I hear quark had only 14 customers all day. And hell have even less tomorrow. Ive been talking with people all over the station and support for our cause is growing. Quark will have to settle either that or go out of business. Quark can be awful stubborn. Hed rather lose the bar than give in to us. Dont be such a pessimist. Remember rule of acquisition 263 never allow doubt to tarnish your lust for latinum. Your brother can quote rules of acquisition too. I believe his favorite is 211 employees are the rungs on the ladder of success. Dont hesitate to step on them. My exbrother wasnt quoting hmm. What did he say . He offered me a bribe ifi would end the strike. Did you take it . No dont you see what that means . Hes getting desperate. A few more days and well get everything we want. electrical humming brunt. F. C. A. Its not my fault they made me do it it was all his idea forgive me if this was ferenginar. Id have you all taken to the spire of the tower of commerce displayed to the crowds in the great marketplace below and then shoved off. One by one small children would bet on where you would land and your spattered remains would be sold spare me. Im old. Im fragile. coughs ill push the rest of them off myself. I thought you said you werent afraid of the f. C. A. I lied. Dont let him intimidate you. Were not on ferenginar. Lucky for you. But the f. C. A. Understands that living on this station has. Ccorrupted you. Youve been tempted by unwholesome bajoran ideals exposed to the twisted values of the federation, and because of that we are willing to forgive. Really . But dont confuse our mercy with weakness. If you are not back at your jobs tomorrow morning your financial accounts on ferenginar will be confiscated, your families will be fined reduced to utter destitution. Am i. Understood . Good. I thought so. Dont bother getting up. Let him stay there. Thats where he belongs. The question is where dowebelong . On our knees. Like frool . Or standing tall like sean obrien . Whos sean obrien . He was a union man a man who gave his life to earn a decent wage for his fellow workers. Inar accounts . If your accounts on ferenginar were worth anything you wouldnte working as a waiter. Im telling you nothing has changed. Victory is within our grasp. All we have to do is take it. Now are you with me . Yes i said are you with me . All yes then lets get back on that picket line and show quark what were made of. all cheering right now no slouching. Remember. So be strong. Chief, may i speak with you . Sure. Whats on your mind . I feel i owe you an apology. I allowed our argument in quarks to get out of hand. There was plenty of blame to spread around. Nonetheless, weare starfleet officers and starfleet officers do not brawl with each other. It wasnt much of a brawl, really. I grabbed you, you shoved me and julian was tossed over a table. Well, it never should have happened and under normal circumstances it never would have, but theres something about this station i find. Unsettling. Youll get used to it. Perhaps. In the meantime, ive found a solution. Im going to move my quarters to thedefiant. Youre going to live on thedefiant . Ive already discussed it with captain sisko. And he said yes . As long as it doesnt interfere with my duties. I know. That was pretty impressive standing up to brunt the way you did. Whod have thought i had such natural leadership skills . I knew it all along. Really . No. I didnt think so. Well, you surprised a lot of people including me. Ive got to get ready. Im having dinner with julian. Hes a lucky man. Psst rom. She kissed me. Theres no accounting for taste. Rom, we have to talk. Of course not. Then theres nothing to talk about. Theres plenty to talk about. The f. C. A. s involved now. And those nausicaans working for brunt arent just for show. Im not going to let brunt intimidate me. Dont you see, rom . You should be intimidated. Theres no telling what brunt might do and i dont want you to get hurt. You never cared what happened to me before. I always cared about you. I tried to protect you. I was trying to make you a better ferengi. What you were trying to do was make yourself feel important. Making me feel dumb made you feel smart. But im not dumb and youre not half as smart as you think you are. Rom, you have to listen to me. The f. C. A. Doesnt have to answer to anyone. And if brunt decides to get rid of you look at it this way. If brunt gets rid ofme then all your problems are solved. You always said you wanted to be an only child. Doesnt that hurt . Im sure it does. Speaking of pain. Did you talk to your brother . We talked. I need more time. Time, like latinum, is a highly limited commodity. Look, youre here to help me, right . Wrong. Im here to enforce ferengi law and to protect ferengi tradition and that means putting an end to this strike. Well, i can see an example of someone. What kind of example . Oh, im sure that well come up with something that