ACT FOUR
FADE IN:
38 EXT. SPACE - DEEP SPACE NINE
CLOSE UP on a Galaxy-class starship, revealing its name as Canterbury (14x08 “99 Problems”), docked at an upper pylon.
PULL BACK to the docking ring, just as a Bajoran transport ship pulls away from its port and TURNS to leave...
...passing more ships either already docked, pulling into place, pulling away, or waiting their turn. Over this:
CENN (v.o.)
(calm but firm)
...calmly but quickly, taking only
the absolute essentials with you.
39 INT. DS9 - PROMENADE
Controlled chaos, as dozens of STARFLEET SECURITY herd the station’s populace down the Promenade towards the airlocks.
CENN (comm)
(continuing)
Repeat, all station residents must
proceed immediately to evacuation
points. Move calmly but quickly -
Cenn’s public announcement continues as we move into...
40 INT. DS9 - INFIRMARY (CONTINUOUS)
...where BASHIR and nurses RICHTER and ETANA move urgently around the space, gathering as many things as they can and piling them together on a pair of ANTI-GRAVS in the centre.
At last Bashir taps a control on a PADD on top of the pile, then steps back. The whole collection TRANSPORTS away...
BASHIR
That’s all patients and supplies
transferred to the Canterbury. Now
you two get the hell out of here.
Etana grabs Richter’s arm, heads out. Richter resists...
RICHTER
What about you?
BASHIR
I’m right behind you, just a few
finishing touches first...
Richter smiles - he’s talking about Sarina. He lets her think that. Etana drags her wife to the door and onto...
41 INT. DS9 - PROMENADE (CONTINUOUS)
...where they join the surging activity, quickly lost in the numbers. We PUSH THROUGH the crowds and over into...
42 INT. DS9 - QUARK’S BAR (CONTINUOUS)
...where the various Ferengi servers GRAB everything they can off the shelves, SHOVE it all into cases.
Behind the bar, QUARK yanks bars of latinum from the floor vault, SHOVES them in another case. That done, he STANDS...
...and looks around at his bar - deserted, food and drink abandoned. TREIR shouts down from from the second level...
TREIR
Second level clear.
SEBRIGAR the Nausicaan appears from the back corner...
SEBRIGAR
Store room clear.
HULPESH the Sti’ach swings down from the highest level, six stubby legs carrying him from banister to rung to table top until he LANDS on the deck and stands tall on hind legs...
HULPESH
Bathrooms are clear.
QUARK
Where’s Morn?
Blank looks from them all - none of them know. Quark can’t possibly leave without him. Then he realises with horror...
QUARK
Oh frinx... All of you get out,
now! Don’t wait for me.
Sebrigar, Hulpesh and the Ferengi bartenders EXIT. Quark rummages in a drawer behind his bar. Treir approaches...
TREIR
What are you doing?
QUARK
Saving my friends.
Quark finds what he needs - a small boxy DEVICE - and runs with his case of latinum for the spiral stairs...
43 INT. DS9 - QUARK’S BAR - UPPER LEVEL
Quark dashes to a holosuite door, punches entries into the control panel, the door sweeps open, and he enters...
44 INT. VIC’S LOUNGE - ENTRY PASSAGE
...where VIC and MORN look up in shock, as if caught amidst shady dealings, a last-minute desperate transaction.
QUARK
Morn, there you are! You have to
leave, now. You too, Vic.
VIC
(dark laugh)
Where am I gonna go, pally?
QUARK
(holds up device)
Right here. Active memory module,
so your programme keeps running
even without a holosuite.
Morn looks back at Vic, worried...
VIC
Go on. It’s cool. I’ll be okay.
Morn nods and EXITS. Quark doesn’t know what that was about and doesn’t care - he moves to an internal control panel...
VIC
Quark, just in case this is the
last time I see you -
QUARK
It won’t be.
