History Recap / StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS06E05FavorTheBold

** Martok's plan to convince Gowron to commit KDF assets to Operation Return. Even as Gowron's most trusted General, Marotk knows his recommendation alone isn't enough to persuade Goweon to take such a risky action that'll leave the Empire vulnerable. So, he convinces Worf -- still out of favor with Gowron and considered an enemy -- to accompany him to make his plea. As Martok reasons, if his two greatest enemies and allies are ''both'' telling him the same thing, it'll have more weight with Gowron and is more likely to persuade him.

* BatmanGambit: The ''Defiant'' crew fake damage to the ship in order to lure some Jem'Hadar ships into an ambush.

* MommasBoy: The day is saved because Morn is taking his mother so many birthday presents that he can easily smuggle a message out.

Elsewhere on the station, Odo and the Female Shapeshifter ponder the fate of the Solids. Odo takes a sympathetic approach, while she insists that they must be completely dominated by the will of the Dominion. Taken about by her comments, Odo goes off to try to make amends with Kira, but Kira will have none of it, retorting that with the minefield due to come down, the Dominion is on the cusp of its final victory against the Alpha Quadrant.

Meanwhile, on Terok Nor, all attempts to get Rom free from imprisonment are not going well. He's been labeled an enemy of the state and will soon be executed. Quark vows to do whatever it takes to free his younger brother. When Kira tries to campaign Weyoun, the Vorta casually rebuffs her. Meanwhile, Odo has spent the last three full days linking with the Female Shapeshifter, oblivious to the outside world.

After several skirmishes in which the Defiant is able to destroy Dominion ships, only to be told to fall back, Dax takes Sisko to task over the low morale that the crew is under. Sisko is apparently aware of this development and has formulated a plan to retake Deep Space Nine. When the plan is presented to the Federation brass the next day, there is skepticism all around. Of particular concern is how lightly defended Earth would become, stoking fears that the Dominion would prefer to strike at Earth at the first available opportunity. Sisko, however, insists that that the Wormhole is the key to controlling the Alpha Quadrant, and that whoever controls Deep Space Nine controls the wormhole. The Federation brass approves the plan to retake Deep Space Nine. However, Gowron isn't on board, so Martok and Worf leave to try to convince him.

Meanwhile, on Terok Nor, all attempts to get Rom free from imprisonment are not going well. He's been labeled an enemy of the state will soon be executed. Quark vows to do whatever it takes to free his younger brother, but has no ideas. When Kira tries to campaign Weyoun, the Vorta shoots back that he is aware that Kira is one of Rom's closest accomplices and that Kira would be wise to drop the subject lest she herself is marked for execution. Odo has spent 3 days linking with the Female Shapeshifter. Meanwhile, Odo has spent the last three full days linking with the Female Shapeshifter, oblivious to the outside world.

Later on in Quark's, Damar confides that his tests have worked, and the minefield will go down within a week. Quark tells Kira about Damar's news, she is concerned and wants to send a message to Starfleet. It turns out that Jake has already recruited Morn to smuggle a message to his father, so they approach him to send a new message. By the time Sisko receives it, the minefield will go down in three days. Starfleet has no time to wait for reinforcements. They must leave now to take the station with only a Federation force.

Damar reports that there has been a large fleet buildup near where Sisko is stationed. Dukat, however, is pre-occupied with Ziyal and orders to Damar to talk some sense in her. Damar locates Ziyal, but the conversation quickly gets insulting, and Kira unleashes a can of whoopass on Damar in retribution. The battered Damar reports back to Dukat, demanding that Kira be arrested, but Weyoun nixes that idea, preferring to concentrate their effort to stop the Federation Fleet, now on its way to Deep Space Nine. Dukat proceeds to draw forces to counter the immediate threat.

Elsewhere on the station, Odo has been reminiscing with his experiences with the Solids while the Female Shapeshifter says that the Solids love of freedom must be destroyed and their experiences forever bound to the servitude of the Founders. Odo is taken aback by her comments and becomes conflicted. He goes off to try to make amends with Kira, but Kira will have none of it, retorting that with the Minefield due to come down, the Dominion is on the cusp of its final victory against the Alpha Quadrant.

The Defiant's fleet meets the Dominion fleet several hours away from Deep Space Nine. The Dominion has 1,254 ships, a 2-to-1 advantage against the Federation. The battle to retake Deep Space Nine is about to begin. A grim Sisko announces, "There's an old saying: Fortune favors the bold. Well, I guess we're about to find out."

* EvilCannotUnderstandGood: Weyoun gets a hint of this when he puzzles over Ziyal's painting and admits that his species was never given an ability to appreciate aesthetics. He sometimes wishes that he could carry a tune.

