To Boldly Sew is a recap of DS9 episodes, with a specific focus on the fashions of the many aliens and other characters that make up the series. Feel free to discuss matters of plot and general Star Trek things in the comments.
I’m getting all these screenshots from trekcore.com, which is the same place as the original TNG fashion blog (http://sttngfashion.tumblr.com/).
I know you’ve all been waiting eagerly for this one, right?
Sisko is trying on his dress uniform. The dress uniform is similar to the normal, old school uniform of mostly red with black shoulders (as opposed to the newer uniform Sisko wears normally, which is mostly black but with red shoulders) but with some gold trim around the collar, and with a longer tunic.
Jake comes in and comments on the dress uniform. Sisko hasn’t worn it in 3 years and thinks it feels a bit baggy. Jake tells him baggy is fashionable on Bajor. (It is?)
Jake is wearing a jumpsuit of blue and purple, which is not at all baggy, so I don’t think Sisko should be taking advice from Jake on fashion.
Sisko wants to know how Jake knows about Bajoran fashions. Jake says that a lot of Bajoran girls come to the station with their families. Since when is he interested in Bajoran girls? Sisko thinks they need to have a talk about women. Jake is reluctant. He says he knows all he needs to know about women and he learned it all from Nog. Sisko is not thrilled about this and he wants to have a talk tomorrow morning. Jake reluctantly agrees.
Jake changes the subject. Why is Sisko wearing the dress uniform? Sisko gives him the exposition – a Vulcan ship made contact with a species called the Wadi in the Gamma Quadrant three weeks earlier. They’re expecting a delegation soon. Sisko says this is important, and begins to compare it to a first date and how you show respect, but he’s interrupted by Kira, who says that the Wadi ship has arrived and is about to dock.
Sisko says he will meet them there. He reminds Jake of their appointment the following morning.
Bashir can’t find his dress uniform.
He’s stressing about this. Dax and Kira tell him to relax and chill about it. Sisko arrives and asks about it. Sisko chews him out – he wants everything to go right. Curiously, the Bajoran uniform doesn’t seem to have a dress version, as Kira is wearing the same thing she always wears.
The aliens arrive.
Oh boy, where shall I start with these outfits. First off, they’re very shiny. Also, the aliens have painted markings on their heads in the same colors as their outfits. Are these permanent tattoos, and so now the guy with the blue tattoo always has to wear blue clothes?
The outfits all seem to be very similar; silvery shiny thing on the top, kind of like a bib, then gold shiny piece below that. The rest of the outfits vary by color, but are otherwise a solid, shiny color.
The hairstyles all are varied, but the men seem to favor long hair and the woman fanciful updos.
The leader does this salute where he triangles his fingers at his forehead and then moves them downward, and introduces himself as Falow, Master Surchid of the Wadi. Sisko welcomes him in the name of Bajor and the United Federation of Planets, and introduces himself and his officers.
Falow brushes this aside. “Yes, yes. Now where are the games?” he asks.
“We were told you had games,” he says. One of his people leans in to whisper in his ear. “Quarks,” he says. “Take us to Quark’s.”
They’re confused, but Kira agrees to lead them that way. Sisko remarks to Dax and Bashir that “First Contact is not what it used to be.” Dax is confused. Bashir seems amused.
CUE THEME
At Quark’s, Quark is anxious to learn if the aliens have money.
Quark is wearing his usual Quark uniform with the paisley jacket.
Dax doesn’t know; they didn’t ask. Sisko tells him that’s not the point. Quark says it’s his point. Sisko wants Quark to treat them well. Quark says not to worry, as he will be a good host.
Quark then goes to speak to Falow. He asks if they do a lot of gambling. Falow says they like games. He wants to talk about Dabo franchising. Sisko gives him a Look, and he quiets down.
Quark asks Falow if they’ve figured out the game; Falow says yes. They spin the wheel. One time, on the house. I don’t understand what happens (and it doesn’t really matter), but they don’t win the spin.
