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Dax (DS9 episode)
Encyclopedia
"Dax" is the 8th episode
of the science fiction
television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
.
is charged with a murder supposedly committed by the symbiont's previous host, Curzon.
, Lt. Dax is walking back to her quarters. She is followed by a group of aliens, who attempt to kidnap her. Dr. Bashir comes across the group while they are attempting to drag Dax away, and he manages to alert Commander Sisko
that he and Dax were attacked and that she was taken away. The group of aliens take Dax on board their ship, having sabotaged and disabled Deep Space Nine
's tractor beam using knowledge gained from their Cardassian
allies. They nearly get away, but the Deep Space Nine crew is able to reestablish the tractor beam and prevent the ship from leaving.
The ship is brought back to the station, where Ilon Tandro, son of a famous military figure from Klaesron IV, accuses Dax
— the Dax symbiont, then known as Curzon Dax — of murdering his father, and wants to punish Jadzia Dax for the crime. His claim is based on the fact that during a civil war
a coded message informed the opposing side of his father's location, and of the people who knew the location, Curzon was the only one without an alibi.
Tandro tries to use the Federation-Klaesron treaty, which allows for extradition to get Commander Sisko to release Dax to their custody. But Sisko and Major Kira
assert that since the station actually belongs to the Bajoran people, the Bajorans have jurisdiction. Since there's no formal treaty between Bajor and Klaesron, the Bajoran people insist on holding an arbitration hearing. However, an arbitration meeting is held and Sisko
raises the point that Jadzia and Curzon Dax are two different entities, sparking a lengthy debate. The arbiter suggests removing the Dax symbiont and leaving Jadzia behind, but Dr. Bashir points out that 93 hours after joining that the host becomes biologically dependent on the symbiont, and to remove it would be fatal to the host after that point.
While Sisko and Ilon debate the merits of Ilon's claim that Trills are responsible for crimes committed by past hosts, Odo visits Ilon's mother, Enina. She tells him that Ilon has become obsessed with finding the one who betrayed his father, General Ardelon Tandro. Tandro's murder inspired his people to victory and he has since become a worldwide hero. However, Enina is adamant that Curzon did not betray her husband.
Back on the station, Dax's fate is uncertain. Sisko is able to establish that Jadzia and Curzon Dax are distinct entities, but Ilon argues that failure to punish Trill symbionts for acts committed in past life times would create a perfect crime
. Curiously, Jadzia seems complacent about the entire affair. Sisko receives a message from Odo during a recess that he has discovered evidence of an affair between Curzon and Enina, giving him a motive for the murder.
Enina admits the affair to Odo and reveals that her husband was not the hero in life that he was in death. She tells him that Ardelon will always be remembered as a hero, but decides it is time for her place in history to change. As the hearing resumes, Enina and Odo enter and reveal the affair; at the time of the murder, Enina says, Curzon was in her bed. The arbiter tells Ilon he may want to re-examine his evidence and leaves. After the hearing is over, Enina talks privately with Dax of how no one would ever know that her husband had been the one who had sent the coded message in an attempt to betray his own people, and the rebels killed him for the favor.
Episode
An episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. An episode is a part of a sequence of a body of work, akin to a chapter of a book. The term sometimes applies to works based on other forms of mass media as well, as in Star Wars...
of the science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
.
Overview
Jadzia DaxJadzia Dax
Jadzia Dax , played by Terry Farrell, was a main character during the first six seasons of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine....
is charged with a murder supposedly committed by the symbiont's previous host, Curzon.
Plot
After having a meal with Dr. BashirJulian Bashir
Lieutenant Julian Subatoi Bashir, M.D., played by Alexander Siddig, is a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Bashir is the chief medical officer of space station Deep Space Nine and the USS Defiant.-Overview:...
, Lt. Dax is walking back to her quarters. She is followed by a group of aliens, who attempt to kidnap her. Dr. Bashir comes across the group while they are attempting to drag Dax away, and he manages to alert Commander Sisko
Benjamin Sisko
Benjamin Lafayette Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, is the main character of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Early life and career:...
that he and Dax were attacked and that she was taken away. The group of aliens take Dax on board their ship, having sabotaged and disabled Deep Space Nine
Deep Space Nine (space station)
Deep Space Nine is a fictitious space station, and is the eponymous primary setting of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It serves as a base for the exploration of the Gamma Quadrant via the Bajoran wormhole, and is a hub of trade and travel for the sector's denizens...
