A Man Alone (episode)

An old enemy of Odo's is murdered behind locked doors, and all the evidence points to Odo as the killer.

Teaser
Doctor Bashir finds Dax playing with an Altonian brain teaser, a puzzle responding to neural theta waves. Eager to get closer to her, he says he loves puzzles and volunteers to play. Before she transfers control to him, she casually mentions that she's been trying to solve it for 140 years. As soon as she transfers control to him, the puzzle bursts in a matter of seconds. Dax tries to warn him about Trill relationships, but is saved by the appearance of Benjamin Sisko, picking her up for dinner. Unwilling to give up, Bashir gloomily tells the computer to re-start the puzzle.

Act One
In Quark's, Odo is sitting at the bar, keeping an eye on Quark's business. Both of them notice Chief O'Brien arguing with his wife Keiko at a table on the upper level. Keiko isn't happy aboard Deep Space 9; with no need for a botanist, she has nothing to do, and also has doubts about the station as a fit place to raise their daughter. Odo says that he can't understand why humanoids place so much emphasis on mating with other members of their species; he himself has never "coupled," as he had decided that the aggravation of a relationship far outweighed its benefits.

Having dinner in the bar, Sisko and Dax are still adjusting to their new relationship. Sisko has trouble seeing the young woman in front of him as his old mentor and father-figure, Curzon, which is how he's always seen Dax.

Glancing around the bar, Odo tenses up when he notices a Bajoran man at the dabo table. Odo goes to him and informs him that he is not welcome on the station. A physical altercation begins between the two and, after being separated by Commander Sisko, Odo tells the man he has 26 hours to leave DS9.

Elsewhere on the Promenade, a bored Jake Sisko approaches Quark's nephew, the only boy on the station of any species close to Jake's age, and tries to make friends. The Ferengi is standoffish at first, but grudgingly shares his name, Nog. Jake smiles, seeing the beginnings of a friendship.

In Sisko's office, Odo explains his actions: the man's name is Ibudan, who used to live on the station during the Occupation, smuggling medical supplies and other black market goods to the planet. Some Bajorans considered him a hero, but Odo saw him as nothing but a ruthless profiteer - he once let a young Bajoran girl die, when her parents couldn't afford his asking price for the drug that would have saved her life. A few years ago, Odo arrested Ibudan for killing a Cardassian officer who wanted a bribe to look the other way, and he went to prison for murder. Now, the Provisional Government has granted him amnesty, since "killing a Cardassian isn't considered much of a crime nowadays." Sisko agrees Ibudan is undesirable, but doesn't see what they can do when he hasn't recently broken any laws. Odo vows to get him off the station, one way or another.

That evening, Ibudan is enjoying a massage in a holosuite, when a gloved hand pushes the holographic masseuse away, then plunges a knife into Ibudan's back.

Act Two
Sisko, Bashir, Odo, and Kira are in the deactivated holosuite, looking at Ibudan's dead body. Odo reports that, according to the security logs, the holosuite's door was locked, and only opened twice - once to admit Ibudan, and once more, presumably to let his killer exit. There is also no evidence of a transporter being used within the suite. Sisko orders Bashir to sweep the suite for DNA evidence to identify all persons who have been inside the suite. Sisko orders Kira to inform all docked ships that their departures will be delayed as the crime is investigated.

Jake and Nog play a practical joke on the Promenade, releasing some Garanian bolites that infect a dining couple that who harmlessly turn alternately blue, green, and yellow for a short time. A security officer catches the boys before they can run and marches them to the security office, while Keiko looks on disapprovingly.

In Ops, Sisko and Kira receive Zayra, a Bajoran businessman from the Promenade, who confides that Ibudan talked to him shortly before his death, and confided fears that Odo was going to murder him. Kira quickly discounts the accusation, but Zayra remains suspicious.

Odo investigates Ibudan's berth on the Bajoran freighter he arrived on. According to the ship's manifest, he was alone, but booked a room with two bunk beds. The ship's officer assumed he simply wanted the extra room. Examining Ibudan's computer terminal, Odo finds an appointment book, stating that Ibudan had a meeting with Odo scheduled for the time he was murdered.

Keiko talks to Sisko in his quarters, with Jake present. She lobbys to open a school aboard the station, as there are about a dozen children of school-age there. Sisko is more than happy to provide her with an empty room and some computer equipment - the only question is how many other parents aboard the station will accept her as a teacher. After Keiko departs, Sisko starts to read Jake the riot act, warning him to stay away from Nog, but Jake ducks into his room.

Bashir reports that only five persons' DNA can be found in the holosuite: Ibudan's, and the four officers who were in there after he was murdered. Kira is baffled: Ibudan entered the room alone, and the door stayed locked until his killer exited - which is impossible. Odo grimly says that the only explanation is that the killer was a shapeshifter like himself, who could enter the room through the cracks in the door.