The spinning is done by this Dabo girl in a shiny gold outfit.
I really like how the front of her outfit is kind of like scales: gold, but with a rainbow sort of iridescence to them. It reminds me of this book that was around when I was a kid about a blue shiny fish that I’m now forgetting the name of.
Quark asks if they’d like to wager, so Falow has one of his entourage – a lady in a purplish pink outfit, bring forward an object.
Her outfit is pretty much the same design as Falow’s, but I now notice that she has a turtleneck and he does not. I dislike turtlenecks in general, so maybe my opinion is colored by this, but I much prefer the non-turtlenecked version of this outfit. Feel free to debate.
“What a handsome container,” Quark says diplomatically, and quotes an old Ferengi saying that “good things come in small packages.”
Falow opens the box and takes out what looks like sticks. “Klon peags,” says Falow, and he explains that they have many different uses and are highly sought after in his culture. Quark refuses, saying he has enough sticks.
Falow suggests another woman come forward, and she pours a glass of alpha currant nectar, saying it’s priceless. Quark drinks it and has nothing nice to say about it. Sisko says Quark should take the juice, but Quark does not want to.
Falow says they have nothing to wager then except…and he takes a bag and empties the contents onto the table – it’s a bag of shiny stones and gems.
Quark snaps his fingers and tells one of his Ferengi associates to get them all some drinks.
Six hours later, the Wadi are playing Dabo and Sisko is drinking. He has remembered the name of the Starfleet officer who wrote the revised First Contact procedures – McCoullough, who he wishes was there instead. Quark is concerned that the Wadi keep winning. Sisko tells Quark to keep them happy while he goes to bed.
Quark pushes through the Wadi and asks if they’re ready to call it a night. Falow says they are just getting started. Quark points out the poor Dabo girl is getting tired; her arm is exhausted from so much spinning.
I don’t know how much effort spinning really takes, but the actress does a good job of looking pitifully exhausted. Falow is not concerned – replace her, he says. Quark agrees. He calls over another Ferengi he calls Broik and tells him to take over.
Broik is also a fan of shiny things, in this case the shiny color green. His jacket is made of upholstery fabric, but his shirt has bits of shiny things in it.
Broik not-so-secretly pushes a button on the side of the table, causing them to lose.
“An unfortunate reversal!” Quark comments sympathetically. Falow is clearly suspicious.
Jake is looking at a metal thing. He is doing some technobabble for school, and Sisko is not happy he is still awake.
Jake says he was doing the school stuff with Nog. Sisko says that Nog is older, and so he stays up later and does other things (with girls) that Jake is not ready for. He’s also unhappy that Jake seemed okay with bedtime until Nog came along. Sisko is also tired.
Back at Quark’s, Falow catches Broik red handed at pushing the button.
Broik’s jacket also has some shiny detailing on the lapels.
Quark pretends to be astonished that Broik would cheat, and threatens to fire him. Falow is not buying it, though. They walk toward Quark, crowding him up to the bar, and command him to sit. Quark tries to talk himself out of his trouble. He tries to bribe them with free spins and holosuite trips. He also says they can keep their winnings and their gemstones.
Falow tells Quark he will have the opportunity to win a lot more gemstones, in a new, HONEST game. A woman brings over a box.
It looks like there’s a skirt beneath her top. She’s also wearing a turtleneck, which I still don’t like, and the purplish version of the top they’re all wearing, but after several minutes of thought, I think she’s a different woman than the one who presented the box with the sticks.
Falow opens the box and a funky contraption appears on the Dabo table.
Quark asks what it’s called.
“Chula.”
Quark doesn’t know how to play. Falow sets some pieces on the game, at the second level from the top, which he calls the second “shap” and says that these pieces are Quark’s players. “Can’t we start at the beginning?” Quark asks, but Falow laughs and says that only children enter at the first shap.
Sisko is sleeping in some blue pajamas.
This screenshot doesn’t show them very well, but they’re kind of a velvety texture. We only see them for a moment, though, because he rolls over and finds himself lying on a floor in his normal uniform. The floor is covered with triangle shaped tiles.
