Template:Realworld Sisko searches for the mysterious Orb of the Emissary; Worf, Martok, Bashir, O'Brien, and Quark attack a Dominion shipyard in orbit around Monac IV; Kira confronts the Romulans over their military base. (Part Two of Two)
Summary
A solar flare engulfs the Monac shipyards
Ezri explains that, en route to Trill on the USS Destiny, the Dax symbiont's condition became critical and required immediate joining, and she was the only Trill aboard. After being joined, her personality changed enough to alienate her from her crewmates. She admits to being confused by the sudden reception of eight lifetimes of memories, and has taken a leave of absence to deal with it. She decides to accompany Benjamin Sisko to Tyree. They are on their way in a runabout when Ezri, "a trained Starfleet officer," is embarrassed by a case of space sickness. Suddenly, Sisko hears a voice of someone on a hospital intercom paging a Dr. Wykoff.
At the same time on Deep Space 9, Worf, Martok, Julian Bashir, and Miles O'Brien are having a little Klingon ceremony on the Bird-of-Prey Rotarran before their departure on the dangerous mission that will ensure Jadzia's place in Sto-vo-kor. Quark enters and declares his intent to join them because of his love for Jadzia, to Worf's dismay and Martok's pleasant surprise. Quark is appalled when he finds that the ceremony involves slicing the palm of the hand.
On the Romulan hospital case, Kira is inflexible as ever, and makes it clear to Admiral Ross that she has no intention of letting the Romulans establish a military presence on Derna. She orders a blockade around the Bajoran moon so that the supplies needed to complete the Romulan plasma torpedo emplacements cannot arrive.
On the Rotarran, O'Brien lays out the simple, yet dangerous, plan. They will go within tractor beam range of the Monac star to trigger a solar plasma ejection that will destroy everything within a hundred million kilometers. Ironically, at about the same moment, Weyoun asks Damar to increase the production of the Monac shipyards to supply the retaking of the Chin'toka system.
Quark, speaking to O'Brien and Bashir but in a voice audible to Worf, claims that he deserves Worf's thanks for coming on the mission. Worf reveals he does not want them there, and is angry at them for thinking that they could truly appreciate Jadzia's greatness.
On Tyree, Sisko takes his party on a long hike through the desert, behaving almost as if hypnotized, abandoning his backpack, and ignoring his struggling elderly father. He pauses to fiddle with his baseball and admits to Ezri that he does not know where he is going, but does not seem to care. Ezri, frustrated by Sisko's inattention, grabs the baseball and throws it.
Sisko remembers that his vision of Tyree was preceded by the baseball rolling off a piano onto the floor, and begins to dig at the spot where Ezri randomly tossed the ball. Again, he hears the voice paging Dr. Wykoff. He finally finds the box containing the Orb of the Emissary. But as soon as he reaches to open it, he has a vision about Benny Russell. In the vision, Benny has covered the walls of his room in a mental institution with a pencil-written story. A Damar-like Doctor Wykoff is trying to convince Benny to stop writing about Deep Space 9. Benny is writing events that are happening at the same moment (the captain finding the orb) and Wykoff wants to stop him from writing the stories that are driving him mad. Sisko is motionless with his hands on the orb box, and Jake is thrown back by an energy surge when he touches it.
Around Derna, the tension rises when several Romulan warbirds menace the antiquated Bajoran impulse ships engaging in the blockade. While the Bajorans are no match for the Romulans, the dramatic consequences it would have for the Federation Alliance play into Kira's favor. However, Senator Cretak has no intention of standing down.
Back with Captain Sisko, Benny almost gives in to Doctor Wykoff's request for him to cover his wall-writing with paint and, as a result, the captain begins to bury the orb back in the sand. Fortunately, Dax is able to reason with the captain by remembering the promise he made on Jadzia's coffin. The captain finally opens the orb, releasing a bright-blue energy burst that shoots towards the sky.
The burst quickly makes it to Bajor and enters the wormhole. A short while after, the wormhole opens and a red wave of energy is expelled and dissolves into space. The event happens at the same moment when the Romulans are about to run the blockade. Kira sees it and decides to make her stand by readying weapons, a decision that eventually forces Admiral Ross to take her side and force Cretak to stand down.
