defiant star trek deep space nine

• Cast & crew
• User reviews
• Episode aired Nov 21, 1994

Riker arrives on the station to requisition the Defiant in order to fight with the Maquis. Sisko assists Gul Dukat on Cardassia Prime to prevent the ship from entering Cardassian territory. Riker arrives on the station to requisition the Defiant in order to fight with the Maquis. Sisko assists Gul Dukat on Cardassia Prime to prevent the ship from entering Cardassian territory. Riker arrives on the station to requisition the Defiant in order to fight with the Maquis. Sisko assists Gul Dukat on Cardassia Prime to prevent the ship from entering Cardassian territory.

• Gene Roddenberry
• Rick Berman
• Michael Piller
• Avery Brooks
• Rene Auberjonois
• Alexander Siddig
• 12 User reviews
• 4 Critic reviews

• Commander Benjamin 'Ben' Sisko

• Constable Odo

• Doctor Julian Bashir
• (as Siddig El Fadil)

• Lt. Jadzia Dax

• (credit only)

• Chief Miles O'Brien

• Major Kira Nerys

• Cardassian Soldier

• Thomas Riker

• Computer Voice

• (uncredited)

• Starfleet science officer
• Star Fleet Crew Member
• Michael Piller (showrunner)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• Trivia Guest stars Shannon Cochran and Michael Canavan would later marry each other after meeting on set.
• Goofs Commander Sisko folds his arm while trying to convince Gul Dukat that he wants to help disable the Defiant. We see him fold his arms as he says "Then bring me with you..." He leaves his arms folded for several moments as he continues his argument. The camera leaves him for a moment and then when the shot returns to him, we see him fold his arms again as he says "I want to to try and disable it first".

Gul Dukat : [about his son] Today is his eleventh birthday. I'd promised to take him to the amusement center in Lakarian City. He always wanted to go. But I never had the time... I told him, 'This year will be different, Mekor. This year, I will make the time.'

Commander Sisko : I had the same experience with Jake. At that age, they never understand, do they? You just hope that one day later, they'll look back and say: 'Now I understand. Now I know why he did that.'

Gul 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.

• Connections Referenced in Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
• Soundtracks Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Main Title (uncredited) Written by Dennis McCarthy Performed by Dennis McCarthy

User reviews 12

• Apr 21, 2022
• November 21, 1994 (United States)
• United States
• Official site
• Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA (Studio)
• Paramount Television
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 46 minutes

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Designing the Defiant

The script of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ’s Season 3 episode “The Search” called for a new class of warship, one it described as “a little clunky.” This starship “was built primarily for battle,” it said, “not exploration or science.”

The reason for introducing the ship was that Executive Producer Ira Steven Behr and his writers felt that mere runabouts couldn’t defend Deep Space Nine against the Dominion, who had shown themselves capable of destroying a Galaxy -class starship in the Season 2 finale, “The Jem’Hadar”.

“We had all these plans for this Dominion,” said Behr in an interview for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ’s Season 3 DVD, “and what were we going to go after them with? Shuttlecrafts?” He added, “You know, it just seemed ridiculous. So we needed a ship.”

Beefed-up runabout

Yet it was the runabout concept artist Jim Martin initially “beefed up.”

“I started with the cockpit windows,” he recalled in an interview with Star Trek: The Magazine , “and worked my way out, adding things on top of the runabout, making it look like they were adding systems and weapons to an existing ship.”

The producers didn’t like it. “After the idea for the runabout was shot down, it was replaced with the writers’ idea that it was going to be a full-fledged fighting starship called the USS Valiant .” But Herman Zimmerman, Star Trek ’s veteran production designer, cautioned Martin it should still look like something that hadn’t been seen on the show before.

The writers requested a small starship, which was designed by the Federation to battle the Borg. I drew some familiar looking Starfleet designs, but also included a drawing of a small, compact ship that I had done for an entirely different episode of DS9. This is the direction that they chose, I think it was because it was so unique.

The design was inspired by a Maquis fighter Martin had previously designed for Deep Space Nine and it bears resemblance to a small Cardassian vessel, later known as the Hideki class, that Rick Sternbach designed for the Season 2 episode “Profit and Loss.”

Unique design

Zimmerman’s request for something unique was certainly met: Defiant was the first Starfleet ship without external warp nacelles.

Martin didn’t quite recognize the impact it would have:

When you’re in the Art Department and you’re doing the job from episode to episode, you don’t really think, “Boy, this is really going to revolutionize Federation design.” You’re getting a design out of the way. It’s only after the fact that you think, “Wow, that was a different idea.” I’m glad we took the chance to take a little bit of a departure.

The name Valiant was dropped in favor of Defiant out of fear that it might conflict with Star Trek: Voyager and its titular starship.

The design was refined further when Tony Meininger was tasked with building the model. He didn’t think Martin’s drawings made the ship look quite fast enough, so Meininger, a car enthusiast, drew from Ferrari posters to “streamline” it, making the USS Defiant look sleeker and more compact.

The ship was “digitalized” for Star Trek: First Contact by Vision Art and rendered by Industrial Light and Magic. For Deep Space Nine , a digital model was created by Digital Muse.

Adrift, but salvageable

The ship was nearly destroyed in First Contact . Indeed, early drafts of the script suggested it was meant to be lost.

In a DVD commentary for the film, Producer Ronald D. Moore explained that Behr had seen the script and objected to the needless destruction of the ship in a story that didn’t even involve Deep Space Nine . The Defiant was allowed to survive the battle — “adrift, but salvageable” — and hardly a mention of its participation in the battle with the Borg Cube was made in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .

The Defiant was ultimately destroyed in the Season 7 episode “The Changing Face of Evil”, but a replacement showed up just five episodes later.

A brilliantly designed ship.

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Happy 25th Birthday to Star Trek 's Defiant , the Lean, Mean Starship of Deep Space Nine

Even at its most subversive, Star Trek still has to have a few certain kernels of established tropes to really feel like Star Trek —one of those being a ship for our captain and crew to boldly go in. Deep Space Nine , of course, naturally subverted both of these things, giving us a space station and a commander. But even when it could not resist, it still defied expectation with the Defiant .

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On September 26, 1994, “The Search, Part 1”—the debut episode of Deep Space Nine ’s third season—premiered, and brought with it many sea changes that would begin to see the show truly evolve into the dark, dramatic, and compellingly subversive series it is beloved as today . It’s a fascinating turning point: The show had just introduced the alien, deadly threat of the Jem’Hadar, fanatical zealots from the Gamma Quadrant that the Federation couldn’t simply just talk their way out of dealing with.

In hindsight, we know it would bring about a conflict that would define the rest of Deep Space Nine ’s existence, a grim conflict with the mysterious Dominion, a dark chapter that would interrogate and embolden the worth and meaning of the Federation’s deepest values. It would be war—a war that would test the very soul of everything Gene Roddenberry’s vision of Star Trek had held deep in its chest since the days of Kirk and Spock. And Deep Space Nine needed a ship to sail that sea at storm.

It got it in the U.S.S. Defiant .

The Defiant was unlike anything we’d seen on Star Trek before, from the perspective of the Federation. It’s almost, by intent, jarringly alien from what we come to think of when we imagine, up until that point, what a Federation ship could look like. It didn’t have the traditional, large disc-shaped bridge we’d expected of the franchise’s aesthetic, attached by a weirdly dainty (for a starship) neck to those glowing, tubular nacelles. The Defiant was small, sleek, a nippy little thing a fraction of the size of either the original or Next Generation versions of the Enterprise . The smooth edges of those ships were still there in spots, but they were broken up by sharp, aggressive lines. If they were the space trucks of the Star Trek universe, the Defiant was the hot rod, and it packed the heat to match.

And that was the other thing that was distinctly new and alien about the Defiant . Star Trek and The Next Generation are series which defined themselves by the thesis that, in many ways, humanity had finally begun to outgrow its inherent barbarism and look to a utopian future. Its iconic starships were reflective of that. These weren’t battlecruisers and frigates, attack fighters or almighty battlestations; the Enterprise in its myriad iterations was a ship designed for scientific research and exploration first and foremost. The Enterprise -D and its successors housed families and recreational services. That they are not designed with violent conflict in mind as a priority, but also considered the flagships of Starfleet’s navy, speaks to those evolved ideals.

Sure, we’d seen Romulan Warbirds, Klingon Birds of Prey, Borg Cubes—distinctly military vessels, weapons of war. And it’s not like Starfleet ships couldn’t defend themselves, either. Both Kirk and Picard had happily phasered and torpedo’d their ways out of a few dicey situations, and heck, the Enterprise -D specifically had a mode where it could jettison the civilian compartments of itself and turn into a giant, hilarious looking battle craft. But they stood behind the idea that when exploring a dangerous frontier, the best form of attack was often defense.

The Defiant was different: It was the first major Federation vessel we’d seen explicitly designed with war in mind. And in a society that had hoped to believe it had evolved so far beyond that, what did that even look like?

The answer, on a primal level, is incredibly cool .

With the Defiant —and a dash of CG technology, of course— Deep Space Nine could pull off space action unlike anything we’d seen on Star Trek before. “Sacrifice of Angels,” “What You Leave Behind,” “Dominion War,” “A Call to Arms,” the Defiant (and the refit that replaced it when it was destroyed in “The Changing Face of Evil”) led the charge in battles that were on a scale like no other. The cost? Perhaps learning that the Federation is very good at designing weapons of war when its back is against the wall is not as cool as it initially seems to be.

But that’s been a duality Starfleet and Star Trek has been struggling with, and attempting to interrogate, for practically its entire existence, from Captain Kirk to Michael Burnham . Is it a research organization, or a military one? Are its members doctors and engineers, or are they commanders and officers with the rankings to match? What does it mean, paradoxically, that they and Starfleet at large are both?

In a version of the Star Trek galaxy at war, the Defiant became the literal embodiment of that battle for the franchise’s soul—the power to finish a fight so that better, brighter things could rise from its ashes. On the surface, it might look unlike anything we’ve seen from the franchise’s main ships-of-the-line before or since it, but the Defiant is much closer to the heart of some of Star Trek ’s oldest values than you might have thought.

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Published Mar 19, 2015

Designing the Defiant

The script for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ‘s third season episode “ The Search ” called for a new class of warship which it described as “a little clunky.” The vessel “was built primarily for battle,” it said, “not exploration or science.”

The reason for introducing the ship was that executive producer Ira Steven Behr and the show’s writers felt that mere runabouts couldn’t be expected to defend the space station from the Dominion who had shown themselves capable of destroying a Galaxy class starship in the season two finale, “ The Jem’Hadar .”

“We had all these plans for this Dominion,” said Behr in an interview that was included in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's season three DVD, “and what were we going to go after them with? Shuttlecrafts?” He added, “You know, it just seemed ridiculous. So we needed a ship.”

