Star Trek: Deep Space Nine s07e23 Episode Script
Extreme Measures
Chief medical officer's log,|stardate 52645.
7.
Colonel Kira, Garak and Odo|have returned to the station.
l'm yet to make any progress toward|finding a cure for Odo's disease.
- How long do l have?|- l can't be sure.
You can make an educated guess.
First l'd like to talk about slowing down|the progress of the disease with a series of nadion bursts l want a time frame, Doctor.
A week.
|Maybe two with the nadion therapy.
Thank you.
Now l want to see Kira.
Let me emphasise, Odo, that l haven't|given up hope, and you mustn't either.
Understood.
|Now please let me see Kira.
- How do you feel?|- Better.
This contraption of Julian's|seems to alleviate the pain.
Good.
- You should be going soon.
|- l'm not going anywhere.
Damar and Garak|can lead the rebellion.
Damar needs someone who's actually|fought with a resistance movement.
- That's you, not Garak.
|- l'm not leaving until l know you're l want you to leave.
Why? You watched Bareil die|in this very room and l know how that's haunted you.
l don't want your last memory of me to be witnessing my death.
- lsn't that my choice?|- Maybe it is.
And maybe l'm being selfish|telling you all the things l want.
But l don't want the last thing l see to be pain in your eyes.
You'd be surprised how well l can|hide my feelings when l need to.
Not from me.
You have to go, Nerys.
All right.
l can't be a very pleasant sight.
l don't care how you look.
l've got so much to say,|l don't know where to begin.
Just say you love me.
|That's all l've ever cared about.
l love you, Odo.
l love you, Nerys.
l forwarded the schematics of the|Breen weapon to Starfleet Engineering.
They should have a preliminary - Garak and l should be going.
|- She's correct.
We have to evade several Jem'Hadar|patrols to reach Damar's base.
lf we wait,|they may alter their patrol routes.
Chief, is there anything else|before they go? No, sir.
l think we have|all the data we need.
Well, then.
Good hunting to you both.
Thank you, sir.
- Julian|- l'll do everything l can.
Doctor, is there anything|l can do to help? Any additional resources|you might want? No, thank you.
l have everything l need.
Sir, research is not|the only avenue we've been pursuing.
Miles.
Whatever's going on,|l want to know it right now.
We're trying to lure someone|from Section 31 to the station.
What do they have to do with this? We believe they're responsible|for infecting Odo.
We think he became infected when he underwent medical|examination at Starfleet Headquarters.
Section 31 wanted Odo|to transmit the disease to other Founders|when he linked with them.
Genocide.
Committed by people who|call themselves Federation citizens.
Why didn't you come to me earlier? - We felt that|- Miles wanted to tell you, but l ordered him not to.
l'm still waiting for an answer.
We have no proof.
Besides, l knew|that if we told you what we suspected, you'd inform Starfleet Command.
Section 31 would realise we were onto|them and go even deeper into hiding.
What difference did that make? There came a point when|my research was going nowhere.
l couldn't find a cure here in the lab.
So Miles and l decided to look for one|in Section 31 itself.
l sent a false message to Starfleet|Medical saying l had found a cure.
The idea is that when 31 hears about it,|they'll want to destroy Julian's research to prevent it going to Dominion hands.
So you're trying to lure|one of their operatives to the station.
OK, let's say it works.
What then? We capture them, find out|what they know about the disease, who's involved,|and maybe where to find the cure.
How do you propose to do that? l managed to get my hands|on a Romulan memory scanner, sir.
Since they're illegal, l'll assume that's|another reason you didn't come to me.
Yes, sir.
Well.
Setting aside all the legal|and ethical issues involved, l still think this is a pretty long shot.
l do, too.
But l'm afraid it's|the only shot Odo has.
- Can't sleep?|- No.
- How did you get in?|- The lock isn't that complex.
What are you doing up? l was testing the Breen weapon.
l was trying to read, but l kept reading|the same page over and over again.
What were you reading? ''lt was the best of times,|it was the worst of times.
'' ''Tale Of Two Cities''.
|My mother's favourite book.
l was enjoying it.
Except tonight my mind was elsewhere.
Odo? Section 31.
So many people must have been|involved in the conspiracy to infect him with the disease.
Computer experts, doctors,|security officers, admirals, clerks.
ln the end, l came up with|at least 73 people.
For a minute there l thought|you were going to say 70,000.
This organisationthis thing that's slithered its way into the heart of|the Federation, has to be destroyed.
You won't get any argument|from me on that.
But for now, the focus has to be Odo.
The cure has to be our priority.
All right.
- l've had enough.
Have you?|- Sure.
Sleep lightly.
Section 31|may still fall for the trap and show.
l'll be ready.
Lights.
- Hello, Doctor.
|- l didn't think l'd ever see you again.
l have another assignment for you.
Really? What a coincidence.
|Because l have an assignment for you.
l take it l'm supposed to feel shocked|and humbled by your ingenuity.
Frankly, l don't care how you feel.
- Bashir to O'Brien.
|- Yeah? Mr Sloan is here.
|l have him in a containment field.
- l'm on my way.
|- Good.
Bashir out.
- What do you want, Doctor?|- The same thing you want.
The cure to Odo's disease.
What are you talking about?|You have the cure.
