History Recap / StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS03E24Shakaar

[[caption-width-right:350:[[Film/TheSoundOfMusic The hills are alive]] with the sound of Bajoran rebellion]]

* CallBack: This episode follows Bereil's death and Winn's success in negotiating the peace treaty with Cardassia, which happened in "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS03E13LifeSupport Life Support]]."

* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Winn is still riding high on her good publicity from negotiating the peace treaty with Cardassia, which has landed her the gig as provisional First Minister. Kira calls her out on failing to give any credit to Bereil.

* AsYouKnow: It's not clear in-universe why Kira, a Bajoran, feels the need to inform the Kai of Bajor that the Kai is "the spiritual leader of Bajor." Imagine telling the Pope "You'll still be Pope, the leader of the Catholic Church..."

Colonel Lenaris arrives at Kai Winn's office with Kira and Shakaar in tow, but before Winn can celebrate, he tells her that the pair are not his prisoners. Shakaar intends to run for the position of First Minister with the support of the Bajoran security forces. Winn is free to run against him, but if she does, Kira will reveal that the Kai risked a civil war over a few farming machines, destroying her reputation. Winn will retain her position as Kai but no longer enjoy political power. Finally having bested Winn, Kira contentedly returns to her quarters and blows out the flame in her shrine to Bereil.

* BadassBoast: Upon being told that Quark has 10-to-1 odds on his next game of darts, O'Brien smiles and tells him that he should make it ''15''-to-1.

* Fancy Camping: Averted when Shakaar, Kira, and their old resistance friends are on the run from the Bajoran military, having to make do with the supplies on hand and sleeping on the ground - which Kira later remarks she used to enjoy doing back in her resistance days.

* AlienNonInterferenceClause: Sisko refuses to send Starfleet Security officers to help as this is a purely internal matter on Bajor. He also refuses to endorse Kai Winn as a candidate for First Minister on the same grounds, though quite frankly he wouldn't have done so even ''without'' the Prime Directive.

* LivingLegend: Both Shakaar and Lenaris Holem are famous resistance fighters. They never met each other before, but they are familiar with each other's more famous attacks against the Cardassians during the occupation. Shakaar's status as one helps him gain the support of Lenaris and the rest of the military and propels him to leadership by the end.

* PlatonicLifePartners: In spite of being two guys and two girls, Kira and her three fellow resistance cell members seem to share a bond that goes beyond romantic interest.

Soon after, Winn herself arrives on the station with a mission that Kira can't refuse. It seems that Kira's resistance cell leader, [[TitleDrop Shakaar]], has not returned some soil reclamators that are now desperately needed to make Bajor's breadbasket fertile again, thus allowing them to start growing foodstuffs for export. Kira is the only person who can help prevent the issue from turning into a fiasco, and she's forced to agree.

Meanwhile, O'Brien is running on a hot streak in darts. After besting Sisko, he declares himself "in the zone." Quark starts to catch on and begins arranging bets around when the chief's streak will end. Dax tries her hand, but O'Brien defeats her as well.

Kira goes to meet Shakaar, who now lives on a humble farm surrounded by infertile, rocky soil. He invites his old comrade to stay and have dinner with other nearby members of their cell, who are now farmers as well. After catching up and turning to business, he tells his side of the story: He and the other farmers waited for three years to receive the reclamators and were told they'd have them for at least a year, but after only a few months, the machines have suddenly become "desperately" needed elsewhere. Kira presses him to find some sort of compromise with Winn, and he agrees to meet with her personally to hammer out a deal.

When Kira returns to Winn to deliver his answer, Winn is coldly outraged that he hasn't already capitulated. She's got big plans to put Bajor on the map with food exports and pad her own resume along the way. She anticipates that it will be futile to negotiate with such a stubborn man as Shakaar, but she agrees to do it and dismisses Kira from any further involvement. When Kira returns to Shakaar to deliver the news, however, she's interrupted by two Bajoran civic police who arrive to arrest Shakaar. It seems Winn lied and never had any intention of arranging a compromise. Shakaar and Kira join forces to punch out the guards and head out on the lamb. Shakaar warns Kira against throwing her lot in with him, but Kira proclaims that Winn has lied to her for the last time.

