ACT TWO
FADE IN:
8 EXT. ALJULI TOWN - MORNING
Where we left it - the STALL HOLDER punches at Slaine, and she is letting herself get beaten up, putting up no fight.
STALL HOLDER
You’re a murderer, aren’t you? You
killed a thousand -
OOF - the stall holder is BARRELLED down, air rammed out of him and he goes flying down the street, crashing to the cobbled stone ground with blue fists gripping him tight...
...the bruised and bloodied Slaine slumps down the wall...
...Ensign TH’SHANT has one hand around the Bajoran’s throat and the other pulled back to drive it through his skull...
TH’SHANT
(furious hiss)
Leave her alone! She didn’t kill
anyone!
CENN (o.s.)
Ensign! That’s enough!
The Andorian engineer manages to hold himself back from killing the Bajoran on the spot, but he keeps a firm hold.
Major CENN catches up to the scene, rushes to Slaine’s side, helps her back to her feet...
CENN
Dalin Slaine, are you okay?
SLAINE
I’ll survive, Major, thank you.
With Slaine steady for now, Cenn turns to th’Shant, who has dragged the Stall Holder to his feet as well. The Andorian is still struggling to bring his emotions under control..
CENN
Ensign th’Shant, please take dalin
Slaine back to the Control Centre.
Make sure she sees Doctor Bashir.
TH’SHANT
Yes, Major.
Cenn takes hold of the Stall Holder instead, who is now terrified of th’Shant and does not resist...
CENN
I’ll hand our friend here over to
the local constabulary.
(to the Stall
Holder; growl)
And then... I’ll find someone to
look after your stall.
Cenn drags the other Bajoran away down the street.
Catching his breath, th’Shant goes to support Slaine. With her arm around his shoulder and his around her waist, they head slowly down the street towards the Control Centre.
She is as worried about him as he is about her...
9 INT. BAJORAN CONTROL CENTRE
The TRANSPORTER at the rear of the main room powers up...
...and th’Shant and Slaine BEAM IN, he supporting her.
TH’SHANT
Help - we need help here, please!
TENMEI and CANDLEWOOD are nearby, although not together. They both rush to the transporter platform, gently take over supporting the Cardassian down the steps...
CANDLEWOOD
Zivan? What the hell happened?
TH’SHANT
She was attacked in the street.
SLAINE
It’s not as bad as it looks.
TENMEI
Doctor Bashir! Doctor Bashir!
Bashir quickly emerges from his office at the summons...
BASHIR
What’s going on?
(realises)
Oh, I see - dalin Slaine, you’d
better come in.
SLAINE
If you’re busy, I can wait -
BASHIR
No, please - I’m supposed to be
doing the crew physicals anyway,
may as well start with you.
Candlewood supports Slaine to the medical suite, hands her over to Bashir at the door. Tenmei goes to th’Shant...
TENMEI
Are you okay? What happened?
Are your hands hurt? Let me see...
th’Shant glances towards Slaine, as Bashir closes the door of his office and switches on the milky translucent glass walls. Then th’Shant lets himself be led away by Tenmei...
10 INT. BAJORAN CONTROL CENTRE - DOCTOR’S OFFICE (CONTINUOUS)
Bashir directs Slaine towards the single bio-bed...
BASHIR
Take a seat, dalin. Doesn’t look
like anything life-threatening,
but I’ll give you a full check
over anyway, best to be safe...
Bashir is still clearly distracted by his own concerns, but a patient gives him something to focus on...
11 INT. BAJORAN CONTROL CENTRE - BREAK ROOM
The fourth of the small glass corner offices, this one set up as a small break room, with a single replicator in the wall and half a dozen soft chairs squeezed into the space.
Candlewood is already in here lifting his order out of the replicator, sipping the hot coffee. He turns to find Tenmei just entering as well, clearly intending to confront him.
TENMEI
There - you see?
Candlewood’s mouth is full, so his eyes say “See what?”
TENMEI
Vakell came to Slaine’s rescue in
the street. He saved her. Hardly
what someone who planned to
kill as many people as he could
would do, is it? Hmm?
Candlewood is going to answer, but she rolls right over...
TENMEI
Don’t bother, I know what you’re
going to say. “What better way to
deflect suspicion - save a damsel
in distress in broad daylight.” Well
that is the most distrustful, cynical
thing you’ve ever said, John
Candlewood. It’s beneath you.
Candlewood shrugs - he didn’t say anything...
TENMEI
I know Vakell has been emotional
lately. That’s just how Andorians
are. I saw Shar and his bondmates
after Thriss died, so don’t tell me
a couple of emotional outbursts
prove he’s a traitor - it just
means he cares, unlike some.
Candlewood sips his coffee, lets his friend rant...
TENMEI
And don’t tell me Vakell is not
Shar either - I know he’s not Shar.
You’re the one who can’t let go, who
keeps obsessing about one man
when there’s a whole galaxy of
men out there to choose from. So
don’t project your issues onto me.
In fact, just leave me alone.
Tenmei turns to leave, but Candlewood finally speaks...
CANDLEWOOD
Prynn...
(she turns back)
You realise you had that entire
argument with yourself, right?
TENMEI
What?
CANDLEWOOD
You had all the answers ready to
go. Which leads me to wonder
who you’re trying to convince.
