gets off|walking past me like that.
- Better wait until tomorrow.
|- Why? Why not right now? Because you can barely stand up|right now.
Good point.
Good point.
Good point.
And did those feet in ancient time Walk upon England's mountains Lock it.
Coming about.
Now.
Good.
Solid job.
|Let's take a break.
String up the hammock.
- Hammock time.
|- Yo.
Hop in.
Phew.
Oh, man.
Nice.
- l'm OK.
|- Comfortable, isn't it? We'll make a sailor of you yet.
Congratulations are in order.
|Pennington is a good school.
Before you say anything.
|l'm turning down the Fellowship.
- Turning it down? Why?|- l'm just not ready to go.
An opportunity like this|doesn't come along every day.
l can defer admission for a year.
Fine, but why will things|be different in a year? They just might be, that's all.
l remember, Jake.
|l wasn't much older than you when l left to go|to Starfleet Academy.
For the first few days|l was so homesick that l'd go back to my house|in New Orleans every night for dinner.
l'd materialise in my living room|at 6:30 every night and take my seat at the table|just like l had come down the stairs.
You must have used up a month's worth|of transporter credits.
My parents never said anything|about it.
Just, ''How you doing, son?|How was school today?'' They knew that l would get over|being homesick.
After the fifth, sixth day,|you couldn't pry me from that campus.
lf you go to Pennington, you won't|be able to beam back to the station to have dinner with the old man.
After a week or so,|you'll get over it.
lt's not me l'm worried about.
lt's you.
|lf l go, you'll be all alone.
l appreciate you thinking about me, but please don't turn down|this opportunity on my account.
l can always eat dinner with Dax,|Dr Bashir or even Quark.
l guess, but l'd feel a lot better|if you had someone.
Someone special, like a girlfriend.
l see.
lt's been over a year|since your last date.
A year! You've got to make time|for these things.
l cannot believe that l'm getting|advice about women from my son.
Don't think of me as your son.
Just think of me as another guy, another guy who knows a very attractive|lady who wants to meet you.
You are trying to set me up? Why not? What was that? Whatever hit us almost tore off|the port mainsail.
- We're moving at warp.
|- How can that be? l don't know.
What happened? That's a good question.
There's no record of spatial|anomalies in this region.
- What are these?|- Tachyon eddies.
Could we have got caught in one? Tachyons don't have enough mass|to affect a ship of This isn't an ordinary ship.
lt has more surface area|relative to its mass.
- Because of the sails.
|- Since tachyons travel faster than light, it could be that their impact|on the sails accelerated us to warp speeds.
We could be light years off course.
The question is,|where did we end up? You check the rigging.
|l'll try to figure that out.
We lost the jib and port mainsail.
- Damn!|- What? lt's useless.
Now we can't figure out where we are|or where we're going.
We have to contact the station,|let them know they have to get us.
We were so close.
Another day and we would have|made it to the Denorios Belt.
We did pretty well getting as far|as we did.
- ls something wrong?|- The station's not responding.
- ls the com unit damaged?|- Not as far as l can see.
Maybe they haven't received|our message yet.
Could we have been carried|that far away? l suppose it's possible.
They'll find us eventually, right? Sure.
- Excuse me.
|- Yes? We were at medical school together.
- Julian Bashir.
|- You're Bashir? - You sound surprised.
|- l thought you were Andorian.
Andorian? Someone pointed out an Andorian|at a party and said that was Julian Bashir.
lt was New Year's Eve|at Bruce Lucier's, four years ago.
l did go to that party.
May l? Yes.
With my friend, Erit.
|He's Andorian.
No, thank you.
All these years,|l thought you were someone else.
Didn't you see my speech|at graduation? No, l was waiting to give my speech.
l was so nervous|l almost passed out.
l know the feeling.
You gave me quite a run for my money.
lf it hadn't been|for that pre-ganglionic fibre You know about that.
lf you hadn't got that wrong,|you would be valedictorian.
l never got a chance|to congratulate you.
Seems like a long time ago,|doesn't it? Not so long.
So you got the Lexington.
|You must have had quite an adventure, meeting fascinating new species|with fascinating new diseases.
lt ended up being|more of a charting expedition.
Sometimes it would be months|between planetary systems.
l'd get so excited if we actually|found something living, even if it was just moss|under a rock.
Don't take this the wrong way, but there were times when l regretted|not taking your assignment.
l read your paper on the project|you've been doing on Bajor.
- lt was brilliant.
|- Thank you.
l envy the opportunity you have to work|on that kind of long-term project.
On the Lexington, it was collect|your samples and then move on.
- l suppose l was lucky.
|- What's happening on Bajor? Were you able to get the T-cell|anomalies under control? lf you're really that interested,|l can show you my latest results.
l'd love it.
Morn, about that bet.
l believe|the odds were 3-1 .
We're not going to run out of air|or anything, are we? Somebody will find us|before that happens.
Tell me about this woman|you want me to meet.
Wellshe's a freighter captain.
A freighter captain? Dad, trust me.
You'll like her.
l'll agree to meet her|on one condition.
What? You don't base your decision about|Pennington on how our date turns out.
Don't worry.
l won't.
l've already decided to wait a year.
- Why?|- Well l've heard that you can only write|about what you've experienced.
And Deep Space 9 is a pretty|good place to get experience.
Dad.
lt appears we've got company.
What do you think they want? Looks like we're about to find out.
What can l do for you, Dukat? l wanted to be the first one|to congratulate you.
Congratulate me? On managing to make it|all the way here.
- All the way where?|- Don't you know? You've just entered|the Cardassian system.
The tachyon eddy must have taken us|past the Denorios Belt.
The same thing must have happened|to the ancient Bajorans.
We did it!|We proved the trip was possible.
l hate to interrupt your celebration, but l have a message|from the Cardassian Government.
''Your voyage is a testament|to the spirit of the Bajorans ''who first ventured into space.
|lt could not be more appropriate ''that your arrival coincides|with the discovery here on Cardassia ''of an ancient crash site|believed to contain the remnants ''of one of the Bajoran vessels|whose journey you have just recreated.
'' - What an amazing coincidence.
|- Yes.
lsn't it? Welcome.

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