STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE "The Alternate" #40512-432 Story by Jim Trombetta and Bill Dial Teleplay by Bill Dial Directed by David Carson 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 1993 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 This script is not for publication or reproduction.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 October 27, 1993 STAR TREK: DS9 "The Alternate" - 10/27/93 - CAST STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE "The Alternate" CAST SISKO MORA KIRA WELD ODO SECURITY OFFICER'S QUARK COM VOICE BASHIR KLINGON TENOR DAX (ON SPEAKER) O'BRIEN JAKE COMPUTER VOICE Non-Speaking Non-Speaking N.D. SUPERNUMERARIES N.D FERENGI STAR TREK: DS9 - "The Alternate" - 10/27/93 - SETS STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE "The Alternate" SETS INTERIORS EXTERIORS DEEP SPACE NINE DEEP SPACE NINE QUARK'S PROMENADE WORMHOLE RUNABOUT OPS PLANET SURFACE SURGERY SCIENCE LAB RUNABOUT CORRIDOR (OUTSIDE SCIENCE LAB) DARK CONDUIT SECURITY OFFICE INFIRMARY SISKO'S QUARTERS JAKE'S BEDROOM STAR TREK: DS9 - "The Alternate" - 11/12/93 - PRONUNCIATION STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE "The Alternate" PRONUNCIATION GUIDE BAJOR BAY-Jor BAJORAN bah-JOR-an DEKA TEA DEE-kuh tea KHOSLA KOH-slah MORA POL MAW-ra POHL PLEGG PLEHGG DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - TEASER 1. STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE "The Alternate" TEASER FADE IN: 1 INT. QUARK'S We begin with a close angle on a small, iridescent disc in Quark's hand. He turns it over and over as he talks. QUARK (O.S.) I am merely a businessman. It would take an orator with the skills of the late, great Plegg himself, to sing the praises of the late, great Plegg. We widen to see that QUARK is in the midst of a sales pitch to a curious fellow Ferengi at the bar. The disc he is holding is a Ferengi "Memorial Disc." Near him is a ceremonially decorated box full of these discs. Perhaps there are two or three others gathered to watch this. QUARK (continuing) What Ferengi could resist the honor of owning a small piece of the man who took a computer chip and turned it into the modular holosuite industry... a small piece of the man who brought holographic entertainment to the most remote parts of this quadrant, creating profit centers from societies that could barely afford to feed their own people... ODO arrives quietly joining the sales pitch... ODO (re: the disc) How much are you asking? Quark reacts, knowing Odo is here to screw up his pitch... QUARK As I was about to tell my good friend here, a mere three strips of latinum... DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - TEASER 2. 1 CONTINUED: The Ferengi hears the price and immediately walks... calling after him... QUARK And I'd be taking a loss at that price... okay, for you, two strips... (sighs, he's lost him, to odo) Thank you very much. ODO Three strips? That's a fair price for Plegg. QUARK (reacts) I suppose you're interested. ODO Humanoid death rituals are an interest of mine. QUARK Death rituals. ODO Everybody needs a hobby. QUARK (dubious) Uh huh... ODO Some species burn their dead, others pack them in blocks of ice... some even surround themselves with the company of family corpses. But the Ferengi ritual of chopping up their loved ones and selling them... I find that... irresistible. QUARK (not buying) I'm very busy here. ODO (pursuing him) What a fitting and dignified way to honor the memory of great Ferengi entrepreneurs. I'm thinking of starting a collection. DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - 10/27/93 - TEASER 3. 1 CONTINUED: (2) ODO Putting up a display case in my office. There'll be a special space reserved for you in there, Quark. QUARK I'm sure. Odo puts three strips of latinum on the bartop... and that really stops Quark. QUARK You're serious? ODO Have you ever known me not to be? Quark's waiting for the payoff to the gag... he hesitantly takes the money and begins to slide the disc across the bar to Odo... ODO Oh, there is one thing I was curious about... QUARK (knows something's coming) And what's that... ODO How do I know it's Plegg? QUARK It says so on the label. ODO Isn't there some sort of letter of authenticity? QUARK (pointing) The Ferengi Seal of Dismemberment is right there. What more do you want? ODO I want Plegg. QUARK You've got him! DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 11/12/93 - TEASER 4. 1 CONTINUED: (3) ODO Not if he's still alive... QUARK (a beat) Still alive? ODO Still alive. QUARK (aghast) Plegg? ODO When I tracked him down on Khosla Two and told him about your little scheme, he was quite amused. I'm not. Odo takes back his latinum strips. QUARK Odo, I'm a victim here. I bought these discs in good faith. I have five thousand pieces of Plegg in my storeroom. ODO Not Plegg. QUARK Then who? ODO Good question. QUARK I demand an investigation... ODO You'll get one. I promise you. MORA (O.S.) Odo... Odo turns to the voice and reacts as he sees... 2 ANGLE Doctor MORA POL, standing there, smiling at him. ODO (surprised) Doctor Mora... DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - TEASER 5. 2 CONTINUED: MORA It's been too long. He sticks his hand out and Odo shakes it, definitely uncomfortable... especially with Quark there to observe. MORA You're looking well. Yes, coming along nicely. ODO Why didn't you let me know you were coming? MORA It was a last minute arrangement. ODO The trip from Bajor takes five hours. QUARK (terribly curious) Ah, can I get you something... Doctor "Mora" was it? MORA Yes. Some Deka tea would be nice... Quark goes to work... MORA (in studying Odo) You haven't quite managed the ears, yet, have you? But, they're difficult. Is the suit a suit, or part of you? And what about the boots? Quark arrives with tea... QUARK There we are... nice and hot... MORA Thank you... Quark lingers, Odo waits for him to leave... but Quark can't resist... DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - TEASER 6. 2 CONTINUED: (2) QUARK So... (beat) You two seem to be old friends... ODO (getting it over with) Doctor Mora is the Bajoran scientist who was assigned to me after I was found. MORA (with pride) I was personally responsible for his development during his formative years. QUARK Then, this is a family reunion! I had a hunch... well, Odo's dad is always welcome in Quark's... the tea is on the house... MORA ODO Well, actually... He isn't my... But Quark doesn't hear their denials beginning... he blows through it... continuing... QUARK (to Mora) I know he wouldn't tell you himself. But Odo is doing a wonderful job here on the station if I may say so... MORA Is he... QUARK Absolutely. As a matter of fact, when you came in, he was just beginning a fraud investiga... ODO (interrupting) Quark! (Quark turns to him) Excuse us. He pulls Mora away from the bar. DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - 10/27/93 - TEASER 7. 