No, you don't.
Your message|to Starfleet Medical was just bait.
Which l'm happy to see you swallowed.
Well You've got me.
What good do|you think is going to come of this? You can't turn me over to Starfleet|Security.
You have no evidence.
l'm not interested|in turning you over to anyone.
Hello, again.
Shooting an unarmed man.
|That's a little ungallant, isn't it? You wouldn't have come here|of your own volition.
You're probably right.
Hello, Chief.
How's the family?|Everyone OK at home? - What's that supposed to mean?|- Nothing.
l'd just hate to see anything|happen to them.
Don't listen to him, Chief.
|He's playing games with you.
He doesn't have|a wife and children to worry about.
But if something|were to happen to me What? They'd be killed?|l'm disappointed in you, Sloan.
You don't usually wield|such a blunt instrument.
So am l supposed to guess|what's going on or do l lay here in terror|waiting for you to tell me? l told you what's going on.
You're going to help me find a cure|for Odo's disease.
What makes you think l know it? You came here because|you thought l'd discovered a cure and you wanted to destroy it.
But first you'd have to find it in my lab.
You'd have to know exactly|what you were looking for.
You call that reasoning? lf l wanted to eliminate your work,|l'd just destroy your lab.
Oh, no, Sloan.
That would be too|sloppy.
You like surgical precision.
You came here to destroy the cure, so somewhere in your brain|is the information l want.
- You really expect me to tell you?|- No.
l expect you to resist to the end.
We're ready.
Remember these?|Romulan mind probes.
They're not the most pleasant|of devices, but they're efficient.
They're also illegal in the Federation.
l hope you can appreciate|the irony of that statement.
l don't know anything about the cure.
Then l won't find anything.
- lf Sisko finds out what you're doing|- He knows.
We have his full support.
Julian, l'm sorry about Odo.
But l can't take a chance that the cure|will fall into the hands of the Founders.
l'm afraid the choice is no longer yours.
l misread you.
l thought|you were just a misguided idealist.
But you're a dangerous man.
People like you would destroy|the Federation if given a chance.
Fortunately there are people like me|who will die to protect it.
Damn! He's trying to kill himself! He's|activated a neuro-depolarising device.
l have to stabilise him.
- lf he dies|- The cure for Odo dies with him.
- What's the verdict?|- He's stable for now.
But the neuro-depolariser|did damage his brain.
His higher cortical functions|will fail within the next hour.
He committed suicide|just to prevent us finding the cure.
We had him cornered and he knew it.
He couldn't let one of Section 31's|darkest secrets get away from him.
The cure is still in there somewhere.
This might sound a bit morbid, but what if you used|the Romulan mental probes now? His memory pathways are scrambled to|prevent someone from doing just that.
There has to be a way|to retrieve that data.
Maybe we should just|let him die in peace.
Miles, l need|a multitronic engrammatic interpreter.
Or maybe l'll find you|a multitronic engrammatic interpreter.
This is crazy.
lt will work.
You have me re-routing so many|power relays and transfer coils l can't guarantee this will work|without running diagnostics.
l've already done the diagnostics|in my head.
The neural interface will provide a|basic pattern to my hippocampal nuclei.
l give up.
You've explained it|three times and l still don't get it.
You just have to trust me, Chief.
|l know what l'm doing.
Even if you can link minds with Sloan,|how will you find the cure? Everything will be processed into|images that my mind can comprehend.
ln essence, l'll see the neuronal|pathways in his brain as literal pathways or streets|or corridors or something.
And you'll wander along these streets|looking for a box labelled ''the cure''? lt may be just that simple.
|Or it may be more surrealistic.
l may wind up|in memories of Sloan's childhood.
Will he be aware of what you're doing? l won't know that until l'm there.
We don't know what the conscious|mind can perceive this close to death.
How will you get out? Being genetically enhanced,|l can control my vital signs.
When l want to get out,|l'll raise my blood pressure 40%.
The equipment will break the link.
What if you get disoriented or lost in|a nightmare of Sloan's and he dies? Worst case scenario, l die with him.
|But l think it's a manageable risk.
- l'm going with you.
|- What? You heard me.
|And it's not open to debate.
lf you're going on this lunatic mission,|somebody sane has to be with you.
You just don't want Captain Sisko|to find out what we're doing.
- There's that, too.
|- l'd better get another bed.
How long have we got? Sloan's brain will die|in about 43 minutes.
We have that long to get in,|find the cure and get out.
The analyser is on-line.
Are you ready? No.
But let's do it anyway.
- Julian?|- Miles.
- Why are we in a turbolift?|- l'm not sure.
- l don't remember getting in here.
|- We're in Sloan's mind.
Remember? Sloan.
But we're really still in the lab.
Yes.
This turbolift is just an abstraction.
Where are we going? l don't know, but we're not|wasting any time getting there.
- Aren't you glad you came along?|- Wouldn't have missed it.
- So what do you think?|- l think we've stopped.
- Are you sure?|- Either that or we're falling very slowly.
You mean we can let go? l don't see why not.
- Well?|- Well what? You first.
Oh, no.
This little trip wasn't my idea.
All right, we'll let go together.
On the count of three.
One, twothree.
See? Nothing to worry about.
l wasn't worried.
