[Bridge]

DAX: Entering Earth orbit.
SISKO: Now there's something I never get tired of looking at.
DAX: If you ask me, the seas could be a little more purple.
KIRA: That's funny, I was just thinking they weren't green enough.
BASHIR: I guess it's true what they say. There is no place like home. No matter what colour the water is.
DAX: We'd better get ready, Benjamin. Dinner tonight with Admiral Drazman.
O'BRIEN: Not Droner Drazman? The commander of the Proxima maintenance yards?
BASHIR: You're more than welcome to come along. The entire senior staff was invited.
O'BRIEN: Full dress uniform, fine table linens, a different fork for every course? Thanks but no thanks. That's why I stayed an enlisted man. They don't expect me to show up for these formal dinners.
DAX: Major, Constable, would you care to join us?
KIRA: No, thank you.
ODO: I'd say this is strictly a Starfleet occasion.
O'BRIEN: Commander, I'm receiving an incoming emergency message. It's from DS Nine.
SISKO: On screen.
QUARK [on viewscreen: Commander, am I glad to see you.
KIRA: This better be good, Quark. You're on an emergency channel.
QUARK [on viewscreen: I just received a message from the Grand Nagus. He wanted me to remind you of the critical role he played in establishing contact with the Dominion.
SISKO: You can assure the Nagus I will mention his assistance prominently in my report to Starfleet.
QUARK [on viewscreen: There is one more thing, Commander. It seems the Nagus's nephew Belongo is currently being held by Starfleet authorities on Aldebaran Three. A slight misunderstanding, I'm sure.
SISKO: A misunderstanding the Nagus no doubt wants to be cleared up. I do owe him a favour.
QUARK: He thinks so too. And to quote the one hundred and eleventh Rule of Acquisition
SISKO: Treat people in your debt like family. Exploit them. I have been reading up. You can tell the Nagus I will do everything I can, but also remind him of the two hundred seventeenth Rule of Acquisition.
QUARK: You can't free a fish from water. I'll be sure the Nagus gets the message.

[Transporter room]

SISKO: She's all yours, Major. Energise, Mister O'Brien.
O'BRIEN: Aye, sir.
(Sisko, Dax and Bashir are beamed out)
O'BRIEN: That's strange.
KIRA: What's wrong?
O'BRIEN: Oh, nothing serious. Just a power fluctuation in the annular confinement beam. Hold on, that's impossible.
KIRA: What happened?
O'BRIEN: I stabilised the beam, but according to our sensors they never materialised at their destination. They're just gone.

[Street]

(Sisko is lying on the floor being prodded with a weapon.)
VIN: Okay buddy, come on, rise and shine. Come on. Well, look what we have here.
SISKO: Who are you?
VIN: Who am I? Do you believe this? Sleeping Beauty's asking me questions. Up.
BERNARDO: Hey Vin, we've been working all night why don't we forget these guys? I just want to go home and see Sonya and the kids and get some sleep.
VIN: What are you, an anarchist? There's a law against sleeping in the streets. Though I do like the matching pajamas. All right, let's see some logo.
SISKO: Logo?
VIN: ID. Identification. UHC Card? Transit pass?
BASHIR: Where are we? What happened to Starfleet Headquarters?
VIN: Oh, perfect. Just what we need. Two more dims.
SISKO: Those shotguns and uniforms. There's something very familiar about this.
VIN: Yeah, probably from the last time you were in a Sanctuary District.
SISKO: Sanctuary District? What year is this?
BERNARDO: Same year as it was yesterday. Twenty twenty four. Let's go.
VIN: How do they find us?
(We pan down the Trans Bay tube 2 subway steps to an unconscious Dax, who still has her comm. badge unlike Sisko and Bashir. After the opening titles, she is woken by a passerby.)
CHRIS: Are you okay?
DAX: Oh, my head.
CHRIS: What happened? Did you get jacked or something?
DAX: Jacked?
CHRIS: You know, robbed? Did they get your credit chips, your ID?
DAX: It looks like they got everything, except my brooch.
CHRIS: Do you live near here? Can you get home?
DAX: I was travelling with some friends and I guess we got separated.
CHRIS: Well, you shouldn't be walking around without ID. You'd better order some replacements. You can use my Interface terminal if you wish. My office is just round the corner.
DAX: That's very kind of you.
CHRIS: Chris. Chris Brynner.
DAX: Jadzia.
CHRIS: That's a pretty name. What is that, Dutch?
DAX: Something like that. It's very kind of you to help me.
CHRIS: Oh, don't mention it. It's not everyday that I get to rescue a damsel in distress. Let me help you.

