STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE "Melora" #40512-426 Story by Evan Carlos Somers Teleplay by Evan Carlos Somers and Steven Baum and Michael Piller and James Crocker Directed by Rick Kolbe 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 This script is not for publication or reproduction.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 August 26, 1993 STAR TREK: DS9 - "Melora" - 08/26/93 - CAST STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE "Melora" CAST SISKO MELORA KIRA FALLIT KOT ODO ASHROCK QUARK KLINGON CHEF BASHIR DAX O'BRIEN COMPUTER VOICE Non-Speaking Non-Speaking N.D. SUPERNUMERARIES STAR TREK: DS9 - "Melora" - 08/27/93 - SETS STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE "Melora" SETS INTERIORS EXTERIORS DEEP SPACE NINE DEEP SPACE NINE AIRLOCK AIRLOCK CORRIDOR ORINOCO COMMANDER'S OFFICE CORRIDOR TO QUARTERS ORINOCO & RIO GRANDE DOCKING RING CORRIDOR HABITAT CORRIDOR GAMMA QUADRANT INFIRMARY MELORA'S QUARTERS OPS PROMENADE KLINGON KIOSK QUARK'S QUARK'S QUARTERS SECURITY OFFICE RUNABOUTS ORINOCO RIO GRANDE STAR TREK: DS9 - "Melora" 08/27/93 - PRONUNCIATION STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE "Melora" PRONUNCIATION GUIDE ASHROCK AHSH-rok ACETYCHOLINE ah-see-tic-koh-LEEN DELVOK DEHL-vahk ELAYSIAN ehl-LAY-shan FALLIT KOT FAHL-iht KAHT FAYLOCK FAY-lock INVERNIAN ihn-VUHR-neeahn GARLANIC gahr-LAHN-ihk GLADST GIAHDST LOTHRA LOH-thrah MELORA PAZLAR meh-LAURA PAHZ-lar TEROS TEH-rohs NEO-ANALEPTIC NEE-oh-ahn-uh-LEHP-tihk ORINOCO ohr-in-OH-koh OXYGENE OX-ih-jeen PALTRIS PAHL-trihs RACHT RAHKT RHOMBOLIAN rohm-BOH-lee-ahn VAK VAHK YOGRASSA yoh-GRAHS-uh ZILMIKACH ZIHLM-kak Page 2. KLINGON PHRASES Gagk Tek Or gag tehk ohr Drak doo drahk-doo P'kar tel Durg Le Frank'l pih-KAHR tehl duhr-leh FRANK-nuhl Dug a bul rah'tar duhg-uh-bull, rah-tar DItel klop a bul dih-TEL klohp uh bull Pak't pol PAHKT pohl D'kar tel G'denna dih-kahr-tehl guh-dehn-uh Aler acht'jar ah-ler akt-ih jahr T'lembda boool-gah toh-gal tih-lehmb-duh-bool-gah toh-gahl to lohhh too-loh DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - 08/26/93 - TEASER 1. STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE "Melora" TEASER FADE IN: 1 EXT. SPACE - DEEP SPACE NINE (OPTICAL) Establishing. BASHIR (V.O.) Medical log, Stardate 47229.1. Chief O'BRIEN and I have been working overtime to prepare for the arrival of a new cartographer. Ensign Melora Pazlar is the first Elaysian to join Starfleet and, as such, requires special accommodations. 2 INT. INFIRMARY Close on a wheelchair. DAX (O.S.) I haven't seen one of these in three hundred years. Moving to back to reveal DAX and BASHIR... Bashir can be testing the gears or something... he's quite enthusiastic about all this work he's been asked to do. DAX (continuing) I'm surprised it was even on file in the replicator's data bank. BASHIR It wasn't. Ensign Pazlar sent me the specifications. DAX She actually uses one like this? BASHIR Her normal anti-grav unit isn't going to work here... same problem we had with the Starfleet cargo lifts... Cardassian construction just isn't compatible. DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - TEASER 2. 2 CONTINUED: KIRA'S COM VOICE Ops to Bashir. The Yellowstone has just docked at airlock fourteen, Doctor. Exiting, pushing the chair out... BASHIR On our way. 3 INT. PROMENADE - CONTINUOUS BASHIR Think of what she's gone through to get here, Jadzia... what it must be like to adjust to our gravity after growing up on a planet with low surface gravity. They run into O'BRIEN, who is coming to find them... O'BRIEN Doctor... ! Continuing to move with them... O'BRIEN We've done the best we can with the ramps... the Cardassians obviously didn't have her in mind when they built the place... BASHIR (pleased with himself) I've managed to modify the maximum vertical clearance of the chair three centimeters to a slope of fifty-six degrees. O'BRIEN That still leaves a lot of places around here she won't have access to... DAX Can't we just use the transporter to help her get around? O'BRIEN Makes sense to me, but she sent word that it wouldn't be acceptable to her. DAX I wonder why... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - TEASER 3. 3 CONTINUED: Feeling like he already knows her... BASHIR I know exactly why... she went through the Academy the same way. Once her basic needs were met, she refused any special attention. She's extraordinary. DAX You make it sound like you've known her for years... BASHIR I almost feel that way... I've pulled all her personnel and medical files to get ready... (remembering) Her quarters... they're ready, aren't they? O'Brien pulls out a small remote control device... hands it to Bashir... O'BRIEN I have the bumps on my head to prove it. BASHIR Thanks, Chief. Moving away... O'BRIEN Let me know if there's anything else I can do. To Dax -- BASHIR That'll be something to see... when we turn off the gravity and she flies around her room... Smiles at the excitement of it all as they enter the airlock corridor... 4 INT. AIRLOCK - CLOSE ON MELORA A cool, professional YOUNG WOMAN (MELORA) in her mid- to late-20's, standing at the doorway to her ship, she is wearing braces that are attached electronically to a series of blinkies on her hands and wrists. DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - 08/26/93 - TEASER 4. 4 CONTINUED: (They are really only a suggestion of braces as we know them today... far simpler and "lightweight." Conceivably, they may even be under her uniform, although, I'd kind of like to see something of them outside) Plus she has an ornate wood carved cane which supports her body weight in one hand... although her face is a mask, the extraordinary pressure from gravity is apparent in every move she makes. MELORA Ensign Melora Pazlar reporting for duty. Moving to find Bashir and Dax. DAX Welcome to DS Nine, Ensign. I'm Chief Science Officer, Jadzia Dax... and this... MELORA Doctor Bashir... we spoke on subspace... BASHIR Good to meet you in person... MELORA (re: the chair) I see you have my trolley car ready to go... BASHIR As requested. Melora braces herself on the cane and presses some blinkies on her arm and we HEAR the device activate under her uniform, creating mechanical motion forward. Instinctively, Dax moves forward to assist... DAX Here, let me help... Bashir knows what Melora's reaction will be, reacts too late to stop Dax. Without rancor -- MELORA (overlapping) I'm fine, thank you. And Dax gets out of her way, as Melora moves with great strain and lowers herself into the chair... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - TEASER 5. 4 CONTINUED: (2) MELORA (with relief) That's better. She puts the cane into a holder built into the chair... and will always have it with her. She's instantly unhappy with the chair. MELORA You've modified it. BASHIR I wanted to give you as much mobility as I could. She begins to roll forward, still frowning. MELORA I've been practicing on the model I requested for a month... BASHIR (embarrassed) It's... really no problem... I can replicate the other design... MELORA No, I'll just have to adapt. Bashir reacts, glances at Dax... as they EXIT... 5 INT. CORRIDOR TO QUARTERS Ramps are in place as needed throughout... and all of this conflict should be subtle and polite and underplayed... MELORA I really don't think that'll be necessary, Lieutenant... I'm perfectly capable of piloting a runabout... DAX Commander Sisko thought... MELORA I'm sure he thought what every officer I've served with has thought... that I need extra help to get the job done. Please tell him, I don't. DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - TEASER 6. 