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/).
Odo comes to Quark’s which is very busy and bustling, with lots of aliens laughing and winning at dabo.
This alien has an interestingly shiny vest. I’m not sure I understand the closure, though.
Quark doesn’t want to talk but Odo insists.
Quark is wearing a paisley multicolored jacket. I think this might be a new jacket for this season!
Odo asks about a freighter that Quark says was smuggling things. It turns out that Quark was correct, and Odo arrested some crew members. Quark wants to know why Odo still treats him like an enemy when he does helpful things like this. Odo says he is the enemy.
Quark wants to call a truce. Odo is skeptical. Quark says they’re going to be friends. Odo is even more skeptical now, but he leaves. Quark remarks to Rom that he’s never seen Odo so confused. Rom is also confused – the smugglers would have been a great source of profit. Quark quotes the 76th rule of acquisition – which says to declare peace to confuse the hell out of your enemies.
Quark is coming up the stairs when a woman with purple hair comes down.
I like the color. It also goes really well with the gray of her outfit, which sadly we don’t get a good view of.
They flirt for a bit. She asks if anyone is going to Bajor, as she’s not able to go. She wants to deliver an earring that was given to her by a Cardassian maintenance worker and he asked her to take it to Bajor, saying that whomever she showed it to would understand. She concludes someone on the station will know what to do with it.
Quark takes the earring from her, saying he knows what to do with it.
Kira is meditating or praying or something, which involves standing before a symbol and two lit candles with her arms raised up. She’s stripped down to her sleeveless undershirt.
The door chimes. She lowers her hands and blows out the candles as Quark arrives.
He says he has always wanted to know what her quarters looked like, and she says this had better not be his only reason for coming. He follows her toward the bedroom but does not enter under threat while she puts her jacket back on. She threatens to kick him out.
He shows her the earring. She is stunned. He explains the woman (who he describes as a Boslic freighter captain) and her story about getting it on Cardassia IV.
Kira takes the earring and runs out of the room, leaving Quark unhappy to not have negotiated payment.
CUE THEME
Sisko, walking through the promenade, is met by Jake.
Jake is wearing his green on green jumpsuit. It’s not his worst, but I still hate it.
Jake says he has great news about a Bajoran girl named Laira and he has decided to ask her out. Sisko starts to give some fatherly advice, but Jake has already asked her out, and she’s said yes. He is asking for ideas on where to go.
Jake suggests a date to the holosuites, but Sisko says he is too young. Jake next suggests their quarters, but Sisko doesn’t like that idea either. He says to talk in public. Sisko says to go upstairs and talk while they watch the ships pass through the wormhole. Jake thinks this is boring.
Before they can talk further, Kira rushes in saying she wants to speak to Sisko. Jake says he can see his dad is not ready to have the conversation yet, and he’ll come up with some ideas on his own, then he leaves.
Sisko heads to a replicator and gets a raktajino and a torte then sits at a small table with Kira.
She has been impatiently waiting, and is not interested in any food or drink. She wants to borrow a runabout and doesn’t want to tell him why. Sisko says he needs to know where she’s going with a Starfleet runabout.
She admits she’s planning to go to Cardassia IV to rescue a Bajoran prisoner of war. Sisko whistles and says he does wish she hadn’t told him.
She explains that the earring she’s holding was smuggled out of Cardassia IV, and has the insignia of Li Nalas. Sisko recognizes the name as a resistance leader. He was reported as killed in action, but his body was never found. Bajoran ships don’t have the maneuverability or defensive capabilities to get in and out of Cardassian territory, but a runabout does.
Sisko examines the earring, questions its authenticity. Kira says that Dax found dermal residue, and genetic analysis matches Li’s DNA records. He asks if she’s told the Provisional Government, and she says she talked to 3 ministers, and, as expected, they were unwilling to take action.
Sisko says he understands, and Kira says the government is made up of political opportunists, and they’re too busy fighting amongst themselves, and the infighting has gotten worse since they’ve lost Kai Opaka. She thinks Li Nalas can be that leader.