[Street]

CHRIS: It's just this way.
(Up the steps to 599 wherever, just across from Candystick something.)

[Transporter room]

O'BRIEN: Check the Heisenberg compensators. I'll run a level one diagnostic of the pattern buffers, see if there's any kind of field imbalance.
KIRA: Chief.
O'BRIEN: Any news from Starfleet?
KIRA: Nothing good. As far as they can tell, Commander Sisko and the others never materialised in San Francisco. According to their sensors, our transporter signal disintegrated immediately after we began the beam out sequence.
O'BRIEN: That doesn't agree with our records. The system log shows the transport was completed successfully. They definitely materialised somewhere.
KIRA: That's good news, anyway. But the question is, where?
O'BRIEN: I wish I knew. Whatever the answer is, it's not in the log. The only thing unusual it recorded was the variance in the annular confinement beam.
KIRA: But you corrected for that.
O'BRIEN: It was a simple adjustment. The beam was just reacting to the accumulation of chroniton particles in the ship's hull.
KIRA: Chroniton particles?
O'BRIEN: They're emitted by the cloaking device. They sometimes become lodged in the ship's ablative armour matrix.
KIRA: But we've used the transporter many times since the cloaking device was installed. There's never been a problem before.
O'BRIEN: And I don't know why there should be one now. Wait a minute. It looks like there was a surge in temporal energy seconds before the initiation of the transporter sequence.
KIRA: Tell me that's a clue.
O'BRIEN: Oh, it's a clue all right. I just don't know what it means yet.

[Sanctuary District main gate]

(There's a big wall with a gate in it. Inside are tenements with washing hanging on the fire escapes.)
BASHIR: How do you feel?
SISKO: Better.
BASHIR: Me too. Probably transporter shock. Disorienting, but it wears off quickly. I know one thing. We're definitely in San Francisco. I caught a glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge a few blocks back.
SISKO: I saw it too.
BASHIR: Do you know what happened to our comm. badges?
SISKO: They were probably stolen while we were unconscious. This is not the Earth we're used to, Doctor. That's still at least a century away. I wonder what happened to Dax?
BASHIR: She was caught in the transporter beam with us. Whatever affected us must have affected her too.
SISKO: That means she's probably somewhere nearby. The first chance we get, we've got to find her.
BASHIR: And then what?
SISKO: And then we find our way home.
VIN: All right, let's go. Bring them.
BERNARDO: Okay, let's go. Hurry it up. Sonya's going to kill me.

[Sanctuary District Street]

(Basically, it's a slum.)
BASHIR: What is this place?
SISKO: A Sanctuary District.
BASHIR: Twenty first century history is not one of my strong points. Too depressing.
SISKO: It's been a hobby of mine. They made some ugly mistakes, but they also paved the way for a lot of the things we take now for granted.
BASHIR: I assume this is one of those mistakes.
SISKO: A bad one. By the early twenty twenties there was a place like this in every major city in the United States.
BASHIR: Why are these people in here? Are they criminals?
SISKO: No. People with criminal records weren't allowed in the Sanctuary Districts.
BASHIR: Then what did they do to deserve this?
SISKO: Nothing. They're just people without jobs or places to live.
BASHIR: So they get put in here?
SISKO: Welcome to the twenty first century, Doctor.
VIN: Hold it right there. (to Bernardo) If you want to go home, go home. What do I care?
BERNARDO: Thanks, Vin.
VIN: Shall we?