5 CONTINUED: DAX Commander Sisko wouldn't let any Ensign take a runabout into the Gamma Quadrant the day after she gets here... MELORA I'm sure the Chief Science Officer has more important things to do than to chart a sector in the Gamma Quadrant... Bashir is increasingly uncomfortable with her attitudes... BASHIR Here we are... MELORA You haven't modified the specifications I gave you for my quarters, I hope... The door opens. BASHIR Not one iota. You can control the gravity unit with this device. If you'd like to try it out... He hands it to her. She rolls inside. MELORA Thank you, I will. It's been a pleasure meeting both of you. And as she pulls back, the door slams in their face. They never get to see her turn off the gravity... on their reaction... FADE OUT. END OF TEASER DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT ONE 7. ACT ONE FADE IN: (Note: Episode credits fall over opening scenes.) 6 EXT. SPACE - DEEP SPACE NINE (OPTICAL) - ESTABLISHING 7 INT. QUARK'S Before hours. One Ferengi waiter setting up in the background. At the bar, a tough-looking ALIEN (ASHROCK) sits across from QUARK. Quark displays a beautiful ring with an intricate design etched on its outer surface... he holds it out for Ashrock to see... ASHROCK (dazzled by ring) Paltriss only created eighty of them... each a work of art... QUARK And I've come into possession of forty-two. ASHROCK (reacts) Forty-two? My world will honor your name for returning the Rings of Paltriss to his birthplace... QUARK (drops ring in pouch, puts pouch in pocket) Honor my name all you want... as long as your honor is accompanied by one hundred and ninety-nine bars of gold-pressed latinum... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT ONE 8. 7 CONTINUED: ASHROCK (sighs) I've heard that you drive a hard bargain... QUARK Shall we celebrate our closing the deal with another drink... ? At which point, Quark glances out of the corner of his eye toward the door, sees a compact, intense HUMANOID (FALLIT KOT) ENTER the establishment, start looking around... QUARK Excuse me, I'm sorry but we're not open yet... if you'll come back in... He stops as he recognizes the face... swallows hard... QUARK (now nervous, to Ashrock) Have another drink on me. He moves around the bar to Kot... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT ONE 9. 7 CONTINUED: (2) QUARK Fallit... Fallit Kot... is that really you? How long has it been? FALLIT KOT (evenly) Eight years. Eight long years. Quark moves him toward a table... they sit... QUARK It can't be... I must say, you look terrific... tanned... toned up... all of that baby fat has disappeared from your face... LLIT KOT You don't keep extra weight on, where I've been... QUARK (ignoring) Just passing through, are you? I'll bet you have business in the Gamma Quadrant... you always had a sharp eye for fresh territory... FALLIT KOT I'm not going to the Gamma Quadrant. My business is right here. With you. QUARK With me? FALLIT KOT That's right. (leans in; no brag, just fact) I've come to kill you, Quark. Quark's stunned, his mouth open, surprisingly speechless... 8 OMITTED DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT ONE 10. 9 INT. COMMANDER'S OFFICE Dax, Bashir and SISKO. DAX I've gone through her mission profile. She certainly knows what she's doing... SISKO Nevertheless, this is her first deep space assignment... and it doesn't make sense to me to... (rising, interrupting himself) Here she is... 10 ANGLE TO INCLUDE OPS as she comes up on the Turbolift on her wheelchair... they move out to greet her... 11 INT. OPS The motorized chair moves Melora to the center of Ops until it reaches the steps... there is no ramp capability here. Sisko, smiling, moves down the steps to greet her, Dax and Bashir a step behind... SISKO Ensign, I'm Commander Benjamin Sisko... And this is subtle -- Melora is already defensive, having seen Dax and Bashir already meeting with Sisko in his office upon her arrival... MELORA Am I late? (She already knows she's not.) During the following, she pulls herself with great strain out of her chair to her feet, uses the cane to brace herself as she executes the difficult climb up the stairs using the mechanical body device. Her voice, though she does her very best to cover it, is full of the strain and fatigue like an athlete talking during a competition. DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT ONE 11. 11 CONTINUED: SISKO Not at all. MELORA It looked like the meeting had already begun. SISKO Dax and Bashir were just telling me about your request to pilot a runabout alone. MELORA Wouldn't it have been appropriate to include me in that conversation? SISKO (even) I was getting a briefing by my senior officers, Ensign. We talk about personnel matters all the time. MELORA (without sarcasm) I'm sorry if I seem overly sensitive. But I'm used to being shut out of the "Melora" problem. The truth is there is no "Melora" problem. Until people create one. They are now at the top of the stairs... and they go into the office and the doors close... 12 INT. COMMANDER'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS And she continues to be charming as she maintains her aggressiveness. She moves to a chair and sits. MELORA This may sound ungrateful, because Doctor Bashir has been wonderfully helpful in the preparations for my arrival, but frankly, I wonder why a medical opinion is necessary in this discussion. DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT ONE 12. 12 CONTINUED: DAX Julian knows more about your capabilities than any of us. MELORA I don't need a medical opinion to tell me my own capabilities... BASHIR I also know the station and the runabouts... MELORA I've studied the station's schematics... and I've flown runabouts... Sisko is studying all this... SISKO Ensign... MELORA I simply object to being treated like someone who is ill. SISKO I don't see anybody doing that. MELORA (still charming) Try sitting in the chair, Commander. No one can understand until they sit in the chair. They study each other for a long beat. Melora smiles, backs off the intensity... MELORA I've been in one chair or another since I left my homeworld. My family gave me this cane made from the wood of a garlanic tree. (chuckles at the naivete) ... they had no idea what it would be like to live off-world... in what you consider "normal" gravity. Only a handful of Elaysians have ever left home. But I always knew I had to be one of them. DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT ONE 13. 