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Weyoun.
-->'''Damar:''' The ships are converging here, at Starbase 375.\\
'''Dukat:''' Isn't that where Captain Sisko is stationed?\\
'''Damar:''' He's been made an adjutant to Admiral Ross.\\
'''Weyoun:''' Good for him!

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Averted. When Damar reports that a number of Federation ships are leaving the front lines to go to Starbase 375, Dukat and Weyoun know something big is in the offing. When Dukat later says they've determined the fleet is headed for the station, Weyoun immediately deduces that Sisko knows the minefield is coming down and that someone leaked the information.

* ILikeThoseOdds: Averted. Everyone is shocked when they run into a Dominion fleet that outnumbers them two to one. But Sisko knows they have to try and push through anyway. Cue TitleDrop.

* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: See: Berserk Button.

** We don't know how, but Quark convinced Zek to offer to buy Rom's freedom.[[note]]Zek's relationship with Quark's and Rom's mother Ishka might have something to do with it.[[/note]] Sadly the Dominion doesn't care about money so it doesn't work.

* WoundedGazelleGambit: During the Cold Open, the Defiant was loudly pretending to be critically wounded (Sending out distress signals, taking their phasers offline, setting their sheilds to 30%, and venting warp core plasma behind them) to lure out Dominion ships so a nearby cloaked Rotarran can take them out.

After several skirmishes in which the Defiant is able to destroy Dominion ships, only to be told to fall back, Dax takes Sisko to task over the low morale that the crew is under. Sisko is apparently aware of this development, and has formulated a plan to retake Deep Space Nine. When the plan is presented to the Federation brass the next day, there is skepticism all around. Of particular concern is how lightly defended Earth would become, stoking fears that the Dominion would prefer to strike at Earth at the first available opportunity. Sisko, however, is insistent that the plan go ahead: his viewpoint is that the Wormhole is the key to controlling the Alpha Quadrant, and that whoever controls Deep Space Nine controls the wormhole. The Federation brass approves the plan to retake Deep Space Nine, however it would appear that Gowron isn't on board. To that end, Martok and Worf go to Q'onoS to plead with Gowron directly. The way they see it, if an ally (Martok) and enemy (Worf) of Gowron are telling him to do the same thing, it may convince Gowron to join the battle.

Meanwhile, on Terok Nor, all attempts to get Rom free from imprisonment are not going well. Odo has spent 3 days linking with the Female Shapeshifter, while Weyoun has labeled Rom an enemy of the state and is proceeding with plans to have him executed. When Kira tries to press further, Weyoun shoots back that he is aware that Kira is one of Rom's closest accomplices and that Kira would be wise to drop the subject lest she herself is marked for execution.

Kira then contacts Ziyal to see if she can talk to Dukat. The thinking is twofold: Rom is married to Leeta, a Bajoran, and that as a half-Bajoran, perhaps Ziyal can convince Dukat to spare Rom. Secondly, since Dukat has been trying to foment a reputation as a savior of Bajorans, this is a perfect time to show leniency to Rom in light of his marriage to Leeta. Unfortunately, Dukat refuses to listen to Ziyal, which makes Ziyal realize that her own father isn't the great man that Dukat says he is. Ziyal storms out.

Later on in Quark's Damar asks for his usual drink of Kanar. He's feeling more positive than usual, and for good reason too: he tells Quark the field tests to disable the mines with the station's anti-graviton beam have worked and he is now working on disabling all mines, one-by-one. Once the replication units of all mines have been disabled, they can be detonated at will, which will likely take a week. When Quark tells Kira about Damar's news, she is concerned and wants to send a message to Starfleet. As it turns out, Jake has already asked Morn to smuggle a message to his father in one of the gifts Morn is taking home to his mother. Kira then approaches Morn about smuggling a second message....

... which ends up in the hands of Ross and Sisko. Ross asks Sisko if the courier is considered trustworthy which Sisko affirms. But the bigger concern is the message itself, based on the date that Kira has sent him, the minefield will be down in three days. They can no longer wait for any reinforcements, Klingon, Federation, or otherwise, they must undertake the mission to retake Deep Space Nine before the minefield is brought down.

The actions of the Federation have not gone unnoticed by Cardassians and the Dominion. Damar reports that there has been a large fleet buildup near where Sisko is stationed. Dukat, however, is pre-occupied with his earlier conversation with Ziyal and wants Damar to talk to her to make her see things his way. But when Damar tries to press the issue with Ziyal, Kira unleashes a can of whoopass on Damar before retreating with Ziyal. Damar goes to Dukat, demanding that Kira be arrested, however Weyoun nixes that idea, preferring to concentrate their effort to stop the Federation Fleet, now on its way to Deep Space Nine. Dukat proceeds to draw forces to counter the immediate threat.