[Chris's office]

(Meanwhile, Dax is seeing how the other half live, using a pointer on a touchscreen.)
CHRIS: Hi. Sorry to keep you waiting. Were you able to order new ID?
DAX: Just finished. It took me a while to convince them I was who I said I was. They'll be expressing a transit pass and a couple of credit chips in a few hours. I asked them to send it here. I hope you don't mind.
CHRIS: No problem.
DAX: Thanks for letting me use your terminal and your account.
CHRIS: Glad I could help. You know, those are very unusual.
DAX: Oh, you mean my tattoos.
CHRIS: It's amazing work. Where did you have them done, Japan?
DAX: How did you guess?
CHRIS: Well, I used to have one myself. A Maori tribal pattern used to go all the way down my arm. Got it in high school back in the nineties just like everybody else. Of course, I had to have it removed. Well, you know how it is. To get the government contracts, you have to look like all the rest of the drones. So I guess that makes me a sell-out.
DAX: Not necessarily. What kind of business do you do?
CHRIS: You don't know? Well, I guess I'll have to have a talk to my public relations people. I'm Chris Brynner. Brynner Information Systems? You know, Interface Operations, Net Access, Channel Ninety.
DAX: That Chris Brynner!
CHRIS: So what do you think? Does that make me a sell-out or not?
DAX: Probably, but I won't hold it against you.
CHRIS: These friends of yours that you told me about. Is there any way for you to get a hold of them?
DAX: I wish I could.

[Processing Centre]

(Sisko is having his palm prints scanned and picture taken.)
VIN: Left hand. Other hand. Look straight ahead. Now stand over here.
INTERFACE: Welcome to SafeTech's fingerprint database. your government discount has been accepted. Remember our new retinal scan services, now accessible on channel one seventy eight.
VIN: Yeah, yeah. Save the commercial.
INTERFACE: We are sorry but the fingerprints you have provided are not on record.
VIN: No ID, no fingerprint record, no Interface account. It's like you two don't exist.
BASHIR: Since we don't exist, why not let us go?
VIN: Yeah, well, let's see. You don't have any ID, you don't have any money, and you're both dressed like clowns. You figure it out.
(Vin gives them clipboards with forms)
VIN: Please fill out these forms. Answer all questions to the best of your ability. If you cannot speak English an interpreter will be provided. If you cannot read, questions will be given to you verbally. If there is any part of this form you do not understand, ask one of our staff for assistance. Now sit down, shut up, and fill out the forms. And if you've got any problems, don't come to me with them.
BASHIR: Thank you very much.

[Bridge]

KIRA: Tell Admiral Ngomo I appreciate her offer, but I don't want anyone beaming onto this ship until we know what's going on. If they want to come up by shuttle, that's fine.
O'BRIEN: Major, I think I know what happened to Commander Sisko and the others. The temporal surge we detected was caused by an explosion of a microscopic singularity passing through this solar system. Somehow, the energy emitted by the singularity shifted the chroniton particles in our hull into a high state of temporal polarisation.
KIRA: Which means what?
O'BRIEN: Which means the transporter beam was redirected as it passed through the polarised particles.
KIRA: Redirected where?
O'BRIEN: Not where, when. The beam was redirected through time, not space. They arrived in San Francisco, just like they were supposed to.
KIRA: But not when they were supposed to. How much time are we talking about? Days? Weeks?
O'BRIEN: More like centuries.

[Processing Centre]