2 CONTINUED: (2) QUARK (calling after them) Of course. You two have a lot of catching up to do. If there's anything I can help you with, Doctor, don't hesitate to call on me. Odo and Mora EXIT. 2A INT. PROMENADE Mora is studying Odo carefully, picks up none of the discomfort that Odo is feeling. But it is important to note that Mora is extremely likeable in every casual way possible. He has a warm sense of humor, is outgoing with people and even with Odo, he is comfortable in a superficial way. But there is no intimacy from him toward Odo. No personal relationship. More of what you'd expect from a business relationship. In fact, he is a scientist. And Odo is his specimen. MORA That was uncalled for. ODO You don't know Quark. MORA I know he was trying very hard to present you in a positive light to someone he thought was important to you and you responded with... ODO ("don't lecture me" implied) Please... MORA Still having trouble with social integration... ? ODO I integrate as much as I want to. MORA Define "as much as I want to." DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - 10/27/93 - TEASER 7A. 2A CONTINUED: ODO "As much as I want to" means as much as I want to. (already tired of this, a last defense) Quark is a thief, a con man, nobody you want to know... DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - 10/27/93 - TEASER 8. 2A CONTINUED: (2) Mora studies him, gives a scientific "hmmm"... if we had pipes in this universe, he'd puff on one... They sit at the Replimat. MORA So how is this police thing you got yourself into working out? ODO I enjoy my work as chief of security. MORA (casual, not realizing the pain this causes) "Chief of security." At a weigh station in space. As a shape-shifter, Odo probably shrinks a little at hearing this... Mora smiles at him... MORA Don't you miss it, Odo? ODO What. MORA Our work. ODO Never. MORA I don't believe it. I know you too well. You were unhappy in the lab. I couldn't blame you for that. But the work, Odo. The exploration of you. What you are. Where you came from. That's never far from your mind, is it. Tell me the truth. ODO That part of it... is true. MORA Good. Because I came here counting on that. Off Odo's curious expression... FADE OUT. END OF TEASER DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT ONE 9. ACT ONE FADE IN: (NOTE: Episode credits fall over opening scenes) 3 INT. SISKO'S QUARTERS SISKO is working at his computer as JAKE starts to exit... JAKE See you later, Dad... It takes Sisko a beat to react... SISKO Hey... hey... hold on... JAKE I'm late... SISKO For what? JAKE For Nog. SISKO Your homework... JAKE It's done... SISKO You've studied that whole Klingon opera for your music test Friday?... JAKE I'm gonna ace the test, Dad, I promise... SISKO That isn't what I asked... JAKE It's not until Friday... SISKO This isn't about tests, Jake. This is about learning. DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT ONE 10. 3 CONTINUED: SISKO You can't learn to appreciate Klingon opera by just cramming the night before an exam. JAKE I'm never gonna learn to appreciate Klingon opera. It's a waste of time. SISKO Being with Nog is not a waste of time but Klingon opera is? JAKE Yeah! (beat) What am I ever going to use Klingon opera for? SISKO First of all, you don't know what you'll be when you grow up... you may discover along the way you want to be a musician or you may wind up around Klingons in some job somewhere... JAKE Dad, even if I do, they won't be going around singing operas... SISKO It helps to understand their culture... JAKE When was the last time you listened to a Klingon opera? SISKO (beat, knowing that he's getting sucked in) When I was your age. JAKE There, you see? SISKO Yes. Do you? DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - 10/27/93 - ACT ONE 11. 3 CONTINUED: (2) JAKE Dad, just because you had to suffer through all that doesn't mean I have to. SISKO (smiles) Yes. It does. A chime at the door... SISKO Come in... Odo is at the door as it opens... JAKE Dad... SISKO (the perfect solution) Nog has the same test. Why don't you invite him over to listen to the Klingon opera together? Jake looks at him incredulously, laughs at the impossible notion and walks morosely back to his room. SISKO Sit down, Odo. They sit. ODO Commander, I'd like to request the use of a runabout. SISKO Of course. What's up? ODO Doctor Mora Pol from the Bajoran Institute of Science asked me to help him secure one from the Federation. SISKO Why did he come to you? DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT ONE 12. 3 CONTINUED: (3) ODO Doctor Mora was the scientist who was assigned to me in my first years here... if he went to the Board of Ministers to request permission to approach you, it would take months. And he's very anxious to investigate something in the Gamma Quadrant. And may I say, Commander, so am I. SISKO You've got me curious, Constable. Is it a secret? ODO No, but there isn't much to tell. One of the Bajoran science probes recently scanned a planet about six light years from the wormhole. It picked up some very unique and familiar DNA patterns. Patterns very much like my own, Commander. (beat) Doctor Mora thinks he may have found the origin of my people... of... me... Off Sisko's reaction... 4 EXT. SPACE - THE WORMHOLE The Federation runabout comes out of it into the Gamma Quadrant... the wormhole closes... 5 INT. RUNABOUT DAX is the pilot. Doctor Mora sits in the co-pilot seat. Odo and a second Bajoran scientist are in the background. We'll get to know this other scientist as DOCTOR WELD RAM. MORA (to Dax) As a scientist yourself, Lieutenant, you can appreciate the difficulty of our dilemma, and the elegance of the solution. When Odo was first found, no one knew who, or indeed, what we were dealing with. DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT ONE 13. 5 CONTINUED: MORA A shapeless, viscous mass of fluid, a veritable organic broth. That was our Odo in the beginning. DAX When did you realize you were dealing with a sentient lifeform? ODO He didn't. I had to teach him that myself. MORA (laughs) That's true. That's very true. Tell her. ODO It was a dilemma for me. I'd never seen anything like these creatures either. MORA "Seen" isn't really an appropriate description. He had no eyes per se... ODO I was only trying to describe it in simple terms... MORA (ignoring that) He had never perceived anything like us before... go on... ODO And I knew I had to find some way to communicate with them. So I transformed myself into... MORA (taking the story away) It was remarkable. I'd been coming into the lab every morning, and every morning Odo was still in his liquid form, resting in a Krokan petri beaker. Well... one morning, Odo wasn't there. The beaker was empty, and beside it: an identical beaker that had not been there before. DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT ONE 14. 5 CONTINUED: (2) MORA A perfect replica in every way. It was amazing. (a look back at Odo) It hasn't been the same since you left, Odo. Working with you was the most rewarding part of my career. Odo doesn't acknowledge. DAX We're approaching the planet. We hear the engines disengage... DAX (continuing) Preparing to enter standard orbit... planet designated L-S-Six. WELD Initiating scans. 