05x04 - ...Nor the Battle to the Strong

[bunniefuu]

I knew that my paper
was controversial

but I had no idea
that it would turn

the entire conference
upside-down.

Believe me, Jake, panel
discussions between doctors

are usually a lot
more civilized than that.

I don't know.

They seemed polite enough to me.

Oh, that was just a veneer.

That paper stepped on quite
a few toes, I can tell you.

It's heresy
to even consider the possibility

that a prion replication
could be inhibited

by quantum resonance effects.

Aren't you going
to take any notes?

Oh, good idea.

According
to the so-called experts

it's all a matter
of amino acid re-sequencing

and disulfide shuffling.

Quantum dynamics
has nothing to do with it.

But how can that be?

I have absolutely no idea
what he's talking about.

...on a quantum level.

Ah, get this.

This is very good.

A few months ago...

If I don't find a way to get
out of doing this article

my first writing assignment
is going to be my last.

Maybe if I write to the Journal
and explain.

"Dear Editors, thank you

"for the confidence
you expressed in me

"by accepting my proposed
profile of Dr. Bashir.

Unfortunately..."

Do you follow?

Sort of.

Good, because that's the key.

The protein anomalies...

Who cares about anomalies?

People want stories about
things they can relate to:

Life and death, good and evil.

An outbreak of Cartalian fever
would be just the thing.

"The brave doctor
battles the deadly virus."

Listen to me... I'm actually
rooting for a plague.

...quantum-scanning
each and every peptide bond

I thought I'd begin
to make some kind of...

It's a distress call

from the Federation colony
on Ajilon Prime.

They're under att*ck.

The Klingons have landed troops.

So much for the cease-fire.

The main hospital's
been damaged.

They're short on doctors
and running low on supplies.

What are we waiting for?
Let's go.

It's too risky.

The hospital's
only 50 kilometers away

from the front line.

You put yourself
into dangerous situations

all the time.

Maybe, but that's not the same
as putting you into one.

Don't worry about me.

You're too young to die, Jake.

I'm 18.

You know what I mean.

I've been on the station

when it was under att*ck
plenty of times.

I can handle myself.
I'm a Sisko.

There are lives at stake.

These people need you.

I hope I don't regret this.

We'll be there
in just under an hour.

I can only imagine what
your father's going to say.

He'll understand.

I'll get you out of there

as soon
as reinforcements arrive.

Besides, I wouldn't want you

to miss the deadline
on your story.

Do you think they'd want
a picture of me?

Anyway,
about those quantum scans

I was telling you about...

"Surgery under Fire."

Now we're talking.

What is it, Quark?

The Chief asked me to come up

with a decaffeinated
raktajino for Kira.

I'm thinking of marketing it.

Ugh! Ugh!

Oh, that's awful.

Give it a chance.

Let me taste it.

Quark.

I did the best I could.

The removal of caffeine
from beverages

has plagued bartenders and
restaurateurs for centuries.

You can't expect me
to solve it overnight.

Well, I'm not paying for that.

So much for "Quark-tajino."

I wanted to get her
off caffeine

not poison her.

You make me sound

like some kind of addict.

She has maybe
two raktajinos a day.

Look, I just don't
want my son to be born

with a caffeine habit,
that's all.

You're being ridiculous.

Why does pregnancy
always make men hysterical?

Excuse me. This is not
the first baby I've had.

Excuse me.
Keiko had Molly.

It's not up to you
to tell Kira

what she can and cannot do.

She is carrying his child.

He should have some say.

As the lessee, he does
have certain rights.

Back home, pregnancy
is considered a rental.

- Rental?
- Rental?

Something wrong, Captain?

I just talked to Dr. Bashir.

He's on his way to Ajilon Prime

to answer a request
for medical assistance.

Jake's with him.

According to the latest reports

Klingon ground troops
have captured two settlements

in the northern hemisphere.

Half the colonists
are still trapped on the planet

and there are no ships
in the area to evacuate them.

We're three days away at best.

The Farragut will get there
the day after tomorrow.

Bashir says that he and Jake
will leave

as soon as the relief teams
are in place.