Yet it was the runabout which concept artist Jim Martin initially “beefed up” a little in his first designs for the ship. “I started with the cockpit windows,” he recalled in an interview with Star Trek: The Magazine 1, 4 (August 1999), "and worked my way out, adding things on top of the runabout, making it look like they were adding systems and weapons to an existing ship.”

The producers didn’t like it, though. “After the idea for the runabout was shot down, it was replaced with the writers’ idea that it was going to be a full-fledged fighting starship called the USS Valiant.” But Herman Zimmerman, Star Trek 's veteran production designer, cautioned Martin it should still look like something that hadn’t been seen on the show before.

"The writers requested a small starship which was designed by the Federation to battle the Borg. I drew some familiar looking Starfleet designs but also included a drawing of a small, compact ship that I had done for an entirely different episode of DS9 . This is the direction that they chose, I think it was because it was so unique."

The design was inspired by a Maquis fighter that Martin had previously designed for Deep Space Nine and bears resemblance to a small Cardassian vessel, later known as the Hideki class, that Sternbach designed for the season-two episode, “ Profit and Loss .”

Zimmerman’s request for something unique was certainly met: the Defiant was the first Starfleet vessel without external warp nacelles.

Martin didn’t quite recognize the impact it would have at first. “When you’re in the art department and you’re doing the job from episode to episode, you don’t really think, ‘Boy, this is really going to revolutionize Federation design.’ You’re getting a design out of the way. It’s only after the fact that you think, ‘Wow, that was a different idea.’ I’m glad we took the chance to take a little bit of a departure.”

The name Valiant was dropped in favor of Defiant out of fear that it would conflict with Star Trek: Voyager and its titular starship.

In the season seven episode “ The Changing Face of Evil ,” the Defiant was destroyed -- but a replacement showed up just five episodes later.The ship was nearly destroyed in First Contact. Indeed, early drafts of the script suggested that it was to be destroyed. In a DVD commentary for the film, producer Ronald D. Moore explained that Behr had seen the script and objected to the needless destruction of it in a story that didn’t even involve Deep Space Nine characters besides Worf. The Defiant was therefore allowed to survive the battle — “adrift but salvageable” — and hardly a mention of its participation in the battle with the Borg Cube was made in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .

Nick Ottens is the man behind the Forgotten Trek website. The site bills itself as "the largest resource about the production and behind the scenes of Star Trek." Online since 2002, it features concept art, photographs and interviews, some of which has never been published before.. or until now. Be sure to visit the site at Forgotten Trek and keep an eye on StarTrek.com for future pieces from the site's archive.

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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine : “Defiant”/“Fascination”

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“Defiant” (season three, episode 9; originally aired 11/21/1994)

In which a familiar face returns…

Last week (last Friday, in fact) marked the 25th anniversary of the première of Star Trek: The Next Generation . It’s only appropriate, then, that both parts of this week’s double feature involve crossover between TNG and DS9 . That’s a concept that nearly always sounds cooler than it is, although given that both shows exist in the same storytelling universe, there’s at least some justification for Jonathan Frakes popping into Quark’s for a drink. By now, Picard’s Enterprise had been off the airwaves for over a year, so I imagine the sudden appearance of Riker in the cold open must’ve been an exciting moment for fans of both shows. But this sort of reunion always feels a little forced, a trifle pandering. Will Riker was a terrific presence on TNG , but he doesn’t really belong on this space station—he should be off captaining his own ship by now, and having his own adventures. Which is why the reveal that he’s not Will Riker is so cool. Will is a known quantity; he can have an edge, but he’s a good guy through and through, and he plays by the rules. Tom Riker, on the other hand, is unstable, desperate, and maybe a little nuts.

In case you don’t remember, or your experience with TNG isn’t as encyclopedic as mine (ha!), the episode fills you in: Tom, an exact genetic duplicate of everyone’s favorite first officer, was created in a transporter accident which resulted in two Rikers, one of which continued on up the ranks in Starfleet, the other of which was stuck in an abandoned science station for eight years. “Second Chances,” Tom’s debut (and sole appearance) on TNG is worth checking out, but for the context of “Defiant,” all you need to know is that Tom wasn’t happy to find out that someone else had his name and his life. He comes into this episode with a chip on his shoulder, determined to prove himself as the “better” Riker (or at least distinguish himself from his more successful counterpart), and the most recent manifestation of this drive is his involvement with the Maquis, which has driven him to the somewhat rash decision of stealing the Defiant and making a run on Cardassian territory.

That’s not to say Tom isn’t sincere. This is another Ron Moore script, and Moore excels at writing likeable characters pushed to make extreme, and often foolhardy, decisions. Tom’s commitment to the Maquis is passionate enough to earn Kira’s affections, even while she questions if his goals are worthwhile. On the Enterprise , Will Riker was TNG ’s James T. Kirk, a two-fisted hero who thought good intentions and moral clarity were the best way to approach any problem. Picard’s maturity helped temper Will’s brashness, but Tom doesn’t have any authority figure holding him back, and, since Will is already on the career path, he must spend all his time in Starfleet living in the shadow of the life he thought was his. He gave himself a new name, and now he’s trying to find his own way—which brings us back to that whole ship-stealing thing. It’s a great sequence, as Tom does a good job impersonating the other Riker, right up until he gets what he wants: the access codes to the ship. Then he stuns Kira, beams two other members of the Maquis aboard, and flees.

If “Defiant” has a downside, it’s that, as a character, Tom never really comes into focus. Jonathan Frakes is certainly game, and there’s dramatic potential in the concept, but most of his scenes are either standard “We’re flying into enemy territory, this is very intense” Star Trek boilerplate or Kira trying to argue him into being responsible. To a degree, this makes sense; Tom is interesting, but Kira’s the one we’re invested in, and this is yet another opportunity to contrast her resistance-fighter past against her more law-abiding present. Listening to her explain the difference between a terrorist and a hero is fascinating, and well-argued, so if the episode shortchanges its guest star in favor of her, I’m not going to complain that much. (Hence the “If.”)

Still, this vagueness is problematic when it comes time for the episode’s climax, as Kira works to convince Tom that his cause is lost, and his best bet is to turn himself in to Dukat and his men in order to save his crew. This should be at least moderately suspenseful, because up until this point, Tom has shown no inclination toward turning back or stepping down, not even when the odds are very clearly against him. He’s determined, and what’s more, everything we know about him indicates a man who’s decided to give everything he has to his principles. It’s not unbelievable that he’d stand down in the end, given that he’s not an idiot and the lives of his crew were at stake, but the sequence ought to make us wonder just what he’s going to do, and whether the Riker we know is gone forever. Instead, he listens, thinks a bit, and then goes along with surrendering. The implication is that Kira, with her fervor and top-notch debate skills, managed to wear him down over the course of their journey, but there’s just not enough to Tom for this to register one way or the other. He’s most compelling at the start, when we don’t know his motivations or who he really is. The second half of the episode, he could be any random guest star, just another Starfleet officer so frustrated by the system they decided to take things into their own hands. It still works well enough, but it seems like a missed opportunity.

Even if the ending falls a few degrees shy of greatness, the rest of the hour is strong enough to make up for it; I can even see arguing that the compromised conclusion is part of the point, showing how fiery ideals often fizzle in the light of basic political reality. The latter is best exemplified by the episode’s other plotline, which focuses on Sisko and his efforts to get the Defiant back before lives are lost, and Cardassian treaties are shattered. To do this, Sisko has to travel to Cardassia to work with Gul Dukat and his team; he also has to confess certain technical aspects of the Defiant , like its cloaking device, that he would’ve rather kept secret. Not that Korinas, the Obsidian Order member observing Sisko and Dukat’s team-up, didn’t already know about the cloak. Korinas knows an awful lot, actually, more than even Dukat—and that leads to some complications.

It’s always impressive how much excitement the various Trek series are able to wring out of confrontations which are basically just people standing in various rooms threatening people in other rooms, and “Defiant” is no exception. Sisko’s efforts to figure out where his ship is headed demonstrate once again just how sharp he is, and the importance he puts on protecting his own; Tom’s ill-advised foray would almost certainly lead to a Cardassian backlash against DS9 if he succeeded by even a fraction, and besides, that’s Sisko’s ship he stole, dammit, and you just don’t do that. As always, the interplay between Dukat and Sisko makes for thrilling television, and the effort to place Dukat in a proper context, at odds with the Obsidian Order and missing a playdate with his son, effectively expand on an already rich antagonist. The son speech in particular is a fine piece of work, well-written and beautifully performed; Dukat complains in a way that makes him both more vulnerable, and more of a creep.

Combine all this with the suggestion that the Obsidian Order (which is gradually growing in importance in the show’s mythology) is planning some big military move, and you have an episode that reinforces and strengthens the series’ universe, while finding plenty of time for character drama and a cool crossover from a different show. The conclusion isn’t quite as slam bang as the hour which leads up to it, but there’s an appropriateness to that, deflating as it may be. Tom Riker thought the righteousness of his cause would see him through, but in the end, he’s stuck in a life sentence in a Cardassian labor camp, and who knows if anyone will remember his name.

Stray observations:

• Oh, and Tom kissed Kira before he went away for good. It’s sweet, and the episode sets up their attraction early on, but it still seems less romantic, and more like a contractual obligation.
• Tom reveals himself by pulling off a third of his beard to reveal a clearly villainous goattee. Some things never change.
• “You’re trying to be a hero. Terrorists don’t get to be heroes.” Great line from Kira. I wish the episode had found a way to show us this more, rather than just have her come out and say it, but it’s still a great line.

“Fascination” (season three, episode 10; originally aired)

In which everyone is in the mood for love…

Ah, the classic “love potion” episode, where characters who normally wouldn’t dream of approaching one another suddenly develop passionate attachments designed to evaporate before the end credits. There’s no actual potion in “Fascination,” just Lwaxana Troi sending off empathic hot flashes due to a bad case of the made-up flu, but the principle remains the same: a large chunk of the show’s ensemble is going to embarrass themselves horribly, there’s going to be a lot of awkwardness, and maybe some groping, all of it played for laughs.

I’ll admit to not being a huge fan of the device, primarily because it’s so lightweight. Romantic entanglements on a show are only fun to watch if there is actual consequence behind them, and while Bashir explains that all of the temporary infatuations are based on some deeply buried subconscious desire, he immediately follows that up with, “Best not to think about it.” So none of these means anything. That can be enjoyable in its own way, and this isn’t a terrible episode by any means, but it did end up feeling fairly pointless to me by the end.

