Changes: Necessary Evil (episode)

Revision as of 20:38, 27 July 2009

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For the CCG expansion by a similar name, please see CCG: Necessary Evil.

An attempt on Quark's life re-opens a five-year-old murder investigation.

Summary

Dukat and Odo Occupation — Dukat and Odo

On Bajor, a lavishly dressed Bajoran woman named Vaatrik Pallra stands next to her window on a dark and stormy night. Quark is seated on a nearby couch as the two of them reminisce about the Cardassian Occupation. The woman reiterates that she did not kill her husband, although Constable Odo was convinced she did. It is clear Quark does not believe the woman's claim, but he does not care. She hires the Ferengi to retrieve a box -- the contents of which are not revealed -- hidden in her husband's former shop aboard what is now Deep Space 9. Assuring her it will take a day or two at most, Quark leaves. After he is gone, a Bajoran man steps out from the shadows.

The setting is now DS9. As Odo goes about his daily routine, he narrates a log.

"Commence station security log, stardate 47282.5. At the request of Commander Sisko, I will hereafter be recording a daily log of law enforcement affairs. The reason for this exercise is beyond my comprehension, except perhaps that Humans have a compulsion to keep records and lists and files -- so many, in fact, that they have to invent new ways to store them microscopically, otherwise their records would overrun all known civilization. My own very adequate memory not being good enough for Starfleet, I am pleased to put my voice to this official record of this day. Everything's under control. End log."

Later that evening, Quark and Rom approach the former chemist's shop (now a storage area) cautiously. Quark says he can break through the lock in 25 seconds, but Rom is able to do it in ten; he has used a desealing rod to break into the store room at Quark's on occasion while Quark was away. Although Quark accuses his brother of being a thief, Rom denies it. Once they are inside, Rom reveals that he has magnasite drops, which can instantly burn off the wall panel. When he reveals that he has used them to break into Quark's latinum floor vault to store extra profits on good business days, the older Ferengi tells him never to touch anything in the bar again.

Quark takes a small box from behind the wall panel and he and Rom take it back to the bar. There Quark opens it to reveal a list of eight Bajoran names. Curious to find what they are, he tells Rom to fetch an imager. However, while Rom is gone, the Bajoran man who was with Quark's employer emerges from the shadows, armed. The Ferengi immediately knows who sent the other man; their mutual employer knew Quark could not resist. The man shoots Quark and takes off with the list. Rom then just comes in, having heard the noise and starting screaming at his brother's current state.

Doctor Bashir is now kneeling over Quark's unconscious body, attempting to resuscitate him as Odo, Commander Sisko and Major Kira look on. Quark is taken to the Infirmary, and Kira goes off to secure outgoing vessels as Sisko and Odo turn their attention to Rom. While the younger Ferengi seems upset by the apparent loss of his brother, Odo suspects Rom of killing Quark. Although Sisko does not believe Rom killed Quark (even imply the their sons are good friends), he encourages Rom to help in the investigation. Rom then leads Odo to the chemist's shop, where we enter a flashback as the doors open.

Dukat sat behind a desk, in complete control and enjoying it. He was the Prefect of Bajor at the time, in charge of what was then called Terok Nor. After introducing himself, Dukat solicited Odo's help to solve the murder of the man who owned the shop. Odo was resistant at first, but he reluctantly accepted -- not for Dukat but for justice. Dukat took Odo to meet with the man's wife, who hadn't shed a tear since her husband's death. She claimed her husband had been murdered by a young woman with whom he had been having an affair. When Odo asked her to point the woman out on the promenade, she pointed to Kira.

The flashback ends as Kira approaches Odo. The attempt on Quark's life has brought Vaatrik's murder to both their minds.

"Security log, stardate 47284.1. In this job, there is no unfinished business. This assault on Quark re-opens a five-year-old case that I've never, not for a moment, closed. Patience is a lost virtue to most; to me, an ally."

As Odo attempts to get Rom's mind off of the bar, which Rom has realized he will inherit if Quark dies, they review the events of the night before in an attempt to jog Rom's memory. Although the Ferengi is unable to remember any of the complete names, he believes the first one started with "Chesso". Odo gives the name to Kira, who goes to investigate as Odo enters another flashback.

Finding Kira eating a meal by herself, Odo approached her in an attempt to seem casual; however, his behavior and lack of experience made it all too obvious that he was a security officer. He found out that there was no affair between Kira and Vaatrik and that Kira had been transferred to the station for hitting an employer who made sexual advances on her. She claimed that, although Odo saw himself as an impartial investigator interested only in justice, he would be forced to pick a side (Cardassian or Bajoran) eventually.