- What now?|- Good question.
Doctor! Chief O'Brien.
Welcome.
l can't|tell you how happy l am to see you.
We're glad you're happy, Sloan.
Now tell us how to cure Odo|and we can all be happy.
Nothing would|give me greater pleasure.
But there are people|l'd like you to meet.
- We're a bit pressed for time.
|- But you just arrived.
Oh, l see.
You're afraid that if l die|while you're still in here, you'll die, too.
We can't let that happen.
|We'd better hurry.
We're not going anywhere|until you give us the cure.
All right.
lf you insist.
lt's a simple nucleotide|marking sequence.
Radodine You mind repeating that? We're not playing games, Sloan.
l want to tell you|what you need to know.
- Then tell us.
|- l can't.
You see? Part of me doesn't want you to know|until you come to the wardroom.
Maybe we should do as he says.
l don't blame you for being suspicious, but if you want the cure,|you'll have to trust me.
- The clock is ticking.
|- He's right about that.
Follow me.
Relax, Doctor.
|l'm the one who's dying, not you.
- Why Deep Space 9?|- Excuse me? Why does the inside of your head|look like our space station? l wanted you to feel at home.
|Comfortable.
l thought it was the decent thing to do.
Everyone,|if l can have your attention, please.
l hope you'll forgive me|if l take a moment and say a few words.
As l stand here, reunited with|my friends and family for one last time, l want you, the people l love, to know just how sorry l am|for all the pain that l've caused you.
l dedicated my life to the preservation|and protection of the Federation.
This duty, which l carried out|to the best of my ability, took precedence over everything else - my parents, my wife, my children.
l lived in a world of secrets.
|Of sabotage and deceit.
l spent so much time erasing|my movements, covering my tracks, that now, as l look back on my life,|l find nothing.
lt's as if l never really existed.
l cheated you all out of being in my life.
And what's more,|l cheated myself as well.
l know a simple apology|won't change that.
l feel the need to apologise anyway.
No tears, please.
My death|isn't a tragedy, it's a celebration.
ln death, l can finally|step out of the shadows and prove to myself that l existed,|that l lived.
That was beautiful, Luther.
Gentlemen, l'd like you|to meet my wife, Jessica.
This is Dr Bashir and Chief O'Brien.
|lf it weren't for them, l wouldn't be here.
l'd like to thank you for|all you've done for Luther.
And me.
Frankly, being married to him|was a living hell.
- But thanks to you, that's all changed.
|- Congratulations.
Doctor, you've been|a beacon of light to me.
You're living proof that ideology is a poor substitute|for kindness and decency, and that it's our actions, not our beliefs,|that define who we are, what we are.
Yes.
Thank you.
|l'm glad to have been helpful.
But if you don't mind You want me to tell you|how to cure Odo.
Gladly.
My dear, l need that padd|l gave you for safekeeping.
Oh.
Yes, l think l have it here.
Thanks, muffin.
Here you go, Doctor.
l'm sorry, Doctor,|but l can't let you have that.
- Julian?|- Don't look at me for explanations.
- l knew it.
|- Knew what? That this wasn't going to be easy.
- You mind telling me what's going on?|- l have no idea.
The Chief was meant to fix my|sonic shower but he didn't show up.
l asked the computer where he was,|and this is what l found.
- Have any idea who this is?|- Sloan.
He works for Section 31.
Then l'd guess this isn't some kind|of obscure meditation therapy.
- Sisko to lnfirmary.
|- lnfirmary.
Send a medical team to science lab 4|right away.
l wish l knew how long|we've been in here.
- 23 minutes and 11 seconds.
|- Show off.
That leaves us less than 20 minutes|to find a cure and get out.
Locked.
All locked.
Sloan could be hiding|in any of these rooms.
- What's your point?|- He has to want to be found.
- lt's his playing field.
|- You two, stop right there.
- Now what?|- You're in a restricted area.
l thought we were in the cerebellum.
- We're looking for Sloan.
|- Mr Sloan is not available.
We don't have time for this.
|We need to speak to Sloan! - You shot him!|- That really hurt! He was a threat to the Federation.
- You all right?|- Do l look all right? lt doesn't make sense.
lf none of this|is real, why does it hurt so much? Sloan's mind must be|sending sensory stimuli to ours, causing us to experience pain|as if we'd really been shot.
Of course, that's just a theory.
That makes sense.
Maybe this is a|good time for you to get us out of here.
- l can't.
|- What do you mean? l just tried the hypothalamic feedback|loop.
l must be too weak.
What?|Julian, we have to get out of here! l know that! But l've been shot.
|At least my body thinks l have.
l don't believe this.
l'm sorry.
- So this is it?|- lt does look that way.
l should've left a note for Keiko|to let her know what we were planning.
Why worry her? l want them to understand|why l had to do this.
She'll understand.
|She'll know you did it for me.
That's what will upset her the most.
She always said|l liked you more than l liked her.
- That's ridiculous.
|- Right.
Well, maybe you do.
A bit more.
What? Are you crazy?|She's my wife.
l love her.
Of course you love her.
|She's your wife.
l'm just saying|maybe you like me a bit more.
l do not! - You spend more time with me.
|- We work together.
We have more in common.
Julian, you are beginning to annoy me.
