History Recap / StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS05E26CallToArms

[[caption-width-right:350:The Dominion War begins]]

* AnswerCut: Nog asks Sisko if the rumor about the Romulans signing a treaty with the Dominion are true. He tells him not to worry, but then asks to be put through to Starfleet Intelligence. It cuts to Word in the briefing room saying he always knew the Romulans were without honor.

The Dominion attacks the station and suffers serious casualties. Weyoun is shocked that Deep Space Nine appears to be holding up very well, not realizing that the Federation has been working on countering Dominion weapons ever since [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS02E26TheJemHadar the destruction of the U.S.S. Odyssey]]. Undeterred, Dukat continues to press the attack, and soon the shields of Deep Space Nine fall. But this victory comes at a cost: with the ''Rotarran'' providing cover fire for the ''Defiant'', Dax is able to successfully deploy the minefield. With this critical objective completed, Sisko declares that there is nothing more to do and orders all Starfleet personnel to evacuate the station.

Dukat escorts Weyoun to Ops where they note the damage done by Sisko's program. Dukat knows this was deliberate, after all, [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS01E01E02Emissary the Cardassians did the same thing when they abandoned the now-rechristened Terok Nor]]. In Dukat's new office, he notices that Sisko has left behind his baseball and realizes that it's a message from Sisko [[WeWillMeetAgain promising to return]].

The ''Defiant'' and ''Rotarran'' meet up with a massive Federation and Klingon fleet. The Dominion War has begun.

The Dominion attacks the station and suffers serious casualties. Weyoun is shocked that Deep Space Nine appears to be holding up very well, not realizing that the Federation has been working on countering Dominion weapons ever since [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS02E26TheJemHadar the destruction of the U.S.S. Odyssey]]. Undeterred, Dukat continues to press the attack, and soon the shields of Deep Space Nine fall. But this victory comes at a cost: with the Rotarran providing cover fire for the Defiant, Dax is able to successfully deploy the minefield. With this critical objective completed, Sisko declares that there is nothing more to do and orders all Starfleet personnel to evacuate the station.

Sisko makes a speech to the station population and tells them that despite this loss, Sisko is committed to returning to Deep Space Nine. Not only that, while the Dominion and Cardassians were busy retaking the station, a joint Federation and Klingon attack force were able to destroy a critical Dominion shipyard. Sisko then beams off the station to the Defiant, where Garak joins the crew, noting that he is a dead man if he remained on Deep Space Nine. Kira executes Sisko's program, which overloads almost all computer systems on Deep Space Nine, leaving the station less then functional.

At this point, both the Defiant and the Rotarran hightail it from Deep Space Nine, thus completing the conquest of the station by the Dominion. Dukat is glowing with victory, though Weyoun is [[PyrrhicVictory less than impressed by its cost]]. He forbids Dukat from proceeding with an attack on Bajor, honoring their treaty. On the station, Kira, Quark, and Odo welcome their new invaders on behalf of Bajor. Weyoun is honored to treat Odo as one of the founders. Meanwhile, Rom resumes his duties as Quark's assistant, but now acting as a spy for the Federation. Jake has also stayed behind to report on the war, trusting that his status as the son of the Emissary will protect him, an action that infuriates Sisko but leaves him no choice but to leave his son behind.

The Defiant and Rotarran meet up with a massive Federation and Klingon fleet. The Dominion War has begun.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: When Weyoun arrives to try and get the minefield taken down, he's dead serious. No fake smiles or compliments. Just a straight threat.

* PyrrhicVictory: Gul Dukat is jubilant at taking [=DS9=], but Weyoun is quick to point out that it cost them fifty ships and their shipyards to take the station, and that Dukat had failed to prevent the wormhole being mined, cutting them off from further Dominion reinforcements. In even defeat, Starfleet achieved all of its objectives for the battle.

* FreezeFrameBonus: Among the ships in the massive fleet at the end are two new ''Defiant''-class ships, showing for this first time that the design has gone into production.