Now Odo is with Mrs. Vaatrik in her home as he subtly tries to gather information about the theft of the list and attempt on Quark's life. He mentions the name Chesso, which she claims not to recognize. When he observes that Mrs. Vaatrik has recently come into possession of a large sum of money, she intimates that she has had an affair with someone whose identity she can't reveal.

"Security log, supplemental. The Ferengi holds onto life like it's gold-pressed latinum. Maybe he just doesn't want his brother to get a hold of the bar, or maybe he knows he's the only real witness I have."

Dr. Bashir is unsure if Quark will live. Major Kira stops by the Infirmary to tell Odo that, although she has found out who Chesso -- or rather, Ches'sarro Seeto -- is, the man drowned in a pond at his home the night before. Odo realizes he is responsible for Ches'sarro's death for divulging the name to Mrs. Vaatrik and immediately orders a patrol to be stationed with the still unconscious Quark at all times.

As he entered Quark's and found the Ferengi, Odo once again tried to be discreet and was once again unable to hide his identity and connection to Dukat. Quark insinuated that Kira had been doing a sexual favor for him the night before, but from what he had gathered earlier, Odo knew Kira would not do this. Confronted with the truth, Quark revealed that Kira had paid him for an alibi.

Odo finds Commander Sisko and Lieutenant Dax sitting in Quark's. He informs them that he has corroborated communications logs and bank records to tie eight people to Mrs. Vaatrik; each person is a collaborator and has transferred 100,000 Bajoran litas into her bank account. Odo gets permission from Sisko to bring Vaatrik in for questioning. Meanwhile, the man who tried to kill Quark looks on intently.

"Nobody ever had to teach me the justice trick. That's something I've always known. A racial memory from my species, I guess. It's really the only clue I have to what kind of people they are. Are these kinds of thoughts appropriate for a Starfleet log? I don't care. There's no room in justice for loyalty or friendship or love. Justice, as the Humans like to say, is blind. I used to believe that. I'm not sure I can anymore."

With Kira now in the security office, Odo found as she attempted to explain where she had really been the night before that the Bajoran woman was not a good liar. His belief in neutrality, however, was shattered when she revealed that she had not killed Vaatrik; rather, she was a member of the Bajoran Underground and had planted an explosive in the ore processing section of the station. Knowing that such a crime is punishable by death, Odo chose not to expose Kira. Instead, he simply informed Dukat that Kira was not the culprit in the murder.

The assassin enters the Infirmary with a bouquet of flowers and uses them as a cover to stab the guard Odo has posted there. Approaching Quark's body, the assassin turns off the machine keeping the Ferengi alive and uses a pillow to suffocate him as Rom enters the room. Panicking instantly, Rom screams, drawing the attention of Odo and his deputies. Rom is relieved, only to realize he has saved Quark's life and thus lost possession of the bar.

In the brig, the assassin sits in one holding cell as Odo and Kira stand in front of Mrs. Vaatrik. They confront her about the list of collaborators, each of whom she has extorted money from, and her connection with the assassin. As she is put in a holding cell, she reiterates yet again her innocence in the case of her husband's murder; to Kira's surprise, Odo replies, "I know."

Outside in the security office, it is revealed that Mr. Vaatrik was himself a collaborator, and Kira's contacts in the Resistance, not Mrs. Vaatrik, killed Ches'sarro. Kira herself killed Vaatrik all those years ago, silencing him from selling his people out to the Cardassians. However, her failure to divulge the truth to Odo -- who only cares about the truth -- has created a schism between the two of them.

Memorable Quotes

" Help, my brother been killed!!"

- Rom after he finds Quark on the floor

"I've had my eye on you for a long time, Rom. You're not as stupid as you look."
"I am, too!"

- Odo and Rom

"I really oughta be getting back to my bar."
"He's not dead yet, Rom!"
"They're not keeping him alive by artificial means, are they? My brother wouldn't want that."
"No, he's clinging to life all on his own."
"Typical."

- Rom and Odo

"All right, let's try again. Close your eyes, take a deep breath... clear your mind of anything in it... if there's anything there..."

- Odo, trying to spark Rom's memory

"You're not planning on leaving the station soon?"
"If I were, would you have the Cardassians stop me?"
"Yes."
"Then I'm not planning on leaving the station soon."

- Odo and Kira Nerys (on Terok Nor)

"I'm looking for the proprietor of this establishment."
"Does he owe you money?"
"No."
"Are you here to arrest him?"
"No."
"Then you've found him. Quark, at your service."

- Odo and Quark, their very first conversation

"I misjudged you, Major. You were a better liar than I gave you credit for."
"You were working for the Cardassians."
"I haven't been for more than a year. You've had all that time to tell me the truth."
"I tried to tell you the truth, a hundred times... What you think of me matters a lot. I was afraid..."
"That it might affect our friendship?"
Kira nods.
"Maybe it doesn't have to."
"Will you ever be able to trust me the same way again?"
(Last lines of the episode. Odo does not answer.)