6 EXT. SPACE - THE RUNABOUT (OPTICAL) moves into orbit around a planet... 7 INT. RUNABOUT DAX There's a lot of seismic activity down there... possibly volcanic in origin... MORA That's consistent with the probe's analysis of the area... ODO Perhaps that's why the changelings had to leave this world... MORA "Changelings?" That's a new one. ODO I've met people from the Gamma quadrant who've heard stories of a lifeform... DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - 10/27/93 - ACT ONE 15. 7 CONTINUED: MORA (laughs, interrupting, victorious) And you said you weren't interested in our work anymore... ODO That's not what I said... WELD I think I've located the area where the probe identified the trace elements... I'm picking up the same DNA traces... entering coordinates... DAX Moving into synchronous orbit. WELD (off sensors) Look at these readings, Doctor... I believe there's some kind of artificial structure on the surface... MORA (smiles, in anticipation) Is it safe to go down, Lieutenant? DAX Surface disturbances are minor... for the moment anyway... MORA Let's do it. As they begin to move... DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 11/04/93 - ACT ONE 16. 8 EXT. PLANET SURFACE - AMID THE RUINS (OPTICAL) Dax, Mora, Odo and Weld beam to the surface. There are minor tremors throughout. Dax and Weld have science cases to collect and preserve specimens. Mora consults a tricorder. As they move through the ruins, we see Weld taking samples away from the main group... he eventually wanders out of view... 9 WITH ODO AND MORA As they move through shattered, stone ruins. Followed by Dax, they approach the center of the ruins. 10 A CEREMONIAL STELE a truncated, white stone pillar standing at the center of the ruins. There are raised letter shapes in the surface of the pillar. 11 ODO As he approaches the stele, studies it with an intensity... could the answer to his mystery be on this artifact... ? He reaches out, almost reverently, to touch it. MORA Do the letters mean anything to you? Mora and Dax have approached the stele and are near Odo as he studies it. ODO No. I don't think so. MORA Well, judging by its position in the ruins, I think it's fair to say this pillar represented something important to the people who lived here. DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 11/04/93 - ACT ONE 17. 11 CONTINUED: DAX Why don't we take it with us... our computer back on the station might be able to decipher the inscription... Mora acknowledges. She begins to set small rods around the stele... MORA Where's Doctor Weld gone to? Weld? WELD (O.S.) Over here. 12 WITH WELD some distance away as he gathers specimens among the broken stones. Mora and Odo cross to him. 13 ANGLE DOWN As Weld takes a sample of a very strange looking tiny lifeform and puts it in a containment case. WELD I may have found what we're looking for. MORA Is it carbon based? WELD (checking a reading) No. Silicate, but vegetative, and very much alive. Odo studies it with a real intensity... Mora glances at him, grins... MORA Odo Junior, perhaps? Odo doesn't acknowledge him. In the background, WE HEAR the effect of the transport field enhancers ZAPPING into operation... DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 11/04/93 - ACT ONE 18. 14 WITH DAX (OPTICAL) DAX Computer, begin transport. The pillar DEMATERIALIZES... and as Dax begins to gather the rods... the others return and there is a low rumbling, then a tremor, small at first, but gathering intensity. Dax reacts, and this all happens very fast -- DAX (urgent) Computer, realign transporter... lock on to our combadges... COMPUTER VOICE Stand by... 15 AT THE BLUFF The ground is shaking more intensely... Mora, Odo and Weld move for shelter... there is a deafening roar. A sudden jolt and loud cracking noise. The air is suddenly filled with gas escaping from unseen fissures. 16 OMITTED 17 DAX, MORA, AND WELD (OPTICAL) Covered by the dust and gas reel back from it toward the bluff. COMPUTER VOICE Ready for transport... But by now, the three humanoids are severely affected and fall to the ground, coughing and trembling. The shaking continues. Mora seems almost paralyzed by the effects of the gas. Dax is choking as Odo kneels to help her. Weld is doubled over in a fetal position. Mora is unconscious and not moving. Odo hits his combadge... ODO Computer, energize! DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/29/93 - ACT ONE 19. 17 CONTINUED: All DEMATERIALIZE. Just as the last traces of them fade away, more gas comes up... FADE OUT. END OF ACT ONE DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT TWO 20. ACT TWO FADE IN: 18 EXT. SPACE - THE WORMHOLE As the Runabout flashes through and the wormhole closes behind it in the Alpha Quadrant. INT. RUNABOUT 19 A worried Odo pilots the ship. Behind him we can see Doctor Mora, Doctor Weld and Dax, all very ill. ODO (to com) Deep Space Nine... this is the Rio Grande. I have seriously injured personnel on board. Request emergency action. 20 INT. OPS KIRA, and O'BRIEN react to Odo's message. Sisko ENTERS from his office and crosses down to them. KIRA (on communicator to Odo) We read you, Odo. Who's injured? ODO'S COM VOICE Dax, Doctor Mora, and Doctor Weld. There was some kind of volcanic gas... O'BRIEN (to com) When you get within transporter range, I'll beam them directly to the Infirmary. SISKO (to Kira) Alert Doctor Bashir. Sisko EXITS, on his way to the Infirmary. 21 EXT. SPACE - THE RUNABOUT (OPTICAL) hurries home. DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT TWO 21. 22 INT. SURGERY - LATER BASHIR is hard at work stabilizing and checking out his patients, Dax, Doctor Mora, and Doctor Weld, who are all in bunks. Mora and Weld are unconscious, using respirator masks. Dax is resting, but breathing normally. Odo is sitting, fully dressed on a bed. Bashir talks to Sisko as he works... BASHIR They're stable for now. Dax is in fair condition, the Bajorans seem to be more seriously affected. Perhaps they were exposed to more of the gas, or there may be something about Trill physiology... I'm not sure yet... SISKO And Odo? ODO I'm fine. BASHIR The paralyzing action occurred when the gas was taken into the respiratory system. Since Odo doesn't have a respiratory system as we know it, he apparently wasn't affected at all. SISKO O'Brien's off-loaded the cargo they brought back. He's set up everything in the Science Lab. I understand there are some organic specimens from that planet. Maybe there's something that can help you figure this out. BASHIR Good idea. During the above, Odo has crossed slowly to Mora's bed... 23 AT MORA'S BED Mora is breathing irregularly, and with some difficulty. Odo looks at him a long moment. His mentor seems very weak and small. DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 11/01/93 - ACT TWO 22. 