Darts, racquetball, Vic's lounge,|the Alamo Need l go on? l love my wife.
And l love Ezri.
Passionately.
- You do?|- Yes.
- Have you told her?|- Not yet.
But l will.
- When?|- When l'm ready.
lt's just that llike you a bit more.
See? There.
l've admitted it.
Well, l love my wife.
What's that? - lt's the tunnel!|- What tunnel? You know the|tunnel to the Great Beyond.
lt is.
|l must say l'm a bit disappointed.
l expected it to be more elaborate.
No.
No.
Come on.
We can't just sit here waiting for death.
Come on.
On your feet, man! - Let's check one more door.
|- What's the point? The point is to do our duty|right up until the end.
Like Travis and Crockett.
One more door.
Dr Bashir's regaining consciousness,|Captain.
How's Miles? l'm fine.
Did you find what you were looking for? No, l'm afraid not.
|We have to go back in.
Sloan is dying.
|We can't risk losing you as well.
He can't die.
Not yet! Get me cordrazine.
Ten milligrams.
His alpha waves are attenuating.
Cortical stimulator.
You're not getting away from me|that easily, Sloan.
lncrease the resonance|frequency 10%.
- His neurosynaptic activity is falling.
|- l know.
15 milligrams of neurotropan.
Come on, Sloan.
Come on back.
- Complete neural failure.
|- No! Doctor, he is dead.
Doctor.
lt's over, Julian.
He's gone.
And so is any hope of curing Odo.
l'm sorry, Odo.
l wish l had better news.
l understand, Doctor.
You've done everything you could, more than l would've thought possible,|and l appreciate it.
ls there anything l can do? Thank you, but right now|l'd simply like to be alone.
Of course.
- How did he take it?|- Better than l would have.
l need some sleep.
So do you.
- Look, Julian|- l know.
l know.
l did all l could.
But it's a small comfort, isn't it? - ''lt was the best of times ''|- ''it was the worst of times.
'' - lt's the first line of the book.
|- So why is it on page 294? Must be a misprint.
|The book starts over again.
lt can't be.
Ezri loaned it to me.
lt used|to be Jadzia's and l know she read it.
- You and Ezri are exchanging books?|- Don't you see what's going on? - She's playing a practical joke.
|- No, she isn't.
lt's Sloan.
We're still inside his mind.
What? These are my quarters.
|Keiko's asleep in there.
No.
Sloan is making us think|we're back on the station.
The book is incomplete|because l haven't finished it.
- You don't know what happens|- So he couldn't finish the story.
- He's trying to stop us finding the cure.
|- We must've been close.
The door we were about to open when|we woke up.
The cure must be in there.
- What's happening?|- Sloan's dying.
- This is it!|- Are you sure? l can tell.
Sloan? Welcome to Section 31, gentlemen.
- You know why we're here.
|- You don't expect me to help you.
You sure you want|to throw that one away? l'm collecting medical information.
lt's not just any report.
|That's on Jaresh-lnyo.
- Former President lnyo?|- The one and only.
My God.
|31 had a man in his cabinet.
Don't let him distract you.
Just one of the little nuggets|lying around in this once-tidy room.
You'd be amazed|at what you could find.
Current operations on Kronos.
|Martok would love to see this.
Julian! Look at this.
Radodine, lidestolinine,|asporanine, adenine.
That's it.
- lt's time we got out of here.
|- Hold on a moment.
These contain all of Sloan's|memories on Section 31.
We could destroy|the entire organisation.
- That'll have to wait.
|- lt's not that simple.
There is no building,|no room like this, in the real world.
Section 31 has no headquarters.
These files, they exist only in the minds|of a very select group of people.
l happen to be one of them.
lf you really want to destroy Section 31,|it's now or never.
He's right.
This is an opportunity|we can't pass up.
Julian, listen to me! He wants us to die with him.
|lf we die, Odo dies too! All my secrets are yours|for the taking, Doctor.
lf you want them badly enough.
Odo needs you, Julian.
|He's counting on you.
You're making|a terrible mistake, Doctor.
l don't think so.
Julian, are you with us? Ezri, you look sobeautiful.
- Did you locate the cure?|- l think so.
But there's only one way|to know for sure.
- Sloan?|- He died about two minutes ago.
He almost took you with him.
Julian, next time you take a trip into|someone's mind, you're going alone.
Right.
l should warn you.
|You may feel some discomfort.
lf you mean it's going to be painful,|just say so.
lt's going to be painful.
All right then.
Go ahead.
When will Odo be up and around? His morphogenic matrix|needs time to heal.
But he should be|his old self in a few days.
Here we go.
l knew Quark|had a bottle of the good stuff.
- This is older than l am.
|- What? l'm drinking with a child.
To aginggracefully.
Very funny.
To Odo.
- Wow.
|- Wow is right.
Tell me something.
lf you'd had time|to read the data in Sloan's mind, do you think we'd have|brought down Section 31? We'll never know.
|But one thing's for sure.
Sloan knew he had the perfect bait,|that l wouldn't be able to resist.
There was one thing he didn't consider.
- What's that?|- You.
To Miles Edward O'Brien.
To friendship.
l better get home.
|Keiko's holding dinner for me.
- This late?|- She's a helluva woman.
