Rocks and Shoals (episode)

Sisko's crew crash-land their Jem'Hadar ship into the waters of an alien ocean on a world where a group of Jem'Hadar have also crash-landed with only one vial of ketracel-white remaining. Meanwhile, on Terok Nor, Kira finds she cannot live with herself working side by side with the Dominion.

Teaser

 * "Captain's log, supplemental. O'Brien needed three days to restore main power to our commandeered Dominion ship, but he's not going to get them. Sensors have detected two Jem'Hadar fighters heading our way, and without main power our chances of survival are slim to none."

Benjamin Sisko and crew are stranded in Dominion space on a captured Jem'Hadar ship with a disabled warp drive. Chief Miles O'Brien is busy making repairs. Two Jem'Hadar ships approach Sisko's ship and attack. Their only option is to make a run for an uncharted dark-matter nebula. Before they can get inside it, Jadzia Dax is injured when a Jem'Hadar volley rocks the ship. Doctor Julian Bashir thinks the symbiont has been injured too. All ship functions disabled, they begin to descend towards an unknown class M planet.

Act One
The ship crash-lands into a sea just off a coast but everyone escapes with their lives. A Vorta named Keevan and a group of Jem'Hadar had crashed onto the planet two days earlier. The Jem'Hadar First and Second are dead, Keevan is badly wounded, they are running out of ketracel-white, and they cannot establish communications with any Dominion forces off-planet.

Crawling onto shore with what few items from the ship they could take with them, Sisko and the others have a much-needed laugh when O'Brien frets, absurdly, over his torn pant leg.

Back on Dominion-controlled Deep Space 9, now called Terok Nor, Major Kira Nerys wakes up for another day of duty working with the Dominion and their Cardassian allies. She boards the lift, already filled with Jem'Hadar and Cardassians. Arriving at her station in ops, she thanks Mavek, a Cardassian, for her raktajino.

In a cave on the planet, Keevan discusses their dire situation with Third Remata'Klan. It will be ten days before they can even attempt to establish communications. Keevan distributes a very limited dose of white to the Jem'Hadar soldiers. Meanwhile Sisko and the crew set up camp in another cave where Bashir can stabilize Dax's condition.

Nog and Elim Garak go on a survey mission to find water and food, but several Jem'Hadar soldiers appear around them and they are soon taken prisoner.

Act Two
Nog and Garak are being interrogated in the Jem'Hadar camp. Nog refuses to give more than his name and serial number, and Keevan turns to Garak. Garak claims to be one Kamar, one of the Dominion's Cardassian allies who has been captured by the USS Centaur (the ship encountered by Sisko and his crew while infiltrating Cardassian territory). Keevan sees through this lie, holding up the Starfleet combadge Garak was wearing. Keevan says he has only one question: is there a doctor in Garak's unit. Garak, weighing his options carefully, decides to tell the truth, and says, yes. Nog is furious with him, but Keevan says he just saved both their lives. Keevan sends Third Remata'Klan to assess the Federation group's strength, but not to engage.

On Terok Nor Jake Sisko is interviewing Odo and Kira about the Dominion's plans to send four hundred Vorta "facilitators" to Bajor despite Weyoun still blocking his transmissions to the Federation News Service. Jake also informs them that Vedek Yassim is planning a demonstration on the Promenade the next day. Jake's pointed questions quickly get under Kira's skin and she ends the interview.

Back on the planet, Sisko and a few others are searching for Nog and Garak. Despite the order from Keevan not to engage, the Jem'Hadar open fire.

Act Three
After determining who fired the first shot, the Jem'Hadar leader orders a withdrawal from the engagement with the Starfleet party. Running out of ketracel-white, the Jem'Hadar are becoming anxious and none of them can shroud themselves any longer.

Kira tries to convince Vedek Yassim not to hold her protests. Yassim asks Kira what Kira's doing to fight the Dominion. Kira says that this is different from the Cardassian occupation – fighting isn't the answer here. Yassim accuses Kira of becoming an apologist for the Dominion, "a defender of evil".

While Sisko is planning an assault on the Jem'Hadar position, Third Remata'Klan visits the cave to make a deal: exchanging Sisko and Bashir for Nog and Garak. Sisko surprises him by quoting a Jem'Hadar proverb ("Obedience brings victory"). He tries to sow suspicion and resentment in Remata'Klan for his Vorta handler by referring to the joint Dominion-Starfleet operation after which a Vorta was killed by the Jem'Hadar First, and points out that even though Remata'Klan is the senior surviving Jem'Hadar, Keevan has not seen fit to promote him beyond the rank of Third. But Remata'Klan will not have it, and states that he was only instructed to deliver the message. Sisko claims not to trust Vorta, and asks for Remata'Klan's word that the conditions of the exchange will be honored. Remata'Klan vows to carry out his orders, and Sisko accepts the deal.

