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.
All screenshots come from trekcore.com, which is the same place as the original TNG fashion blog (http://sttngfashion.tumblr.com/).
It’s thundering and a blonde Bajoran woman in a white outfit is standing in front of a window. She says she didn’t kill him even though the shapeshifter thought she did.
I originally thought it was a white dress, but it’s actually a (sigh) jumpsuit with a long white skirt-type thing in the back, making it look like a dress from behind. I really have no idea what that thing is called. Her hair is pretty cool, though.
Quark, sitting nearby in that jacket I like, says it was a long time ago.
The woman says that the Cardassians could keep the power on. She asks if he wants more ice. He does not. She says he was kind. He says that he ran a black market for anyone who could pay and did not think of himself as kind.
She says he gave her extra tea. He says she didn’t call him to talk about tea. She gets up and says No, and she needs a favor. She can pay, so he’s listening.
She says her husband kept a strongbox buried in the wall of their shop on the station, and she wants him to bring it to her. He asks what’s in it. She says it’s only for sentimental reasons. He suggests she go back to the station to get it herself, but she says she couldn’t stand being in the shop where her husband was murdered.
He suggests that maybe she doesn’t want to Odo to see her there. She laughs and says she’s sure he’s forgotten all about it and asks if he can neutralize the security system. He affirms. She says it’s behind a paneled wall, four panels in and five up. She’ll pay five bars of latinum and her own personal gratitude.
Quark moves closer. He says it’ll be a day, maybe two, and then leaves. The woman smiles as the thunder claps.
I don’t know what’s going on with the big white beads coming out of her hair. I kept thinking it was part of a headset or microphone and she was on the phone in the beginning.
Another man comes out of another room.
There’s a flash of lightning at just the right time, allowing us to get this look at him. He looks like he’s dressed like some sort of medieval lackey in chainmail, although his outfit is undoubtedly not actual chainmail.
CUE THEME
On DS9, Odo informs us that he’s beginning a Station Security Log at the request of Sisko to record Law Enforcement affairs. He says he doesn’t know the reason for the log, except humans have a compulsion to keep records of things and need to come up with new ways to store those records or else the records would overrun civilization. He ends by saying that everything is under control.
It’s dark on the station, so I guess most people are sleeping.
Out in the hall, Quark is giving Rom instructions on how to break into the shop.
Quark is still wearing his multi-colored jacket, and Rom is wearing his usual green boring outfit, and carrying a bag with instruments for breaking into things.
Quark says it’ll take 25 seconds to unseal the lock. Rom says he can do it in 10 seconds. Quark is skeptical. Rom says that he often unseals the lock on their own storeroom when Quark forgets to leave him the de-sealer. He says it he does that in 10 seconds. Quark is astonished.
Quark is still skeptical but lets Rom try. He has a de-sealing rod that Nog made him.
Sure enough they are in in 10 seconds. Quark is upset and says that Rom has been stealing from him and he’ll change his locks first thing in the morning.
They get into the shop and find the panel. Quark prepares to cut through it, but Rom says the glare will attract attention and he has a better idea. Again, Quark is skeptical. Rom has some magnasite drops, which will eat through the panel. He says he got into Quark’s latinum floor vault while Quark was away using these drops. Quark is once more appalled by how easily his brother has been violating his security.
The drops work and the panel falls off. Behind there is a box. Rom offers to remove it but Quark is still upset about the break-ins – even though Rom says he didn’t take anything – and takes it out himself.
Back in the bar, Quark looks at the box, and opens it. All that’s inside is a piece of paper.
It looks like gibberish to me. Does the universal translator also translate writing? It doesn’t seem to be any actual language that I know of, so I’m interested to learn what it’s supposed to be and where the designers came up with the script.
Quark says there are eight Bajoran names written on it. Neither of them knows what it means. Quark tells Rom to get him an imager so they can get a picture of the paper before they give it back.
While Rom is away, someone else comes into the bar in the shadows.
It’s a Bajoran man; we can see his earring. Quark tells him they are closed and he can’t be in there, but the man takes out a weapon, so he says that if he really wants a drink….
Quark realizes the woman sent the man. The man said she knew that he couldn’t resist opening it. He says he’s sorry. The man says, “me too,” and then shoots Quark, throwing him back a pretty far distance.
