STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE
"Melora"
#40512-426
Story by
Evan Carlos Somers
Teleplay by
Evan Carlos Somers
and
Steven Baum
and
Michael Piller
and
James Crocker
Directed by
Rick Kolbe
THE WRITING CREDITS MAY NOT BE FINAL AND SHOULD NOT BE USED
FOR PUBLICITY OR ADVERTISING PURPOSES WITHOUT FIRST CHECKING
WITH THE TELEVISION LEGAL DEPARTMENT.
Copyright 1993 Paramount Pictures Corporation. All Rights
Reserved. This script is not for publication or
reproduction. No one is authorized to dispose of same. If
lost or destroyed, please notify the Script Department.
Return to Script Department FINAL DRAFT
PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORPORATION
August 26, 1993
STAR TREK: DS9 - "Melora" - 08/26/93 - CAST
STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE
"Melora"
CAST
SISKO MELORA
KIRA FALLIT KOT
ODO ASHROCK
QUARK KLINGON CHEF
BASHIR
DAX
O'BRIEN
COMPUTER VOICE
Non-Speaking Non-Speaking
N.D. SUPERNUMERARIES
STAR TREK: DS9 - "Melora" - 08/27/93 - SETS
STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE
"Melora"
SETS
INTERIORS EXTERIORS
DEEP SPACE NINE DEEP SPACE NINE
AIRLOCK
AIRLOCK CORRIDOR ORINOCO
COMMANDER'S OFFICE
CORRIDOR TO QUARTERS ORINOCO & RIO GRANDE
DOCKING RING CORRIDOR
HABITAT CORRIDOR GAMMA QUADRANT
INFIRMARY
MELORA'S QUARTERS
OPS
PROMENADE
KLINGON KIOSK
QUARK'S
QUARK'S QUARTERS
SECURITY OFFICE
RUNABOUTS
ORINOCO
RIO GRANDE
STAR TREK: DS9 - "Melora" 08/27/93 - PRONUNCIATION
STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE
"Melora"
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
ASHROCK AHSH-rok
ACETYCHOLINE ah-see-tic-koh-LEEN
DELVOK DEHL-vahk
ELAYSIAN ehl-LAY-shan
FALLIT KOT FAHL-iht KAHT
FAYLOCK FAY-lock
INVERNIAN ihn-VUHR-neeahn
GARLANIC gahr-LAHN-ihk
GLADST GIAHDST
LOTHRA LOH-thrah
MELORA PAZLAR meh-LAURA PAHZ-lar
TEROS TEH-rohs
NEO-ANALEPTIC NEE-oh-ahn-uh-LEHP-tihk
ORINOCO ohr-in-OH-koh
OXYGENE OX-ih-jeen
PALTRIS PAHL-trihs
RACHT RAHKT
RHOMBOLIAN rohm-BOH-lee-ahn
VAK VAHK
YOGRASSA yoh-GRAHS-uh
ZILMIKACH ZIHLM-kak
Page 2.
KLINGON PHRASES
Gagk Tek Or gag tehk ohr
Drak doo drahk-doo
P'kar tel Durg Le Frank'l pih-KAHR tehl duhr-leh
FRANK-nuhl
Dug a bul rah'tar duhg-uh-bull, rah-tar
DItel klop a bul dih-TEL klohp uh bull
Pak't pol PAHKT pohl
D'kar tel G'denna dih-kahr-tehl guh-dehn-uh
Aler acht'jar ah-ler akt-ih jahr
T'lembda boool-gah toh-gal tih-lehmb-duh-bool-gah
toh-gahl
to lohhh too-loh
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - 08/26/93 - TEASER 1.
STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE
"Melora"
TEASER
FADE IN:
1 EXT. SPACE - DEEP SPACE NINE (OPTICAL)
Establishing.
BASHIR (V.O.)
Medical log, Stardate 47229.1. Chief
O'BRIEN
and I have been working
overtime to prepare for the arrival
of a new cartographer. Ensign Melora
Pazlar is the first Elaysian to join
Starfleet and, as such, requires
special accommodations.
2 INT. INFIRMARY
Close on a wheelchair.
DAX (O.S.)
I haven't seen one of these in three
hundred years.
Moving to back to reveal DAX and BASHIR... Bashir can be
testing the gears or something... he's quite enthusiastic
about all this work he's been asked to do.
DAX
(continuing)
I'm surprised it was even on file in
the replicator's data bank.
BASHIR
It wasn't. Ensign Pazlar sent me
the specifications.
DAX
She actually uses one like this?
BASHIR
Her normal anti-grav unit isn't going
to work here... same problem we had
with the Starfleet cargo lifts...
Cardassian construction just isn't
compatible.
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - TEASER 2.
2 CONTINUED:
KIRA'S COM VOICE
Ops to Bashir. The Yellowstone
has just docked at airlock
fourteen, Doctor.
Exiting, pushing the chair out...
BASHIR
On our way.
3 INT. PROMENADE - CONTINUOUS
BASHIR
Think of what she's gone through to
get here, Jadzia... what it must be
like to adjust to our gravity after
growing up on a planet with low
surface gravity.
They run into O'BRIEN, who is coming to find them...
O'BRIEN
Doctor... !
Continuing to move with them...
O'BRIEN
We've done the best we can with
the ramps... the Cardassians
obviously didn't have her in mind
when they built the place...
BASHIR
(pleased with himself)
I've managed to modify the maximum
vertical clearance of the chair three
centimeters to a slope of fifty-six
degrees.
O'BRIEN
That still leaves a lot of places
around here she won't have access
to...
DAX
Can't we just use the transporter to
help her get around?
O'BRIEN
Makes sense to me, but she sent
word that it wouldn't be acceptable
to her.
DAX
I wonder why...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - TEASER 3.
3 CONTINUED:
Feeling like he already knows her...
BASHIR
I know exactly why... she went through
the Academy the same way. Once her
basic needs were met, she refused
any special attention. She's
extraordinary.
DAX
You make it sound like you've known
her for years...
BASHIR
I almost feel that way... I've pulled
all her personnel and medical files
to get ready...
(remembering)
Her quarters... they're ready, aren't
they?
O'Brien pulls out a small remote control device... hands it
to Bashir...
O'BRIEN
I have the bumps on my head to prove it.
BASHIR
Thanks, Chief.
Moving away...
O'BRIEN
Let me know if there's anything
else I can do.
To Dax --
BASHIR
That'll be something to see... when
we turn off the gravity and she flies
around her room...
Smiles at the excitement of it all as they enter the airlock
corridor...
4 INT. AIRLOCK - CLOSE ON MELORA
A cool, professional YOUNG WOMAN (MELORA) in her mid- to
late-20's, standing at the doorway to her ship, she is
wearing braces that are attached electronically to a series
of blinkies on her hands and wrists.
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - 08/26/93 - TEASER 4.
4 CONTINUED:
(They are really only a suggestion of braces as we know
them today... far simpler and "lightweight." Conceivably,
they may even be under her uniform, although, I'd kind of
like to see something of them outside) Plus she has an ornate
wood carved cane which supports her body weight in one hand...
although her face is a mask, the extraordinary pressure from
gravity is apparent in every move she makes.
MELORA
Ensign Melora Pazlar reporting for
duty.
Moving to find Bashir and Dax.
DAX
Welcome to DS Nine, Ensign. I'm
Chief Science Officer, Jadzia Dax...
and this...