Martok criticizes Worf for berating O'Brien, Bashir, and Quark, leading Worf to apologize. In the Monac system, the first attempt with the electromagnetic pulse does not work and has the only result of revealing their presence and sending three Jem'Hadar ships after them. Fortunately, O'Brien is able to recalibrate the deflector on time and the following plasma ejection destroys the three ships as well as the entire shipyard, giving the Bird-of-Prey just enough time to escape. While the crew celebrate, Worf recites a Klingon chant, safe in the knowledge that he has guaranteed Jadzia entry into Sto-vo-kor.
On Tyree, Sisko has one last vision. A Prophet appearing as Sarah Sisko tells him that Benny and Wykoff were a false vision sent by the Kosst Amojan and that her release allowed her to expel the Pah'Wraith that was sealing the wormhole's entrance. He also learns that the Prophet temporarily "shared" an existence with Sarah, controlling her long enough to arrange Sisko's birth, revealing the captain to be far more involved with the Prophets than he ever thought.
Sisko returns to Deep Space 9 and a cheering crowd and the crew who are happy to see him again. Ezri greets the crew, who, upon being told that she is Dax, stare in fascination.
Memorable quotes
"Is it so hard to say thank you?"
"Don't do this, Quark."
"Do what? All I'm asking for is two little words."
"Be quiet!"
"That's two words, all right... just not the two I was hoping for."
- - Quark, O'Brien, and Worf
"But why me? Why did it have to be me?"
"Because it could be no one else."
- - Sisko and Sarah
"You have definitely gotten stranger."
- - Ezri Dax, about Sisko
"Odo! (giggles) Nerys! Julian! It's so good to see you! Worf, we need to talk!"
"Who's that?"
"It's Dax!"
"Dax?"
"That's right, Ezri Dax! Incredible, isn't it?"
"It cannot be..."
"She's so much... shorter!"
"Just when you thought things couldn't get more interesting!"
- - Ezri Dax, Bashir, Jake, Worf, Quark and Odo
"No!"
"Get out of my way!"
"Ben, you came here to find the Prophets, remember?"
"Move!"
"No! Listen to me! You promised Jadzia you would make things right. Well, now is your chance. Open the box, Ben."
- - Ezri Dax and Benjamin Sisko
"The Federation has already sent a strong protest to the Romulan Senate condemning their action."
"That's a start. What happens next?"
"They've already issued a formal protest of our protest."
- - Ross and Kira
Background information
Early John Eaves concept art of the Monac shipyards
- The episode title may be a reference to the expression "types, shadows, and symbols," a term from Biblical exegesis, referring to hidden or symbolic prophecy rather than explicit foretelling of the future. See [1] or [2] for more details.
- The Benny Russell vision in this episode is sent to Sisko by the Pah-wraiths to divert him from his efforts to reopen the Wormhole; the previous vision, as seen in the episode "Far Beyond the Stars" was sent to him by the Prophets to help him get over the death of a close friend (Quentin Swofford).
- The writing on the wall in Benny Russell's cell was genuine handwriting done by the entire Art Department, under the supervision of Michael Okuda. The writing was supposed to be the history of Deep Space 9, as told by Russell; all the stories as seen by viewers since the pilot episode, "Emissary". When deciding what to actually write on the walls, Okuda used an early manuscript draft of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, and he had his team copy out the episode summaries from every episode prior to "Shadows and Symbols" - so the writing is literally the history of Deep Space 9.
- This episode features Casey Biggs (Damar) as Dr. Wykoff, continuing the concept of people in Sisko's Benny Russell visions being played by series regulars or recurring guest stars without prosthetic make-up.
- The Sarah Prophet confirms in this episode that the Pah-wraith released by Dukat in "Tears of the Prophets" is Kosst Amojan.
- The Prophets tell Sisko in this episode that he "is necessary;" this recalls the fourth season episode "Accession", where they tell him he is "of Bajor," and that they sent Akorem Laan into the future in an effort to get him to accept his role as Emissary of the Prophets.