23 CONTINUED: ODO (without emotion) Will he be all right? BASHIR The molecule appears to have quite an unstable structure. That might mean the effect is temporary. Odo nods, EXITS. Sisko follows him. 24 INT. PROMENADE - CONTINUOUS As Sisko and Odo walk together. SISKO I know how you feel, Constable. ODO Feel? About what? SISKO When my father got ill... I remember thinking how small and weak he looked lying there in the bed. He'd been so strong... independent... to me it always seemed there was nothing he couldn't do. In the end, I realized that there was nothing he could do. And nothing I could do to help him. ODO I appreciate your thoughts, Commander. But Doctor Mora is not my father. Odo moves off... and as Sisko watches him a beat... 25 INT. SISKO'S QUARTERS Sisko, his mind still on the scene with Odo, ENTERS to the sound of a Klingon tenor coming from the speakers... sees Jake sitting at the computer... trying desperately to follow the extensive Klingon dramatic text displayed on the screen... looks up doe-eyed at Sisko as he ENTERS... "Satisfied?" his eyes seem to say. DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 11/01/93 - ACT TWO 23. 25 CONTINUED: Sisko smiles softly... moves across the room, pulls up a chair and sits next to his son, puts one arm around his shoulder, and points with the other hand to the Klingon symbols along with the song... after a beat, (if it still works in this set-up) Jake puts his head on Sisko's shoulder and follows the text... and it is one of those special father- son moments that will stay with them to the end of their lives. KLINGON TENOR (on speaker) Kak-lah... Kak-lah... Kah-pool-AYYY- do-la-kak-lah... Yoh boo la to dah... Yoh boo la to da... Ah... do ro may... do ro may... do ro may... do ro MAY de lat so may... Uh clop-doh... uh gah... Uh clop- doh uh gah dor... Uh cop-doh... uh gah... dor ray... dor ray... dor ray. 26 OMITTED 27 INT. SCIENCE LAB (VPB) Close on the carved pillar from the planet in the Gamma Quadrant. Moving to find O'Brien studying the lifeform sample magnified on a monitor as Odo ENTERS. 28 WIDER ANGLE There are several worktables with large glass or plastic cases on them. O'Brien turns to Odo as he crosses to him and the pillar. O'BRIEN The computer's having a hard time classifying your new lifeform. ODO Why? DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT TWO 24. 28 CONTINUED: O'BRIEN Whatever it is keeps changing... somehow it goes through a metamorphosis every time it reproduces... and it reproduces like crazy. Look at this... He pulls the sample out of the scope... it's in a new larger container... O'BRIEN It's multiplied so much, I had to change containers... I'll put it in a level-five security field overnight. I wish Dax were here to take a look at it... how's she doing... ? ODO Doctor Bashir thinks she'll be fine... O'Brien acknowledges, pleased. Odo moves to the stele... studies it... O'BRIEN Have any idea what it is? ODO I'm hoping it's a key, Mister O'Brien. A key to my past. Odo takes a dramatic beat and EXITS... O'Brien thoughtfully watches him go... turns back and looks at... the mysterious stele. 29 EXT. SPACE - DEEP SPACE NINE (OPTICAL) Time passage. 30 INT. SISKO'S QUARTERS Sisko's asleep in bed when the com line rings... he awakes gently... DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 11/04/93 - ACT TWO 25. 30 CONTINUED: KIRA'S COM VOICE Kira to Sisko. SISKO Go ahead, Major... KIRA'S COM VOICE Sorry to bother you, Commander. But we need you up here in the Science Lab. Sisko gets up... SISKO I'm on my way. 31 OMITTED 32 INT. SCIENCE LAB Sisko ENTERS. A second later, Odo ENTERS behind him. Kira is there with O'Brien. They are surrounded by wreckage. Someone or something has completely trashed the Lab -- tables are overturned, the glass cases have been smashed. Odo moves to O'Brien at the table where the lifeform sample was stored. The cases are smashed. As they look over the damage, we... FADE OUT. END OF ACT TWO DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 11/04/93 - ACT THREE 26. ACT THREE FADE IN: 33 INT. SCIENCE LAB - MOMENTS AFTER PREVIOUS SCENE O'Brien will be taking readings with a tricorder... SISKO Any signs of a break-in? KIRA Not that we've been able to find... the security seal on the lab was still in place when we got here... O'BRIEN I can't imagine why anyone would want to steal that thing anyway... SISKO You're suggesting the lifeform itself did this... O'BRIEN I don't know what did this. Commander. Unless a tornado passed this way without us hearing it. The room was locked. It's gone... that's all I know for now. Sisko gives an uneasy look toward the mysterious pillar. SISKO (to Odo) Let's go to yellow alert. Get a Level Three Security Scan of the entire station underway. O'BRIEN Our scanners are probably gonna have trouble finding this lifeform. DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 11/04/93 - ACT THREE 27. 33 CONTINUED: O'BRIEN It has metamorphic qualities that were confusing the computer. You better run the sweep two or three times. ODO (acknowledges) Major, you could help me by reviewing the security camera records and the heat sensor readouts for the Lab and the surrounding areas. Kira acknowledges, EXITS. O'Brien has found something. O'BRIEN Commander, I'm picking up slight trace elements near the ventilation intake duct. It looks as though the lifeform may have taken this way out. Dax ENTERS. She's still a bit shaky, but recovered enough to return to duty. The others are surprised to see her. SISKO Doctor Bashir give you permission to be up and about? DAX (as she moves, examining the damage) "Doctor Bashir" wouldn't listen to me and hid my clothes so I wouldn't leave. DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT THREE 28. 33 CONTINUED: (2) DAX I had to sneak out to my quarters in a hospital gown that wouldn't close in the back... but I met a nice ensign on the way. What did this... SISKO The working theory is that the lifeform you brought back is somehow responsible... DAX I don't believe it. SISKO Good. Find me a better theory. Dax pauses to study the stele... nods to Sisko thoughtfully, then remembers. DAX Odo, Doctor Mora is awake and wants to see you. Odo reacts to this, then EXITS. 34 INT. SURGERY - DARK Doctor Mora is still lying in bed, better but weak. The monitoring devices are still hooked up. Odo is standing by the bed. A night nurse may be visible through the door in the Infirmary. MORA I heard them say something had happened in the lab. ODO The lifeform sample is gone. MORA Gone? ODO We're not sure why or how yet... Struggling to sit up... MORA I want to help... DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - 10/27/93 - ACT THREE 29. 