12 CONTINUED: (2) MELORA (Cont'd) I dreamed about exploring the stars as a girl. And I wasn't going to allow any... "handicap," not a chair, not a Cardassian station... to stop me from chasing that dream. SISKO You must feel a great deal of pride in what you've been able to achieve. MELORA (you bet) And I've achieved it without being dependent on anybody. To be honest, I prefer working alone. It's simply easier for me. SISKO I'm not comfortable sending you alone into the Gamma Quadrant. MELORA Sir, I can focus on the job better, I can work at my own pace without bothering anyone else... SISKO Lieutenant Dax will be going with you. A beat. This is really the first time that Melora gets visibly perturbed in this scene... MELORA Yes sir. (turning to Dax) When do you wish to leave, Lieutenant? DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT ONE 14. 12 CONTINUED: (3) DAX Your schedule is fine with me. Melora nods a curt acknowledgment, turns and the doors open and she rises from the chair and as she begins the arduous journey down the stairs, we see Bashir watching her and... 13 INT. HABITAT CORRIDOR Bashir moves to Melora's door, hits the chime. After a beat, we hear a sound effect from inside... Bashir reacts... MELORA'S VOICE Come in. The door opens... 14 INT. MELORA'S QUARTERS She has just landed in her chair, which is anchored on the wall for anti-grav conditions... she unclips the chair from the wall... BASHIR Is it working? (off her reaction) The low-grav field actuator... I just heard it go off. MELORA It's working fine. BASHIR So you were just... He motions flying around with his arm... MELORA For me, it's like slipping into a hot tub at the end of a long day. DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT ONE 15. 14 CONTINUED: BASHIR (really curious) Really. (because he can't ask what he wants to ask) I'm... a shower man, myself. Bashir notices a PHOTOGRAPH on the desk. 15 ANGLE - PHOTOGRAPH Melora and a young Man soaring playfully in mid air. 16 RESUME SCENE BASHIR (smiles) Look at this. Is that your husband... ? Boyfriend... ? MELORA (sincere) If you came for an apology, Doctor, I apologize. BASHIR Apology? MELORA My speech was not intended to attack you personally. BASHIR (not mean, with charm) I'm sure you never set out to attack anyone personally. But you do seem... to attack a lot. MELORA (measuring him) That's rather insensitive of you, Doctor. BASHIR Julian. I'm no longer your doctor. MELORA I see. You've decided I need a friend. DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - 08/26/93 - ACT ONE 16. 16 CONTINUED: BASHIR Was that an attack? You do it so well, with such charm, it's hard to tell. MELORA I really don't mean to... BASHIR Sure you do. MELORA I beg your pardon? BASHIR Of course, you mean to... all of these broad shots you fire -- it's your way of keeping the rest of the universe on the defensive. Has to be. You're too good at it. MELORA (not a true admission) Always seemed to work pretty well. Until now. BASHIR That's the nicest thing you've said to me. Or anybody else for that matter. Are you hungry? I came here thinking about asking you to dinner. MELORA (instinctive) Then afterward, we'll go dancing, I suppose. BASHIR (pointing out an attack) Red alert. MELORA Sorry. DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT ONE 17. 16 CONTINUED: (2) BASHIR Come on... there's a new Klingon restaurant on the Promenade... if you like that sort of thing. She studies him a long beat. No one has ever nailed her like this before and it makes him intriguing to her. MELORA All right. Bashir smiles... FADE OUT. END OF ACT ONE DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT TWO 18. ACT TWO FADE IN: 17 INT. QUARK'S Fallit Kot seated at corner table, drinking his drink, his cold eyes studying the bar, always looking for Quark. Suddenly, a tablecloth is spread in front of him, he reacts and turns to see it's Quark who has arrived beside a food cart... QUARK Dinner is served. FALLIT KOT I didn't order dinner. A Ferengi waiter is setting the table with flowers, silver and Quark's finest china... Quark serves a bowl of soup first... Kot tastes it... QUARK What better way to mollify -- I mean, satisfy -- a hungry traveler than with a delicious home-cooked meal... starting with a delicate Vak clover soup... Kot puts down his soup spoon and pushes the bowl off the table. It crashes to the floor and shatters. Quark eyes the broken tureen... QUARK Why spoil your appetite with soup? He picks up a dish with a covered entree, puts it front of Kot and removes the lid... QUARK Here's the real treat... (lifts lid; seductively) Jumbo Vulcan mollusks. DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT TWO 19. 17 CONTINUED: QUARK (Cont'd) Sauteed in rhombolian butter... a taste so exquisite, it's to die for... (realizes what he's just said) ... or to live for, for that matter... Quark sets everything up just so, then stands by, the overattentive waiter... Fallit picks up a fork, tries a taste of the mollusk... as Quark pours the wine... QUARK Do you know dabo, Fallit? Fallit just stares at him. QUARK (continuing) A wonderfully entertaining game and easy to learn. I took the liberty of lining up a couple of excellent tutors I happen to know... He snaps his fingers and two gorgeous dabo girls immediately arrive and sit beside Kot. Kot just continues eating his mollusk and stare at Quark. QUARK (continuing) Be sure to ask them about their "double down" betting strategy. (beat) If I haven't made it clear, I intend to make your stay here as delightful as you could ever imagine. So allow me to propose a toast... to... (raises glass) Old friends. FALLIT KOT (considers, then:) Old debts. Fallit tips Quark's glass. Off Quark... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT TWO 20. 18 INT. PROMENADE - KLINGON KIOSK - CLOSE ON A KLINGON CHEF Gruffs at Bashir to order -- CHEF Gagh Tek Or! (What'll it be?) Merging back to find Bashir and Melora at the Kiosk... BASHIR Shall I order for us both? MELORA All right. Quick back and forth -- BASHIR Let's see... we'll have some racht of course... CHEF Racht... BASHIR And a double order of Gladst... no sauce please... CHEF Gladst... usu bal. BASHIR And, a side order of zilm'kach... is that too much for two people... ? DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - 08/26/93 - ACT TWO 21. 18 CONTINUED: The Chef shrugs, shakes his head... serves up the plates without delicacy and shoves them at Bashir... CHEF Drak doo. Bashir puts a couple of coins on the counter, the Klingon does his ritual bite... MELORA May I? ("look" implied) As Bashir holds it down... BASHIR Don't be alarmed. 19 CLOSE UP - THE PLATE of slowly crawling things and such... MELORA frowns... MELORA Excuse me, Julian, I can't eat this. BASHIR I know how it looks but... She looks up at the chef and barks at him in fluent Klingon... and this is dialogue on top of dialogue... (English translation is in parentheses.) MELORA P'kar tel Durg Le Frakn'l? (You call this live?) CHEF Dug a bul, rah'tar! (What's your problem, lady?) MELORA D'tel klop a bul! (This slop you call food is the problem! CHEF Pak't pol! (If you don't like it, don't eat it!) DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT TWO 22. MELORA D'kar tel G'denna! (I want to see the blood running through the veins!) The Chef smiles, speaks in English to Bashir... CHEF I like a customer who knows what she wants... He reaches out and takes the two plates and throws them away behind him... leans down out of view, pulls up a handful of really active looking worms... holds them out for Melora's inspection... CHEF Eh? MELORA (pleased) G'denna. And as he prepares the plates... MELORA There's nothing worse then half dead Racht. On Bashir, impressed... 