The man leaves. Rom comes back in and finds Quark lying on the floor with his eyes open. He starts yelling for help saying his brother has been killed.
Quark’s is a hectic mess. Bashir is yelling for medical assistance, directing his subordinates to give specific injections and bring an anti-grav lift. He asks what kind of weapon.
Odo says it had to get past the scanners, whatever it was, and suggests a compressed tetryon beam weapon. Bashir agrees that this is possible. He reports that the thoracic cavity is ruptured and there’s extensive neural damage.
Odo tells Sisko that Rom says it was a robbery. Sisko asks if anything was taken. Odo says Rom says he doesn’t know, but he knows. Kira says that security is stopping everyone at the airlocks, but it took them 5 minutes to get into position so the assailant might already be on a ship. Sisko says to delay outgoing vessels as long as she can and advise their security details.
Bashir’s team loads Quark on to the floating stretcher. Rom says his brother is dying and what will he do if he dies.
One of the poor assistants went to the same shop as Jake Sisko for his uniform. Poor guy.
Odo says he’ll have a lot to do. Rom seems upset until Odo points out that he’ll inherit the place, and quotes Rule of Acquisition 139: “Wives serve, brothers inherit.”
Rom seems greatly comforted, and says he hadn’t thought of that. Odo says he had because it’s a solid motive for murder. Rom recalls he has heard of untimely deaths that were suspicious, and then realizes he’s being accused. Sisko is skeptical. Odo is insistent. Rom insists he did not kill Quark.
Sisko says that if Rom knows anything, he should share it with them. Rom immediately fesses up that the man stole a list. Odo asks for details. Rom says it was a list of 8 Bajoran names in a box they found.
Walking in the dark through the promenade, Rom explains that Quark was hired by someone on Bajor to retrieve the box and the list. He doesn’t know who, Quark didn’t tell him anything. He says he tried hard to earn his trust. But all he knows is the box was hidden there many years ago, when the Cardassians were on the station and the ship’s store was a chemist’s shop.
The knowledge it was the chemist’s shop makes Odo pause. Odo goes quiet. He opens the door and has a flashback.
We know it’s the past because it’s dark. Or is it that Cardassians don’t like bright lighting?
Gul Dukat looks like he’s wearing leg warmers. That’s all I have to say about that.
Back then the station was owned by the Cardassians and he was called to that very room. Gul Dukat was inside. He says they met two years prior at the Reception for the Bajoran Center for Science, and Odo was viewed by the Cardassian High Command. Dukat assures him he was quite entertaining. They talk about a Cardassian Neck Trick he did in particular.
Odo is weird looking out of uniform. It looks like he’s wearing a sort of loose jacket over a shirt of some sort. Everything is gray and it’s hard to tell colors in this lighting. Maybe Cardassians are color blind and don’t care anyway?
Dukat says that some of his fellows wanted to send him out to entertain the troops, but he wonders if Odo couldn’t perform a more valuable service. He says he’s stayed informed about Odo since he left his Bajoran keepers. Odo asks what he needs.
Dukat asks if he’s seen a dead man before. Odo says yes, in his mines. Dukat says those were casualties, but this…and he walks over, lifts a sheet briefly…is murder. He wants Odo to investigate.
Odo is confused. Why him? Dukat says he thinks Odo would make a good investigator by shapeshifting into places the rest of them cannot go. Odo says he has no desire to be a Cardassian agent. Dukat says no, an investigator. He’s talking about order and justice. Odo says there isn’t much justice in the Cardassian Occupation.
Dukat says his superiors want him to deal with it by rounding up ten random Bajorans and executing them, so he wants Odo to give him a better alternative. He says that he’s heard that the Bajorans often come to Odo with petty disputes, and they trust him because he’s not Cardassian. The Bajorans won’t talk to Cardassian investigators, but they’ll trust Odo because he’s a neutral observer.
Odo agrees to find the murderer.
Odo goes to talk to a woman, Mrs. Vaatrik. Dukat introduces them and says that the space has been assigned to Odo. He leaves them alone.
Mrs. Vaatrik has a sort of beaded net over her hair, and I think I like it.
Odo expresses sympathy to the woman and asks if she has any idea who might have done this. She says she has a good idea and asks if she can be honest. He says that would be helpful.