Sisko is weirded out. He tries calling several people, then tries telling the computer to freeze or end the program, as he assumes he’s in a holosuite. He then takes out a convenient tricorder and goes to a door. He tries pushing a button to open the door, but it doesn’t work.
All the doors are purple diamonds with pinkish borders and some weird markings on them that look like they might be writing. Sisko tries another door and another and they don’t work either. Finally he finds one that works, and he passes through the door into a hallway.
There are more doors here. He tries opening them also. They don’t work. Then he finds one that does. Falow appears behind that door, laughing. He says “Shap two, move along, move along home!”
Falow is also not wearing pants, but what looks like a long skirt beneath his flashy shirt.
Sisko asks what’s going on, but Falow just laughs and the door closes, and Sisko can’t open it.
He hears screaming in the distance and heads down the hallway.
Bashir is standing against a wall with his arms over his head, shouting. When Sisko calls out to him, he screams again and opens his eyes, then calms down. He says he thought he was having a nightmare.
After a moment, Kira and Dax appear as well, running after the screams. Bashir says he was trying to wake himself up from a bad dream. Sisko tells them he saw Falow and they’re guests of the Wadi. Bashir theorizes that this is a behavioral test, like a rodent in a maze. Kira is quite upset by this; she did not sign up for a behavioral test.
They test and find that their comm badges work, so Dax suggests they split up to see if they can find a way out, since they’ll be able to communicate. Sisko says they should use tricorders for proximity tests, and if all else fails, just yell. They set out to explore.
Odo is in his office. Jake comes in and asks if he knows where his dad is.
Sisko was making a big deal about them having a chat this morning, but he was gone when Jake woke up. The computer says he’s not on the station. Odo suggests Jake go off to school and Odo will look for him, but school is closed while the O’Briens are (still) on Earth. He and Nog were going to watch the transport ships come in (ie look at the girls). Odo tells him to go on and he’ll let Jake know when he finds Sisko.
After Jake leaves, Odo asks the computer to confirm that Sisko is not on the station, and also when did he log out? The computer doesn’t have that info. It also can’t say what ship Sisko left on.
Odo heads to Ops where Lieutenant Primmin is at work. Odo asks where Kira is; Primmin says she did not report for duty that morning. None of the senior officers did. Primmin doesn’t think this is odd, because the Wadi party went on late.
Odo tells him that Sisko is missing; many of the senior officers may be missing, and they should do a security sweep of the station.
He wants to know the last time anyone saw any of them, and also to check all the ships docked or recently departed.
At Quark’s Falow and the Wadi are ready to play. “Last wagers, the board is ready,” he announces. Quark is confused. Falow asks how much he wants to risk, and Quark asks if there is a minimum wager, which leads to a bunch of groans from the other Wadi.
Falow gives Quark some dice and tells him to roll. Quark protests; he doesn’t know the rules yet. Falow says you are required to learn as you play. The other Wadi start banging their klon peag (the sticks Quark didn’t want) together.
Quark rolls and Falow yells “CHULA” and then says the pieces will meet the Chandra. What does that mean, Quark asks. Is it good or bad?
Neither. Both. Falow says that some will never understand and others will consider it mere child’s play. He pushes a button and the board lights up. He pushes some other buttons.
Sisko is walking through the maze, trying doors and finding them closed.
He hears a girl singing a song in the distance, and uses his comm badge to call the others, telling them he found something.
The others appear and they all scan with their tricorders and then open a door.
Inside, a Wadi girl is singing and hopping.
She’s wearing a pale pink outfit with bright pink tights and pink shoes (boots?). The outfit seems to be a smaller version of the adults’ clothing, with patches of slivery and gold shiny things, and the rest of it all one shiny color.
Dax tries talking to her but the girl ignores them. Kira wants to know where the next door leads, and starts to walk forward, but hits a force field that knocks her back. The little girl seems to go through it, though.