Act Four
The prisoner exchange is carried out. On Terok Nor, Kira waits on the Promenade ready to deal with Vedek Yassim if she causes any trouble but everything is quiet. Jake turns up telling Kira he was asked by Yassim to be there but just as Kira starts to tell Jake he won't find a story today Vedek Yassim proceeds with her protest. She yells "Evil must be opposed!" and steps off from the upper level of the Promenade. She doesn't make it to the deck; the noose around her neck snaps taut. The next morning, Kira is already awake when the alarm clock chimes for another day of duty on the Dominion-occupied station, she boards the lift, and thanks Mavek for her coffee. She looks around and realizes what she's doing. Then she leaves, startled.

Arriving at the Jem'Hadar cave, Bashir performs surgery and saves Keevan's life. After asking his soldiers to leave, Keevan offers Sisko another deal. With only one vial of white left, Keevan fears that his soldiers will soon go on an uncontrollable rampage, killing everyone. He is planning to send the Jem'Hadar on a suicide attack and wants Sisko and his crew to kill them. Keevan would then surrender himself to Starfleet as well as provide the crew with a damaged but salvageable com unit with which they can signal for a rescue.

Act Five
Returning to the cave and informing the crew, the Starfleet officers debate the right course of action. While some of the officers don't like the idea of killing the Jem'Hadar in such an underhanded way, Garak argues that they're in the middle of war and the Jem'Hadar are the enemy. Just as the argument begins to get heated, Sisko stops everyone tells them that Garak is right... they're in the middle of a war and if it's a choice between his crew and the Jem'Hadar soldiers then there is no choice. Everyone heads out to face the Jem'Hadar, while Sisko confides to Dax that he's hoping there's a third choice.

Back on the station, Kira is disgusted with herself, and tells Odo that during the Occupation of Bajor as far as she was concerned if you weren't fighting the enemy then you were helping them. While half the Alpha Quadrant are risking their lives fighting the Dominion, she was ready to arrest Vedek Yassim for protesting the station occupation. She is not only not fighting the Dominion, but now she is helping them and defending them... and that makes her a collaborator. But now enough is enough and Kira vows to start fighting back. She and Odo will put together a resistance cell to fight the Dominion and their Cardassian allies.

In an arid canyon on the planet, before the Jem'Hadar assault, Sisko tells Remata'Klan that the Jem'Hadar were betrayed by the Vorta, but it turns out that Remata'Klan was already aware that it was a massive tactical error to approach the group from this canyon. Despite how it may appear, the Jem'Hadar are often one step ahead of the Vorta. Sisko offers to allow the Jem'Hadar to surrender, but Remata'Klan won't even consider that option. Sisko tells Remata'Klan that Keevan doesn't deserve their loyalty but the Jem'Hadar replies that Keevan doesn't "need" to deserve it. From the day they're created, Jem'Hadar pledge to follow all orders without question. Sisko asks him if "the order of things" is worth giving up his life, but Remata'Klan counters that his life has never been his to give up.

Telling his men, "our death is glory to the Founders," Remata'Klan leads his men on a futile charge towards the ridge, opening fire with their weapons. Returning fire, the Starfleet contingent guns them all down, at the cost of one of their own. A few seconds later, Keevan arrives and after glancing at the soldiers whose lives he gladly sacrificed to save his own, offers himself as a prisoner of war. Sisko appears to consider shooting the arrogant and treacherous Keevan for a moment, but instead orders him taken into custody, and tells O'Brien to start repairing the communications system. Then Sisko orders a burial detail for Gordon and the dead Jem'Hadar.

Memorable quotes
"Try it now. Reroute the damn gyrodyne through the damn thruster array."

"''Got it."

"Nog, did you reroute that damn gyrodyne?"

"I'm trying, but the damn thruster array won't take the input."

"Try the lateral impulse thrusters and watch your mouth!"
 * - Miles O'Brien and Nog, trying to deal with the quirks of the Dominion ship

"Hooooold on!"
 * - Elim Garak, just before the crash

"Until we re-establish communications, we will hold this world for the Dominion."

"And if we can not restore communications?"

"Then we will hold this world for the Dominion... until we die."
 * - Remata'Klan and Limara'Son

"Oh no!"

"What?"

"I don't believe it!"

"What?"

"I tore my pants!"

"You... You tore your pants?"

"Yeah, I tore my pants. I guess... I guess I'm really in trouble now!"
 * - Miles O'Brien and Benjamin Sisko, laughing uproariously

"Lucky for you it ripped on the seam."