TENMEI
...just leave me alone, John.
Thrown off, fight gone out of her, Tenmei turns and leaves the break room, while Candlewood returns to his coffee...
12 INT. BAJORAN CONTROL CENTRE - DOCTOR’S OFFICE
BASHIR gently runs a dermal regenerator over SLAINE’s face, causing the bruises to gradually disappear. He is quiet and insular, and she doesn’t push him - she saw what happened.
BASHIR
There you go, all better.
He places down the device, turns back to her. Gently lifts up her hand in his, runs his fingertips over her knuckles.
BASHIR
There’s no damage here...
SLAINE
No, Doctor.
BASHIR
All your wounds are defensive.
SLAINE
Yes, Doctor.
Bashir absorbs that, still withdrawn. Still thinking about Sarina. Can’t quite look Slaine in the eye...
BASHIR
Why? Why didn’t you fight back? I
can’t see the Cardassian military
sending an officer into the field
without the ability to defend
herself against one old man.
SLAINE
(softly)
I’m a Cardassian living on Bajor.
If I use violence, if I’m seen
using violence against a Bajoran
civilian, even in self defence...
Bashir picks up a medical tricorder, begins to scan her. Still trying to make sense of everything...
BASHIR
That doesn’t mean you have to
martyr yourself over past sins.
SLAINE
They weren’t my sins, Doctor.
BASHIR
So you’re saying... if you tried
to defend yourself, it would be
admitting you’d done something
that needed defending against.
SLAINE
I... suppose...
BASHIR
After all, if you’re innocent, you
don’t need a defence. The
evidence will speak for itself.
Slaine understands they are having two conversations here, even if she doesn’t know the full context. But she seems to have lost track of him. She tries to bring him back...
SLAINE
So, Doctor... will I live?
Bashir looks up at her - that’s the question, isn’t it?
13 INT. BAJORAN CONTROL CENTRE - BREAK ROOM
Now Bashir is the one lifting a steaming mug of tea out of the replicator. He sips it, his mind still miles away.
BONK - Bashir turns at the noise...
...and sees O’Brien rubbing his forehead where he just walked into the glass door. Embarrassed, O’Brien reaches for the handle and manually opens the door, muttering.
O’BRIEN
Stupid new-fangled technology.
Bashir smirks, glad for the moment’s amusement. O’Brien enters, Bashir steps aside to let him reach the replicator.
O’BRIEN
Coffee, Jamaican blend. Double
strong, double sweet.
BASHIR
One of those mornings, I take it.
O’BRIEN
For both of us. How’re you doing?
BASHIR
Oh Miles... I don’t even know
how to answer that.
O’Brien turns with the coffee, sits, lets his friend talk.
BASHIR
How do you handle it, Miles, when
the woman you love tells you a
terrible secret about herself?
O’BRIEN
Are we talking about the genetic
engineering thing again? Because
we all know already - about you
and Sarina.
BASHIR
No, we’re not talking genetic
engineering. We’re talking about
Section Thirty-One.
O’BRIEN
What do they -
But then it dawns on O’Brien... a moment of quiet horror...
O’BRIEN
Sarina? Works for Thirty-One?
Bashir can only nod sadly, stare into his own mug of tea. O’Brien takes a moment to absorb the revelation...
O’BRIEN
How did you find out?
BASHIR
She admitted it. No, she announced
it to me. She wanted me to know.
O’BRIEN
Why?
BASHIR
So that I would join her, help her
take them down from the inside.
O’BRIEN
So she doesn’t really work for
them... but you’re afraid she
really does.
BASHIR
I don’t know what to think any
more, Miles. There’s a million
thoughts going through my head.
O’BRIEN
Like... maybe she did destroy DS-
Nine, like Inspector Rwogo said?
BASHIR
I want to believe she’s innocent.
That she could never do anything
so... heinous. But she has killed
people. I saw her do it. Was her
telling me she works for Section
Thirty-One just to throw me off
the scent, distract me while she
puts some other plan into action?
That is how Thirty-One work...
O’BRIEN
Have you spoken to Ro? Or Rwogo?
BASHIR
(shakes head)
What if she wasn’t lying? The more
people who know, the more chance
Thirty-One would see us coming.
O’BRIEN
Alright. But what about this? Even
if she really is working for them,
it doesn’t necessarily follow that
she helped destroy DS-Nine.
BASHIR
What do you mean?
O’BRIEN
Well, Thirty-One say they work for
the good of the Federation, right?
So how does blowing up Starfleet’s
base of operations in a tactically
critical sector fit in with that?
BASHIR
(defeated shrug)
The sector’s even more fortified
now. There’s three heavily armed
starships on constant patrol.
Maybe that was the pay-off.
O’BRIEN
What about the casualties? They
may say they do what needs to
be done, but a thousand of their
own people killed? I don’t buy it.
BASHIR
Maybe they didn’t mean to kill so
many. Maybe it was an accident.
O’BRIEN
Are you defending Sarina? Or are
you defending Section Thirty-One?
BASHIR
I really don’t know. I don’t know
anything for sure anymore.
O’BRIEN
You know one thing. You know I’ll
support whatever decision you make.
BASHIR
Thank you, Miles.
But does it help? Bashir still doesn’t know what to do.
FADE OUT
END OF ACT TWO