Profit and Loss (episode)

Quark is reunited with his lost Cardassian love, but he learns that she is a member of the Cardassian underground.

Summary
When a damaged Cardassian ship shows up near Deep Space 9, Commander Benjamin Sisko has it brought in. Sisko and Chief Miles O'Brien greet the passengers, Natima Lang and her students, Rekelen and Hogue. Lang claims that their ship was damaged in a meteor swarm and request repairs. They then visit the Promenade, where Quark recognizes Natima and greets her excitedly. Natima slaps Quark and tells him she never wants to see him again, but as she walks away, Quark tells Odo, "This is the happiest day of my life."

Quark and Natima were once lovers and it is apparent as he follows her that she still has feelings for him. However, the second he quotes a Rule of Acquisition, any such feelings seem to vanish. Elim Garak and Doctor Julian Bashir pass by and Garak acknowledges Natima politely, prompting her to panic. She tells Sisko that she and her students must leave quickly, but O'Brien has discovered that her ship was actually damaged by Cardassian phaser fire. Natima reveals they are political outcasts intent on reforming the Cardassian government.

While Natima talks to Sisko, Quark visits Garak's shop and asks for advice on Cardassian fashion. The tailor describes Natima's taste in fashion as "too radical" for his liking and warns that a poor choice in fashion can be detrimental to one's health. A Cardassian warship arrives shortly thereafter, ignoring communication attempts and targeting the station with its weapons. Garak visits Ops to explain that Central Command wants Hogue and Rekelen, whom he describes as terrorists. Sisko warns Garak that if the Cardassians try to take them by force, he will respond in kind.

Desperate to get Natima back, Quark offers Hogue and Rekelen a cloaking device to help them escape, but as part of the agreement he requires that Natima stay with him. Natima tries to reason with Quark, explaining that she cannot stay, and threatens to shoot him with a phaser. Believing she is bluffing, Quark dares her to do so; she fires the phaser but looks as surprised as Quark. Natima tells him she barely touched the trigger and did not mean to fire, after which she declares her love for him. As the two of them happily reminisce about the past, Odo enters Natima's quarters and places her under arrest.

The Bajoran government has agreed to turn Natima, Hogue, and Rekelen over to the Cardassians in exchange for the release of several Bajoran prisoners. A former rival of Garak's, Gul Toran, visits Garak's shop and tells the tailor that Central Command has changed its mind; it wants the prisoners dead. In exchange for killing the prisoners, Garak will be allowed to return to Cardassia.

Meanwhile, Quark convinces Odo to help Natima and takes her and her students to their ship. Garak greets them at the airlock, where he laments that he must now kill Quark as well as Natima and her students. Quark attempts to reason with Garak, but before Garak can respond, Toran emerges from behind a cargo container. Toran reveals that he only used Garak to learn Hogue and Rekelen's whereabouts; Garak then shoots him.

Before Natima leaves, Quark tries one final time to convince her to stay. She tells him she must return to Cardassia until her work is done. "So all I have to do to get you back is wait until Cardassia becomes a free and democratic society?" he asks. Smiling, Natima tells him they will meet again some day and promises to make it worth the wait. Once she leaves, Quark asks why Garak shot Toran, to which Garak asks why Quark helped Natima. "I had no choice &mdash; I love her," Quark says. "And I love Cardassia, which is why I had to do what I did," Garak responds.

Memorable Quotes
"I heard an interesting rumor today."

"Only one? I started at least twelve."
 * - Odo and Quark

"And you believe everything you hear?"

"When it's about you, yes."
 * - Quark and Odo

"Ooh, you Cardassians do hold grudges!"
 * - Quark

"May I offer you some free advice?"

"As long as I'm under no obligation to follow it."
 * - Garak and Quark

"Consider the cloaking device a gift."

"I'm surprised. Ferengis aren't known for their generosity."

"Oh, we are a deeply misunderstood race."
 * - Quark and Rekelen

"Well, some people should never be promoted."
 * - Garak, after killing Gul Toran

"It hurts?"

"Oh, she wants to know if it hurts. Of course it hurts. It's supposed to hurt -- it's a phaser!"
 * - Natima and Quark

"Listen to me, Odo. You do this for me, and I promise you there'll be no more secrets between us.  I'll tell you about every under-handed deal, every lying scheme, every dirty trick that... my brother Rom's involved in."
 * - Quark

"Sometimes we're on opposite sides, but that doesn't mean we aren't close. I've never told you this Odo, but I consider you as dear to me as my brother."