Elsewhere on the station, Odo has been spending a lot of the time with the Female Shapeshifter, to the point that they were exploring sexual intimacy experienced by the Solids. The Female Shapeshifter finds the experience underwhelming, while Odo is shocked at the passage of time, he was unaware that three days have passed while they were linked together. Later on, while on the Promenade, Odo has been reminiscing with his experiences with the Solids while the Female Shapeshifter says that the Solids love of freedom must be destroyed and their experiences forever bound to the servitude of the Founders. Odo is taken aback by her comments and realizes how deep he has been with the Female Shapeshifter. He goes off to try to make amends with Kira but Kira will have none of it, retorting that with the Minefield due to come down, the Dominion is on the cusp of its final victory against the Alpha Quadrant.

The Defiant's fleet meets the Dominion fleet several hours away from Deep Space Nine. The Dominion have 1254 ships, a 2-to-1 advantage against the Federation. The battle to retake Deep Space Nine is about to begin.
->'''Sisko:''' There's an old saying: Fortune favors the bold. Well, I guess we're about to find out.

* BetterThanSex: The Female Changeling concludes that linking to be far superior to sexual intercourse as practiced by solids.

* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** Damar tells Ziyal that her father knows the alliance with the Dominion is a dangerous one, and if Cardassia shows any weakness, they will become the Dominion's scapegoats. This is what eventually happens in Season 7.
** While talking with Ross, Sisko voices his desire to build a home on Bajor, which will be revisited in Season 7.
** The Female Changeling tells Weyoun that Odo is the only thing that matters to them, more than the entire Alpha Quadrant.

... which ends up in the hands of Ross and Sisko. Ross asks Sisko if the courier is considered trustworthy which Sisko affirms. But the bigger concern is the message itself, based on the date that Kira has sent him, the minefield will be down in 3 days. They can no longer wait for any reinforcements, Klingon, Federation, or otherwise, they must undertake the mission to retake Deep Space Nine before the minefield is brought down.

... which ends up in the hands of Ross and Sisko. Ross asks Sisko if the courier is considered trustworthy, and Sisko says he has known Morn for more than 5 years. But the bigger concern is the message itself, based on the date that Kira has sent him, the minefield will be down in 3 days. They can no longer wait for any reinforcements, Klingon, Federation, or otherwise, they must undertake the mission to retake Deep Space Nine before the minefield is brought down.

* PetTheDog: We don't know how, but Quark convinced Zek to offer to buy Rom's freedom.[[note]]Zek's relationship with Quark's and Rom's mother Ishka might have something to do with it.[[/note]] Sadly the Dominion doesn't care about money so it doesn't work.

* YouAreACreditToYourRace: Damar says this to Quark word-for-word, "complimenting" him on valuing good business above his brother's life in true Ferengi fashion.

* PetTheDog: We don't know how, but Quark convinced Zek to offer to buy Rom's freedom. Sadly the Dominion doesn't care about money so it doesn't work.[[note]]Zek's relationship with Quark's and Rom's mother Ishka might have something to do with it.[[/note]]

* PetTheDog: We don't know how, but Quark convinced Zek to offer to buy Rom's freedom. Sadly the Dominion doesn't care about money so it doesn't work.

* SkewedPriorities: Damar lampshades this when Dukat orders him to take care of the matter with Ziyal, especially when they've received word that the Federation has just redeployed an enormous fleet.

After months of enduring heavy losses against the Dominion/Cardassian forces, Sisko presents a plan to take the offensive in the war. He convinces Starfleet Command to commit to 'Operation Return:' the recapture of Deep Space Nine. Unfortunately, Damar figures out a way to deactivate the minefield at the mouth of the wormhole within a week; forcing Starfleet to send its fleet before it's ready, without Klingon support.

On the station, an incarcerated Rom and an indifferent Odo means that LaResistance has very little chance of preventing Damar from taking down the mines before Starfleet arrives.

* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Damar believes that Quark is a typical Ferengi, one who puts profit and greed above all else (including family). He fails to see that Quark does have a conscience and firmly not on the Dominion's side.

* CharacterDevelopment: This episode has Sisko declaring his love for Bajor, along with his intention to build a house there once the war is over. Quite a long way from the man who was treating the posting at Deep Space 9 as just another assignment.

* TitleDrop: "There's an old saying: Fortune favors the bold. Well, I guess we're about to find out."