"Can you fix it?"

"Unlucky for you my sewing kit went down with the ship."
 * - Garak, examining O'Brien's trousers

"Does this have anything to do with that unfortunate business between you and me last year?"

"You tied me up and threatened to kill me."
 * - Garak, asking why Nog is trying to stand behind him all the time

"Madame, your pants are ready. Your boots and vest will take a little longer. While you wait, I might suggest that you browse through the hotel's gift shop?"

"No, thank you. But I would like to lodge a complaint."

"Hmm?"

"This bed is as hard as a rock."


 * - Sisko trying to make an injured Dax comfortable in a cave

"You can either stand in front of me or walk beside me, but I won't turn my back on you again."

"Cadet, there may be hope for you yet."
 * - Nog and Garak, after recalling the events of

"It is the order of things."
 * - Remata'Klan

"They're not here to protect me. They've just never seen what the inside of a Vorta looks like."
 * - Keevan, as the Jem'Hadar crowd around before Bashir operates on him

"I am alive..."

"No self-diagnoses, please. I'm the doctor here."
 * - Keevan and Bashir

"Why are you doing this?"

"That... that's a communications system. It needs repair but I'm willing to bet that you've brought one of those famed Starfleet engineers who can turn rocks into replicators."
 * - Sisko and Keevan

"I'm going to order the Jem'Hadar to attack your position tomorrow... regardless of whether you agree to my terms or not. So you can either kill them... or they'll kill you.  Either way, they're coming."


 * - Keevan, to Sisko

"In case you've forgotten, we're in a war."

"There are rules, Garak, even in a war!"

"Correction. Humans have rules in war. Rules that make victory a little harder to achieve, in my opinion."
 * - Garak and Miles O'Brien, about ambushing the Jem'Hadar

"Despite what Keevan may think, the Jem'Hadar are often one step ahead of the Vorta."

"You can still stay one step ahead. Surrender."

"I have my orders."

"Keevan doesn't deserve the unwavering loyalty you're giving him."

"He does not have to earn my loyalty, Captain. He has had it from the moment I was conceived.  I am a Jem'Hadar. He is a Vorta. It is the order of things."

"Do you really want to give up your life for the 'order of things'?"

"It is not my life to give up, Captain – and it never was."
 * - Remata'Klan and Sisko

"What did he say?"

"All the wrong things."
 * - Miles O'Brien and Sisko, regarding Sisko's talk with Remata'Klan before battle

"Our death is glory to the Founders."
 * - Remata'Klan, to his men (his last words)

"Evil must be opposed!"
 * - Vedek Yassim, seconds before committing suicide on the Promenade in protest against Dominion occupation of the station

The six-episode arc

 * Although following directly on from, this episode was filmed after part three of the arc, , to accommodate the location shooting. Obviously, this made an already complicated situation worse. As Ronald D. Moore explains, "The station storyline on changed while they were doing it, which meant that my station-based storyline had to reflect that change...We couldn't keep it straight in our heads and we kept stepping on each other. Had something already happened, or was it happening the following week? It became very difficult to get the whole thing under control." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)

"Rocks and Shoals"