That means they'll be home
by Thursday.

Doesn't give you much time
to snoop through Jake's things.

Ready to beam down?

No, we can't leave
the runabout in orbit.

Not with the Klingons around.

Besides, the colonists
moved what was left

of the medical equipment
underground

when the hospital was destroyed.

And there's magnesite
in the rock face.

There's no way
to transport through it.

I guess we'll have to
find a place to set down.

Looks like there's a clearing

about a kilometer away
from the main settlement.

Jake... things could get
a little rough down there.

They've got a lot of wounded.

I'll be all right.

We've got more wounded
coming in!

I need that plasma!

Are you Bashir?

We got a distress call.

Resource said
you were on your way.

Watch it. Watch it!

This is the last IP.

His pulse is thready.

He must be bleeding somewhere.

We are losing him!

Dr. Kalandra!

Bashir, drop in,
standard triage.

Give him 15 milligrams
inaprovaline.

What should I do?

Just keep out
of the way, please.

Get this man into surgery!

The artery's severed.

Her BP's bottoming out!

O2, three liters.
One full saline.

Somebody, this man
needs some help!

Help me!
Somebody, help me!

I've been hit.

Took a disruptor blast,
real close.

I need that blood plasma!

Let's get you up on the table.

There's nothing we can do.

He's too far gone.

It doesn't look that bad.

I was stepping over a Klingon.

I thought he was dead.

He caught me right
in the foot... ah!

You people better
get out of here

while you still can.

The Klingons...

there's no stopping them.

This is a phaser burn.

What are you talking about?!

Just sit tight.

We'II... get to you
as soon as we can.

It's not a phaser burn!

It was a Klingon.

You weren't there.

You don't know what it's like.

The Klingons had us pinned down.

We were done for.

We all knew it.

Hendriks and Pajal,
they got scared. They ran.

They ran.

Then Sully got hit in the leg...

and the medics
pulled him off the line

and all I could think was...

"I wish I were him."

And I took my phaser...

Oh, God!

What did I do to myself?

What did I do?

Find someplace else to stand.

No problem.

"Triage...
the sorting of the wounded...

forces decisions that..."

I got to get a grip... focus.

"...decisions that test
what it means to be a doctor."

Hey, you!

Give me a hand.

Come on! Come on!

I've got to get some plasma
for this guy.

Keep an eye on him for me.

I'll be right back.

Wait, wait, wait.

This way.
Over there.

Watch it.
Watch it!

Nice catch.

Here you are, sir, a nice
private room with a view.

One, two, three.

Well, you can count.

You're hired.

Let's get you dressed.

I'd like to try
an aortal graft.

All right, there's an extra
surgical table in the back.

He's dead.

Come on.

Let's get him out of here.

One, two, three...

Party's over.

So soon?

And we were just starting
to have fun.

Since you two aren't busy

would you mind carrying me
to the nearest replicator

so that I can get
something to eat?

You wanted to see me,
Captain?

Yes. I, uh, hear you, uh...

took a little trip
to the Infirmary.

I'll be fine.

The only permanent damage
was to my pride.

What happened?

Quark wanted me to keep an eye
on two Yridians

who he suspected
were cheating at dabo.

Turns out he was right.

I could see
from the second level

that one of them was using

a miniature
gravimetric scanner

to predict where the ball
would land on the wheel

and signaling the information
to his partner.

Ingenious. Go on.

Well, I started
down the stairs

to make the arrest.

One of them spotted me.

They bolted.

I pursued.

I'm afraid
I got a bit carried away...

And jumped off the stairs.

I was planning
to change form in midair

and become a Tarkalean condor.

Ah... that
would have been impressive.

I thought so.

It's an understandable mistake.

You've been a changeling
longer than you've been a solid.

Solid... I wonder why my people
use that term.

Humanoid bodies are so fragile.

Yes, they are.

And there are a lot of ways
you can get hurt.

You're worried about Jake.

I'm... sure

that Dr. Bashir
is looking after him.

It seems... just yesterday
he was five years old...

clinging to me, because he'd
just scraped his knee

and I was
the only one in the world

who could make it better.