will get peoples attention. I. Dont want my brother hurt. Oh, i wasnt thinking of him. Attack the leader of a movement you risk creating a martyr. No, rom must not be touched. Our target must be someone. Someone he cares about. Like that dabo girl. Leeta. But shes not even ferengi. I know. Thats what makes it so memorable. But she has such. Delicate lobes. Im afraid i couldnt bring myself to give the order. No, lets see. Who else. Boys . Me . But im on your side. Ironic. I thought i wasnt allowed to have any visitors. Dr. Bashir made an exception. He said you were almost killed. Its nothing to smile about. Those nausicaans shattered my left eye socket broke two of my ascending ribs and punctured my lower lung. . Of course, it hurts. Too bad. If youre going to stand there and gloat you can leave right now. Im not done gloating. Dont you get it . This was a message for you. Well, its not going to work. gasping i wish brunt had known that. Odo has him and the nausicaans in a holding cell. He says its an openandshut case. Its an openandshut case all right but im not going to press charges of course not. Im in enough trouble with the f. C. A. As it is. But then odo will have to let them go. Either way, the f. C. A. Will just send another liquidator and that onewillmake an example of you. Then youll be the one gloating. I dont want to gloat. I want to end the strike. So, give us what we want. Rom, i cant im not going against 10,000 years of ferengi tradition. Of course, im afraid of the f. C. A. They crushed my eye socket. And if you had any sense, youd be afraid of them too. If this strike doesnt get settled soon were both going to find ourselves tossed out of the nearest airlock. Youhaveto dissolve the union. exhales sharply at least officially. O you mean . I mean. I mean you dissolve the union make it look like i won and ill give you everything you want. Youll meet our demands . Thats what i just said, you idiot. Even sick leave . Even sick leave. And six months from now youll get your raises. Six months its the best i can do no. All you have to do is make up one of your fake business ledgers. Theyll never know the difference. Shh all right. Youll get your raises by the end of the week but the union dies here. Today. And thats my final offer. Better . Much. I thought about getting you a plant but somehow it didnt seem right. A wise decision. Its a collection of my favorite klingon operas. Think about it. You can lie in bed and pipe them through thedefiantscom system and play them as loud as you like. A thoughtful gift. You know, worf in the end, living on thedefiant isnt going to change anything. Youre still going to have to get used to life on the station. Sooner or later, youre going to have to adapt. Perhaps in the end itll be all of you that have to adapt to me. Come in come in welcome back why dont you try your luck the dabo wheel remember every bajoran gets one free spin. Youre in a good mood. I just got a raise i must say you are looking particularly cleansed today. Just get me two mugs of synthele a double order of hasperat, and, uh. Hold the conversation . No wonder i missed you. Ah rom, there you are. Why arent you in your waiters uniform . Ill have a large snail juice, please straight up. You know theres no drinking on the job. Dont talk to a customer like that. Not anymore. Ive wiped my last table and mixed my last black hole. Starting today, im one of the stations diagnostic and repair technicians, junior grade. Night shift. Youre quitting . Effective immediately. I gave you everything you wanted. Dont worry. Ill keep your holosuites running and fix your replicators when theyre broken. Thisll be good for our relationship. I dont. Think about it. If i keep working for you all i have to look forward to is waiting for you to die so i can inherit the bar. Well, i dont want you to die. And besides, i deserve to have a life of my own now. But without me looking after you. I suppose you will. Ill miss you. No, you wont. Ill be here all the time, only ill be a paying customer. Now, get me my snail juice. brother. [captioning sponsored by the u. S. Department of education and paramount television 60s beach rock blaring tools clanking clanking blows horn twice what do you think youre doing, doc . Did i pass . With flying colors which leads me to believe you did hear me when i requested you meet me this morning. embarrassed chuckle youre right. I forgot. I see. I realize your sick bay training is voluntary but you havent spent any time there in several weeks and when i. Try to find you, youre always in the holodeck. Correct me if im wrong, but we havent treated anything more serious than an ingrown toenail. Thats beside the point. You must be prepared. Youre too far behind in your medical texts to waste your time in the holodeck if its any consolation i have spent most of the morning immersed in a complicated surgical procedure. Really . A classic case of atrophied shocks. They