Chief O’Brien calls then and says Sisko and Odo should join him in the habitat ring. Sisko says he’ll think over Kira’s request.
O’Brien explains that he was heading to do some repair work, when he noticed some graffiti on the wall.
Sisko recognizes it as the emblem of something called the Alliance for Global Unity, who call themselves the Circle. Odo says they’re an extremist faction who believes in Bajor for the Bajorans, and all other species are inferior and should be expelled. The emblem has appeared all over Bajor.
Sisko says he wants to know if it appears anywhere else. O’Brien says the graffiti is not going to persuade them to leave the station. Sisko says they’re just trying to show off.
Odo says the area is a low-security area, so there’s nothing to worry about. Sisko says there are now no more low-security areas on the station.
Sisko is tossing a ball around his office. Dax comes in. They are not going to discuss baseball; she is relieved.
Sisko says he’s thinking about their mission, and it seems like everything they’ve accomplished is about to be undone. Sisko says he might know someone who could unite the factions.
Dax says to give Kira the runabout. Sisko is surprised she knows. Sisko asks what they say to the Cardassians. Dax says that they swear they released all their prisoners. She leaves.
As she leaves, she gives Kira a reassuring pat on the arm. Kira goes to talk to Sisko, but he leaves his office before she gets there. He gives her the go ahead, then goes to tell O’Brien to give her the runabout, only to find that Chief already knows of Kira’s plans also.
Sisko gives her a cover story of going to pick up mineral samples. He asks if there’s a way they can prevent the Cardassians from sensing the runabout. Chief suggests some technobabble that will make them think it’s a different vehicle.
In Kira’s quarters, she is wearing casual, non-uniform clothes!
Sisko and Chief stop by. Chief is also wearing non-uniform clothes!
Kira has some high-waisted leather-like pants, with a belt that appears to do nothing. I suppose it could theoretically hold a weapon, but she’s not wearing one. I think her shirt, which is a form-fitting greenish thing, is tucked into her pants. The vest is a completely decorative thing that looks like a lacy crochet.
Chief, meanwhile, has a greenish two-toned jacket? Sweater? worn over a teal t-shirt. I wonder if he owns these clothes or if Sisko found some/replicated some just for this mission. Are these specifically supposed to be in Bajoran style so he doesn’t stand out? Of course, this is never explained.
Sisko says that Chief will be going along on the mission. Kira doesn’t think this is a good idea, and it will cause complications later if a Starfleet officer gets involved. Sisko says Chief is a better pilot and he wants the runabout back in one piece.
Kira says it’s a Bajoran problem. Sisko disagrees, and says he wants Li on Bajor also. O’Brien says he’s seen how the Cardassians treat their prisoners and no one should suffer like that. He says the Cardassians will have to catch them first before they suffer.
Kira sees she’s outnumbered and relents.
On the runabout, Kira says the runabout ends one of two ways – they come back with Li Nalas, or they don’t come back at all. O’Brien says he understands, and they head out.
30 minutes from Cardassia IV, Kira notes they’re being scanned by someone nearby. O’Brien thinks it’s a routine scan from a navigational control post. But then someone hails them.
O’Brien notes they’re out of visual range and so they should try to bluff. Kira opens the channel, and a Cardassian identifies himself as being from a navigational control post, as predicted. He asks for identification.
Kira says they are a Lissepian transport Martuk. The Cardassian says they’re noting some malfunction. O’Brien thinks that’s the result of the technobabble he’s using to disguise their true nature. Kira says they are aware of some issue and are working on fixing it. The Cardassians asks if they need help. She politely declines and makes up a story about a Gul waiting on a shipment of seeds and not wanting to delay. The Cardassian understands and says she can repair after the cargo is delivered.
Chief asks who Gul Marayn is, and Kira admits she made him up.
A short while later they are in orbit above the Hutet labor camp. Chief says he’s limited the bio scan to only detect Bajorans. Then he sees there are many readings, and about a dozen Bajorans there. They can’t beam more than two at a time.
