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Civil Defense (DS9 episode)
Encyclopedia
"Civil Defense" is an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
, the seventh episode of the third season.
Quick Overview - The crew become trapped in various areas of the station when a Cardassian security program is tripped.
refinery
, Chief O'Brien
and Jake Sisko
accidentally trip an old Cardassian security program, which was set to put the station on lockdown in the event of a Bajoran uprising during the occupation.
O'Brien, Jake, and Commander Sisko
are trapped in the ore processing unit, an area of the station which was once run using Bajoran slave laborers. Failsafes in the system prevent the rest of the crew from accessing the area or beaming the trapped people out. When Jake crawls up the ore chute and tries to break out, the entire station locks down. An image of Gul Dukat
plays on all the monitors, announcing that rioting Bajorans have escaped. Poisonous gas is released into the ore processing unit.
In Ops, Major Kira
, Dr. Bashir
, and Dax
have been locked in to prevent presumed homicidal Bajoran workers from storming the station's control center. Odo is dismayed to find himself locked in his security office with Quark
.
As the crew works to lift the lockdown program, another failsafe is tripped. The Dukat program on the monitors warns the crew that the whole habitat ring will soon be flooded with poisonous gas. The crew members in Ops are surprised to see Garak
wander in. As a Cardassian, his access codes allow him to travel around the station during the lockdown, which was meant only to contain Bajoran workers, not their Cardassian overlords.
He advises the crew to shut off the life support system, which will prevent the release of the poison gas. Unfortunately, this will also leave them only twelve hours to resolve their situation before the oxygen runs out. He discovers he is wrong about that when the Dukat program announces that the station will self-destruct in two hours. When Garak tries to hack into the computer using Gul Dukat's identity, yet another failsafe locks him out and activates an array of weapons in Ops that shoot random blasts of phaser fire. The crew dives for cover.
Suddenly, they receive a visitor. It's the real Gul Dukat, who arrives in Ops after having received notification that the system had been tripped. He teases the hapless crew about their predicament, sauntering safely around Ops because the phaser fire is programmed to target non-Cardassians (even Garak is safe, although Dukat angrily points out that he would have made an exception if Garak had been on the station when Dukat designed this program). After deactivating the weapons in Ops, he attempts to use his leverage to get Major Kira to agree to having a Cardassian garrison
placed on the station, but she refuses. While attempting to return to his ship, Dukat's delight is short-lived when a new program pops up onto the monitors. It is Legate Kell, Dukat's former commanding officer, who has left this recording in case Dukat tried to abandon the station during a worker revolt. Kell's voice angrily reminds Dukat that all of his access codes have been eliminated and that he must now "contemplate the depth of [his] disgrace...and try to die like a Cardassian." Now, no one - not even Dukat - will be allowed to leave the area before the self-destruct....
In the ore processing unit, O'Brien and the Siskos have managed to blast their way out by blowing up leftover ore. From Ops, Dax manages to shut down the force fields set up in all the station's halls. With ten minutes left, Sisko makes his way to the computer that controls the station's shielding, and fortifies the shields just enough to absorb the energy of the station's self-destruct system, saving the station.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
, the seventh episode of the third season.
Quick Overview - The crew become trapped in various areas of the station when a Cardassian security program is tripped.
Plot
While converting the station's old ore processing unit into a deuteriumDeuterium
Deuterium, also called heavy hydrogen, is one of two stable isotopes of hydrogen. It has a natural abundance in Earth's oceans of about one atom in of hydrogen . Deuterium accounts for approximately 0.0156% of all naturally occurring hydrogen in Earth's oceans, while the most common isotope ...
refinery
Refinery
A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value.-Types of refineries:Different types of refineries are as follows:...
, Chief O'Brien
Miles O'Brien (Star Trek)
Miles Edward O'Brien, played by Colm Meaney, is Chief of Operations in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Before DS9, he appeared as a recurring transporter chief in Star Trek: The Next Generation...
and Jake Sisko
Jake Sisko
Jacob "Jake" Sisko, played by Cirroc Lofton, is a character on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He is the son of Deep Space Nine's commanding officer, Benjamin Sisko.-Overview:...
accidentally trip an old Cardassian security program, which was set to put the station on lockdown in the event of a Bajoran uprising during the occupation.
