543 - In the Pale Moonlight

Data Stellare 51721.3: Stufo di leggere lunghi elenchi di compagni dispersi o deceduti, Sisko, con l'aiuto di Garak, mette in atto un piano per convincere i Romulani a dichiarare guerra al Dominio, ma ben presto la cosa va al di là dei suoi propositi iniziali.

In questo episodio...

• I Romulani entrano in guerra contro il Dominio.

47

• Sisko legge alcune informazioni sul senatore romulano su un PADD con il numero 4778 in basso a destra sullo schermo.
• All'inizio dell'episodio, Sisko accende il display a parete con i nomi dei caduti e preme un pulsante sul pannello di controllo. Sullo stesso pannello c'è un altro pulsante con il numero 47 a fianco.
• All'arrivo del senatore romulano, Worf dice che sono state controllate le sezioni 52 e 62 (5 + 2 = 7 e 6 - 2 = 4).
• All'inizio dell'episodio, Sisko non ricorda la data stellare e dice un po' incerto «Five-one-seven... four?»

Okudagram

• Nello script la schermata delle vittime della guerra viene descritta in questo modo:

   a long list of NAMES. They're grouped by ship or starbase
   and then alphabetized by last name. Each name has a
   brightly colored tag next to it:
   - KIA [Killed],
   - WIA [Wounded],
   - MIA [Missing].

Citazioni

Vreenak: So you're the commander of Deep Space Nine. And the Emissary to the Prophets. Decorated combact officer, widower, father, mentor... And oh yes, the man who started the war with the Dominion. Somehow I thought you'd be taller.

Vreenak: It's a fake!

Garak: That's why you came to me! Isn't it, Captain?! Because you knew I could do those things that you weren't capable of doing? Well, it worked. And you'll get what you want, a war between the Romulans and the Dominion. And if your conscience is  bothering you, you should soothe it with the knowledge that you may just saved the entire Alpha Quadrant. And all it cost was the life of one Romulan senator, one criminal, and the self-respect of one Starfleet officer. I don't know about you, but I'd call that a bargain.

Sisko: So, I lied, I cheated, I bribed men to cover the crimes of other men. I am an accessory to murder. But the most damning thing of all... I think I can live with it. And if I had to do it all over again... I would. Garak was right about one thing; a guilty conscience is a small price to pay for the safety of the Alpha Quadrant.

Sisko: Computer. Erase the entire personal log.

Scene tagliate

Nel teaser, quando Sisko spiega perché i Romulani lasciano entrare nel loro spazio le navi Jem'Hadar, era previsto un intervento di Worf e Dax:

     WORF
    (bitter)
   It's an intolerable situation.
   We should cross the Neutral Zone
   and destroy the Dominion bases.

     DAX
   And risk war with the Romulans?
   No, thank you. We're losing
   enough good people as it is. The
   last thing we need is a war on two
   fronts.

Dopo la fase ad effetto di Sisko che chiude il teaser «I was going to bring the Romulans into the war», era previsto un ulteriore commento:

CUT TO:

3    INT. SISKO'S QUARTERS

 As before.

     SISKO
   I was absolutely sure it was the
   right decision -- that's the
   frightening part -- how right it
   seemed at the time. And now...
   now all I can do is learn to live
   with that decision.
    (beat)
   And I'll have to live with it for
   the rest of my life...

 Off the dark and brooding expression on Sisko's face...

         FADE OUT.

       END OF TEASER

Durante il gioco delle parti in cui Dax risponde come fosse un Romulano, nell'episodio non vengono dette le seguenti battute (la parte in grigio è quella presente nell'episodio):

     DAX
   You're asking me to start a war
   based on wild theories.

     SISKO
   They're not theories, they're facts!

     DAX
   Prove it!

     SISKO
   How?

     DAX
   That's your problem. But before
   I plunge my people into a conflict
   that'll kill millions of loyal
   Romulan citizens, I'll need...

Quando Sisko convoca Garak, è stata tagliata una parte di dialogo (la prima e l'ultima battuta in grigio sono quelle presenti nell'episodio):

    GARAK
   Your faith in my ability to
   retrieve classified information
   from my former homeland is most
   gratifying.

     SISKO
   I'm happy that you're happy. Now,
   can you do it?

 Garak pauses for a moment, then shifts gears.

     GARAK
   You know, I had assumed this
   meeting was about the
   modifications I suggested for your
   new dress uniform -- you have had
   an opportunity to look over my
   design, haven't you? The new
   piping along the collar, the
   exaggerated cut of the jacket
   hemline emphasizing the--


    SISKO
   Mister Garak. Let's dispense with
   the usual repartee and concentrate
   on the issue at hand. Can you do
   the job or not?

Nel bar di Quark, quando Sisko ha offerto la tangente per non sporgere denuncia e Quark l'ha accettata, dopo la citazione della Regola dell'Acquisizione «Every man has his price» era prevista la scena seguente:

 Sisko gets up and heads for Odo just as Garak ENTERS
 the bar from the Promenade.