It’s mostly because I hate laughter, really, because if you can get past the automatic cringe factor of Jake hitting on Kira, or Vedek Bareil aggressively pursuing Dax, there are some funny bits here. I did chuckle; I’m not made of stone. But the joke of someone being really, really into someone who isn’t into them in any way really only has one note, and that note gets creepy really fast. As a kid, I couldn’t stand Pepe Le Pew cartoons because they always played like gore-free horror shorts to me: Horrible monster pursues terrified victim until victim is forced to capitulate to the fell creature’s desire. Yes, the “monster” was an animated skunk with an outrageous French accent, but he was still a jerk, and that kind of aggressiveness never struck me as all that funny, especially when you take into account just how frightened his targets always seemed to be. None of the targets of unwanted affection in “Fascination” are scared, exactly (although Dax comes close, and Keiko looks like she’s about to shriek when Quark briefly accosts her), but the premise of the humor is misguided. There’s only one joke, and it never varies; the only time it really works is Sisko’s party, when everyone comes crashing together. Oh, and Kira and Bashir’s aggressive make-out is amusing because they’re both into it, even while realizing they probably shouldn’t be. That creates a chance for some good physical comedy, and both actors go to it with gusto.

The other couples, though… When Jake turns his attentions to Kira, we’re supposed to believe it’s part of his coping mechanism for dealing with his breakup with Marta. Clearly something is wrong, though, because as goofy and childish as Jake can sometimes be, he’s not a fool; the fact that Kira is very clearly not into him (and good lord is that scene hard to watch) should’ve ended his crush, or at the very least given him pause before going after her again. But instead, he runs around the station trying to find her. That’s fine for a completely non-threatening 16-year-old, but when Bareil gets into the game, deciding he and Dax are made for each other, it’s no longer amusing. Bareil overdoes the goofiness, but even with that, his constant attempts at physical contact are painful to watch. Then Dax starts groping Sisko. The actors do their best, but the material doesn’t have anywhere to go. The only drama comes from waiting to see who’ll be next to fall, and hoping someone will figure out the problem before the station descends into a giant orgy.

For a Lwaxana Troi episode, there’s surprisingly little of the lady, for good and for ill. In her first appearance on the show ( “The Forsaken” ), her scenes with Odo were a highpoint; they started off much in the same vein as the romances do in this episode (which makes sense—not only is Lwaxana making everyone hot for each other, she’s giving them her technique), but by the end, Troi’s openness and willingness to accept just about anything won the shapeshifter over. Given that Odo’s clearly pining for Kira, who just as clearly has no idea and is still with Bareil, now would seem a perfect time for Lwaxana to swoop in. But while Lwaxana stays with Odo in every scene they share, she’s not truly present. Maybe it’s the sickness taking it out of her, or the way the episode is shaped, but it’s easy to forget she’s even around, and apart from being the root cause of the craziness, she’s not particularly relevant to the story. Which is good and bad; good because too much Lwaxana can be tiresome, but bad because without her yearning for Odo to ground the premise, there are no stakes, and no real drama. There’s a sweet moment at the end, when Lwaxana tells Odo she knows he’s attracted to Kira, because she understands hopeless yearning, but it would’ve been nice to get something like this sooner. Odo’s crush, in its realness, can be funny and sweet and melancholy all at once. Bareil groping Dax has maybe one level to it, if that.

Which means we need to look elsewhere if we want to find any sincerity in this hour at all, and that leaves us with O’Brien, visiting Keiko and Molly for the first time in months. As is so often the case with O’Brien and Keiko stories, this one tries to say some fairly complex and honest things about relationships, and while Keiko comes off as a more of the bad guy than usual, it still fundamentally demonstrates the requirements of a real marriage: two people, compromising again and again. O’Brien is hoping for a magical two days of station time with his family, but when his wife and daughter arrive, Molly is sick and Keiko is stressed. There’s an inevitability to this that makes it more resonant than a hundred of Lwaxana’s empathic mindwipes, and it only gets worse when Keiko tells O’Brien that she’ll need to be on Bajor for a few months longer than they’d originally planned. Here it gets a little mean, as O’Brien is frustrated about the increased time away, and Keiko is bothered by his frustration—this should be an even argument, but given the couples’ history, it’s easy to read Keiko’s response as ungenerous. But then, it’s not like O’Brien is behaving like a prince.

In the end, the two make peace, O’Brien apologizes for being insensitive, and Keiko wears the red dress he likes so much. It’s a nice reminder of the value and solidity of actual relationships amid all the madness. The fact that all the crushes we see are driven by at least some residual feeling doesn’t bode well for Kira and Bareil, unless it’s irrelevant, which it probably is. (The idea that Dax is in some way attracted to Sisko is just strange, considering he’s constantly calling her “Old Man.”) “Fascination” is lightweight, fitfully amusing entry that’s nowhere as bad as it could’ve been, but will still be easy to forget in the morning.

• All of this takes place during the Bajoran Gratitude Festival. I appreciate how consistently the show brings in Bajoran culture; it’s always kind of goofy, but it helps add texture to the world, and the actors (Nana Visitor especially) commit to it.
• Hana Hatae, the little girl who plays Molly, is just ridiculously cute.
• Avery Brooks’ various facial expressions as Dax gropes him are spectacular, and go a long way toward making those scenes work.

Next week: We dive into the time travel well with parts one and two of “Past Tense.”

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Recap / Star Trek Deep Space Nine S 03 E 09 Defiant

Edit locked.

Kira is getting run ragged by work order after work order around the station. It finally comes to a head when she snaps at Bashir, who needs a runabout to transport medical supplies. The good doctor notes how overworked and stressed she is, and he forces her to take some time off.

With Kira forcibly parked at Quark's, Bashir orders her to relax with various stress-relieving tools. And if she doesn't use two of them, she's gonna come back tomorrow. Well, someone offers to assist her in relaxing: Will Riker.

The bearded one is on his own vacation after Dr. Crusher finally forced him to take some time off. Running into Kira, he asks her to show him the new U.S.S. Defiant . After a brief bit of harshness between Riker and O'Brien, Kira powers the ship up . . . and instantly gets phasered by Riker. Faking a plasma conduit malfunction, Riker makes off with the ship.

Two people beam onboard, and "Riker" removes his fake sideburns. This is Thomas Riker, the accidental copy from "Second Chances" .

And the bad news doesn't stop there. With Dukat onboard the station, Odo delivers the info that Thomas Riker is a part of the Maquis. And he's in possession of a lethal new battleship. It's not hard to guess where they're heading with it. Sisko and Dukat reluctantly join forces and head for Cardassia Prime.

As Dukat and Sisko monitor the situation with an Obsidian Order observer in the room, the Defiant attacks Outpost 61. But Sisko notices they made no attempt to cloak and that the warp signature is off. It's a decoy. The actual Defiant uncloaks and destroys Outpost 47 before heading straight into Cardassian territory.

As the Defiant continues to carve a swath of destruction, Sisko again notices something odd: The attacks have forced the Cardassian fleet to leave the seemingly unimportant Orias system undefended. Dukat orders a ship there but is stopped by the observer. The Orias system is under Obsidian Order protection.

The Defiant is headed for the system with an entire Cardassian fleet on their tail. Things get odd when they arrive. Three Cardassian ships move from the planet to defend it. Those aren't ships under Dukat's command. He's outraged to learn that they're under the command of the Obsidian Order, who are forbidden to have any military power.

As Kira tries talking Thomas down, Sisko and Dukat work out a deal: Sisko offers him the Defiant logs, which contain some valuable info on this mysterious sector. In exchange, Sisko wants his ship and the Maquis returned to Federation space for trial.

Dukat won't accept that until Sisko makes a concession: Sisko will give him the logs and Riker. Sisko agrees so long as Thomas isn't sentenced to death, as the Cardassians are so apt to do.

Thankfully, Thomas still has some shred of his other self's honor. To save his crew, he accepts a life sentence in the Lazon II labor camp. And he gives Kira a parting kiss before being beamed away.

Tropes featured:

• Aborted Arc : Kira promises to save Thomas one day. Not counting the expanded universe, that's the last we ever hear of it. The writers were apparently interested in doing a follow-up at the time, but nothing ever came of it by the time the show ended.
• Anti-Villain : Tom Riker - he's the bad guy because he hijacks the Defiant and goes marauding through Cardassian space. But he still tries to act like a Starfleet officer, even surrendering in the end for the sake of his crew. Kira: No... you're trying to be a hero. Terrorists don't get to be heroes.
• Beard of Evil : Full beard=Good. Goatee=Bad.
• The Big Board : The action is portrayed via viewscreens and sensor panels rather than scenes of dramatic space combat , save for one engagement between the Defiant and a Keldon -class warship.
• Call-Back : Thomas Riker returns from the TNG episode " Second Chances ."
• Clone Angst : Kira suggests this is why Thomas Riker is so determined to carry through with a suicidal attack on Cardassia: as a way to set himself apart from William Riker, the successful first officer of the Enterprise .
• When the Obsidian Order officer orders their consoles secured from Sisko, he notes that he would've done the same. In fact, he did .
• Sisko mentions how the Dominion used an antiproton beam to see through the Invisibility Cloak on the Defiant .
• Pretending to be Will, Thomas claims to have once walked away from Quark's with a small fortune and a dabo girl. This is a reference to an incident that was first mentioned in the TNG episode "Firstborn." Quark apparently wasn't able to give Riker his entire payout and still owed him a large sum of money. Riker uses this as leverage to pry information out of him in the episode.
• Maquis member Kalita, from TNG's " Preemptive Strike ", reappears as part of Thomas' crew.
• Death of the Hypotenuse : In a non-romantic version. With an exact copy of Will Riker running about the galaxy, especially one with ties to the Maquis, this story effective removes the Tom Riker from any future stories, as a protagonist or villain.
• Defector from Decadence : Thomas Riker left Starfleet for the Maquis sometime after "Second Chances".
• Double-Meaning Title : It describes both the titular ship, and that a version of William T. Riker is being "Defiant" of Starfleet.
• Bashir brings Kira up short by invoking his authority as CMO to immediately relieve her of duty. When she protests, he states that not even Commander Sisko can override his judgment in matters of a medical nature.
• "Will" Riker's excuse for showing up on the station unannounced, he claims Dr. Crusher ordered him to take some shore leave since he's accumulated three months of it.
• Enemy Mine : The situation forces a team-up between sworn enemies Sisko and Dukat.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones : It wouldn't be a Cardassian episode if one of them didn't contrast their utter ruthlessness with their love for their family. In this episode, Dukat gets distracted by the fact that he missed his son's 11th birthday party . "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."
• Riker is inexplicably hostile to Miles, deliberately avoiding associating with someone very familiar with Will Riker.
• Tom in general is a little out of character as "Will", for those watching for the subtle signs. He doesn't stride with quite the same confidence, he seems slightly nervous giving his excuse for being there to Sisko and is outwardly freaked out when Dax reminds him they've met. At various points, Tom talks about 'not feeling like' going to Quark's despite this being his stated aim for being there. And while he charms Kira, he doesn't outright seduce her the same way we'd expect Will to. He seems to be operating on a clock to hijack the Defiant and finally is noticeably agitated when he realizes O'Brien (whom Will served with for years, but Tom has never met) could blow his cover so close to achieving the goal, hence why he snaps at him. But there's a lot of really subtle acting from Jonathan Frakes throughout the early parts of the episode to hint at this not quite being Commander Riker.
• Gambit Pileup : Sisko representing Starfleet works with Cardassian Central Command's Gul Dukat to stop the Maquis-controlled Defiant . The Maquis themselves believe there is a renegade Cardassian fleet in the Orias system out to attack them. The Obsidian Order observer, Korinas, states that any Central Command ships that enter the Orias system will be destroyed.
• Heroic Sacrifice : A low-key example. Thomas willingly accepts a life sentence in a Cardassian prison in exchange for allowing his Maquis allies to return to the Federation.
• Honey Pot : Riker seduces Kira to gain access to the Defiant .
• I Did What I Had to Do : How Thomas Riker justifies himself to Kira.
• I Know You Know I Know : When Sisko warns the Cardassians about the Defiant ' s cloaking device, Korinas reveals that she already knows about it and was waiting to see if Sisko would mention it. Dukat, on the other hand, is pissed that the Obsidian Order knew about it and didn't tell Central Command.
• Internal Reveal : Minor instance. Dukat learns the Defiant is equipped with a Romulan cloaking device.
• Interservice Rivalry : It's made quite clear by this episode that the Central Command and the Obsidian Order do not get along. At all. The Political Officer from the Order just makes it worse.
• It's All About Me : When Tom Riker refuses to abort his run on the Orias system, even though he has Central Command ships chasing him and Obsidian Order ships in front of him, Kira realizes the mission is more about one-upping his counterpart, Will Riker, than it is about stopping the Cardassians. 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.
• Let Me Get This Straight... : Dukat, when Sisko drops the bomb on who Thomas is. Dukat : Are you telling me that one of the most heavily armed warships in this quadrant is now in the hands of Maquis terrorists?
• Locked Out of the Loop : The Obsidian Order has known about the Defiant cloaking device since "The Search", but intentionally withheld this information from the Central Command. Ostensibly, it's because the Order didn't consider this single cloaking device to be a threat to Union security (and thus irrelevant to the Central Command). Unofficially, though, it's clearly another instance of the Interservice Rivalry between the two governmental branches rearing its ugly head.
• The Men First : Turns out that like Will Riker, Tom cares about the lives of his crew, which Kira uses to convince him to surrender.
• Motive Misidentification : Tom and the Maquis believe the fleet in the Orias System is being built for an all-out attack on the DMZ. " Improbable Cause " will reveal this is not the case.
• Used when the Obsidian Order officer orders sensitive information locked down in Sisko's presence and Sisko notes that he'd do exactly the same thing if there were a Cardassian officer aboard DS9 . Except he would've been more discreet.
• Thomas tries to invoke this with Kira as his and the Maquis's fight against Cardassia being a righteous fight, just like Bajor's. Kira, however, is quick to point out that she was fighting to liberate her homeworld, while Thomas has no reason to attack Cardassia unprovoked, except to differentiate himself from William Riker.
• Not So Similar : Thomas Riker tries to appeal to Kira's history of fighting Cardassians, but she hits back that he's trying to play the selfless hero when she would've used the Defiant during her resistance days to wreak untold destruction.
• Dukat when told the Defiant was hijacked for the Maquis.
• The look on Korinas's face when Sisko figures out the Orias system is Riker's true objective.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business : Dukat is being his usual self as Sisko and Odo explain Thomas Riker's theft of the Defiant to him, but doesn't care. Then Sisko mentions Riker is a member of the Maquis, and Dukat stops, stares at them, and responds with a Flat "What" . This emphasizes that even Dukat recognizes how serious the situation is.
• Out-of-Character Alert : 'Will' Riker snapping at O'Brien for no apparent reason .
• Overshadowed by Awesome : Kira accuses Thomas of simply wanting to find a way to escape Will Riker's shadow and be different. Kira: 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.
• Plea Bargain : After some negotiation, Sisko agrees to let the Cardassians keep Thomas Riker if the Cardassians agree to arrange a sentence for him other than death. They settle on life imprisonment in a Cardassian labor camp.
• Dukat's briefing with Sisko and Odo shows both sides of it. He warns that the Cardassian government won't believe their story of a transporter duplicate stealing the Defiant . Instead, they'll insist the Federation let the Maquis have it and use this event as an excuse to attack the Demilitarized Zone in force. Dukat helps Sisko, however, out of concern of the Federation acting to defend their colonies and a war erupting during a tense situation.
• Despite being terrorists, Riker and his Maquis accomplices only attack Cardassian military targets during their incursion into Union territory. And even then, most of their attacks are hit-and-run raids and feints meant to draw patrols away from the uninhabited Orias system, which is their true objective.
• Properly Paranoid : Downplayed. Thomas Riker was right about the invasion fleet's existence, though a later two-parter will reveal he was way off about its true purpose.
• Reasonable Authority Figure : Amazingly, Gul Dukat plays the role through much of the episode. Even more amazingly, it's genuine and not just his ego convincing himself it is the case.
• Renegade Splinter Faction : The Maquis believe one of these is responsible for the secret military buildup in the Orias system. Turns out it's actually the Obsidian Order.
• Required Spinoff Crossover : A Jonathan Frakes character drops by "coincidentally" a few days after Star Trek: Generations was released.
• The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized : Discussed when Kira chews out Riker and his crew of terrorists for not going on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge with the hijacked Defiant . She tells Riker that if she had a ship like that under her command during the Occupation, she'd have blasted Terok Nor to bits, then continued on to Cardassia Prime and leveled the planet from orbit, killing any Cardassians that tried to stop her. Instead, Riker and his Maquis crew are acting like Starfleet officers on an intelligence-gathering mission. Riker: Maybe we're just different kinds of terrorists. Kira: No, you're trying to be a hero. And terrorists don't get to be heroes.
• When Jadzia tells Riker she was there that night at Quark's a year ago, he initially looks worried. On a first viewing, you're led to believe Will Riker is just concerned about paying back a debt. On the second viewing, you realize Thomas Riker is worried someone there can unravel his cover story.
• Thomas Riker chewing out O'Brien on the Defiant . It seems so out of character, but upon re-watching, it's clear he didn't expect O'Brien to be there and wanted to get him out of there ASAP in order to carry out his plan.
• Screw the Rules, I Make Them! : The Obsidian Order is forbidden from having military equipment, but they control several warships in the Orias System. Korinas doesn't bother justifying it, settling for a smug smile.
• Sequel Episode : To Next Generation 's "Second Chances" .
• Spot the Imposter : Sisko points out the "Defiant" the Cardassians are chasing near Outpost 47 is a fake - the warp signature is right, but the phase variance and subspace harmonics don't match.
• State Sec : Obsidian Order is revealed to have built a secret military force even though they're forbidden from doing so, presumably to maintain a Balance of Power with the military Central Command.
• Stealth Insult : When Sisko is proven right about a suspected feint by the Defiant , the Obsidian Order's liaison very passive-aggressively insults Dukat's command acumen by praising Sisko's. Dukat's humiliated reaction shot shows that the implications are not lost on him. 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.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork : Sisko and Dukat have to work together to overcome Riker's threat. Ironically, they get along much better than Dukat and his Obsidian Order observer, suffering a serious case of Interservice Rivalry .
• The War Room : Dukat and Sisko look for the Defiant in one of Central Command’s control rooms.
• Tranquil Fury : Tom's reaction after Kira deduces he's doing all this not so much to help the Maquis, but to set himself apart from his 'brother'. Tom's icy response shows her hunch is right on the money.
• "You did it, Tom."
• "We have reason to believe Thomas Riker is a member of the Maquis."
• Wham Shot : Riker shooting Kira. And then removing his sideburns, revealing himself to be Thomas Riker.
• What Happened to the Mouse? : Despite Kira vowing to rescue him, Thomas Riker is never seen again in canon, and only gets one brief mention in Star Trek: Lower Decks .
• What the Hell, Hero? : Tom chews Kira out when she sabotages the Defiant and nearly gets herself killed in the process. It's clear he's more upset about the latter than the former.
• Wild Goose Chase : Kira accuses Tom of going on one.
• You Know What You Did : Thomas Riker pulls this on O'Brien, to drive him off and avoid arousing suspicion from him. O'Brien clearly does not know what he did, but Riker's rank is too high for him to protest.

Video Example(s):

Dukat's day off.

After being forced to help track down a major threat on his day off, Dukat laments how he was supposed to be going to an amusement park for his son's birthday.

Example of: Pulled from Your Day Off

• Star Trek Deep Space Nine S 03 E 08 Meridian
• Recap/Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
• Star Trek Deep Space Nine S 03 E 10 Fascination

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11,241--> Report

Defiant (episode)

• View history
• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 1.6 Act Five
• 1.7 Log entries
• 2 Memorable quotes
• 3.1 Production history
• 3.2 Story and script
• 3.3 Production
• 3.4 Deleted/rewritten scenes
• 3.5 Cast and characters
• 3.6 Sets, props, and costumes
• 3.7 Continuity
• 3.8 Reception
• 3.9 Apocrypha
• 3.10 Video and DVD releases
• 4.1 Starring
• 4.2 Also starring
• 4.3 Guest stars
• 4.4 Special Guest Star
• 4.5 Co-Star
• 4.6 Uncredited Co-Stars
• 4.7 Stand-ins
• 4.8.1 Deleted scenes references
• 4.8.2 Script references
• 4.9 External links

Summary [ ]

Major Kira exhausted

Bashir ordering Kira to enjoy herself

In Ops , Major Kira Nerys is having a bad day , swamped with the numerous little details of running a space station . She has problems to handle the cargo of the five Byzatium transports , gets information about the changed schedule of the Byzallian conference , and is informed about a Starfleet requested complete report about the computer calibration subroutine until tomorrow.

At the infirmary , she snaps at Doctor Bashir when he starts complaining to her about the colonization schedule on Campor III . Realizing that she is stressed from overwork, he uses his position as Chief Medical Officer and orders her to take time off; reminding her that not even Commander Sisko can overrule his judgement.

Bashir takes Kira to Quark's and tells her to enjoy herself with at least two things Quark serves her including a holosuite program , a jumja stick , Karvino juice , Lorvan crackers , and gambling token . After resisting first, Kira starts to accept this order. But she is not alone for long as Commander Riker stands nearby at the bar's entrance and asks to join her, hoping she has some room for the unexpected.

Act One [ ]

Riker in Ops

In Commander Sisko's office, Riker tells Sisko that he is on vacation and wanted to visit the station again before continuing his travel on to Risa . Outside the office in Ops, Lieutenant Dax notices that Kira is preoccupied by a certain Commander, though she doesn't want to admit it. When Riker comes out of Sisko's office, Dax makes a reference to their last meeting in Quark's which he does not remember until she reminds Riker that she staked three strips of latinum when his winning streak ran dry.

Kira running into Riker on the Promenade

Riker hangs around the Promenade waiting for Kira to get off duty so he can arrange to "accidentally" run into her. Hesitant at first, she offers him a tour of the station and then at his suggestion, she agrees to show him the USS Defiant . Kira and Riker both enter an authorization code and handprints at the identification panel to enter the Defiant . Lieutenant Jones stands guard outside the airlock.