Quark YANKS an isolinear rod out of the panel, causing Vic and his lounge to both DISSOLVE...
45 INT. DS9 - HOLOSUITE
...into a bare holosuite grid. Quark shoves the isolinear rod into a hole in his memory device, and the device into his case of latinum. Then he EXITS, no time to waste.
46 INT. DS9 - QUARK’S BAR
Quark dashes down the staircase again, finds TREIR waiting. He shoves his case of latinum at her to carry...
QUARK
Here, you take that and get out.
He heads for the Promenade, determined. She calls out...
TREIR
Quark!
(he turns, impatient)
Laren has enough to handle
right now. Leave her be.
Quark seethes - he knows Treir is right, but can he...?
47 INT. DS9 - POWER CORE
RO watches impatiently, power core throbbing, as dozens of junior security officers and engineers scan and calculate and confer, Chief CHAO and Inspector RWOGO among them.
RO
Anything?
CHAO
I daren’t even try until I know
more. Move or open or transport
them - it might set them off.
RWOGO
But you recognise the writing?
RO
Andorian.
RWOGO
Treishya, to be precise.
CENN (comm)
Ops to Captain Ro.
RO
(taps badge)
Go ahead.
CENN (comm)
The Canterbury is ready to leave
with its third load of civilians. And
the Xhosa delivered the Orb to the
monastery at Vanadwan, they’re
on their way back for more now.
RO
Did you hear back from Starfleet?
CENN (comm)
The Brisbane and the Venture are
the closest ships. At least a day.
RO
Keep me informed. Ro out.
She taps her combadge again. Chao turns to her and Rwogo...
CHAO
You should both go. I can handle
this, you’ve got bigger worries.
Ro reluctantly agrees, grips Chao’s shoulder in thanks, and heads for the door. Rwogo scuttles after her...
RWOGO
You might think about getting off
the station yourself, Captain. She
who dives under the table today...
RO
I still need a way to evacuate the
crew. Once everyone else is safe,
then I’ll think about leaving.
Ro strides through the door, determined. Rwogo follows...
48 EXT. SPACE - DEEP SPACE NINE
Swooping up from the lower core, where Ro and Rwogo were...
...to the upper pylons, where the Canterbury uncouples...
...and moves past the much smaller Defiant keeping watch.
49 INT. DEFIANT - BRIDGE
TENMEI in the command chair, watching the viewscreen...
SLAINE (comm)
You’re clear to proceed towards
Bajor, Canterbury. Good luck.
TENMEI
Close channel.
At sciences, CANDLEWOOD does so. He gets up, approaches his friend. He is effectively serving as her first officer...
CANDLEWOOD
They’ll be fine, Prynn.
She should tell him off for using her first name, but...
TENMEI
We could have fit another couple
hundred on here, is all.
CANDLEWOOD
Ro needs us to stand watch -
just in case.
She knows that. Doesn’t make her any happier. Gazes around at her crew of untested junior officers. All so young...
50 INT. DS9 - OPS
RO and RWOGO rise together into Ops aboard the turbolift, to find CENN and SLAINE still hard at work at the central Ops table, TH’SHANT at engineering, and EXTRAS elsewhere...
SLAINE
Xhosa on final approach... giving
them clearance for port three.
RO
Major, what are all these people
still doing here?
Cenn looks at her confused... Ro calls out loud enough for everyone to hear her over the business of Ops...
RO
Listen up. I want everyone below
the rank of Lieutenant Commander
out of here. Evacuate, now.
All the extras shut down their stations and head out.
RO
Slaine, th’Shant - get to the Rio
Grande and start beaming up junior
crew. I don’t care if you have to
stack them like phaser coils.
CENN
(sidles up, sotto)
Captain, I’d set the Rio Grande
aside for senior staff. For you.
RO
You’re welcome to go if you want,
Desca. I won’t stop you.
Without hesitation, Cenn turns to Slaine...
