Station log: stardate unknown

Rene Echevarria pens this Kira (Nana Visitor) episode that first aired on 25 November, 1998.

Colonel Kira Nerys is kidnapped by a cult that worships the Pah-wraiths. She is taken to the previously abandoned sister station of Deep Space Nine, Empok Nor. And on arrival she finds that their leader is Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo)!

Pah-wraiths and Dukat, you just know that this isn’t going to play out well for anybody, and specifically Kira. She thinks Dukat has become completely insane, while he claims he is their Emissary – a frightening mirror image of Sisko (Avery Brooks).

The episode explores belief systems, forgiveness, and shows the fine line walk between cult and religion. And of course, Dukat would be at the center of it, and, of course, he’s not being as completely honest with everything as he should be… even if he is impassioned in his role to the point of murder.

Will Kira be able to stop him and reveal Dukat’s duplicity and evil, or will the cult continue to believe? And will they go Jonestown to do it?

And Odo (Rene Auberjonois) and Kira’s relationship continues to develop. It’s a nice, gentle thing, and while I’m not sure how I feel about it (I know the actors didn’t care for it) it’s interesting to see both of them in something that doesn’t cause them pain, and brings them both joy.

Between this and the next episode, the U.S.S. Enterprise returned to the big screen with Star Trek: Insurrection which debuted on 11 December, 1998.

Station log: stardate unknown

Ronald D. Moore pens this brilliant Nog (Aron Eisenberg) episode from a story by David Mack and John J. Ordover. It first aired on 30 December, 1998.

The young Ferengi officer returns to the station for the first time since the events on AR-558 (a couple of episodes back), where he lost his leg in the battle. He’s unsure of what to do, or how to even live his life. He’s disabled and trying to find out how he fits now.

When he realizes he can’t deal with it, and not even sure he wishes to live, he takes refuge in the Vic Fontaine (James Darren) holosuite program. He loses himself in helping the crooner, and slowly begins to recuperate, but in the end, Vic has to rip the bandaid off and send Nog back to the 24th century, despite the living Vic has been able to do with the program running all the time.

It’s a solid episode about fear, survival, and pain. It’s well written, and solidly acted, Nog needed this episode, and it is fantastic.

The Human Adventure continues next week with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – The Complete Series on DVD from Paramount Canada.

Boldly go…