Major Kira stunned by a phaser

Aboard the Defiant , they find Chief Miles O'Brien working on the bridge trying to improve the vessel's deflector targeting arrays and Riker is none too happy to see him, implying that they have had some falling out. O'Brien is stunned by Riker's cold demeanor. He has no idea what he has done to offend his former first officer but excuses himself rather than intrude on the two of them. Kira, too, is surprised but does not press when Riker says he does not want to talk about it.

She shows him the modifications they have made to the ship's systems, especially the weapons system . Riker asks to access them at the tactical station and, obligingly, Kira uses her authorization code "Kira delta 547 alpha" to release the bridge lockout . This is what Riker wanted and he then stuns Kira with a phaser . While she is unconscious, he arranges for Tamal and Kalita to beam aboard.

Tom Riker removing his false beard

A red alert sounds in Ops as the computer shows an imminent warp core breach aboard the Defiant . Riker contacts them from the Defiant bridge, saying there was an accident and Kira was injured and that if they release the docking clamps , he will take the helm of the Defiant and clear it away from the station. Sisko agrees and will beam them out when they are clear. O'Brien arrives, responding to the red alert. When Sisko orders him to beam Riker and Kira out, O'Brien cannot because the Defiant 's shields are up. Before any of them can react, the Defiant goes to warp .

On the Defiant , Riker has Kalita set a course for the Badlands . He removes his false sideburns ; he is Lieutenant Thomas Riker . Kalita congratulates Tom on his successful commandeering of the Defiant – but he says it is not over yet.

Act Two [ ]

Dukat briefed by Odo and Sisko

Gul Dukat is summoned to a briefing in the wardroom where Odo explains how a transporter accident created a transporter duplicate of William T. Riker on Nervala IV nine years ago . Dukat is "entertained" by this until they tell him that they suspect Thomas Riker is with the Maquis , having expressed support of them while serving on the USS Gandhi . Dukat is furious that such a dangerous weapon of the Federation may now be used to attack Cardassia . Sisko proposes a joint search mission of the Demilitarized Zone , but Dukat says Central Command would use this incident as an excuse to eradicate the Maquis instead. Starfleet would then send a fleet to protect the colonies . War seems inevitable. Sisko agrees to go with Dukat to Cardassia Prime and help them find the Defiant , and if necessary, destroy it.

Riker apologizes to Kira for the deception but he will not be deterred. The Defiant meets with other Maquis ships . They transfer over a crew and then they all head for the Federation-Cardassian border .

Act Three [ ]

The Cardassian War Room

Sisko and Dukat arrive on Cardassia Prime, where the search will be conducted from the Cardassian War Room , the heart of the Cardassian military where Sisko also meets the Obsidian Order observer Korinas who secures all information from intelligence reports after noticing the Human in this secured area.

She asks Sisko for the exact specifications and armament of the Defiant but Sisko stops her request. He reveals that the Defiant is equipped with a loaned Romulan cloaking device . While this is news to Dukat, Korinas says that the Order already knew about it but was hitherto unconcerned that it would be used against Cardassia. Sisko says he can provide partial specifications of an anti-proton beam that the Dominion used to penetrate the cloak.

Kira working on sabotaging the cloak of the Defiant

Under Maquis control, the Defiant passes the security perimeter into the Almatha sector and enters Cardassian territory . After the ship attackes Cardassian Outpost 61 , Dukat orders the fleet of the Sixth Order under the command of Gul Toran to chase the Defiant back into the Demilitarized Zone , but Sisko realizes that the warp signature is wrong, it is a decoy . Dukat recalls Toran's ships but it is too late. The real Defiant uncloaks and destroys Outpost 47 , before cloaking again, its heading takes them into the heart of the Cardassian Union . Korinas leaves with a parting shot at Dukat.

Aboard the Defiant , Riker sets a course for Omekla III and its shipyard . Meanwhile, Kira manages to sabotage the cloak from her quarters by crossing the replicator power converter with the plasma manifold , blowing off two plasma conduits and suffering minor injuries to her shoulder.

Act Four [ ]

The Defiant hiding in a nebula

Kira trying to reach Riker

Tamal treats Kira's injuries. Riker takes her to the bridge where they can keep an eye on her. While they repair the damage she caused, they hide the Defiant in a nearby nebula .

Sisko plots strategy but Dukat is distracted. This is his son Mekor 's eleventh birthday and he wanted his father to take him to an amusement center at Lakarian City . Sisko commiserates, noting that he himself had disappointed his own son from time to time, but it is part of his and Dukat's profession, and he hopes one day his son will understand. Dukat is not encouraged, instead predicting that his son will remember this day with hatred as the only thing he'll remember is a Federation officer on a Federation ship is invading his home and kept his father away from his birthday, something he finds sad.

Korinas threatening Dukat

Kira sees that the Maquis target is the Omekla III shipyard. Riker tells her that they had been getting reports that there were Cardassian hardliners wanting to scrap the peace treaty. They were secretly building up an invasion fleet in the Orias system according to an intelligence report . Kira tries to reach Riker, he is still acting more like a Starfleet officer than a terrorist .

Sisko suddenly tells Dukat that the actions of the Maquis follow a plan. They made no random attacks but are designed to leave one sector alone without any warships – the Orias system. Dukat is about to have Gul Ranor send a ship when Korinas threatens him if he does. The system is under the Obsidian Order's protection and they will defend it by destroying any ship which will reach this system.

Act Five [ ]

Dukat has checked up and no one has been able to get any answers from the Obsidian Order regarding the Orias system, not even the Detapa Council . The Kraxon under the command of Gul Ranor has found a neutrino leak . The cloaked Defiant makes a run for the Orias System but they can track them. Dukat orders all ships to pursue but they cannot catch it.

Suddenly three Keldon -class ships appear out of the Orias system. Dukat is surprised to see this and asks Korinas who the ships belong to, because if they were part of the military, he would know about them. Dukat also mentions that the Obsidian Order is forbidden to possess any military equipment. Korinas seems to be unconcerned about this violation and simply smiles deviously.

Meanwhile, Thomas Riker refuses to back down now, even though it is starting to look hopeless. Kira guesses that this is less about the Maquis cause than it is about distinguishing himself from Commander Riker.

The Defiant engaging the Keldon -class warships

Sisko makes a deal with Dukat: if he will let them surrender and turn over the ship and crew to the Federation , Sisko will turn over the Defiant 's sensor logs which by now contain full scans on the Orias system and whatever the Obsidian Order has been hiding. Dukat agrees only if they keep Riker to punish him for his actions. Sisko reluctantly agrees provided that Dukat arranges for the Ministry of Justice to take the death penalty off the table.

The Obsidian Order's Keldon -class cruisers face off against the Defiant

The Defiant engages the Cardassian ships. They disable the first ship's port nacelle and takes the second ship's weapons off-line. Just at that moment, 3 more ships appear from the Orias system. The Defiant is out-numbered and out-gunned. Riker is about to continue any way when Sisko and Dukat contact him with their deal. He will be sentenced for life to the Lazon II labor camp . Kira pleads for him to think of his crew , only one more time like a Starfleet officer. Riker agrees and is told he must surrender to Gul Ranor on the Kraxon who will protect them from the ships of the Obsidian Order. After the Kraxon extends its shields and protects the Defiant , the Keldon -class starships of the Obsidian Order withdraw.

Riker "says goodbye" to Kira

True to his word, Riker transmits the sensor logs to the Kraxon and then beams over. Kira promises him that his crew will get a fair trial and they will come for him one day. Riker then moves to kiss her then taps his combadge and transports to the Kraxon leaving Kira in command of the Defiant .

Log entries [ ]

• Commander's log, Deep Space 9, 2371

Memorable quotes [ ]

" Listen to me! You can't have a runabout! You cannot get your medical supplies and I don't give a damn about the colonization schedule! Those colonists can make do with a box of bandages for all I care! " " Stop right there, Major! When was your last day off? " " I don't know! What does that have to do with anything? " " If you can't remember, then it's been too long. You're off duty as of this moment. "

" Commander! I'd heard you were aboard but I – I hadn't… " " There's nothing to say to you, O'Brien. I think you know why. "

" Nine years ago, a transporter accident created two William T. Rikers. One of them returned to his ship; the other was marooned on Nervala IV. " " The second Riker was finally discovered two years ago . He chose to use his middle name Thomas to distinguish himself from the other Riker. " " 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 . "

" 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." (laughs) " You be careful – Quark's dabo wheel has been a little stingy lately, and one of his dabo girls is dating my son…"

" I'd promised to take him to the amusement center in Lakarian City. He always wanted to go, but I never had the time. I told him, 'This year will be different, Mekor. This year I will make the time .'" " I had the same experience with Jake. At that age, they never understand, do they? You just hope that, one day later, they'll look back and say, 'Now I understand. Now I know why he did that .'" " 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. "

" The Maquis have been hearing rumors 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. " " You're telling me you did all this to attack some secret base that may or may not exist? " " 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. "

" No, you're trying to be a hero… and terrorists don't get to be heroes. "

" Be a Starfleet officer one last time and think of your crew. "

" You are an experienced Starfleet officer, Tom. Analyze the situation. Going to Orias is suicide. Now the smart move is to make a run for it while we still can. " " Maybe that's what an experienced Starfleet officer would do. Maybe that's what Captain Picard would do. Maybe that's what Commander Will Riker would do. But it's not what I'm going to do. I'm going to continue the mission. " " 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. " " You shouldn't go fishing today; you won't catch anything. "

" Tough little ship. "

Background information [ ]

Production history [ ].

