STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE "If Wishes Were Horses" #40511-416 Story by Nell McCue Crawford & William Crawford Teleplay by Nell McCue Crawford & William Crawford and Michael Piller Directed by Rob Legato THE WRITING CREDITS MAY NOT BE FINAL AND SHOULD NOT BE USED FOR PUBLICITY OR ADVERTISING PURPOSES WITHOUT FIRST CHECKING WITH THE TELEVISION LEGAL DEPARTMENT. Copyright 1992 Paramount Pictures Corporation. All Rights Reserved. This script is not for publication or reproduction. No one is authorized to dispose of same. If lost or destroyed, please notify the Script Department. Return to Script Department FINAL DRAFT PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORPORATION FEBRUARY 24, 1993 STAR TREK: DS9 - "If Wishes Were... " - 11/25/92 - CAST STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE "If Wishes Were Horses" CAST SISKO RUMPELSTILTSKIN KIRA BUCK ODO VARIOUS VOICES QUARK VOICE BASHIR DAX JAKE O'BRIEN KEIKO MOLLY COMPUTER VOICE Non-Speaking STAR TREK: DS9 - "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - SETS STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE "If Wishes Were Horses" SETS INTERIORS EXTERIORS DEEP SPACE NINE DEEP SPACE NINE PROMENADE QUARK'S RUPTURE REPLIMAT OPS SECURITY OFFICE SCIENCE LAB TURBOLIFT COMMANDER'S OFFICE SISKO'S QUARTERS O'BRIEN'S QUARTERS MOLLY'S BEDROOM LIVING AREA BASHIR'S QUARTERS STAR TREK: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - PRONUNCIATION STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE "If Wishes Were Horses" PRONUNCIATION GUIDE BANERIAM bah-NAYR-ee-ahm BOKAI boh-KI GUNJI JACKDAW GOON-jee JAHK-daw HANOLI hah-NOH-lee LAROSIAN lah-R0H-zee-an STADIUS STAY-dee-uhs TARTARAN tar-TAYR-ahn THORON THOHR-ohn TRIS trihs DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - TEASER 1. STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE "If Wishes Were Horses... " TEASER FADE IN: 1 EXT. SPACE - DEEP SPACE NINE (OPTICAL) 2 INT. QUARK'S QUARK behind the bar; ODO watching the room from his usual seat with intensity. It's pretty empty. QUARK Can't you ever just... let go? ODO Let go? QUARK The place is almost deserted... there hasn't been a ship in for three days... and yet you just sit here like a Baneriam Hawk looking for prey. This is your chance to relax. (beat) I could fix you up with a terrific holosuite program. ODO Thank you, but I don't accept gifts from the likes of you. QUARK Who said anything about gifts? You pay like anyone else. I'm just trying to get you into the tent. ODO I have no time for fantasies. QUARK Ah. No imagination, huh? DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 2/25/93 - TEASER 2. 2 CONTINUED: ODO Waste of time. Too many people dream of places they'll never go, wish for things they'll never have... instead of paying adequate attention to their real lives... QUARK (more intimate) I could create a shape-shifter playmate for you... the two of you could... intermingle... ODO You're disgusting. QUARK (shrugs) It's a living. 3 ANGLE - TO SEE JAKE going upstairs toward the holosuites with a baseball mitt on one hand and a baseball bat. He does not acknowledge them. ODO You're not allowing young Mister Sisko in your holosuites, I hope... QUARK It's not what you think... ODO It better not be. QUARK You see that thing on his hand... ? It's a baseball mitten. Every afternoon, the boy goes up to play. His father brought a program with famous players... you ever hear of Tris Speaker or Ted Williams or Buck Bokai? DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - TEASER 3. 3 CONTINUED: ODO Afraid not. QUARK Neither had I until I made it my business to find out. With all these humans coming now... a true entrepreneur knows how to sniff the wind... He sniffs for emphasis... Odo studies him dryly... QUARK Try it. Go ahead... ODO I have no sense of smell. QUARK You don't need one to detect the scent of op-por-tun-itee. ODO Opportunity. QUARK Family entertainment. That's the future, Odo. There's a fortune to be made. Little holo-creatures running around... rides and games for the kiddies... Ferengis at every doorway selling useless souvenirs... ODO (dry) You're replacing all your sexual holo-programs with family entertainment... QUARK No, no, no, no, no... I'm expanding... I'm negotiating to lease the space next door so I can use the same holo- generators... Getting up to leave... ODO You're still disgusting. DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - TEASER 4. 3 CONTINUED: (2) QUARK Till the day I die. 4 NEW ANGLE as he smiles... Odo EXITS... and as he leaves we find DAX and BASHIR sitting at a table... DAX I'm sure you're exaggerating... BASHIR You're constantly in my thoughts... I can't concentrate... DAX You seemed to be concentrating just fine on that junior lieutenant at the reception for Captain Stadius... BASHIR She was a poor substitute for you... DAX And that Betazoid envoy who was here last week... BASHIR A... barely adequate substitute for you... DAX Julian, you're a wonderful friend. BASHIR (pained at the sound of that) Argh. DAX I enjoy the time we spend together. DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - TEASER 5. 4 CONTINUED: BASHIR Stop... you're driving a stake through my heart. She smiles, stands... DAX Try a high-pitched sonic shower. It'll make you feel better. And she leaves... BASHIR No it won't. (beat, to himself) I've already tried it. Off his usual sigh of frustration... 5 INT. OPS SISKO and KIRA studying a monitor at a console... various supernumeraries busy at their stations. Dax ENTERS. DAX Sorry I'm late. I was having dinner with Julian. SISKO (offhanded) How is our young doctor? DAX Young. (beat) Anything going on? KIRA We were just looking at an unusual energy reading... Dax looks, reacts curious -- DAX Elevated thoron emissions in the plasma field... SISKO We thought it might be an environmental byproduct created by the increased traffic to this area... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - TEASER 6. 5 CONTINUED: DAX (studies the readings) Could be. Ships have always avoided the Denorios Belt... we have no idea how the presence of so many warp and impulse engines might affect it. Question is -- is this going to cause us any problems? KIRA (good-naturedly) We were hoping you'd tell us. Dax acknowledges good-naturedly... moves to her station. 6 INT. O'BRIEN'S QUARTERS - MOLLY'S BEDROOM KEIKO watches as O'BRIEN reads MOLLY a bedtime story from a child's PADD... O'BRIEN ... and the messenger from the Queen watched the little man as he danced and sang and laughed how he would soon have the daughter he always wanted... because they would never guess that his name was... MOLLY ...Rumpelstiltskin... O'BRIEN ... Rumpelstiltskin, right... and the next day when the little man came and asked, "Now Mrs. Queen, what is my name?" She said at first, "Are you called Jack?" "No," he answered. "Are you called Harry?" she asked again. "No," he answered. And then she said, "Then perhaps your name is... " MOLLY Rumpelstiltskin... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 2/25/93 - TEASER 7. 6 CONTINUED: O'BRIEN And at the sound of his own name, the old man was so furious that he stamped his foot into the ground shaking the entire kingdom, broke in two and disappeared and the King and Queen and their daughter lived happily ever after. (closing the book) Good night, little one. Sweet dreams. O'Brien gently kisses his daughter on the forehead. MOLLY I'm not tired! KEIKO Uh uh, none of that now. Molly snuggles deeper into her covers as Keiko kisses her as O'Brien turns off the lamp and they EXIT into... 7 INT. O'BRIEN'S QUARTERS - LIVING AREA Keiko and O'Brien enjoy a quiet moment together. O'BRIEN Now then, should I tuck you in with a bedtime story too... ? KEIKO As long as you're tucked in with me. They move closer to each other, but behind them, we see Molly come out of her room. They stop, react... MOLLY Mommy... KEIKO What is it, honey? MOLLY He's in my room. KEIKO Who? MOLLY Rumpelstiltskin. DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - TEASER 8. O'BRIEN Sweetheart, that was just a make believe story. Rumpelstiltskin isn't real, okay? Molly stands there adamantly, obviously not buying it. O'Brien looks at Keiko... this will just take a minute... O'BRIEN All right. I'll come in and check. But after that, it's bedtime. O'Brien takes Molly by the hand and leads her into her room... a throwaway over his shoulder to Keiko -- O'BRIEN I don't know why we tell her stories about evil dwarfs who want to steal children... But on the last word... 8 INT. O'BRIEN'S QUARTERS - MOLLY'S BEDROOM Close on O'Brien's startled face as he ENTERS and sees... 9 NEW ANGLE RUMPELSTILTSKIN sitting on Molly's bed... RUMPELSTILTSKIN Don't look so distraught. I'm only here to offer you my services... if you should need them. And on O'Brien's reaction, we... FADE OUT. END OF TEASER DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " REV. 2/25/93 - ACT ONE 9. ACT ONE FADE IN: (NOTE: Episode credits fall over opening scenes) 10 INT. O'BRIEN'S QUARTERS - LIVING AREA O'Brien ENTERS from Molly's room, carrying his daughter. He hands her to Keiko. O'BRIEN Take her outside. KEIKO What's wrong? The dwarf ENTERS, strolling casually out of the bedroom. She reacts. KEIKO Miles... O'BRIEN Just go. RUMPELSTILTSKIN A pity you're sending the ladies away. It's as if all the life just went out of the room. O'BRIEN (hits combadge) O'Brien to Security... intruder alert... send a team to my quarters immediately. The dwarf searches the room, poking his nose into everything. RUMPELSTILTSKIN So where's the straw... ? (off O'Brien's non- phased look) I assume you need some gold spun out of straw... O'BRIEN What are you? RUMPELSTILTSKIN Surely you know -- you were just telling the little one all about me... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 2/25/93 - ACT ONE 10. 10 CONTINUED: O'BRIEN I know what you look like... but you're not... RUMPELSTILTSKIN Ah ah, don't say it... I don't like the sound of it you know... O'BRIEN Rumpelstiltskin. The dwarf shivers uncomfortably, then glances back at O'Brien... RUMPELSTILTSKIN You didn't think that would make me break in two and disappear, did you? (O'Brien looks at him evenly) Not this time. I learned my lesson back in the kingdom. I don't make deals like that any more. O'Brien's doors open and two Security men ENTER with phasers ready. RUMPELSTILTSKIN Ah, the local constabularies... (to the Security team) Gents, give me a small bit of courtesy and I'll be very pleasant, but if you try to lay a hand on me, you'll soon regret it. 11 NEW ANGLE (OPTICAL) to reveal the dwarf is suddenly behind them, sitting in O'Brien's favorite chair. RUMPELSTILTSKIN Besides, I'm much too fast for you. Now, my good host, if gold is not your pleasure, tell me your needs and I'll tell you my price... O'BRIEN (hits his combadge) O'Brien to Sisko. DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT ONE 11. 11 CONTINUED: SISKO'S COM VOICE Go ahead, Chief. O'BRIEN I need you down in my quarters... 12 INT. SISKO'S QUARTERS On Sisko relaxing, feet up, reading a PADD, as he reacts curiously... O'BRIEN (continuing) ... On the double. SISKO I'm on my way. He gets up, moves toward the door but as it opens, it reveals Jake arriving... an urgent look on his face... JAKE Dad, I've got to talk to you... SISKO I don't have time, Jake, I... His words stop as Jake makes way for another arriving guest... a Japanese baseball player (BUCK BOKAI) in full (London Kings) uniform and glove... BUCK Hello, Ben. Sisko doesn't answer, looks dumbfounded at Jake for an answer... JAKE (befuddled) He followed me home from the holosuite. Buck flashes Sisko a good-natured grin. Off Sisko's reaction... 13 INT. BASHIR'S QUARTERS Close on Bashir's face as he sleeps. A beat... then a woman's hand reaches into frame and strokes his face. Bashir stirs, waking... a half smile, then... he opens his eyes and we pull back to reveal... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT ONE 12. 14 DAX sitting by the side of Bashir's bed, smiling lovingly at Bashir. Bashir sits up suddenly. BASHIR (shocked) Jadzia! DAX (purrs) Hello, Julian. BASHIR What are you doing here? DAX (leans closer) Watching you... waiting for you to wake up. She kisses him. His eyes never close... BASHIR I'm awake. He gets up, moves away from her... DAX Is something wrong? BASHIR Funny, I was just going to ask you the same question. He looks for his tricorder, finds it... BASHIR A Larosian virus has been going around. (feels her forehead) How do you feel? DAX (moving in for another kiss) Wonderful. Bashir keeps his hand on Dax's forehead, simultaneously checking for a fever and fending her off... examines her with a tricorder in his other hand... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT ONE 13. 14 CONTINUED: BASHIR No fever... (points the tricorder at himself) It must be me... some kind of allergic reaction to the replicated antipasto from lunch perhaps... I must be hallucinating... But all seems normal... DAX Why are you fighting this? BASHIR Why am I fighting this? Why am I fighting this... I have no good answer to that question... She kisses him again... and he's almost about to go with it when... KIRA'S COM VOICE All senior officers... report to Ops immediately. They break... Bashir does a take, looks at Dax -- BASHIR Okay, I get it. Very funny. Did O'Brien put you up to it? DAX I don't know what you're talking about. BASHIR "Senior officers report to Ops"... we walk in, everyone has a good laugh at my expense... DAX This is not a joke, Julian... BASHIR (convinced) We'll see... And he EXITS and she follows... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT ONE 14. 15 INT. OPS Coming up from the point of view of the rising Turbolift to reveal Sisko, Kira, O'Brien standing with Buck and the dwarf (who is sitting on the table), security guards keeping an eye on them... looking over to see who's arriving... 