     SISKO
    (to Odo)
   He's dropped the charges.

     ODO
   Hmm.
    (to Deputies)
   Let him go.
    (to Sisko)
   If you'll excuse me...

 Odo EXITS. The Deputies release Tolar from his
 restraints and then EXIT also. While this is going on,
 Sisko has a moment with Garak. Sisko keeps his voice
 low, but there's barely restrained fury behind his eyes.

     SISKO
    (quietly boiling)
   Tolar is your responsibility.
   Keep him out of sight and under
   control or the next man needing
   medical attention will be you.
   Do you understand?

     GARAK
   Completely.

 Garak approaches Tolar, who visibly shrinks back from
 Garak as the Cardassian leans over him at the table.

     GARAK
   Hello, Grathon.

 Sisko turns and EXITS.

Dopo che Tolar ha registrato il programma olografico sulla barra-dati e Sisko gli ha chiarito che è meglio per lui che il lavoro sia fatto ad opera d'arte, era prevista questa scena (la prima e l'ultima battuta in grigio sono quelle presenti nell'episodio):

     GARAK
   I sincerely hope so. Why don't
   you wait in your quarters. I'll
   be along shortly to... say hello.

 Tolar looks at the two of them with fear for a moment,
 then EXITS. 

     GARAK
   Felt good, didn't it?

 Sisko looks at him, taken a little off-guard by the
 question.

     GARAK
    (continuing)
   To put your hands on a man and
   say, "You will do this or else."
    (beat)
   After all the intrigue and
   deception you've had to engage in
   over the past week, you must've
   found that moment of pure brute
   force to be a... refreshing change
   of pace.

 Garak smiles at him pleasantly. There may be an
 element of truth in what he's saying, but what Sisko
 can't believe is the way Garak keeps poking and
 prodding at his psyche. Sisko begins to smile at the
 absurdity of it all.

     SISKO
   Mister Garak... why is it that no
   one has killed you yet?

     GARAK
   My innate charm?

 Sisko laughs and Garak smiles wider. Sisko laughs
 louder -- it's a release of tension and anxiety that's
 been building in him for over a week. As he laughs...

         CUT TO:

22   INT. SISKO'S QUARTERS

 Sisko is standing behind the couch, and while there's
 a smile on his face at the memory, there's a bitter,
 rueful quality to his expression.

     SISKO
   It wasn't that funny. But I
   couldn't stop laughing.
    (beat)
   Maybe... I was under more pressure
   than I realized. Maybe it really
   was starting to get to me.

Dopo che Vreenak ha visto la registrazione e vuole controllare l'autenticità della barra dati, era prevista la seguente scena tra Dax e Sisko (l'ultima battuta tra in grigio è presente nell'episodio):

37   INT. CAPTAIN'S OFFICE

 Sisko is pacing in his office, lost in thought when Dax
 ENTERS.
 
     DAX
   Got a minute?

     SISKO
   Sure. What can I do for you?

 Dax takes her time, this is a delicate subject and she
 doesn't want to rush into anything.

     DAX
   This may sound... crazy. But,
   think about it before you say no.

     SISKO
   Just say it.

 Beat.

     DAX
   What if we... tricked the Romulans
   into believing that the Dominion
   was about to attack them?

 Sisko is thunderstruck for a moment and Dax takes it
 as a reaction to her crazy idea.

     DAX
   Hear me out.
    (beat)
   We find a way to manufacture
   evidence of a planned Dominion
   attack. I'm not sure what it
   should be, uh... a series of coded
   messages from their central
   command, a Cardassian defector who
   smuggles out secret war plans --
   I don't know. Something. Then
   we show it to the Romulans and try
   to convince them that they're one
   step away from disaster.

 Sisko takes a moment, decides to become his own devil's
 advocate.

     SISKO
   You want to start a war based on
   a lie?

     DAX
   I want to end a war, Benjamin.
   And I want the good guys to win.
   Besides, let's face it -- the
   Dominion will attack the Romulans
   eventually, it's just a matter of
   time. So, in a way we'd be doing
   them a favor by pulling them in
   now.

     SISKO
    (hard)
   That's an easy way of
   rationalizing something you know
   is wrong.

 Dax takes a beat, goes cold and hard.

     DAX
   More wrong than war?

 Beat.

    SISKO
   I'll... think about it.

     DAX
   That's all I ask.

 She heads for the door, then stops, smiles to herself.

     DAX
   I suppose it's one thing to come
   up with an idea like this... and
   another to put it into motion.

     SISKO
    (re: pips)
   That's why they put these on my
   collar, old man.

 She smiles at him and then EXITS.

38   INT. SISKO'S QUARTERS

 Sisko on the couch. He's got a bottle of something
 dark and amber now and he pours himself a drink.

     SISKO
   It was good to know that the old
   man was on my side, even if she
   didn't know what was really going
   on.
     (beat)
   In any case, I was way past the
   point of no return. There was
   nothing to do but wait and see how
   masterful Tolar's forgery really
   was.