O'Brien, Jake, and Commander Sisko
Benjamin Sisko
Benjamin Lafayette Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, is the main character of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Early life and career:...
are trapped in the ore processing unit, an area of the station which was once run using Bajoran slave laborers. Failsafes in the system prevent the rest of the crew from accessing the area or beaming the trapped people out. When Jake crawls up the ore chute and tries to break out, the entire station locks down. An image of Gul Dukat
Dukat (Star Trek)
Gul Dukat is the main antagonist of the fictional television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He is a member of the fictional Cardassian species, and leader in the Cardassian Union. At times he is an enemy, whilst at others an ally of the series' protagonist Benjamin Sisko. He was played by actor...
plays on all the monitors, announcing that rioting Bajorans have escaped. Poisonous gas is released into the ore processing unit.
In Ops, Major Kira
Kira Nerys
Kira Nerys , played by Nana Visitor, is a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Backstory:Per Bajoran custom, her family name, Kira, precedes her given name, Nerys. She has two brothers , and her parents' names are Kira Taban and Kira Meru...
, Dr. Bashir
Julian Bashir
Lieutenant Julian Subatoi Bashir, M.D., played by Alexander Siddig, is a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Bashir is the chief medical officer of space station Deep Space Nine and the USS Defiant.-Overview:...
, and Dax
Jadzia Dax
Jadzia Dax , played by Terry Farrell, was a main character during the first six seasons of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine....
have been locked in to prevent presumed homicidal Bajoran workers from storming the station's control center. Odo is dismayed to find himself locked in his security office with Quark
Quark (Star Trek)
Quark is a fictional character in the American television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The character, which was played by Armin Shimerman, was depicted as a member of an extraterrestrial race known as the Ferengi, who are stereotypically ultra-capitalist and only motivated by...
.
As the crew works to lift the lockdown program, another failsafe is tripped. The Dukat program on the monitors warns the crew that the whole habitat ring will soon be flooded with poisonous gas. The crew members in Ops are surprised to see Garak
Elim Garak
Elim Garak is a fictional character from the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, in which he is portrayed by Andrew J. Robinson. In the series, Garak is an exiled spy from the Cardassian empire and a former member of a prestigious Cardassian intelligence group called the Obsidian Order...
wander in. As a Cardassian, his access codes allow him to travel around the station during the lockdown, which was meant only to contain Bajoran workers, not their Cardassian overlords.
He advises the crew to shut off the life support system, which will prevent the release of the poison gas. Unfortunately, this will also leave them only twelve hours to resolve their situation before the oxygen runs out. He discovers he is wrong about that when the Dukat program announces that the station will self-destruct in two hours. When Garak tries to hack into the computer using Gul Dukat's identity, yet another failsafe locks him out and activates an array of weapons in Ops that shoot random blasts of phaser fire. The crew dives for cover.
Suddenly, they receive a visitor. It's the real Gul Dukat, who arrives in Ops after having received notification that the system had been tripped. He teases the hapless crew about their predicament, sauntering safely around Ops because the phaser fire is programmed to target non-Cardassians (even Garak is safe, although Dukat angrily points out that he would have made an exception if Garak had been on the station when Dukat designed this program). After deactivating the weapons in Ops, he attempts to use his leverage to get Major Kira to agree to having a Cardassian garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
placed on the station, but she refuses. While attempting to return to his ship, Dukat's delight is short-lived when a new program pops up onto the monitors. It is Legate Kell, Dukat's former commanding officer, who has left this recording in case Dukat tried to abandon the station during a worker revolt. Kell's voice angrily reminds Dukat that all of his access codes have been eliminated and that he must now "contemplate the depth of [his] disgrace...and try to die like a Cardassian." Now, no one - not even Dukat - will be allowed to leave the area before the self-destruct....
In the ore processing unit, O'Brien and the Siskos have managed to blast their way out by blowing up leftover ore. From Ops, Dax manages to shut down the force fields set up in all the station's halls. With ten minutes left, Sisko makes his way to the computer that controls the station's shielding, and fortifies the shields just enough to absorb the energy of the station's self-destruct system, saving the station.
Arc significance
- The animosity between Garak and Dukat (first hinted at in "Cardassians") gets more backstory. It seems that Garak was at least partially responsible for the death of Dukat's father.