Act Three
Odo says that if he is being framed, it is a very "neat package": only a shapeshifter could have entered the holosuite in order to murder Ibudan, Ibudan's calendar said he was going to meet with Odo at the time he was murdered, and Odo's DNA left inside the holosuite would be explained by his subsequent presence while investigating the scene of the crime. Kira asks him if he has an alibi, and Odo confesses that he has to regenerate every 18 hours, and was shapeless in a pail in the back of his office when the murder occurred - so the answer is no. He asks Kira to instruct Bashir to do a sweep of Ibudan's quarters aboard the freighter.

Quark's brother, Rom, is initially hostile towards the idea of enrolling Nog in a Federation-run school, saying that a traditional Ferengi education is designed to teach young Ferengi the cutthroat skills needed to thrive in commerce. Keiko does a clever sell job, convincing Rom that she can teach his son those virtues, and more: learning commerce from the perspective of other cultures - his son's future customers - will be a huge advantage. Rom appears thoughtful, and Keiko leaves him to mull it over.

In another corner of the bar, Zayra and several other Bajorans are questioning Odo's innocence; after all, he is the purest form of alien, and all they really know of him is that he worked on the station when the Cardassians occupied Bajor. Quark, overhearing, cuts in and defends Odo: no one knows (and loathes) Odo better than Quark does, and whatever else he is, Odo was not a collaborator and is no murderer.

Nevertheless, Zayra returns to Ops with a group of Bajorans for support, to confront Sisko with their suspicions. To avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, Sisko reluctantly relieves Odo of his duties, temporarily.

In the infirmary, Bashir reports to Odo that he has found the destroyed remains of a biological sample container in Ibudan's quarters. It appears that Ibudan was conducting some kind of medical experiment, but Odo says Ibudan wasn't a scientist or doctor. Bashir finds a small biological sample in the remains of the container, and, when he puts it into a solution to culture it, its cells begin dividing rapidly.

Odo is summoned to Ops, where Sisko reluctantly tells him that he's relieving him of duty. He assures Odo that he doesn't believe the Bajorans' suspicions, but Odo sardonically replies that, with all the evidence mounted against Odo, Sisko would be inhuman if a small part of him didn't think Odo might be guilty.

Act Four
Odo returns to his office and finds it vandalized: his datapads are littered all over the floor, his monitors have been smashed, and the word "SHIFTER" spray-painted across the wall. As he starts to clear up, Quark happens by and offers to find out who did it. Chafing at the idea of asking the Ferengi for help, Odo declines. Then he asks Quark if he'd be interested in Odo working for him, since it looks like Odo will be out of a job soon. Quark is briefly enthralled by the idea of having a shapeshifter to use in his various dealings, before he realizes Odo is joking with him. As he leaves the office, Quark mentions that he's been making some enquiries about Ibudan; but he doesn't seem to have made any enemies in prison (who might be suspects in his murder) as he spent most of his time hanging around the Bajoran dissidents jailed by the Cardassians for various non-criminal acts.

In the Infirmary, Bashir and Dax show Sisko the sample from Ibudan's container, which has been growing exponentially and is now a large, flesh-colored blob. Both Bashir and Dax are sure it is a vital clue, but cannot yet say what it is. Sisko invites Dax to lunch, and Bashir, mistakenly thinking he is being invited as well, accepts. To diffuse the awkward moment, Dax begs off, leaving Sisko and Bashir to go by themselves.

Over lunch, Bashir admits that he is attracted to Dax, but does not want to step on Sisko's toes, since Sisko has known "her" far longer. Sisko explains to the doctor that in all the previous years he knew Dax, the Trill was his male mentor and friend, Curzon. Therefore, Sisko assures Bashir, he is not interested in Dax romantically and the young doctor is free to choose to pursue Dax in that manner. Sisko and Bashir then witness Odo rejected by the customers at Quark's who refuse to drink with, or even near, the being they believe guilty of killing Ibudan.

Act Five
Miles is helping Keiko to set up her new schoolhouse, and has replicated an old-fashioned schoolhouse bell. Molly, from her father's arms, says that she wishes she could attend her mother's school, and Keiko wryly responds that she does too - at least that way she would know someone would show up. They are interrupted by the sound of an angry mob on their way to Odo's office screaming that he is a murderer and a freak. O'Brien signals Ops to have them send security to assist Odo and requests Commander Sisko's presence to handle the mob.

The mob assembles outside Odo's office, trapping him inside and yelling for his head. Sisko plants himself in front of the door and defends the Constable, telling the Bajorans not to condemn a man just because he happens to be different from them. Zayra and others begin yelling about the evidence against Odo, when Bashir and Dax appear, announcing that they have a breakthrough in the case: the murder victim was not Ibudan. This pronouncement stuns everyone there, including Odo, and they lead Sisko and Odo to the infirmary, while Kira and O'Brien tell the crowd to disperse.