(A man is doodling on Sisko's trouser leg. When Sisko stops him, he turns to the hand of the woman on the other side.)
BASHIR: This is ridiculous. I mean, we've been here three hours and the line has barely moved at all.
VIN: I got one word for you, pal. Plenty of overtime.
BASHIR: That's three words.
VIN: Hey, for a dim, you're pretty smart. Now go back and take a seat. Oh boy.
(A calendar on the wall says today is Friday 8/30/24, temperature 15 degrees, and Sisko is thinking.)
BASHIR: Some of these people are mentally ill. They need proper medical treatment.
SISKO: I know, but they're not going to get it. Not now anyway.
BASHIR: What? What is it?
SISKO: That calendar over there. It says August thirtieth, twenty twenty four.
BASHIR: I'm not sure I understand.
SISKO: You ever hear of the Bell Riots?
BASHIR: Vaguely.
SISKO: It was one of the most violent civil disturbances in American history, and it happened right here. San Francisco, Sanctuary District A, the first week of September, twenty twenty four.
BASHIR: That's only a few days from now.
SISKO: Which means if we don't get out of here soon, we'll be caught right in the middle of it.
BASHIR: Just how bad are these riots going to be, Commander?
SISKO: Bad. The Sanctuary residents will take over the District. Some of the guards will be taken hostage. The government will send in troops to restore order. Hundreds of Sanctuary residents will be killed.
BASHIR: Hundreds? And there's nothing we can do to prevent it. Starfleet's temporal displacement policy may sound good in the classroom, but to know that hundreds of people are going to die and to not be able to do a thing to save them
SISKO: I sympathise, Doctor, but if it will make you feel any better, the Riots will be one of the watershed events of the twenty first century. Gabriel Bell will see to that.
BASHIR: Bell?
SISKO: The man they named the Riots after. He is one of the Sanctuary residents who will be guarding the hostages. The government troops will storm this place based on rumours that the hostages have been killed. It turns out that the hostages were never harmed, because of Gabriel Bell. In the end, Bell sacrifices his own life to save them. He'll become a national hero. Outrage over his death, and the death of the other residents, will change public opinion about the Sanctuaries. They'll be torn down and the United States will finally begin correcting the social problems it had struggled with for over a hundred years.
BASHIR: And all of this is going to happen in the next few days.
SISKO: Which means if we warn these people about what's coming, if we try to help them in any way, we risk altering a pivotal moment in history. And we can't let that happen.
VIN: Hey, I hate to break up your intimate conversation, but you're next.

[Processing Centre - Cubicle]

SISKO: Is there something wrong?
LEE: (a woman) Well, according to these forms, you're supposed to be dims. But you're not, are you?
SISKO: I hope you're not disappointed.
LEE: Pleasantly surprised is more like it. I guess I owe you an apology. If I'd known you were gimmies, I could've processed your application much sooner.
BASHIR: Gimmies?
SISKO: They're American slang terms.
LEE: I try not to use them, but it's a bad habit. Gimmies are people like you. People who are looking for help, a job, a place to live.
BASHIR: And what about the dims? Don't they need help?
LEE: The dims should be in hospitals, but the government can't afford to keep them there, so we get them instead. I hate it, but that's the way it is. I see here that you both have just arrived in San Francisco. Do you have any jobs lined up?
BASHIR: No. Actually we weren't planning on staying here very long.
LEE: Have you got a place to stay or anyone who can vouch for you?
SISKO: No. We were travelling with a friend but we were separated right after we arrived.
LEE: Do you have any way of contacting this friend of yours?
SISKO: Not at the moment.
LEE: Well, in that case, I'm afraid you're going have to stay here in the Sanctuary for the time being.
BASHIR: You mean we can't leave?
LEE: It's for your own safety.
SISKO: Really.
LEE: And it's the law.
SISKO: What about jobs? How are we supposed to find a place to work and somewhere to live if we're stuck in here?
LEE: One of the services we provide is job placement.
SISKO: And how long's that usually take?
LEE: I wish I could give you a definite answer, but jobs are hard to come by right now, what with the economy and all. My advice is to be patient. In the meantime, take these. (cards) They're your ration cards. You can use them to get food and water at any of the distribution points in the district. Hang on to them.
BASHIR: Where are we supposed to stay while we're here?
LEE: Anywhere you like. The buildings in the district are there for everyone to use.
SISKO: Thanks for your help.
LEE: One more thing. A little advice. Stay away from District Security. They've had their budget cut again. They're overworked and underpaid. Just give them a lot of space. And watch out for ghosts.
BASHIR: Ghosts?
LEE: That's what we call people who haven't integrated well into the Sanctuary. They can be dangerous, and they tend to prey on other residents.
SISKO: Thanks for the warning. We'll stay away from them.