Kai Winn asks Sisko for help in locating Kira and Shakaar. Sisko, however, is in no rush to send Starfleet officers to hunt down his own second-in-command on behalf of Winn. He refuses on the grounds of the Prime Directive. Winn hotly threatens to withdraw Bajor's application into the Federation, but Sisko is unmoved. So it's up to Winn's local civic police to do Winn's dirty work. Shakaar has rounded up all the local farmers in the area, many of them former resistance fighters, and they head to the hills, planning to evade capture as long as possible.

In the Bajoran hills, things start to get hairy for the farmers. The civil police are hot on their heels no matter how many tricks they pull. The leaders get sick of running and decide to go on the offensive. When it comes time to start shooting, however, neither Shakaar nor Kira has the stomach to fire on fellow Bajorans. They arrange a parley with the police leader, Colonel Lenaris, another former resistance fighter, hoping to find a way out of blasting it out with each other.

Colonel Lenaris arrives at Kai Winn's office with Kira and Shakaar in tow, but before Winn can celebrate, he tells her that the pair are not his prisoners. Shakaar intends to run for the position of First Minister with the support of the Bajoran security forces. Winn is free to run against him, but if she does, Kira will reveal that the Kai risked a civil war over a few farming machines, destroying her reputation. She will retain her position as Kai, but no longer enjoy political power. Finally having bested Winn, Kira contentedly returns to her quarters and blows out the flame in her shrine to Bereil.

* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: Kai Winn's insanity is beautifully showcased here, as she turns a matter of simple mediation and compromise into a preamble for civil war and a severance of relations between Bajor and the Federation. And all of this... is over ''farming equipment.''

* BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord: Winn insists that Shakaar showing up with the support of the military to become Bajor's first minister is a coup. Kira denies this, as Winn has every right to run, but the civil war she nearly started will be made public if she does. Winn can either keep the power she started with, or risk losing all of it. [[JustifiedTrope Justified example]], because, despite Winn's dramatizing, it actually ''isn't'' a coup in any sense.

Kira is saying a prayer to [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS03E13LifeSupport her departed lover, Bareil]]. Sisko arrives to deliver some bad news. It seems the First Minister of Bajor has suddenly died, and the Provisional Government has already appointed an interim leader until new elections are held: the power-hungry VillainWithGoodPublicity Kai Winn. Kira is thunderstruck.

Kira goes to meet Shakaar, who now lives on a humble farm surrounded by infertile, rocky soil. He invites his old comrade to stay and have dinner with other nearby members of their cell, who are now farmers as well. After catching up and turning to business, and his side of the story comes out: He and the other farmers waited for three years to receive the reclamators and were told they'd have them for at least a year, but after only a few months, they're suddenly "desperately" needed elsewhere. Kira presses him to find some sort of compramise with Winn, and he agrees to meet with her personally to hammer out a deal.

When Kira returns to Winn to deliver his answer, Winn is coldly outraged. She's got big plans to put Bajor on the map with food exports, and obviously to take credit for it all. She anticipates that it will be futile to treat with such a stubborn man as Shakaar obviously is, but she agrees to do it and dismisses Kira from any further involvement. When Kira returns to Shakaar to deliver the news, however, she's quickly followed by two Bajoran civic police who arrive to arrest Shakaar. It seems Winn lied and never had any intention of arranging a compromise. Shakaar and Kira join forces to punch out the guards and head out on the lamb. Shakaar warns Kira against throwing her lot in with him, but Kira proclaims that Winn has lied to her for the last time.

On the station, O'Brien is getting bored of darts and wants to go kayaking again. Knowing that the chief is prone to throwing out his shoulder on such adventures, Quark persuades O'Brien to try to avoid any risks and see how long he can keep his streak going.

Kai Winn asks Sisko for help in locating Kira and Shakaar. Sisko, however, is in no rush to send Starfleet officers to hunt down his own second-in-command on behalf of Winn. He refuses on the grounds the grounds of the Prime Directive. Winn hotly threatens to withdraw Bajor's application into the Federation, but Sisko is unmoved. So it's up to Winn's local civic police to do Winn's dirty work. Shakaar has rounded up all the local farmers in the area, many of them former resistance fighters, who head to the hills and plan to evade capture as long as possible.

In the Bajoran hills, things start to get hairy for the farmers. The civil police are hot on their heels no matter how many tricks they pull. The leaders get sick of running and decide to go on the offensive after entrenching themselves in a local canyon. When it comes time to start shooting, however, neither Shakaar nor Kira has the stomach to fire on fellow Bajorans. They arrange a parley with the police leader, Colonel Lenaris, another former resistance fighter, hoping to find a way out of blasting it out with each other.