MELORA
Doctor Bashir... we spoke on
subspace...
BASHIR
Good to meet you in person...
MELORA
(re: the chair)
I see you have my trolley car ready
to go...
BASHIR
As requested.
Melora braces herself on the cane and presses some blinkies
on her arm and we HEAR the device activate under her uniform,
creating mechanical motion forward. Instinctively, Dax moves
forward to assist...
DAX
Here, let me help...
Bashir knows what Melora's reaction will be, reacts too late
to stop Dax. Without rancor --
MELORA
(overlapping)
I'm fine, thank you.
And Dax gets out of her way, as Melora moves with great strain
and lowers herself into the chair...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - TEASER 5.
4 CONTINUED: (2)
MELORA
(with relief)
That's better.
She puts the cane into a holder built into the chair... and
will always have it with her. She's instantly unhappy with
the chair.
MELORA
You've modified it.
BASHIR
I wanted to give you as much mobility
as I could.
She begins to roll forward, still frowning.
MELORA
I've been practicing on the model I
requested for a month...
BASHIR
(embarrassed)
It's... really no problem... I can
replicate the other design...
MELORA
No, I'll just have to adapt.
Bashir reacts, glances at Dax... as they EXIT...
5 INT. CORRIDOR TO QUARTERS
Ramps are in place as needed throughout... and all of this
conflict should be subtle and polite and underplayed...
MELORA
I really don't think that'll be
necessary, Lieutenant... I'm perfectly
capable of piloting a runabout...
DAX
Commander Sisko thought...
MELORA
I'm sure he thought what every officer
I've served with has thought... that
I need extra help to get the job
done. Please tell him, I don't.
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - TEASER 6.
5 CONTINUED:
DAX
Commander Sisko wouldn't let any
Ensign take a runabout into the
Gamma Quadrant the day after she
gets here...
MELORA
I'm sure the Chief Science Officer
has more important things to do than
to chart a sector in the Gamma
Quadrant...
Bashir is increasingly uncomfortable with her attitudes...
BASHIR
Here we are...
MELORA
You haven't modified the
specifications I gave you for my
quarters, I hope...
The door opens.
BASHIR
Not one iota. You can control the
gravity unit with this device. If
you'd like to try it out...
He hands it to her. She rolls inside.
MELORA
Thank you, I will. It's been a
pleasure meeting both of you.
And as she pulls back, the door slams in their face. They
never get to see her turn off the gravity... on their
reaction...
FADE OUT.
END OF TEASER
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT ONE 7.
ACT ONE
FADE IN:
(Note: Episode credits fall over opening scenes.)
6 EXT. SPACE - DEEP SPACE NINE (OPTICAL) - ESTABLISHING
7 INT. QUARK'S
Before hours. One Ferengi waiter setting up in the
background. At the bar, a tough-looking ALIEN (ASHROCK)
sits across from QUARK. Quark displays a beautiful ring
with an intricate design etched on its outer surface... he
holds it out for Ashrock to see...
ASHROCK
(dazzled by ring)
Paltriss only created eighty of
them... each a work of art...
QUARK
And I've come into possession of
forty-two.
ASHROCK
(reacts)
Forty-two? My world will honor your
name for returning the Rings of
Paltriss to his birthplace...
QUARK
(drops ring in pouch,
puts pouch in pocket)
Honor my name all you want... as
long as your honor is accompanied by
one hundred and ninety-nine bars of
gold-pressed latinum...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT ONE 8.
7 CONTINUED:
ASHROCK
(sighs)
I've heard that you drive a hard
bargain...
QUARK
Shall we celebrate our closing the
deal with another drink... ?
At which point, Quark glances out of the corner of his eye
toward the door, sees a compact, intense HUMANOID (FALLIT
KOT) ENTER the establishment, start looking around...
QUARK
Excuse me, I'm sorry but we're not
open yet... if you'll come back in...
He stops as he recognizes the face... swallows hard...
QUARK
(now nervous, to
Ashrock)
Have another drink on me.
He moves around the bar to Kot...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT ONE 9.
7 CONTINUED: (2)
QUARK
Fallit... Fallit Kot... is that really
you? How long has it been?
FALLIT KOT
(evenly)
Eight years. Eight long years.
Quark moves him toward a table... they sit...
QUARK
It can't be... I must say, you look
terrific... tanned... toned up...
all of that baby fat has disappeared
from your face...
LLIT KOT
You don't keep extra weight on, where
I've been...
QUARK
(ignoring)
Just passing through, are you? I'll
bet you have business in the Gamma
Quadrant... you always had a sharp
eye for fresh territory...
FALLIT KOT
I'm not going to the Gamma Quadrant.
My business is right here. With
you.
QUARK
With me?
FALLIT KOT
That's right.
(leans in; no brag,
just fact)
I've come to kill you, Quark.
Quark's stunned, his mouth open, surprisingly speechless...
8 OMITTED
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT ONE 10.
9 INT. COMMANDER'S OFFICE
Dax, Bashir and SISKO.
DAX
I've gone through her mission profile.
She certainly knows what she's
doing...
SISKO
Nevertheless, this is her first deep
space assignment... and it doesn't
make sense to me to...
(rising, interrupting
himself)
Here she is...
10 ANGLE TO INCLUDE OPS
as she comes up on the Turbolift on her wheelchair... they
move out to greet her...
11 INT. OPS
The motorized chair moves Melora to the center of Ops until
it reaches the steps... there is no ramp capability here.
Sisko, smiling, moves down the steps to greet her, Dax and
Bashir a step behind...
SISKO
Ensign, I'm Commander Benjamin
Sisko...
And this is subtle -- Melora is already defensive, having
seen Dax and Bashir already meeting with Sisko in his office
upon her arrival...
MELORA
Am I late?
(She already knows she's not.) During the following, she
pulls herself with great strain out of her chair to her feet,
uses the cane to brace herself as she executes the difficult
climb up the stairs using the mechanical body device. Her
voice, though she does her very best to cover it, is full of
the strain and fatigue like an athlete talking during a
competition.
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT ONE 11.
11 CONTINUED:
SISKO
Not at all.
MELORA
It looked like the meeting had already
begun.
SISKO
Dax and Bashir were just telling me
about your request to pilot a runabout
alone.
MELORA
Wouldn't it have been appropriate to
include me in that conversation?
SISKO
(even)
I was getting a briefing by my senior
officers, Ensign. We talk about
personnel matters all the time.
MELORA
(without sarcasm)
I'm sorry if I seem overly sensitive.
But I'm used to being shut out of
the "Melora" problem. The truth is
there is no "Melora" problem. Until
people create one.
They are now at the top of the stairs... and they go into
the office and the doors close...
12 INT. COMMANDER'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
And she continues to be charming as she maintains her
aggressiveness. She moves to a chair and sits.
MELORA
This may sound ungrateful, because
Doctor Bashir has been wonderfully
helpful in the preparations for my
arrival, but frankly, I wonder why a
medical opinion is necessary in this
discussion.
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT ONE 12.
12 CONTINUED:
DAX
Julian knows more about your
capabilities than any of us.
MELORA
I don't need a medical opinion to
tell me my own capabilities...
BASHIR
I also know the station and the
runabouts...
MELORA
I've studied the station's
schematics... and I've flown
runabouts...
Sisko is studying all this...
SISKO
Ensign...
MELORA
I simply object to being treated
like someone who is ill.
SISKO
I don't see anybody doing that.
MELORA
(still charming)
Try sitting in the chair, Commander.