They decide to land, as chaos will break out after the first two prisoners are beamed up, and they don’t know if they’ll get Li Nalas in the first shot.
On the planet, Cardassians are patrolling a rock pit, where Bajorans are loading rocks into baskets.
The Cardassians are wearing typical Cardassian uniforms, but look! It’s a rare full-body shot! Stiff upper-body outfit that looks like it has maybe leather or metal mixed in with slightly softer material. The pants are unremarkable. The boots are something else! Knee-high, they look bulky enough that they could double as snow boots.
The Bajorans are dressed in rags and looking kind of sad.
From the distance, Kira and Chief come walking in. The Cardassians order them to halt. Chief says they want to see the Prefect, as Kira has an appointment with him.
Kira makes some flirtatious moves. The Cardassian guard makes a leering smile and says he used to be stationed on Bajor.
Another full-body shot lets us see our heroes dressed from head to toe. Kira’s pants are tucked into knee-high brown boots. They’re baggy around the thighs, so I feel like they might be kind of mimicking harem pants, but that’s the only part of her outfit that makes me think “prostitute.” She’s not showing nearly enough skin here.
O’Brien has kind of baggy pants, also, and I don’t think his boots are as high. He’s not dressed ostentatiously enough to be a pimp, but I guess they have more lenient fashion standards.
Kira and Chief banter with the guard, with O’Brien acting as a pimp and Kira making flirtatious remarks. O’Brien says she costs 2 strips of gold-pressed latinum. Kira says he can’t afford her. The guard lowers the force field long enough to let Kira through, but not O’Brien.
Some of the Bajoran workers pause to look at what’s happening. Some have long sleeves, others short sleeves. They also look like they have rags wrapped around their hands, probably to try to heal wounds they got from picking up rocks all day.
Kira walks forward and the guard says to show him why she’s worth 2 strips of gold-pressed latinum. She agrees, starts top open her shirt, and then punches him, knocking him unconscious. She steals his weapon and shoots another guard who is coming to investigate, then lowers the force field for O’Brien. He shoots another guard on a high ridge.
Kira rushes forward and identifies herself to Li Nalas. She says she has his earring. He is confused, but another man says he had the earring smuggled back to Bajor. Chief hurries them toward the ship, along with the rest of the prisoners.
As they are escaping, another guard comes forward and shoots a few of them, but they are only injured, and the others help to move them behind some rocks.
They’re moving slowly, and O’Brien is worried.
Li’s friend says to get Li back to Bajor, and four of them will stay behind and hold off the Cardassians until they can reach their ship. Li won’t allow it. “We did this for you!” his friend says. Kira agrees to this plan, and passes her weapon to the friend.
The Cardassians keep shooting. Kira gets them on board. Chief is ready to launch but Kira says to wait in case others make it. He agrees.
Then he registers two warships overhead entering orbit, and they should arrive in less than 2 minutes.
Li says not to leave the men behind. Chief says if they don’t leave now they never will. Kira says to take them home. So they leave.
Back on the station, Bashir and some assistants help the wounded and prisoners from the ship. Bashir has himself, Li, and a woman beamed directly to sick bay.
I don’t remember him having Starfleet assistants or fellow doctors, but this lady has a great updo.
Kira rushes into Sisko’s office to find that he is talking to a Cardassian. She apologizes for interrupting and says she’ll wait outside, but Sisko says she should stay and hear what Dukat has to say.
Dukat says that he has just informed Sisko that the Cardassian High Command has issued a formal apology to the people of Bajor. Kira is confused.
He says they did not know that there were still Bajoran prisoners on Cardassia IV, and these were in direct violation of Supreme Directive 2645, and he assures them the camp Prefect will be chastised. She asks about the prisoners left behind, and he says they are en route to Bajor.
She says she looks forward to their safe return. Dukat says he hopes their quick response will prove Cardassia is no longer their enemy. He then ends the call.
Kira and Sisko are both very surprised. Kira thinks there must be a reason they’re so accommodating. Sisko agrees, but says for now let’s be grateful the prisoners are safe, and congratulates her on the success of the mission.
