[Quark's]
(A lady laughs, Morn gives a thumbs up and they
both leave. There are no customers left.)
QUARK: Now I know we're doomed.
ROM: Why, brother?
QUARK: Rule of Acquisition two eighty six. When Morn leaves, it's all
over.
ROM: There is no such rule.
QUARK: There should be.
ROM: I know business is bad, but that's no reason
QUARK: Bad? Bad? It's twenty-one hundred hours, the bar's open, there's
a sale on synthehol, and there's no one here!
(Correction, there's a drunken Klingon at a corner table.)
KOZAK: You! Ferengi! Another blood wine! Now!
ROM: At least someone is still here.
QUARK: How many has he had?
ROM: A dozen.
QUARK: I should've gone into insurance. Better hours, more money, less
scruples. It's all Sisko's fault.
ROM: Sisko?
QUARK: That's right. If he'd handled things better with the Dominion,
none of this would've happened. They want a
foothold in the Alpha Quadrant? Cut a deal, make a few arrangements,
give them a little something for their trouble.
ROM: Brother
QUARK: But no, he had to play it tough, so now everyone's afraid of the
Dominion.
ROM: Yes, but brother
QUARK: And that means fewer people on the station, which means fewer
people at Quark's, which means I am out of business.
KOZAK: Where's my wine, you cowering little Ferengi slug?
QUARK: What's the problem?
ROM: He says he's out of money. He's asking for credit.
QUARK: Credit? I'll handle it. Watch and learn.
(Kozak is almost falling out of his seat)
QUARK: My name is Quark. I'd like to discuss arranging a line of
credit.
KOZAK: You dare speak to me like that? You pathetic mak'dar.
(Kozak waves his knife at Quark, who ducks each swipe easily. Then the
Klingon falls forward onto Quark, the pair roll down some steps. When
Quark gets out from under, we see that Kozak's been stabbed with his
own blade.)
(After the title, Bashir and Co. have arrived to examine the body. Odo
is pacing. There's a large crowd gathered outside.)
ROM: How long are they going to leave him there? I wish they would
hurry up and get rid of him.
QUARK: I wish we could put him on display.
ROM: What?
QUARK: Look at them. They're consumed with morbid fascination. They
can't wait to get in here. They all want to know what happened. Was it
a bar fight? What started it? And most of all, who killed the Klingon?
ROM: But no one killed him. It was an accident.
QUARK: I killed him in a bar fight. You heard me. I killed him in
self-defence.
ROM: But where is the profit in lying about a simple drunk
QUARK: Look at that crowd. How long has it been since you've seen that
many customers waiting to get in here? This is an opportunity to turn
everything around.
ROM: This is insane, brother. What if his family comes looking for the
killer? What if they want revenge?
QUARK: If push comes to shove we tell the truth and no harm done. Rom,
let me put it another way. If business doesn't improve, I'll have to
start making a few cutbacks in the operation of my bar. Beginning with
your salary.
ROM: How big of a cutback?
QUARK: I'd probably have to cut it back to zero.
ODO: All right, Quark. Start at the beginning.
ROM: My brother fought a desperate hand to hand battle with the Klingon
and was forced to kill in self-defence!
ODO: You killed him?
QUARK: I'm sorry. I couldn't avoid it.
(Quark makes his way to where he can perform for the crowd outside.)
QUARK: He was abusive, vulgar. A typical drunken Klingon. All that was
fine, till
it came time to pay his bill and he refused. I insisted. We began to
argue. He pushed me. I pushed back. I was about to call for security to
throw him out of my bar when suddenly he pulled a knife on me! I
avoided the first thrust. He came at me again. I hit him with a left
jab. There was a furious exchange of blows. The next thing I knew, his
knife was at my throat. So I twisted it from his grasp and plunged it
into his chest. I will never forget the look on his face when his life
drained away. I'd rather not talk about this anymore.
[O'Brien's quarters]
(Keiko is tending a bonsai when O'Brien comes
home.)
O'BRIEN: Hi, honey.
