ACT ONE
FADE IN:
6 INT. DEFIANT - BRIDGE
SISKO in the command chair. Looks around at his crew - NOG, TENMEI, CANDLEWOOD, BASHIR, ALECO plus extras. This is it.
SISKO
Lieutenant Tenmei... take us in.
7 EXT. SPACE - THE WORMHOLE
Defiant loops out into space... through the criss-crossing BLUE BEAMS of the tachyon sensors... the WORMHOLE bursts into life... Defiant dives in... the wormhole closes up.
PULL BACK to reveal Robinson keeping guard in foreground...
8 EXT. SPACE - BRONIS II ORBIT
JEM’HADAR VESSEL 971 likewise in foreground, in orbit over a new planet, Bronis II.
9 INT. DOMINION FACTORY
A different factory than the one seen in 14x11 and 14x17, but with much the same purpose - and the same hole.
ODO stands glaring at the huge gap in the machinery, where something has clearly been stolen. WEYOUN approaches...
WEYOUN
Founder. The Bronis supervisor
confirms that the machines taken
were used to construct and test
deflector and structural integrity
systems for Jem’Hadar vessels.
ODO
Exactly the same as at Overne.
(turns away, angry)
This is my fault. I could have
ordered extra protection for all
the disused Dominion shipyards...
WEYOUN
You had no reason to believe this
would happen again. Captain Sisko
assured you that the Anomaly was
defended from further incursion.
ODO
Which means either that Starfleet
failed to defend the wormhole...
or the Typhon Pact found another
way to reach the Gamma Quadrant.
(beat)
Do we know when they were taken?
WEYOUN
Not with certainty. But no more
than a day or so. Possibly even
earlier today.
ODO
Then it might not be too late.
We need to warn Sisko.
WEYOUN
Of course, Founder. We can send a
subspace message from my vessel.
ODO
(realising)
No - the Romulans might intercept,
realise we’re onto them. What we
need to do... is get there first.
WEYOUN
(impressed)
I’ll order the First to make the
preparations at once.
As Weyoun turns away to relay the message, Odo turns back to glare at the big empty space in the factory...
ODO
How the hell did they do it?
Off Odo’s frustration...
10 EXT. SPACE - VIR-AKZELEN ASTEROID
The Tzenkethi asteroid laboratory sending out its RED BEAMS that converge to create a puncture through space, a giant swirling red whirlpool, a new artificial WORMHOLE...
11 INT. VIR-AKZELEN LABORATORY
NELZIK the female Tzenkethi scientist sits at her console, readings flying across the screen, adjusting and rechecking and adjusting again. The machinery around her HUMS with the power and strain of keeping the artificial wormhole open.
NELZIK
Velzen! Reinforce the confinement
beam - it’s overloading.
A junior Tzenkethi scientist scuttles to do as he is told.
Cardassian mercenary HEKT stands and watches Nelzik work...
HEKT
Commanding, brilliant and lovely.
Once this is all over -
NELZIK
(doesn’t look at him)
Once this is over, Mister Hekt, I
plan to return to ab-Tzenketh and
receive the heartfelt plaudits of
our exalted and beloved Autarch.
She does the heart-head-sky gesture quick as she can - she must keep working, but she can’t not honour the Autarch.
NELZIK
Until then, I need to concentrate.
So please do not distract me.
(to self, as she works)
Because if this one fails... this
one will receive something quite
different from heartfelt plaudits.
Hekt lets her work... but keeps his possessive eyes on her.
12 EXT. VANADWAN MONASTERY - SHUTTLE PORT - DAY
The docking area on the opposite side of the monastery from the transporter plaza. TREMORS rumble through the country, bits of STONE crumble and fall into the valley below.
The runabout Styx carefully flies down from the dark sky, battling against the strong WINDS and driving RAIN, gently touching down on the shuttle port, which for now is secure.
13 INT. VANADWAN MONASTERY - COMMISSARY - DAY
Vedek KIRA and Chief O’BRIEN rush in from the rain. The room is already busy with civilians, gathering to shelter from the storm in the safest place in the monastery.
O’Brien runs straight for his family - KEIKO, MOLLY, YOSHI - while Kira heads for RANSEL, the head nurse-ranjen who is moving around the room, ministering to the scared people.
After checking in with her, Kira finds the Sisko family - KASIDY, JAKE, RENA and REBECCA. The girl is curled up tight to her mother, protection from the scary silver lady RAIQ, who sits nearby with her own family, VEXH and baby ANIQ.
KIRA
Kas - everything okay?
Another TREMOR passes through. Something SMASHES, a voice YELPS and others CRY. Kasidy smiles for Rebecca’s sake...
KASIDY
Oh... not too bad. We’ve made it
through worse, haven’t we Rebecca?
Rebecca just NODS, keeping her eyes on Raiq.
JAKE
Nerys - can’t we get out of here?
KIRA
That’s what the runabout’s for,
Jake. We just need to pick up a
few bits and pieces and then we’ll
be on our way. You mind helping
Miles with that?
JAKE
Yeah, sure, no problem.
Jake scrambles to his feet, Rena with him. They head off...