21 CLOSE ON AN ALMOST EMPTY PLATE one last worm wriggling, Bashir picks it up and puts it in his mouth... slurps it down... BASHIR I was ten. My father was a Federation diplomat on Invernia Two. One day we were out on a remote part of the planet when a massive ionic storm hit. While we were waiting it out, we found an Invernian girl about my age who was sick. As soon as the storm cleared, my father went for help but it was too late. I sat there... and watched her die. The next day when my father returned, his guide told us we could have treated her with a simple herb that was growing all around us. DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - 08/26/93 - ACT TWO 23. 21 CONTINUED: BASHIR (a sad smile) I could have saved her life. MELORA And so you started to study medicine. BASHIR Yes... well, actually, first I started to study tennis. MELORA Tennis? BASHIR I really thought about making a career of it for awhile... MELORA You must be very good... BASHIR I used to think so, then I went to my first major competition... my opponent served first and I heard it bounce past me and the computer announced it was good and I knew I was in trouble... it turned out I had a bit more talent at medicine than tennis... She smiles, relaxed more than any time we've seen her before. MELORA This has been delightful. Thank you. BASHIR I'll never look at a Racht the same way again. Beat with sexual tension. MELORA I have an early mission tomorrow. I better get some rest. BASHIR Of course. Come on, I'll take you home. And as they rise. DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT TWO 24. 22 EXT. SPACE - DEEP SPACE NINE (OPTICAL) Passage of time. 23 INT. HABITAT CORRIDOR Dax, with a mission attache case over her shoulder, arrives at Melora's door. Hits the chime. There is no response. Hits it again. Reacts. Hits her combadge. DAX Dax to Pazlar. (beat, no response) Computer, level one security access... The door opens... she looks in... DAX Ensign Pazlar? No response... on her curiosity... DAX Computer, locate Ensign Melora Pazlar. COMPUTER VOICE Docking Level Twenty-Two, Section Fourteen. DAX (to herself) Section Fourteen? She EXITS. 24 thru OMITTED 26 DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - 08/26/93 - ACT TWO 25. 27 ANOTHER CORRIDOR finds the chair at a doorway without a ramp... moves by it... reacts as she sees -- 28 ANGLE - MELORA lying on the ground at the entrance to a tiny supply room... (there's another lip without a ramp at the room's entrance that she tripped on)... her mechanical control is caught in some kind of loop, so her leg is slowly flailing uncontrollably... at the same time, she is trying desperately to get off the ground, but just can't do it... the effect is like a robotic toy that has fallen over but keeps running... she has a serious bruise on her forehead... Dax moves quickly to her... Melora's eyes glance up to see her... DAX We've got to get you to the Infirmary... She switches off the wrist control panel which stops the flailing leg but makes Melora almost completely helpless... Dax begins to help her up... it's all humiliating for Melora... she leans heavily on the cane with one arm, but requires Dax's support on the other side as they move to the wheelchair... MELORA (breathing heavily, agonizing) It's my own fault... I decided... I could use an extra astrometric array after going through the mission profile again... I came to the storage bay to get one... my mind was already in the Gamma Quadrant... I wasn't... paying enough attention to what I was doing... I guess my boot... didn't make the lip of the door... I fell on my controls... They get to the chair and she collapses with relief into it... Dax hits her combadge... DAX Dax to Bashir. Ensign Pazlar's had a minor accident. We need to see you in the Infirmary. BASHIR'S COM VOICE Acknowledged. I'll be there in three minutes. DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT TWO 26. Dax begins to roll the wheelchair forward... MELORA What kind... of architect would deliberately... design a raised rim at the entrance to every door... 29 INT. INFIRMARY Bashir works on Melora's head with a tech tool as she lies down... Dax is not there... the tech control is gone from her arm... MELORA (gallows humor) So much for the dangers of the Gamma Quadrant... I didn't even make it there... BASHIR You will. There's no concussion... you can reschedule your mission for tomorrow... MELORA (on the verge of tears) It was so... (sighs, "humiliating" is implied) ... flopping back and forth... like a broken toy... I didn't want anyone to find me like that... but I couldn't get up by myself... BASHIR Why didn't you wait for Dax before you went into an area that wasn't modified with ramps... MELORA (angry at herself) I didn't need Dax... if I'd just paid attention... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT TWO 27. 29 CONTINUED: BASHIR Melora... no one on this station is completely independent... in space, we all depend on one another to some degree... MELORA I just want you all to know you can depend on me... BASHIR (smiles) Okay, you've proven that... what do the rest of us have to do to convince you? MELORA (reacts) Of what? BASHIR (simply) That you can depend on us. Melora sighs, smiles, liking Bashir an awful lot right now... 30 INT. HABITAT CORRIDOR As Bashir and Melora come from the Turbolift... BASHIR Have you ever heard of the work Nathaniel Teros did with low gravity species thirty years ago? MELORA Neuromuscular adaptation? It had no practical success at all. BASHIR No, but the principles were sound... and a lot of progress has been made in neurochemistry since then... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT TWO 28. 30 CONTINUED: MELORA You think some day I could throw away the chair... ? BASHIR (evasive) Theoretically... perhaps... As they reach the door, it opens... MELORA Would you like to come in... ? BASHIR (reluctant) I know how much you look forward to turning down the gravity... MELORA Don't let that stop you... Off his curious reaction, they enter... 31 INT. MELORA'S QUARTERS (OPTICAL) She moves to a device that anchors her chair on the ground... clicks in and then as she's about to touch her remote control... MELORA You may want to brace yourself until you get used to it... He steadies himself on whatever the set has to offer... and she hits the remote, we hear a sound effect as the gravity adaptors take effect and she soars into the air... Bashir watches with delight as she rises gracefully to the ceiling, luxuriating in the freedom. Reaching the apogee of her ascent, she turns, and pushes off, like a swimmer in slow motion. (As production requires, she can stop and hover or land.) MELORA Come on, Julian. DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT TWO 29. 