KEIKO: Hi.
O'BRIEN: Oh, what a day. Synthale, tall glass. We had three Kobheerian
freighter captains who all wanted to use the same docking port. Someone
stole a case of medical supplies from the Infirmary. Two power
failures. How was school?
KEIKO: I closed it.
O'BRIEN: You closed the school? Why? What happened?
KEIKO: My last two Bajoran students left today. Their families
relocated back to Bajor. That left Jake, Nog, and a lot of empty
chairs.
O'BRIEN: What about Jake and Nog? Don't they have to?
KEIKO: I told them I'd be happy to tutor them from now on. Two students
are not enough to sustain a school.
O'BRIEN: I'm really sorry, Keiko.
KEIKO: It's not your fault. Everyone's just afraid of the Dominion.
People aren't going to be moving their families to the station anymore.
That means no more children, which means no more school. Don't look so
upset. It's not like I was planning to be a teacher for the rest of my
life.
O'BRIEN: Keiko.
KEIKO: I'm fine, really.
(And goes over to another bonsai, because she's lying.)
[Quark's]
(Business is great, despite Odo standing there,
arms folded.)
QUARK: Don't worry Constable, I won't be dispatching anymore customers
today. You don't have to keep an eye on me.
ODO: Thank you for putting my mind at ease, but I didn't come here to
protect the patrons from your violent temper.
QUARK: Then what can I do for you?
ODO: I just thought you'd like to know who it was that you killed in
self defence.
QUARK: Sure.
ODO: His name was Kozak. By all accounts a thoroughly disreputable
character, a notorious drunkard.
QUARK: Well, sounds like someone who was going to get himself killed
sooner or later. It's a shame it had to happen here.
ODO: Isn't it? I thought that you would also like to know that Kozak
wasn't just some drifter passing through. In fact, he was the head of a
Klingon family. A rather powerful family from what I can gather. Now,
do you want to change your story or do you want to wait for Kozak's
family to show up and ask to see the Ferengi bartender who killed him?
QUARK: I told you what happened, Constable. Now, either order something
or make room for a paying customer.
(Odo leaves.)
ROM: Brother, didn't you hear what he said?
QUARK: I heard him.
ROM: Then we have to tell the truth. We've made enough profit in the
last few hours to make up for the losses we had
QUARK: It's not about profit anymore. It's about respect.
ROM: It is?
QUARK: You see the way they look at me now? I'm not just some venal
Ferengi trying to take their money. I'm Quark, slayer of Klingons. I've
struck a blow for Ferengi everywhere.
ROM: What about Kozak's family? What if they come here for revenge?
QUARK: If that happens I'll stand up, look them right in the eye, and
offer them a bribe.
[Corridor]
(Quark walks round a corner, gets grabbed by a
Klingon and pushed against the bulkhead.)
D'GHOR: You killed my brother. My brother killed by a miserable
Ferengi. I would never have believed it possible.
QUARK: I can explain.
D'GHOR: You'd better. I want to know exactly how Kozak died. And if I
don't like what I hear.
QUARK: Believe me, you'll like it. He was in my bar. I asked him to pay
his tab. He refused. I was willing to let it go at that but then he
pulled his knife and came at me. And the truth of the matter is, he was
so inebriated that he just fell and
D'GHOR: I hope you're not going to tell me that he died in an accident.
QUARK: You do?
D'GHOR: Yes. Because there's no honour in such a death. And if Kozak
died in disgrace, then that disgrace would be passed along to the rest
of his family. So if you were the cause of an accident that will
dishonour my entire family, then I'm going to kill you and stuff your
miserable corpse out the nearest airlock.
QUARK: I see.
D'GHOR: On the other hand, if he died as a warrior in personal combat,
then there would be no dishonour for him or his family.
QUARK: So what you're saying is if I killed him in personal combat,
that's good?
D'GHOR: Of course it is not good! He was my brother! But it would be
honourable, and an honourable death requires no vengeance. Your life
would be spared.