34 CONTINUED: ODO Everything is under control... MORA I know more about shape-shifters than anyone in this sector... ODO Anyone except me, and I'll be running the investigation. Odo easily controls him in the bed... and Mora's hand quite naturally winds up on his arm... and it's the first physical contact that is intimate in any way... ODO Besides we're not even sure it is a shape-shifting lifeform... MORA Any metamorphic characteristics? ODO (acknowledging) It was changing faster than the computer could analyze. Mora's eyes sparkle with enthusiasm. MORA Any indication of intelligence... ODO Not unless you consider wanton destruction of the lab an indication of intelligence... MORA It might be... It might be... Don't dismiss any possibility... Mora is obviously tired... MORA Doctor Weld hasn't regained consciousness. I feel... responsible. Odo looks at the inert figure of Weld in the bed... ODO I know Doctor Bashir is doing everything possible. DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 11/04/93 - ACT THREE 30. 34 CONTINUED: (2) He looks back down at Mora, who is asleep. And as he looks at him, there is a change somehow... as it always seems in life, sickbeds bring people closer together. After a beat, Odo EXITS... 35 OMITTED 36 INT. DARK CONDUIT As O'Brien climbs in a fairly bare shaft... this is a basic life support, air flow conduit... we might hear a background noise of the life support generators humming... O'Brien takes out a tricorder, takes a reading... O'BRIEN The same trace elements are inside the duct... As he moves forward... INTERCUT: 37 INT. SECURITY OFFICE (VPB) Sisko and Odo looking at monitors conducting Okudagram scans... O'BRIEN'S COM VOICE (continuing) I'm following the trail, moving toward Corridor Two-H... SISKO (to com) Nothing's showing up anywhere on the scanners, Chief. 38 INT. DARK CONDUIT O'Brien continuing to move... the palm beacon scouring the forward areas... DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 11/01/93 - ACT THREE 31. 38 CONTINUED: O'BRIEN Yeah, I figured as much. Did the security cameras in the lab give you anything? ODO'S COM VOICE The security cameras stopped operating for forty-three seconds at zero-three hundred hours, five minutes... right when the alarm sounded... O'BRIEN Stopped... you mean somebody turned them off? 39 INT. SECURITY OFFICE (VPB) Working at panels on the security grid... SISKO More likely some kind of power interruption... It might have affected the security field around the lifeform too... We're trying to analyze it now... 40 INT. DARK CONDUIT O'Brien moving ahead cautiously... checking his tricorder... O'BRIEN Do the heat sensors in the lab show any thermal deviation at the same time? SISKO'S COM VOICE Almost a six degree increase during the forty-three seconds... O'BRIEN But then back to normal after that. SISKO'S COM VOICE Affirmative. DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT THREE 32. 41 INT. SECURITY OFFICE (VPB) O'BRIEN'S COM VOICE We might be dealing with an entity that absorbs low frequency R-F energy... it might be feeding off our power... ODO But an energy drain should be showing up on our scans... 42 INT. DARK CONDUIT O'BRIEN Yeah, that's true, Constable. I don't get it. Maybe this thermal deviation was the result of... He interrupts himself as he hears a strange sound ahead... a sort of structural groaning, although we might not be able to identify it as that... SISKO'S COM VOICE Chief? O'BRIEN Hold on, I hear something. 43 INT. SECURITY OFFICE (VPB) Sisko and Odo move to the same monitor... SISKO We've got your position. Nothing else is showing up anywhere near you... 44 INT. DARK CONDUIT Moving... O'BRIEN Well, I definitely hear something ahead... can you hear it on the comm line... ? SISKO'S COM VOICE No... DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT THREE 33. 44 CONTINUED: O'BRIEN It almost sounds like... I don't know how to describe it... I'm moving in closer... (beat) If you run into my wife, don't mention I did this... 45 INT. SECURITY OFFICE SISKO (to Odo) Move some backup to the nearest corridor... ODO (acknowledges, hits combadge) Security to Core Section, Level Four, Corridor Two-H... O'BRIEN'S COM VOICE (overlapping) I'll come home tonight and she'll ask me how my day was... and I'll say, fine, honey, how was yours?... 46 INT. DARK CONDUIT The strange sound is a little louder now as he gets closer... O'BRIEN Sometimes I think she really doesn't want to know the truth, so I do us both a favor and... He's come to the sound... shines the light up at the top of the conduit... there's a sagging breach at a juncture line... the sound is of structural distress... O'Brien relaxes... O'BRIEN Just a structural breach... we need to get a maintenance crew up here... As he examines the breach closer with his hand... O'BRIEN Shouldn't be any problem to... DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 11/01/93 - ACT THREE 34. 46 CONTINUED: Suddenly, as he pulls at the breach just a little, the sag opens and shockingly the lifeform, a pailfull this time, cascades over O'Brien, startling him... O'BRIEN (startled) Ahhh! He starts to swipe at the stuff... SISKO'S COM VOICE O'Brien report! Then quickly realizes it's harmless... O'BRIEN I'm okay... I'm fine... I found our missing lifeform... With his tricorder... O'BRIEN Except it's not a lifeform anymore. It's dead. In the Security Office, Sisko and Odo react... 47 EXT. SPACE - DEEP SPACE NINE (OPTICAL) SISKO (V.O.) Station log, Stardate 47391.7. Engineering crews have been working for over fifteen hours searching conduits throughout the core section. There have been no additional incidents and no further evidence of the alien lifeform has been found. Yellow alert has been canceled. 48 INT. INFIRMARY (VPB) Bashir and Dax are studying the inert sample of the lifeform on a monitor... BASHIR With this kind of cellular structure, the lifeform would have needed a higher concentration of carbon dioxide than our atmosphere provides... DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/27/93 - ACT THREE 35. 48 CONTINUED: DAX (nods in agreement) It just couldn't survive out of its own environment. BASHIR That'd be my analysis... DAX But with that in mind, do you still think this lifeform was capable of destroying the lab? BASHIR It's not impossible. The environmental impact might have taken some time to set in. Dax grunts, dubious. Stands, getting ready to leave. DAX I really would like Doctor Mora's opinion on all this... BASHIR He's a lot better. He should be up and around in the morning. A beat... Dax nods, at the door... DAX Feel like a Raktajino before we call it a night? BASHIR (lightly) My replicator or yours... DAX I was thinking of the Promenade. BASHIR I knew that. Thanks anyway. I have a few things to wrap up here. DAX Sleep tight, Julian. She EXITS. He watches her go... turns to his work... murmuring to himself... DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT THREE 36. 48 CONTINUED: (2) BASHIR She enjoys it... it gives her some perverse kind of pleasure. One of these days, I'll stop chasing her and then we'll see... There's a sound from surgery... Bashir reacts, moves into... 49 INT. SURGERY The room is dark and Bashir doesn't turn on the lights as he ENTERS. Mora and Weld are both in bed asleep. He looks around doesn't see anything unusual... 50 ANGLE - HIS BACK TO THE VENTILATION SHAFT (OPTICAL) as he wonders to himself what the noise might have been, we see a vague figure drop silently from the ceiling behind him... Bashir doesn't react... 