Station log: stadate unknown

Hans Beimler and Ira Steven Behr pen this Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) story that first aired on 1 April, 1998.

When the Cardassian, Dukat (Marc Alaimo) stuns Kira with the revelation that he claims her Bajoran mother was his lover during the occupation she turns to Sikso (Avery Brooks) not as her commander, but as the Emissary to seek his permission to use the Orb of Time to travel back to discover the truth about her mother, Kira Meru (Leslie Hope).

KIra travels to Bajor to access the Orb of Time and finds herself on Terok Nor during the Occupation where she and Kira Meru have been selected as comfort women for the Cardassian officers.

And soon, it becomes readily apparent, that Gukat was telling the truth, which means that Nerys must reconcile with the fact that her mother was a collaborator.

It shifts her perspective on everything that happened during the war, and also affects her opinion of her mother, and Dukat (it actually makes him a lot creepier in my eyes seeing as he seems to have some romantic interest in Nerys).

The story is handled well, and serves as an analogy for those who have collaborated in wars while their kin and friends fell in battle around them. It’s heavy subject matter and it’s handled well.

We are left as troubled as Kira, she knows now that her mother was a collaborator, but that woman was also her mother… and she loves her.

It’s a heartbreaking conundrum.

Station log: stardate unknown

Inquisition was written by Bradley Thompson and David Weddle, and first aired on 8 April, 1998. It introduces that branch of Starfleet Intelligence that works in the shadows, Section 31. The moody piece is directed by Deep Space Nine’s own Micheal Dorn.

Luther Sloan (William Sadler) arrives on the station to investigate Doctor Bashir (Alexander Siddig) for treason, as there is a suggestion that he has been feeding information to the Dominion as a spy.

Ludicrous, of course, but can the augmented human prove his innocence against an Intelligence organization that has already reached its conclusion?

Sloan is willing to do everything he can to prove he is right about Bashir, and the young doctor is troubled when those he knows and has served with start to turn from him.

There’s a nice sense of continuity as O’Brien (Colm Meaney) is still kayaking, and still getting hurt, as well as callbacks to other episodes that featured Bashir interacting with the Dominion.

It works as a great little spy thriller, and I love Sisko’s order to Bashir as the episode draws to a close.

Next week the Human Adventure continues as I work my way through more of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – The Complete Series on DVD, now available from Paramount Canada. Check it out, and…

boldly go…