[Chris's office]

DAX: Dax to Sisko. Dax to Bashir. If you can hear me, please respond.
CHRIS: Okay, my assistant was able to get you a room at the Clift for the next five nights.
DAX: You didn't have to do that.
CHRIS: I know that, but I wanted to. So, what are your plans?
DAX: I still have to find my friends.
CHRIS: Well, I hope you don't mind, but I had Britt do some checking. No one matching their descriptions has been admitted into any of the city hospitals or trauma wards.
DAX: That's good news.
CHRIS: Look, I would like to know how this turns out. I'm having a little get-together here tomorrow, in the office. I'd like you to come if you want. You and your friends.
DAX: I'd like that.
CHRIS: Well, good luck.
DAX: Thanks. I could use it.

[Sanctuary District street]

(At the steps to an apartment building.)
GUARD: Whoa, you guys can't come in here.
BASHIR: We're just looking for someplace to sleep.
GUARD: Well you're going to have to look someplace else.
BASHIR: Let me guess. This building is full.
GUARD: Sorry.
BASHIR: Every building we go to, it's the same story. They can't all be full.
SISKO: Don't be so sure. One of the main complaints against the Sanctuary Districts was overcrowding. It got to the point where they didn't care how many people were in here. They just wanted to keep them out of sight.
BASHIR: And once they were out of sight, what then? I mean, look at this man. There's no need for that man to live like that. With the right medication, he could lead a full and normal life.
SISKO: Maybe in our time.
BASHIR: Not just in our time. There are any number of effective treatments for schizophrenia, even in this day and age. They could cure that man now, today, if they gave a damn.
SISKO: It's not that they don't give a damn, Doctor. It's that they've given up. The social problems they face seem too enormous to deal with.
BASHIR: That only makes things worse. Causing people to suffer because you hate them is terrible, but causing people to suffer because you have forgotten how to care? That's really hard to understand.
SISKO: They'll remember. It'll take some time and it won't be easy, but eventually people in this century will remember how to care.
BASHIR: But it makes you wonder, doesn't it? Are humans really any different than Cardassians or Romulans? If push comes to shove, if something disastrous happens to the Federation, if we are frightened enough, or desperate enough, how would we react? Would we stay true to our ideals or would we just stay up here, right back where we started?
SISKO: I don't know. But as a Starfleet officer, it's my job to make sure we never have to find out.
(A man is being beaten up by a gang who wear hats.)
BC: Get his food card.
SISKO: Remember, Doctor, we can't interfere.
BC: You got a problem?
SISKO: No problem.
BC: You look upset. If we've done anything to offend you, please let us know so that we can be sure not to do it again.
SISKO: Don't worry about us. We're new here.
BC: Really? I never would've guessed. But let me be the first to welcome you. Would you like a piece of this?
BASHIR: No, thanks.
BC: Gimmies. No sense of fun.
SISKO: We're just looking for a place to sleep.
BC: In that case, you'd better look somewhere else, new boy.
SISKO: You heard what he said. Let's go.
BC: Enjoy your stay. And in a few days I know you're going to feel right at home. Bye

[Bridge]

ODO: So, in theory, we should be able to travel into the past by focusing the transporter beam through the polarised chroniton particles?
O'BRIEN: The problem is, we don't know where in time Sisko and the others are. I've narrowed it down to a dozen different possibilities. But we only have enough polarised chronitons to make five or six attempts.
KIRA: We'll have to take our chances. Pick the most likely time periods and send a team down with tricorders to find them. The hard part will be to find a couple of volunteers crazy enough to risk getting lost in time to do the job.
O'BRIEN: I think I know a few likely candidates.