No one can understand until they sit
in the chair.
They study each other for a long beat. Melora smiles, backs
off the intensity...
MELORA
I've been in one chair or another
since I left my homeworld. My family
gave me this cane made from the wood
of a garlanic tree.
(chuckles at the
naivete)
... they had no idea what it would be
like to live off-world... in what
you consider "normal" gravity. Only
a handful of Elaysians have ever
left home. But I always knew I had
to be one of them.
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT ONE 13.
12 CONTINUED: (2)
MELORA (Cont'd)
I dreamed about exploring the stars
as a girl. And I wasn't going to
allow any... "handicap," not a chair,
not a Cardassian station... to stop
me from chasing that dream.
SISKO
You must feel a great deal of pride
in what you've been able to achieve.
MELORA
(you bet)
And I've achieved it without being
dependent on anybody. To be honest,
I prefer working alone. It's simply
easier for me.
SISKO
I'm not comfortable sending you alone
into the Gamma Quadrant.
MELORA
Sir, I can focus on the job better,
I can work at my own pace without
bothering anyone else...
SISKO
Lieutenant Dax will be going with
you.
A beat. This is really the first time that Melora gets
visibly perturbed in this scene...
MELORA
Yes sir.
(turning to Dax)
When do you wish to leave, Lieutenant?
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT ONE 14.
12 CONTINUED: (3)
DAX
Your schedule is fine with me.
Melora nods a curt acknowledgment, turns and the doors open
and she rises from the chair and as she begins the arduous
journey down the stairs, we see Bashir watching her and...
13 INT. HABITAT CORRIDOR
Bashir moves to Melora's door, hits the chime. After a beat,
we hear a sound effect from inside... Bashir reacts...
MELORA'S VOICE
Come in.
The door opens...
14 INT. MELORA'S QUARTERS
She has just landed in her chair, which is anchored on the
wall for anti-grav conditions... she unclips the chair from
the wall...
BASHIR
Is it working?
(off her reaction)
The low-grav field actuator... I
just heard it go off.
MELORA
It's working fine.
BASHIR
So you were just...
He motions flying around with his arm...
MELORA
For me, it's like slipping into a
hot tub at the end of a long day.
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT ONE 15.
14 CONTINUED:
BASHIR
(really curious)
Really.
(because he can't ask
what he wants to ask)
I'm... a shower man, myself.
Bashir notices a PHOTOGRAPH on the desk.
15 ANGLE - PHOTOGRAPH
Melora and a young Man soaring playfully in mid air.
16 RESUME SCENE
BASHIR
(smiles)
Look at this. Is that your
husband... ? Boyfriend... ?
MELORA
(sincere)
If you came for an apology, Doctor,
I apologize.
BASHIR
Apology?
MELORA
My speech was not intended to attack
you personally.
BASHIR
(not mean, with charm)
I'm sure you never set out to attack
anyone personally. But you do seem...
to attack a lot.
MELORA
(measuring him)
That's rather insensitive of you,
Doctor.
BASHIR
Julian. I'm no longer your doctor.
MELORA
I see. You've decided I need a
friend.
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - 08/26/93 - ACT ONE 16.
16 CONTINUED:
BASHIR
Was that an attack? You do it so
well, with such charm, it's hard to
tell.
MELORA
I really don't mean to...
BASHIR
Sure you do.
MELORA
I beg your pardon?
BASHIR
Of course, you mean to... all of
these broad shots you fire -- it's
your way of keeping the rest of the
universe on the defensive. Has to
be. You're too good at it.
MELORA
(not a true admission)
Always seemed to work pretty well.
Until now.
BASHIR
That's the nicest thing you've said
to me. Or anybody else for that
matter. Are you hungry? I came
here thinking about asking you to
dinner.
MELORA
(instinctive)
Then afterward, we'll go dancing, I
suppose.
BASHIR
(pointing out an attack)
Red alert.
MELORA
Sorry.
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT ONE 17.
16 CONTINUED: (2)
BASHIR
Come on... there's a new Klingon
restaurant on the Promenade... if
you like that sort of thing.
She studies him a long beat. No one has ever nailed her
like this before and it makes him intriguing to her.
MELORA
All right.
Bashir smiles...
FADE OUT.
END OF ACT ONE
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT TWO 18.
ACT TWO
FADE IN:
17 INT. QUARK'S
Fallit Kot seated at corner table, drinking his drink, his
cold eyes studying the bar, always looking for Quark.
Suddenly, a tablecloth is spread in front of him, he reacts
and turns to see it's Quark who has arrived beside a food
cart...
QUARK
Dinner is served.
FALLIT KOT
I didn't order dinner.
A Ferengi waiter is setting the table with flowers, silver
and Quark's finest china... Quark serves a bowl of soup
first... Kot tastes it...
QUARK
What better way to mollify -- I mean,
satisfy -- a hungry traveler than
with a delicious home-cooked meal...
starting with a delicate Vak clover
soup...
Kot puts down his soup spoon and pushes the bowl off the
table. It crashes to the floor and shatters. Quark eyes
the broken tureen...
QUARK
Why spoil your appetite with soup?
He picks up a dish with a covered entree, puts it front of
Kot and removes the lid...
QUARK
Here's the real treat...
(lifts lid; seductively)
Jumbo Vulcan mollusks.
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT TWO 19.
17 CONTINUED:
QUARK (Cont'd)
Sauteed in rhombolian butter... a
taste so exquisite, it's to die for...
(realizes what he's
just said)
... or to live for, for that matter...
Quark sets everything up just so, then stands by, the
overattentive waiter... Fallit picks up a fork, tries
a taste of the mollusk... as Quark pours the wine...
QUARK
Do you know dabo, Fallit?
Fallit just stares at him.
QUARK
(continuing)
A wonderfully entertaining game and
easy to learn. I took the liberty
of lining up a couple of excellent
tutors I happen to know...
He snaps his fingers and two gorgeous dabo girls immediately
arrive and sit beside Kot. Kot just continues eating his
mollusk and stare at Quark.
QUARK
(continuing)
Be sure to ask them about their
"double down" betting strategy.
(beat)
If I haven't made it clear, I intend
to make your stay here as delightful
as you could ever imagine. So allow
me to propose a toast... to...
(raises glass)
Old friends.
FALLIT KOT
(considers, then:)
Old debts.
Fallit tips Quark's glass. Off Quark...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT TWO 20.
18 INT. PROMENADE - KLINGON KIOSK - CLOSE ON A
KLINGON CHEF
Gruffs at Bashir to order --
CHEF
Gagh Tek Or! (What'll it be?)
Merging back to find Bashir and Melora at the Kiosk...
BASHIR
Shall I order for us both?
MELORA
All right.
Quick back and forth --
BASHIR
Let's see... we'll have some racht
of course...
CHEF
Racht...
BASHIR
And a double order of Gladst... no
sauce please...
CHEF
Gladst... usu bal.
BASHIR
And, a side order of zilm'kach... is
that too much for two people... ?
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - 08/26/93 - ACT TWO 21.
18 CONTINUED:
The Chef shrugs, shakes his head... serves up the plates
without delicacy and shoves them at Bashir...
CHEF
Drak doo.
Bashir puts a couple of coins on the counter, the Klingon
does his ritual bite...
MELORA
May I?
("look" implied)
As Bashir holds it down...
BASHIR
Don't be alarmed.
19 CLOSE UP - THE PLATE
of slowly crawling things and such...
