550 - Tears of the Prophets

Data Stellare Sconosciuta: Ignorando gli avvertimenti dei Profeti, Sisko guida un'invasione nel territorio del Dominio.

In questo episodio...

• Sisko viene insignito della medaglia al valore Christopher Pike.
• Muore Jadzia Dax.

Note

• Il nome della Valley Forge non viene citato nei dialoghi, ma si vede per un breve attimo in una ripresa in CGI dello scafo.
• La canzone che Vic Fontaine canta a Odo e Bashir a [T:12:54] è Here's To The Losers, di Jack Segal, cantata per la prima volta da Frank Sinatra.
• Il nome della bambina bajoriana Sahgi e del senatore romulano Letant vengono citati solamente nello script.

Blooper

• Quando c'è il briefing con i Klingon e i Romulani per pianificare l'attacco, in fondo in un angolo c'è un ufficiale con la vecchia uniforme.

Citazioni

Fontaine (a Quark e Bashir): Lucky for you, space is big. There're a lot of other nice girls out there, with or without spots, capice?

Worf: It's a private matter.
Jadzia: We're thinking of having a baby!
Worf: It was a private matter.

Scene tagliate

Durante la cerimonia in cui l'ammiraglio Ross consegna la medaglia a Sisko, il dialogo tra Dax e gli altri non si limita ad un paio di battute, come visto nell'episodio, ma era il seguente (in grigio le scene incluse nell'episodio):

      DAX (Re: Sisko)
    (with a twinkle in
    her eyes)
   And to think... I knew him when
   he was just a callow youth.

     O'BRIEN
   I bet even then he showed signs
   of greatness.

     DAX
    (thinking about it)
   Only with the ladies.

     JAKE
    (interested)
   I'd like to hear more about
   that.

     WORF
   Then let him tell you.

     DAX
    (to Worf, re: Sisko)
   But he'll leave out all the good
   parts.


4    ANGLE ON ROSS AND SISKO

     ROSS
   The medal usually comes with a
   lot more pomp and ceremony, but
   we figured you wouldn't want to
   be called back to Earth just to
   sit through a bad chicken dinner
   with a bunch of brass hats.

     SISKO
   This suits me fine, admiral.

 Dax approaches and cranes her head to look at the medal.

     DAX
   Now you have something else to
   put on your desk besides that
   baseball.

     WORF
   What she means to say, captain,
   is that she can't think of
   anyone more deserving of this
   honor.

     O'BRIEN
   I certainly can't.

      JAKE
   I'm proud of you, Dad.

La scena successiva a quella in cui Bashir e Quark apprendono del desiderio di avere un figlio da parte di Jadzia e Worf, è stata completamente tagliata. Si tratta di una riunione alla quale Worf era stato convocato nella scena precedente, nessuno si è chiesto perché Sisko chiami Worf via intercom?

8    INT. WARDROOM

 Sisko, Worf, O'Brien and GARAK are gathered near
 the wall monitor which displays a graphic of the
 Cardassian border. There are various PADDs
 displaying star charts scattered about the table.

     WORF
   What about the Torg'Q system?
   Of all the targets along the
   border, it's the closest to
   Cardassia Prime.

     GARAK
   It's also the most heavily
   fortified.

     WORF
   True.
    (to Sisko)
   But that could work to our
   advantage. The Dominion will
   never expect us to attack there.

     O'BRIEN
    (skeptical)
   The element of surprise might
   give us an initial advantage...
   but I'm not sure how long it
   would last. And I don't even
   want to think about our casualty
   figures...

     GARAK
   I recommend the Ventani System.
   I know it's a long way from
   Cardassia Prime, but its second
   planet was the birthplace of
   Tret Akleen -- the father of the
   Cardassian Empire.
   To lose such sacred ground would
   be devastating to Cardassians
   everywhere. And a great
   propaganda victory for you.

     WORF
   Even so, there is little
   strategic value in holding the
   Ventani System.

     SISKO
   And its loss would have no
   effect on the Jem'Hadar.

     GARAK
   True.

 Under this, Sisko notices that O'Brien has fallen
 very quiet as he mulls over one of the star charts.

     SISKO
   Something on your mind, Chief?

     O'BRIEN
   What about the Chin'toka System,
   sir?

     WORF
   The Chin'toka System is
   protected by a fleet of Dominion
   ships.

     O'BRIEN
   The last time we patrolled that
   section of the border, I noticed
   something strange about the warp
   signatures of their bigger
   ships... the cruisers, the
   destroyers...

     SISKO
    (interested)
   Go on.

     O'BRIEN
   They were slightly different
   from the first time we scanned
   them. The field variance
   readings seemed almost too
   synchronized.

     SISKO
   Are you suggesting that the warp
   signatures are fake? That those
   ships are no longer there?

     O'BRIEN
   It's possible.

     WORF
   Why would the Dominion pull so
   many of their ships away from
   the border?

     GARAK
   Perhaps they've been sent to the
   Romulan front.

     WORF
   Then how many ships does the
   Dominion have at Chin'toka?

Dopo la riunione tra Klingon, federali e Romulani, nella quale c'è l'alterco tra Martok e Letant, e prima della scena nella sala ologrammi con Bashir, Quark e Vic Fontaine, era prevista la seguente scena:

21   INT. QUARK'S

 A glum-looking Odo sits beside an even glummer-
 looking Bashir, while a glummest-looking Quark
 commiserates from across the bar.

     ODO
   What am I going to do? Nerys
   hates me.

     BASHIR
   I envy you. At least hate is an
   emotion. All I get from Jadzia
   is indifference.

     QUARK
   Me, too.

     ODO
    (wistful)
   For one brief moment, I was the
   happiest man in the universe.
   Now... it's over. I'll never be
   happy again.

     BASHIR
   I know what you mean.

     QUARK
   Me, too.

     ODO
   What am I going to do without
   her?

     BASHIR
    (still thinking of
    Dax)
   I wish I knew.

     QUARK
   Me, too.

 With a sigh, Odo gets up from the stool.

     ODO
   I guess there's nothing else to
   do but go back to work.

     BASHIR
   Good idea.

 And with that, Odo EXITS. Bashir and Quark watch
 him leave.

     BASHIR
   I think we cheered him up.

     QUARK
   Me, too.
    (a beat)
   I wish there was someone to
   cheer us up.

     BASHIR
    (a sudden thought)
   I know just the person.

 And as Quark looks over at Bashir, we go to --

Nell'alloggio di Sisko, prima che Jake proponesse di partecipare all'attacco contro il Dominio, erano previsti questi dialoghi (in grigio le scene incluse nell'episodio)

24   INT. SISKO'S QUARTERS

 Jake is seated across from his father at the dinner
 table, taking a first bite of jambalaya. Jake
 closes his eyes, savoring the flavors, then finally
 swallows.

     SISKO
   What do you think?

     JAKE
    (smiling)
   I think the Romulans have agreed
   to invade Cardassia.

     SISKO
   How'd you know?

     JAKE
   The jambalaya's perfect.
    (off Sisko's look)
   When you're frustrated about
   something you usually overcook
   the rice.

     SISKO
   You never told me that before.

     JAKE
   I'm telling you now. So when do we leave?