16 ANGLE -- THE TURBOLIFT with Dax and Bashir aboard. Bashir reacts to the strange sight of the two visitors, glances to Sisko for an explanation... Dax has a more even-mannered response... SISKO (to Bashir & Dax) It seems we have a small mystery on our hands... Lieutenant Jadzia Dax, Doctor Julian Bashir... I'd like you to meet Harmon Bokai, a baseball player for the London Kings who's been dead for two hundred years... Bashir looks to him... BUCK Don't look at me -- I can't figure it out either... SISKO And a medieval fairy tale character named Rumpelstiltskin... RUMPELSTILTSKIN Oh fine, now everyone knows my name... SISKO Until today, he's only existed in storybooks. BASHIR (astonished) A pleasure... I'm sure. SISKO (to Dax) Could this be related to the increased thoron emissions in the plasma field? DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 2/25/93 - ACT ONE 15. DAX #2 Thoron emissions? DAX'S VOICE I think you'd better ask me, Benjamin... Reactions as they all turn to see -- 17 NEW ANGLE (OPTICAL) -- ANOTHER DAX has arrived... and as she moves to examine her double... FADE OUT. END OF ACT ONE DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT TWO 16. ACT TWO FADE IN: 18 INT. OPS As before. A minute later. Bashir examines Bokai with a tricorder as he tries to explain... BUCK I was hitting a few to the boy... he's really been moving under the ball well lately, Ben... and we would've worked on some baserunning except he was getting hungry... and then I realized I was too... KIRA (reacts) A hologram with an appetite? BUCK Hologram? BASHIR (re: tricorder) On the contrary, Major, he's quite real. They all seem to be. The fake Dax hereafter known as Dax #2 is hanging on his arm with intimacy... he keeps shrugging her away... BUCK What the hell are they talking about, Ben? Sisko looks around, uncomfortable, confused, trying to figure out how to talk to this entity... and there is also a little bit of the awkwardness that comes with confronting one's heroes... yes, he has been with Buck in the holosuite, but that's in a baseball fantasy environment... now he's here in Sisko's world... SISKO You... you're not actually Buck Bokai. BUCK (reacts, joking) Then how come I'm wearing his uniform? DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT TWO 18. 18 CONTINUED: SISKO You're a holographic image of Buck Bokai that I created so Jake and I could play ball with you... BUCK (confused, astonished) But I remember. I remember all the games, all the opening days, the home run that won the forty-two world series... the squeaker that went under Eddie Newsom's glove the day I broke Dimaggio's consecutive streak... SISKO (almost apologetic) I programmed it into the computer... all of it... every statistic. RUMPELSTILTSKIN (To O'Brien) What foreign tongue are they speaking... ? O'Brien ignores the question, but the voice turns Sisko's attention to him... O'BRIEN (re: the dwarf) This one didn't come out of any holosuite... SISKO (a thoughtful beat) But he did come out of your imagination just like Buck came out of Jake's... RUMPELSTILTSKIN His imagination? DAX #2 (smiles proudly) Then I must have come out of your imagination, Julian... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 2/25/93 - ACT TWO 18. 18 CONTINUED: (2) BASHIR (embarrassed) Not necessarily... well, maybe... Glancing at Dax... who studies him evenly... he shrugs off the duplicate off his arm again... desperately changing the subject... BASHIR ... How could this sort of thing possibly happen... ? DAX (very concerned) A subspace disruption maybe, some kind of dimensional shift... As she moves toward her station to check readings... O'Brien glances around to see the dwarf has disappeared... he looks around... DAX (continuing) I didn't see an anomaly when I scanned the plasma field... but it could have been so small that the sensors missed it... 19 ANGLE (OPTICAL) DAX #2 (sotto) Julian, let's go to your quarters... As she smothers him with physical attention again... he pushes her away more forcefully... BASHIR Please... I don't have time for... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT TWO 19. 20 NEW ANGLE as he turns to confront her -- she's gone... BASHIR (reacts) ... this? ODO'S COM VOICE Odo to Sisko. SISKO Go ahead... ODO'S COM VOICE Is there something you want to tell me? SISKO I'm in no mood for games, Constable. What do you need? INTERCUT: 21 INT. REPLIMAT It's snowing out in the Promenade. People are moving inside brushing snow off their clothes, shocked at the phenomenon. ODO Have the environmental controls broken down? It's snowing on the Promenade. SISKO'S COM VOICE Snowing... ODO We're looking at five or six centimeters down here. 22 INT. OPS Reactions... SISKO Bring in all available security, Odo... we're going to yellow alert... ODO'S COM VOICE What's going on... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 3/04/93 - ACT TWO 20. 22 CONTINUED: SISKO It seems we're letting our imaginations run wild. I'll give you an explanation as soon as I have one... Sisko out... KIRA Yellow alert against our own imaginations? SISKO (not hard) You have a better idea? O'BRIEN The baseball player. He's gone now, too. They look around and notice that Buck has disappeared. DAX I think I've got something... look at the wave patterns of the plasma field... Sisko, Kira and Bashir move to her console... O'Brien to his... 23 ANGLE - MONITOR (VPB) The patterns show an odd formation, with the tiniest centerpoint entirely black... O'BRIEN The wave fronts are converging toward a single point... DAX The particle density rises as you get closer to the center... but then it looks like it drops off completely... O'BRIEN You're right. I'm not picking up any particulate readings at the core... KIRA What does that mean? DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 3/04/93 - ACT TWO 20A. 23 CONTINUED: DAX Whatever falls in there... is just gone. BASHIR (to Dax) Then you were right... it is some kind of subspace disruption... SISKO I want a full analysis... Chief, get a class four probe ready... O'BRIEN Aye, sir... As O'Brien turns to the back of his station, the dwarf is there again, sitting on the console... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT TWO 21. 23 CONTINUED: (2) RUMPELSTILTSKIN Anything I can do to help? O'Brien frowns, steps around him and goes to work... ODO'S COM VOICE Odo to Ops... SISKO Go ahead... 23A INT. PROMENADE The snow is gone... but an ostrich-like bird is moving down the thoroughfare... ODO The snow's disappeared... but now there's a Gunji jackdaw running loose down here... SISKO'S COM VOICE Just try to keep things under control, Odo... we're working on it... ODO Understood... 24 INT. QUARK'S Odo ENTERS, hearing cheers... VARIOUS VOICES Dabo! Come on... eight straight passes. Double down dabo... I can't lose today... throw them again... come on... come on... one more dabo for daddy... He looks around with concern... finally picks up a mug and slams it on the counter... ODO Ladies and gentlemen... and all androgynous species... may I have your attention, please... Your attention please! People turn quiet and look at him... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT TWO 21A. 24 CONTINUED: ODO As you may have noticed, we're experiencing some... difficulties... I'm going to have to ask you all to please refrain from using your imaginations... Walla reactions... QUARK (O.S.) Just because you don't have an imagination, don't ruin it for the rest of us... As Odo looks up toward the stairs... people go back to gambling... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 2/24/93 - ACT TWO 22. 25 ANGLE to see Quark coming down the stairs with two scantily clad women... they descend the stairs like Dean Martin and the Goldiggers, the women stroking Quark's ears and fawning over him... QUARK Let me guess. Another clever Federation experiment has gone awry and you accidently turned the whole station into one vast holosuite... ODO The phenomenon is being investigated as we speak. QUARK Well, tell them to take their time... I haven't had the chance to show the ladies my collection of Tartaran landscapes yet... ODO I'm surprised by your attitude, Quark... QUARK You simply don't have the same appreciation for... art as I do... ODO I'm surprised because every one of your customers is winning... QUARK What? ODO They're taking you to the poor- house... VOICE Dabo... another winner... QUARK No... no... that's not possible... Moving away from the women to the tables... hands to his temples, concentrating... QUARK Lose... lose... one cross... two cross... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 2/25/93 - ACT TWO xx23 25 CONTINUED: VOICE Dabo! Another winner! QUARK No! ODO (pleased) You're outnumbered, Quark. He EXITS through the women... ODO Pardon me. As another table cheers a winner to Quark's dismay... 26 INT. SCIENCE LAB (VPB) Dax and Bashir working on consoles... there is an unstated tension between them... DAX I was afraid of this... The proximity of the wormhole is amplifying the rupture... BASHIR The proton counts are going through the roof... DAX Dax to O'Brien. How are you coming with that probe, Chief? O'BRIEN'S COM VOICE I'll have the subspace scanners programmed in less than an hour... DAX Keep me informed... Dax out. BASHIR I have the wave intensity analysis... She moves to his console... looks... frowns... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 2/25/93 - ACT TWO 24. 26 CONTINUED: DAX Computer, scan all data files for comparable wave intensity patterns... COMPUTER VOICE Stand by. A moment of silence raises their interpersonal tension... BASHIR Jadzia, this is difficult to say, but I want you to know... DAX (cutting him off) Julian, there's really no need to apologize... She smiles at him and he looks relieved. DAX In a way, I feel as if we've invaded your privacy. We all have fantasies and dreams that we keep to ourselves. Thoughts that should remain private. BASHIR I'm glad you understand. DAX Of course I do. I was a young man once. BASHIR Then we can put it behind us? DAX Of course. Dax turns back to her work. Bashir feels much better. BASHIR Good. (back to work) The computer seems to be having trouble finding a match... DAX She really is submissive, isn't she... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT TWO 25. 26 CONTINUED: (2) DAX (turns to Bashir) Is that how you'd like me to be, Julian? So... submissive? Bashir's flustered. To make matters worse, as he gropes for a response... 27 NEW ANGLE (OPTICAL) to reveal Dax #2 is there... DAX #2 I am not submissive... (to Bashir) ... am I? BASHIR (awkward) N-no, I don't think so... DAX #2 I'm just not the cold fish you are... DAX Cold fish... BASHIR Now, I never said that... DAX #2 If you'd get down off your high horse, you'd start to appreciate Julian... BASHIR (trying hard to make light of all this) She has a sense of humor as... as I've always imagined you do... DAX I could use one about now... DAX #2 Come on, Lieutenant... stop denying all those yearnings you feel... DAX (dry) Yearnings. DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 2/25/93 - ACT TWO 26. 27 CONTINUED: DAX #2 (as she cozies up to the humiliated Bashir) If you don't, you'll never know what you missed. COMPUTER VOICE Pattern match found. BASHIR Just in the nick of time. DAX Not quite. And as they turn to the monitor... Dax presses some panels... looks at a monitor... DAX A similar subspace rupture was reported in the Hanoli System in the mid twenty-third century... BASHIR Hanoli system... I don't believe I know where that is... DAX There's no reason you should. She takes a solemn beat... and this is her own personal knowledge... not off the screen. DAX When that rupture exploded, the system was destroyed... And on Julian and Dax #2's reaction... 28 OMITTED FADE OUT. END OF ACT TWO DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT THREE 27. ACT THREE FADE IN: 29 EXT. SPACE - DEEP SPACE NINE (OPTICAL) A probe is launched. SISKO (V.O.) Station log, Stardate 46853.2. We have launched a probe to study the subspace anomaly. Meanwhile, more than half the people aboard DS Nine have reported manifestations of their imagined thoughts. 30 INT. OPS Kira at her station, O'Brien in the pit, working panels, reading figures... KIRA All probe systems are reading normal... O'BRIEN Calibrating sensors for subspace... Three minutes to coordinates... INTERCUT: 31 INT. SCIENCE LAB (VPB) Sisko and Bashir are looking over Dax's shoulder at a console at an Okudagram... DAX Wave patterns should begin to fluctuate any time now... there... 32 INT. OPS O'Brien hits some switches... O'BRIEN Probe is penetrating the thoron field... two and a half minutes to coordinates... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT THREE 28. 32 CONTINUED: As he moves to another console, find the dwarf sitting on the edge of the pit with his legs dangling down... RUMPELSTILTSKIN Ah, for simpler times, eh? O'Brien glances at him... ignores him. The dwarf hops down into the pit... O'BRIEN Shoo! RUMPELSTILTSKIN I only want to help. O'BRIEN You're in the way. RUMPELSTILTSKIN A farmer in Chester once tried to chase me off until I saved his crops from locusts... O'BRIEN (ignoring him) Two minutes to coordinates... thoron emissions are stable... The dwarf studies him a beat and there is a certain malevolence behind the charm... RUMPELSTILTSKIN You know what I find most intriguing about you, my good host? (beat) You're afraid... of me. O'BRIEN Look, you figment... I don't fear any man... least of all you... (to com) Ninety seconds to coordinates... RUMPELSTILTSKIN A figment, am I... O'BRIEN Just a figment of my imagination, that's all. DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT THREE 28A. 32 CONTINUED: (2) RUMPELSTILTSKIN And yet you can't deny how this imagination of yours empowers me, can you? Empowers me in a way that somehow terrifies you... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 2/25/93 - ACT THREE 29. 