MELORA
frowns...
MELORA
Excuse me, Julian, I can't eat this.
BASHIR
I know how it looks but...
She looks up at the chef and barks at him in fluent Klingon...
and this is dialogue on top of dialogue... (English
translation is in parentheses.)
MELORA
P'kar tel Durg Le Frakn'l? (You
call this live?)
CHEF
Dug a bul, rah'tar! (What's your
problem, lady?)
MELORA
D'tel klop a bul! (This slop you
call food is the problem!
CHEF
Pak't pol! (If you don't like it,
don't eat it!)
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT TWO 22.
MELORA
D'kar tel G'denna! (I want to see
the blood running through the veins!)
The Chef smiles, speaks in English to Bashir...
CHEF
I like a customer who knows what she
wants...
He reaches out and takes the two plates and throws them away
behind him... leans down out of view, pulls up a handful of
really active looking worms... holds them out for Melora's
inspection...
CHEF
Eh?
MELORA
(pleased)
G'denna.
And as he prepares the plates...
MELORA
There's nothing worse then half dead
Racht.
On Bashir, impressed...
21 CLOSE ON AN ALMOST EMPTY PLATE
one last worm wriggling, Bashir picks it up and puts it in
his mouth... slurps it down...
BASHIR
I was ten. My father was a Federation
diplomat on Invernia Two. One day
we were out on a remote part of the
planet when a massive ionic storm
hit. While we were waiting it out,
we found an Invernian girl about my
age who was sick. As soon as the
storm cleared, my father went for
help but it was too late. I sat
there... and watched her die. The
next day when my father returned,
his guide told us we could have
treated her with a simple herb that
was growing all around us.
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - 08/26/93 - ACT TWO 23.
21 CONTINUED:
BASHIR
(a sad smile)
I could have saved her life.
MELORA
And so you started to study medicine.
BASHIR
Yes... well, actually, first I started
to study tennis.
MELORA
Tennis?
BASHIR
I really thought about making a career
of it for awhile...
MELORA
You must be very good...
BASHIR
I used to think so, then I went to
my first major competition... my
opponent served first and I heard
it bounce past me and the computer
announced it was good and I knew I
was in trouble... it turned out I
had a bit more talent at medicine
than tennis...
She smiles, relaxed more than any time we've seen her before.
MELORA
This has been delightful. Thank
you.
BASHIR
I'll never look at a Racht the same
way again.
Beat with sexual tension.
MELORA
I have an early mission tomorrow. I
better get some rest.
BASHIR
Of course. Come on, I'll take you
home.
And as they rise.
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT TWO 24.
22 EXT. SPACE - DEEP SPACE NINE (OPTICAL)
Passage of time.
23 INT. HABITAT CORRIDOR
Dax, with a mission attache case over her shoulder, arrives
at Melora's door. Hits the chime. There is no response.
Hits it again. Reacts. Hits her combadge.
DAX
Dax to Pazlar.
(beat, no response)
Computer, level one security access...
The door opens... she looks in...
DAX
Ensign Pazlar?
No response... on her curiosity...
DAX
Computer, locate Ensign Melora Pazlar.
COMPUTER VOICE
Docking Level Twenty-Two, Section
Fourteen.
DAX
(to herself)
Section Fourteen?
She EXITS.
24
thru OMITTED
26
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - 08/26/93 - ACT TWO 25.
27 ANOTHER CORRIDOR
finds the chair at a doorway without a ramp... moves by it...
reacts as she sees --
28 ANGLE - MELORA
lying on the ground at the entrance to a tiny supply room...
(there's another lip without a ramp at the room's entrance
that she tripped on)... her mechanical control is caught in
some kind of loop, so her leg is slowly flailing
uncontrollably... at the same time, she is trying desperately
to get off the ground, but just can't do it... the effect is
like a robotic toy that has fallen over but keeps running...
she has a serious bruise on her forehead... Dax moves quickly
to her... Melora's eyes glance up to see her...
DAX
We've got to get you to the
Infirmary...
She switches off the wrist control panel which stops the
flailing leg but makes Melora almost completely helpless...
Dax begins to help her up... it's all humiliating for
Melora... she leans heavily on the cane with one arm, but
requires Dax's support on the other side as they move to the
wheelchair...
MELORA
(breathing heavily,
agonizing)
It's my own fault... I decided... I
could use an extra astrometric array
after going through the mission
profile again... I came to the storage
bay to get one... my mind was already
in the Gamma Quadrant... I wasn't...
paying enough attention to what I
was doing... I guess my boot... didn't
make the lip of the door... I fell
on my controls...
They get to the chair and she collapses with relief into
it... Dax hits her combadge...
DAX
Dax to Bashir. Ensign Pazlar's had
a minor accident. We need to see
you in the Infirmary.
BASHIR'S COM VOICE
Acknowledged. I'll be there in three
minutes.
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT TWO 26.
Dax begins to roll the wheelchair forward...
MELORA
What kind... of architect would
deliberately... design a raised rim
at the entrance to every door...
29 INT. INFIRMARY
Bashir works on Melora's head with a tech tool as she lies
down... Dax is not there... the tech control is gone from
her arm...
MELORA
(gallows humor)
So much for the dangers of the Gamma
Quadrant... I didn't even make it
there...
BASHIR
You will. There's no concussion...
you can reschedule your mission for
tomorrow...
MELORA
(on the verge of tears)
It was so...
(sighs, "humiliating"
is implied)
... flopping back and forth... like a
broken toy... I didn't want anyone
to find me like that... but I couldn't
get up by myself...
BASHIR
Why didn't you wait for Dax before
you went into an area that wasn't
modified with ramps...
MELORA
(angry at herself)
I didn't need Dax... if I'd just
paid attention...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT TWO 27.
29 CONTINUED:
BASHIR
Melora... no one on this station is
completely independent... in space,
we all depend on one another to some
degree...
MELORA
I just want you all to know you can
depend on me...
BASHIR
(smiles)
Okay, you've proven that... what do
the rest of us have to do to convince
you?
MELORA
(reacts)
Of what?
BASHIR
(simply)
That you can depend on us.
Melora sighs, smiles, liking Bashir an awful lot right now...
30 INT. HABITAT CORRIDOR
As Bashir and Melora come from the Turbolift...
BASHIR
Have you ever heard of the work
Nathaniel Teros did with low gravity
species thirty years ago?
MELORA
Neuromuscular adaptation? It had no
practical success at all.
BASHIR
No, but the principles were sound...
and a lot of progress has been made
in neurochemistry since then...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT TWO 28.
30 CONTINUED:
MELORA
You think some day I could throw
away the chair... ?
BASHIR
(evasive)
Theoretically... perhaps...
As they reach the door, it opens...
MELORA
Would you like to come in... ?
BASHIR
(reluctant)
I know how much you look forward to
turning down the gravity...
MELORA
Don't let that stop you...
Off his curious reaction, they enter...
31 INT. MELORA'S QUARTERS (OPTICAL)
She moves to a device that anchors her chair on the ground...
clicks in and then as she's about to touch her remote
control...
MELORA
You may want to brace yourself until
you get used to it...
He steadies himself on whatever the set has to offer... and
she hits the remote, we hear a sound effect as the gravity
adaptors take effect and she soars into the air... Bashir
watches with delight as she rises gracefully to the ceiling,
luxuriating in the freedom. Reaching the apogee of her
ascent, she turns, and pushes off, like a swimmer in slow
motion. (As production requires, she can stop and hover or
land.)