I remember, sometimes

getting up
in the middle of the night

and slipping into his room

just to make sure
he was all right...

and I'd sit there
and watch him sleep

and I'd think to myself
that no matter what

I wasn't going to let anything
bad happen to this child.

Now he's a sector away
in a w*r zone

and there's nothing
I can do to protect him.

Try not to worry, Captain.

It won't do you or Jake
any good.

Can't help it.

It comes with the territory.

But Jake is 18 years old.

Does your father
still worry about you?

Oh, all the time.

Ah... I never realized

how stressful it is
to be a parent.

I have to say,
I don't think it's for me.

That's your choice, but you
don't know what you're missing.

Yes?

We just got word...
the Klingons have destroyed

the Farragut near
the Lembatta cluster.

What about Ajilon Prime?

Without reinforcements...

Dax, you're with me.

We'll leave as soon
as the Defiant is ready.

Here you go.

Thanks.

How you holding up?

Okay.

Well, you handled
yourself well today.

I'm impressed.

I'm starved.

Think I'll start by making
a lateral incision

across the thigh joint.

Uh-oh.
Hang on.

Out we go.

His first day?

Yeah.

Pass the salt.

How do you feel?

Fresh air did me good.

You remember that Ensign,
the one who sh*t himself?

How could I forget?

What's going to happen to him?

Oh, he'll probably be
court-martialed.

He said that some of the people
in his squad

got scared and ran.

It happens.

But they're Starfleet.

They've passed psych-tests.

They've spent hundreds of hours
in battle simulations.

Simulations can't prepare you
for the real thing.

Nothing can.

Some people say
that you don't know

what you're really made of
until you've been in battle.

Well, let me tell you, Jake.

There are many
situations in life

which test a person's
character.

Thankfully, most of them

don't involve
death and destruction.

Dr. Kalandra is looking for you.

Something about
that aortal graft you did.

Oh, thanks.

Um... I'll see you later.

I put your tray
back in the replicator.

I didn't know
how long you'd be gone.

Me neither.

I think I could
handle some soup.

How is he?

The graft's holding.

Blood throughput
is almost 100 percent.

Nice job.

Thanks.

You have a good team.

My O.R. Nurse was
as sharp as they come.

We do the best we can,
considering...

the circumstances.

So, are things
any better for us?

Last I heard,
Starfleet had pulled out

of the Archanis sector.

Well, the fleet's regrouping
for a counterattack.

Do you have any idea
what ships are involved?

We don't get much news here.

The Klingons have been jamming
the subspace traffic.

I think, um, the Rutledge
and the Tecumseh

are heading things up.

The Tecumseh.

My husband's
the Science Officer.

Well, believe me

Captain Raymond
is one of the best there is.

He saw the Tecumseh
through the Cardassian wars.

I don't think he's planning
on losing her now.

No.

I don't suppose he is.

Doctor?

They've prepped
the spinal trauma.

We're ready for you in surgery.

I'll be right there.

They're keeping you busy.

Yes.

It helps keep my mind...
off things.

It's good to see
you got your appetite back.

I have a pretty
strong stomach...

most of the time.

Don't worry about it.

Same thing happened
to me my first day.

You know what I heard?

That ship Starfleet sent... -
the Farragut...

the Klingons intercepted it.

Starfleet will send
another one, won't they?

Won't be here for days

and in the meantime,
we're looking at a ground w*r

which is just
what the Klingons want

and according
to a Lieutenant I talked to

they've got so many
transport scramblers on line

that we can't beam
troops anywhere.

What about using hoppers?

He says the Klingons

have been sh**ting them
out of the sky left and right.

Unless something changes,
he figures the Klingons

will take the settlement
the day after tomorrow.

Did you see
all the bat'leth wounds today?

Klingons get mad

they forget about their
disruptors, go hand to hand.

If you ask me,
they're looking to get even

for what happened on Ganalda IV.

What happened?

They had to retreat.

Klingons hate that.

At least we don't have to worry
about them in here.

Oh, don't be so sure.

Medical personnel are fair game

as far as Klingons
are concerned.