QUARK: I wish you had been there. You would have been proud of your
brother. He fought a brave and valiant battle right up to the end. It
was an honour to kill him.
D'GHOR: I'm sure it was. Remember that when you tell your customers
about the death of Kozak.
QUARK: You can count on it.
D'GHOR: Qapla'!
QUARK: Meh-ha.
13.24 [O'Brien's quarters]
(O'Brien is setting a romantic dinner for two when
Keiko enters.)
KEIKO: What what's going on?
O'BRIEN: You're five minutes early. The canapés aren't ready yet.
KEIKO: Have I missed something?
O'BRIEN: Now don't tell me you've forgotten what day it is
KEIKO: Well, it's not our anniversary or my birthday or
O'BRIEN: I can't believe you've forgotten. It's 'I'm married to the
most wonderful woman in the galaxy' day. I marked it in your
calendar.
KEIKO: I don't think I'm too familiar with that day.
O'BRIEN: It's an old Irish tradition. Here we go. (opens champagne) I
thought we should start celebrating it.
KEIKO: Too bad it only comes once a year.
O'BRIEN: Actually, it's a very irregular holiday, crops up all over the
place. Sometimes twice a day.
KEIKO: Really? What's the traditional celebration? Cake? Noisemakers?
Fireworks?
O'BRIEN: Oh, definitely fireworks.
(Next morning, they come out of the bedroom)
O'BRIEN: I should be finished the docking inspection by thirteen
hundred hours. How about lunch at the Replimat?
KEIKO: Sounds good to me.
O'BRIEN: It's a date then. See you later.
KEIKO: Hey, I just wanted to thank you for last night. It was
wonderful.
O'BRIEN: You've already thanked me. Have a good day. I'll be on upper
pylon two if you need me.
KEIKO: I'll be here.
(She sits on the settee, sadly, and he leaves.)
[Quark's]
(Quark is checking his takings when a figure in a
cloak enters.)
QUARK: Who's there? We're closed.
GRILKA: Are you Quark?
QUARK: That depends on who's asking.
(It's a Klingon woman)
GRILKA: My name is Grilka. Kozak was my husband.
QUARK: Oh, er, well, er, come in. Can I get you a drink or something to
eat?
GRILKA: I've been told that you are the one who killed my husband.
QUARK: I didn't want to. I had no choice.
GRILKA: Was it an honourable death?
QUARK: Absolutely. He died like a warrior. I'm very sorry this
happened. Is there something I can do?
GRILKA: Actually, there is. Defend yourself!
(Grilka pulls a knife, Quark leaps over the bar and grabs a tray for a
shield. Grilka smiles.)
GRILKA: So this is the man who killed my husband in personal combat.
QUARK: What's going on here? Who are you?
GRILKA: I already told you. I'm Kozak's widow. But first things first,
Quark. I want to know how my husband died, and I want the truth.
QUARK: All right.
(She puts the knife away.)
QUARK: He was drunk and he did try to attack me, but he tripped and
fell on his own knife.
GRILKA: So you lied to the station security officer, to your customers,
and to D'Ghor. You must be quite a liar.
QUARK: It's a gift.
GRILKA: I think it's time you put that gift to work for me.
(She hyposprays Quark unconscious)
GRILKA: Cho'echu!
(Grilka and Quark beam out)
[Grilka's house]
(On the Klingon homeworld, on a slightly shabby
couch, Quark is hypo'd awake)
QUARK: What? What happened? Where am I?
TUMEK: (ancient family retainer) You are on Kronos.
QUARK: Kronos? The Klingon homeworld.
TUMEK: You are in the ancestral home of what used to be known as the
House of Kozak.
QUARK: What's it called now?
TUMEK: Kozak died without a male heir. The House no longer has a name.
QUARK: What about Kozak's brother, D'Ghor?
TUMEK: That pahtk's name is not spoken in this house. He is no brother
to Kozak. His family has been a sworn enemy of this house for seven
generations.
QUARK: But he came to DS Nine. He told me
TUMEK: What he told you were lies. He wanted you to say that Kozak had
died in honourable combat so that no special dispensation would be
granted.