50A ANGLE - NEAR MORA'S BED as Bashir relaxes, takes the opportunity to check the medical monitors... and this all happens extraordinarily fast -- suddenly a tentacle wraps around his neck from behind like a whip and pulls him... 50B ANGLE as Bashir is pulled down sharply by the unseen creature... crashing into a medical supply table... which falls over... 50C MORA'S EYES open... reacting to the noise... just getting his bearings... 50D BASHIR struggling to breathe... reaches out... DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT THREE 36A. 50E HIS HAND (OPTICAL) finds a laser scalpel from the floor... picks it up... fires over his shoulder, hitting the creature, which groans with impact and pulls away... 50F MORA sits up... tries to see... but all there is... 51 FAVORING HIS POV (OPTICAL) The barest movement of something disappearing into the ventilation grill... 52 BASHIR out of breath and frightened, as he hits his combadge. BASHIR Emergency! Emergency! Intruder alert. He leans back against the wall, laser scalpel at the ready. FADE OUT. END OF ACT THREE DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT FOUR 37. ACT FOUR FADE IN: 53 INT. SURGERY A lot of activity. A Starfleet engineer and a science officer examine the area. O'Brien is up on a ladder shining a palm beacon into the open ventilator shaft. Dax is using a tricorder to pick up any organic traces on the floor in the lab. Bashir is seated nearby. Doctor Mora is dressed now, stands with Odo and Sisko talking to the shaken Bashir. Weld is still unconscious in bed. BASHIR It happened so quickly. I'm sorry I can't tell you more about it. It was behind me, then it was gone. But it was big. Very big. SISKO How badly did you injure it? BASHIR I don't know. I don't know if I injured it at all. I just hit it once with a laser scalpel on its arm, or leg, or tentacle... whatever it was, and it moved up the wall and... was gone. MORA (with scientific distance) It appears our lifeform has survived and grown into something interesting. ODO Did you notice anything else about the room when you entered, Doctor... anything out of place, anything unusual... (Bashir shakes his head, doesn't think so) Was it unusually warm, perhaps? Mora observes Odo at work... BASHIR (beat, thinking) Now that you mention it, it was a bit warm in here... DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 11/01/93 - ACT FOUR 38. 53 CONTINUED: ODO (to Sisko) Another thermal distortion... Did you try the lights, Doctor? BASHIR No, I didn't want to disturb the patients. ODO Commander, I suggest we check the R- F energy flow to the Infirmary... we might find a power interruption just as we did in the lab. Sisko acknowledges. Mora is extremely impressed with Odo's line of investigation here... Dax crosses to them, checking her sensor. DAX No blood, or any fluid traces. But I am picking up a very slight trail of something we didn't see last time. An organic residue. SISKO Enough to test? DAX We'll see. She EXITS. SISKO (hits combadge) Sisko to Ops.KIRA'S COM VOICE Go ahead. SISKO Restrict all nonessential personnel to their quarters and go to red alert, Major. KIRA'S COM VOICE Understood. SISKO (to Odo) Keep in touch with Dax's progress... she might give us a way to track this thing... DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 11/01/93 - ACT FOUR 38A. 53 CONTINUED: (2) ODO Until we can, I suggest we close down the Promenade. SISKO (acknowledges) I'll give the order, Constable. He EXITS... leaving Mora and Odo together. Mora is still studying Odo with admiration. MORA "Constable." ODO It's a nickname that I barely tolerate. DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT FOUR 39. 53 CONTINUED: (2) MORA It's the expression of affection that you find uncomfortable. Odo bristles at being analyzed even if it is accurate... EXITS... Mora notices his reaction, didn't mean to hurt him, follows with the intention of "making up"... 54 INT. PROMENADE As they come out of the Infirmary... MORA You know, that was really a remarkable display back there... ODO Display? MORA You were careful, attentive... ODO I was just doing my job. MORA Yes, well, I'm beginning to think that the scientific method and the police method have a lot in common. ODO I never thought of it that way. Perhaps they do. MORA In science we look for the obvious. We track in straight lines. If something looks too good to be true, it probably isn't true. If there seems to be more to something than meets the eye, there usually is more. We take it step by step. ODO That would apply to criminal investigation also. DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 11/01/93 - ACT FOUR 40. 54 CONTINUED: MORA You do it very well. (beat) I'm proud of you, Odo. Did you know that? Odo just nods, but it's clear that he didn't know that. They walk a beat in silence... 55 INT. SCIENCE LAB (VPB) As they ENTER... Dax is examining the traces... checking the monitor... entering instructions, pressing panels... Mora stops to study the pillar, which has been moved... ODO Anything? DAX (shakes her head) The computer's having trouble breaking down the DNA chains. MORA What about the pillar... has the computer had any success decoding the encryption? DAX No luck there either. All things considered, the computer's having a bad week. We have such a limited database for the Gamma Quadrant... ODO I have to shut down the Promenade... call me when you have something... She nods... Odo starts to leave... pauses as he looks again at the stele, a thought... to Dax -- ODO Wasn't that pillar over there before? DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT FOUR 41. 55 CONTINUED: DAX (without looking up from her work) I had to have it moved. It was in my way. Odo nods, EXITS... MORA Have you compared this new organic sample to the lifeform we brought back from the planet... ? DAX Only enough to be sure that it's not the same... MORA It might be interesting to see if there are any commonalties at all. DAX (nods) Let me run a cross-tabulation analysis... it should only take a couple of minutes... As she enters the information in the computer... Mora smiles to himself, shares the thought -- MORA Do you know Odo well, Lieutenant? DAX Not as well as I'd like to. He... keeps to himself a lot. MORA I'm not surprised. (beat) I didn't realize... until I actually saw him... (a private laugh) ... how much I missed him... we didn't part on very good terms... DAX So I've heard. DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 11/04/93 - ACT FOUR 52. 55 CONTINUED: (2) MORA I didn't want him to leave. We still had so much work to do... (not entirely convinced of what he's saying) But I see him now and I wonder if he wasn't right to go after all... he's come such a long way... DAX He's an invaluable man around here. MORA I never thought he could do it. Integrate successfully. If you could have seen him back then, how ill- prepared he was to be on his own... (beat) I was so sure he'd come back. When he left, I told him he'd come back... And all these years, I was still certain that eventually, he'd show up one day at the lab... (beat, a loss) I guess I'd better get used to the idea that he's not going to. 56 ANGLE (VPB) Parallel monitors flash up two studies of the two samples... microscopic pictures with lots of data readouts along the side... DAX Here we are... Mora has already seen something... moves to one monitor... MORA Which one is this? DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/27/93 - ACT FOUR 43. 