- Brock Peters makes his last appearance as Joseph Sisko in this episode. In defending the decision to send the 72 year old Peters into the Palmdale desert for the scenes on Tyree, Ira Steven Behr explained that "Ben came back home to be with his father, and I just felt that keeping the family together meant something. If it had been my kid off, I'd have gone with my kid. If it had been Bonanza, Ben Cartwright would have gone with Little Joe and Hoss, and even Adam." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
- A few months after this episode aired, the desert filming location used for the surface of Tyree was seen again as the surface of a Delta Quadrant class D planet in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Gravity".
- One of the vessels shown in the Bajoran Blockade is a reuse of the Karemma freighter from "Starship Down".
- Nicole de Boer and director Allan Kroeker knew each other very well from the TV series Beyond Reality, where they had shot ten episodes together. Neither were aware however that the other was working on Deep Space Nine until they met on-set on the first day of shooting this episode. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
- Ira Behr refers to the Kira/Romulan story in this episode as the "Cuban Missile Crisis" story, but it was specifically written in such a way that it was Starfleet who back down, not the Romulans.
- Worf's poem to Jadzia reads: "Open your gates, Sto-Vo-Kor. Welcome Jadzia to your halls. Welcome this honored warrior. Welcome her, Sto-Vo-Kor, for all eternity." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
- The novel given to Kira by Odo is Mickey Spillane's 1952 Mike Hammer novel Kiss Me Deadly.
- Senator Cretak would next be seen in the episode "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges", where she would be played by Adrienne Barbeau.
Video and DVD releases
- UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 7.1, catalogue number VHR 4811, 1 March 1999.
- As part of the DS9 Season 7 DVD collection.
Links and references
Starring
- Avery Brooks as Benjamin Sisko/Benny Russell (uncredited for latter role)
Also Starring
- Rene Auberjonois as Odo
- Nicole de Boer as Ezri Dax
- Michael Dorn as Worf
- Cirroc Lofton as Jake Sisko
- Colm Meaney as Miles O'Brien
- Armin Shimerman as Quark
- Alexander Siddig as Julian Bashir
- Nana Visitor as Kira Nerys
Guest Stars
- Jeffrey Combs as Weyoun
- Casey Biggs as Damar/Wykoff (uncredited for latter role)
- Barry Jenner as Admiral Ross
- J.G. Hertzler as Martok
- Deborah Lacey as Sarah Sisko
- Megan Cole as Cretak
Special Guest Star
Co-Stars
Uncredited Co-Stars
Stunt doubles and stand-ins
- John Lendale Bennett as
- Stunt double for Avery Brooks
- Photo double for Avery Brooks
- Stand-in for Avery Brooks
- Jennifer Berlant as photo double for Nicole de Boer
- Todd E. Slayton as photo double for Cirroc Lofton
- Steve Wilson as photo double for Brock Peters
References
Bajorans; Bajoran impulse ship; Bajoran Militia; Bajoran transport; Bajoran wormhole; baseball; Chin'toka system; Council of Ministers; counselor; d'k tahg; Dax (symbiont); Dax, Audrid; Dax, Curzon; Dax, Emony; Dax, Jadzia; Dax, Joran; Dax, Lela; Dax, Tobin; Dax, Torias; Derna; Destiny, USS; Earth; EM pulse; Emissary; equator; Federation-Romulan Alliance; Federation Council; gagh; Hammer, Mike; hell; hospital; Hovat; impulse ship; Isolation Ward 4; Jem'Hadar attack ship; kanar; Keldar; Kiss Me Deadly; Kira's interceptor; Klingon Bird-of-Prey; Kosst Amojan; launch sequencer; Monac IV; Monac shipyards; Monac sun; Moogie; Orb of the Emissary; oven; Pah-wraith; paint; par'Mach'kai; pencil; piano; poker; plasma torpedo; Prophets; raktajino; replicator; Romulan Senate; runabout; "Sisko's"; solar flare; squadron; Sto-vo-kor; tricorder; Trill (planet); Trill Evaluation Board; Trill Symbiosis Institute; typewriter; Tyree (planet); Warbird; water pack
External links
- Template:NCwiki
- Shadows and Symbols at Wikipedia
| Previous episode: "Image in the Sand" |
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 7 |
Next episode: "Afterimage" |