ACT FIVE

FADE IN:

36 INT. DS9 - CARGO BAY

Jack paces back and forth before a screen showing a Breen headshot, gesturing wildly and nibbling on fingernails. Lauren stretches slinkily and Patrick bounces nervously.

The three intelligence agents sit calmly. Deel and Sarina pay attention, but Bashir can’t stop his eyes slipping to Sarina as he tries to fit his head around her being back...

PATRICK
(almost to self)
Their biology makes no sense...

JACK
He means that it’s inconsistent.
You have four totally different
physiological profiles for Breen,
did you know that? Hm? Hm? One
says they’re just humanoids with
canine snouts -

BASHIR
That’s pure speculation -

LAUREN
Because of the helmet. We know.

JACK
One says they’re sacks of ammonia
with skeletons and they just go -
(with gestures)
- “poof” at any temperatures above
fifteen degrees. That’s from your
own Major Kira.

PATRICK
(copies Jack with glee)
“Poof!”

BASHIR
Yes, I read her report...

FLASHBACK - 4x05 “INDISCRETION"

-- A Breen helmet is torn off to reveal KIRA underneath...

BACK TO SCENE

JACK
She did it twice! Twice!

PATRICK
Anyway, it’s Captain Kira.

LAUREN
Actually it’s Vedek -

DEEL
(calm but firm)
Stay on topic, please. Is that all
you have on Breen physiology?

LAUREN
Hardly. Starfleet thinks they’re
carbon-based, but a Klingon file
says they’re silicon-based. One
file says the Breen have four-
lobed brains, and another says
they have no blood at all.

FLASHBACK - 5x14 “IN PURGATORY’S SHADOW”

-- Bashir testing the blood of Garak, Martok etc, but not the Breen prisoner held with them by the Dominion

BACK TO SCENE

JACK
Gendered. Asexual. Hermaphroditic.

Jack is getting very agitated, throwing his hands in the air. Sarina tries to calm him with an appeal to his ego...

SARINA
What’s your hypothesis about the
Breen’s physiology, Jack?

JACK
Wouldn’t you like to know.

SARINA
(disarming smile)
Yes. I would.

JACK
(thrown off)
Oh. Well... okay. It goes beyond
biology. Beyond blood or no blood,
bones or ammonia sacks. It’s all
in those speech vocoders.

Jack brings up an AUDIO FILE and plays it - Bashir flinches at the harsh, industrial sound of Breen speech. After a few seconds, Jack shuts it off again and exclaims proudly...

JACK
There! Did you hear that?

BASHIR
Hear what?

LAUREN
(sigh, exasperated)
It’s not organic syntax, Julian.
It’s artificial. Like a universal
translator creates when it parses
one language into another.

DEEL
So... Breen language is computer
generated? Are they androids?

JACK
No no no! You’re totally missing
it! We’re saying there is no Breen
language. Those vocoders aren’t
for translating or amplifying -
they’re for scrambling.

PATRICK
It’s how they hide...
(stage whisper)
...from each other!

LAUREN
That’s the whole point.

Jack steps forward, stealing the spotlight, wanting all the attention on him, delivering revelation for the ages...

JACK
Pay attention, all of you, because
this is important. There is no
such thing as Breen physiology or
Breen language because “Breen”
is not a species. “Breen” is just
an arbitrary social construct!

Cmdr Deel nods along, seeing the wisdom of that...

DEEL
They do call themselves the Breen
Confederacy, I guess. That implies
things to confederate. How many
different Breen species are there?

PATRICK
At least a dozen. Maybe more.

Sarina turns to Bashir and Deel, excited...

SARINA
This is our way in. If the Breen
wear those suits to hide their
identities even from each other,
we can just alter a pair of them
for ourselves and walk right in.

LAUREN
Modify the vocoders to translate
back and forth from English. Even
in a crowd, no-one would know.

PATRICK
Plus, the suits are designed to
mask the wearer’s vital signs!

JACK
They’re ripe for infiltration.

DEEL
We could even hide some gadgets
inside them - tools, medicine,
rations, that kind of thing.

Bashir gets up and stalks away from them, frustrated.

BASHIR
Have you all lost your minds? You
all call yourselves the smartest
people in the galaxy, and the best
you can come up with is to dress
up and stroll in the front door?

JACK
(offended)
Do you have a better idea?

BASHIR
A much better one. I’m leaving.

Bashir walks out of the room without another word. Sarina watches him go, thinking...

37 EXT. DEEP SPACE NINE

A moment of time passing...

38 INT. DS9 - BASHIR’S QUARTERS

Bashir stands at his window, staring out at the stars. When the DOOR CHIME sounds, he knows exactly who it will be.

BASHIR
Come in, Sarina.

The door opens - and it is indeed Sarina, carrying a large crate. She steps over the threshold with a wry look.