31 CONTINUED: BASHIR What do I do? MELORA Just give a gentle push... it's easy. Bashir takes a deep breath, bends his knees and pushes off... SOARS out of control, awkwardly, she catches him, steadying him... BASHIR (laughs, delighted) This is astonishing. As they move back down to... 31A ANGLE - THE FLOOR BASHIR I can't tell you how curious I was about this... MELORA Most people are. Sometimes they make me feel like a carnival attraction. So, usually, I prefer to keep everyone out... BASHIR Thank you... for letting me in. A warm smile between them... more sexual tension. MELORA He's my brother. Bashir doesn't understand... she turns him to see -- 32 BASHIR'S POV - THE PICTURE 32A RESUME - BASHIR AND MELORA BASHIR Oh. She turns to him and he kisses her, lightly at first. She returns it. And as they rise gently through the air... FADE OUT. END OF ACT TWO DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT THREE 30. ACT THREE FADE IN: 33 EXT. SPACE - GAMMA QUADRANT (OPTICAL) A Runabout comes out of the wormhole. 34 INT. ORINOCO Dax and Melora at the controls... pressing panels. MELORA Setting course... twenty-eight mark one-forty-two. Dax Confirmed. They sit back and relax as the journey begins... MELORA Computer, play us something by Delvok. The music begins... it's Chopin meets Spock... DAX Delvok never seems Vulcan to me... there's too much emotion in his music... MELORA It's pretty. DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT THREE 31. 35 REVERSE ANGLE - THROUGH THE WINDOW seeing the light show... they sit back and look at the stars a beat and listen to the music... we're off their faces for this at the start... MELORA Tell me something, Lieutenant... you think there's room for... romance... in Starfleet? DAX (glances at her) I think so. MELORA You've made it work... ? DAX Now and then... MELORA I mean, really work... DAX Oh, really work. For that, I've got to go back... (beat, smiling at the memory) ... about a hundred and fifty years. MELORA (reacts) That's a long time... DAX She was a hard act to follow. 36 RESUME - FRONT VIEW DAX (continuing) Could it be Doctor Bashir's bedside manner has won you over... ? MELORA (smiles, but concerned) Our species are just so... different. DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT THREE 32. 36 CONTINUED: DAX Since when has that ever stopped anybody?... I knew a hydrogen-breathing Lothra who fell hopelessly in love with an Oxygene... MELORA (reacts) You're kidding... how could they even stay in the same room? DAX Forty minutes a day without their breathing apparatus... that's all. Lovely couple... fifty-seven years they were together. MELORA What about career conflicts? Two friends of mine from the Academy got engaged even though they knew they were assigned to different starships... DAX Subspace relationship? MELORA Uh huh. DAX That's a tough one. MELORA They may not be together for a year or more... and even then only for a few weeks... DAX Love across light years is just so... MELORA ... it lacks intimacy... DAX ... you could say that. DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT THREE 33. 36 CONTINUED: (2) MELORA I finish my mission here... I move on to the next one... what kind of future is that for a romance? DAX Look at the alternative. MELORA I guess... DAX Maybe it's better not to look to the future... just look to tonight. MELORA I guess... DAX Smile, Ensign, you're in love. Melora smiles gently... 37 INT. SECURITY OFFICE ODO's seated at his computer console, working. Quark ENTERS. Odo looks up, sees who it is, continues working. ODO (drily) Oh. It's you. QUARK Don't be so happy to see me... ODO All right, I won't. Quark sags a little... Odo's not helping... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT THREE 34. 37 CONTINUED: QUARK Odo, there's a desperate criminal on board the station... ODO You wouldn't be talking about Fallit Kot... ? Quark reacts... ODO ... who just finished eight years in a labor camp for hijacking a shipment of Romulan ale. (stops working, turns to Quark) ... whose name was right next to yours on the original indictment... ? QUARK I had nothing to do with the hijacking itself. I was... only the middleman... ODO Trafficking in stolen goods should have been enough to get you your own cell at that Romulan camp... unless you sold out your partner... QUARK I can honestly say that justice was served. ODO I would imagine that Fallit Kot is looking for his own kind of justice now. QUARK He's threatened to kill me. Odo just studies him a long beat... a pleasant look crosses his face... QUARK What?! ("are you looking at" implied) Odo resumes his usual stern expression, sighs... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT THREE 35. 37 CONTINUED: (2) ODO Nothing. Just a passing thought... QUARK Odo, he means it. Nothing I do seems to change his mind. You've got to do something. ODO I'll do my job, Quark. Quark sighs satisfied and EXITS... Odo looks up at the door, too bad... ODO Unfortunately... 38 INT. INFIRMARY Bashir is working furiously at the computer... as Melora wheels in... MELORA Racht, anyone? Bashir glances over and smiles... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT THREE 36. 38 CONTINUED: BASHIR I've been waiting for you. I want to show you something. She moves to the computer console... he runs a program for her to see... we may even want to -- 39 INSERT COMPUTER SCREEN (VPB) A complicated series of equations running by quickly, maybe a visual sketch, but deliberately complex beyond the viewer's comprehension... 40 RESUME MELORA (reacts to the complexity) What is it? BASHIR A computer model of an elevated neural output from the brain's gross motor cortex... it's stimulating acetylcholine absorption to increase tensile strength... MELORA (understands) The neuromuscular adaptation theory? BASHIR (excited at the prospects) It was a theory thirty years ago, Melora... but with the development of neo-analeptic transmitters during the last decade, it's not even that complicated... it's just that no one's gone back to reexamine the ideas of Nathaniel Teros... (beat) Until now. MELORA (stunned) This... can actually work... ? DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT THREE 37. BASHIR No more servo controls. No more chair. Off Melora's reaction... FADE OUT. END OF ACT THREE DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FOUR 38. ACT FOUR FADE IN: 41 INT. SECURITY Odo sits and works. A Deputy escorts Kot in... Odo nods, the Deputy EXITS. He doesn't look up from his work yet... FALLIT KOT Have I done something wrong? ODO Not that I'm aware of. (Kot studies him evenly a beat) We have something in common. FALLIT KOT We do? ODO I don't like Quark either. (beat, he looks up for the first time) But I can't let you kill him. FALLIT KOT Kill him... did he tell you I was going to do that? ODO I know your history together. DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FOUR 39. 41 CONTINUED: FALLIT KOT (cold) Let bygones be bygones I always say. ODO I always say you can tell a man's intentions by the way he walks. FALLIT KOT How do I walk? ODO Like someone carrying a lot of weight on his shoulders. FALLIT KOT Must be the memory of those Romulan bricks I carried for eight years. ODO Must be. FALLIT KOT But you can't lock a man up for the way he walks, can you? He smiles. Having made his point, he EXITS. 42 INT. PROMENADE Odo comes out and looks hard in the direction that Kot walked away... A beat later, Quark moves up beside him... QUARK Well? ODO I'd say he's a man with nothing to lose. QUARK As opposed to me. ODO I have no reason to hold him for now and he knows it. I'll watch him the best I can. DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT FOUR 40. 