They'll even k*ll wounded
right in their beds.

Think they're giving
them an honorable death.

So, how'd you wind up here?

I, uh... I'm writing
an article about Dr. Bashir.

You're a journalist?

No, not exactly.

What does that mean?

I write stories, mostly...
you know, fiction.

I wonder if Kirby knew

that the whole time
we were talking

all I could think about was
how close the Klingons were.

He didn't seem that worried.

No one else seems
to be losing sleep over it

so why is it the only thing
I can think about?

I've been on the station
when it was under att*ck

plenty of times,
but somehow the danger

never seemed as real
as it does here.

Maybe it's
because I spent all day

seeing first-hand what
the Klingons are capable of

or maybe it's because,
for the first time in my life

my father's not here
to protect me.

What was that?

The Klingons.

They must have taken out
the reactor.

Come on, come on!

She's fibrillating.

If we don't get power back soon,
we'll lose half the ward.

Kidney failure,
he's going into renal shock.

I just talked to Resource.

It's going to be
at least three hours

before we have power.

There must be some portable
generators we could use.

They're using them
to keep the shields up

around the settlement.

The runabout.

There's a portable
generator on the runabout.

Where is it?

About a kilometer south of here.

I'll need help carrying it
though.

Well, you won't be able
to beam through the shields.

You'll have to take
the east tunnel.

That lets out
beyond the perimeter.

I'll show you.

We set down
just over that ridge.

Yeah. It looks familiar.

Get down!

Stay close.

And keep your head low.

Whatever happens, one of us
has to get that generator.

Stick with me.

Come on, Jake!

Jake!

Medkit...

over there.

Now!

Hypo.

Sit me up.

Do it!

I'm not going to die
with my face in the dirt.

Okay...

How's your head?

Hurts.

You're lucky I didn't k*ll you.

I thought you were a Klingon.

Have you seen any?

What?

Klingons!

Are there any patrols around?

What about Starfleet?

No.

It's just you and me then.

What are you doing

out here anyway?

Why'd you leave the settlement?

I, uh... I was outside
when the shelling started.

I... I guess I got lost
looking for cover.

Lucky me.

I could use the company.

Here... water.

What about you?

Go ahead.

Thanks.

Probably would have
leaked out of me anyway.

Don't let me fall over.

I want to go out
looking up at the sky

not at the ground.

Don't worry.

You didn't see a crashed
hopper around here

did you?

No.

They made it.

Who?

My platoon.

The Klingon's
had us pinned down.

We couldn't beam out

'cause they had
a transport scrambler running.

We called for a hopper.

As soon as it set down

the Klingons came after us.

CO ordered me and Brice
to lay down cover

so the squad
could get up the ramp.

By the time Brice got in

the Klingons were
practically on top of us.

Hopper was taking
such a pounding

I didn't think
it'd make it off the ground.

You stayed behind on purpose
so they could get away.

The hypo... where is it?

It's empty.

Figures.

I'll get you out of here.

I'll make a stretcher.

With what?

Then I'll carry you.

Kid, you try carrying
me, my guts

are going to spill
all over your shoes.

But I have to do something.

I've got to try.

Forget it.

But I have to.

That way,
this will all make sense.

Maybe I ran for a reason...

so I could find you and...
and save your life.

Ran?

From the explosions.

We had to get to the runabout,
for the generator.

And... the shelling started,
and I couldn't see Dr. Bashir

and the explosions,
they kept getting closer.

I had to get out of there.

So I ran.

I ran and I kept running
until I found you.

The doctor... you left him.

It was a mistake.

That's what you call it.

I didn't mean for it to happen.

And now you think
bringing me back

is going to make
everything all right.

Sorry, kid...

life doesn't work like that.

Benjamin.

I'll be right out.

What have you been doing
in there for three hours?

I was tweaking
the pattern buffers

in the replicator systems.

Great.

I always thought the coffee
could be a little hotter.

I'm just trying to keep busy.

Is it helping?

No, not really.

I wish there was
something I could do.

Some way I could promise you

that everything is
going to be okay.

But you can't.
No one can.

