Line #9 Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS05E21SoldiersOfTheEmpire


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ds9_soldiers_of_the_empire.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:How Martok got his groove back.]]
3
4	-> '''Martok''': On the bridge, during the fight, when you dropped your guard - how did you know I would not kill you?\
5	'''Worf''': [[HowDidYouKnowIDidnt I did not know]].
6
7	Upon returning from captivity, Martok is given a new command, ''Rotarran''. His mission is to rescue a Klingon ship lost patrolling the border. Before setting out, he asks Worf to come along as first officer. Worf has developed a close relationship with Martok and agrees, receiving permission from Sisko. Dax surprises Worf by arranging to come along as well behind his back. Worf changes into a Klingon uniform but declines to wear his baldric, since the House of Mogh no longer exists.
8
9	The ''Rotarran'' turns out to be an ignominious ship with a combat history of failures and escapes. The crew is dispirited and believe the ship to be cursed. They also resent their lack of Klingon Blood-Wine. The second ailment at least is solved when Dax provides a large supply for the crew, but that hardly solves the greater problem. Worf tries to lead the crew in a rousing Klingon BattleChant but receives only a begrudging and half-hearted response.
10
11	Not helping matters at all is Martok's distressing caution. After years of living as a captive of the Dominion, he sees plots and threats around every turn. When they spot a Jem'Hadar ship, Martok refuses to pursue out of concern that the ship might get off a distress call. Worf disagrees, understanding the value of raising morale with a victory, but he stands by Martok. However, Dax grows increasingly concerned that a mutiny is brewing. She urges Worf to do something, but his respect for Martok prevents him from acting.
12
13	They continue their voyage until they reach the border and find the distressed ship. Martok again refuses to engage, believing that the ship has been left as a trap. This time is enough. Worf challenges Martok for command. After a brutal knife-fight in which Worf initially gains the upper hand, Martok manages to stab Worf and win, though he does not follow up and kill Worf. Revitalized by his victory, Martok leads his equally enthusiastic crew in a rousing war song as they prepare to engage.
14
15	The ''Rotarran'' returns to Deep Space Nine having successfully rescued the marooned survivors and defeated a nearby Dominion ship. Back onboard the station, Martok reveals that he knows Worf [[ThrowingTheFight deliberately lost their duel]] to help him regain his courage, even though Worf did not know whether Martok would ultimately spare him. In gratitude, he offers to adopt Worf into his house, which Worf accepts.
16	----
17
18	!Tropes:
19
20	* BattleChant: Helpfully translated.
21	** In Klingon:
22	--->Qoy qeylIS puqloD\
23	Qoy puqbe'pu'\
24	yoHbogh matlhbogh je [=SuvwI=]'\
25	Say'moHchu' may' 'Iw\
26	maSuv manong 'ej maHoHchu'\
27	nI'be' yInmaj 'ach wovqu'\
28	batlh maHeghbej 'ej yo' qIjDaq\
29	vavpu'ma' [=DImuv=]\
30	pa' reH maSuvtaHqu'\
31	mamevQo'. maSuvtaH. ma'ov
32	** And in English:
33	--->Hear! Sons of Kahless. Hear! Daughters too.\
34	The blood of battle washes clean\
35	The warrior brave and true.\
36	We fight, we love, and then we kill.\
37	Our lives burn short and bright.\
38	Then we die with honor and\
39	Join our fathers in the black fleet,\
40	Where we battle, forever battling, on\
41	Through the eternal fight.
42	* BattleCouple: Worf and Jadzia, Also two Klingon crew members, Tavana and Ortakan.
43	* CanonImmigrant: "The Warrior's Anthem" that is heard twice in the episode was originally written for the ''VideoGame/StarTrekKlingon'' video game.
44	* ChastityCouple: Dax and Worf, temporarily at least. Presumably to avoid conflict of interest.
45	--> '''Dax:''' On this trip Leskit, my bed is as empty as yours. [[DeadpanSnarker But mine is empty by choice.]]
46	* ChekhovsLecture:
47	** Worf tells Sisko that back at [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS05E15ByInfernosLight the Dominion prison camp]], he and Martok had a moment of ''tova'dok'', or understanding, that gave Worf the will to keep fighting. They share another such moment on the ''Rotarran'' during their DuelToTheDeath.
48	** Martok's injury turns out to be from a sparring match with Worf, and he's injured in the same manner that Worf is later, by failing to parry a blow.
49	* CruelToBeKind: Worf incites Martok to help him find his courage again.
50	* DrillSergeantNasty: Worf, as first officer, calls the battle record a list of failures and says that the crew is clearly unworthy of his leadership before saying that he will nonetheless stand for them as first officer.
51	* TheDrunkenSailor: Klingons need a large quantity of Blood-Wine to be happy.
52	* ExactWords: Jadzia assures Worf that she's not planning a lengthy goodbye... and then follows him into the airlock, because she's signed onto the crew as well.
53	* EyepatchOfPower: Martok rejects Bashir's offer to replace his eye, though he also does not wear an eyepatch in his episode.
54	* FieryRedhead: Tavana, the ship's engineer. She strikes up a quick friendship with Jadzia and promises to protect her once the fighting breaks out.
55	* {{Flynning}}: Worf and Martok use huge, telegraphed swings during their knife fight, though Worf's last swing is deliberately wide to allow himself to be defeated.