QUARK: I don't understand.
TUMEK: If Kozak had died in an accident and left no male heir, the
Council might have decided that this was an unusual situation and
granted special dispensation. That might have allowed Grilka to become
head of the family even though she's a woman. But if Kozak died in an
honourable fight, and was simply defeated by a better opponent, then no
dispensation would have been granted, and without a male heir the House
will fall.
GRILKA: That hasn't happened yet, Tumek, and there is still time to
prevent it from ever happening.
(She offers a robe to Quark.)
GRILKA: Put this on.
QUARK: Why?
GRILKA: Because if you do not, I will kill you.
TUMEK: I beg you, consider what you do here, mistress.
GRILKA: The decision is made. There is no other choice.
(Quark struggles into the robe and Grilka takes his hand.)
GRILKA: Go'Eveh lu cha wabeh. Mo ka re'Chos.
TUMEK: Repeat my words Go'Eveh lu cha wabeh. To va re'Luk.
QUARK: Let me ask just one
(Grilka puts a knife to Quark's throat)
GRILKA: Repeat the words.
QUARK: Go'Eveh lu cha wabeh to va re'Luk.
TUMEK: Ghos ma'lu Kah!
(Grilka kisses Quark, then spits.)
TUMEK: It is done.
QUARK: What's done?
TUMEK: The ceremony is complete. You are husband and wife.
[Commander's office]
SISKO: And while you're at it, have alpha shift
begin a series of battle drills. I'm not satisfied with their last
performance evaluations.
KIRA: Right.
(O'Brien enters.)
O'BRIEN: Oh excuse me, sir. I can come back later.
SISKO: No, no, no, no. We're done here. What can I do for you?
O'BRIEN: Well, it's kind of private.
DAX: Wife problems, Chief?
O'BRIEN: How did you know?
DAX: I've been a husband and I've been a wife, and I know that look
from both sides. Come on.
KIRA: What?
DAX: This is where we make a graceful exit, and let the boys talk
amongst themselves.
KIRA: (stays sitting) Must be some kind of human thing.
SISKO: Well, I'm sure the old man will be happy to explain it to you on
your way out.
(Dax and Kira leave.)
SISKO: Chief. I guess Keiko must be very upset about the school
closing.
O'BRIEN: That's just it sir. She's acting like she doesn't care, like
there's nothing's wrong.
SISKO: It sounds bad.
O'BRIEN: I've tried to lift her spirits a bit, romantic dinners, long
moonlit walks in the holosuite. I even rearranged my work schedule so I
could spend more time with her. Nothing seemed to make a difference.
SISKO: But now you have an idea
O'BRIEN: Yes, sir. I'd like permission to convert one of the empty
cargo bays into an arboretum.
SISKO: I think bay twenty one would be ideal. The ODN conduits are
shot, and the security systems never worked anyway.
O'BRIEN: So, you're saying yes?
SISKO: It sounds like it to me. Listen, there's nothing harder than
knowing that the person you love is unhappy, and I know how important
it is to do something about it. If one empty cargo bay makes Keiko
happy, then I'm all for it. I just hope it works.
O'BRIEN: So do I. She sacrificed her entire career to be here with me.
I owe her.
SISKO: If there's anything else I can do, just let me know.
O'BRIEN: Thank you, sir.
[Klingon Great hall]
D'GHOR: There being no special circumstances in the
death, and no male heir, I make claim to the title and property of this
fallen House.
GOWRON: The Council has considered your petition and will grant the
transfer once the final rituals have been
GRILKA: The petition is out of order!
D'GHOR: This woman has no place here. Her husband is dead and her House
has fallen. I ask that she be taken from the Hall.
GRILKA: I have performed the brek'tal ritual, Gowron, and I have chosen
a new husband to lead my House. Enter, husband.
(Quark enters)
D'GHOR: A Ferengi cannot be allowed to rule a Klingon House!
