Progress

Nog and Jake are playing are card game as Quark decends the staircase in his establishment while complaining to one of his employees about 5, 000 wrappages of yamok sauce. With a tingling in the lobes, Nog perks up but Jake is unsure…

Meanwhile in Ops, via a station log, we learn that Bajor is about to begin a large scale energy transfer from it’s fifth moon – Jeraddo. A nervous bureaucrat hovers over O’Brien, Kira, Dax and Sisko. And after several questions about the capability of the Starfleet team, Kira and Dax leaves to make a final inspection of the moon – before the atmosphere becomes very toxic.

On the runabout, Dax tells Kira about Morn’s abrupt advances but is interrupted by life sign readings… so Kira decides to beam down to a beautiful parcel of land, as she steps towards a dwelling she is acosted by two workers. Mullibok, the owner, exits from the dwelling and the two workers – Baltrim and Keena – stand aside. After a few tense moments where Mullibok sizes Kira up… he invites her in for a meal.

Back on the station, Jake and Nog approach a Lissepian captain… they offer to sell him the wrappages of yamok sauce for five bars of latinum. Unfortunatley, the captain doesn’t have any latinum, so Nog loses interest… but now it’s Jake turn, they agree to trade for 100 gross of self sealing stem bolts.

On Jeraddo Kira and Mullibok learn more about each other over dinner, eventually they come to talk about the occupation. Kira admitting that they beat the Cardassians by hanging on like fanatics… and Mullibok draws parrallels to his plight. Even though the atmosphere is going to become unbreathable, Mullibok refuses to leave and so Kira leaves with the dubious knowledge she won’t be able to change his mind.

In a cargo bay back on the station, Jake and Nog look over their acquisition of self sealing stem bolts when O’Brien enters and the boys tell him that these are Quarks… O’Brien insists Quark start using proper import procedures. Jake and Nog decide to offer the bolts to the original customer – the Bajoran.

In Sisko’s office, Kira explains the situation to the Minister there as well. Kira’s swings & roundabouts attitude common in the first season, not sure what she believes in, turns again and she sides with Mullibok… but accepts that she has no choice and returns to Jeraddo with two security officers.

Baltrim and Keena attack the officers, and after a brief fire fight Mullibok cops a phaser blast to the chest. Kira orders the two beige shirts to call for Doctor Bashir.

In Jake’s quarters, him and Nog work on a console while communicating with the Bajoran customer. He doesn’t have latinum, so once again Jake steps in and secures another trade – this time for land.

After tending to Mullibok, Julian returns to the station and tells Sisko that Kira refused to leave. Sisko, concerned for Nerys’ future, heads to the moon and meets with his liason officer. After an empassioned speach, where Sisko doesn’t want to break in a new liason officer… he also tells her that she is on the other side of the fence now. Sisko leaves, and Kira returns inside and tends to a sleeping Mullibok.

On the station, Odo informs Quark that the Bajorans want to build a reclimation unit on a piece of land… they have permission from three of the four owners – but don’t know where to find this “Noh-Jay Consortium.” Jake and Nog smile, they’ve turned a tidy profit after all.

On Jeraddo, Mullibok finishes building his kiln… and after some tense words with Kira she destroys it, and his home. Seeing no alternative, Mullibok finally agrees to leave.