MELORA
Come on, Julian.
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT TWO 29.
31 CONTINUED:
BASHIR
What do I do?
MELORA
Just give a gentle push... it's easy.
Bashir takes a deep breath, bends his knees and pushes off...
SOARS out of control, awkwardly, she catches him, steadying
him...
BASHIR
(laughs, delighted)
This is astonishing.
As they move back down to...
31A ANGLE - THE FLOOR
BASHIR
I can't tell you how curious I was
about this...
MELORA
Most people are. Sometimes they
make me feel like a carnival
attraction. So, usually, I prefer
to keep everyone out...
BASHIR
Thank you... for letting me in.
A warm smile between them... more sexual tension.
MELORA
He's my brother.
Bashir doesn't understand... she turns him to see --
32 BASHIR'S POV - THE PICTURE
32A RESUME - BASHIR AND MELORA
BASHIR
Oh.
She turns to him and he kisses her, lightly at first. She
returns it. And as they rise gently through the air...
FADE OUT.
END OF ACT TWO
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT THREE 30.
ACT THREE
FADE IN:
33 EXT. SPACE - GAMMA QUADRANT (OPTICAL)
A Runabout comes out of the wormhole.
34 INT. ORINOCO
Dax and Melora at the controls... pressing panels.
MELORA
Setting course... twenty-eight mark
one-forty-two.
Dax Confirmed.
They sit back and relax as the journey begins...
MELORA
Computer, play us something by Delvok.
The music begins... it's Chopin meets Spock...
DAX
Delvok never seems Vulcan to me...
there's too much emotion in his
music...
MELORA
It's pretty.
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT THREE 31.
35 REVERSE ANGLE - THROUGH THE WINDOW
seeing the light show... they sit back and look at the stars
a beat and listen to the music... we're off their faces for
this at the start...
MELORA
Tell me something, Lieutenant... you
think there's room for... romance...
in Starfleet?
DAX
(glances at her)
I think so.
MELORA
You've made it work... ?
DAX
Now and then...
MELORA
I mean, really work...
DAX
Oh, really work. For that, I've
got to go back...
(beat, smiling at the
memory)
... about a hundred and fifty years.
MELORA
(reacts)
That's a long time...
DAX
She was a hard act to follow.
36 RESUME - FRONT VIEW
DAX
(continuing)
Could it be Doctor Bashir's bedside
manner has won you over... ?
MELORA
(smiles, but concerned)
Our species are just so... different.
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT THREE 32.
36 CONTINUED:
DAX
Since when has that ever stopped
anybody?... I knew a hydrogen-breathing
Lothra who fell hopelessly in love
with an Oxygene...
MELORA
(reacts)
You're kidding... how could they
even stay in the same room?
DAX
Forty minutes a day without their
breathing apparatus... that's all.
Lovely couple... fifty-seven years
they were together.
MELORA
What about career conflicts? Two
friends of mine from the Academy got
engaged even though they knew they
were assigned to different
starships...
DAX
Subspace relationship?
MELORA
Uh huh.
DAX
That's a tough one.
MELORA
They may not be together for a year
or more... and even then only for a
few weeks...
DAX
Love across light years is just so...
MELORA
... it lacks intimacy...
DAX
... you could say that.
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT THREE 33.
36 CONTINUED: (2)
MELORA
I finish my mission here... I move
on to the next one... what kind of
future is that for a romance?
DAX
Look at the alternative.
MELORA
I guess...
DAX
Maybe it's better not to look to the
future... just look to tonight.
MELORA
I guess...
DAX
Smile, Ensign, you're in love.
Melora smiles gently...
37 INT. SECURITY OFFICE
ODO's seated at his computer console, working. Quark ENTERS.
Odo looks up, sees who it is, continues working.
ODO
(drily)
Oh. It's you.
QUARK
Don't be so happy to see me...
ODO
All right, I won't.
Quark sags a little... Odo's not helping...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT THREE 34.
37 CONTINUED:
QUARK
Odo, there's a desperate criminal on
board the station...
ODO
You wouldn't be talking about Fallit
Kot... ?
Quark reacts...
ODO
... who just finished eight years in
a labor camp for hijacking a shipment
of Romulan ale.
(stops working, turns
to Quark)
... whose name was right next to yours
on the original indictment... ?
QUARK
I had nothing to do with the hijacking
itself. I was... only the
middleman...
ODO
Trafficking in stolen goods should
have been enough to get you your own
cell at that Romulan camp... unless
you sold out your partner...
QUARK
I can honestly say that justice was
served.
ODO
I would imagine that Fallit Kot is
looking for his own kind of justice
now.
QUARK
He's threatened to kill me.
Odo just studies him a long beat... a pleasant look crosses
his face...
QUARK
What?!
("are you looking at"
implied)
Odo resumes his usual stern
expression, sighs...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT THREE 35.
37 CONTINUED: (2)
ODO
Nothing. Just a passing thought...
QUARK
Odo, he means it. Nothing I do seems
to change his mind. You've got to
do something.
ODO
I'll do my job, Quark.
Quark sighs satisfied and EXITS... Odo looks up at the door,
too bad...
ODO
Unfortunately...
38 INT. INFIRMARY
Bashir is working furiously at the computer... as Melora
wheels in...
MELORA
Racht, anyone?
Bashir glances over and smiles...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT THREE 36.
38 CONTINUED:
BASHIR
I've been waiting for you. I want
to show you something.
She moves to the computer console... he runs a program for
her to see... we may even want to --
39 INSERT COMPUTER SCREEN (VPB)
A complicated series of equations running by quickly, maybe
a visual sketch, but deliberately complex beyond the viewer's
comprehension...
40 RESUME
MELORA
(reacts to the
complexity)
What is it?
BASHIR
A computer model of an elevated
neural output from the brain's gross
motor cortex... it's stimulating
acetylcholine absorption to increase
tensile strength...
MELORA
(understands)
The neuromuscular adaptation theory?
BASHIR
(excited at the
prospects)
It was a theory thirty years ago,
Melora... but with the development
of neo-analeptic transmitters during
the last decade, it's not even that
complicated... it's just that no
one's gone back to reexamine the
ideas of Nathaniel Teros...
(beat)
Until now.
MELORA
(stunned)
This... can actually work... ?
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT THREE 37.
BASHIR
No more servo controls. No more
chair.
Off Melora's reaction...
FADE OUT.
END OF ACT THREE
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FOUR 38.
ACT FOUR
FADE IN:
41 INT. SECURITY
Odo sits and works. A Deputy escorts Kot in... Odo nods,
the Deputy EXITS. He doesn't look up from his work yet...
FALLIT KOT
Have I done something wrong?
ODO
Not that I'm aware of.
(Kot studies him evenly
a beat)
We have something in common.
FALLIT KOT
We do?
ODO
I don't like Quark either.
(beat, he looks up
for the first time)
But I can't let you kill him.
FALLIT KOT
Kill him... did he tell you I was
going to do that?
ODO
I know your history together.
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FOUR 39.
41 CONTINUED:
FALLIT KOT
(cold)
Let bygones be bygones I always say.
ODO
I always say you can tell a man's
intentions by the way he walks.
FALLIT KOT
How do I walk?
ODO
Like someone carrying a lot of weight
on his shoulders.
FALLIT KOT
Must be the memory of those Romulan
bricks I carried for eight years.
ODO
Must be.