In the infirmary, Bashir is working on Li, who feels better after the treatment. Bashir says he heard about Li’s battle with Gul Zarale, who he defeated in hand-to-hand combat. He begins to talk about how amazing some of their battles were.
Li interrupts to say that others enjoy talking about those days far more than he does.
Li walks on the promenade with Sisko and Kira, marveling at how much the station has changed. Odo comes up and says that Minister Jaro has arrived from Bajor. Sisko tells Kira to welcome him aboard.
Sisko shows Li to the replimat, but he says he just want to go to his quarters and rest. As they turn to leave, a crowd assembles of other Bajorans who have recognized him.
Kira greets Jaro at the airlock.
Jaro is wearing purple that manages to be boring, even though it’s purple. I do like the collar on this outfit, though.
She tells him that Li Nalas is okay. The minister is astonished.
He says she’s made some enemies in the chamber of ministers. He says she declared war on Cardassia, but thankfully they declined. Kira says she’d do it again to save Li Nalas.
He says officially he needs to warn her not to disobey orders, but privately he wants to thank her.
On the promenade, Odo pushes back the crowd, but both he and Sisko agree they won’t leave until Li says a few words. He reluctantly agrees, and stands up before the crowd.
The blonde hairdo in the bottom of this shot is really neat looking. Braids kind of twisted all over the place. Some boring Bajoran uniforms in the crowd, and a guy wearing a purple vest that looks similar to the crocheted garment Kira was wearing, so maybe this is a Bajoran fashion.
As for Li Nalas himself, he’s wearing a long jacket/sweater/over-shirt in two colors, reminiscent of O’Brien’s blue outfit. Underneath is a grayish-green shirt.
“It’s good to be free,” he says, “It’s good to know that after all their years of struggle, Bajor is finally free.”
Jaro comes in, agrees, and greets Li. He introduces himself and says it is a pleasure to welcome him home. Then he asks if he can address the crowd. Li agrees.
Jaro turns and tells them not to forget the moment, because one day their kids and grandkids will ask what it was like. The crowd agrees. Li surreptitiously rolls his eyes.
Sisko shows Li to his quarters and says he hopes they’re satisfactory. Li says he was in a labor camp for ten years and he’s just glad for some privacy.
We get a closer view of Li’s jacket here, and it looks like it’s made of a thick enough fabric to be considered a jacket. The upper half seems more like an upholstery style fabric, and the lower half almost like velvet. The undershirt just looks like a normal cotton-type undershirt.
Sisko says that judging by the crowd, he might not get much. Li says he thought they’d have forgotten him by now. He’s overwhelmed by the transition from slave to hero, and the freedom of Bajor, which he’d wanted for many years.
He asks Sisko what Bajor is like now. Sisko admits that Bajor lacks strong leadership. Li says that Kira told him his return would bring stability to Bajor. Sisko agrees. He then says he supposes Li could use a good night’s sleep, so he shakes his hand and leaves.
At Quark’s, Quark is counting money with Rom. One for you, and six for me. Rom is not happy and says this is not fair. Quark agrees. He takes 7 for himself instead.
Quark is wearing the same paisley jacket as before, and Rom appears to be in his usual green, but with stripes down the arms that I’ve never noticed before.
Rom gets up and heads out, saying he is going to dream of an equal share of profits. Quark returns to his work.
The door opens again and he is attacked by some people in robes wearing masks. They throw him on the ground.
There are no good screenshots of the culprits, and this is a crime against humanity.
Bashir tries to get Quark to hold still so he can use a dermal regenerator to repair damage and prevent scarring, as he has been branded with the Circle’s emblem. He didn’t see any of their faces, none of them saw anything, and since the Promenade was deserted, no one saw them come or go.
Li asks who is responsible. I’m not sure why he’s there, I suppose he’s already considered the default leader so they invited him? Kira explains the group’s ideals. Li is confused that Bajorans would do such a thing.