[Sanctuary District alley]

(Next morning. Our heroes have been sleeping in an alley by the basement of a building.)
SISKO: Here you go, Julian.
BASHIR: If we ever get home, I promise never to complain about the station's Cardassian beds ever again. Where is everybody?
SISKO: In the food lines, waiting for breakfast. It's not much to look at, but it's better than nothing.
(Scrambled eggs and a slice of bread by the looks of it.)
SISKO: I'm sorry. They ran out of utensils and napkins.
BASHIR: Why am I not surprised?
SISKO: When you're finished eating, I think we should get up on the roof of one of these buildings. I want to get a better look at the place.
BASHIR: Do you think there's a way out of here?
SISKO: If there is, we'll find it.

[Sanctuary District street]

(Plenty of people live on the streets, with children.)
GUARD: Not you two guys again. Look, I told you, we don't have any room.
SISKO: We're not here to stay. All we want is to do is get up on the roof and take a look around.
GUARD: It doesn't matter what you want. You can't come in. We've got to protect what's ours around here.
BASHIR: Look, maybe we can make a deal. Isn't there something we could exchange in order to get access to the roof?
GUARD: I don't know. What have you got to offer? That's what I thought. Look, maybe you guys should try another building.
(Sisko and Bashir start to walk away and a man whispers in the guard's ear.)
GUARD: Hey, wait a minute. Maybe we can make a deal after all.

[Sanctuary District Apartment building]

(They've swapped their clothes.)
SISKO: Well at least now we look like we belong here.
BASHIR: Yeah, and we smell just as bad as everyone else too.
(A boy is being tended by an older man. As he hears their footsteps he grabs a knife.)
WEBB: Stay away from him.
SISKO: Whatever you say. Just put the knife down.
WEBB: Step into the light so I can see you.
SISKO: We're new here. We're just trying to get up to the roof, get a better look at the place.
WEBB: Believe me, it doesn't look any better from up there.
DANNY: Dad.
WEBB: It's going to be okay, Danny.
BASHIR: What happened?
WEBB: He was beaten up by some ghosts. My wife went to get help, but there's only one doctor on duty at the Processing Centre.
BASHIR: Well, why don't you let me take a look? I know a little bit about medicine.
SISKO: Julian.
BASHIR: It can't hurt to just look.
(Bashir sits next to the boy.)
BASHIR: Hey, I'm just going to take a quick look here, okay?
(He opens the shirt and checks the ribcage.)
BASHIR: Does that hurt? Here? Looks like you've been lucky. No broken ribs and these cuts are mostly superficial. You're going to be okay. You're going to need some clean rags and something to disinfect these wounds. Alcohol should do.
WEBB: I think I can get some.
BASHIR: Okay, here we go.
SISKO: Looks like we made a new friend.

[Sanctuary District street]

WEBB: Hey. You know, the District could use another doctor.
BASHIR: I don't really practice anymore.
WEBB: But there are people here who need you.
BASHIR: I'm sorry, but they'll have to get along without me.
WEBB: You two are new here, so let me explain something to you. You can forget about getting out of here any time soon. This is your home now. The only help we're going to get is from each other, and if we don't start pulling together, we're finished.
SISKO: All we want is to be left alone.
WEBB: My mistake. I thought you wanted to get out of here.
BASHIR: We do.
WEBB: Well the only way that's going to happen is if we get organised and let people on the outside know what's going on in here.
SISKO: Do whatever you want. Just leave us out of it.
WEBB: If you want to be left alone, that's fine with me. But if you want to help us, and help yourselves, you know where to find me.

[Chris's office]