 * The original idea for this episode came from the 1965 film, , a film about the interactions of the crew of a downed American plane and the Japanese army patrol who find them. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
 * "Rocks and Shoals" was the informal name of the Articles for the Government of the United States Navy. These articles were known for triggering swift and harsh punishment, and were replaced by the in 1951.
 * Commenting on the episode's title, Ronald D. Moore said: "The title seemed thematically right to me, since the episode deals with some characters running up on the "rocks" and others entering "shoal water". I think that the phrase itself actually referred to the Royal Navy's judicial system, but I could be wrong. In any case, the title just came to me as I was working on the script and although later I remembered the judicial connection, it wasn't the initial reason for the title. There are also themes of justice and military order in the script, so I think it's still appropriate."
 * The beginning of this episode is a clear reference to the beginning of the 1968 film . The crash into the water in a desert region, the wounded ("dead") female, and even the overt laugh of Sisko (Taylor) are all evidence of this.
 * This episode was filmed at a rock quarry in, north of Los Angeles. This was basically the same location which had been used for Cardassia IV in , for Dozaria in , and for Torga IV in .  Although the quarry contained water, all of the shots with the ocean and the shoreline were digitally created.
 * As with both and, temperature during the shoot for this episode would reach unexpected highs and cause a great deal of discomfort for both cast and crew. During the filming of , temperatures reached as high as 124 &deg;F/51 &deg;C. During the shoot for "Rocks and Shoals", they went even higher; 128 &deg;F/53 &deg;C. It was the hottest period in that part of the country in over ten years; so hot that the makeup was melting on-camera and the rubber soles on Steve Oster's hiking boots melted in the heat. The production team did a weather check on Friday as they were scheduled to start shooting on Monday, and it was 80 &deg;F/28 &deg;C, with a light breeze. They were told it would stay basically the same for a week. On Saturday, it went up to 95 &deg;F/35 &deg;C and on Sunday, it reached 105 &deg;F/40 &deg;C. It then peaked at 128 &deg;F/53 &deg;C on Monday. As Ira Steven Behr acknowledges, if you look at the episode closely, you can see the eyes of the Jem'Hadar are quite red, due to the makeup dripping into the actors' eyes as it ran off their foreheads. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
 * Nana Visitor sees the "station-story" in this episode as extremely important in the development of Kira Nerys: "Kira's maturity had to kick in, because she couldn't just react the way the younger Kira would. There was too much at stake. there was too much to lose. So even though it wasn't as much fun to play, I found it was an important growth point." Ronald D. Moore also saw this episode as important, saying he wanted her "to face that she was becoming a collaborator without realizing it, and how easily that can happen to somebody in that position. She's got Jake asking her very pointed, very legitimate questions about what they're doing, and her getting furious about it, but at the same time allowing things to happen on the station. I knew it would take a fairly dramatic moment to kind of wake her up about what she was doing" – hence the suicide of Vedek Yassim. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
 * There are strong thematic links between the "Starfleet-story" and the "station-story", with Third Remata'Klan and Vedek Yassim taking parallel actions by pricking the consciences of Sisko and Kira.
 * Of his portrayal of Remata'Klan, Phil Morris says, "I likened him to a samurai warrior who is loyal only to his feudal lord, and that's how I played him. His willingness to die, despite Sisko's offer of an alternative is his most honorable moment." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion) Remata'Klan seems to follow in the footsteps of Goran'Agar, Omet'iklan , and Ikat'ika in being something of an "honorable" Jem'Hadar.
 * The writers had Dax injured in this episode because Terry Farrell has a skin condition that prevents her exposure to direct sunlight.
 * The stardate is given as "supplemental" in dialog, but is preserved from the script in closed captioning.
 * Michael Dorn (Worf) and Armin Shimerman (Quark) do not appear in this episode, although a scene in the script has Worf rescuing the Starfleet crew aboard the . The scene saw the crew burying Gordon and the Jem'Hadar. Worf and two Klingons beam down and Garak tells Worf "for once, Mister Worf it's good to see you." Worf looks at the graves and tells Sisko that "you were outnumbered. It must have been glorious." According to Steve Oster, that scene was not filmed due to the searing temperatures at the time and the lack of light. The writers then realized it was much better to end on a closeup of Sisko. There were only three days of shooting scheduled in the rock quarry, but by the end of the third day, they hadn't got the final scene (Worf's arrival). The writers and producers were extremely unhappy, but director Michael Vejar and editor Steve Tucker looked at the footage and told them that they no longer needed that scene. Instead, they cut the show to end on the close-up of Sisko as Keevan gives himself up. After seeing this new ending, the producers loved it and agreed that it made a perfect ending to the somber episode. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
 * This is the only episode in the "Dominion Invasion" arc in which Marc Alaimo (Gul Dukat) and Casey Biggs (Damar) do not appear.
 * This was Keevan's first of two appearances. The second one was in, where he was released from the Federation and used by the Ferengi to be traded with the Dominion for Ishka.
 * Among the items from this episode which were sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay, was a costume lot of Avery Brooks. Parts were also worn by stuntman John Lendale Bennett and background actor Randy James.

Video and DVD releases

 * UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 6.1,
 * As part of the DS9 Season 6 DVD collection

Starring

 * Avery Brooks as Captain Sisko

Also starring

 * Rene Auberjonois as Odo
 * Terry Farrell as Lt. Commander Dax
 * Cirroc Lofton as Jake Sisko
 * Colm Meaney as Chief O'Brien
 * Alexander Siddig as Doctor Bashir
 * Nana Visitor as Major Kira

Guest stars

 * Andrew J. Robinson as Garak
 * Phil Morris as Remata'Klan
 * Christopher Shea as Keevan
 * Aron Eisenberg as Nog
 * Paul S. Eckstein as Limara'Son
 * Lilyan Chauvin as Yassim
 * Sarah MacDonnell as Lisa Neeley
 * Joseph Fuqua as Paul Gordon

Uncredited co-stars

 * Judi Durand as the Cardassian computer voice
 * Unknown actor as Mavek

Stunt doubles

 * John Lendale Bennett as the stunt double for Avery Brooks
 * Leslie Hoffman as the stunt double for Lilyan Chauvin