GRILKA: All I have done is follow the brek'tal ritual. If the leader of
a House is slain in honourable combat, the victor may be invited to
take his place and his wife. You're the one who made this possible,
D'Ghor. You certified before the Council that Kozak died an honourable
death at the hands of this man. I am simply exercising my rights as an
honoured widow.
D'GHOR: I will have your House and your title, Grilka. And when I am
done, I will place your head and the head of this ridiculous Ferengi
outside the gates.
QUARK: Can I say something? It seems there's some kind of dispute going
on over some land, maybe some other property. I think maybe we should
consider a deal.
D'GHOR: I should kill you right now.
GOWRON: Mev'yap! D'Ghor, you cannot challenge this man in Council
without just cause. We will have to consider this matter carefully
before a final decision is reached. Until then, the brek'tal will be
respected. The House of Kozak is gone. For the time being it will be
known as the House of
QUARK: Quark.
GOWRON: Querk.
QUARK: Quark!
GOWRON: The House of Quark.
[Grilka's house]
GRILKA: I told you not to say anything.
QUARK: I was trying to avoid a lot of unnecessary bloodshed, like my
own.
GRILKA: Just do as I say and there won't be any bloodshed.
QUARK: Fine. What's next? What do we do now? How do we strengthen the
position of your House? How do we keep D'Ghor from carrying out his
threat? What's the plan?
GRILKA: I'm thinking.
QUARK: You don't have a plan, do you? You're just making this up as you
go along.
GRILKA: I've managed to get us this far.
QUARK: But you have no idea where to go from here. Can I make a
suggestion? Let's try having a more equal partnership, shall we?
GRILKA: What do you want?
QUARK: Just tell me what's going on.
GRILKA: Kozak squandered much of our family's wealth, incurred several
large gambling debts, made unwise investments. As a result, the House
has been weakened severely in power and in influence. Much of the debt
is owed to D'Ghor who is now ready to take advantage of our weakness.
If he can gain title of our lands and property, his family will become
a very powerful influence in the Empire. He may even earn a seat on the
Council.
QUARK: Would it be possible for me to see all the financial records of
your House and I mean all of them. D'Ghor's too, if you can arrange it.
Maybe I can find a way out of this mess.
GRILKA: That is not how we do things here. We are Klingons. We do not
dirty ourselves with filthy ledgers looking for some financial trick
QUARK: Look, we've been doing things your way ever since this started,
and now you've run out of ideas, so maybe we should try doing things my
way for a change. It certainly can't hurt to let me look at some filthy
ledgers.
[Replimat]
(O'Brien is designing an arboretum on a PADD.)
BASHIR: Afternoon, Chief.
O'BRIEN: Doctor.
BASHIR: Plomeek soup, hot. Oh, with a touch of basil.
O'BRIEN: What do you think?
BASHIR: You're asking my opinion?
(Bashir takes the PADD and sits down.)
BASHIR: An arboretum. For Keiko, I presume? To make her a little
happier now the school's been closed down.
O'BRIEN: It's not just for Keiko. I mean, it'd benefit the entire
station. Do you think it'll work?
BASHIR: Absolutely. For about two months. Then you'll be right back
where you started.
O'BRIEN: Two months?
BASHIR: Well, it's been my experience that during any serious
disagreement a smile and sweet words will buy you two hours, flowers
will buy you a week, an arboretum, well, that's at least two months.
But in the end, you still have to solve the underlying problem.
O'BRIEN: I thought an arboretum would give her a chance to continue her
studies. Help her find something to do with her time.
BASHIR: Like a hobby.
O'BRIEN: Exactly.
BASHIR: Exactly why it won't work. You can't ask her to turn her
profession into a hobby. Would you be satisfied just puttering around
in a workshop making nano-circuit boards and playing with tricorders?
O'BRIEN: I suppose not.
BASHIR: You're Chief of Operations, I'm a doctor, and Keiko's a
botanist. And until she can be a botanist again, I'm not sure she's
ever really going to be happy.
[Grilka's house]
(Quark's got the information he wanted out of the
computer console.)