32 CONTINUED: (3) And O'Brien is desperately trying to cut off his worst fears, his paranoia, the work, stay with the work... O'BRIEN You should be getting some preliminary data, Commander... SISKO'S COM VOICE They're coming in now, Chief... stand- by... 33 ANGLE Close on O'Brien... RUMPELSTILTSKIN (O.S.) She is your first born, isn't she? And O'Brien's head snaps in rage... the fear and danger that any parent feels for the safety of their child spilling over his face... but move to reveal... the dwarf is gone. O'Brien, flustered by the inability to express his anger, turns back to his controls... O'BRIEN Thirty seconds to coordinates... 34 INT. LAB - CLOSE ON OKUDAGRAM (VPB) as the probe enters the anomaly... the screen begins to fill up with numbers as readouts begin... 35 CLOSE ON DAX Panning to closeups on Bashir and Sisko... DAX Thoron emission patterns unstable... probe hull temperature dropping rapidly... O'BRIEN'S COM VOICE Ten seconds... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 2/25/93 - ACT THREE 30. 36 THE OKUDAGRAM (VPB) As the probe reaches the center of the anomaly... all the numbers drop to nil... a straight tone suggests no readings... SISKO What is it... 37 DAX DAX (concerned) Negative readings on all sensors... we may be looking at some sort of folded space... SISKO Let's see what the optical scanner on the probe gives us... She does... 38 THE OKUDAGRAM (OPTICAL) shows a huge swirling, sucking graphic... space matter falling into it... BASHIR It's drawing in all the matter from the surrounding space... DAX (off another console) Benjamin, it's getting larger. Off Sisko's reaction... 39 INT. PROMENADE - SECOND FLOOR Sisko ENTERS from a corridor with purpose... BUCK (O.S.) Feel like taking a few ground balls? Sisko pauses, turns to see -- DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT THREE 31. 40 ANGLE Buck beside him... wearing a mitt and popping a ball lightly into it... Sisko hasn't got time for this, he moves on... Buck stays in stride... and he's extremely likeable. SISKO Look, I tried to tell you... you're on a space station... in the twenty- fourth century... the only ball field around is a holographic simulation -- it's not real... and neither are you... BUCK See, I don't get it... I can pinch myself and it hurts... I am here with you, aren't I... ? SISKO Right now you are... in a minute, who knows? (beat, sighs) I'm hoping when we get this thing figured out... you'll... BUCK Disappear for good? SISKO I hope so... BUCK (almost sorry, doesn't quite buy it) You do, huh. (beat) Okay, but let's say for a moment I don't. What am I supposed to do then? You got room on your team for a switch hitting third baseman with good power... ? DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT THREE 32. 40 CONTINUED: They move to a stairway... Sisko laughs lightly, relaxes a little, allows himself the slightest moment to look at Buck in a more personal way... SISKO Good power from the left side. They go down... 41 ANGLE - ON THE STAIRS Going down... BUCK What are you talking about. I hit over twenty homers righthanded in each of my first three years in the majors... SISKO And never more than ten after that... BUCK That was only after Old Crow moved me to second in the order... Sisko studies him affectionately, smiles a beat... as they reach... 41A ANGLE - THE TURBOLIFT SISKO I wish I had more time for this. BUCK Yeah, well that was baseball's epitaph, wasn't it... nobody seemed to have time for us anymore... I could've played five more years if they hadn't killed the game... SISKO You were the best that ever played, Buck... I know -- I've played with them all. The door opens... Sisko gets on... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 2/25/93 - ACT THREE 33. 41A CONTINUED: SISKO (friendly) I've got work to do. BUCK Yeah. Hey, Ben. (beat, sincere) It's always meant a lot to me. How much you cared. You know the day we won that world series, there were only three hundred people in the stands. SISKO Three hundred and one in my version. BUCK I heard you cheering. It meant a lot to me. I just thought you should know. You know, in case I do finally disappear. Sisko nods... gives him an intimate look... and moves his attention to the job at hand... SISKO Ops... The doors close... we stay a beat on Buck... 42 OMITTED 43 INT. REPLIMAT (OPTICAL) No one's here but as they begin to speak, each one appears: RUMPELSTILTSKIN We don't know any more than when we started. DAX #2 Why would mine create a woman and then reject her? DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT THREE 34. 43 CONTINUED: RUMPELSTILTSKIN Why would mine create a dwarf who could terrify him? We should abandon the whole thing. BUCK Not yet. I've made a connection with mine. A curious one. I sensed a feeling from him... an affection for this ballplayer who died two hundred years before he was even born. RUMPELSTILTSKIN (impatient) How much longer do you suggest we devote to this? BUCK As long as it takes. (beat, thoughtful) It ain't over til it's over. Off reactions... 44 OMITTED FADE OUT. END OF ACT THREE DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 2/25/93 - ACT FOUR 35. ACT FOUR FADE IN: 45 EXT. SPACE - DEEP SPACE NINE (OPTICAL) 46 INT. COMMANDER'S OFFICE (VPB) Sisko, Kira, O'Brien, Dax, Bashir. Sisko's at his desk. The monitor is on, O'Brien and Dax have PADDS... they have been studying up on this, they refer to the PADD but don't read -- O'BRIEN A Vulcan science mission to the Hanoli rift detonated a pulse wave torpedo at the coordinates of the tear... DAX Five minutes after they did, the rupture expanded radically... O'BRIEN They were wiped out along with the entire Hanoli system... KIRA What happened to the rupture after that... it's not still there... ? (implied: is it?) DAX It reached a critical mass point and imploded... and then disappeared from normal space altogether. SISKO (mind working) Were there any reports from the Vulcans about hallucinations on board? Anything similar to what we're experiencing? DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT FOUR 36. 46 CONTINUED: O'BRIEN Nossir. But they were only within range of the anomaly for twelve hours... BASHIR And Vulcans don't have the most active imaginations... SISKO Were there any explanations offered for the initial cause of the rupture? DAX Dozens. Nothing confirmed. But we do know there were no wormholes and very little starship activity in the area before it formed. O'BRIEN (to Sisko) We've looked high and low for some common ground... something to give us a fix on how to attack this thing... frankly, sir, as funny as it sounds, we think pulse wave torpedoes may still be the best approach... KIRA Wait a minute... it didn't work very well last time... why... O'BRIEN (interrupting) The Vulcans were using a primitive device... in two hundred years, we've developed far better ways of controlling the flux density... we might be able to contain the internal reaction this time... KIRA And if we can't, we'll destroy the whole Bajoran system... SISKO Major, the rupture is already expanding... we have to seal it or it's going to destroy this system anyway... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT FOUR 37. 46 CONTINUED: (2) DAX The smaller it is, the better chance we have. Kira reluctantly accepts it. SISKO How long will it take to create one of these torpedoes? O'BRIEN We could have one ready by twenty- two hundred hours... SISKO (acknowledges, standing) If the rift expands at all before imploding, we have to be prepared... route auxiliary power to shields... Major, I'd like you to coordinate evacuation of the pylons. Odo can help you. Dismissed. 47 INT. TURBOLIFT as Kira, troubled by this turn of events, ENTERS... KIRA Lower pylon one. It starts to move... KIRA Kira to Odo. Odo's com voice is yelling over a thundering sound... ODO'S COM VOICE What is it, Major? KIRA (reacts curiously to the noise) I need you to do a security sweep through the pylons... we're going to evacuate them... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 2/25/93 - ACT FOUR 38. 48 INT. PROMENADE Close on two Gunji jackdaws moving down the Promenade... finding Odo along with them -- like a school crossing guard -- ODO I'll get on it as soon as possible... I've got my hands full right now... clear the way... get out of the corridors... let them through... 49 INT. TURBOLIFT (OPTICAL) Kira reacts... as the lift stops and the door opens and as she's about to walk out to the airlock... flames are bursting through from behind the door... KIRA (hits combadge) Kira to Ops... Lower Pylon One is gone... I need emergency... She's interrupted by the shocking emergence of a figure entirely on fire who is coming right at her, screaming in pain, arms out... She reacts, jumps back, trying to get out of the way... but just as it seems the fiery figure is about to embrace her, it disappears. SISKO'S COM VOICE Sisko to Kira. Report. Kira, can you read me... 50 REVERSE ANGLE There is no fire... no figure... Kira reacts... stands and walks out to the pylon airlock... perfectly normal... KIRA Disregard, Commander. False alarm. Kira out. She takes out a tricorder and takes a reading, almost as a confirmation that it is over... puts it down, breathes deeply... and moves to a companel... KIRA All personnel in Lower Pylon One, report to the outer ring airlock, prepare for evacuation... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 2/25/93 - ACT FOUR 38A. 51 INT. PROMENADE As before, Odo trying to direct pedestrians out of the way of the rumbling jackdaws... ODO Please, stay inside... this isn't a show... you, get out of the way... Quark rushes up and stops him... QUARK Odo, Odo, thank goodness... I'd like to report two missing persons... a blonde and a brunette... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 2/25/93 - ACT FOUR 39. 51 CONTINUED: ODO Can't you see I'm busy... (to others) Don't scare them... QUARK One minute they were whispering sweet nothings in my ear, the next minute the sweet nothings were gone... ODO (to Quark) Would you get off the street before you... 52 ANGLE as he turns back to see the jackdaws are gone... sighs a breath of relief... meanwhile Quark sees something o.c., smiles with delight... QUARK I've been looking everywhere for you... 53 NEW ANGLE to see the three women approaching Quark from the other direction... QUARK Don't ever do that to me again... They surround him... he's happy again... Odo's about to leave... but as the women nuzzle and pet Quark... QUARK So, Odo what have you conjured up during all this? DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 2/25/93 - ACT FOUR 40. 53 CONTINUED: ODO Me? QUARK I should have guessed - nothing at all. ODO I've spent all my time chasing incarnations of the prophets, long dead lovers, Gunji jackdaws, blizzards, trollops... QUARK As I've always said -- a man without any imagination... come along, my dears... and I'll show you what a fertile imagination can do... He leaves... Odo grunts once more... goes into -- 54 INT. SECURITY OFFICE Moves to console... ODO (to himself) Imagination, hmph... (to com) Computer, run a level one personnel sweep of all pylons... COMPUTER VOICE Requested function will take approximately three minutes. As he begins to check the rotating shots on the VPB monitors... he reacts as he hears -- QUARK (O.S.) Let me out of here! Odo reacts, looks over to -- 55 MONITOR (OPTICAL) to see an angry Quark in one of Odo's holding cells. Quark touches and re-establishes the forcefield. DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 3/024/93 - ACT FOUR 41. 55 CONTINUED: QUARK (MONITOR) Get the Nagus on subspace... I want to talk to him and I mean now! I'm not spending another minute in this cell... ODO (shocked, to com) How did you get in there? QUARK How did I get in here? (angry) You put me in here! 56 CLOSE ON ODO as he raises an eyebrow... then that half smile comes to his lips, as he realizes -- ODO I guess I did, didn't I? 57 RESUME MONITOR (OPTICAL) The jail cell is empty again. ODO No imagination, indeed. 57A INT. SISKO'S QUARTERS Jake is working at his desk on his computer homework, but his attention wanders and he'd rather be somewhere else... his eye moves to the baseball glove and bat not far away... suddenly, he reacts as the sounds of a stadium crowd fill the room... VOICES (O.S.) Hey, get your cold beer... get your cold beer right here... peanuts... souvenirs... scorecards... can't tell the players without a scorecard... And Jake has been clued in to what's going on so it's no nightmare... this almost amusing to him, more weird than scary... then he turns to see -- DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 3/05/93 - ACT FOUR 41A. 57B ANGLE - TO REVEAL BUCK behind him... the sounds continue... Jake stands... BUCK So what are you doing here? JAKE I can't go. I've got homework to do. BUCK (curious) But you'd rather be at the ballpark. JAKE You don't understand -- if I go to the holosuite without finishing my homework, my Dad'll kill me. BUCK Kill you? JAKE Yeah. BUCK You really believe he would... kill you? JAKE I know he would... BUCK (curious) If that's true, why are you still thinking about going... JAKE I'm trying not to. BUCK But you are wondering if you can get away with it, aren't you... 57C ANGLE - SISKO (OPTICAL) appears... Buck watches... SISKO Well? DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 3/05/93 - ACT FOUR 41B. 57C CONTINUED: JAKE Uh, I didn't understand the directions... uh... the computer accidentally erased the instruction page... SISKO You really expect me to believe that? JAKE (sighs) No, I guess not. The Sisko illusion disappears. Jake turns back to Buck... JAKE I really gotta finish my homework. And as he sits... Buck and the sounds disappear and Jake begins to type on the computer again... 