ACT FOUR

FADE IN:

22 INT. B’HALA CAVES - MAUSOLEUM

Sisko and Luka now sit side by side on the stone ground, Luka still curled up into a ball but no longer whimpering or rocking himself. Sisko is sad and pensive, talking to himself as much as to the silent and traumatised Luka.

SISKO
I always do this. Take it too far.
This is exactly what Kasidy was
talking about. Why I hurt Rena
and Jake. Why she threw me out
of the house. And she was right
to do it. I get so caught up...
(shakes head)
I take it too far.

LUKA
(quiet, small)
I know how that happens.

Sisko turns to him, relieved that he’s talking again.

SISKO
Tirem... I’m so sorry. I never
meant to hurt you. I won’t hurt
you again. And I don’t believe
you hurt Calan and Audj.

LUKA
I didn’t. I didn’t. I wouldn’t.

SISKO
I believe you. Sergeant Tey said
it was a terrible accident, and I
have no reason not to trust her.

LUKA
He was a good man.

SISKO
And so are you. I’m sorry.

Sniffling, Luka raises his head, gazes at the statue.

LUKA
I understand. It’s not always easy
living here, where we live. Among
all these people who don’t think
the way we do. Who always expect
something else from us.

SISKO
I can’t begin to know what you
went through –

LUKA
(turns to him)
Yes you can. You’re a good man
too, Benjamin. You don’t deserve
what’s happened to you either.

SISKO
(grateful, sad)
At least one person forgives me.

Sisko and Luka sit with each other, inside the crypt...

23 INT. SISKO’S HOUSE

On Kasidy, as she sits at the dining table, padds in front of her. She’s doing paperwork for her shipping business.

The house is quiet around her, she’s alone. Then there’s a KNOCK at the door. Not really thinking much of it, Kasidy gets up to answer the door. It’s Jasmine Tey.

KASIDY
Oh – Sergeant Tey. Is there a problem?

JASMINE
No no, not a problem. May I come in?

KASIDY
Yes, of course. Can I get you anything?

Kasidy holds the door open for Jasmine to enter.

JASMINE
You wouldn’t happen to have any
Earl Grey tea, would you?

KASIDY
As a matter of fact, my brother
sends me some from Cestus Three
twice a year. Come on through,
I’ll brew you up a cup.

Grinning, Jasmine follows Kasidy through to the kitchen, where Kasidy starts rooting in cupboards.

JASMINE
That would be fantastic. I’d never
have thought, now that Bajor is in
the Federation, it would still be so
difficult to get human food and
drinks. I haven’t had a decent
cup of tea in years.

KASIDY
(chuckle)
Well I have to warn you, I’m no
chef. But I think I can manage to
boil some water without burning
the house down.

Kasidy realises with horror what she just said.

KASIDY (cont)
Wow... that was...

JASMINE
It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.
That’s actually why I came – to
tell you that we’ve finished the
investigation.

Kasidy finds the tea, starts preparing it.

KASIDY
And?

JASMINE
And it’s exactly what we thought.
There’s no evidence of any foul
play. Just an electrical fault in
the central heating. Probably
had it on high for the winter.

Kasidy leans back against the counter, sighs sadly.

KASIDY
There’s nothing you can say to
that, is there? Just... fate, I guess.

JASMINE
The Bajorans would say it was the
will of the Prophets.

KASIDY
(scorn)
To take the life a man who served
them seventy years, and his wife,
just because it got cold? Not any
kind of god I’d want to follow.

The tea is ready. Kasidy hands a mug to Jasmine, who wraps it in her hands, warming her fingers. They stand and chat.

KASIDY
So, Sergeant Jasmine Tey. How does
a human woman end up on Bajor
as part of First Minister Asarem’s
personal security squad?

JASMINE
Didn’t really plan it. I came to
Bajor just to visit and explore a
new culture. But it was soon after
the whole mess with those nasty
parasites. Asarem was looking to
beef up her security. Or at least
her advisers were. So I decided
to sign up.

KASIDY
Just like that?

JASMINE
I’d had all sorts of security and
combat training at home. I had
nothing tying me to Earth. And I
thought it would be a chance to
really dig deep, learn about
Bajorans from the inside. Plus,
I have a feeling I was a bit of a
status symbol to them. Proof that
they were really one of the gang
now. So they snapped me up.

KASIDY
And how do you like it? Living and
working with Bajorans, and so few
other humans around?

Kasidy is kind of giving herself away here. Jasmine sees it, wonders how to address it. Is it even her business?

JASMINE
We’ve all had to make adjustments.
But then, that’s just a part of the
life. You’ve been here longer than
I have, from what I hear. You
haven’t... adjusted?

KASIDY
It’s funny. When I first set up
this house, I felt comfortable.
Beautiful world, perfect place to
build a home and raise a family.

JASMINE
And now?

KASIDY
I don’t know. Somewhere along the
line, I think I started resenting
them. And I don’t even know why.
They haven’t really done anything
wrong. Maybe it’s all in my head.

