Battle Lines (episode)

A runabout carrying Kai Opaka crashes on a planet of eternal war, where it is impossible for the combatants to die.

Teaser
Jadzia Dax and Miles O'Brien tell Benjamin Sisko about finding the personnel files kept by the previous DS9 prefect. O'Brien tells Sisko he should probably warn Kira Nerys about her file before she can see it. Kira walks in at that moment and asks what should she be warned about; Sisko tells Kira he might find her file disappointing, and Kira assures him she can handle it, only to storm out of the room immediately after seeing it. In the meantime, Julian Bashir tells Sisko that Kai Opaka is at the station and wishes to have the tour of the station that previously Sisko offered her. After showing her around the station, Opaka asks to be taken through the wormhole. Before departing, she gives O'Brien a necklace and asks him to give it to his daughter for her.

Act One
Sisko takes her into the wormhole after she subtly expressed she wanted to see it. While they are there, Kai Opaka insists on investigating a narrow band subspace signal they pick up in the runabout USS Yangtzee Kiang while they were in the Gamma Quadrant. Following the arrival at an inhabitable moon, Sisko, Kira, Bashir, and Opaka are then shot down by an automatic orbital defense system orbiting the moon.

On the planet's surface, Sisko, Bashir, and Kira leave the runabout, carrying out the body of the Kai. Bashir pronounces the Kai dead, and Kira mourns. As they stand by the runabout, they realize they are not alone.

Act Two
The crew is approached by the Ennis, a humanoid species. The Ennis explain that they live along with their enemies the Nol-Ennis on the moon, which serves as a penal colony to which both groups were banished after their homeworld's mediators were unable to negotiate peace between the two factions. The Nol-Ennis suddenly attack the caves where the Starfleet officers and the Ennis are located. Several soldiers are killed from each faction before Kira puts an end to the skirmish by bringing down part of the cave ceiling.

Just then, the silhouette of the Kai unexpectedly appears in the cave entrance.

Act Three
Bashir examines the Kai, who appears normal and remembers nothing since the crash, and finds an inexplicable biomechanical presence. The other fallen soldiers similarly begin to revive. When Kira questions Shel-la about the Ennis' lack of defenses, he responds that since both sides have realized that they cannot die, their tactics have changed. Sisko suggests that a Starfleet rescue team might be able to transport both of the factions to different planets, where they could live separately instead of continuing their endless fight. Bashir returns to the runabout, protected by the Ennis, to repair the computers so that he can investigate the artificial microbes further.

Act Four
In the meantime, O'Brien and Dax arrive in the Gamma Quadrant in a second runabout and begin a searching for Sisko and the others. O'Brien manages to devise a method to scan for the Yangtzee Kiang's hull signature in the nearby systems.

The Ennis and the Nol-Ennis agree to meet at a neutral site near the Runabout. Kira stays behind with Opaka, who helps her overcome her feelings of guilt for her actions during the occupations. Sisko begins negotiations between the factions, and Sisko proposes to transport both parties to separate planets for resettlement. Unfortunately, neither side takes the negotiations seriously and the fighting breaks out again. Bashir pushes Sisko out of the way of a weapon that was coming towards him, claiming that they can't afford to die here, not even once.

Act Five
Bashir explains to Sisko that the biomechanical devices that bring the Ennis and the Nol-Ennis back to life cannot survive in any other environment besides that of the moon, which also means Kai Opaka can never leave again. The Kai herself seems preoccupied and tells Kira that ever since she entered the wormhole, she sensed that she would not return. She asks Kira to tell the others that she has answered the call of the Prophets, and that she was brought there because it is time for the people on the planet to begin their healing process, just as Kira was brought there to begin hers.

The second runabout arrives in orbit around the satellite-moon and attempts to find a way to transport the survivors off of the planet. O'Brien manages to find a way to beam the marooned crew away by distracting one the satellites with a probe thereby creating a hole in the defense grid established by the satellites. Before leaving, Bashir suggests finding a way to reprogram the microbes so that they would stop functioning after death, allowing the inhabitants to die for good and end their torture. However, when Shel-la expresses his intent to use it in order to defeat the Nol-Ennis for good, Bashir disappointedly abandons the idea. Sisko begins to tell the Kai that if they ever find a way to bring her back, they'll be back for her. Opaka interrupts him and tells him that her work is now on the moon, but that her and Sisko's pagh will cross again. The crew gladly returns with Dax and O'Brien leaving the warring Ennis and Nol-Ennis behind, and the Kai with a lot of work to do.

Memorable quotes
"You might want to warn Kira before she sees her file."

(Walking in) "Warn me? About what?"

"Oh, uh, Dax and Mr. O'Brien discovered some of the last Prefect's personal files. There's a file on you, but you may find it disappointing."

"I'm a big girl, Commander."

(Later, storming out) " 'A minor operative whose activities are limited to running errands for the terrorist leaders' ?!"

"Major, when you're through feeling under-appreciated, perhaps you'd join me in welcoming the Kai aboard."
 * - O'Brien, Kira, and Sisko.

"The magnetic deflection of a runabout's hull is extremely weak. The probes will never be able to detect it."

"They will if I outfit them with a differential magnetometer."

"A differential magnetometer?"

"Mm-hmm."

"I've never heard of a differential magnetometer. How does it work?"