56 CONTINUED: DAX That's the new one from the Infirmary. (re: the other monitor) This is the lifeform from the planet... but remember it went through several metamorphoses... MORA No, it's not the same entity... the nucleotide sequences are entirely different... DAX Some metachromic similarities... MORA Yes... on the most basic level... it may be a distant cousin at best... A quiet beep from the computer signals Dax... DAX The computer's broken down the DNA chain on the new sample. She presses panels and a new Okudagram comes up on the monitor... Mora moves closer to study it... he recognizes it, makes a conscious decision not to tell Dax... DAX I can run an analysis to see if it matches up with any other lifeform in the computer... MORA How long will that take? DAX Two, three hours, maybe. Mora nods thoughtfully... MORA Let me know. He EXITS. DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 11/01/93 - ACT FOUR 44. 57 INT. SECURITY OFFICE (VPB) Odo is making a visual check through of all security camera shots of the station... primarily the Promenade... which is virtually deserted. Mora ENTERS. ODO Doctor Weld has regained consciousness. It looks like he'll be fine. MORA (preoccupied) That's a relief. He sits. Odo reacts to the tension in his voice... his manner. ODO You don't seem relieved. MORA (appreciating him anew) You can tell that just by observing me, can't you... the tone of my voice, my eyes, my body movements... ODO Yes. MORA You are such a remarkable lifeform, Odo. But there is so much we still don't understand about you. ODO (impatient with him) What are you getting at, Doctor... ? MORA The computer has broken down the DNA chain of the organic sample we found in the Infirmary. Dax is running an analysis of it now. She'll have it identified in a couple of hours. But I already know what it is. I've seen it before. The organic sample... it's from you, Odo. On Odo's reaction... FADE OUT. END OF ACT FOUR DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - 10/27/93 - ACT FIVE 45. ACT FIVE FADE IN: 58 INT. SECURITY OFFICE A few minutes later. Odo is seated, stunned by the news. Mora is more analytical, making the case that condemns Odo with scientific detachment. More and more throughout the scene, the pressure builds on Odo... the claustrophobia of the Security Office seems to close in on him... MORA The destruction in the Science Lab occurred at zero-three hundred hours, five minutes. Then the attack in the Infirmary occurred at nineteen- thirty-five. Roughly sixteen hours apart. Is your rejuvenation period still sixteen hours... ODO (acknowledges) I was in my pail during both attacks. Mora rises moves around the desk, sits on the desk, subtly taking a power position, just above Odo... MORA But were you... I don't think so. I think, Odo, that you have been in the rather ironic position of trying to track down... yourself. ODO (a beat, softly) How could this be? MORA Has anything like this happened before? ODO Of course not. MORA Are you certain? ODO Of course, I'm certain. There would have been incidents. DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT FIVE 46. 58 CONTINUED: MORA No unsolved crimes on the books? ODO There are always unsolved crimes. MORA Then, the possibility exists... ODO (desperate) It doesn't. I do not commit criminal acts. It is not in my nature. MORA (the evidence before us) Isn't it? ODO (a beat) The gas. Maybe it was the gas on the planet. It must have affected me in some way. And Mora has already considered this... it's very likely true... but he doesn't want Odo to be so comfortable with the explanation. This is his chance. The chance to get Odo back. MORA A possibility. ODO That has to be it. Odo rises, about to leave... MORA It's certainly worth investigating. ODO Doctor Bashir might be able to... Mora stops him with -- MORA Doctor Bashir won't be able to understand anything about this... except that you turned into some kind of out-of-control thing that almost killed him. Really, Odo. What do you think they'll do with you? DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT FIVE 47. 58 CONTINUED: (2) ODO Do? MORA They won't know what to do. They'll put you in some kind of high security prison, or quarantine you on a deserted asteroid in the Gamma Quadrant. Odo, they'll put you in a zoo. ODO I don't believe that. You don't know them... MORA What other humanoid have you ever been able to trust except me? ODO What makes you think I trust you... MORA (intense) I resent that. I really do. After the time I invested in you. The education I gave you. The attention I gave you. You wouldn't be here today without my guidance. I gave you more than anyone else in my life. You were my life. And you walked away. Now, you don't trust me? Fine, put yourself in their hands then. Always had to learn your lessons the hard way, didn't you... Odo is really feeling it now... getting a little moist, turning his back on Mora, leaning his hands on one of the electronic security consoles... ODO (conflicted, soft) I am not going back to the center with you... Now warmer, but zeroing in, give and take "affection" -- MORA Why? We'll work through this together. The two of us. DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - 10/27/93 - ACT FIVE 48. 58 CONTINUED: (3) MORA We'll solve it together. Just as we used to. And Odo finally loses it, a fist pounding down on the console top... with a flat --- ODO No. And suddenly the power in the security consoles begin to soak into... 59 ODO'S HANDS (OPTICAL) morphing into something hideous as the electricity from the console zaps into him... 60 MORA reacts with horror... as the unseen thing forms in front of him... he looks up... the sound of the thing lets out a guttural hiss... Mora runs out... 61 INT. OPS Kira and O'Brien are at their stations. Sisko stands near Kira. O'Brien notices something on his computer screen. O'BRIEN Commander, I've got a power failure in Security... SISKO Sisko to Odo... (no response) Sisko to Odo. KIRA (to com) All deputies report to Security Office... possible intruder. O'BRIEN I'm tracking it... DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT FIVE 49. 62 ANGLE - MONITOR (VPB) At O'Brien's station, seeing a vast network of conduits around the Promenade... moving as systems failures show up... Sisko comes over to look... O'BRIEN (continuing) We have a power drain in the life support conduit above the Security Office. If it's feeding off our power, we might be able to slow it down by shutting off the primary flow to the entire core section... SISKO Do it. As O'Brien goes to work, the lights go down... Sisko studies the monitor intently... SISKO Where the hell did it come from? KIRA (worried) And where's Odo... SECURITY OFFICER'S COM VOICE Security to Ops. KIRA Go ahead. SECURITY OFFICER'S COM VOICE There's no one down here, Major. KIRA No sign of Odo? SECURITY OFFICER'S COM VOICE Nossir. MORA (O.S.) I can help you with that, Major. DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT FIVE 50. 