SARINA
That was a dramatic exit.

BASHIR
A bookend to your own dramatic
entrance. What’s in the box?

She places the crate down, thumb-scans her ID in, opens the box and pulls out a pile of stiff cloth, shakes it out.

SARINA
I thought it might suit you.

It is recognisably a Breen suit. Bashir shakes his head, exasperated. She is not going to make this easy for him.

BASHIR
This is not how I imagined our
reunion would go...

SARINA
(steps closer,
smiling)
So you have imagined our reunion.

BASHIR
(another step)
A thousand times. At least.

She throws down the suit and hugs him close - chaste, for now, although there is no doubt he’d like it to be more.

SARINA
I missed you too, Julian. And I’m
sorry I wasn’t able to be the
woman you wanted me to be.

BASHIR
You have nothing to be sorry for.
I’m the one who crossed lines I
should never have even approached.

She steps back, caresses his face, tears threatening. His eyes are completely captured in hers, powerless.

SARINA
Only for a moment. I’ve played
those moments over and over.
I didn’t realise at the time how
much it must have hurt you to
let me go. But I do now.

BASHIR
So... what happens next?

She pulls back, sniffles away the tears. Picks up the Breen suit again, holds it against herself, modelling it for him.

SARINA
That’s up to you. I’m going to
Salavat with or without you.
I’d rather it was with you.
(re suit)
What do you think?

BASHIR
You can’t be serious. You’d
actually risk your life on Jack’s
hare-brained costume scheme?

SARINA
First, it’s not as bad a plan as
you think. And second, there’s
more to it than just slipping into
these and ringing their doorbell.

BASHIR
Such as?

SARINA
(conspiring grin)
Trust me.

BASHIR
(arms folded)
Sorry, I’m going to need more to
go on than that.

SARINA
Such as?

BASHIR
Such as why you’re working
with Starfleet Intelligence at all.
Last thing I heard, you’d been
granted a research fellowship
at the Corgal Institute.

SARINA
That was seven years ago, Julian.
They didn’t have the resources or
the faculty to keep up with me.

BASHIR
You could have joined the Vulcan
Science Academy, or the Daystrom
Institute. Any number of places.

SARINA
I tried, Julian. They didn’t even
bother responding. You know how
people like us are received, be it
professional or personal - first
curiosity, soon followed by fear.

Bashir backs down a little - he knows that all too well.

SARINA
(continuing)
So when a man from Starfleet
Intelligence approached me -

BASHIR
(sharp)
A man? What was his name?

SARINA
Aldo Erdona. Why? Does it matter?

BASHIR
...No. Sorry, go on.

SARINA
Anyway, that’s when I saw a chance
to use my skills to the fullest.
People like me - like us - are
better suited to field ops than
almost anyone else in Starfleet.
We can go places and do things
that others can’t, and make better
tactical decisions in less time.

BASHIR
Just because we can do a thing -

SARINA
- doesn’t mean we should do it,
yes I know. But I think we have
an obligation, Julian. To use our
abilities for the good of the
Federation. Tucked away in a lab
or toiling on some space station,
there’s only so much we can do.

BASHIR
(bristling)
Now hold on - I’ve made some major
contributions from DS-Nine and the
Defiant. As a scientist you could
cure diseases, develop new energy
sources, invent new technologies -

SARINA
- or I could prevent a war that
would kill millions, stop a coup
that would condemn generations to
oppression, or help the Federation
keep its rivals in check without
resorting to bloodshed.

She regathers her composure. Picks up the Breen suit once again, and this time holds it up to Bashir’s body.

SARINA
Besides, I should think you’d want
in for the exploration alone. How
many people will have this chance
to observe the Breen up close?

He is starting to be persuaded. She pushes her advantage.

SARINA
Think about it, Julian. You and
me, exploring strange new worlds
together, pushing ourselves to the
limit for the good of the Khitomer
Accords and the Federation...

Finally, Bashir takes hold of the Breen suit. He slips on the jacket, tests out how it feels...

BASHIR
It’s only a temporary assignment?

SARINA
That’s what I was told.

Bashir snaps the chestplate closed. Stretches his neck.

BASHIR
And how, exactly, are we supposed to
infiltrate this hidden Breen shipyard?

SARINA
(sly smile)
For that, you have to commit to the
mission. Operational security, I’m sure
you understand. But this is a start...

She pointedly passes him another piece of the Breen suit - its helmet. Taking a deep breath, he lifts it up...

BASHIR
Alright, I’ll do it...

He lowers the helmet into place, and concludes in the Breen ELECTRONIC BUZZ, translated into ON-SCREEN SUBTITLES:

BASHIR
...For the Federation. And for the
Khitomer Accords.

Off Bashir as a Breen...

FADE OUT

END OF SHOW