She says her husband was having an affair. A girl showed up a few weeks ago and he became infatuated. Why are men like that, she asks. He has no idea.
He says that she loved him very much, and she agrees. He asks if she could explain to him why it was that Mr. Vaatrik died two hours ago and Mrs. Vaatrik hasn’t shed a tear. He says he is an observer. When humanoids cry, the epidermis below the eyes swells noticeably, but hers has not.
She stammers out that she’s been angry and shocked. He says “of course,” silencing her, and then says she was about to accuse the other woman of murder. She says that her husband confessed the indiscretion several days prior and said the affair was over. Odo concludes that she killed him in a jealous rage when he broke it off? Something like that, she agrees.
He asks if she knows her name. No, but she can point her out.
On what ends up being the promenade, Cardassians are moving people through a gate. A PA system makes an announcement about disposing of bio materials.
Odo asks Mrs. Vaatrik when she last saw her husband alive. At dinner, she says. He went back to the shop to do inventory afterward. He notes that she doesn’t live in community quarters, and she says they were lucky enough to be assigned a private room, perhaps because they ran the shop. She pauses and points to a woman across the way.
Mrs. Vaatrik is wearing a blue shirt (dress?) with a red vest over top that’s wrapped around and tied in front. Also, it looks like Odo is wearing a turtleneck and vest rather than a jacket.
She’s pointed at a young woman with reddish hair.
Wait, is that Kira? She’s wearing a dark (red?) shirt with a (brown?) vest. It’s hard to describe colors.
Back in the present, Kira tells Odo they haven’t picked up anyone at the airlocks. She can’t hold up outbound traffic any longer. He says he’s sure the culprit disposed of the weapon before he left.
Kira says she heard about the list. She wonders if it had something to do with Vaatrik. He says he’s been wondering the same thing.
Odo updates the log to say that there is no unfinished business. The assault on Quark reopens a five-year-old murder case that he never closed. Patience is a lost virtue to most, but to him, an ally. He’s getting rather poetic in his logs.
Outside, we see children running around on the promenade – a girl in purple pants, purple boots, and pink shirt, with a pink bow in her hair, and a boy with a green shirt and blue-green pants. His shoes are lame.
They’re running around a guy who looks like a generic Alien Adventurer, with orange pants and tunic, a belt, a hood, a vest. Layers! Layers are in on DS9.
There’s also a guy in the distance who looks like a generic Alien all in white.
Rom and Odo are in Odo’s office, with Odo trying to get Rom to remember some of the names on the list. Rom says he barely saw it and doesn’t remember any names. Odo tells him to relax.
Rom says he should be getting back to his bar. Odo reminds him Quark is not yet dead. Rom asks if he’s being kept alive artificially? He wouldn’t want that. No, Odo replies, he’s clinging to life all on his own.
They start again. Odo tells him to close his eyes, breathe deeply, clear his mind, and try to remember the list. Rom says the first letter is a C and and an O at the end, and there’s a mark in the middle, an apostrophe. Maybe Ches’so? Maybe not.
Odo tells Rom to call him at any time if he remembers something else.
Kira asks Odo if they’ve made progress. Odo tells her about Ches’so and asks if she remembers anyone with that name. She says no, but she wasn’t on the station very long. He recalls.
She says they never talked about it. She would have been executed. He says they didn’t have to. She was innocent of the crime he was investigating. She says that wouldn’t have mattered to the Cardassians. He says it mattered to him.
Back in the past, Bajorans are moving through gates with their bags. Two kids are waiting by the gate and greet their father as he comes in.
They’re clearly a sharp contrast to the kids in the present, looking sad and dressed in brown and gray.
The “other woman” is eating at a table. Odo asks if he can sit with her. She doesn’t speak. He says a pretty girl like her shouldn’t be eating alone. She says she doesn’t do whatever it is he wants, not for money or for food.
He apologizes. She’s confused and asks if he’s a security officer. He says unofficially. She asks what that means. He explains about the investigation and says he heard she knew the murdered man. She asks who says she did. His widow.
She looks over and sees the widow standing nearby and glaring at them. She turns her head and walks away, giving us a clear view of the back of her hair.