42 CONTINUED: ODO But I suggest you carry a combadge with you at all times. He hands one to Quark. ODO (continuing) Call me at the first sign of trouble. QUARK What if the first sign is the last sign? ODO You people sell pieces of yourself after you die, don't you? QUARK Yes... ODO I'll buy one. He goes back into Security, leaving Quark to mull over his fate. 43 INT. INFIRMARY Melora is lying down, undressed, under a blanket, connected to various medical gear... Bashir is nearby, working controls, monitoring computer readouts... MELORA My heart is pounding... BASHIR I'd like to think that has more to do with me than the neo-analeptic infusion... MELORA Would that also explain why my backside is getting warm... BASHIR (reading monitors) That's more likely the result of the neuromuscular tissue stimulation due to increased activity in the motor cortex... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FOUR 40A. 43 CONTINUED: BASHIR (beat) I'd say that's enough for the first time out... He shuts everything down... moves to disconnect her... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT FOUR 41. 43 CONTINUED: (2) BASHIR It's good that you've already been using your muscles in this gravity environment... it'll make it easier to adapt... She's free... but still lying down... BASHIR Feel any different? MELORA (beat, wishing) No. BASHIR Nothing at all? MELORA I'm sorry, Julian. Bashir looks puzzled... this should be working... he moves back to the computer and begins to run analysis... she lays there... BASHIR The acetylcholine absorption was precisely at fourteen percent above normal... 44 HER LEG ... as she tightens the muscle tentatively... BASHIR (O.S.) (continuing) ... increased tensile strength would be the inevitable result... 45 HER FACE as she looks down at her leg... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FOUR 41A. 46 HER LEG She raises the leg slowly, flexing it toward her chest... MELORA Julian... 47 BASHIR looks over, reacts... moves back to her side... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FOUR 42. 47 CONTINUED: MELORA I can lift my leg. BASHIR Your neural pathways are getting used to the changes. Endurance and coordination might take awhile, but you should be walking within the hour. Melora shakes her head, incredulous, overwhelmed. 48 INT. OPS O'BRIEN and Dax at his station as Sisko walks out of his office towards them. SISKO How's the upgrade coming? O'BRIEN We've been able to get it to about seventy percent of what we'd get with a standard EPS, but it looks like that's as far as it's gonna... Sisko and Dax both notice O'Brien looking toward the Turbolift. O'BRIEN I'll be damned. Sisko and Dax turn and react... 49 ANGLE - CLOSE ON THE CANE on the floor moving away from the Turbolift... moving up to find Melora and Julian walking into Ops... she's using the cane for support but moving quite well... she moves up the steps to Sisko... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FOUR 43. 49 CONTINUED: MELORA I wanted to give you our first day's mission summary myself, Commander. SISKO A pleasure, Ensign. DAX Julian, how did you... BASHIR Simply a matter of increasing the output from the brain's motor cortex... someone else's research actually... I just dotted the "i"s and crossed the "t"s... O'BRIEN You'll get your name into the medical journals for this one. BASHIR I know. MELORA Julian, I don't know how to say this but... (beat, weakening) I'm not sure I can get back down... She grabs his arm for support... BASHIR Whups! Easy does it now. First treatment's beginning to wear off. Nothing to be concerned about... Helping her down... she's still far stronger than we've ever seen before... he switches her wrist controls back on and the motor assistance begins to support her movements again. (But to a far lesser degree than before. As she still has some residual muscle strength from the treatment.) BASHIR Let's get you back to your quarters... I want you to get a good night's rest. Bashir nods to Sisko, who dismisses him with a nod and a look of respect... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - 08/26/93 - ACT FOUR 43A. 50 INT. MELORA'S QUARTERS As they ENTER... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT FOUR 44. 50 CONTINUED: BASHIR With each progressive treatment, you should get stronger and the effect should last longer... She sits down, tired but delighted... picks up the remote control for the gravity adaptors... MELORA What about this? BASHIR (shakes his head) A low-grav environment now would really confuse your motor cortex. MELORA I understand. (beat, with gratitude) Julian... He puts a silencing finger to her lips... BASHIR You let me fly for the first time... I let you walk. We're even. He kisses her softly on the lips. BASHIR See you in the morning. He leaves... she smiles after him. But alone, she looks up at the space above her she no longer inhabits... 51 HIGH ANGLE looking down at her emphasizes how grounded she is... she misses her "hot bath"... 52 INT. QUARK'S QUARTERS The room is in shadows. Quark ENTERS, distracted. (He's either wearing his combadge or carrying it somewhere). The door shuts behind him before he realizes there are no lights on. DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FOUR 45. 52 CONTINUED: QUARK Lights... The lights do not come on... he's taken several steps inside... QUARK (impatiently) Computer, turn on the... Quark stops, suddenly realizes, he in danger, immediately turns back toward the door... starts to move out quickly... as he presses his combadge... QUARK Quark to mmmppph... He never gets it out... from behind, his head is braced in a hammerlock, his mouth covered... Kot grabs the badge and throws it away... FALLIT KOT (softly) No one can hear you, Quark... it's just you and me... QUARK Fallit... I wasn't prepared to entertain this evening but please... make yourself at home... FALLIT KOT I already have... QUARK What's mine is yours... all you have to do is ask... ! FALLIT KOT I'm tired of your gifts, Quark. All I want is your miserable life. He presses Quark's neck even harder... it may break... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FOUR 46. 52 CONTINUED: (2) QUARK Wait! Everything's negotiable... believe me, I'm worth much more to you alive... ! (grabbing the first straw he thinks of) How does one hundred and ninety-nine bars of gold-pressed latinum sound to you? This piques Fallit's interest. He loosens his grip. FALLIT KOT It's a start. Quark breathes a momentary sigh of relief... FADE OUT. END OF ACT FOUR DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 47. ACT FIVE FADE IN: 53 EXT. SPACE - DEEP SPACE NINE (OPTICAL) 54 INT. INFIRMARY Bashir is completing another treatment of Melora... she's still lying down, undressed on the table... MELORA The mattress felt like rocks... and every one of my muscles ached all night long... BASHIR You'll adjust to that after a few treatments... He comes over to release her... as she sits up... stretching her legs easily... BASHIR (continuing) This time you should feel the effects for several hours... MELORA (tries to make it sound in passing) Exactly when does it become irreversible? And Bashir hears that word, "irreversible"... and it's the kind of thing a good doctor picks up in a patient's voice... BASHIR (studies her a long beat) Melora, if you're not certain... MELORA (blowing it off) Oh, I'm sure it's just some strange form of "buyers remorse"... I'll be fine... A good doctor doesn't let it go... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT FIVE 48. BASHIR Tell me exactly what you're feeling... MELORA Last night, I just missed... I didn't feel like me... A beat. He sits. Looks at her directly. Some of this has been discussed before off-camera. BASHIR If you want to end your dependence on the chair and the servo controls, you have to give up the low-grav environment, Melora. You knew that was the trade-off. MELORA It seemed like a good trade... until I realized I couldn't do it anymore... if I could just spend... BASHIR (interrupting) I'm concerned that going back and forth would ultimately lead to a loss of fine motor control. MELORA Meaning? BASHIR Your ability to perform complex tasks could be affected. She nods silently... understands the choice... BASHIR The effect is fully reversible for a few more days. We can pull the plug anytime before then. After that, if all goes well, your motor cortex impulses will kick in on their own. Permanently. Off her look... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 49. 55 EXT. SPACE - THE ORINOCO (OPTICAL) in the Gamma Quadrant. At impulse. 56 INT. ORINOCO Dax and Melora... the music as before. Melora, trying to come to grips with this decision... she's beginning to feel the effects of gravity again... MELORA It's beginning to wear off again... She switches on her wrist controls to give her more mobility... just the return to her original state argues in favor of the change... she shakes her head... MELORA I don't understand myself... how can I possibly have second thoughts... this would mean real independence... it's everything I ever wished for... (beat) But then I start to think about home... and how I won't ever be able to go back... maybe just for a short visit... but never really go back... DAX The Little Mermaid. MELORA Mermaid? DAX It's an Earth fable by Hans Christian Andersen. She trades her magical life under the sea for a pair of legs to walk on land. After a beat, Melora smiles, sadly... MELORA What happened? Didn't she live happily ever after? Dax doesn't respond. She doesn't have to. Off Melora... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 50. 57 INT. AIRLOCK (OPTICAL) Quark and Kot greet Ashrock as he steps off his ship... Quark holds a fair-sized alien pouch (the Rings of Paltriss). Ashrock carries a large, heavy satchel... QUARK Ashrock... right on time... may I present my longtime business partner... Fallit Kot... They nod an acknowledgement. Kot takes the satchel from Ashrock and kneels as he begins to examine its contents. Quark hands the pouch to Ashrock. QUARK For your inspection. Ashrock takes several rings out of the pouch and admires them... ASHROCK Exquisite. Kot is satisfied with his latinum, closes the satchel... Quark glances at Kot, assumes he's done a good count. QUARK Then, our transaction is complete. FALLIT KOT Not quite. They turn to see Kot rising with a phaser drawn... motioning to the pouch of rings... FALLIT KOT I'll be taking them too. Ashrock reacts... looks at Quark, decides he's been set up... ASHROCK (to Quark) They warned me about you... QUARK (overlapping, quick) Not true. A deal is a deal. Rule of Acquisition number sixteen. Kot, you got what you came for... Now, let's be reasona... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 51. 57 CONTINUED: That's as far as he gets because Ashrock is pulling a small phaser of his own... and as he does, Kot fires his and Ashrock goes down, never getting off a shot... immediately alarms go off... Kot gets the pouch... FALLIT KOT (to Quark, re: the satchel) Pick it up. Move! As Quark grabs the satchel and they begin to exit... 58 INT. SECURITY OFFICE (VPB) Odo's already zeroing in on a docking ring graphic... the section where the phaser blast occurred is flashing, accompanied by a WARNING SIGNAL... ODO (into com) Priority one security to Level Twenty- two, Section Five. 59 INT. DOCKING RING CORRIDOR OUTSIDE AIRLOCK (OPTICAL) Alarms still sounding. Kot and Quark come out of the Turbolift into the corridor, see two N.D. Security Personnel arriving... Kot fires several times, forcing them back... one Security Officer fires back, barely missing Quark and Kot... They take off in the opposite direction... 60 INT. ANOTHER AIRLOCK Dax and Melora innocently step out, having just returned from their latest mission... her chair is waiting for her outside the airlock. Her motor controls help guide her there... but she never gets to it... DAX I'm sure Julian would understand. Besides, he'd still get to publish the results of your first treatments... Suddenly Quark and Kot turn the corner in a rush... Kot waving the phaser at them... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 52. FALLIT KOT Back into the ship. Dax and Melora retreat back into the runabout. Kot shoves Quark in after them, perhaps kicks the chair back to impede the pursuers, then enters and closes the door... 61 INT. ORINOCO As Kot pushes Quark inside, Dax and Melora go without resistance... (Melora is on full robotic support)... FALLIT KOT (to Dax) Get us out of here. QUARK He's already shot a man. Do as he says. Dax moves to the front... QUARK I'll just wait in the back... Kot pushes Quark into the front seat beside her... FALLIT KOT In the front. Where I can see you. (to Melora, pointing out a seat) There. Hurry up. MELORA I'm moving as fast as I can. DAX She's an Elaysian. She's needs motor support in our gravity. Kot couldn't care less. Melora finally gets into her seat... Kot remains standing, brandishing the phaser... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 53. 62 INT. OPS KIRA, O'Brien, Sisko and supernumeraries. O'BRIEN They're in the Orinoco... the docking clamps have been released... thrusters engaged... SISKO Ready a tractor beam. Open a channel. KIRA Open. SISKO This is Commander Benjamin Sisko. Return to the station at once. Bashir arrives, concerned... KIRA No reply. SISKO Engage tractor beam. 63 OMITTED 64 INT. ORINOCO (OPTICAL) Feeling the shake of the effect. DAX They've locked on to us with a tractor beam. FALLIT KOT Open the channel to that Commander of yours. Sisko appears on the monitors. FALLIT KOT Release this ship or I'll kill a hostage. DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 54. SISKO (controlled) I'm willing to negotiate for your freedom... but first release those... FALLIT KOT (overlapping, intense) Didn't you hear what I just said? He aims his phaser at Quark, ready to fire, then stops himself... FALLIT KOT No, I have something special in mind for you. And arbitrarily, without further warning, he turns and fires at Melora, blasting her out of her chair... she lays motionless on the ground... her controls overload from the phaser blast and blink out... 65 INT. OPS (OPTICAL) Reactions. Bashir's heart is in his throat. FALLIT KOT Do I make myself clear? Release the ship now! His transmission ends abruptly... Sisko moves quickly to the Transporter... SISKO Doctor, Chief... with me. They follow... SISKO (to Kira) Beam us to the Rio Grande. Give us ten seconds and then disengage the tractor beam. KIRA Understood. Energizing... Sisko, Bashir and O'Brien DEMATERIALIZE... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 55. 66 INT. ORINOCO DAX They've released us. FALLIT KOT (to Dax) Through the wormhole. Dax presses some panels and a beat later, the windows are filled with wormhole light... 66A INSIDE THE WORMHOLE (OPTICAL) as the Runabout goes through... 67 OMITTED 67A EXT. SPACE - THE GAMMA QUADRANT (OPTICAL) The wormhole opens and the Orinoco comes out. A beat later, behind it, the wormhole opens again... 68 INT. ORINOCO Some shaking from the space disruption behind them... FALLIT KOT What was that? DAX I'm not sure. FALLIT KOT (threatening) What was it? DAX (calmly) Another ship coming through the wormhole. FALLIT KOT Put it on the screen. As she does... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 55A. 69 ANGLE ON MELORA'S HAND which moves barely... PANNING down her arm to find her recovering consciousness slowly... it takes her a moment to get her bearings... FALLIT KOT (O.S.) Take us to warp. DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 56. 69 CONTINUED: DAX (O.S.) We haven't even set a course. FALLIT KOT (O.S.) I don't care about the course... just go to warp... Melora is flat on the ground and can barely move... her servo controls are dead... and it seems almost that the pull of gravity has her locked down... nevertheless, she knows she has to do something and she has an idea... with unimaginable strain, she begins to drag her body across the floor an inch at a time... her face seems twisted into rubber by the pull of gravity... DAX (O.S.) If we don't set a course, we could warp ourselves into oblivion by crashing into a planet... FALLIT KOT (O.S.) Fine. Set a course. Just get us out of here. 70 INT. RIO GRANDE Sisko and O'Brien in front. Bashir behind them. O'BRIEN They're powering up their warp drive. SISKO Stay with them. O'BRIEN Engaging warp engines. They go to warp. BASHIR Can we beam them aboard at warp... ? O'BRIEN I wouldn't recommend it. On Bashir's concern... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 57. 71 EXT. SPACE - THE TWO RUNABOUTS (OPTICAL) at warp speed. 72 INT. ORINOCO - ANGLE ON MELORA who's made some critical progress across the floor... maybe a foot by now without being noticed... she keeps dragging herself, exhausted but pushing herself harder... FALLIT KOT (O.S.) Get the phasers ready. 73 ANGLE IN FRONT DAX I'm not going to fire at them. FALLIT KOT You'll do it. Or you'll die. Suddenly, Dax stands, washing her hands of all responsibility... DAX Fine. Then I hope you can fly this ship. But as she's turned, she sees -- 74 DAX'S POV - PAST KOT TO MELORA dragging herself across the floor... FALLIT KOT Sit down! 75 RESUME Dax knows she's got to keep Kot's attention away from the back... sits down immediately... DAX Quark, how well do you know this man? QUARK We've been friends for years. Not counting today. DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 58. 76 ON MELORA DAX (O.S.) I suggest you explain to him that Starfleet isn't going to give up and stop chasing us... QUARK (O.S.) It's true, Fallit. You don't know these Starfleet types... FALLIT KOT (O.S.) Then we'll all die. She's reached a panel in the back... which she is able to remove only by lifting a single arm from the floor which is all she's capable of... QUARK (O.S.) (mostly, to himself) Great. We escape, he's got something "special" planned for me. We don't escape, I just die with everyone else. Am I missing a choice, Fallit? Inside the panel is a red switch; with a last effort, she pushes the switch... 77 VARIOUS ANGLES (OPTICAL) as the gravity goes off... Dax reacts quickest, disengages the warp drive... Quark flies out of his seat and Kot's feet fly out from under him... 78 MELORA (OPTICAL) is off the floor, pushing off and... 79 ANGLE (OPTICAL) she hits the disoriented Kot with a flying tackle and slams him against the wall... the phaser falls harmlessly to the ground... DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/31/93 - ACT FIVE 59. 80 INT. RIO GRANDE O'BRIEN They've dropped out of warp... SISKO Go to impulse... O'BRIEN Sir, their gravity generators are off... That's the first good news Bashir has heard... BASHIR Melora's alive. O'BRIEN Gravity's been reinstated... all engines are down... SISKO Come on, Doctor... They move to the Transporter. 81 INT. ORINOCO (OPTICAL) Bashir and Sisko beam in... Quark is holding the phaser on Kot. Dax is near the gravity switch, having just turned the gravity back on. Melora is back on the floor in the general area where she slammed into Kot. QUARK I think we've got the situation in hand, Commander. 81A ANGLE ON MELORA as Bashir goes to help her... she smiles weakly at him... SISKO (O.S.) Sisko to Rio Grande. Everything's under control. We're going home. O'BRIEN'S COM VOICE Aye, Commander. Setting course for the wormhole. DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 60. 82 EXT. SPACE - DEEP SPACE NINE (OPTICAL) The wormhole opening in the background as a runabout comes through. 83 INT. PROMENADE - KLINGON KIOSK At their table. She's back in her wheelchair. Eating racht. MELORA Why didn't the phaser kill me... ? BASHIR I don't know. Maybe... all the neuro- stimulants we've been pumping into your system... MELORA That's what I was wondering too... BASHIR It might turn out to be an interesting side effect of the treatment. It's worth exploring... MELORA Julian, I'm not going ahead with the treatments. He reacts, a little disappointed. BASHIR You can always try it again someday if you change your mind. MELORA I don't think I will. (beat) I like being independent. That's no secret. But to give up everything that I am to walk... (quoting "Mermaid") ... on land... (shakes her head) Well, I might be more independent but I wouldn't be Elaysian anymore. I'm not sure what I'd be. Besides, maybe independence isn't all it's cracked up to be. I kind of like how it feels to depend on someone for a change. DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 61. 83 CONTINUED: MELORA (smiles, understatement) And I'm glad you got me to unlock the door to my quarters so I could finally let someone into my life. BASHIR (smiles, warm) So am I. A strange steel guitar-type sound from the side breaks their mood... 84 ANGLE to include the Klingon Chef who sits on a stool with his Klingon guitar and begins to sing a Klingon love song to the two or three couples who are sitting along with Bashir and Melora... it's Sigmund Romburgesque... the sort of thing Nelson Eddy would have sung to Jeanette McDonald if they were Klingons... CHEF Aler acht'jar... Aler act'jar... T'lembda boool-gah toh-gal... BASHIR (to melora) You must be exhausted... if you don't want to stay... MELORA (tenderly) Let's just sit here awhile and listen... I want to remember all of this... And as she reaches out with her servo-mechanism assisted hand and takes his... like couples of all centuries have always done, they hold hands across the table... as the racht worms in their plate squirm even more at the sound of the music... CHEF (continuing) Aler acht'jar... Aler acht'jar... T'lembda boool-gah to lohhhh... And as we pull back on this shot of a little romance on Deep Space Nine... FADE OUT. END OF ACT FIVE THE END