QUARK: Very clever. Very clever indeed. D'Ghor has manipulated your
family's holdings, devalued the lands you hold, and he is the principal
creditor on Kozak's outstanding gambling debts. It's no accident your
family's getting weaker and D'Ghor's family is getting stronger. He's
been systematically attacking your family's assets for over five years
now.
GRILKA: You mean D'Ghor has been scheming and plotting like a F?
QUARK: Like a Ferengi.
GRILKA: There is no honour in what he has done. If he wanted to
challenge my House, he should've made a declaration, met our forces in
battle.
QUARK: And risk destroying the very thing he wanted most, your lands
and property?
GRILKA: Can you prove any of this? You can show the Council exactly
what D'Ghor has done?
QUARK: It's all right there. All I have to do is talk them through it.
GRILKA: Thank you, Quark. You may have saved my family.
QUARK: Well, it is the House of Quark, after all.
GRILKA: I really am very grateful for all you've done, Quark. That is
why I'm going to let you take your hand off my thigh instead of
shattering every bone in your body.
QUARK: Let's go talk to the Council.
[Klingon Great hall]
QUARK: So, as you can see from the gross adjusted
assets tabulation in column J, the net value of the land acquisition
was actually zero. Now, if you go to the file marked Devaluation of
Capital Income, we can review the way D'Ghor
GOWRON: Enough! I don't want to hear anything more about finances,
mergers, or currency transactions. The charge has been made that you
have used money to bring down a great House. What do you say to this,
D'Ghor?
D'GHOR: I say that he is a liar, that he has smeared my name and I
demand vengeance through personal combat. I have discovered new
evidence, evidence which proves Kozak did not die honourably. That he
actually died in an accident. I have a witness who will say he watched
Kozak trip and fall on his own blade and that Quark made up the entire
story.
QUARK: I don't know what he's trying to pull here. The only other
person who was there was
ROM: Hello, brother.
[Grilka's house]
QUARK: Come on, this way. And keep quiet.
(But when they get to the main door, Tumek blocks their way.)
GRILKA: I thought you might try to leave.
QUARK: Look, I have done my part in this little game of yours and I am
sorry about your House and title, but there's a man out there who wants
to kill me tomorrow.
GRILKA: It's a matter of honour, Quark. D'Ghor has accused you of
lying. There's no way to answer that charge except through personal
combat.
QUARK: To you Klingons there may be no other way, but there's an old
Ferengi saying about discretion being the better part of valour.
GRILKA: Then what they say about the Ferengi is true. You're all lying,
thieving, cowards who have no sense of loyalty or honour.
QUARK: Sticks and stones.
GRILKA: I thought you were different. I thought you had something in
here. But all you have in there is a piece of latinum, and it's a
pretty small piece at that. Let them run. I don't want them in my
house.
(Grilka and Tumek leave)
QUARK: All right, let's go. What? What? You think I should stay and
fight D'Ghor? Is that what you're thinking? How could you let her get
to you like this? Don't you see what she's trying to do? She's trying
to make us feel guilty. Well, it's not going to work.
ROM: You're right, brother. You're a businessman. All you care about is
profit.
QUARK: Right.
ROM: This was all just a ploy to boost sales at the bar. Who cares if
some Klingon female loses her House?
QUARK: I certainly don't.
ROM: Me neither.
QUARK: Well, now let's get out of here.
[Klingon Great hall]
GOWRON: Grilka, where is the leader of your House?
GRILKA: I do not know.
D'GHOR: Then I say that the House of Quark has dishonoured itself
before this Council and I ask that it be dissolved and its lands and
property be turned over to me as compensation for
(Enter Quark, carrying a bat'leth, followed by Rom)
QUARK: I am Quark, son of Keldar, and I have come to answer the
challenge of D'Ghor, son of whatever.
GRILKA: Whatever happens, I am proud of you.
QUARK: I wish I could say that's comforting.
GOWRON: Ready?
D'GHOR: Ha!
GOWRON: Ready? DaH!