- That's why you love her.
|- That's why l love her.
- You wanna come?|- Sure.
7.
Colonel Kira, Garak and Odo|have returned to the station.
l'm yet to make any progress toward|finding a cure for Odo's disease.
- How long do l have?|- l can't be sure.
You can make an educated guess.
First l'd like to talk about slowing down|the progress of the disease with a series of nadion bursts l want a time frame, Doctor.
A week.
|Maybe two with the nadion therapy.
Thank you.
Now l want to see Kira.
Let me emphasise, Odo, that l haven't|given up hope, and you mustn't either.
Understood.
|Now please let me see Kira.
- How do you feel?|- Better.
This contraption of Julian's|seems to alleviate the pain.
Good.
- You should be going soon.
|- l'm not going anywhere.
Damar and Garak|can lead the rebellion.
Damar needs someone who's actually|fought with a resistance movement.
- That's you, not Garak.
|- l'm not leaving until l know you're l want you to leave.
Why? You watched Bareil die|in this very room and l know how that's haunted you.
l don't want your last memory of me to be witnessing my death.
- lsn't that my choice?|- Maybe it is.
And maybe l'm being selfish|telling you all the things l want.
But l don't want the last thing l see to be pain in your eyes.
You'd be surprised how well l can|hide my feelings when l need to.
Not from me.
You have to go, Nerys.
All right.
l can't be a very pleasant sight.
l don't care how you look.
l've got so much to say,|l don't know where to begin.
Just say you love me.
|That's all l've ever cared about.
l love you, Odo.
l love you, Nerys.
l forwarded the schematics of the|Breen weapon to Starfleet Engineering.
They should have a preliminary - Garak and l should be going.
|- She's correct.
We have to evade several Jem'Hadar|patrols to reach Damar's base.
lf we wait,|they may alter their patrol routes.
Chief, is there anything else|before they go? No, sir.
l think we have|all the data we need.
Well, then.
Good hunting to you both.
Thank you, sir.
- Julian|- l'll do everything l can.
Doctor, is there anything|l can do to help? Any additional resources|you might want? No, thank you.
l have everything l need.
Sir, research is not|the only avenue we've been pursuing.
Miles.
Whatever's going on,|l want to know it right now.
We're trying to lure someone|from Section 31 to the station.
What do they have to do with this? We believe they're responsible|for infecting Odo.
We think he became infected when he underwent medical|examination at Starfleet Headquarters.
Section 31 wanted Odo|to transmit the disease to other Founders|when he linked with them.
Genocide.
Committed by people who|call themselves Federation citizens.
Why didn't you come to me earlier? - We felt that|- Miles wanted to tell you, but l ordered him not to.
l'm still waiting for an answer.
We have no proof.
Besides, l knew|that if we told you what we suspected, you'd inform Starfleet Command.
Section 31 would realise we were onto|them and go even deeper into hiding.
What difference did that make? There came a point when|my research was going nowhere.
l couldn't find a cure here in the lab.
So Miles and l decided to look for one|in Section 31 itself.
l sent a false message to Starfleet|Medical saying l had found a cure.
The idea is that when 31 hears about it,|they'll want to destroy Julian's research to prevent it going to Dominion hands.
So you're trying to lure|one of their operatives to the station.
OK, let's say it works.
What then? We capture them, find out|what they know about the disease, who's involved,|and maybe where to find the cure.
How do you propose to do that? l managed to get my hands|on a Romulan memory scanner, sir.
Since they're illegal, l'll assume that's|another reason you didn't come to me.
Yes, sir.
Well.
Setting aside all the legal|and ethical issues involved, l still think this is a pretty long shot.
l do, too.
But l'm afraid it's|the only shot Odo has.
- Can't sleep?|- No.
- How did you get in?|- The lock isn't that complex.
What are you doing up? l was testing the Breen weapon.
l was trying to read, but l kept reading|the same page over and over again.
What were you reading? ''lt was the best of times,|it was the worst of times.
'' ''Tale Of Two Cities''.
|My mother's favourite book.
l was enjoying it.
Except tonight my mind was elsewhere.
Odo? Section 31.
So many people must have been|involved in the conspiracy to infect him with the disease.
Computer experts, doctors,|security officers, admirals, clerks.
ln the end, l came up with|at least 73 people.
For a minute there l thought|you were going to say 70,000.
This organisationthis thing that's slithered its way into the heart of|the Federation, has to be destroyed.
You won't get any argument|from me on that.
But for now, the focus has to be Odo.
The cure has to be our priority.
All right.
- l've had enough.
Have you?|- Sure.
Sleep lightly.
Section 31|may still fall for the trap and show.
l'll be ready.
Lights.
- Hello, Doctor.
|- l didn't think l'd ever see you again.
l have another assignment for you.
Really? What a coincidence.
|Because l have an assignment for you.
l take it l'm supposed to feel shocked|and humbled by your ingenuity.
Frankly, l don't care how you feel.
- Bashir to O'Brien.
|- Yeah? Mr Sloan is here.
|l have him in a containment field.
- l'm on my way.
|- Good.
Bashir out.
- What do you want, Doctor?|- The same thing you want.
The cure to Odo's disease.
What are you talking about?|You have the cure.
No, you don't.
Your message|to Starfleet Medical was just bait.
