23. The Siege

Summary

Despite the order for all non-Bajorans to leave DS9 immediately, Sisko and a number of the crew decide to stay behind, hoping to hold the station long enough for Kira and Dax to get the evidence proving that the Cardassians are backing the Circle to the Chamber of Ministers, hopefully ending the coup. As the Bajoran military forces arrive, the crew are hiding in conduits and planning guerrila tactics against General Krim and his troops. Meanwhile, Kira and Dax get their hands on a rickety old fighter, which they plan to use to reach the Chamber of Ministers, and manage to get it launched with some help from Tobin Dax. As the DS9 crew methodically captures Bajoran soldiers and sabotages station systems, Kira and Dax find themselves under fire from Bajoran fighters, forcing them to crash land. Kira is injured but she and Dax are safely evacuated to Bareil's monastery. Sisko tries to inform Colonel Day, Krim's second-in-command, of the Cardassian involvement and Kira and Dax's mission, but Day...clearly a member of the Circle...doesn't relay the information to Krim and the siege continues. Finally Sisko, O'Brien and Li Nalas confront the General in the prefect's office. Kira and Dax, disguised as Vedeks, enter the Chamber of Ministers and hand over the evidence of Cardassian involvement. Krim, on the station, is recalled to Bajor and returns control of DS9 to Sisko with the re-establishment of the Provisional Government. Colonel Day, unwilling to let his coup die quick and dirty, tries to shoot Sisko but Li Nalas jumps into the line of fire and is killed. As the Federation and non-Bajoran citizens reboard the station, Sisko, Kira and O'Brien remember Li Nalas as a hero of the Resistance and a man who died to protect Bajor.

Analysis

Of the largely-successful Circle trilogy this episode's probably the weakest, yet it's my favorite. It's padded from here to eternity. All that stuff about Quark and Rom selling seats on runabouts was pure filler...and I'm unclear why Kira and Dax had to use that barely-functional ship in the first place. If the runabout could drop them off at the Lunar 5 base to get the ship, why couldn't it just drop them off at the Chamber of Ministers, or at least within walking distance? The stuff on the station is interesting. I rather enjoyed seeing our Starfleet buddies play the part of guerrilla terrorists, crouching in conduits, eating combat rations, smoke bombs, the works...and Odo makes a perfect scout. He can become the wall if anyone passes by. This was also the episode that started to change my low opinion of Bashir, who I now find pretty interesting. The entire Li Nalas/Circle plotline dies with more a whimper than a bang and is never heard from again, and Jaro seemingly folds up his tent and disappears into the night. Too bad Winn couldn't be so accomodating. On the other hand, this episode is a veritable guest-star fest! In addition to previous guest stars Louise Fletcher, Philip Anglim, Richard Beymer and Frank Langella we get Steven Weber, too, as the gleefully snarly Colonel Day. Has to be some kind of a record. An ending to the trilogy that's not quite as satisfying as it could be, but I have to admit I love the gleeful way it goes about its crawling-in-the-conduits intrigue. It's like a giant game of Night of the Assassin with combat rations.

Rating: 6.5

Memorable Quote:

"Li Nalas was the hero of the Bajoran Resistance. He performed extraordinary acts of courage for his people and died for their freedom. That's how the history books on Bajor will be written, and that's how I'll remember him...if anyone asks." --Sisko

Classic Scene:

I rather like the scenes of Dax and Kira flying "by the seat of their pants" in a scrapheap of a fighter with no sensors, no targeting and barely an engine. By this time these two were developing a real Valkrye-esque, combat-ready friendship, and it's to the show's credit that they are so often sent out on difficult assignments without a second thought or any comment. DS9 has done far better with its female characters than some other Trek shows I could mention.

Sexually Slanted Line 'O the Episode:

"It was hard enough to get them started when they were being used every day." --Kira

The O/K Status Report

Nothing of consequence.

Special Alerts

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