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In the wake of the peace treaty
with Cardassia, Sisko is excited about working with two
Cardassian scientists who are assigned to help deploy a subspace
relay in the Gamma Quadrant — a project which, if successful,
will allow communication through the wormhole for the first
time. But Vedek Yarka warns that an old Bajoran prophecy
predicts destruction of the wormhole, as three "vipers" will
return to their "nest" in the sky. He deduces that the
scientists are the vipers and the station must be their nest.
Still, there are only two Cardassians arriving, and Sisko
believes the project is too important to abandon. Later, the
Cardassian scientists, Ulani and Gilora, arrive, and immediately
put the crew at ease with their friendly manner. However, when
they announce that another scientist will soon be joining them,
Kira is concerned, believing this is the third "viper" in the
prophecy.
Yarka begs Kira to have Sisko
send away the Cardassians, but she will not let her faith
interfere with her duties. After Dejar, the third scientist,
arrives at the station, Gilora and O'Brien prepare to receive
the signal from the Gamma Quadrant, while Dejar and Ulani travel
there with Sisko, Kira, and Dax on the Defiant in order to set
up the relay. As soon as they arrive, the crew encounters a
large rogue comet, which Kira sees as the "sword of stars"
mentioned in the prophecy.
Kira tells Sisko she believes the prophecy is coming true, and
that Sisko, as the Emissary of Bajoran lore, must make a
decision just as it foretells. Sisko, however, has always been
unwilling to accept that he actually is the Emissary. He then
has Dax send the first transmission through the wormhole, but it
fails. The modified signal instead triggers the wormhole to open
violently and experience a brief, drastic increase in gravity,
which alters the comet's course, causing it to head directly for
the anomaly. If the comet enters it, the material in the core
will make the wormhole collapse permanently — which is
apparently part of the prophecy.
Back at the station, O'Brien and Gilora modify the Defiant's
phasers in order to vaporize the entire comet at once. But when
the ship returns to the Gamma Quadrant to implement the plan,
the weapons relay malfunctions, causing the phasers to instead
fire a standard burst, which splits the comet into three
fragments — all of which remain on course for the wormhole.
Gilora reveals that Dejar, who is a member of the Obsidian
Order, sabotaged the phasers. Once Dejar is detained, Sisko and
Kira board a shuttlepod and maneuver it between the comet
fragments, generating a subspace field around the pieces as they
travel through the wormhole. The pair is successful, as the
fragments safely enter the Alpha Quadrant with just a minimum of
the deadly material leaking into the wormhole. Amazingly, the
material also forms a subspace filament which allows
transmissions to come from the Gamma Quadrant. Kira realizes
that the prophecy has come true — the symbolism was just
interpreted incorrectly. The "vipers" were actually the comet
fragments, which permanently wedged open the "temple gates" of
the wormhole. Sisko returns to the station with new respect for
Bajoran prophecy, and for his own prophesized role in Bajor's
fate.
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