needed to be extracted to prevent chrome abrasion. It was touch and go for a while but the prognosis is excellent. Youll be ready for neurosurgery in no time. Take a look at this, doc. One of the earliest muscle cars ever made. Imagine Northern California late 20th century. Youre cruising up highway 1. The woofers are pounding. The wind is whipping through your hair. Medieval safety constraints internal combustion system producing lethal levels of carbon monoxide. This may be just what you need to get you back to sick bay. I should have known this wouldnt interest you. Its too much fun. This isnt about fun, mr. Paris. Serving in sick bay is a privilege. Id expect you to realize that. Oh, i do. Ill be there. Soon. Janeway lieutenant paris, report to the bridge immediately. sighs im on my way. Somebody call for a driver . Take your station, tom. Anything on scan, harry . Kim im picking up another spatial distortion 2,000 kilometers away. Chakotay source . I have no idea. It looks like space is folding in on itself. One occupant aboard. Captain, it looks like that ship is being powered by a coaxial warp drive. Coaxial what . Its a hypothetical propulsion system. Starfleet engineers have been dreaming about it for years. In theory, it can literally fold the fabric of space allowing a ship to travel instantaneously across huge distances. The alien warp drive is overloading. In theory, a coaxial drive explosion. Could collapse space within a radius of a billion kilometers. In theory. Well, lets keep theory from becoming reality. Scan the vessel. Can we beam the pilot out . Too much interference. The ships about had it, captain. The coaxial core is breaching. We should vacate this area of space at once. We cant just leave him like this. Try one more hail. Nothing. Maybe hes ignoring us. Maybe hes unconscious. Weve got to do something. Janeway suggestions . A symmetric warp field. That should contain any instabilities in his space folding core. How can you be sure . Advanced subspace geometry. Its the one course at the academy where i actually paid attention. Well tractor him in to kill his momentum and generate a warp field around his ship. His flight path is erratic. Wed be risking collision. Captain, i can make this work. Passing through the residual folds in space. Steady. Got him ive extended our warp field around his vessel. His core is powering down. Nice flying, tom. My pleasure. Were finally receiving a hail. Open a channel. Captain janeway of the federation voyager. Do you need medical attention . Im fine, captain. Unfortunately, my ship is not. If you need to make repairs, we might be able to help. Thats very generous. Well beam you aboard in a few minutes. Stand by. Thanks again. Tuvok. Welcome. Captain. I know you put yourselves in danger to rescue me. I want to thank you. Im glad we could help. I was so eager to test my new engine i pushed it beyond its limits. Coaxial warp doesnt seem to be the smoothest way to travel. Its a violent procedure, but it allows a ship to travel through space at incredible speeds. Considering the dangers this method of travel hardly seems logical. Thats probably true but if i were worrying about danger t. Where are you from . The fourth planet in the benthan system. Thats about 20 light years from here. Ill speak to my engineers about helping you with repairs. Without your coaxial drive, its a long way home. door beeping come in. short exhale id like to ask you a favor. Like to help steth repair his ship. This isnt a good time to ask. What do you mean . Ive been reading a report from the doctor. You didnt show up today. Well, i was a little busy this morning. Saving someones life, as i recall. Is there something wrong, tom . Anything bothering you . Nothing is wrong. Since when is not wanting to spend time with the doctor a capital offense . Youd have to throw the whole crew in the brig for that one. Youre showing up for your shifts you do whats required but your heart doesnt seem to be in it. You seem preoccupied. Like i said, i think i need a change of pace. Youre a different man from the one that came on board four years ago. Youve taken charge of your life, turned yourself around. Id hate to see you ruin it. I wont. Permission denied. Report to steths ship instead. Assist in the repairs. We need our best man on the job. And on my way back i made the mistake of flying the prototype through restricted entaban territory. And . And, uh. Sed to see me. I limped back to the engineers on benthos with phaser holes through their brandnew exatanium fuselage. I think theyd have been happier to see phaser holes through me. both chuckle when i was 16, i followed an ancient human custom. I took my fathers shuttle out for a joyride and proceeded to fry all the relays. Im guessing he wasnt happy about getting it back. I know its still at the bottom of lake tahoe. Here it is. The coaxial induction drive. It draws in subatomic particles and reconfigures their