In the infirmary, Ibudan's "blob" has grown into a man-sized humanoid; the man who was murdered was Ibudan's clone, that Ibudan created himself, to kill and frame Odo (as Odo later finds out, one of the dissidents Ibudan associated with in prison was a Bajoran geneticist jailed for conducting cloning experiments). Bashir and Dax have already checked the victim's DNA and found the signature gene sequence degradation that identifies him as a clone. The second clone will gain consciousness in a few hours and be a more-or-less exact copy of Ibudan, though hopefully not psychologically.

Now Odo concentrates on finding Ibudan, who turns out to be masquerading as an elderly Bajoran man who arrived a short time ago on a ship. Odo captures him as he boards the ship for departure from the station, pulling off his mask and informing him that killing his own clone still makes him guilty of murder.


 * "Commander's log, stardate 46421.5. Ibudan has been turned over to the Bajoran authorities just hours after his clone gained consciousness and began a new life. The perpetrators of the mob violence have retreated into their own business. To my knowledge, Odo has received no apologies. Meanwhile, life on the station has begun to return to normal."

In her empty schoolroom, Keiko glumly checks the time. Sisko enters with Jake, and, to her surprise, Rom enters a few minutes later with Nog. Nog starts to take the desk next to Jake's, but Rom tells him to sit on the other side of the room, not wanting him to have anything to do with "that Human boy" (apparently he and Sisko are of one mind on this subject). A short time later, two other Bajoran children are escorted in by their parents, and Keiko happily introduces herself, and begins her lesson plan, with a basic introduction to Bajoran history.

Memorable Quotes
"I can't believe you're defending him, Quark. You're his worst enemy."

"I guess that's the closest thing he has in this world to a friend."
 * - Zayra and Quark, about Odo

"Business is good, Quark. You're almost making an honest living."
 * - Odo

"Killing a Cardassian isn't considered much of a crime nowadays."
 * - Odo

"How do you get a rope around the neck of a shapeshifter?"
 * - Zayra

"Little lady, little lady. What would you know about Ferengi education?"
 * - Rom, to Keiko O'Brien

"I know for a fact, that when she was a he... you know? Before she had this new body, they were old friends."

"Things change."
 * - Quark and Odo, on Benjamin Sisko and Jadzia Dax's relationship

"The man we have in charge of a murder investigation is the prime suspect, Major. Those people have a right to complain."
 * - Sisko, on the Bajoran hostility towards Odo

"Do not condemn this man because he is different from you!"
 * - Benjamin Sisko, about Odo, to the Bajoran mob

"Benjamin, steamed azna would add years onto your life."

"Dax, I don't want to add years onto my life if I can only eat steamed azna. Sautéed... rolloped, fricasseed, fine! But not steamed!"
 * - Jadzia Dax and Benjamin Sisko

"I don't want you on this station."

"Well, that's too bad because I have every right to be here!"

"I decide who has the rights and who doesn't on this station!"
 * - Odo and Ibudan

"You've... never coupled?"

"Choose not to. Too many compromises. You want to watch the karo-net tournament, she wants to listen to music – so you compromise: you listen to music. You like Earth Jazz, she prefers Klingon Opera – so you compromise: you listen to Klingon Opera. So here you were, ready to have a nice night watching the karo-net match and you wind up spending an agonizing evening listening to Klingon Opera."
 * - Quark and Odo

"Killing your own clone is still murder."
 * - Odo

"Commander, laws change depending on who's making them. Cardassian one day, Federation the next.  But justice is justice."
 * - Odo

"Freak! Shapeshifting freak!"
 * - Zayra, along with a Bajoran mob at Odo

Story and script

 * Gerald Sanford commented "I thought it might be an interesting show to have someone accuse Odo of being a Nazi of the Cardassians who had murdered people. He's accused of this, although we find out later it's not true". (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages, p 42)
 * "A Man Alone" provides some expository information, being the first episode filmed after "Emissary". Information on the Trill, Sisko's relationship with Curzon Dax, and the fact that Rom is Nog's father are all revealed. Jake and Nog meet for the first time and Keiko and Molly O'Brien make their first appearances in the series, with Keiko establishing the school on the station. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p 19)
 * The scene with the Garanian bolites was originally to have been part of "Emissary", but was removed during Michael Piller's rewrites. (The Making of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
 * The character of Zayra was named after Zayra Cabot, Jeri Taylor's assistant. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)

Production

 * This was the first regular episode of the series to be made, but was chosen to be broadcast first. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)