JASMINE
That doesn’t necessarily make it
wrong.

Kasidy smiles at the unexpected support. Nobody’s really said that to her before.

JASMINE
I hope I’m not out of line here,
Mrs Sisko. Please stop me if I am.
But I did sense some tension
between you and your husband.

KASIDY
(quiet)
You’re not out of line. It’s a relief
to be able to talk to someone
about it. Someone who’s not going
to assure me that it’s all part of
the Prophets’ plan. It just feels
like... Bajor is coming between us.

JASMINE
Bajor? Not the Prophets?

KASIDY
Is there a difference? Prophets,
Bajor, Ascendants, Cardassians,
Eav’oq... it’s all the same.
(beat)
Is it my fault? Am I letting them
come between us? Eivos said it was
in our hands. And I’ve got nothing
to complain about, not really. Ben’s
right, I knew what I was getting into.

JASMINE
Kasidy... if you’re not happy, you
have every right to those feelings.
And you have every right to let
people know it.

KASIDY
Thank you, Jasmine. It’s good to
hear someone say that.

Jasmine smiles back. They go back to drinking their tea.

24 INT. B’HALA CAVES - TUNNELS

On their feet again, Sisko and Luka now tread through a darkened tunnel. No electric lights hang here – they find their way by old-fashioned flame torches. Sisko takes the lead, now just as eager and determined as Luka was earlier.

Sisko stops, shines some light onto the paper in his hand.

PAPER

It shows pencil etchings of the ancient Bajoran symbols that were around the statue of Ohalu.

BACK TO SCENE

Sisko points out each scribbled icon in turn.

SISKO
Close... light... community...
lessons... spirit... earth...
beloved... and source.

LUKA
(wild guess)
The source of light... is close?

SISKO
But these were written right at
the base of the statue. Anyone
who could read the words could
see Ohalu standing there.

LUKA
So what would be the point of
telling them he was close?

SISKO
Exactly. Let’s keep walking.

They get on the move again.

LUKA
This must be the deepest anyone’s
ever gone at B’Hala. Just think...
thirty-thousand years of Bajoran
history over our heads right now.

SISKO
Let’s just hope it stays there and
doesn’t decide to come down on
our heads.

LUKA
Earth... You said earth, right?

SISKO
Right.

LUKA
As in, what’s over our heads. What
we’re inside of right now.

SISKO
What are you getting at?

LUKA
Close to the earth. To the ground.

SISKO
But it’s all the ground.

LUKA
But it wasn’t. Thirty-thousand years
ago, this might have been open air.
(gestures up)
All of this is what’s built up over
the years on top of that.

SISKO
So ‘close to the earth’ would mean
we have to go even deeper.

LUKA
Where are we right now? How far
have we walked?

Sisko stops, pulls out a tool – a complex compass device. He holds it, lets it steady itself, interprets the results.

SISKO
We’re almost immediately beneath
the mausoleum.

LUKA
Underneath the statue.

SISKO
Of course! Close, but in a downward
direction. Into the earth.

LUKA
Where the source of the light and
lessons lies beneath his beloved
spiritual community.

SISKO
We have to go deeper.

Excited all over, Sisko strides further into the tunnels, his torch out before him, trying to find a way down.

25 MONTAGE

-- More hunting through tunnels.
-- A lava tunnel angling down through rock. Sisko goes ahead eagerly; Luka follows rather more hesitantly.
-- Sisko studying his compass device by fire light.
-- More general trudging.
-- Sisko helps Luka climb through a small gap in the rock.

26 INT. B’HALA CAVES

They reach the bottom of the tunnel, and there doesn’t seem to be anywhere else to go. Sisko holds out his compass, and looks around, frustrated.

SISKO
I can’t find a way to get any
deeper than this. It’s solid
bedrock underneath us. But
it has to be here! I can feel it!

LUKA
You know what I do in times
like this? I pray.

SISKO
All due respect, Luka, but I’m not
sure that’s going to work.

LUKA
It doesn’t matter if it works.
That’s not what praying’s for.

Sisko looks at him confused. Luka just smiles, amused, then takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, stands there silent. Meanwhile, Sisko returns to looking around with his torch, inspecting the walls, checking his scribbled notes.

After a moment, Luka opens his eyes again, and smiles.

LUKA
“The Emissary shall search for the
source. And he will keep the guide
close, and together they will heed
the lessons, and the spirit of Ohalu
shall surround them both.”

SISKO
What?

LUKA
It’s right there in the book. All
those symbols, so only someone
who’d read the book could
understand them.
(looks around the cave)
Thirty-thousand years. There is no
grave, not anymore. How long ago
must the body have decayed away,
dissolved into dust?
(a revelation)
The spirit shall surround them.

With amazement, Sisko gets it. The puzzle solved, they stand together by the flickering light of their torches and gaze at the walls of stone around them.

FADE OUT:

END OF ACT FOUR