(They stare at each other, then Quark throws his bat'leth away and
stands defenceless.)
QUARK: Go ahead, kill me. That's why I'm here, isn't it, to be killed?
Well, here I am, so go ahead and do it. You all want me to pick up that
sword and try to fight him, don't you? But I don't have a chance and
you know it. You only want me to put up a fight so your precious honour
will be satisfied. Well, I'm not going to make it so easy for you.
Having me fight D'Ghor is nothing more than an execution, so, if that's
what you want, that's what you'll get. An execution. No honour, no
glory. And when you tell your children and your grandchildren the
glorious story of how you rose to power and took Grilka's House from
her, I hope you remember to tell them how you heroically killed an
unarmed Ferengi half your size.
D'GHOR: Whatever you say, Ferengi.
(Gowron grabs D'Ghor's bat'leth)
GOWRON: D'Ghor, what are you doing? I didn't want to believe the things
he said about you yesterday, but if you can stand here and murder this
pathetic little man, then you have no honour, and you have no place in
this Hall.
(Gowron and the Council turn their backs of D'Ghor in discommodation,
and security take him away)
GOWRON: A brave Ferengi. Who would have thought it possible? I believe
there are enough unusual circumstances here to justify granting you
special dispensation. You can lead your House on your own, if that is
what you want. Yej rhin!
(Gowron and the Council leave.)
GRILKA: You've given me back my House and my family name. How can I
repay you?
QUARK: I would like a divorce, please. No offence.
GRILKA: None taken. I can give it to you right now.
(She slaps Quark, hard.)
GRILKA: N'Gos tlhogh cha!
(Then spits on him.)
GRILKA: You're a free man.
QUARK: A little warning would've been nice.
(Grilka kisses him)
GRILKA: Qapla', Quark son of Keldar.
QUARK: Qapla' to you too.
[Quark's cafe]
(Looking down on a busy dabo table.)
KEIKO: I've never understood what people see in that game. Don't they
ever get sick of it?
O'BRIEN: Keiko, there's an agrobiology expedition leaving for the
Janitza mountains on Bajor in two weeks. They need a chief botanist. I
think you could probably qualify.
KEIKO: On Bajor?
O'BRIEN: That's right. They've never surveyed these mountains. It's a
very important expedition.
KEIKO: How long is this expedition supposed to last?
O'BRIEN: Six months.
KEIKO: I can't leave you and Molly for six months.
O'BRIEN: You can take Molly with you, I've already checked. And as for
me, well, Bajor's only three hours away in a runabout. We can manage.
KEIKO: When we moved here, we made an agreement.
O'BRIEN: I know.
KEIKO: And I'm not trying to back out of that agreement. Don't let this
business about the school make you feel guilty and
O'BRIEN: This isn't about guilt. This is about you being happy and me
knowing that you're not.
KEIKO: I made a promise to stay with you and make this work.
O'BRIEN: I know. But you're a botanist. That's what you trained to do.
That's what you love. Be a botanist, Keiko. Be the best damned botanist
in the galaxy.
[Quark's]
(Downstairs, two glum Ferengi just like in the
teaser.)
ROM: Brother, I haven't had the chance to tell you, but in the Great
Hall when you stood there in front of D'Ghor, you were magnificent.
QUARK: I was lucky. If it didn't work I didn't have another card to
play. Business is dropping off again.
ROM: Money isn't everything.
QUARK: If father were alive, he'd wash your mouth out with galcor.
ROM: You can't buy respect, brother, and that's what you have now.
Respect. After all, that's what you wanted, isn't it?
QUARK: Respect is good, but latinum's better.
ROM: Tell the story again about how you stood there in front of D'Ghor,
not knowing whether you were going to live to see another day.
QUARK: Everyone's tired of hearing it, Rom. It's not going to boost
business anymore.
ROM: No, I mean, tell me. I want to hear it again.
QUARK: All right, but I'm taking this time out of your pay cheque.
Well, when I entered the Great Hall, the first thing I noticed was that
D'Ghor was about a metre taller than I remembered.
|