Colonel Lenaris arrives at Kai Winn's office with Kira and Shakaar in tow, but before Winn can celebrate, he tells her that the pair are not his prisoners. Shakaar intends to run for the position of First Minister with the full support of the majority of the Bajoran military. Winn is free to run against him, but if she does, Lenaris will reveal that she risked a civil war over a few farming machines, destroying her reputation. She will retain her position as Kai, but no longer enjoy political power. Finally having bested Winn, Kira contentedly returns to her quarters and blows out the flame in her shrine to Bereil.

* CallBack: Lenaris thanks Kira for [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS01E19Duet liberating the Gallitep labor camp]], as he had a brother there.

* LivingLegend: Both Shakaar and Lenaris Holem are famous resistance fighters, they never met each other before but are they are familiar with each others more famous attacks against the Cardassians during the occupation. Shakaar's status as one helps him gain the support of Lenaris and the rest of the military and propels him to leadership by the end.

* StupidEvil: Winn insists on getting her way at any cost, to the point where she refuses to comprise unless she has no other option. This naturally backfires since once Shakaar throws his hat in the race for First Minister, it leads to her being blackmailed into backing out of the race or it will be let out that she almost started a civil war '''over farming equipment'''.

* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Kira fears that Winn will be seen as this, since the people of Bajor aren't aware of her two-faced nature, as she is.

The episode opens with some continuity: Kira is saying a prayer to [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS03E13LifeSupport her departed lover, Bareil]]. Sisko arrives to [[SarcasmMode share some absolutely cheerful news]]. It seems the First Minister of Bajor has suddenly died, and the Provisional Government has already appointed an interim leader until new elections are held: Kai Winn, the woman whom every viewer should hate by now. Naturally, the crew is disturbed by this, as the power-hungry spiritual leader is now running the government, so things will very much not end well. Soon after, Kai Winn arrives on the station with a task for the Major. It seems that Kira's resistance cell leader, [[TitleDrop Shakaar]], has not returned some soil reclamators which are now desperately needed to make Bajor's breadbasket fertile again, thus allowing them to start growing foodstuffs for export. Keeping her hatred for Winn from all but erupting now, she is forced to agree. As this goes on, a subplot develops where Chief O'Brien is on a winning streak at darts.

Kira goes to meet Shakaar, who invites her to stay and have dinner with other members of their cell, who are now farmers as well. He tells Kira his side of the story: after being on the waiting list for a long time, he finally got the reclamators to make his own farms fertile, but now that Kai Winn is in charge, they're suddenly "desperately" needed elsewhere. Kira returns to Winn to deliver his answer of no, but then Winn decides to leap off the slippery slope and sends soldiers to take back the equipment. Kira and Shakaar overpower them, and then flee into the mountains, bringing with them many former members of the resistance. Meanwhile, just as Quark is about to win big on Chief O'Brien's winning streak, he pulls his shoulder and it's over.

Kai Winn asks Sisko for help in locating Kira and Shakaar, whom she's now labeled as dangerous fugitives. However, sharing Kira's hatred for the woman, Sisko replies that what's happening on Bajor is a strictly internal matter, and thus is able to stand behind the Prime Directive. This, of course, gives Kai Winn reason to say the alliance between Bajor and the Federation is now in jeopardy. Meanwhile, things get heated in the mountains as the resistance members are being pursued by soldiers that are getting better at tracking them, knowing the mountains just as well as Kira and Shakaar. With nowhere else to run, the two sides agree to stand down, unwilling to fire on their fellow Bajorans and start a civil war over some farming equipment. Instead, Shakaar returns to the capital and announces he's going to run for First Minister. Facing an extremely popular and famous resistance leader, Kai Winn steps down from running the government. Back on the station, Dr. Bashir begins a winning streak at darts, [[HereWeGoAgain causing Quark to approach him]].

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Kira's blowing out the candle to mark the end of her mourning Bareil hints that she's ready to move on, and sets up her eventually ending with this episode's title character.

* BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord: Winn insists that Shakaar showing up with the support of the military to become Bajor's first minister is a coup. Kira denies this, as Winn has every right to run, but the civil war she nearly started will be made public if she does. Winn can either keep the power she started with, or risk losing all of it.