IN THE PALE MOONLIGHT

'"In the Pale Moonlight"' (working title: ''Patriot'') is the 19th episode of the 6th season of ''.
Sick of the losses the Federation is taking in the war, Sisko enlists Garak's help in getting the Romulans to join the Federation against the Dominion. Sisko soon learns that in order to save the Federation, he must violate the values for which it stands.

Contents

Episode summary

Guest stars

References

External links

Episode summary

The episode is structured as an entry in Captain Benjamin Sisko's (Avery Brooks) log, allowing him to narrate. The captain has a lot on his mind: the war with the Dominion has been costly for the Federation and its allies; with every weekly casualty report, the number of dead climb higher. Sisko, who helped start the war, feels their deaths quite keenly.
As yet another casualty list is posted by Sisko for public viewing by the crew, he realizes that the list is likely to grow far longer; the Federation seems headed for defeat. During this posting, Sisko spontaneously decides to get the neutral Romulan Empire to join the Federation against the Dominion. To this end, Sisko enlists the help of the station's resident tailor and former Cardassian spy Elim Garak. The initial plan is to use Garak's Cardassian contacts to obtain evidence of Dominion plans to eventually conquer the Romulan Empire. Shortly after the Dominion unexpectedly conquers Betazed, Sisko checks back with Garak, who informs him that the people he contacted have all been killed.
Sisko, disappointed at the failure of his "long shot" plan, is ready to call it a day, but Garak believes that there might be another way. His new plan calls for the construction of fake holographic records, depicting Dominion leaders discussing an invasion of Romulan territory. Sisko is told that the data rod containing these records will be genuine, and the forgery indistinguishable from the real thing. Garak suggests Sisko show it to Vreenak, a Romulan senator who is the strongest advocate of remaining neutral.
To construct the holographic recording, Sisko secures the release of Grathon Tolar, an expert forger and con artist who is on Klingon Death Row. Tolar quickly proves himself as troublesome as he is skilled when he gets into an altercation with local bartender Quark, and Sisko must bribe the Ferengi to keep things quiet. Quark, amazed at the human's willingness to commit a Ferengi-like ethical breach, smugly quotes Rule of Acquisition 98 to Sisko: "Every man has his price." This, and having to use dangerous bio-memetic gel to acquire the rare data rod makes Sisko continue to question his actions.

Garak shows Sisko the recording Tolar has prepared, which includes Damar doubting the competency of the Founders' strategic abilities when Weyoun announces their plan to invade the Romulan Empire. Once the counterfeit rod is completed, Sisko informs Garak that Vreenak is on his way to DS9.
Vreenak's shuttle arrives in secret. Garak says he will sneak onto the shuttle for reconnaissance while Vreenak meets with Sisko. After enduring some insults, Sisko makes his pitch that the Dominion is planning to take over Romulus after the Federation and Klingons. Vreenak asks for proof, and receives the fake datarod. Sisko feels keenly the balance of fates he is playing with: if worst comes to worst, the Romulans may be so insulted that they ally with the ''Dominion'' instead; Sisko's actions will either save the Federation or doom it. After careful study, Vreenak confronts Sisko, his only comment being the hissed statement, "It's a fake!"
Sisko has failed. He tries to move on with his regular duties, posting another casualty list. Unexpectedly, Vreenak's shuttle is bombed as he crosses into Romulan space. Sisko confronts his first suspect, Garak, who confesses, but claims that he has in fact salvaged the mission. He explains that now the flaws in the recording will be interpreted as damage from the explosion, and thus the data rod will "prove" to the Romulans that the Dominion was plotting to attack them and they killed Vreenak to keep the secret.
In the final scene, Sisko reveals the plan worked, and the Romulans joined the Federation and the Klingons. He notes that, despite all he has done, he feels he can live with his actions, and would be willing to carry it out again should the situation call for it. He then deletes the log entry.

Guest stars

★ Andrew Robinson as Elim Garak

★ Stephen McHattie as Vreenak

★ Howard Shangraw as Grathon Tolar

★ Jeffrey Combs as Weyoun

★ Casey Biggs as Damar

References

External links

★ Episode information from STARTREK.COM

★ Episode information from Memory Alpha.

★ Episode script at st-minutiae.com