Reception

 * Ira Steven Behr commented "I always thought the ending of "A Man Alone" was weak, with the Mission: Impossible-like taking off of the mask. There are things I find weak about some of these shows that have nothing to do with the writing. Many of the shows at the beginning of the season lacked pacing. I liked what we tried to do with the character of Zayra, which is show a character that would be a problem for us to face on a semirecurring basis. That never really worked out. Plus we never brought him back either". (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages, p 42)
 * Michael Piller commented ""A Man Alone" is a very soft episode and a soft character show with some serious conflicts in it, and it's a wonderful show that defines our characters in ways that weren't in the pilot". (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages, p 43)
 * Paul Lynch commented "It was the first chance to see Armin and Rene work together as a wonderful team and it was quite a compelling story". (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages, p 43)

Trivia

 * Keiko and Molly O'Brien make their first appearances on DS9 in this episode.
 * Keiko opens the Deep Space 9 school in this episode. It would remain open until the third season episode, where it would be closed due to a lack of students.
 * Nog's friendship with Jake Sisko is also established in this episode, however, during this show, and in several subsequent shows, Sisko openly opposes their friendship, and actively tries to end it. It would not be until the third season episode that Sisko comes to truly accept the bond Jake and Nog have.
 * While investigating Ibudan's death, Odo views his schedule, which contains an in-joke: it shows that he traveled from Alderaan Spaceport. Alderaan is of course the planet destroyed by the Death Star in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
 * In the same scene it is established that the murder occured on 46384, a Stardate which is curiously earlier than the last log entry of the pilot (the last log entry of that episode was on Stardate 46393.1).
 * The future Deep Space Nine sub-plot involving conflicts over jurisdiction in regards to security personnel on the station is first hinted at in this episode. This conflict would be seen most clearly in the first season episode, where Odo clashes with Lieutenant Primmin, and the third season episode, , where he clashes with Lieutenant Commander Eddington. On both occasions, Odo offers his resignation to Sisko, and on both occasions, Sisko refuses to accept it.
 * Though Rom first appeared in the pilot episode,, this is the first episode in which he is given a name and established as Nog's father. (In , he is credited as "Ferengi Pit Boss", and Quark refers to Nog as "my brother's boy"). In this episode, Max Grodénchik has not yet adopted Rom's trademark voice or mannerisms.
 * Max Grodénchik, as Rom, says "Human" rather than the Ferengi pronunciation "hew-mon" twice in this episode. Grodénchik did the same thing as Sovak in.
 * In this, his second appearance on the series, Aron Eisenberg (Nog) is atypically credited as Aron Eisenerg.

Video and DVD releases

 * UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 2,.
 * 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
 * Cirroc Lofton as Jake Sisko
 * Colm Meaney as Chief Miles O'Brien
 * Armin Shimerman as Quark
 * Nana Visitor as Major Kira Nerys

Guest Stars

 * Rosalind Chao as Keiko O'Brien
 * Edward Laurence Albert as Zayra
 * Max Grodénchik as Rom
 * Peter Vogt as Bajoran man
 * Aron Eisenerg as Nog
 * Stephen James Carver as
 * Ibudan
 * Ibudan's first clone
 * Tom Klunis as Lamonay S.

Co-Stars

 * Scott Trost as a Bajoran Officer
 * Patrick Cupo as a Bajoran Man
 * Kathryn Graf as a Bajoran Woman
 * Hana Hatae as Molly O'Brien
 * Diana Cignoni as a Dabo Girl
 * Judi Durand as Computer voice

Uncredited Co-Stars

 * Scott Barry as a Bajoran officer
 * Robert Coffee as a Bajoran civilian
 * Jeannie Dreams as an operations division ensign
 * Grace Harrell as holographic alien masseuse
 * David B. Levinson as Broik
 * Vincent Mazzella, Jr. as a Bajoran
 * Kim Meredith (unconfirmed)
 * Tom Morga as a Bajoran
 * Robin Morselli as a Bajoran officer
 * Tyana Parr as a Human DS9 resident
 * Mic Rodgers as a Bajoran security deputy
 * Mark Allen Shepherd as
 * Human DS9 resident
 * Morn
 * Michael Zurich as a Bajoran security deputy
 * Unknown performers as
 * Alien dabo girl
 * Alien with pig-like nose
 * Bajoran boy
 * Bajoran girl
 * Bajoran nurse
 * Bajoran starship computer voice
 * Command division ensign
 * Four Starfleet security officers
 * Operations division ensign
 * Peliar Zel native

Okudagram references
Ahern; Alderaan Spaceport; Denebian slime devil; dinner; Excalbian; Gocke; holodeck; Horta; lifeboat; lunch; Moudakis; Neural parasite; Ornithoid lifeform; Quark's Place; Regulan bloodworm; Santina, Della; subspace teleconference; tennis; Transit Aid; Tribble; Zarro