58 INT. OPS Dax and O'Brien are working at their respective stations... Bashir is looking over Dax's shoulder... DAX (with concern) Benjamin, I need to see you... A beat later, Sisko exits his office... SISKO What do you have, Dax? DAX In the last hour alone, the rupture has expanded twenty-seven percent... The rate of expansion is increasing... SISKO Can we gain any time by moving the station? DAX (shakes her head) If the rift collapses, the implosion would overtake us almost immediately. DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 2/25/93 - ACT FOUR 42. 58 CONTINUED: SISKO How soon before you're ready, Chief? O'BRIEN I'm installing pulse wave devices into the torpedoes now, Commander... six or seven minutes... DAX The rift's gotten large enough to pick up on visual scanners... SISKO On screen... 59 ANGLE (OPTICAL) to see a small twisting optical in space... SISKO Magnify. The vision increases in magnitude... and it is a serious- looking phenomenon, sucking in space matter all around it. 60 REVERSE ON SISKO watching with concern and pull back to see Buck is beside him... also watching the viewscreen with concern... and then move to find the dwarf watching with curiosity by O'Brien at his station and Dax #2 watching with curiosity by Bashir... as we FADE OUT. END OF ACT FOUR DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT FIVE 43. ACT FIVE FADE IN: 61 INT. OPS (OPTICAL) Re-establishing the anomaly on the Viewscreen. As before with all the fantasy figures... Kira ENTERS from a Turbolift... KIRA All pylons are secured. Everyone's been moved to the habitat ring. She moves to her station. 62 ANGLE ON DAX #2 & BASHIR still watching the viewscreen. DAX #2 (realizing, with concern) You're worried... BASHIR (reluctantly paying her attention) You bet I am... if this doesn't work, nothing real or imagined is going to survive... She looks up scared at the anomaly on the screen, shivers with fear... whispers, quite sincere -- DAX #2 Hold me, Julian. And he looks at her and sees how scared she is... awkwardly puts an arm around her shoulder to comfort her... 63 NEW ANGLE O'Brien pressing panels, looking up... O'BRIEN Torpedoes ready, Commander... SISKO Status of shields? DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 3/05/93 - ACT FIVE 44. 63 CONTINUED: DAX All available power has been transferred... reading shield strength at one hundred fifty-eight percent above normal... SISKO (a beat, nods) Let's hope it's enough. Red alert. The lights change. SISKO Fire. As O'Brien launches the photons... 64 EXT. SPACE - DEEP SPACE NINE (OPTICAL) to see the launch... 65 INT. OPS O'BRIEN All systems functioning properly... torpedo guidance is on nominal track... DAX Thirty seconds to coordinates... O'BRIEN Impulse sustainer throttling down... arming pulse wave initiator... DAX Torpedo hull temperature dropping... O'BRIEN Activating pulse waves... compression level at fourteen hundred and rising... DAX Twenty seconds... O'BRIEN Compression at twenty-nine hundred, three thousand,... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 3/04/93 - ACT FIVE 44A. 65 CONTINUED: DAX ... terminal targeting spread confirmed... O'BRIEN ... thirty-five hundred... holding compression... DAX Ten seconds... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 3/04/93 - ACT FIVE 45. 65 CONTINUED: (2) SISKO Ready to detonate... O'BRIEN Ready, sir. DAX Five seconds... SISKO Now. O'Brien presses the panel... 66 EXT. SPACE - RUPTURE (OPTICAL) The photons explode... the rift swallows it up like a whirlpool sucking in white light... 67 INT. OPS (OPTICAL) O'BRIEN (hopeful) Wave intensity from the rift is dropping... the thoron field boundary is shrinking... particle energy is rising... (sees something wrong) Wait a minute, what's this... He hits panels... DAX Wave emissions are fluctuating... we're not getting a controlled collapse... SISKO (urgent) Chief? O'BRIEN (hands flying across the console) Dammit... we're picking up an exothermic reaction pattern... it may be neutralizing the pulse waves... stand by... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 3/04/93 - ACT FIVE 45A. 67 CONTINUED: KIRA Our perimeter sensors are picking up subspace oscillations... what the hell does that mean... The station vibrates lightly... DAX Proton counts have tripled... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 2/25/93 - ACT FIVE 46. 67 CONTINUED: (2) O'BRIEN Residual pulse wave activity from our torpedoes is down to fourteen percent... A beat, this is disaster... glances at Sisko... O'BRIEN (fatalist tones) The flux density readings inside the rupture are off the scale... There is a flash through the windows... and simultaneously the lights go out and the station takes a massive hit that throws everybody to the floor... Dax #2 hits her head on a console on the way (note, we don't really need to see)... 68 INT. QUARK'S Lights out. The shake continues as tables and chairs are thrown over... chips and dice and people are on the floor... Quark and the girls look up from the floor to see if the roof is holding... 69 INT. SECURITY OFFICE (VPB) The shaking has subsided. Consoles are sparking... Odo is on the floor... jumps to his feet, hits his combadge... it's not working... ODO Odo to Ops... Ops? 70 INT. OPS People getting to their feet... emergency lighting comes on. KIRA (at her station) Com circuits are down. I'm trying to reroute pathways. Life support is normal. SISKO Shields? DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 2/25/93 - ACT FIVE 47. 70 CONTINUED: O'BRIEN A generator is down. Section Four is exposed. ODO'S COM VOICE Odo to Ops... KIRA (re: comline) There we go... SISKO (nods, nice work) Constable... check for casualties, have your deputies move everybody out of section Four... we have shield damage... ODO'S COM VOICE Acknowledged. SISKO What are we getting from the rift? Dax is back in her chair... nearby, Dax #2 is still on the ground... Bashir tending her... DAX (can't get a reading) Sensors aren't operating. O'BRIEN (going to work on them) Stand by. He moves to the pit. 71 ANGLE ON BASHIR AND DAX # She's bleeding from the temple... he's trying to control the bleeding... DAX #2 I can't feel my hands, Julian... BASHIR Lie still... He turns to Bokai... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT FIVE 47A. 71 CONTINUED: BASHIR There's an emergency medical kit in that cabinet there... get it! Bokai hesitates for only an instant, goes and gets the kit... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/25/93 - ACT FIVE 48. 71 CONTINUED: (2) DAX #2 I'm sorry... BASHIR Ssshh... DAX #2 I never meant to bother you... BASHIR You didn't bother me... Bokai arrives with the kit... Bashir goes to work... wipes the blood off her face... DAX #2 I can't keep my eyes open... BASHIR Don't close them... I want you awake... you have a nasty concussion... DAX #2 Can't help it... Her eyes close... BASHIR (to Dax #2) Dax! The real Dax turns to the voice... sees what's happened... exchanges a quick glance with Bashir... who turns back to work more feverishly... O'BRIEN Sensors are back on line. 72 NEW ANGLE KIRA The rupture is now a kilometer wide... over three hundred and forty percent larger than before... SISKO Is it showing any signs of collapsing? DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 2/25/93 - ACT FIVE 49. DAX Wave emissions from the rift are still fluctuating... I can't make sense of these readings... Proton counts are lower than before... (beat, bad news) ... Now they're beginning to rise again. O'BRIEN The pulse waves from our torpedoes have been completely neutralized... it's just a matter of time before the rift starts to expand again... SISKO How much time... O'BRIEN Minutes. SISKO Suggestions. Silence. 