(It's party time and Dax has been shopping. The place looks very like Ten Forward, right down to the steps and windows.)
MAN: Our sea floor mining project is almost ready to go into operation. The Pan-Caribbean government did have some misgivings, but I think we've won them over. I hear you just came back from Christchurch?
CHRIS: Yes. Did a little skiing on Mount Cook.
WOMAN: You're lucky. We had to cancel our trip to the Alps this year because of the student protests in France.
CHRIS: I thought the Neo-Trotskyists were going to put a stop to that.
WOMAN: They're not having any more luck that the Gaullists did.
MAN: Europe is falling apart.
WOMAN: Well, at least we don't have to worry about that kind of thing here.
DAX: Don't count on it.
CHRIS: You'll have to excuse Jadzia's cynicism. She was just mugged yesterday. That kind of thing's bound to give a negative impression of the future.
WOMAN: So, who mugged you? Did you see them?
DAX: It doesn't really matter. I'm just glad that I wasn't hurt.
CHRIS: Well, whoever it was did a very thorough job. They took everything she had, even her ID.
DAX: Chris rescued me and let me use his computer to get my replacement ID.
MAN: You're lucky the police didn't find you first. If they'd caught you on the street without ID, you might have ended up in a Sanctuary District.
WOMAN: I thought they stopped doing that.
MAN: Why would they? It's the only way to keep those people off the streets.
DAX: Excuse us a minute.
(Dax and Chris move away.)
DAX: Is that true?
CHRIS: Is what true?
DAX: About taking people without ID to a Sanctuary District.
CHRIS: Yes, it is. Why?
DAX: I still haven't found my friends.
CHRIS: And you think they might be in a Sanctuary District?
DAX: It's possible. If you hadn't found me, I might've wound up in one. Can we check and see if they're inside?
CHRIS: Well, that might take some doing. The Sanctuary District records are not posted on the Net. But I might be able to pull in some favours.

[Sanctuary District]

(In the line for the evening meal.)
BASHIR: And I thought the replimat lines were bad. By the time we get dinner, it'll be time for breakfast. You'd think that before they lock thousands of people into a twenty square block area, they'd give some thought to how those people are going to get fed.
SISKO: I'm go see how much longer this is going to take.
BC: Hey, gimmie. I'm talking to you. Let me see your food card.
BASHIR: What for?
BC: Because I said so.
SISKO: Let him go.
BC: What?
SISKO: I said, let him go.
BC: Oh, well, when you put it like that.
(BC swings at Sisko, Bashir takes on another man. Then a bystander decides to do something.)
BELL: Leave him alone.
(Bell knocks BC down.)
BELL: Are you all right?
(BC gets up and stabs Bell.)
BC: Get his card. Get his food card. Come on, let's get out of here. Come on, let's go.
SISKO: Help him. He never would have gotten hurt if it wasn't for us.
BASHIR: Breathe, damn you. Breathe. He's gone.
(The helicopter is overhead and alarms are sounding.)
SISKO: Come on. We've got to get out of here.
(Police arrive and chase them.)

[Sanctuary District Alley]

(The pair dive to their sleeping quarters and get under some blankets.)
SISKO: Cover!
(The police run past the pile of rubbish.)
BASHIR: They're gone.
SISKO: For now, but they're the least of our worries. That man who just got killed trying to help us?
(Sisko shows Bashir the food card)
SISKO: That man was Gabriel Bell.
BASHIR: If only I'd had my medkit. If only I'd got him to a hospital I might've been able to save him.
SISKO: You did all you could, Doctor.
BASHIR: But it wasn't enough, was it? A good man died because of us. And what about the hostages? What's going to happen to them?
SISKO: Without Bell, there's a good chance those hostages are going to die.
BASHIR: And if that happens, how is it going to affect the future?
SISKO: We have to save them. Whatever it takes, we have to make sure those hostages survive.

[Bridge]