CENN
Well, dalin? You said you’d been
learning to pilot... Off you go.
SLAINE
Yes, Major.
Slaine heads to the transporter platform. Cenn moves to the science station. th’Shant is still rather shellshocked by it all, so Cenn uses command voice to get him moving...
CENN
Ensign - contact the Nile and the
Brahmaputra from the Rio Grande,
pass on the captain’s orders.
TH’SHANT
Y-yes, sir...
th’Shant runs to the transporter platform, joins Slaine. Cenn works the controls, and the two juniors TRANSPORT out.
Cenn moves back down to the Ops table, while Ro moves to and begins working the tactical station. Rwogo follows her.
RWOGO
Captain - the bombs are Andorian.
RO
Your own investigation cleared
th’Shant of any wrongdoing.
RWOGO
I could have been wrong.
RO
Or someone could be using distrust
of Andorians to try and frame him.
RWOGO
Who would want to do that?
Ro looks at her, a significant look - she knows who.
51 INT. DS9 - HABITAT RING CORRIDOR
SARINA, at a T-junction, trying to control a panicked flood of CIVILIANS. Some of them get confused which direction they should be going, stop and cause a blockage...
SARINA
Keep moving! There are transport
vessels in both directions.
BASHIR (o.s.)
Sarina!
Sarina turns to see BASHIR struggling through the crowd... She is glad to see him, but has to keep the crowds moving.
BASHIR
You heard the orders. You should
be gone.
SARINA
I’m deputy security chief, Julian.
You go. I’ve got people to help.
Doubt crosses his face - he tries to hide it, but too late.
SARINA
What does that look mean?
BASHIR
Just... well... bombs.
She realises with horror what he believes. Glares at him amazed, disgusted...
SARINA
You actually think I did this.
BASHIR
No, that’s not -
SARINA
I don’t - why are you even here if
you have that little trust in me?
BASHIR
(defensive)
I wanted to get something from
my quarters...
SARINA
(knows what
he means)
You cannot be serious...
Suddenly RED ALERT alarms go off all down the corridor, frightening the near-panicked civilians all the more...
52 INT. DS9 - OPS (INTERCUT)
...RWOGO reacts, covering her ears at the sudden ALARMS...
RWOGO
What’s going on?
CENN
Shields raising - it’s the tachyon
buoys. The wormhole is opening!
RO
On screen!
From tactical, Ro looks up to the main VIEWSCREEN...
53 VIEWSCREEN (INTERCUT)
...which shows the WORMHOLE opening up, the grid of blue tachyon beams across its mouth...
54 EXT. SPACE - WORMHOLE
...surging with power, blue and white petals of energy...
A ship emerges... it’s the Ren Fejin. It passes through the tachyon grid without incident...
55 INT. DEFIANT - BRIDGE (INTERCUT)
TENMEI, who had been alarmed, relaxes a bit at this...
CANDLEWOOD
That’s the Breen freighter...
TENMEI
Hail them, tell them we’ve got a
humanitarian crisis. If they’re
willing to help, great. If not,
they should get out of the way.
Then the Defiant’s RED ALERT goes off as well...
CANDLEWOOD
The tachyon grid - it’s detecting
a phase-cloaked ship trying to
sneak through behind the Breen.
(excited)
It worked! It actually worked!
He looks to the viewscreen, thrilled with the pure joy of science. Then he realises what his invention uncovered...
56 EXT. SPACE - WORMHOLE (INTERCUT)
The criss-crossing blue tachyon beams bounce off a SHAPE as it tries to pass through, revealing in negative space...
...the gigantic Romulan warbird Eletrix.
57 INT. DEFIANT - BRIDGE (INTERCUT)
CANDLEWOOD
Romulans...
Tenmei’s eyes narrow. There can be only one explanation - the Romulans are responsible for all of this. Calmly...
TENMEI
Target that ship - open fire.
BLACK OUT
END OF ACT FOUR