73 ANGLE ON O'BRIEN AND RUMPELSTILTSKIN (OPTICAL) O'Brien struggles for an answer... RUMPELSTILTSKIN Run out of ideas, friend? O'Brien grits his teeth, ignores the needle... RUMPELSTILTSKIN (to Sisko) I have a suggestion. (off Sisko's look) Maybe I can be of service. O'BRIEN You? RUMPELSTILTSKIN You created me with powers beyond mortal men... I would be happy to use them to assist you... for a price. He holds out a hand and suddenly Keiko is there with Molly in her arms... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT FIVE 50. 73 CONTINUED: KEIKO Miles... ? RUMPELSTILTSKIN I've always wanted a daughter. The station begins to vibrate again. KIRA Perimeter sensors are reading subspace oscillations again... O'Brien feels the pressure of the moment... grabs the dwarf who never loses his cool -- O'BRIEN You're telling me you can seal that rupture out there? And Sisko reacts... and his mind begins to work... remembering, putting the pieces of this puzzle together... RUMPELSTILTSKIN I can turn straw into gold, my friend... this seems no more difficult. O'BRIEN Then, do it, dammit! RUMPELSTILTSKIN Will you meet my price? O'Brien looks around, a short, incredulous, gallows laugh... O'BRIEN This is crazy. You're out of a fairytale, a storybook. Again, include Sisko who's beginning to reach a possible conclusion in his mind... RUMPELSTILTSKIN Will you give her up... to save so many others... And now Sisko steps forward... SISKO No... he doesn't have to... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT FIVE 51. 73 CONTINUED: (2) Reactions, they look at Sisko... SISKO Dax... when did our sensors first pick up traces of the rupture... DAX (not certain where he's going) You were there, Benjamin... when we were first trying to figure this whole thing out... SISKO And if I remember correctly you said your previous scans hadn't picked up any anomalies at all... DAX (acknowledges) I thought that whatever was out there might have been too small for the scanners to identify... SISKO (finishing her thought) So you imagined that we might be dealing with a subspace rupture which is exactly what it turned out to be... DAX (catching on) That is what I... imagined... SISKO And once you learned about the rift that destroyed the Hanoli system, we all imagined that this might be another one just like it... (beat) Mister O'Brien, drop the shields. O'BRIEN Sir? SISKO There is no rupture. There is no threat to this station. Or this system. End red alert and drop the shields! DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT FIVE 73. 73 CONTINUED: (3) O'BRIEN (uncertain) Aye, sir. Red alert lights change. The station's vibrations increase markedly... SISKO And believe it, Mister O'Brien... it's important that you believe it. O'BRIEN Aye, sir. SISKO Are your sensors picking up any magnetic shock waves, Major? KIRA (checking) Yessir, perimeter readings still show... SISKO (interrupting, insisting) No shock waves at all. KIRA (reacts, looks up, understands) None at all. Suddenly, the vibrations stop. SISKO Lieutenant, proton counts? DAX (without checking) Normal. 74 EXT. SPACE - DEEP SPACE NINE (OPTICAL) With a much larger rift than the last time we saw it visible off the starboard bow. It dissipates and disappears. 75 INT. OPS As before. DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT FIVE 53. 75 CONTINUED: KIRA (checking) It's gone. The normal lights return... as they react... 76 ANGLE ON DAX #2 AND BASHIR (OPTICAL) Her eyes open narrowly... she smiles weakly at Bashir... BASHIR You're going to be fine. DAX #2 (weakly) Of course, I am. I have the best doctor in the galaxy. And he's saved her life just as he would imagine it... she reaches up with a hand and touches his chin... and disappears... 77 NEW ANGLE (OPTICAL) as they react to the disappearance of first the dwarf and then Buck. O'Brien goes to his wife and child to comfort them. KIRA None of this makes any sense... I mean, why did they appear in the first place... DAX It might still be related to the elevated thoron emissions in the plasma field... the readings haven't returned to normal... SISKO Continue your analysis, Dax. But no speculations this time. Just facts. (beat) Major, keep us on yellow alert for twenty-six hours till we see if everything's back to normal. Chief, take your family home. That's an order. DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - REV. 2/25/93 - ACT FIVE 54. 77 CONTINUED: O'BRIEN Yes sir. Sisko EXITS to his office. The O'Briens move to the Turbolift. 78 INT. COMMANDER'S OFFICE Exhausted, Sisko sits and considers the day's events... after a beat... BUCK (O.S.) This... imagination of yours... it's a tough concept for us to get a handle on, Ben. 79 ANGLE (OPTICAL) to see Buck with his mitt, popping the ball... SISKO (realizing) You're not simply a figment of my imagination, are you... Buck studies him a beat... BUCK We're on an extended mission exploring the galaxy... Awhile back, we followed one of your ships through that hole in space out there... we've been watching you, trying to figure out the rules of your game... SISKO Why didn't you just talk to us... like this? BUCK We've learned you never can tell how someone's going to treat the visiting team... SISKO (grins lightly) I understand... DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT FIVE 55. 79 CONTINUED: BUCK Well, that's what this has been all about. Learning to understand. SISKO Was it really necessary to put the whole station in jeopardy? BUCK But we didn't, Ben. You did. It was your imaginations that created everything... we were just watching to see where it took you. This... imagination of yours... we've never seen anything like it. It's very real to all of you... and yet it's not... at first, it seemed to us to be a curse, an irritation... that Odo fellow even called it a waste of time. SISKO I'd disagree with him. BUCK I know you would. I've learned that about you. That you could have such an... affection... for someone you've never met... (beat) I wonder if you appreciate how unique this imagination of yours really is. SISKO (grins) Not always. A beat. Buck smiles. BUCK We've got to go. SISKO But you haven't told us anything about your species. DEEP SPACE: "If Wishes Were... " - 2/24/93 - ACT FIVE 56. 79 CONTINUED: (2) BUCK I'd like to. He tosses Sisko the ball. BUCK Maybe next year. And he disappears... leaving Sisko alone in his office. Sisko flips the ball in the air, smiles knowingly as we... 80 EXT. SPACE - DEEP SPACE NINE (OPTICAL) FADE OUT. END OF ACT FIVE THE END