Civil Defense

DVD, DS9 S3 (Civil Defense)

The idea was to do something in which events continue to escalate, action-film style, except set on the station, but I don't think it was completely successful in this thanks to the more traditional technobabble that takes over a bit towards the end and the lack of grubbiness when the Siskos and O'Brien are down in the ore processing room crawling through dusty old tubes. Still, it was a refreshing change from exterior threats and space travel, a confined, claustrophobic tale, a bit like S2's 'Invasive Procedures' except there are still lots of people aboard in this case. This appears to contradict recent episodes that have noted how many people have left the station thanks to the trouble with the Dominion, but I think it was Dukat who said that there were 2000 people so he may not know the station's complement has lessened of late.

In Dukat's first Season 3 outing he gets to be at his most smug and condescending: the best moment is Dukat swanning into Ops to 'save the day' then finding things turn around on him and he's trapped too. He loves being the 'white knight' and you begin to see the deluded tendencies he'd later become famous for - he thinks he can playfully use the situation to impress Kira or strike a bargain that would give Cardassians a foot in the door of Bajor again. He doesn't acknowledge or recognise the bitter hatred the Bajorans had for him and his people or he wouldn't have even considered suggesting a garrison of his troops could have a permanent presence on the station! The arrogance of the man is astounding. Even in his security warnings recorded years earlier he displays his desire for peace and talks to the Bajoran workers as a king might to some errant subjects. He wants to show mercy in keeping with his image of a caring, but wronged leader - even then he was blinded by his own ego and sense of importance. All of this doesn't really get revealed until later episodes, but when you know him from those these subtle (or not so subtle) character traits rise to the surface visibly.

Typically for someone who's completely confident in himself, he doesn't lose his cool when events turn against him, but retains the assuredness that he'll conquer the situation, perhaps a sign that he always had a streak of madness in him. He gets to play both villain and a part of the heroes group by virtue of necessity. He even shows how easy it would be for him to return to his old job on the station by the comfortable manner in which he enters his former office, flicking Sisko's baseball off the table, perhaps the first indication of the symbolic nature the writer's used it for: the baseball drops powerlessly to the floor with the flick of a Cardassian finger, while Sisko is also below his usual position, powerless below. If only the episode hadn't ended so abruptly - it would have been fun to see how Dukat extricated himself from the station - as diplomatically as possible I expect, and quickly before Sisko came back to Ops!

At first I wondered why they didn't beam to the Defiant, but it's made clear that the transporters aren't functioning. There's still no appearance from Eddington as if his role was only to be a pawn in the dream sequence the Founders made them live through. Odo is fully back in his job with seemingly no worries, except for Quark who thinks the safest place to be is with Odo. The Constable calls him the most devious Ferengi he's ever known, and Quark later returns the compliment in a back-handed way by saying he's an honourable man, and his integrity will get them both killed. At the end Odo gets to retract the accolade saying the Grand Nagus, Quark's Uncle Frin (who has thirty bars - I'm guessing that's bar establishments, not bars of latinum!), his Cousin Gaila (yes, the one with the moon - he'd be heard of again), a DaiMon someone-or-other (one of the only times the Ferengi Captain term is used on this series, I believe), and even brother Rom are more devious than he!

While these small, compartmentalised stories take place in Ops and Security, the Siskos and O'Brien have the tough assignment down in the bowels of the station, untouched since before the Cardassians left. We've seen some of this area before, but only the Mirror version in 'Crossover' in which ore processing was still perpetuated. Jake gets to be a hero for a change, saving both the Chief's and his Father's lives. I know just how Sisko feels fiddling about with the computer with mere seconds to spare - I get that feeling just before I'm about to be called down for dinner and I'm trying to finish something on the computer!

Garak and Dukat's enmity gets form when we hear Garak brought Dukat's father to trial, and Dukat tried to kill Garak. The tailor wears his new suit for the first (real) time (after his dream appearance in search), and the ugly belt Odo began to wear towards the end of Season 2 is dispensed with. Apart from these piecemeal character details not a lot develops in the episode, but that doesn't matter, because it's necessary for the spice of life to have a standalone tale once in a while and you can't get much more standalone than a stationwide shutdown.

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