The woman says she didn’t kill him. Odo asks if she was in love with him. No. He was in love with her? No. Not much of a romance. She says they weren’t having a romance. So why tell the wife that they were? She doesn’t know. He says he’ll find out if they were having an affair.
She says that she’s been there for two weeks and she met him right after he arrived. He had Pyrellian ginger tea. She doesn’t know how he got it but she likes it. They became friends. Maybe he was attracted, she doesn’t know, but it never went anywhere.
She asks why he thinks Dukat wants him to do the investigation – why not his own security people? He says a Bajoran wouldn’t talk to them. She says that never stopped them before.
He asks where she was the night before. She says at the bar. She heard the Ferengi are allowed to hire some Bajorans and that would be better than the mines. He says she hasn’t spent any time in the mines; he can tell by her hands. She says he’s not bad, and her last job was at a replicator plant, and she got fired by a supervisor for trying… what she thought he was trying.
He says not to leave the station soon, and she agrees. She then tells him he’s working for the Cardassians, and he’ll have to choose what side he’s on. He says he doesn’t choose sides. She said everyone does.
In the present, Odo goes to talk to Mrs. Vaatrik. She says she knows nothing about what he’s talking about. He’s skeptical.
Was Mrs. Vaatrik blonde in the past? If she was, the Cardassian lighting does a really good job of hiding colors. Her current dwelling is much more brightly lit, with shag carpeting and sheer curtains. I love the colors of her dress, sort of a bluish purple thing with interesting layers, and a kerchief type thing in her hair, which is of course in an interesting style and not just being hair.
He asks why he would have hidden a list of Bajoran names. She says she has no idea and suggests the Cardassians put it there before they left. He disagrees, saying that someone on Bajor told Quark where to find it.
She expresses sympathy that Quark is dead, and he corrects her, saying that although he was shot, the Federation doctor saved his life.
He asks her about Ches’so. She says the name means nothing to her. Who is he? He says just someone he wants to talk to, thanks her for seeing him.
She says that if it has something to do with her husband’s murder she wants to help in anyway she can. He’s about out the door and says, “Oh there was one other thing.” Her power was recently terminated for lack of payment. She agrees.
He says that she was able to transfer funds that morning. She says she appreciates him looking into her private affairs. He says it’s part of a routine investigation, and asks where she got the money. She says a loan from a friend. He asks the friend’s name. She demurs, saying her friend is married and she doesn’t want to drag him into it. He seems to understand, and leaves.
After he leaves, she looks worried.
Odo updates his log to say that Quark is holding on to life like it’s gold-pressed latinum. Maybe he just doesn’t want his brother to get the bar, or maybe he knows he’s the only real witness.
Quark is in the infirmary. Bashir says the next few hours will tell the story, and he’ll keep Odo updated.
Kira comes in, saying she has good and bad news. She thinks she found Ches’so, and gives Odo a device with the man’s picture on it.
It’s a small picture, but he looks sort of halfway between Cheech Marin and a samurai to me.
He’s a Bajoran mining engineer heavily involved in charity efforts for war orphans. Some connections from her past suggested that he might be; his work brought him to the station a lot. Bad news, he’s dead. Drowned in a pond on his property the night before.
Odo thinks he’s responsible for mentioning the name to Mrs. Vaatrik, who might have recognized it as Ches’sarro and thought he might lead him to her. He summons security to the infirmary and tells Kira to tell the local medical examiner that Ches’sarro’s death should be treated as a suspected homicide. He wants Vaatrik’s communication records for the past 52 hours and for the Central Bank to have someone standing by as he’ll need bank records.
Whose, Kira asks? He doesn’t know yet.
She leaves and a security guy comes in. Odo says he wants round the clock security on Quark, no visitors.
In the past, Quark is joking and laughing with Cardassians when Odo comes into the bar.
Past Quark is dressed a bit more plainly but with the same overall style. It looks like he’s wearing a (gray?) turtleneck, with a striped accent, under a (brown?) jacket with similar striped accents on the very wide lapels and also the sleeves. The stripes on the jacket look shiny. I really wish we could see this outfit under normal lighting.
Odo says he’s looking for the proprietor. Quark asks if he owes him money or if Odo is there to arrest him. Odo says no, so he introduces himself as the proprietor, Quark. He officers a first drink on the house. Odo says he doesn’t drink. Quark says that must be why they don’t see him around.