Which l'm happy to see you swallowed.
Well You've got me.
What good do|you think is going to come of this? You can't turn me over to Starfleet|Security.
You have no evidence.
l'm not interested|in turning you over to anyone.
Hello, again.
Shooting an unarmed man.
|That's a little ungallant, isn't it? You wouldn't have come here|of your own volition.
You're probably right.
Hello, Chief.
How's the family?|Everyone OK at home? - What's that supposed to mean?|- Nothing.
l'd just hate to see anything|happen to them.
Don't listen to him, Chief.
|He's playing games with you.
He doesn't have|a wife and children to worry about.
But if something|were to happen to me What? They'd be killed?|l'm disappointed in you, Sloan.
You don't usually wield|such a blunt instrument.
So am l supposed to guess|what's going on or do l lay here in terror|waiting for you to tell me? l told you what's going on.
You're going to help me find a cure|for Odo's disease.
What makes you think l know it? You came here because|you thought l'd discovered a cure and you wanted to destroy it.
But first you'd have to find it in my lab.
You'd have to know exactly|what you were looking for.
You call that reasoning? lf l wanted to eliminate your work,|l'd just destroy your lab.
Oh, no, Sloan.
That would be too|sloppy.
You like surgical precision.
You came here to destroy the cure, so somewhere in your brain|is the information l want.
- You really expect me to tell you?|- No.
l expect you to resist to the end.
We're ready.
Remember these?|Romulan mind probes.
They're not the most pleasant|of devices, but they're efficient.
They're also illegal in the Federation.
l hope you can appreciate|the irony of that statement.
l don't know anything about the cure.
Then l won't find anything.
- lf Sisko finds out what you're doing|- He knows.
We have his full support.
Julian, l'm sorry about Odo.
But l can't take a chance that the cure|will fall into the hands of the Founders.
l'm afraid the choice is no longer yours.
l misread you.
l thought|you were just a misguided idealist.
But you're a dangerous man.
People like you would destroy|the Federation if given a chance.
Fortunately there are people like me|who will die to protect it.
Damn! He's trying to kill himself! He's|activated a neuro-depolarising device.
l have to stabilise him.
- lf he dies|- The cure for Odo dies with him.
- What's the verdict?|- He's stable for now.
But the neuro-depolariser|did damage his brain.
His higher cortical functions|will fail within the next hour.
He committed suicide|just to prevent us finding the cure.
We had him cornered and he knew it.
He couldn't let one of Section 31's|darkest secrets get away from him.
The cure is still in there somewhere.
This might sound a bit morbid, but what if you used|the Romulan mental probes now? His memory pathways are scrambled to|prevent someone from doing just that.
There has to be a way|to retrieve that data.
Maybe we should just|let him die in peace.
Miles, l need|a multitronic engrammatic interpreter.
Or maybe l'll find you|a multitronic engrammatic interpreter.
This is crazy.
lt will work.
You have me re-routing so many|power relays and transfer coils l can't guarantee this will work|without running diagnostics.
l've already done the diagnostics|in my head.
The neural interface will provide a|basic pattern to my hippocampal nuclei.
l give up.
You've explained it|three times and l still don't get it.
You just have to trust me, Chief.
|l know what l'm doing.
Even if you can link minds with Sloan,|how will you find the cure? Everything will be processed into|images that my mind can comprehend.
ln essence, l'll see the neuronal|pathways in his brain as literal pathways or streets|or corridors or something.
And you'll wander along these streets|looking for a box labelled ''the cure''? lt may be just that simple.
|Or it may be more surrealistic.
l may wind up|in memories of Sloan's childhood.
Will he be aware of what you're doing? l won't know that until l'm there.
We don't know what the conscious|mind can perceive this close to death.
How will you get out? Being genetically enhanced,|l can control my vital signs.
When l want to get out,|l'll raise my blood pressure 40%.
The equipment will break the link.
What if you get disoriented or lost in|a nightmare of Sloan's and he dies? Worst case scenario, l die with him.
|But l think it's a manageable risk.
- l'm going with you.
|- What? You heard me.
|And it's not open to debate.
lf you're going on this lunatic mission,|somebody sane has to be with you.
You just don't want Captain Sisko|to find out what we're doing.
- There's that, too.
|- l'd better get another bed.
How long have we got? Sloan's brain will die|in about 43 minutes.
We have that long to get in,|find the cure and get out.
The analyser is on-line.
Are you ready? No.
But let's do it anyway.
- Julian?|- Miles.
- Why are we in a turbolift?|- l'm not sure.
- l don't remember getting in here.
|- We're in Sloan's mind.
Remember? Sloan.
But we're really still in the lab.
Yes.
This turbolift is just an abstraction.
Where are we going? l don't know, but we're not|wasting any time getting there.
- Aren't you glad you came along?|- Wouldn't have missed it.
- So what do you think?|- l think we've stopped.
- Are you sure?|- Either that or we're falling very slowly.
You mean we can let go? l don't see why not.
- Well?|- Well what? You first.
Oh, no.
This little trip wasn't my idea.
All right, we'll let go together.
On the count of three.
One, twothree.
See? Nothing to worry about.
l wasn't worried.
- What now?|- Good question.
Doctor! Chief O'Brien.