I know what it's like
to worry about a child.

Raifi put Tobin through hell.

When Neema was six

she came down
with Rugalan fever.

Audrid spent two weeks
in the hospital with her

and never left her side.

It was hundreds of years ago

and I can still remember how...

helpless I felt.

I read her all 17 volumes
of Caster's Down the River Light

even though I knew
she couldn't hear me.

It made me feel
like I was doing something...

that we were still connected.

It wasn't...

until much...

much after that

that I realized that I
was doing it as much for me

as I was doing it for her.

Just to keep busy.

So, how did it turn out
with Neema?

She pulled through.

Whew. I was hoping you
were going to say that.

Because if this story
had an unhappy ending

I would have never forgiven you.

Of course,
by the time she was 21

she wouldn't even speak to me.

For how long?

About eight years.

Do me a favor.

Tell me about it
some other time.

Right now, all I care about
is seeing Jake.

You will, tomorrow,
when we get to Ajilon Prime.

You know, Ben,
coffee can never be too hot.

Are you sure you got

the replicator buffers
synchronized?

You want to check it
for yourself?

I think I will.

Can I borrow your decoupler?

Get your own.

I have to check
the sonic shower relays.

Good idea.

How are you feeling?

Jake!

Jake, we thought you were...

I'm okay.

This is great.

What happened?

I got knocked out when we were
trying to get to the runabout.

Did Dr. Bashir
make it back all right?

He's in IC for the night.

He's got plasma burns
on his arm and shoulder.

I don't know how he managed

but he carried the generator
back here by himself.

We went looking for you

right after
the shelling stopped.

I mean, there was

hardly anything left
of the runabout.

The whole place was nothing
but b*mb craters and-and smoke.

We had pretty much
given up hope.

I must have wandered off in the
wrong direction when I came to.

You are lucky you didn't
get picked up by the Klingons.

Word is, they're massing
to att*ck the compound.

You want to see him?

No, I should let him rest.

He's awake.
I was just in there.

Go ahead.

He'll be glad
to see you're okay.

Jake?!

Oh!

Thank God!

I thought you'd been k*lled.

Once the shelling had stopped,
and I couldn't find you

I assumed the worst.

I am so sorry.

It's all right.

No...

no, it isn't.

I should never have brought
you here in the first place.

Now we're stuck here, the
Klingons massing to att*ck...

What was I thinking?!

Forget it, okay!

What's done is... is done.

I couldn't stand hearing him
apologize to me like that

not after what I'd done to him.

All right, you two.

Visiting hours are over.

Let me have
a look at that.

I keep turning it over
in my head...

the shelling, losing sight
of Bashir, running...

and I keep trying
to make sense of it all

to justify what I did.

But when it comes down to it,
there's only one explanation.

I'm a coward.

Part of me wishes Bashir
had seen me run away

and told everyone the truth.

They deserve
to know what I am.

They should know
they can't count on me.

That, if the Klingons att*ck,
I'll run and hide

just like I did before.

Dr. Kalandra asked me
to give this to you.

Oh, thanks, Jake.

Would you take this
to the patient in G-4?

Sure.

Thanks.

Here you go.

Maybe I'll get
a job as a cutter.

Could be interesting work.

What's a cutter?

You know, on a mining team.

They're the ones who split
asteroids up with phasers

so the excavators
can get at what's inside.

You got to have good aim,
and no matter what else

you can say about me

you can't say that I
don't have good aim.

Because if I hadn't
hit my foot just right

I would have taken
my whole leg off.

It's funny.

One minute,
your life's moving along

just like you always
thought it would

and the next, you do something
that changes everything

and that makes you realize

you're not
who you thought you were.

At the Academy,
I did really well

in the battle simulations.

I never had any problems.

But when you're out there

and the live shells are
detonating all around you

it's a whole different thing.

All you can think about

is getting away
from the explosions.

Yeah, that's pretty much it.

You know something?

You're the first person I've met

since I've been here
that hasn't made me feel

like I'm taking up
valuable bed space.

The way everyone looks at me...

I can't stand it.

