 A violent plasma storm leads to
the evacuation of Deep Space Nine, leaving a skeleton crew
behind to maintain the station. Odo is suspicious when he learns
that Quark is hiding in an airlock, but can pin nothing on the
Ferengi. The crew picks up a distress signal from a cargo ship
that has been damaged and needs assistance. O'Brien and Odo meet
the ship at a docking bay, where the "victims," a humanoid
female named Mareel, Klingon mercenaries T'Kar and Yeto, and a
nervous male Trill named Verad, pull weapons on the pair and
force Odo to assume liquid form and get into a small box. The
group then forces Bashir to put Odo in stasis, and finally winds
up in Ops, taking everyone hostage. O'Brien deduces that Quark
is connected to their plight, unaware that, at that very moment,
Yeto is revealing to the Ferengi that, what Quark thought was
commerce, was really a trick to get the group aboard. T'Kar
reveals the reason for the takeover — the timid Verad is
actually the leader and has come to steal Jadzia's symbiont.
Unable to look Dax in the eyes,
Verad says he has spent his whole life trying to qualify for
symbiosis, but has been deemed an unacceptable candidate. Tired
of his mediocre life, he has decided to take Dax's symbiont and
escape into the Gamma Quadrant. Dax urges him to reconsider,
reminding him that most Trills are not chosen for symbiosis, and
that improper joining can cause psychological damage to both
symbiont and host. But Verad threatens to kill the rest of the
crew if Dax refuses, and she agrees to go through with the
procedure that will surely kill her. Mareel gives Verad a tender
kiss goodbye, and Bashir reluctantly performs the operation,
solemnly removing the symbiont. Back in Ops, Mareel tells Kira
about her love and devotion to Verad when Sisko jumps in,
warning her that Verad is sure to be greatly changed after the
surgery, becoming a mixture of Verad, Dax and all of Dax's
previous hosts. Mareel replies that she will always love him,
just as a far more confident Verad walks in, but he is now Verad
Dax.
While Bashir desperately tries to hold on to Jadzia's life,
Sisko talks with Verad, tapping into the lifelong friendship he
and the Dax symbiont have shared. Verad reminisces about old
times until the memories begin to involve Jadzia, who, Sisko
reminds him, is currently dying because of Verad. Sisko urges
Verad to give the symbiont back to Jadzia, but Verad is
unwilling to part with it, explaining that another joining so
soon may destroy the symbiont. Sisko, willing to take that risk,
walks out, saying that their friendship is over.
Unable to convince Verad Dax, Sisko turns his attention back to
Mareel, urging her to talk with Verad and see for herself how
much he has changed. She refuses, claiming to want to let him
rest, but Sisko's words are getting to her. Meanwhile, Quark,
trying to atone for what he's done, jumps T'Kar and is
immediately injured. Verad Dax and Mareel make their plans to
escape, and Verad tells her he will leave first and she is to
meet him at a designated rendezvous point. Despite his
assurances, Mareel is hesitant, realizing that Verad has, in
fact, changed. Back in surgery, Bashir knocks Yeto unconscious
with a hypospray and then he and Quark release Odo from stasis.
Soon afterward, Verad attempts to contact Yeto and realizes that
Odo must have been freed. He decides to leave immediately with
T'Kar, taking Kira along as a hostage and leaving the dying
Jadzia behind.
With Verad Dax gone, Sisko turns back to Mareel, who reveals
that Verad has lied to her for the first time and that she fears
he will not meet her as planned. Sisko takes advantage of her
sadness, reminding her that the old Verad still cares about her,
and that by saving Jadzia, Verad will be saved as well.
Meanwhile, Verad arrives in the airlock to discover that his
ship is not there. Odo suddenly appears, morphing out of a tool
cart, and tells him that he released the docking clamps. Kira
then attacks T'Kar and a struggle ensues, but Verad escapes to a
Runabout airlock just as Sisko appears and pulls a phaser on
him. Verad tells Sisko he doubts his old friend will fire and
risk killing the Dax symbiont. But Sisko does fire, and Verad
soon wakes up in surgery. Although Mareel professes her undying
love for him, he is inconsolable over the loss of the symbiont.
Dax, however, is back to normal, with the addition of all of
Verad's memories and feelings.
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