"I'll let you know as soon as I finish making one."
 * - Dax and O'Brien

"I've discovered we can't afford to die here. Not even once."
 * - Bashir

"Nice work, Julian."
 * - Bashir to himself after fixing one of the runabout's computer

"When you cease to fear death the rules of war change."
 * - Golin Shel-la

Story and script

 * The original concept involved a group of Humans and Cardassians, although this was changed to the Ennis and the Nol-Ennis so it would not look like the main characters had chosen sides. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
 * The writers had also considered creating a new character to be killed and resurrected (see redshirt) but this was changed to Kai Opaka as she was considered to be the most expendable recurring character. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
 * The original series episode was one source of inspiration for this episode for the late Hilary J. Bader, although mainly due to it showing the futility of war, not as a new concept. Indeed, the primary focus of Bader's pitch was to expose war as utterly pointless. This is emphasized in the fact that the Ennis and the Nol-Ennis don't even remember why they are fighting. According to Bader, "there must have been a more meaningful cause for this battle, but it's so long ago that it's not the issue anymore; it's not what they're fighting about. They're fighting about "You're this and I'm not!"...the point was that it didn't really matter why they fought. The act itself is more important than the issue that started it." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
 * Bader also commented that "there are certain themes that reoccur in Star Trek, and the fact that war is pointless is one of them." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)

Production

 * The production design team decided to reuse an existing Type 6 shuttlecraft nacelle prop in place of constructing an accurate Danube-class nacelle for the crashed runabout Yangtzee Kiang.
 * "Battle Lines" was one of the stunt performer crew's favorite Star Trek episodes. (Star Trek Monthly #127)
 * Dennis Madalone directed the majority of the fight scenes in this episode over two days. (Star Trek Monthly #127)
 * Tom Morga designed the weapons in this episode. He did so by taping together a cardboard blade, a ball and an old tool handle. (Star Trek Monthly #127)
 * In an outtake shown on Ultimate Trek: Star Trek's Greatest Moments, Avery Brooks says "We'll be entering the wormhole in about an hour" instead of a minute. Brooks smiles and Camille Saviola says "Well, I ain't got that long, I've got about fifteen minutes!"

Reception

 * Michael Piller commented "We had a show in the first season that I thought was a terrific script and was not a terrific show and it was "Battle Lines". I thought it was terrific concept, but the nature of the direction and the performances in that show made it feel operatic". (''The Deep Space Log Book: A Second Season Companion, p 7)

Trivia

 * This is the final Star Trek episode to be directed by Paul Lynch.
 * This episode marks the first time Hilary J. Bader and Richard Danus worked on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Bader later worked on the episodes, and  while Danus wrote the story of.
 * Kai Opaka leaves the Alpha Quadrant in this episode, making her final 'real' appearance in the series. She does appear later in and  in orb experiences and orb shadows.
 * This episode marks the first time a DS9 runabout is destroyed. The Yangtzee Kiang was later replaced by the Orinoco.
 * This episode was one of the first to state exactly what the United Federation of Planets is. Commander Sisko's response to Zlangco's question was that it "is made up of over a hundred planets who have allied themselves for mutual scientific, cultural and defensive benefits. The mission that my people and I are on is to explore the galaxy". Jean-Luc Picard later says something similar to Lily Sloane in.
 * Although it was not specified in the episode, the Prefect to whom Sisko refers is Gul Dukat.
 * Armin Shimerman (Quark) and Cirroc Lofton (Jake) do not appear in this episode.

Apocrypha

 * Opaka returns to Bajor in the non-canon DS9 relaunch novels, after being encountered by Jake Sisko.
 * S.D. Perry's novel Rising Son is a sequel of sorts to this episode. It reveals the changes that have happened among the Ennis and the Nol-Ennis by 2376.
 * The necklace that Opaka gives O'Brien for Molly was not seen or mentioned in the series again, although O'Brien tells Joseph and Judith Sisko about it in Robert Simpson's novel Lesser Evil.

Video and DVD releases

 * UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 7,
 * The video sleeve appears to render this episode's title as "Battlelines", although the small case font makes it difficult to tell for certain.


 * As part of the DS9 Season 1 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
 * Colm Meaney as Chief Miles O'Brien
 * Nana Visitor as Major Kira Nerys

Guest stars

 * Camille Saviola as Kai Opaka
 * Paul Collins as Zlangco
 * And
 * Jonathan Banks as Shel-la

Co-star

 * Majel Barrett as the computer voice

Uncredited co-stars

 * Tracee Lee Cocco as Antican
 * George Colucci as a Nol-Ennis warrior
 * Christopher Doyle as an Ennis warrior
 * Jeannie Dreams as an operations division ensign
 * Michael Haney as a Nol-Ennis warrior
 * Randy James as Lieutenant Jones
 * Ken Lesco as a Nol-Ennis warrior
 * Dennis Madalone as an Ennis warrior
 * Tom Morga as a Nol-Ennis warrior
 * Robin Morselli as a Bajoran officer
 * Joe Murphy as a Nol-Ennis warrior
 * Jeff Pruitt as a Nol-Ennis warrior
 * Mark Allen Shepherd as Morn
 * Patricia Tallman as Nima
 * Michael Zurich as a Bajoran security deputy
 * Unknown performers as
 * Ensign
 * Operations division ensign
 * Six male Ennis
 * Two female Ennis

Stunt doubles

 * Alan Oliney as stunt double for Avery Brooks
 * Spiro Razatos as stunt double for Jonathan Banks
 * Unknown stunt performers as
 * Stunt double for Paul Collins
 * Stunt double for Siddig El Fadil