 The Grand Nagus calls with news
that Quark's mother, Ishka, has been captured by the Dominion.
He enlists Quark to rescue her, offering a substantial reward if
he succeeds. Quark persuades Rom to join the mission to save
their mother, telling him that they will lie about the reward in
order to keep most for themselves. The two then recruit Nog for
his Starfleet expertise, while fellow Ferengis Leck, Gaila and
Brunt form the rest of the team.
While running battle simulations in the holosuites, Quark
realizes they have no hope of taking back Ishka by force. Rom
suggests doing what Ferengis do best — making a deal. With
Sisko's blessing, Quark obtains the release of a Vorta, Keevan,
from prison, and makes a deal with the Dominion to exchange him
for Ishka. The team heads to Empok Nor, a deserted Cardassian
space station, to make the exchange, but Keevan warns them that
the Dominion intends to kill him, and will no doubt kill the
Ferengi team as well.
At the station, Gaila falls asleep while he is supposed to be
guarding their prisoner, and Keevan escapes. Luckily, Quark had
Rom disable the ship's engines in anticipation of such a
problem, so the group is able to apprehend Keevan. When they
return to their base camp, dozens of Jem'Hadar soldiers are
waiting for them.
Quark meets with Yelgrun, the Vorta who is holding Ishka
prisoner. Yelgrun asks for Keevan, but instead of making the
exchange, Quark responds with a list of demands designed to
ensure his group's — and his mother's — safety. After some
initial reservations, Yelgrun gives in, and he and Quark agree
to exchange prisoners in a half hour. Quark goes back to
complete the final preparations, but Rom accidentally reveals to
the rest of the group that he and Quark are withholding some of
the reward money. A fight ensues, and Keevan — their bargaining
chip — is mistakenly killed.
Unwilling to leave without Ishka, Nog engineers a desperate
solution — wiring Keevan with neural stimulators so it will look
as if he's still alive. When the sides exchange their prisoners,
sending each to walk toward the other group, Yelgrun immediately
senses something is wrong. However, by the time he calls for his
guards to attack, the rest of the Ferengi team arrives and kills
them. The group heads back to Deep Space Nine with Yelgrun as
their prisoner, Ishka free, and Quark a hero.
See Also: Image Captures |
