|
While engaging in a game of Tongo
with Rom, Dax, and a young Ferengi waiter named Pel, Quark is
hailed by his leader, Grand Nagus Zek, who has good news for him
— Zek has chosen him to act as his chief negotiator in the
Ferengi expansion into the Gamma Quadrant. Soon afterward, Zek
meets with Sisko and Kira, hoping they will let him use the
station for a business conference with the Dosi, a race from the
Gamma Quadrant, and they reluctantly agree. Zek then goes to
Quark's quarters and instructs him to purchase ten thousand vats
of tulaberry wine from the Dosi, a move he feels will establish
a strong Ferengi presence. Quark later brags about his
profitable assignment to Rom, but Pel, who overhears them, warns
him to be wary of Zek's motives, since Zek will be credited for
success but Quark will almost certainly be blamed for any
failure. Impressed, Quark asks Pel to serve as his assistant,
leaving Rom stung. Pel then returns to his quarters, removing
his false earlobes and revealing that he is actually a female.
The Dosi arrive on Deep Space
Nine, and Quark nervously begins negotiations with Inglatu, the
disagreeable leader, and Zyree, an equally difficult female.
Things get off to a bad start when Inglatu says he will only
sell Quark five thousand vats of wine, then demands to deal with
Zek directly, but Pel steps in and firmly states that Quark is
the sole contact in the negotiations. Still, Quark is shaken,
and is even more upset when Zek informs him that he now wants
one hundred thousand vats of wine, but Pel steps in and tells
Zek this is a wonderful idea. She then steals a moment alone
with Quark and convinces him that he is capable of negotiating
this deal. Dax quietly observes the entire interaction and, the
next day, questions Pel about her loyalty to Quark, then hears
that Pel is not only in love with Quark, she is also a female,
having disguised herself as a male to escape the domestic
drudgery that is a Ferengi female's legally-mandated lot in
life.
The next day, Quark relays to Zek that negotiations did not go
well — the Dosi have left the station. Zek becomes enraged, but
Pel tells him that they will travel to the Gamma Quadrant and
make the deal with the Dosi in their territory. Soon, she is
alone on a ship with Quark, and almost reveals her secret as the
sexual tension mounts, leaving Quark vaguely troubled.
Meanwhile, back on the station, a jealous Rom ransacks Pel's
quarters and learns the truth about her gender.
In the Dosi homeworld, Quark boldly approaches Inglatu with the
contract, but he still refuses. Quark decides to camp out on the
planet to be close to Inglatu in case he changes his mind,
putting Pel, who is sharing a tiny tent with him, in an awkward
position. Unable to resist, she impulsively kisses Quark, but
Zyree enters before he can react, and reveals that Inglatu
doesn't have one hundred thousands vats of wine to sell.
However, she tips off Quark to the Karemma, an important power
in the Dominion, a mysterious group who holds sizable influence
in the Gamma Quadrant. Realizing that this information, not the
wine, is what Zek really wants, he and Pel return to the
station. Quark refuses to talk with Pel about the kiss and goes
straight to meet with Zek, who promises Quark a percentage of
every Ferengi opportunity in the Gamma Quadrant in exchange for
a meeting with a member of the Dominion. Suddenly, Rom
interrupts and pulls Quark away, telling him the truth about Pel.
Quark promptly faints.
In the Infirmary, Rom reminds Quark that since she wears clothes
and tries to earn profit, Pel has violated Ferengi law and
should be punished. Afraid to ruin his reputation with Zek,
Quark promises to give Rom the bar in exchange for his silence.
Quark then visits Pel in her quarters and tells her to leave the
station. She tells Quark that she loves him, but despite his
feelings for her, he tells her he would not be happy with a
non-traditional Ferengi wife. Determined to make her point, Pel
confronts Zek and reveals her true identity. Zek threatens to
imprison both her and Quark, who is guilty of the Ferengi crime
of taking business advice from a female, until Quark reminds Zek
that he, too, is guilty. Zek agrees to keep quiet, costing Quark
his potential Gamma Quadrant profits. Pel leaves the station to
continue her adventures, and Quark is left with nothing but the
sadness of his first lost love. |