• Production number: 011-40513-455
• Working title : "The Defiant"
• Final draft script: 29 September 1994
• Friday 30 September 1994 – Wardroom ( Paramount Stage 4 )
• Monday 3 October 1994 – Cardassian War Room (Paramount Stage 4)
• Tuesday 4 October 1994 – Cardassian War Room (Paramount Stage 4)
• Wednesday 5 October 1994 – Cardassian War Room, operations center , Sisko's office (Paramount Stage 4)
• Thursday 6 October 1994 – Docking ring corridor (Paramount Stage 4), Promenade , Quark's , infirmary , security office ( Paramount Stage 17 ), Defiant bridge ( Paramount Stage 18 )
• Friday 7 October 1994 – Defiant bridge (Paramount Stage 18)
• Monday 10 October 1994 – Defiant bridge and quarters (Paramount Stage 18)
• Tuesday 11 October 1994 – Defiant quarters (Paramount Stage 18)
• Air date: 21 November 1994

Story and script [ ]

• Ronald D. Moore commented " We had talked early in the year about doing an episode with Tom Riker. Early on we had played with the idea of Tom being the leader of the Maquis movement, that we would suddenly notice that the Maquis was getting a lot better out there and kicking some serious butt. Why? Because Tom Riker has defected, he's their general ". ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 87)
• Sisko 's role in this episode is based on the 1964 Sidney Lumet Cold War thriller Fail Safe , where the President, played by Henry Fonda , is forced to help the Russians shoot down an American plane on its way to launch a nuclear strike on Moscow. ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion  (p. ? ))

Production [ ]

• The Defiant bridge set underwent some alterations for the episode that were requested by Director of Photography Jonathan West . David Livingston commented: " Jonathan West had already shot a show on the Defiant and he asked for some changes in terms of paint scheme and lighting, and now it was pretty together ". ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 88)
• In an outtake from the episode, Avery Brooks and Jonathan Frakes burst into laughter. In another, Frakes falls through a door on the Defiant set. ( Ultimate Trek: Star Trek's Greatest Moments )
• Due to the interleaved production of the Deep Space Nine episodes, the first day of filming of "Defiant" fell together with the last day of the episode " Meridian " and the final day with the first day of production of the episode " Fascination ".
• According to the production report for the first day of filming, 30 September 1994 , 2nd assistant camera operator Cary McCrystal suffered from a backache and went home. He was replaced by John Stradling .
• The Cardassian War Room was pre-lit by the crew on Sunday 2 October 1994 for filming on the following day.
• The production report for the second, third, and fourth day of filming noticed that costumer Jerry Bono was absent and was replaced by Yvonne Kubis .
• To depict the city on Cardassia Prime , a recurring matte painting was used.
• Stunt Coordinator Dennis Madalone was on set on Thursday 6 October 1994 and taught Nana Visitor her stunt fall on the Defiant bridge set.
• According to the call sheets, Avery Brooks was on set looping for the episode " The House of Quark " on 5 October 1994 during production of this episode. Rene Auberjonois did the same for the episodes " Equilibrium " and " Second Skin ".
• On 7 October 1994 , during production of "Defiant", Rene Auberjonois was scheduled to film a special effects scene only, his morphing scene for the episode " The Abandoned ", scene 20. Together with makeup artist Dean Gates , hair stylist Norma Lee , and costumer Jerry Bono he was picked up by a car at 12:30 pm and transported into the valley to Image G North to film this scene in front of a green screen.
• On Friday 7 October 1994 , camera operator Kris Krosskove was absent and replaced by Kristin R. Glover . The same day, transportation coordinator Terry Ahern was absent and replaced by Doug Campbell .
• On Monday 10 October 1994 , director of photography Jonathan West was ill and went home. He was replaced by camera operator Kris Krosskove.
• As side notes on the call sheets, Colm Meaney received a haircut and Jonathan Frakes a hair and beard-cut on Wednesday 5 October 1994 before filming as did Siddig El Fadil on Thursday 6 October 1994 .
• According to the production report, this episode was filmed 1.6 hours under budget.

Deleted/rewritten scenes [ ]

• Scene 2 – A conversation between Odo and Kira in the security office as another example of Kira's exhaustion is included in the final draft script of the episode. [1] According to the call sheet of this episode, the scene was filmed on Thursday 6 October 1994 on Paramount Stage 17 but was ultimatly cut from the final episode.
• Scene 5 pt. – Several lines of the conversation between Sisko and Riker in Sisko's office from the final draft script were also not part of the final episode.
• Scene 22 pt. – The dialogue between Odo, Dukat, and Sisko differs between the script and episode versions. Some minor lines from the script were also left out of the episode.
• Scene 28 pt. – A line of dialogue of Gul Dukat from the script was not part of the episode.
• Scene 38 pt. – Some lines of conversation between Korinas and Sisko at the beginning of the scene were not shown in the episode. In this scene, Korinas questioned the success of Sisko's involvement in this operation.
• Scenes 45-46 – These scenes feature rewritten dialogue of Sisko, Dukat, Tamal, and Riker as the script and episode versions differ.
• Scenes 49-52 – According to the final draft script these scenes were omitted.
• According to the revised call sheet of Wednesday 5 October 1994 , regular background performers Dan Rose and Joni German were replaced as Bajoran officers by Scott Barry and Robin Morselli for the scenes in the operations center.

Cast and characters [ ]

• This episode marks Tricia O'Neil 's third and final Star Trek role. She previously portrayed Rachel Garrett in " Yesterday's Enterprise " and Kurak in " Suspicions ".
• Shannon Cochran reprises her role as Kalita from TNG : " Preemptive Strike ". She would next be seen on Deep Space Nine as Sirella in the sixth season episode " You Are Cordially Invited ".
• Guest stars Shannon Cochran and Michael Canavan would later marry each other after meeting on set. [2]
• Cirroc Lofton ( Jake Sisko ) does not appear in this episode.

Sets, props, and costumes [ ]

• This episode was the only one which featured the Cardassian War Room which was built on Paramount Stage 4 . Other sets of this episode include the wardroom , the operations center , Sisko's office , and the docking ring corridor built on Paramount Stage 4, the Promenade , Quark's , the infirmary , and the security office built on Paramount Stage 17 , and the Defiant bridge and quarters built on Paramount Stage 18 . ( "Defiant" call sheets )
• The large Cardassian viewscreen seen many times in this episode is actually a miniature designed by Gary Hutzel and built by Tony Meininger . The shots of Sisko and Dukat standing in front of the screen were composited shots of the miniature and actors Avery Brooks and Marc Alaimo in front of a bluescreen . ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion  (p. ? ))
• The kanar bottle used by Dukat in the wardroom scene was previously seen in the second season episode " The Maquis, Part II ".
• This was one of the episodes in which Sisko's office was decorated with the models of the Daedalus -class USS Horizon and the International Space Station with a docked space shuttle orbiter .
• The costume worn by Tricia O'Neil as Korinas was later worn by Stunt actress Elle Alexander in the seventh season episode " The Dogs of War " and was sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay. [3]

Continuity [ ]

• This episode introduces a fleet of Keldon -class ships secretly constructed by the Obsidian Order in the Orias system . The later third season episode " Improbable Cause " reveals the reason for their construction: they were to be used in a joint operation by the Obsidian Order and the Romulan Tal Shiar to launch an assault on the Founders ' homeworld, precipitating the Battle of the Omarion Nebula .
• Quantum torpedoes are used for the first time by a Federation starship in this episode. The Cardassian Union had quantum torpedo technology as early as stardate 47582 (mid- 2370 ) as Cardassian ATR-4107 was equipped with these weapons, seen in the Star Trek: Voyager episode " Dreadnought ".
• Thomas Riker calls the Defiant a "tough little ship"; William T. Riker later calls it the same thing in Star Trek: First Contact .
• Although this episode was screened three days after the release of Star Trek Generations , the stardates indicate that it takes place shortly before. This makes sense, as Riker and Sisko's conversation would seem to indicate the Enterprise -D is still active.
• "Defiant" marks the only appearance of William T. Riker in Deep Space Nine as he is featured on the okudagram in the wardroom. The USS Enterprise -D and Beverly Crusher are also referenced.

Reception [ ]

• Jonathan Frakes always felt that the character of Thomas Riker should have returned to DS9 and that there should have been an episode where Kira fulfilled her promise to rescue him. The producers however, seemed to be uninterested in finishing the story arc, as in the fourth season pitch letter to freelance writers, Tom Riker appeared on the list of subjects that they were not interested in hearing about. ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion  (p. ? ))
• On the return of Tom Riker, Ira Steven Behr commented soon after the episode, " We'll probably see a return of Tom Riker episode. What's nice is he's not really a part of Next Generation , so he's ours, and we can do what we want with him and not worry about what the movies will do with Will Riker ". ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 87)

Apocrypha [ ]

• According to the non- canon novel Quarantine , it was Chakotay 's idea for Tom Riker to steal the Defiant from Deep Space 9 by posing as Commander Riker.

Video and DVD releases [ ]

• UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video ): Volume 3.5, 10 April 1995
• As part of the UK VHS collection Star Trek - Crossovers Set : 6 November 1995
• As part of the DS9 Season 3 DVD

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• Avery Brooks as Commander Sisko

Also starring [ ]

• Rene Auberjonois as Odo
• Siddig El Fadil as Doctor Bashir
• Terry Farrell as Lieutenant Dax
• Cirroc Lofton as Jake Sisko
• Colm Meaney as Chief O'Brien
• Armin Shimerman as Quark
• Nana Visitor as Major Kira

Guest stars [ ]

• Marc Alaimo as " Gul Dukat "
• Tricia O'Neil as Korinas
• Shannon Cochran as Kalita
• Robert Kerbeck as Cardassian Soldier
• Michael Canavan as Tamal

Special Guest Star [ ]

• Jonathan Frakes as Riker

Co-Star [ ]

• Majel Barrett as Computer Voice

Uncredited Co-Stars [ ]

• Scott Barry as Bajoran officer
• Ivor Bartels as Cardassian soldier
• Patti Begley as Bajoran officer
• Peopatric Boone as Maquis member
• Ivy Borg as Rita Tannenbaum
• Paul Capp as Cardassian soldier
• Dan Carton as Cardassian soldier
• Brian Demonbreun as Human civilian
• Kathleen Demor as Starfleet operations lieutenant
• Steve Diamond as Bajoran officer
• Mark Finerman as Starfleet command officer
• Jasmine Gagnier as Starfleet operations officer
• Kevin Grover as Cardassian soldier
• Margareta Hammar as Maquis member
• Wade Kelley as Cardassian soldier
• Mark Lentry as Starfleet command lieutenant
• Mark Major as Cardassian soldier
• Mary Mascari as Bajoran woman
• Robin Morselli as Bajoran officer
• Stuart Nixon as Starfleet command lieutenant
• Randy Pflug as Jones
• Kelvin Tsao as Maquis member
• Michael Wajacs as Bajoran civilian
• Ranor (voice)

Stand-ins [ ]

• Ivor Bartels – stand-in for Siddig El Fadil /utility stand-in
• John Lendale Bennett – stand-in for Avery Brooks
• Mark Lentry – stand-in for Rene Auberjonois , Jonathan Frakes , and Robert Kerbeck
• David B. Levinson – stand-in for Armin Shimerman
• Robin Morselli – stand-in for Nana Visitor , Shannon Cochran , and Tricia O'Neil /utility stand-in
• Randy Pflug – stand-in for Colm Meaney , Marc Alaimo , and Michael Canavan
• Dottie Sinclair – stand-in for Nana Visitor /utility stand-in
• Tyler – stand-in for Terry Farrell and Shannon Cochran /utility stand-in

References [ ]