(Kira and O'Brien are in civilian clothing.)
KIRA: All right, Chief, let's get over to the transporter room before we change our minds.
O'BRIEN: Too late, Major. It looks like Starfleet's changed our minds for us. Headquarters thinks our plan's too risky. They're afraid that while we're searching for Sisko and the others, we may contaminate the timeline.
KIRA: Get me Admiral Wright.
O'BRIEN: I had a feeling you'd say that. That's odd.
KIRA: What is it?
O'BRIEN: I'm not getting any response from Starfleet.
ODO: Is there something wrong with our communications array? I was just talking to Starfleet Security when my comm. line went dead.
O'BRIEN: There's nothing wrong on our end. Everything checks out fine.
KIRA: Could be interference on the comm. channels. Try a wide band subspace signal.
O'BRIEN: Still nothing. Maybe if I direct it toward one of the Federation communications satellites in Earth orbit.
ODO: What is it, Chief?
O'BRIEN: They're not there. The entire Earth satellite network is gone.
KIRA: The spacedocks? The orbital habitats?
O'BRIEN: All of it. The Utopia Planitia yards on Mars, the terraforming stations on Venus, Starfleet Headquarters. I'm not detecting a single sign of Starfleet activity anywhere in this sector.
KIRA: Try a non-Federation frequency.
O'BRIEN: The only subspace signals I'm detecting are coming from the vicinity of Alpha Centauri. And they're Romulan.
KIRA: That's impossible.
ODO: Do you think Sisko and the others might have somehow altered the timeline?
O'BRIEN: They must have.
KIRA: Then why weren't we affected?
O'BRIEN: I'm not sure. Maybe, maybe when it exploded, the singularity that polarised the chroniton particles created some kind of subspace bubble around the ship, isolated it from the changes in the timeline. I'm not sure, I'd have to run some tests. One thing's for certain, right now this ship is all that's left of Starfleet.

[Sanctuary District Apartment Building]

WEBB: I thought you didn't want to get involved.
SISKO: We've changed our minds.
WEBB: Glad to hear it. We can use all the help we can get. This place is about to explode. Most of us agreed to live here because they promised us jobs. I don't know about you, but I haven't been on any job interviews lately, and neither has anyone else. They've forgotten about us.
SISKO: So what do we do?
WEBB: We make them remember. The day after tomorrow, we're going to hold a rally outside the Processing Centre. I want everyone to be there. Gimmies, ghosts, even the dims. I want to remind the people outside that we haven't done anything wrong, that we're not criminals, and that we don't deserve to live like this.
SISKO: We'll spread the word.
WEBB: Good. One more thing. Tell people when they come to the rally to bring their families, their kids, and try to look their best. We're not derelicts, no matter what they say about us.
SISKO: I could probably use a shave.
BASHIR: Not to mention a bath.

[Chris's office]

(Chris is finishing a phone call.)
CHRIS: Yes. Yes, thank you. You were right. Your friends are in Sanctuary District A.
DAX: When can we get them out?
CHRIS: Well, it might not be that easy. The Sanctuary personnel first have to find them. There are something like ten thousand people in there.
DAX: Did they say how long it would take?
CHRIS: They're not sure. But don't worry, your friends are fine. That's the whole point of the Sanctuary. To give people in trouble food and a place to stay.
DAX: If that's all it's for, then why is there a wall around it?

[Sanctuary District Street]

BASHIR: In two days, in front of the Processing Centre. Will you spread the word?
SISKO: Okay, you got it? The day after tomorrow. Try to be there and tell everyone you know.
BASHIR: That's five hundred people we've talked to today.
SISKO: That only leaves about nine thousand to go. Whoa. Slow down. What's going on?
DANNY: One of the guards got into a fight with a dim down at Processing. Everyone's going crazy. I have got to find my dad.

[Outside the Processing Centre]

(Firebombs are being thrown, people are lying injured in the street. Three people beat up Bernardo for his gun.)
SISKO: Give me that. Get back.
(Sisko fires into a brazier. Bashir goes to help Bernardo.)
BASHIR: Get away. Get away from him.
SISKO: Come on. We have to get him off the street.

[Processing Centre]

(BC and others have taken it over.)
BC: Everybody put your hands on your head and face the wall.
LEE: You can't do this.
BC: I can do anything I want. Now, against the wall.
SISKO: That's enough.
BC: Well look who we've got here. Way to show initiative, new boy. Take him and throw him back there along with the rest of our guests.
BASHIR: What the hell do you think you're doing?
BC: I think I am a making a political statement. Maybe if we're lucky, I might even be able to stage a nice little photo op. I hope that meets with your approval.
SISKO: Do as he says.
BC: All right! I've waited a long time for this. And I know I won't be disappointed. Ain't that right, new boy?
SISKO: The name is Bell. Gabriel Bell.

To be continued...