FALLIT KOT
But you can't lock a man up for the
way he walks, can you?
He smiles. Having made his point, he EXITS.
42 INT. PROMENADE
Odo comes out and looks hard in the direction that Kot walked
away... A beat later, Quark moves up beside him...
QUARK
Well?
ODO
I'd say he's a man with nothing to
lose.
QUARK
As opposed to me.
ODO
I have no reason to hold him for now
and he knows it. I'll watch him the
best I can.
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT FOUR 40.
42 CONTINUED:
ODO
But I suggest you carry a combadge
with you at all times.
He hands one to Quark.
ODO
(continuing)
Call me at the first sign of trouble.
QUARK
What if the first sign is the last
sign?
ODO
You people sell pieces of yourself
after you die, don't you?
QUARK
Yes...
ODO
I'll buy one.
He goes back into Security, leaving Quark to mull over his
fate.
43 INT. INFIRMARY
Melora is lying down, undressed, under a blanket, connected
to various medical gear... Bashir is nearby, working
controls, monitoring computer readouts...
MELORA
My heart is pounding...
BASHIR
I'd like to think that has more to
do with me than the neo-analeptic
infusion...
MELORA
Would that also explain why my
backside is getting warm...
BASHIR
(reading monitors)
That's more likely the result of the
neuromuscular tissue stimulation due
to increased activity in the motor
cortex...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FOUR 40A.
43 CONTINUED:
BASHIR
(beat)
I'd say that's enough for the first
time out...
He shuts everything down... moves to disconnect her...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT FOUR 41.
43 CONTINUED: (2)
BASHIR
It's good that you've already been
using your muscles in this gravity
environment... it'll make it easier
to adapt...
She's free... but still lying down...
BASHIR
Feel any different?
MELORA
(beat, wishing)
No.
BASHIR
Nothing at all?
MELORA
I'm sorry, Julian.
Bashir looks puzzled... this should be working... he moves
back to the computer and begins to run analysis... she lays
there...
BASHIR
The acetylcholine absorption was
precisely at fourteen percent above
normal...
44 HER LEG
... as she tightens the muscle tentatively...
BASHIR (O.S.)
(continuing)
... increased tensile strength would
be the inevitable result...
45 HER FACE
as she looks down at her leg...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FOUR 41A.
46 HER LEG
She raises the leg slowly, flexing it toward her chest...
MELORA
Julian...
47 BASHIR
looks over, reacts... moves back to her side...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FOUR 42.
47 CONTINUED:
MELORA
I can lift my leg.
BASHIR
Your neural pathways are getting
used to the changes. Endurance and
coordination might take awhile, but
you should be walking within the
hour.
Melora shakes her head, incredulous, overwhelmed.
48 INT. OPS
O'BRIEN
and Dax at his station as Sisko walks out of his
office towards them.
SISKO
How's the upgrade coming?
O'BRIEN
We've been able to get it to about
seventy percent of what we'd get
with a standard EPS, but it looks
like that's as far as it's gonna...
Sisko and Dax both notice O'Brien looking toward the
Turbolift.
O'BRIEN
I'll be damned.
Sisko and Dax turn and react...
49 ANGLE - CLOSE ON THE CANE
on the floor moving away from the Turbolift... moving up to
find Melora and Julian walking into Ops... she's using the
cane for support but moving quite well... she moves up the
steps to Sisko...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FOUR 43.
49 CONTINUED:
MELORA
I wanted to give you our first day's
mission summary myself, Commander.
SISKO
A pleasure, Ensign.
DAX
Julian, how did you...
BASHIR
Simply a matter of increasing the
output from the brain's motor
cortex... someone else's research
actually... I just dotted the "i"s
and crossed the "t"s...
O'BRIEN
You'll get your name into the medical
journals for this one.
BASHIR
I know.
MELORA
Julian, I don't know how to say this
but...
(beat, weakening)
I'm not sure I can get back down...
She grabs his arm for support...
BASHIR
Whups! Easy does it now. First
treatment's beginning to wear off.
Nothing to be concerned about...
Helping her down... she's still far stronger than we've ever
seen before... he switches her wrist controls back on and
the motor assistance begins to support her movements again.
(But to a far lesser degree than before. As she still has
some residual muscle strength from the treatment.)
BASHIR
Let's get you back to your quarters...
I want you to get a good night's
rest.
Bashir nods to Sisko, who dismisses him with a nod and a
look of respect...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - 08/26/93 - ACT FOUR 43A.
50 INT. MELORA'S QUARTERS
As they ENTER...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT FOUR 44.
50 CONTINUED:
BASHIR
With each progressive treatment, you
should get stronger and the effect
should last longer...
She sits down, tired but delighted... picks up the remote
control for the gravity adaptors...
MELORA
What about this?
BASHIR
(shakes his head)
A low-grav environment now would
really confuse your motor cortex.
MELORA
I understand.
(beat, with gratitude)
Julian...
He puts a silencing finger to her lips...
BASHIR
You let me fly for the first time...
I let you walk. We're even.
He kisses her softly on the lips.
BASHIR
See you in the morning.
He leaves... she smiles after him. But alone, she looks up
at the space above her she no longer inhabits...
51 HIGH ANGLE
looking down at her emphasizes how grounded she is... she
misses her "hot bath"...
52 INT. QUARK'S QUARTERS
The room is in shadows. Quark ENTERS, distracted. (He's
either wearing his combadge or carrying it somewhere). The
door shuts behind him before he realizes there are no lights
on.
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FOUR 45.
52 CONTINUED:
QUARK
Lights...
The lights do not come on... he's taken several steps
inside...
QUARK
(impatiently)
Computer, turn on the...
Quark stops, suddenly realizes, he in danger, immediately
turns back toward the door... starts to move out quickly...
as he presses his combadge...
QUARK
Quark to mmmppph...
He never gets it out... from behind, his head is braced in a
hammerlock, his mouth covered... Kot grabs the badge and
throws it away...
FALLIT KOT
(softly)
No one can hear you, Quark... it's
just you and me...
QUARK
Fallit... I wasn't prepared to
entertain this evening but please...
make yourself at home...
FALLIT KOT
I already have...
QUARK
What's mine is yours... all you have
to do is ask... !
FALLIT KOT
I'm tired of your gifts, Quark. All
I want is your miserable life.
He presses Quark's neck even harder... it may break...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FOUR 46.
52 CONTINUED: (2)
QUARK
Wait! Everything's negotiable...
believe me, I'm worth much more to
you alive... !
(grabbing the first
straw he thinks of)
How does one hundred and ninety-nine
bars of gold-pressed latinum sound to
you?
This piques Fallit's interest. He loosens his grip.
FALLIT KOT
It's a start.
Quark breathes a momentary sigh of relief...
FADE OUT.
END OF ACT FOUR
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 47.
ACT FIVE
FADE IN:
53 EXT. SPACE - DEEP SPACE NINE (OPTICAL)
54 INT. INFIRMARY
Bashir is completing another treatment of Melora... she's
still lying down, undressed on the table...
MELORA
The mattress felt like rocks... and
every one of my muscles ached all
night long...
BASHIR
You'll adjust to that after a few
treatments...
He comes over to release her... as she sits up... stretching
her legs easily...
BASHIR
(continuing)
This time you should feel the effects
for several hours...
MELORA
(tries to make it
sound in passing)
Exactly when does it become
irreversible?
And Bashir hears that word, "irreversible"... and it's the
kind of thing a good doctor picks up in a patient's voice...