19th century ; 2351 ; 2360 ; 2361 ; 2369 ; 2371 ; afternoon ; airlock ; Almatha sector ; Alpha Quadrant ; amusement center ; anti-proton beam ; Badlands ; Bajoran ; Bajoran earring ; Bajoran Militia ; Bajoran Militia uniform ; Bajoran ranks ; Bajoran Resistance ; bandage ; bar ; baseball ; beard ; bearing ; bed ; belt ; birthday ; border outpost ; border raid ; bottle ; bridge ; bridge ; bridge lockout ; brooch ; bulkhead ; bunkbed ; burn ; Byzallian ; Byzatium transport ; Campor III ; Cardassia ; Cardassian ; Cardassian border ; Cardassian Central Command ; Cardassian court ; Cardassian government ; Cardassian military ; Cardassian nebula ; Cardassian nebula star ; Cardassian outposts ; Cardassian patrol ship ; Cardassian ship ; Cardassian space station ; Cardassian territory ( Cardassian space ); Cardassian uniform ; Cardassian Union ; Cardassian War Room ; 26 Cardassian warships ; Cardassia Prime ; career ; cargo ; cargo bay ; century ; chair ; Changeling ; channel ; checkpoint ; chief ; chief medical officer ; cloaking device ; clock ; cloud ; colonist ; colonization schedule ; colony ; combadge ; command authorization ; command chair ; command code ; command division ; commander ; commander's log ; command table ; communicator ; computer ; computer calibration subroutine ; conference ; conn station ; console ; corridor ; Corvallen ; couch ; course ; crew ; crew quarters ; Crusher, Beverly ; cubic light year ; dabo ; dabo girl ; dabo player ; dabo table ; dabo wheel ; Daedalus -class ; damage report ; date ; day ; day off ; death ; decoy ; Deep Space 9 ; defense system ; Defiant , USS ; Defiant -class ; Defiant -class decks ; Defiant dedication plaque ; deflector targeting array ; Demilitarized Zone ; designer ; desk ; desktop monitor ; Detapa Council ; diagnosis ; dinner ; DNA coding ; docking clamp ; docking ring ; doctor ; Dominion ; door ; duty ; earring ; emergency power ; engine ; engineering station ; Enterprise -D, USS ; exhaustion ; exhaustion ; eye ; face ; family ; father ; Federation ; Federation-Cardassian Treaty ; Federation colony ; female ; Ferengi ; field hospital ; fishing ; fish tank ; flashlight ; fleet ; Galor -class ; gambling token ; Gamma Quadrant ; Gandhi , USS ; glass ; god ; " goose chase "; gul ; handshake ; heading ; heart ; hero ; holosuite ; holosuite program ; homeworld ; Horizon , USS ; hour ; Human ; identification panel ; impulse ; infirmary ; instinct ; intelligence report ; International Space Station ; invasion ; joint operation ; jumja stick ; kanar ; Karvino juice ; Keldon -class ( unnamed ); kilometer ; kiss ; Kraxon ; Kressari ; Lakarian City ; latinum ; Lazon II labor camp ; leave ; level 4 classification ; lieutenant ; lieutenant junior grade ; light year ; loan ; Lorvan cracker ; main power ; main viewer ; major ; male ; Maquis ; Maquis ships ; Mardah ; mark ; M-class ; medical supply ; Mekor ; middle name ; military buildup ; military equipment ; military ship ; mind ; Ministry of Justice ; minute ; model ; monitor ; month ; morning ; mute ; name ; nebula ; Nervala IV ; nerve ; neutrino leak ; neutrino signature ; night ; nose ; observer ; Obsidian Order ; Occupation of Bajor ; office ; officer ; Omekla III ; Omekla III sector ; operations center ; operations division ; Orias system ; Orias system sector ; Orias III ; outer hull ; Outpost 47 ; Outpost 61 ; PADD ; percent ; perimeter alert ; personnel file ; phase change (aka phase shift ); phase variance ; phaser ; phaser array ; phaser locker ; phaser power ; phaser range ; planet ; plasma conduit ; plasma manifold ; plasma relay ; pleasure ; politics ; port ; port nacelle ; Potemkin , USS ; prescription ; price ; primary phaser coupling ; prisoner ; Promenade ; protest ; quadrant ; quantum torpedo ; Quark's ; quarters ; radiation ; rank pip ; Ranor ; red alert ; rendezvous point ; renegade ; replicator ; replicator power converter ; report ; resistance fighter ; resonance frequency ; Riker's date ; Risa ; Romulan ; runabout ; Saltah'na clock ; scan ; schematic ; sciences division ; second ; Second Order ; sector ; security computer ; security guard ; security office ; security perimeter ; security procedure ; sensor ; sensor log ; sensor range ; shields ; shipyard ; sideburns ; Sisko, Jake ; Sixth Order ; son ; space shuttle orbiter ; Squadron Baker ; stairs ; stakes ; star ; starboard shield ; stardate ; Starfleet ; Starfleet uniform ; starship ; stellar cartography ; stress ; strip ; subspace harmonic ; suicide ; table ; tactical display ; tactical station ; tactical system ; terrorist ; thruster ; time ; Toran ; transport ; transporter ; transporter accident ; transporter duplicate ; tray ; treaty ; trial ; Trill ; turbolift ; type 2 phaser ; unnamed medical tools ; unnamed plants ; vacation spot ; vial ; viewer ; viewscreen ; Vulcan (planet) ; Vulcan transport ; war ; wardroom ; warp core ; warp core breach ; warp drive ; warp factor ; warp plasma relay ; warp power ; warp signature ; warp speed ; warship ; weapons system ; week ; window ; year

Deleted scenes references [ ]

bartender ; break-in ; cargo manifest ; communications relay ; Dameron system ; dowry ; Ferengi container ; Ferengi transport ship ; headache ; inventory record ; latinum ; Maquis base ; polaron deflector ; public terminal ; Rokat colony ; shipyard ; space station ; Tholian ambassador ; unit ; vacation ; weapons depot ; wedding

Script references [ ]

Daria ; NORAD ; Orias

External links [ ]

• "Defiant" script  at Star Trek Minutiae
• "Defiant" at StarTrek.com
• " Defiant " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " Defiant " at Wikipedia
• " Defiant " at the Internet Movie Database
• " "Defiant" " at MissionLogPodcast.com , a Roddenberry Star Trek podcast
• 3 Ancient humanoid

Den of Geek

Star Trek Easter Egg Calls Back to a Forgotten Deep Space Nine Episode

The latest episode of Star Trek: Discovery does a less corny version of a goofy classic from Deep Space Nine.

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This Star Trek: Discovery article contains spoilers.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine earned its position as a favorite series among fans because of its more complex take on the franchise’s themes, thrusting the United Federation of Planets into a huge war that tested its moral compass time and again. But even at the height of the Dominion War, DS9 also found time to follow Jake and Nog’s search for a baseball card and to check in on a holographic Rat Pack lounge singer.

But even within that wide range of possibilities, the season three episode “Facets” stands out as an oddball. Written by René Echevarria and directed by Cliff Bole, “Facets” introduced the Zhian’tara ritual, through which Trill hosts find closure for their symbiotes by spreading host personalities to others.

Although “Facets” isn’t exactly a “Sub Rosa” level embarrassment, it is a weird episode that mostly went unmentioned in the larger canon until Discovery reintroduced the Zhian’tara ritual in the season four episode “Choose to Live.” In that episode, the Guardians of Trill use the ritual to separate Grey from the Tal symbiote carried by Adira and into a Soong-style golem. As usual for Discovery , writer Terri Hughes Burton and director Christopher J. Byrne emphasized the emotional over the goofy, not invoking the sillier parts of the idea.

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That’s not the case for this week’s Disco season five episode “ Jinaal .” When Burnham and Book’s search for the secret of the Progenitors brings them to Trill, they find a guide in the form of Jinaal Bix, a host from 800 years ago. Through Zhian’tara, Bix allows Jinaal to embody Dr. Culber, who takes the duo to the next clue.

The stakes of “Facets” weren’t quite so high, and fittingly, neither was the episode’s tone. Jadzia sends the minds of the previous Dax hosts to Quark, Bashir, Leeta, O’Brien, Odo, Kira, and Sisko, who all take on new personalities. O’Brien becomes nervy and scared when Tobin possesses him, while the maternal Audrid softens Quark’s hard edges. The murderous Joran transforms Sisko into a Hannibal Lecter type, making malevolent observations through an invisible holding cell wall.

The most outrageous of the transformations involves, fittingly enough, the shape-shifter Odo, who takes on the identity of Jadzia’s most immediate predecessor Curzon. Although a gregarious man in his life and a close friend to Sisko and the Klingon Martok, Curzon’s joi de vivre makes him selfish, fighting to hold on to his new life. Due to his shape-changing abilities, Odo undergoes a more thorough transformation, as he and Curzon blend into a single being. This new being happens to look a lot like Odo performer René Auberjonois , giving the actor a chance to work with less make-up.

Culber’s transformation isn’t quite so dramatic. The change to Jinaal gives Culber’s actor Wilson Cruz the opportunity to be a swaggering charmer instead of the empathetic physician he usually plays, as well as the opportunity to compliment his own (admittedly very impressive) physique.

Unlike Culber, Auberjonois and Avery Brooks (Sisko) go hard into playing off-beat characters. Never one for subtlety, Brooks chews all the scenery available to him as the evil genius Joran. He never makes for a credible threat (contrast his presence to that of Brad Dourif’s killer ensign Lon Suder in Voyager ), but he is fun to watch.

Likewise, Auberjonois takes advantage of having his face freed from most of the make up he wore on DS9 to mug at every opportunity. Drawing from his many years on stage, Auberjonois exaggerates every gesture. It’s not quite as obnoxious as Brent Spiner ‘s performance in “Masks,” The Next Generation ‘s spiritual predecessor to “Facets,” but it does feel like it comes from a different show.

Which isn’t always a bad thing. Every Trek series has dabbled in other genres, from the gangster episode “A Piece of the Action” on The Original Series to the zombie thriller “Impulse” on Enterprise . Discovery continues that tradition with its current season and episodes like “Jinaal,” showing that Star Trek can handle a wide range of tones, and even get really goofy.

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Star Trek: Discovery is streaming now on Paramount+.

Joe George | @jageorgeii

Joe George’s writing has appeared at Slate, Polygon, Tor.com, and elsewhere!

Star Trek: Best Book-Only Characters

• The Star Trek novels introduce unique characters like Akaar and Treir, adding depth to the expansive Starfleet universe.
• Characters like Nick Keller and Elias Vaughn bring new perspectives to the post- DS9 era, facing challenging galactic events.
• Mackenzie Calhoun leads the USS Excalibur in a new hero ship series, showcasing tactical genius in the New Frontier books.

Just like the universe itself, the Star Trek franchise is huge and far-reaching, encompassing several television shows, and numerous video games, movies, and books. While many of Star Trek 's most iconic characters appear in various series and films, there are many other great characters who only feature in alternative media sources. For instance, the final frontier has spawned some memorable video game-based characters .

Star Trek: 8 Most Powerful Federation Starships, Ranked

Yet perhaps the richest source of characters is the now questionably canon series of books that take place following The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine . From fresh takes on classic species like the Andorians and Orions, to some of Starfleet's finest officers, the Star Trek novels are a treasure trove of notable figures.

Leonard James Akaar

First appearence: star trek mission gamma book one: twilight.