62 CONTINUED: They turn to see Mora arriving on the Turbolift... Mora is quite shaken by this turn of events... feels responsible... MORA The creature you're after is Odo. (reactions) There must have been... some kind of metamorphic reaction to the volcanic gas we encountered on the planet. SISKO Is there any way to communicate with him? MORA I don't know. It's not Odo really... it's separate and independent from the Odo we know... and yet... (thoughtful) At the very least, it is aware... of me. KIRA How can you know that? MORA The incident in the Science Lab... I think it was an attempt to "rescue" the lifeform I put into containment... the second encounter was in the Infirmary where I was sleeping... the third took place minutes ago when we were having a... heated discussion in Security. I think your... "Constable" himself would draw the same conclusion from the evidence... on some instinctual level, this creature is familiar with me. SISKO He might even conclude it has hostile intentions toward you. MORA That has occurred to me. DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT FIVE 51. 62 CONTINUED: (2) O'BRIEN (off monitors) The power shutdown is complete, Commander. Odo... or whatever it is... has stopped moving for the moment. SISKO Chief, based on your knowledge of its behavior, if we can lure him out, is there any way to set up a forcefield that can hold him... O'BRIEN We could reverse polarity on the energy fields and it might work... but that's only a guess. SISKO Set it up on the Promenade... I want a lot of room to operate... Major, station security teams along the perimeter... KIRA How do we get him to come out of the conduits? O'BRIEN Maybe we can use some R-F energy bursts to attract him... MORA I think there's only one thing that's going to attract that creature into your trap. It's me he's after. 63 INT. PROMENADE Sisko, Kira, and several Security Men accompany Doctor Mora as they ENTER the area which has been closed down for security. Mora has a combadge on. It is dark. Starfleet and Bajoran officers are positioned along the second level... SISKO (to com) Mister O'Brien? INTERCUT: DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT FIVE 52. 64 INT. OPS Also dark... O'BRIEN Our plan seems to be working, Commander. It's following my trail of energy crumbs right toward you... 65 INT. PROMENADE SISKO On my signal, open the conduit and let him in... O'BRIEN Aye, sir... SISKO (to Mora) We can't be sure which vent he'll come through. Hopefully, it'll be the first one available to him... (pointing over security) ... over there... but if not, there are seventeen others he might choose. We're not stationing officers near any of them... we don't want to scare him away. MORA I understand. SISKO Just get him to the forcefield. We'll do the rest. Sisko nods to him, wishing him good luck... moves away with Kira... SISKO (continuing) Pass the word that phasers are to be set on maximum stun... the moment Doctor Mora appears to be in jeopardy, I'll open fire. Their orders are to follow my lead. If maximum stun doesn't bring him down immediately, we set phasers to kill. DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT FIVE 53. 65 CONTINUED: KIRA Commander... SISKO I know, Major. Those are the orders. As they reach the second level... ready to observe... SISKO (hits combadge) Mister O'Brien, we're ready. O'BRIEN'S COM VOICE Releasing the conduit seal. SISKO (TO COM) Doctor Mora, did you hear that? 66 MORA MORA Ready and waiting. And any music cue that's been going on should end right here as we go to: 67 VARIOUS SHOTS Mora, Sisko, Kira, Bashir, phasers loaded and ready, Mora again... listening for a sound, anything... silent... then -- 68 MORA suddenly starts to talk out loud for Odo's sake but not yelling... MORA What are you waiting for? I'm here. And I'm not going anywhere. DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT FIVE 54. 69 MORE VARIOUS SHOTS OF WAITING IN SILENCE 70 ANGLE (OPTICAL) Mora is keeping an eye on the vent Sisko pointed out... behind him, there is a dark movement... he senses it, turns... suddenly the creature looms... 71 MORA stumbles back, falls... 72 SISKO reacts, readies to fire... 73 MORA scrambles back on the floor away from the advancing creature... and suddenly... 74 ANGLE (OPTICAL) The creature hits the field and it comes on, opaque, the creature stretching to get at Mora through it... its monstrous figure shaped by the field... 75 MORA looking up from the floor, beginning to get up... in an even, regretful tone of voice -- MORA I've done it to you again, haven't I, Odo. Made you a prisoner. Dear God, what have I done. 76 ANGLE (OPTICAL) The creature struggles another beat and then exhausted... becomes the figure of Odo again... who then collapses behind the field... 77 SISKO reacts, rising from his position... hits the combadge -- DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT FIVE 55. 77 CONTINUED: (2) SISKO Mister O'Brien, drop the field. O'BRIEN'S COM VOICE Aye, sir. 78 ODO laying wet and exhausted on his back... no memory of what occurred... just panic in his eyes. Mora is the first one there... Odo stares up at him... MORA We have a lot to talk about. And then Mora puts his arms under Odo's limp body and picks him up like a child... and the crowd that has gathered, parts as Mora carries him across the Promenade toward the Infirmary... 79 EXT. SPACE - DEEP SPACE NINE (OPTICAL) 80 INT. INFIRMARY Odo is lying down, stronger... Bashir is checking on readings, looks encouraged... Mora is observing... BASHIR I'm not going to try to explain exactly what happened to you, Odo... because I haven't the vaguest idea... I can tell you with Doctor Mora's help we've managed to eliminate all traces of the gas from your cellular structure... I'll prescribe rest because it's hard for a doctor to go wrong with that one... but otherwise, there's not much more I can do for you. ODO Thank you, Doctor. Bashir nods, gives the two of them some time alone. After a beat... MORA I'm going home. DEEP SPACE: "The Alternate" - REV. 10/28/93 - ACT FIVE 56. 80 CONTINUED: ODO Doctor Mora, I want to be sure you know that I had no idea... MORA You had to speak in a voice loud enough for me to hear. ODO I'm... sorry. MORA I'm sorry it was necessary. (beat, hard to say) I would like... in a small way... to be a part of your life again... your life on the station. From time to time, we could talk. About things that matter to you. To us. ODO I'd... like that. Mora reaches out in a true intimate way and pats Odo on the hand... Odo grabs his hand and holds it... the two men lock eyes for a long beat... and as Odo smiles gently... FADE OUT. END OF ACT FIVE THE END