Welcome.
l can't|tell you how happy l am to see you.
We're glad you're happy, Sloan.
Now tell us how to cure Odo|and we can all be happy.
Nothing would|give me greater pleasure.
But there are people|l'd like you to meet.
- We're a bit pressed for time.
|- But you just arrived.
Oh, l see.
You're afraid that if l die|while you're still in here, you'll die, too.
We can't let that happen.
|We'd better hurry.
We're not going anywhere|until you give us the cure.
All right.
lf you insist.
lt's a simple nucleotide|marking sequence.
Radodine You mind repeating that? We're not playing games, Sloan.
l want to tell you|what you need to know.
- Then tell us.
|- l can't.
You see? Part of me doesn't want you to know|until you come to the wardroom.
Maybe we should do as he says.
l don't blame you for being suspicious, but if you want the cure,|you'll have to trust me.
- The clock is ticking.
|- He's right about that.
Follow me.
Relax, Doctor.
|l'm the one who's dying, not you.
- Why Deep Space 9?|- Excuse me? Why does the inside of your head|look like our space station? l wanted you to feel at home.
|Comfortable.
l thought it was the decent thing to do.
Everyone,|if l can have your attention, please.
l hope you'll forgive me|if l take a moment and say a few words.
As l stand here, reunited with|my friends and family for one last time, l want you, the people l love, to know just how sorry l am|for all the pain that l've caused you.
l dedicated my life to the preservation|and protection of the Federation.
This duty, which l carried out|to the best of my ability, took precedence over everything else - my parents, my wife, my children.
l lived in a world of secrets.
|Of sabotage and deceit.
l spent so much time erasing|my movements, covering my tracks, that now, as l look back on my life,|l find nothing.
lt's as if l never really existed.
l cheated you all out of being in my life.
And what's more,|l cheated myself as well.
l know a simple apology|won't change that.
l feel the need to apologise anyway.
No tears, please.
My death|isn't a tragedy, it's a celebration.
ln death, l can finally|step out of the shadows and prove to myself that l existed,|that l lived.
That was beautiful, Luther.
Gentlemen, l'd like you|to meet my wife, Jessica.
This is Dr Bashir and Chief O'Brien.
|lf it weren't for them, l wouldn't be here.
l'd like to thank you for|all you've done for Luther.
And me.
Frankly, being married to him|was a living hell.
- But thanks to you, that's all changed.
|- Congratulations.
Doctor, you've been|a beacon of light to me.
You're living proof that ideology is a poor substitute|for kindness and decency, and that it's our actions, not our beliefs,|that define who we are, what we are.
Yes.
Thank you.
|l'm glad to have been helpful.
But if you don't mind You want me to tell you|how to cure Odo.
Gladly.
My dear, l need that padd|l gave you for safekeeping.
Oh.
Yes, l think l have it here.
Thanks, muffin.
Here you go, Doctor.
l'm sorry, Doctor,|but l can't let you have that.
- Julian?|- Don't look at me for explanations.
- l knew it.
|- Knew what? That this wasn't going to be easy.
- You mind telling me what's going on?|- l have no idea.
The Chief was meant to fix my|sonic shower but he didn't show up.
l asked the computer where he was,|and this is what l found.
- Have any idea who this is?|- Sloan.
He works for Section 31.
Then l'd guess this isn't some kind|of obscure meditation therapy.
- Sisko to lnfirmary.
|- lnfirmary.
Send a medical team to science lab 4|right away.
l wish l knew how long|we've been in here.
- 23 minutes and 11 seconds.
|- Show off.
That leaves us less than 20 minutes|to find a cure and get out.
Locked.
All locked.
Sloan could be hiding|in any of these rooms.
- What's your point?|- He has to want to be found.
- lt's his playing field.
|- You two, stop right there.
- Now what?|- You're in a restricted area.
l thought we were in the cerebellum.
- We're looking for Sloan.
|- Mr Sloan is not available.
We don't have time for this.
|We need to speak to Sloan! - You shot him!|- That really hurt! He was a threat to the Federation.
- You all right?|- Do l look all right? lt doesn't make sense.
lf none of this|is real, why does it hurt so much? Sloan's mind must be|sending sensory stimuli to ours, causing us to experience pain|as if we'd really been shot.
Of course, that's just a theory.
That makes sense.
Maybe this is a|good time for you to get us out of here.
- l can't.
|- What do you mean? l just tried the hypothalamic feedback|loop.
l must be too weak.
What?|Julian, we have to get out of here! l know that! But l've been shot.
|At least my body thinks l have.
l don't believe this.
l'm sorry.
- So this is it?|- lt does look that way.
l should've left a note for Keiko|to let her know what we were planning.
Why worry her? l want them to understand|why l had to do this.
She'll understand.
|She'll know you did it for me.
That's what will upset her the most.
She always said|l liked you more than l liked her.
- That's ridiculous.
|- Right.
Well, maybe you do.
A bit more.
What? Are you crazy?|She's my wife.
l love her.
Of course you love her.
|She's your wife.
l'm just saying|maybe you like me a bit more.
l do not! - You spend more time with me.
|- We work together.
We have more in common.
Julian, you are beginning to annoy me.
Darts, racquetball, Vic's lounge,|the Alamo Need l go on? l love my wife.