Bashir realizes that the girl is stepping on certain panels on the floor and that must be the key. Dax agrees; one of the lines the girl is singing is “If you can see, you’ll come with me.” So Bashir tries the hopping pattern the way the girl is doing it. It doesn’t work, though.
Dax says that it must be because he didn’t say the rhyme. She tries this and it works, so Sisko and the others do the same. Once they get across, the door opens. They walk through.
“Allamaraine!” the girl says. “Third shap.”
Back at Quark’s, Falow says “Allamaraine!” and the Wadi cheer. Falow moves the pieces around, and then gives Quark some gemstones. Quark is happy.
Falow tells Quark to chose the path – short or long. The short path doubles the peril, but doubles his winnings. Quark is intrigued by this, but Falow tells him that if none of the players makes it home, he’ll lose everything he’s won. Quark is more intrigued. He suggests to Falow that he might have use for another gaming table.
Odo barges in.
He asks when was the last time Quark saw Sisko. Quark says last night when he went to bed, and he said nothing about leaving the station. Odo tells him that Sisko is missing, as well as Dax, Bashir, and Kira. Quark starts to insist that he does not know anything and why would he, until Odo says that “four officers are missing,” and now he’s got the connection between his four game players and the four missing officers.
Falow has kind of this smug expression. He repeats the “Double their peril, double your winnings part,” and Quark gets it. Odo gets it then also.
Quark decides to take the safer path, much to disappointed groans from the Wadi. He rolls.
The group of players has realized that they’re in a game.
A door opens and they find themselves in the midst of a party.
The shiny clothing in this image reminds me a lot of the French Renaissance and the court of one of the Louis who liked shiny things. The long hair kind of reminds me of Tolkien’s elves.
Kira tries to talk to the participants and none of them listen. She tries dropping a tray on the ground but they just giggle. Bashir tries to take a glass from one of the partygoers, but Sisko discourages him. Bashir suggests that maybe this is how the Wadi provide nourishment. Or maybe it’s drugged, Sisko says.
Gas is filling the room. Falow appears, laughing hysterically. He keeps saying “move along home.” Bashir realizes that the smoke is not bothering the partygoers. He grabs a passing glass and drinks, realizing it’s the antidote. The others drink as well.
The partygoers applaud. Falow does the same sort of triangle-hands bow thing that he did at their first meeting and announces “Shap Four.”
The door exiting the room opens.
Then the smoke and all the partygoers disappear. They head through the open door.
At Quark’s Falow moves the pieces down to the next level and shouts “Allamaraine!” again. The Wadi cheer. Quark is getting excited about his winnings. Odo is concerned.
Odo and Primmin are trying to find out where Sisko and the others have gone. They’re scanning the Wadi ship to see if the missing officers are there. There’s an energy flux on the second level of the ship. Primmin says that it’s a similar energy pattern to a transporter, but a transporter beam would only last a few seconds.
Odo thinks they should take a look. Primmin thinks they can’t go onto the ship without permission. “Is that Starfleet policy?” Odo mocks. “I’m not in Starfleet.” He commands Primmin to transport him aboard, and when Primmin hesitates he asks if it’s against Starfleet policy to push a few buttons. Primmin reluctantly complies.
Odo arrives at the Wadi ship and starts scanning things. He finds a door, opens it, and is blinded by a bright white light.
When he steps through the door, he finds himself back at Quark’s. Falow is grinning at him, but all he says is: “Choose their path.”
Odo interrupts. No, the game is finished now, he says.
Stop the game, lose your players, Falow says. Quark tries to tell him that everything is going fine. He is tempted to choose the dangerous path, but Odo’s glaring convinces him to take the safer one.
He rolls. The Wadi groan; Falow frowns and shakes his head. “An unfortunate roll,” he says.
Bashir wonders if they just need to win the game, and also he’s optimistic that they’ve moved from the second shap to the third shap to the fourth. He doesn’t know what a shap is, but is taking this as forward progress. Kira doesn’t think he’s taking it seriously. He disagrees and says he finds the seriousness motivating.