After the court-martial's over,
I'm definitely signing up

for the next mining expedition
to the Gamma Quadrant.

Maybe there won't be
a court-martial.

You're right.

None of us may get
out of here alive.

No, I mean Starfleet
could decide

to send you
to counseling instead.

I won't go.

I don't deserve
to be in Starfleet.

Therapy won't change
what I did.

Nothing will.

I just wish I had aimed
that phaser a little higher.

I saw the report
on Dr. Kalandra's desk.

According to Resource,
it's just a matter of time

before the Klingons
reach the compound.

I guess that means
I have to decide.

Decide what?

Whether I'd rather
get hacked to bits

or blasted by a disrupter.

A disrupter, no doubt about it.

Every molecule in your body...
vaporized in a flash.

No time to feel pain.

Don't be so sure about that.

Some people think
it's like being boiled alive.

Decapitation has its virtues.

Nice clean blow
with a sharp bat'leth.

The brain lives on
for five, ten seconds at least.

In theory, your headless corpse
could be the last thing you see.

You're so negative.

I'm just telling you
what I heard.

What do you think, Jake?

I think it's not funny.

Well, of course not.

There's nothing funny
about having

your throat slit...

Cut it out!

I was just kidding.

You think this is some joke.

It's not.
People are dying.

And it's all so stupid.

This whole stupid w*r
is such a waste.

In ten years, nobody's
going to remember

what anybody did here.

Jake...

Maybe you saved
a hopper full of people.

Maybe you sh*t yourself
in the foot.

No one's going to remember!

Jake!

Let's take a walk.

I'm sorry.

Look, I know you're scared,
we all are.

No... it's not that.

What, Jake?
What is it?

I just didn't think
what they were saying was funny.

Come on, that's not
what set you off.

Something's eating at you.

I can see it.

I don't know
what you're talking about.

Ever since you came back here

you've been walking around
looking miserable.

Leave me alone.

Jake...

Leave me alone.

All right,
if that's what you want.

But if you want to talk,
you know where to find me.

What's going on?

Are they inside the compound?

Everybody, listen!

What's going on?

Listen!

We're evacuating.

We're taking the patients

out through the north tunnel
to the surface.

A hopper will take us
down the peninsula

to the base at Tanandra Bay.

That tunnel is almost
two kilometers long.

We have over 70 patients
to move.

Do you know how long
that's going to take?

Resource is sending
a security detail

to defend the hospital
and give us

time to evacuate.

We can do this.

We have to keep calm,
focus on our jobs.

Those people out there need us.

Yes. Let's move.

Come on.

Go.

Give me a hand!

Keep moving!

Two guards?!
Is that it?!

The others are out
defending the perimeter.

Great. One's leaving.

We're going
someplace safe, all right.

Come on.

They're coming! Let's go!

Move! Move!

Come on, let's go!

Anyone left back there?!

No.

Go! Go!

Get down!

Jake... look who's here.

Dad...

Don't move.

Let Dr. Bashir check
you for injuries.

What happened?

I came back for you

when I realized you
weren't on the hopper.

The cease-fire has
been reinstated.

The Klingons are pulling out.

It's over.

The timing could have been
a little bit better

but... uh, he seems
to be all right.

Sealing the entranceway
was a risky thing to do.

You nearly brought the whole
ceiling down on yourself.

We never would have got
those patients out alive

if you hadn't done it.

You're a hero.

More than anything

I wanted to believe
what he was saying

but the truth is

I was just as scared
in the hospital

as I'd been when we went
for the generator

so scared
that all I could think about

was doing whatever it took
to stay alive.

Once that meant running away

and once it meant
picking up a phaser.

The battle of Ajilon Prime

will probably be remembered
as a pointless skirmish

but I'll always remember it
as something more...

as the place I learned

that the line
between courage and cowardice

is a lot thinner
than most people believe.

I wasn't sure whether
to show it to you or not.

Hmm.

Anyone who's been in battle
would recognize himself in this

but most of us wouldn't
care to admit it.

It takes courage
to look inside yourself

and even more courage

to write it
for other people to see.

I'm proud of you, son.