56	* FourStarBadass: Martok is a general and a great warrior, though he's crippled by caution for most of the episode.
57	* GrudgingThankYou: Martok gives one to Julian for patching him up. Julian then roasts Martok for getting blood on the carpet. Martok realises he's being trolled and [[ActuallyPrettyFunny can't help smiling]].
58	* HonestAdvisor: Dax to Worf, Worf to Martok.
59	* HowDidYouKnowIDidnt: Knowing that Worf lowered his guard deliberately, Martok asks how Worf knew he wouldn't kill him. Worf replies simply, "I didn't". Martok is so impressed he officially adopts Worf as a member of his House.
60	* IOweYouMyLife: Worf to Martok, as to why Worf is so eager to serve on the ''Rotarran.'' In the Dominion prison camp, Worf's weariness of the arena fights made him decide to lose deliberately, until he made eye contact with Martok. Realizing that Martok could see his intention to commit SuicideByCop, Worf couldn't go through with it and continued fighting.
61	* KlingonPromotion: DiscussedTrope; a conversation between Miles and Dax clarifies that this rule is ''not'' intended for personal advancement, but the good of the ship. A Klingon may challenge his superior officer (though only his direct superior) if he believes he's not fit for duty. This means it falls to Worf as First Officer to challenge his FireForgedFriend when he realises Martok is failing in that duty.
62	* MeaningfulLook: Klingons describe a certain kind of Look as "tova'dohk," a moment of wordless understanding between two warriors.
63	* NoManLeftBehind: What nearly pushes the Klingon crew into true mutiny: Martok has lost his nerve and refuses to go and rescue the captured warriors.
64	* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: The Rotarron's duel with the Jem'Hadar ship.
65	* OnlySaneMan: For a while, Dax is the only one that can see the critical morale problems of the crew.
66	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Martok wants to ''avoid'' a fight with the Jem'Hadar? That gets the attention of everybody on the bridge.
67	* PlanetOfHats: Discussed. Some of the [=DS9=] crew are incredulous at the thought of cowardly Klingons, but Dax explains that Klingons are like any other race, and not all of them live up to their own ideals. And as we later see, the crew of the ''Rotarran'' have fallen far from the ProudWarriorRace Klingon ideal.
68	* ProudWarriorRace: Klingons obviously. However, we see that a record of unfortunate defeats can turn even the most bloodthirsty Klingon into a sullen layabout.
69	* PunctuatedForEmphasis: Martok [[KeepingTheHandicap refuses to give up]] his [[EyepatchOfPower Empty Socket of Power]]. "I-do-not-want-an-artificial eye!"
70	* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The ''Rotarran''.
71	* ReallyGetsAround
72	-->'''Tavana:''' My mother met the great Curzon on the Homeworld once. She said he was very taken with her.
73	-->'''Dax:''' Curzon was very taken with many people.
74	-->'''Tavana:''' So was my mother.
75	* ScreamingWarrior: Martok lets out a roar of triumph after he stabs Worf.
76	* SelfFulfillingProphecy: {{Discussed}} between Worf and Martok. The crew of the ''Rotarran'' has suffered so many defeats that they've come to expect more of the same, thus leading to even more defeats.
77	* ShellShockedVeteran: Martok has suffered so much at the hands of the Dominion that he now thinks they're practically undefeatable.
78	* SlutShaming: Leskit suggests that Jadzia is sleeping with Martok as well as Worf. She shuts him down thusly, to the approval of the crew:
79	--> "On this ship, my bed is as empty as yours, Leskit. But ''mine'' is empty by ''choice.''"
80	* SwornBrothers: Worf and Martok became FireForgedFriends back in the Dominion POW camp, but here Martok solidifies their bond by granting Worf the crest of House Martok.
81	* TakeALevelInBadass: When they destroy the Jem'Hadar ship.
82	* TakeAThirdOption: Worf does this when faced with the choice of not challenging Martok and letting the crew descend into bloodlust and kill each other, or challenging Martok and killing him. He challenges Martok and deliberately throws the fight, to both remind Martok of what it's like to be a warrior and to let him keep his honor. Martok rewards Worf by admitting him into the House of Martok at the end.
83	* ThinkNothingOfIt: When Martok thanks Worf for reminding him of his duty as a Klingon warrior, Worf tries to brush it off by saying he was just returning the favor.
84	* ThrowingTheFight: Worf takes a dive in the knife fight between him and Martok, so Martok can get his mojo back.
85	* TitleDrop: When Dax is giving Worf a chewing-out in the corridor for being selectively oblivious to the morale breakdown on-board, she drops the episode title.
86	* TriumphantReprise: Worf and Dax sing the warrior's song early in the episode, but at a slow tempo, and are only joined by a couple of others while the rest of the crew rolls their eyes. At the end, the crew start the song and sing enthusiastically.
87	* WorthyOpponent: One of the Klingons wears a [[CreepySouvenir necklace of Cardassian neck bones]] and speaks admirably of the Cardassian foes he's killed. He then transitions into saying that the Jem'Hadar's ''unworthiness'' makes them ''better'' than Cardassians and Klingons, which doesn't sit well with the other crew.

Context Recap / StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS05E21SoldiersOfTheEmpire