JAKE (o.s.)
Hey, Chief...
Kira turns back to Kasidy, sees the worry on her face...
KIRA
Hey. Kas. It’ll be okay. Trust me.
On Kasidy as she remembers...
FLASHBACK - 14x13 “FRAGMENTS”
Kay Eaton and Cassie Johnson on a New York street...
KAY EATON
It’s okay. Trust me.
BACK TO SCENE
Kasidy smiles thinly, nods. Kira heads off...
RAIQ has watched the entire exchange, peering at Kira’s other friend with something almost like jealousy. Beside her, a devoted Vexh keeps the baby entertained.
RAIQ
You are the mate of Sisko, yes?
That’s a complicated question, but to keep things simple...
KASIDY
That’s me. Kasidy Yates-Sisko.
RAIQ
(eyes on Rebecca)
Your young. The child of Sisko.
KASIDY
(defensive)
What about it?
RAIQ
The child... has power.
Kasidy tenses, eyes wide. She knows there’s something about Rebecca... but now Raiq can sense it too? She deflects...
KASIDY
I think all children have power,
don’t you? They are literally the
future made flesh, after all.
Raiq considers that philosophy... She looks around at the other families and children gathered in the hall.
RAIQ
Perhaps. But this one -
(re Rebecca)
- and that one -
(re Jake)
- are the young of the Emissary.
She points across the room, directly at Kirayoshi....
RAIQ
I’m told that one was birthed by
Kira, the Hand of the Prophets...
Keiko scowls at the impolite pointing. Raiq turns to her own child, giggling happily in Vexh’s arms. She smiles...
RAIQ
And this one... Mistress Iliana
marked me the Hand of the True...
Surely you can see the hand of the
True in all of this, can you not?
KASIDY
What I think... is that you need
to pay more attention to your
own daughter, and stay away
from mine. Come on, Rebecca.
Kasidy gets to her feet, pulls Rebecca with her and goes to join SIBIAS and Matthias’s children, ARIOS and MIREH. Raiq watches them go, not offended, just... curious.
RAIQ
The child of the Emissary...
As THUNDER rolls and RAIN pounds outside the monastery...
14 INT. DEFIANT - BRIDGE
On SISKO in the centre chair, the blue-white-gold lights of the wormhole interior shining on him from the viewscreen. But then as the ship moves deeper into the wormhole...
...an EERIE RED LIGHT starts to take over the blue, casting the bridge into new, unexpected colours. Sisko reacts...
SISKO
What’s going on?
CANDLEWOOD
(off console)
I’m getting confused readings...
Massive proton counts, much more
than the wormhole usually makes...
but not consistent. It’s all over
the place.
SISKO
Show me.
Candlewood works his console, they all turn to look at the viewscreen... and their jaws drop in horror...
15 INT. WORMHOLE
...at the GAPING RED WOUND in the wormhole’s normally calm and placid blue wall. Like a bloody, ragged bite has been wrenched out of it, energy crackling and radiation boiling.
An angry whirlpool of red interfering with the smooth blue flow of the river... and the Defiant dwarfed before it.
16 INT. DEFIANT - BRIDGE
Candlewood turns back to his console, working to make sense of it. Sisko can’t take his eyes off it, feeling revulsed, offended at what the Tzenkethi have done...
CANDLEWOOD
It has attributes of a wormhole...
but some variability too.
The ship SHUDDERS around them... Sisko turns to TENMEI...
SISKO
Helm?
TENMEI
Sorry, Captain. The gravimetric
distortions are pretty intense.
CANDLEWOOD
It scans almost like a tidal force
- an ebb and flow of space-time.
It’s like the new wormhole is
trying to tear itself free.
SISKO
Is there any way to help that
process along? Make it tear away?
CANDLEWOOD
Oooff... I guess? Maybe? But I’d
need plenty of detailed readings
- and the time to analyse them.
SISKO
Doctor Bashir can help with that.
BASHIR
Aye, sir.
BASHIR reconfigures his console for data analysis, confers MOS with Candlewood. ALECO turns to Sisko, worried...
ALECO
Captain... even if we figure out a
way of dislodging that... thing...
there’s still the question of how
it would affect the Temp-... the
Bajoran wormhole. It could cause
the structural integrity to fail.
Create a cascade collapse.
Even though he took care to couch it in scientific terms, Sisko can feel the anguish for the Prophets radiating off the Bajoran tactical lieutenant. In truth, even after all that’s happened, Sisko feels the same way.
SISKO
Mister Candlewood, gather all the
information you need for analysis,
but do it fast. Mister Aleco, patch
me through to the Robinson.
Something to do, something to focus on. Aleco works...
ALECO
Sir, I can’t raise the Robinson.
The distortions are too great.
Sisko stews, pondering the options.
SISKO
So we can’t call for help... and we
can’t leave this site unguarded -
that would give the Romulans the
chance they need to sneak through.
(beat)
So I guess it’s up to us. Helm -
position the Defiant within the
intersection of the wormholes.
TENMEI
Sir?
SISKO
We’re going to form a blockade.
BLACK OUT
END OF ACT ONE