BASHIR
(studies her a long
beat)
Melora, if you're not certain...
MELORA
(blowing it off)
Oh, I'm sure it's just some strange
form of "buyers remorse"... I'll be
fine...
A good doctor doesn't let it go...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/30/93 - ACT FIVE 48.
BASHIR
Tell me exactly what you're feeling...
MELORA
Last night, I just missed... I didn't
feel like me...
A beat. He sits. Looks at her directly. Some of this has
been discussed before off-camera.
BASHIR
If you want to end your dependence
on the chair and the servo controls,
you have to give up the low-grav
environment, Melora. You knew that
was the trade-off.
MELORA
It seemed like a good trade... until
I realized I couldn't do it anymore...
if I could just spend...
BASHIR
(interrupting)
I'm concerned that going back and
forth would ultimately lead to a
loss of fine motor control.
MELORA
Meaning?
BASHIR
Your ability to perform complex tasks
could be affected.
She nods silently... understands the choice...
BASHIR
The effect is fully reversible for a
few more days. We can pull the plug
anytime before then. After that, if
all goes well, your motor cortex
impulses will kick in on their own.
Permanently.
Off her look...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 49.
55 EXT. SPACE - THE ORINOCO (OPTICAL)
in the Gamma Quadrant. At impulse.
56 INT. ORINOCO
Dax and Melora... the music as before. Melora, trying to
come to grips with this decision... she's beginning to feel
the effects of gravity again...
MELORA
It's beginning to wear off again...
She switches on her wrist controls to give her more
mobility... just the return to her original state argues in
favor of the change... she shakes her head...
MELORA
I don't understand myself... how can
I possibly have second thoughts...
this would mean real independence...
it's everything I ever wished for...
(beat)
But then I start to think about
home... and how I won't ever be able
to go back... maybe just for a short
visit... but never really go back...
DAX
The Little Mermaid.
MELORA
Mermaid?
DAX
It's an Earth fable by Hans Christian
Andersen. She trades her magical
life under the sea for a pair of
legs to walk on land.
After a beat, Melora smiles, sadly...
MELORA
What happened? Didn't she live
happily ever after?
Dax doesn't respond. She doesn't have to. Off Melora...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 50.
57 INT. AIRLOCK (OPTICAL)
Quark and Kot greet Ashrock as he steps off his ship... Quark
holds a fair-sized alien pouch (the Rings of Paltriss).
Ashrock carries a large, heavy satchel...
QUARK
Ashrock... right on time... may I
present my longtime business
partner... Fallit Kot...
They nod an acknowledgement. Kot takes the satchel from
Ashrock and kneels as he begins to examine its contents.
Quark hands the pouch to Ashrock.
QUARK
For your inspection.
Ashrock takes several rings out of the pouch and admires
them...
ASHROCK
Exquisite.
Kot is satisfied with his latinum, closes the satchel...
Quark glances at Kot, assumes he's done a good count.
QUARK
Then, our transaction is complete.
FALLIT KOT
Not quite.
They turn to see Kot rising with a phaser drawn... motioning
to the pouch of rings...
FALLIT KOT
I'll be taking them too.
Ashrock reacts... looks at Quark, decides he's been set up...
ASHROCK
(to Quark)
They warned me about you...
QUARK
(overlapping, quick)
Not true. A deal is a deal. Rule
of Acquisition number sixteen. Kot,
you got what you came for... Now,
let's be reasona...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 51.
57 CONTINUED:
That's as far as he gets because Ashrock is pulling a
small phaser of his own... and as he does, Kot fires his and
Ashrock goes down, never getting off a shot... immediately
alarms go off... Kot gets the pouch...
FALLIT KOT
(to Quark, re: the
satchel)
Pick it up. Move!
As Quark grabs the satchel and they begin to exit...
58 INT. SECURITY OFFICE (VPB)
Odo's already zeroing in on a docking ring graphic... the
section where the phaser blast occurred is flashing,
accompanied by a WARNING SIGNAL...
ODO
(into com)
Priority one security to Level Twenty-
two, Section Five.
59 INT. DOCKING RING CORRIDOR OUTSIDE AIRLOCK
(OPTICAL)
Alarms still sounding. Kot and Quark
come out of the Turbolift into the
corridor, see two N.D. Security
Personnel arriving... Kot fires
several times, forcing them back...
one Security Officer fires back,
barely missing Quark and Kot... They
take off in the opposite direction...
60 INT. ANOTHER AIRLOCK
Dax and Melora innocently step out, having just returned
from their latest mission... her chair is waiting for her
outside the airlock. Her motor controls help guide her
there... but she never gets to it...
DAX
I'm sure Julian would understand.
Besides, he'd still get to publish
the results of your first
treatments...
Suddenly Quark and Kot turn the corner in a rush... Kot waving
the phaser at them...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 52.
FALLIT KOT
Back into the ship.
Dax and Melora retreat back into the runabout. Kot shoves
Quark in after them, perhaps kicks the chair back to impede
the pursuers, then enters and closes the door...
61 INT. ORINOCO
As Kot pushes Quark inside, Dax and Melora go without
resistance... (Melora is on full robotic support)...
FALLIT KOT
(to Dax)
Get us out of here.
QUARK
He's already shot a man. Do as he
says.
Dax moves to the front...
QUARK
I'll just wait in the back...
Kot pushes Quark into the front seat beside her...
FALLIT KOT
In the front. Where I can see you.
(to Melora, pointing
out a seat)
There. Hurry up.
MELORA
I'm moving as fast as I can.
DAX
She's an Elaysian. She's needs motor
support in our gravity.
Kot couldn't care less. Melora finally gets into her seat...
Kot remains standing, brandishing the phaser...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 53.
62 INT. OPS
KIRA, O'Brien, Sisko and supernumeraries.
O'BRIEN
They're in the Orinoco... the docking
clamps have been released... thrusters
engaged...
SISKO
Ready a tractor beam. Open a channel.
KIRA
Open.
SISKO
This is Commander Benjamin Sisko.
Return to the station at once.
Bashir arrives, concerned...
KIRA
No reply.
SISKO
Engage tractor beam.
63 OMITTED
64 INT. ORINOCO (OPTICAL)
Feeling the shake of the effect.
DAX
They've locked on to us with a tractor
beam.
FALLIT KOT
Open the channel to that Commander
of yours.
Sisko appears on the monitors.
FALLIT KOT
Release this ship or I'll kill a
hostage.
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 54.
SISKO
(controlled)
I'm willing to negotiate for your
freedom... but first release those...
FALLIT KOT
(overlapping, intense)
Didn't you hear what I just said?
He aims his phaser at Quark, ready to fire, then stops
himself...
FALLIT KOT
No, I have something special in mind
for you.
And arbitrarily, without further warning, he turns and fires
at Melora, blasting her out of her chair... she lays motionless
on the ground... her controls overload from the phaser blast
and blink out...
65 INT. OPS (OPTICAL)
Reactions. Bashir's heart is in his throat.
FALLIT KOT
Do I make myself clear? Release the
ship now!
His transmission ends abruptly... Sisko moves quickly to the
Transporter...
SISKO
Doctor, Chief... with me.
They follow...
SISKO
(to Kira)
Beam us to the Rio Grande. Give us
ten seconds and then disengage the
tractor beam.
KIRA
Understood. Energizing...
Sisko, Bashir and O'Brien DEMATERIALIZE...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 55.
66 INT. ORINOCO
DAX
They've released us.