"Ha! And I've seen how well you treat him..."
 * - Quark and Odo

"Don't! I hate to ruin... such a nice suit."
 * - Garak, threatening to shoot Quark before Quark shoots him

"So, all I have to do to get you back is wait until Cardassia becomes a free and democratic society?"
 * - Quark, to Natima Lang shortly before she leaves him

Story and script

 * The original teleplay for this episode very closely paralleled the plot of the 1942 Academy Award-winning film . In fact, it was originally called "Here's Lookin' at You...", a reference to a popular quote from the film.  The producers however, were forced to change some of the more obvious references to the film as well as the title when they were threatened with legal action. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)

Production

 * Armin Shimerman and Mary Crosby's makeup had to be touched up each time the actors kissed, since his orange makeup would end up mixing with her gray makeup. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
 * According to makeup supervisor Michael Westmore, the love scene in this episode between Lang and Quark is one of his all-time favorite Star Trek scenes due to the fact that despite all the heavy makeup, it is still just a touching, simple romantic scene between two people in love, and the makeup becomes completely unimportant. (Michael Westmore's Aliens: Season 2, DS9 Season 2 DVD, Special Features)
 * During filming of "Profit and Loss, a 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck Southern California, including the Paramount studios where Deep Space Nine was being produced. The earthquake struck on 17 January 1994 at 4:31 AM, when Armin Shimerman, Mary Crosby, and other actors requiring extensive makeup were having their makeup applied in preparation for crew call at 5 AM. Most of the actors in the makeup trailer ran to their cars and drove home to check on family members. However, they were still wearing their makeup, and as director Robert Wiemer points out, "It must have seemed like the bowels of the Earth had opened up and those creatures had come out." Armin Shimerman commented that he "scared the crap out of people" with his alien appearance. Following a two-day inspection of the studio for damage and structural safety, filming continued on 19 January – albeit, amidst a series of aftershocks. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
 * Andrew Robinson commented "When the earthquake hit in January, it was 4:30 am. in Los Angeles, and I was already in the makeup chair, along with Armin Shimerman and couple other actors. It was pretty bizarre: this earthquake hits, and all the power goes out, and all these aliens in varying stages of makeup are milling about in the darkness! People like Armin and Ed Wiley, who was playing this Cardassian, couldn't get through on the phone to their families, so they just jumped into their cars - Armin in his Quark makeup and Ed with his Cardassian makeup on - and drove through the pre-dawn streets of Los Angeles. I can only imagine what the other motorists saw - I think that would be more bracing than a cup of coffee!". (The Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine Vol. 9)

Reception

 * Ira Steven Behr dislikes this episode because he feels that Quark comes across as too heroic. Behr felt there were already enough heroic characters on the show, and that this episode should instead have been a Beauty and the Beast type of story, with Quark resembling Woody Allen; "I felt we didn't need another tough, sexy, swashbuckling character on the show. We had enough of those. We needed more offbeat, interesting characters. It should have been Beauty and the Beast, or Woody Allen and every woman he's ever been with in the films. You don't take Woody Allen and make him into Bogart. You have Bogart telling Woody Allen how to behave, but he does it through his Woody Allen persona. The scenes with Quark drove me mad." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
 * Michael Piller commented "This is the other disappointing episode in this season for me". (''The Deep Space Log Book: A Second Season Companion, p 38)

Trivia

 * In this episode, we learn that Quark has been on the station longer than Odo, and that Quark sold food to the Bajorans during the occupation.
 * This episode reveals that Cardassia considers Garak to be an exile, although it is not clear to what extent his exile is self-inflicted.
 * Referenced Rules of Acquisition: #223 (Though Quark is cut off before he can recite it)
 * This is the first episode to refer to the Cardassian dissident movement. It is also the first episode to use the term Cardassian Central Command.
 * Mary Crosby, once famous for her role as the woman who shot J.R. Ewing in Dallas, is the daughter of Bing Crosby, and aunt of Denise Crosby (Natasha Yar).
 * On the PADD from which Odo is reading I, the Jury, one can clearly see an image of a wooded forest and medieval castle above the text. This is a re-use of the PADD used in the episode, in which O'Brien reads his daughter the story of Rumpelstiltskin, for which those images are appropriate.
 * Quark's cloaking device will be seen again in as Neelix's malfunctioning heating coil and a piece of Xindi debris in.
 * Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisko) does not appear in this episode.

Video and DVD releases

 * UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 19,.
 * As part of the DS9 Season 2 DVD collection.

Starring

 * Avery Brooks as Commander Benjamin Sisko

Also Starring

 * Rene Auberjonois as Constable Odo
 * Siddig El Fadil as Doctor Julian Bashir
 * Terry Farrell as Lieutenant Jadzia Dax
 * Cirroc Lofton as Jake Sisko
 * Colm Meaney as Chief Miles O'Brien
 * Armin Shimerman as Quark
 * Nana Visitor as Major Kira Nerys

Guest Stars

 * Mary Crosby as Natima Lang
 * Andrew Robinson as Elim Garak
 * Michael Reilly Burke as Hogue
 * Heidi Swedberg as Rekelen
 * Edward Wiley as Gul Toran

Uncredited Co-Stars

 * Sue Henley as a command division officer
 * Tammy Rodriguez as the yellow-skinned dabo girl