's tractor beam using knowledge gained from their Cardassian
Cardassian
The Cardassians are an extraterrestrial species in the Star Trek science fiction franchise. First introduced in the 1991 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Wounded", the species originating on the fictional Alpha Quadrant planet Cardassia Prime...
allies. They nearly get away, but the Deep Space Nine crew is able to reestablish the tractor beam and prevent the ship from leaving.
The ship is brought back to the station, where Ilon Tandro, son of a famous military figure from Klaesron IV, accuses Dax
Dax (Star Trek)
Dax is the name of a fictional being in the Star Trek universe, a Trill symbiont. It's a very long-lived slug-shaped sentient worm-like life form that lives inside the bodies of a succession of Trills, a race of humanoid aliens. The symbiont merges with its host by a process called "joining" after...
— the Dax symbiont, then known as Curzon Dax — of murdering his father, and wants to punish Jadzia Dax for the crime. His claim is based on the fact that during a civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
a coded message informed the opposing side of his father's location, and of the people who knew the location, Curzon was the only one without an alibi.
Tandro tries to use the Federation-Klaesron treaty, which allows for extradition to get Commander Sisko to release Dax to their custody. But Sisko and Major Kira
Kira Nerys
Kira Nerys , played by Nana Visitor, is a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Backstory:Per Bajoran custom, her family name, Kira, precedes her given name, Nerys. She has two brothers , and her parents' names are Kira Taban and Kira Meru...
assert that since the station actually belongs to the Bajoran people, the Bajorans have jurisdiction. Since there's no formal treaty between Bajor and Klaesron, the Bajoran people insist on holding an arbitration hearing. However, an arbitration meeting is held and Sisko
Benjamin Sisko
Benjamin Lafayette Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, is the main character of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Early life and career:...
raises the point that Jadzia and Curzon Dax are two different entities, sparking a lengthy debate. The arbiter suggests removing the Dax symbiont and leaving Jadzia behind, but Dr. Bashir points out that 93 hours after joining that the host becomes biologically dependent on the symbiont, and to remove it would be fatal to the host after that point.
While Sisko and Ilon debate the merits of Ilon's claim that Trills are responsible for crimes committed by past hosts, Odo visits Ilon's mother, Enina. She tells him that Ilon has become obsessed with finding the one who betrayed his father, General Ardelon Tandro. Tandro's murder inspired his people to victory and he has since become a worldwide hero. However, Enina is adamant that Curzon did not betray her husband.
Back on the station, Dax's fate is uncertain. Sisko is able to establish that Jadzia and Curzon Dax are distinct entities, but Ilon argues that failure to punish Trill symbionts for acts committed in past life times would create a perfect crime
Perfect crime
Perfect crime is a colloquial term used in law and fiction to characterize crimes that are undetected, unattributed to a perpetrator, or else unsolved as a kind of technical achievement on the part of the perpetrator....
. Curiously, Jadzia seems complacent about the entire affair. Sisko receives a message from Odo during a recess that he has discovered evidence of an affair between Curzon and Enina, giving him a motive for the murder.
Enina admits the affair to Odo and reveals that her husband was not the hero in life that he was in death. She tells him that Ardelon will always be remembered as a hero, but decides it is time for her place in history to change. As the hearing resumes, Enina and Odo enter and reveal the affair; at the time of the murder, Enina says, Curzon was in her bed. The arbiter tells Ilon he may want to re-examine his evidence and leaves. After the hearing is over, Enina talks privately with Dax of how no one would ever know that her husband had been the one who had sent the coded message in an attempt to betray his own people, and the rebels killed him for the favor.
Arc significance
- Unlike the Trills in the TNG episode "The Host," joined Trills in DS9 are a combination of the personality of the host and the symbiont.
- It is revealed that Curzon, Jadzia Dax's previous host, was a FederationUnited Federation of PlanetsThe United Federation of Planets, also known as "The Federation" is a fictional interplanetary federal republic depicted in the Star Trek television series and motion pictures...
mediator as well as a womanizer.