FALLIT KOT
(to Dax)
Through the wormhole.
Dax presses some panels and a beat later, the windows are
filled with wormhole light...
66A INSIDE THE WORMHOLE (OPTICAL)
as the Runabout goes through...
67 OMITTED
67A EXT. SPACE - THE GAMMA QUADRANT (OPTICAL)
The wormhole opens and the Orinoco comes out. A beat later,
behind it, the wormhole opens again...
68 INT. ORINOCO
Some shaking from the space disruption behind them...
FALLIT KOT
What was that?
DAX
I'm not sure.
FALLIT KOT
(threatening)
What was it?
DAX
(calmly)
Another ship coming through the
wormhole.
FALLIT KOT
Put it on the screen.
As she does...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 55A.
69 ANGLE ON MELORA'S HAND
which moves barely... PANNING down her arm to find her
recovering consciousness slowly... it takes her a moment to
get her bearings...
FALLIT KOT (O.S.)
Take us to warp.
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 56.
69 CONTINUED:
DAX (O.S.)
We haven't even set a course.
FALLIT KOT (O.S.)
I don't care about the course...
just go to warp...
Melora is flat on the ground and can barely move... her servo
controls are dead... and it seems almost that the pull of
gravity has her locked down... nevertheless, she knows she
has to do something and she has an idea... with unimaginable
strain, she begins to drag her body across the floor an inch
at a time... her face seems twisted into rubber by the pull
of gravity...
DAX (O.S.)
If we don't set a course, we could
warp ourselves into oblivion by
crashing into a planet...
FALLIT KOT (O.S.)
Fine. Set a course. Just get us
out of here.
70 INT. RIO GRANDE
Sisko and O'Brien in front. Bashir behind them.
O'BRIEN
They're powering up their warp drive.
SISKO
Stay with them.
O'BRIEN
Engaging warp engines.
They go to warp.
BASHIR
Can we beam them aboard at warp... ?
O'BRIEN
I wouldn't recommend it.
On Bashir's concern...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 57.
71 EXT. SPACE - THE TWO RUNABOUTS (OPTICAL)
at warp speed.
72 INT. ORINOCO - ANGLE ON MELORA
who's made some critical progress across the floor... maybe
a foot by now without being noticed... she keeps dragging
herself, exhausted but pushing herself harder...
FALLIT KOT (O.S.)
Get the phasers ready.
73 ANGLE IN FRONT
DAX
I'm not going to fire at them.
FALLIT KOT
You'll do it. Or you'll die.
Suddenly, Dax stands, washing her hands of all
responsibility...
DAX
Fine. Then I hope you can fly this
ship.
But as she's turned, she sees --
74 DAX'S POV - PAST KOT TO MELORA
dragging herself across the floor...
FALLIT KOT
Sit down!
75 RESUME
Dax knows she's got to keep Kot's attention away from the
back... sits down immediately...
DAX
Quark, how well do you know this
man?
QUARK
We've been friends for years. Not
counting today.
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 58.
76 ON MELORA
DAX (O.S.)
I suggest you explain to him that
Starfleet isn't going to give up and
stop chasing us...
QUARK (O.S.)
It's true, Fallit. You don't know
these Starfleet types...
FALLIT KOT (O.S.)
Then we'll all die.
She's reached a panel in the back... which she is able to
remove only by lifting a single arm from the floor which is
all she's capable of...
QUARK (O.S.)
(mostly, to himself)
Great. We escape, he's got something
"special" planned for me. We don't
escape, I just die with everyone
else. Am I missing a choice, Fallit?
Inside the panel is a red switch; with a last effort, she
pushes the switch...
77 VARIOUS ANGLES (OPTICAL)
as the gravity goes off... Dax reacts quickest, disengages
the warp drive... Quark flies out of his seat and Kot's feet
fly out from under him...
78 MELORA (OPTICAL)
is off the floor, pushing off and...
79 ANGLE (OPTICAL)
she hits the disoriented Kot with a flying tackle and slams
him against the wall... the phaser falls harmlessly to the
ground...
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/31/93 - ACT FIVE 59.
80 INT. RIO GRANDE
O'BRIEN
They've dropped out of warp...
SISKO
Go to impulse...
O'BRIEN
Sir, their gravity generators are
off...
That's the first good news Bashir has heard...
BASHIR
Melora's alive.
O'BRIEN
Gravity's been reinstated... all
engines are down...
SISKO
Come on, Doctor...
They move to the Transporter.
81 INT. ORINOCO (OPTICAL)
Bashir and Sisko beam in... Quark is holding the phaser on
Kot. Dax is near the gravity switch, having just turned the
gravity back on. Melora is back on the floor in the general
area where she slammed into Kot.
QUARK
I think we've got the situation in
hand, Commander.
81A ANGLE ON MELORA
as Bashir goes to help her... she smiles weakly at him...
SISKO (O.S.)
Sisko to Rio Grande. Everything's
under control. We're going home.
O'BRIEN'S COM VOICE
Aye, Commander. Setting course for
the wormhole.
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 60.
82 EXT. SPACE - DEEP SPACE NINE (OPTICAL)
The wormhole opening in the background as a runabout comes
through.
83 INT. PROMENADE - KLINGON KIOSK
At their table. She's back in her wheelchair. Eating racht.
MELORA
Why didn't the phaser kill me... ?
BASHIR
I don't know. Maybe... all the neuro-
stimulants we've been pumping into
your system...
MELORA
That's what I was wondering too...
BASHIR
It might turn out to be an interesting
side effect of the treatment. It's
worth exploring...
MELORA
Julian, I'm not going ahead with the
treatments.
He reacts, a little disappointed.
BASHIR
You can always try it again someday
if you change your mind.
MELORA
I don't think I will.
(beat)
I like being independent. That's no
secret. But to give up everything
that I am to walk...
(quoting "Mermaid")
... on land...
(shakes her head)
Well, I might be more independent
but I wouldn't be Elaysian anymore.
I'm not sure what I'd be. Besides,
maybe independence isn't all it's
cracked up to be. I kind of like
how it feels to depend on someone
for a change.
DEEP SPACE: "Melora" - REV. 08/27/93 - ACT FIVE 61.
83 CONTINUED:
MELORA
(smiles, understatement)
And I'm glad you got me to unlock
the door to my quarters so I could
finally let someone into my life.
BASHIR
(smiles, warm)
So am I.
A strange steel guitar-type sound from the side breaks their
mood...
84 ANGLE
to include the Klingon Chef who sits on a stool with his
Klingon guitar and begins to sing a Klingon love song to the
two or three couples who are sitting along with Bashir and
Melora... it's Sigmund Romburgesque... the sort of thing
Nelson Eddy would have sung to Jeanette McDonald if they
were Klingons...
CHEF
Aler acht'jar... Aler act'jar...
T'lembda boool-gah toh-gal...
BASHIR
(to melora)
You must be exhausted... if you don't
want to stay...
MELORA
(tenderly)
Let's just sit here awhile and
listen... I want to remember all of
this...
And as she reaches out with her servo-mechanism assisted
hand and takes his... like couples of all centuries have
always done, they hold hands across the table... as the racht
worms in their plate squirm even more at the sound of the
music...
CHEF
(continuing)
Aler acht'jar... Aler acht'jar...
T'lembda boool-gah to lohhhh...
And as we pull back on this shot of a little romance on Deep
Space Nine...
FADE OUT.
END OF ACT FIVE
THE END