They hear some rumbling of machinery. Dax calls out the technobabble. Something is coming toward them.
Some lights appear in the hallway, shining brightly toward them.
A bright white light gets whiter.
At Quark’s Falow moves the blue piece to the bottom.
Bashir vanishes.
Falow knocks over the piece.
Odo wants to know what happened to the blue piece.
Falow just says that Odo can play the game after Quark is done.
Quark wants to take the shortcut route now. Odo is incensed. Quark thinks it’s the right thing to do. He also says he’s been playing games his whole life and he knows this is the right game.
Odo thinks Quark is just being selfish and wanting to increase his own winnings, but Quark points out that the shortcut will skip a whole level. He knows there are risks but he thinks they can get all the way home on just one move. Odo reluctantly agrees.
Quark wants Odo to blow on the dice, so Odo reluctantly does so. Quark then rolls.
“Thialo,” says Falow. The other Wadi chant it also. What does this mean? “Sacrifice one so that two may live.”
Odo is upset.
If you do not sacrifice one, all three will be lost, says Falow.
Fine, Quark says. He looks at the three pieces but he won’t select. He starts to whine about how it’s all been a misunderstanding and he’ll never cheat again, please, just don’t make him do it. Please, please, please. He gets down on his knees and basically sobs.
Falow and Odo look on unemotionally.
They exchange glances. Quark keeps sobbing.
Falow relents. He says he’ll program the game to select one at random.
Last chance.
Sisko, Kira, and Dax are walking through the maze when they hear Bashir shouting out that he can see the end and has found the way home. Dax has found an open door. She climbs up some rocks, but there’s an earthquake and her leg gets stuck between the rocks.
They can see Bashir in the distance, with a white light behind them, encouraging them to come that way. However, when Sisko tries to go to him and make him come and help Dax, who is hurt, Bashir turns in to Falow, who says “Thialo. Move along home.”
Shap six. He vanishes. There’s more quaking.
He and Kira try to help Dax out of the room. She can’t walk on the leg but they can support her through the cave. They continue on a shaky path, with quakes interrupting them. They stop to rest at the edge of a cliff. Sisko drops a rock down and it falls down.
The gap is small enough that Sisko and Kira should be able to jump across, but not Dax. She encourages them to go on without her, as she has lived seven lives and they have not even finished one. Sisko objects, not wanting to leave her behind. Dax says not to let sentiment get in the way of command decisions.
Sisko tells Kira to go across and they’ll find a way around, but Kira doesn’t want to leave either, and dares Sisko to court martial her, but he can’t since she’s not in Starfleet. They try going another way. Dax says she’d court martial both of them if she was their superior officer, but neither Sisko nor Kira respond to this.
There’s a lot of these kinds of shots.
All three try walking along a narrow shelf but there’s another quake and they have to stop. Then they keep going. Then there’s another quake and Dax falls and then Kira is hanging off the edge of the ledge, and they pull her up. Then there’s a stronger quake and all three of them fall.
They appear at Quark’s (along with Bashir).
Quark cheers “They made it! I won!” and then immediately switches to complimenting Sisko and saying he had full confidence in them and never doubted that they’d prevail. He’s collecting gems as he speaks.
“No Quark,” Fallow interrupts, “I’m afraid all your players were lost.”
What Kira demands, we were never in any real danger? The Wadi laugh. It was only a game.
He makes the table disappear and then says it is time to move along home. Sisko is kind of pissed and starts to yell at Falow, but Odo interrupts and says that perhaps Sisko should ask Quark how it all began. Quark stammers out that they just had a run of bad luck and blamed him for their losses.
“That’s not what you said when you were groveling on the floor,” Odo points out.
“Oh, that’s right,” Quark recalls, “you were here for the groveling.”
Falow interrupts to excuse himself, saying that perhaps one day they’ll have a rematch.
Quark thinks maybe the game could work in his bar. Quark heads out afterward to ask him about it. The Wadi leave as the end credits roll.
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