Odo says he’d like to ask him a few questions about the death of the Bajoran chemist. Quark says he’s the shapeshifter, and working for Dukat!Odo says he’s not working for Dukat, he’s just solving a murder. Quark says no, and that doesn’t he do some Cardassian neck trick?
Odo says not anymore – he’s checking the alibi of a Bajoran woman with red hair named Kira Nerys. Quark remembers that she wanted a job. Odo asks how long she was there, and an amusing exchange takes place:
Quark: Long enough
Odo: Long enough for what?
Quark: Oh, You know.
Odo: No, I don’t. Why don’t you tell me?
Quark: She was showing me her…initiative.
Odo: Is that some sort of sexual reference?
Quark: These jobs are hard to come by. Her credentials were…very impressive.
Odo grabs him by the shoulder and tells him he’s lying and he wants the truth or else he’ll hand him over to Dukat. Quark says that he didn’t realize they were dealing with a murder – she didn’t pay him enough for that. Odo concludes that she paid him for an alibi and wonders how Dukat will react to that.
Quark, looking past Odo, says probably a case of Cardassian ale. Dukat, coming in, says two cases at the very least. He seems pleased about the broken alibi and wants a name, but Odo doesn’t want to give the name until he’s certain it’s the right name.
Dukat is surprised by the way he speaks to him, saying Odo is not afraid of anyone and he’s right about Odo being perfect for the job.
Quark says they’ve gotten off to a bad start and he wants to make it up to him. He offers drinks, chocolate, or companionship. Dukat and Quark laugh.
Back in the present, people are also laughing at Quark’s. Sisko and Dax are at a table and observe that Odo looks very sad when he comes in, so Dax asks about Quark. Odo says he’s stable.
He hands something to Sisko and says it’s the list. Dax asks if he found it, but no, he assembled it from Mrs. Vaatrik’s communication records. She’s been talking to each of these people a lot, but had never talked to any of them until two days ago, when the list was stolen.
Interestingly, each one of them has transferred exactly 100,000 Bajoran litas to her bank account in the last 26 hours. Sisko and Odo both conclude blackmail. Sisko asks what they had to hide.
Odo says they came out of the occupation with that kind of money. Dax says they were working with the Cardassians. Odo agrees, saying they were selling out their own world for money. Collaborators, he calls them. Not even a Ferengi would do that, and it explains a lot of things.
Sisko asks if he has enough to charge her. Not yet, but with her permission, he wants to bring her in for questioning and ask the Bajoran authorities to transport her to the station. Sisko gives the ok.
The man who shot Quark is sitting at the bar. He watches Odo go by, drinks his last sip, and leaves.
Odo, looking down on the Promenade, reflects that no one ever had to teach him the Justice Trick, it’s something he’s always known. A racial memory from his species? It’s the only clue to who they are. Are these thoughts appropriate for a Starfleet log? He doesn’t care.
He goes back to his office, commenting that there’s no room for friendship, loyalty, or love in Justice.
Back in the past, Kira admits she lied about her alibi, but that doesn’t make her a killer.
The vest she’s wearing looks like it’s made of lacy crochet, of the style that we’ve seen on present Bajorans.
She says she was sleeping, alone, when Vaatrik was murdered. No one saw her? She wasn’t there. She found a small corner….
Odo says she’s lying. Her whole face changes. She doesn’t lie well. He suggests she tell the truth.
She asks whose side he’s on. When she tells the truth he’ll have to choose. He says no, he’s only interested in justice. If she’s innocent, she’ll go free and if not he’ll turn her over.
She says she was on Level 21. Ore processing? She says to check the security logs, there’ll be a breach on that level. She admits she’s in the Bajoran underground and came to commit acts of sabotage. Last night, she succeeded.
Odo confirms the ore processor was damaged and will be out of commission for 2 weeks. She says it’ll give the mine workers a little time off. She’ll describe the device she used if he doesn’t believe her. If he tells the truth to the Cardassians, she’ll be executed for sabotage; who cares about Bajorans killing each other? That’s why she paid Quark for the alibi.