internal geometries. This is what makes folding space possible . At least in spurts. Unfortunately particle instabilities keep overloading my engines but im going to make it work someday. Thats why i dont like the thought of settling down too many new ships to drive, too many intriguing women. Yeah. I guess so. When i get this ship back im going to be doing the first test on a new mithranclass fighter. Im told its more advanced than any warship in the quadrant. Why dont you come with me . Wed have a great time meet up with voyager afterwards. Iid love to do that. It sounds very exciting. But i have responsibilities here would be furious. Belanna. I have to go. So, you started without me. I finished without you. Youre a little late. Uh, sorry. I was helping steth repair his ship. Hows it going . Um. Pretty slow. Were stuck on how to prevent the particle overloads in his propulsion system. Have you tried an isokinetic containment field . Yeah. Thats the first thing we tried. How long do you think repairs are going to take . I dont know. Recalibrate the plasma manifolds tonight. Uh. I, uh. I probably should go help steth. Tom, is there something wrong . Why are you interrogating me . I didnt think i was. You want me to account for every minute im not with you. Thats ridiculous. Cant i have time to myself . Tom, you can do whatever you want. I wanted to know if there was something wrong. Youve been canceling dates, you hide out for hours in the holodeck. I am not hiding anything. That is ridiculous. Is it . You havent even told me what holodeck program this is that has you so fascinated. The dancing girls of ninipia prime. Its very entertaining. Very funny. Youre overreacting. I am not overreacting. And youre refusing to admit it. Good evening, lieutenants. I see you dont have dinner yet, tom. Can i get you something . Are you going to talk about this . If youre not, i dont want to sit here. If you can carry on a conversation without histrionics. Good night, tom. sighs computer, run a dna stability analysis. How long before my genome reverts to its previous form . Time to reversion three hours, 13 minutes. So i was lying in bed last night when it hit me. What you need is a carburetor. A carburetor . Yes. Its a device thats hundreds of years old. I cant believe i didnt think of it yesterday. Wait. Hundreds of years old . Surely that couldnt be of any use to us now. It all goes back to basics. You would be surprised at how often i find solutions to 24th century problems in 20th century technology. Computer, access Paris Program alpha one grease monkey. A cars engine cant run on pure fuel so the carburetor supplies it with a mixture of vaporized fuel and air. And you think we need a device like that to dilute the particle stream as it enters the coaxial drive. Exactly, and a spare polaric modulator fromvoyagersimpulse drive should do the trick. Subatomic dilution it never would have occurred to me. I think youve solved it. Well, we can run a few simulations on the holodeck before we actually try it. Oh. I owe you a lot. Ank my lucky toolbox. Its gotten me out of hot water more than once. Mmm. Youre lucky to be stationed on a ship like this. Replicators to feed and clothe you holotechnology to cater to every whim hallways filled with women. Yeah. Its great. You dont sound convinced. Arent you happy here . I mean. I pilot one of the most advanced ships in starfleet. I have a beautiful girlfriend. Im respected. I have everything that ive ever wanted. Youre lucky. Youre part of a family, part of a structure. You have rules to guide you. You dont have to worry about making a lot of choices. I usually go to bed at night not knowing what the next day has in store. What trouble i might get into. Youre very settled. I remember those days. I used to be a lot like you going anywhere. Going anywhere i felt like going. Making my own rules, living life my own way. Well, then theres hope for me yet. Maybe someday ill settle down, too sighs sometimes. I wish thats what i was doing. Thingsll turn around for you. Ive always found that change is inevitable. It comes when you least expect it. laughs yeah, i suppose. Now, are we ready to try this carburetor idea on my ship . Just give me five more minutes to finish up here and ill be right with you. Five minutes. And, tom. Dont dismiss the suggestion i made. Ly the new ship. Computer, access all files pertaining to lieutenant tom paris. Download into memory core alpha. Please enter authorization code. Access granted. Commencing download. Hello. Im steth. A guest of your captain. I have been apprised of your presence onvoyager. You are not authorized to access the ships computers. You must be seven of nine. That is correct. Tom mentioned you. Lieutenant paris opinion of me is irrelevant to your being in this room. Oh, well. Tom felt we needed some files for polaric modulators but he was called away before we could access them. I thought id find them mysel