- Odo and Kira

(Piercing screaming from Rom)
"It's over Rom! Over! You're a hero."
"I am?"
"You saved your brother's life."
(More piercing screaming from Rom)

- Rom and Odo, after saving Quark's life

Background Information

As with "Duet" from the first season, "Necessary Evil" is a favorite amongst both cast and crew; David Livingston calls it "one of our best shows", Ira Steven Behr says it was a "great show", and actor Rene Auberjonois enthuses that it was "one of the best episodes we've ever done." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
This episode, with its first person narration, hard-bitten detective main character, flashbacks to a time of war, and overall noir feel, echoes strongly the classic detective fiction of the 40s.
A photo of special-effects designer Dan Curry was used on the PADD showing Ches'sarro Seeto.
The Season Five episode "Things Past" acts as a companion piece of sorts to this episode, revealing a dark mistake Odo had made during the occupation which he had kept a secret from Kira and the others.
This is the only episode of the series in which we hear Odo narrate a log, which he does several times. It would seem from "The Ascent", in which he records what he believes to be his final entry on his communicator, that he kept the tradition up; however, we do not hear him recording logs in the traditional sense of "captain's log" entries outside of these two episodes.
This is the first episode where we learn that Rom may be a lot smarter than most people think and that he is in fact possessed of a great deal of mechanical/technical knowhow.
Rom references the time Quark stayed "in the Gamma Quadrant overnight", which occurred in the previous episode, "Rules of Acquisition".
When Odo is questioning Vaatrik Pallra he goes to leave the room, stops, turns around and says "One more thing" before asking her another question. This is a homage to the show Columbo, numerous episodes of which were written (uncredited) by Peter Allan Fields.
In this episode, we see Odo meet Gul Dukat, Kira Nerys, and Quark for the very first time.
Chronologically, in the Star Trek timeline, Kira (as part of the Bajoran Resistance) is the first person to call Odo "constable." The line of dialogue is, "Everybody has to choose sides, Constable."
Referenced Rules of Acquisition: #139 ("Wives serve, brothers inherit")
Colm Meaney and Cirroc Lofton do not appear in this episode.

Video and DVD releases

UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 14, 23 May 1994.
As part of the DS9 Season 2 DVD collection.

Links and References

Guest Stars

Previous episode:
"Rules of Acquisition"

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Season 2

Next episode:
"Second Sight"

@@ Line 40: / Line 40: @@
 The setting is now DS9. As Odo goes about his daily routine, he narrates a log.
-:"''Commence station security log, [[stardate]] [[47]]282.5. At the request of [[Commander]] [[Benjamin Sisko|Sisko]], I will hereafter be recording a daily log of [[law enforcement]] affairs. The reason for this exercise is beyond my comprehension, except perhaps that [[Human]]s have a compulsion to keep records and files -- so many, in fact, that they have to invent new ways to store them microscopically. Otherwise their records would overrun all known civilization. My own very adequate memory not being good enough for [[Starfleet]], I am pleased to put my voice into this official record of this day. Everything's under control. End log.''"
+:"''Commence station security log, [[stardate]] [[47]]282.5. At the request of [[Commander]] [[Benjamin Sisko|Sisko]], I will hereafter be recording a daily log of [[law enforcement]] affairs. The reason for this exercise is beyond my comprehension, except perhaps that [[Human]]s have a compulsion to keep records and lists and files -- so many, in fact, that they have to invent new ways to store them microscopically, otherwise their records would overrun all known civilization. My own very adequate memory not being good enough for [[Starfleet]], I am pleased to put my voice to this official record of this day. Everything's under control. End log.''"
 Later that evening, Quark and [[Rom]] approach the former [[chemist's shop]] (now a storage area) cautiously. Quark says he can break through the lock in 25 seconds, but Rom is able to do it in ten; he has used a [[desealing rod]] to break into the store room at [[Quark's]] on occasion while Quark was away. Although Quark accuses his brother of being a thief, Rom denies it. Once they are inside, Rom reveals that he has [[magnasite drops]], which can instantly burn off the wall panel. When he reveals that he has used them to break into Quark's [[latinum]] [[floor vault]] to store extra profits on good business days, the older Ferengi tells him never to touch anything in the bar again.

Changes: Necessary Evil (episode)

Revision as of 20:38, 27 July 2009

Summary

Memorable Quotes

Background Information

Video and DVD releases

Links and References

Guest Stars

Co-Star

Uncredited Co-Stars

References

External links