Dukat enters the room as they’re speaking and asks if Kira is the name he’s looking for. Odo says no and Kira can leave. Dukat grabs her by the arm as she’s leaving and says that if Odo is lying…
Odo says that if Dukat knows him as much as he says he does, he’ll know he doesn’t lie. He is convinced Kira did not kill Vaatrik. Dukat releases Kira, who leaves.
In the present, Quark is still in the infirmary. The attempted killer comes in with flowers.
The security guy says no visitors are allowed. The guy asks if he can put them in water. The security guy agrees, and the man shoves them at him, along with a blade that he uses to stab the guy.
The guy then goes over to Quark. He powers down the life-saving equipment and grabs a pillow, and starts to smother Quark. In the middle of this, Rom comes in. He sees what’s going on and starts screaming and running away. They grapple, Rom screaming all the while, and Rom is thrown into a shelving unit. The guy starts to run away but runs into Odo and a few other security people as they’re coming in.
Odo calls Bashir and tells him to come in while one of the security guys reactivates the life support stuff. Rom is still screaming. Odo tells him it’s over and he’s a hero for saving Quark’s life. Rom seems relieved, but then starts screaming again. Meanwhile, Quark seems to be recovering, as he starts to smile.
The culprit is in the security cell. Mrs. Vaatrik says she’s never seen him before in her life.
Say what you will about Mrs. Vaatrik, but this lady has style. Her hair here is reminiscent of flappers, with an interesting silvery headband and her hair tied up in a way to make it look quite short. I really love her dress also, which is an interesting blend of patterns and solids.
Odo says she made several calls to his from and got some. Kira says that she also gave him a lot of money two days ago. She says she wants to confer with her advocate. Odo says he’ll make arrangements, but in the meantime, they can introduce themselves to one another. He opens another cell.
She goes inside, which gives us a view of the back of her head.
I can’t even begin to describe the hairstyle, it’s just all over the place. I hope DS9 paid their hairstylists mega bucks because they probably worked overtime just to create this style, and she only wears it for like 3 minutes on the show.
Mrs. V says he will never be able to prove that she killed her husband, because she didn’t. He says he knows.
Kira is surprised. They both go out to the main office. Kira asks when he realized. He says he realized when she got the name Ches’saro so quickly. Her friends in the underground must have suspected he was a collaborator. Once he knew the names were of a list of collaborators, Vaatrik’s murder made sense for the first time. He must have also been a collaborator. He had private quarters and the money for ginger tea.
Odo didn’t have a motive for the murder until now. He kept his wife in luxury, so she wouldn’t kill him, but who would? Someone in the Bajoran underground, of course.
Kira said that a colleague was given the job of sabotaging the ore processor and Vaatrik was her responsibility. Odo says she was there to execute him. She says no, she was there to find the list – of names of Bajorans who’d been selling them out. They’d been informed that Vaatrik was their direct link to Dukat.
Odo says this is why Dukat wanted him to investigate – he needed to stay away from his network of Bajoran sympathizers. Kira says that she obviously never found the list, but that’s what she was looking for when he walked on her, and she didn’t have a choice.
Odo says he misjudged her – she was a better liar than he thought. She says she was working for the Cardassians. He says he hasn’t been for more than a year and she had all that time to tell him the truth.
She says she tried to tell him a hundred times. What he thinks of her matters a lot. She was afraid….
…that it might affect our friendship, Odo finishes. She nods. He says maybe it doesn’t have to. She asks if he can trust her the same way again. He doesn’t answer.
Stray Thoughts:
* Rule of Acquisition 139: “Wives serve, brothers inherit.” My husband doesn’t have a brother. Who would inherit if he died? He has a step-brother, would it go to him? Maybe his brother-in-law (either my brother or his sister’s husband)?
* We’ve mentioned before that the lighting on DS9 is dim, but man the Cardassians really liked it dim. Was that just to tell us quickly it was a flashback, or do Cardassians like it dim for biological reasons?
* The episode started out with Quark and Rom and I was so not looking forward to this being another Ferengi episode. Thank goodness it was not.
* Odo missed his calling as a writer. He gets quite poetic in his logs.
* Well, that was a pretty somber ending, wasn’t it? I don’t remember this episode, so I’m interested to see if this actually affects Kira and Odo’s relationship beyond this episode, and how they resolve it if so.