• Author: David R. George III
• Publication Date: September 2002

Leonard James Akaar is unique among novel-only characters in that he does, in fact, make a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance on televised Trek . "Friday's Child," an episode of The Original Series , ends with his birth; however, the Capellan royal would not be seriously fleshed out until 2002's Mission Gamma: Twilight . By the time of the Deep Space 9 novels, Akaar had risen through the ranks of Starfleet to become an influential admiral with the ear of the Federation president.

Akaar's strategic mindset and steely resolve proved essential in preserving the Federation through some of its darkest periods, including the Borg invasion depicted in the Star Trek: Destiny series. The Starfleet legend may have been born in The Original Series , but the Star Trek novels were where he made his name.

First Appearence: Star Trek: Demons of Air and Darkness

• Author: Keith R. A. DeCandido
• Publication Date: September 2001

Star Trek features many inspirational female characters, from Kira Nerys to Katherine Janeway. However, few are as resourceful or as motivated as Treir , an Orion Dabo girl who transformed Quark's Bar into a highly successful business during the post- DS9 novels. Following her escape from Orion servitude, Treir earned her place as Quark's right-hand woman by implementing a series of radical reforms, including hiring a Dabo boy to attract more customers.

Star Trek: The Fates Of Every Live-Action TV Show's Main Character

Treir may not play a significant role in the canon-shattering events depicted in the Deep Space 9 novels, but this ruthless businesswoman helped to make Star Trek 's prose universe feel like a living, breathing place. If anyone is capable of giving Quark a run for his latinum, it's her.

Nick Keller

First appearence: star trek new earth: challenger.

• Author: Diane Carey
• Publication Date: August 2000

New Earth , a series of six novels that take place between Star Trek: The Motion Picture and The Wrath of Khan , was intended to act as a backdoor pilot for a new narrative focusing on Commander Nick Keller . In the final novel, Keller takes command of a makeshift starship in order to defend the human colony of Belle Terre from alien attack. Keller was conflicted between overthrowing his inept captain and preserving the lives of his comrades, and it's a great shame that a full series based on the space cowboy's adventures never emerged.

Interestingly, author Diane Carey based Keller's appearance on Scott Bakula, who would go on to play Captain Jonathan Archer in Star Trek: Enterprise . Keller, however, would make only two more appearances in the Star Trek universe, with both being part of the multi-series Gateways crossover event.

Elias Vaughn

First appearence: star trek: avatar (book one).

• Author: S. D. Perry
• Publication Date: July 2001

Elias Vaughn was a Starfleet officer and intelligence operative who joined Deep Space 9's command staff following the end of the Dominion War . Despite only holding the rank of commander, Vaughn's expertise proved a boon to the Federation outpost, and he played a role in several key events, including the USS Defiant 's post-war exploration of the Gamma Quadrant (depicted in the Mission Gamma sub-series).

Star Trek: 8 Impressive Things Kirk Did Before Joining The USS Enterprise

Vaughn was haunted by the death of his wife, Ruriko, and his troubled relationship with his estranged daughter, Prynn. This relationship was complicated by the fact that Prynn was also assigned to Deep Space 9. However, father and daughter were eventually able to reconcile–but not without some bumps along the way.

Christine Vale

First appearence: star trek: the belly of the beast.

• Author: Dean Wesley Smith

While William Riker's USS Titan has made notable appearances in Star Trek: Lower Decks , the starship's adventures were originally chronicled in a series of spin-off novels. These books featured Christine Vale , a former detective turned Starfleet officer, as Riker's second-in-command. Vale was initially unwilling to take the post, as she disliked the idea of Riker working so closely with his wife, Deanna Troi.

Luckily, Vale took the post, which allowed her to act as a counterweight to any of Riker's Troi-related biases. During her time aboard the USS Titan , she helped to explore the Beta Quadrant and fend off a Borg invasion. Indeed, her record was so good that, following Riker's promotion to admiral, she took command of the Luna -class starship.

Thirishar ch'Thane

From their initial appearance in 1967's "Journey to Babel" and 2001's "The Andorian Incident," references to Star Trek 's Andorians were true and far between. One important detail was disclosed in The Next Generation , however: Andorians have four sexes , with all four required for successful reproduction.

The character of Thirishar ch'Thane (or "Shar") was a response to this premise. Shar served as Deep Space Nine's science officer following the end of the Dominion War, but was torn between his commitments to Starfleet and to his mating group, who wished him to return to Andor. This dilemma was further complicated by a dangerous decline in Andorian fertility, which threatened to cause the Andorians' extinction in the long term. Shar was eventually able to use his scientific knowledge to help solve the Andorian fertility crisis.

The Jem'Hadar are one of Star Trek 's most iconic creations , a powerful race of warriors motivated by their addiction to the chemical ketracel-white. During the Dominion War of 2373–2375, the Jem'Hadar were central to the Dominion assaults which nearly overwhelmed the Federation Alliance.

8 Best Starfleet Ships During The Dominion War

After the war's conclusion, Taran'atar , a Jem'Hadar without a ketracel-white dependency, was sent to Deep Space Nine as a cultural observer. Taran'atar's struggle to adjust to the Alpha Quadrant during peacetime makes for fascinating reading, as does seeing the fearsome warrior growing closer to his former enemies. Taran'atar's story takes some strange twists and turns, but he remains a fascinating character.

Mackenzie Calhoun

First appearence: star trek new frontier: house of cards.

• Author: Peter David
• Publication Date: July 1997

In 1997, Pocket Books published the first of Peter David's New Frontier books. While these novels included several characters from TV Trek (mostly notably Commander Shelby from "The Best of Both Worlds" ), they focused on a new hero ship, the USS Excalibur , and a new captain: Mackenzie Calhoun . Calhoun, an alien warrior modeled after Mel Gibson, was depicted as a tactical genius capable of beating Starfleet's toughest challenges–including the infamous Kobayashi Maru test.

Calhoun soon became a fan-favorite, with his New Frontier series including over 20 volumes. The Xenanian captain was even popular enough to be made into an action figure, the only example of this honor being bestowed on a character originating from any of Star Trek 's novels.

Created by Gene Roddenberry

First Film Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Latest Film Star Trek Beyond

First TV Show Star Trek: The Original Series

Latest TV Show Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Creation Year 1966

Screen Rant

Star trek: discovery just made a mirror universe theory more likely.

A TOS reference in Star Trek: Discovery's season 5 premiere suggests the USS Defiant may return from the Mirror Universe, confirming a fan theory.

WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 1, "Red Directive"

• The return to the Mirror Universe in Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is teased by a Terran Empire logo in the trailer.
• Captain Saru mentions the Tholian Republic as a threat, setting up for a potential return to the Mirror Universe.
• The USS Defiant from Star Trek: The Original Series could play a key role in a bridge to the Mirror Universe in season 5.

One line from Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 1, "Red Directive" makes a return to the Mirror Universe more likely, confirming a fan theory. Discovery last paid a visit to the Mirror Universe in the season 3 two-parter "Terra Firma", in which the Guardian of Forever sent Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) back to her last day as Terran Emperor. The return to the Mirror Universe was part of an elaborate test by the Guardian, now assuming the form of Carl (Paul Guilfoyle) , to prove the positive impact of Georgiou's experiences in the prime Star Trek timeline .

Now it seems that Star Trek: Discovery could be making a final return to the Mirror Universe in season 5. The final trailer for Discovery season 5 appeared to show L'ak (Elias Toufexis) standing in front of what appeared to be the symbol of the Terran Empire . Star Trek: Deep Space Nine revealed that the Terran Empire had fallen in the 24th century, but it's certainly possible that it could have risen again in the 800 years between DS9 and Discovery . How the USS Discovery's treasure hunt would lead to a return to the Mirror Universe is unclear, but there's a small hint in season 5's premiere.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 1 Ending & TNG Treasure Explained

Discovery’s season 5 premiere made a mirror universe theory more likely.

The Star Trek: Discovery season 5 trailer teased a tense gunfight aboard what appeared to be a 23rd century Constitution-class starship. This has led fans to speculate that it could be the USS Defiant from Star Trek: The Original Series , the starship that phased in and out of reality in "The Tholian Web". That theory gets a further boost in Discovery season 5, episode 1, as Captain Saru (Doug Jones) outlines possible threats to the Federation in the 32nd century .

Saru reveals that the Breen Imperium and the Tholian Republic are potential threats to the Federation in Star Trek: Discovery season 5 . It's even possible that either of these classic Star Trek aliens could seek the Progenitors' technology to gain an advantage over the Federation. Saru's mention of the Tholians also gives Discovery a pathway back to the Mirror Universe later in season 5, perhaps affording the chance to settle some unfinished business.

Who Are Star Trek: TOS’ Tholians And How Do They Connect To The Mirror Universe?

In Star Trek: The Original Series , season 3, episode 9, "The Tholian Web", the USS Enterprise encounters the stricken USS Defiant. The entire crew killed each other, driven insane by the effects of a spatial interphase caused by the non-humanoid Tholians. Star Trek: Enterprise revealed that it was the Tholians from the Mirror Universe that had actually dragged the USS Defiant out of their own time and reality, dragging it backwards into the 22nd century. Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) of the ISS Enterprise NX-01 stole the Defiant, but the knowledge contained inside it led to a revolt aboard the ship .

The events of Star Trek: Enterprise 's Mirror Universe episodes later informed Star Trek: Discovery season 1's Mirror Universe arc . When the USS Discovery was dragged into the Mirror Universe by the machinations of Captain Gabriel Lorca, they used the information about the USS Defiant to return to their own reality. At the end of "The Tholian Web" - which takes place after Star Trek: Discovery - the USS Defiant is phased out of reality to parts unknown. Given that the Defiant had been dragged through both time and reality, it could have ended up in the 32nd century, providing Burnham with a bridge to the Mirror Universe.

Star Trek: Discovery streams Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

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Star Trek: Discovery is an entry in the legendary Sci-Fi franchise, set ten years before the original Star Trek series events. The show centers around Commander Michael Burnham, assigned to the USS Discovery, where the crew attempts to prevent a Klingon war while traveling through the vast reaches of space.

Star Trek: The Original Series

Star Trek: The Original Series follows the exploits of the crew of the USS Enterprise. On a five-year mission to explore uncharted space, Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) must trust his crew - Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Forest DeKelley), Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (James Doohan), Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), Chekov (Walter Koenig) and Sulu (George Takei) - with his life. Facing previously undiscovered life forms and civilizations and representing humanity among the stars on behalf of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets, the Enterprise regularly comes up against impossible odds and diplomatic dilemmas.

Star Trek: Enterprise

Star Trek: Enterprise acts as a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, detailing the voyages of the original crew of the Starship Enterprise in the 22nd century, a hundred years before Captain Kirk commanded the ship. Enterprise was the sixth series in the Star Trek franchise overall, and the final series before a twelve-year hiatus until the premiere of Star Trek: Discovery in 2017. The series stars Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer, with an ensemble cast that includes John Billingsley, Jolene Blalock, Dominic Keating, Anthony Montgomery, Linda Park, and Connor Trinneer.