He asks if the government has done anything to stop them. Kira says they’ve tried but the Circle is more organized than the government. Quark says the government needs to get organized because he intends to sue.
Sisko scolds him, and explains to Li that people turn to the Circle because the government is ineffective. Kira spells out that they need someone the people will listen to to speak out against these reactionaries.
Bashir finishes his treatment. Kira says he looks as handsome as ever. Quark is encouraged.
Sisko goes back to his quarters to find Jake awake. He asks about the date. Jake admits that the girl cancelled because her father didn’t approve because he’s not Bajoran.
Jake is wearing his blue and purple jumpsuit. Looking closely, there are small stripes in the lighter colored area of his sleeves.
Sisko says that’s not a very good reason. He then explains that there are some troubling things happening on Bajor and he’s sorry Jake is a victim of them, then tells him he should head to bed. Jake reluctantly agrees.
Sisko is alerted that there is a call for him from a docked freighter.
We don’t get a really good view of this guy, sadly. He appears to be a kind of reptilian or amphibian alien, and with many folded collars.
The caller, who identifies himself as the Executive Officer, says that he has a Bajoran citizen who was trying to stow away on their ship. He steps aside and Li Nalas moves into view.
Elsewhere, Sisko tells Li that the ship he was trying to stow away on was scheduled to be in the Gamma Quadrant for 2 years. Li says he wanted to stay much longer. Sisko is confused.
Li tells a story. During the occupation he was in a minor resistance cell, and one day they were ambushed, and only 3 managed to escape. They hid for 2 days and then went back down. He went ahead to scout for an enemy and then slipped and went sliding down a hill into a lake just a huge Cardassian emerged from the water, having apparently finished bathing. He was shocked, and mostly naked. Only when the Cardassian reached for a phaser did he remember he had his own, and shot the guy. The Cardassian fell on top of him, and that’s how his companions found him later.
The others recognized the Cardassian as Gul Zarale, responsible for the massacre of a half-dozen villages. Despite his attempt to tell the truth, Li’s companions convinced themselves that he’d killed Zarale in a savage struggle, and then they told everyone else the same story. Soon, everything was attributed to his leadership, and everyone seemed inspired and awed by him, even in the labor camp.
He says he’s been a slave to his reputation and he doesn’t want to do it anymore. Sisko says they still need him. Li says he is not the man they think he is. Sisko says Bajor doesn’t need a man, but a symbol. He says they are not asking him to kill or lead troops. He says the crowd sees him as strength, honor, and decency, and the best in themselves. It’s not based on a lie, but a legend, which is as powerful as truth. Bajor needs the legend.
Sisko and Kira meet up with minister Jaro and Li as they emerge from the turbolift into Ops.
Jaro is wearing the same boring outfit as before. It looks even more boring in this full-body shot.
The minister says that Li has been unanimously elected as Navarch by the assembly. Li says there’s never been one with that title, so it’s a new title. They say that thousands of people showed up to greet him on Bajor.
He’s now there to assume his new post as Bajoran Liaison Officer to Deep Space 9. Sisko is confused – he has a liaison officer. Jaro says that Kira has been recalled to Bajor. He then goes into Sisko’s office, leaving the rest of them astonished.
Stray Thoughts:
* This episode coming right after the religious/political turmoil of the last episode really highlights how much things are falling apart on Bajor, and how crazy the inhabitants are starting to get. Last episode was about religious purity, this is about racial (species?) purity. Maybe this wasn’t as strong in the initial airing, given a long break between seasons, and this was more just to remind viewers of Bajor’s instability?
* So, the grand idea to have Li Nalas bring stability to Bajor is…to give him Kira’s position? Kira doesn’t seem to have a lot of power. She’s subject to the authority of Starfleet/The Federation via Sisko, and she’s also subject to the authority of the ministers on Bajor. She can’t seem to get anything done that she wants to do. How is Nalas going to bring stability via such a role?
* Also, they gave him a new title to do an existing job? What?
* I can’t believe I’m up to Season 2. Thanks so much everyone for reading and participating each week.
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