And l love Ezri.
Passionately.
- You do?|- Yes.
- Have you told her?|- Not yet.
But l will.
- When?|- When l'm ready.
lt's just that llike you a bit more.
See? There.
l've admitted it.
Well, l love my wife.
What's that? - lt's the tunnel!|- What tunnel? You know the|tunnel to the Great Beyond.
lt is.
|l must say l'm a bit disappointed.
l expected it to be more elaborate.
No.
No.
Come on.
We can't just sit here waiting for death.
Come on.
On your feet, man! - Let's check one more door.
|- What's the point? The point is to do our duty|right up until the end.
Like Travis and Crockett.
One more door.
Dr Bashir's regaining consciousness,|Captain.
How's Miles? l'm fine.
Did you find what you were looking for? No, l'm afraid not.
|We have to go back in.
Sloan is dying.
|We can't risk losing you as well.
He can't die.
Not yet! Get me cordrazine.
Ten milligrams.
His alpha waves are attenuating.
Cortical stimulator.
You're not getting away from me|that easily, Sloan.
lncrease the resonance|frequency 10%.
- His neurosynaptic activity is falling.
|- l know.
15 milligrams of neurotropan.
Come on, Sloan.
Come on back.
- Complete neural failure.
|- No! Doctor, he is dead.
Doctor.
lt's over, Julian.
He's gone.
And so is any hope of curing Odo.
l'm sorry, Odo.
l wish l had better news.
l understand, Doctor.
You've done everything you could, more than l would've thought possible,|and l appreciate it.
ls there anything l can do? Thank you, but right now|l'd simply like to be alone.
Of course.
- How did he take it?|- Better than l would have.
l need some sleep.
So do you.
- Look, Julian|- l know.
l know.
l did all l could.
But it's a small comfort, isn't it? - ''lt was the best of times ''|- ''it was the worst of times.
'' - lt's the first line of the book.
|- So why is it on page 294? Must be a misprint.
|The book starts over again.
lt can't be.
Ezri loaned it to me.
lt used|to be Jadzia's and l know she read it.
- You and Ezri are exchanging books?|- Don't you see what's going on? - She's playing a practical joke.
|- No, she isn't.
lt's Sloan.
We're still inside his mind.
What? These are my quarters.
|Keiko's asleep in there.
No.
Sloan is making us think|we're back on the station.
The book is incomplete|because l haven't finished it.
- You don't know what happens|- So he couldn't finish the story.
- He's trying to stop us finding the cure.
|- We must've been close.
The door we were about to open when|we woke up.
The cure must be in there.
- What's happening?|- Sloan's dying.
- This is it!|- Are you sure? l can tell.
Sloan? Welcome to Section 31, gentlemen.
- You know why we're here.
|- You don't expect me to help you.
You sure you want|to throw that one away? l'm collecting medical information.
lt's not just any report.
|That's on Jaresh-lnyo.
- Former President lnyo?|- The one and only.
My God.
|31 had a man in his cabinet.
Don't let him distract you.
Just one of the little nuggets|lying around in this once-tidy room.
You'd be amazed|at what you could find.
Current operations on Kronos.
|Martok would love to see this.
Julian! Look at this.
Radodine, lidestolinine,|asporanine, adenine.
That's it.
- lt's time we got out of here.
|- Hold on a moment.
These contain all of Sloan's|memories on Section 31.
We could destroy|the entire organisation.
- That'll have to wait.
|- lt's not that simple.
There is no building,|no room like this, in the real world.
Section 31 has no headquarters.
These files, they exist only in the minds|of a very select group of people.
l happen to be one of them.
lf you really want to destroy Section 31,|it's now or never.
He's right.
This is an opportunity|we can't pass up.
Julian, listen to me! He wants us to die with him.
|lf we die, Odo dies too! All my secrets are yours|for the taking, Doctor.
lf you want them badly enough.
Odo needs you, Julian.
|He's counting on you.
You're making|a terrible mistake, Doctor.
l don't think so.
Julian, are you with us? Ezri, you look sobeautiful.
- Did you locate the cure?|- l think so.
But there's only one way|to know for sure.
- Sloan?|- He died about two minutes ago.
He almost took you with him.
Julian, next time you take a trip into|someone's mind, you're going alone.
Right.
l should warn you.
|You may feel some discomfort.
lf you mean it's going to be painful,|just say so.
lt's going to be painful.
All right then.
Go ahead.
When will Odo be up and around? His morphogenic matrix|needs time to heal.
But he should be|his old self in a few days.
Here we go.
l knew Quark|had a bottle of the good stuff.
- This is older than l am.
|- What? l'm drinking with a child.
To aginggracefully.
Very funny.
To Odo.
- Wow.
|- Wow is right.
Tell me something.
lf you'd had time|to read the data in Sloan's mind, do you think we'd have|brought down Section 31? We'll never know.
|But one thing's for sure.
Sloan knew he had the perfect bait,|that l wouldn't be able to resist.
There was one thing he didn't consider.
- What's that?|- You.
To Miles Edward O'Brien.
To friendship.
l better get home.
|Keiko's holding dinner for me.
- This late?|- She's a helluva woman.
- That's why you love her.
|- That's why l love her.
- You wanna come?|- Sure.