ACT ONE

FADE IN:

4 EXT. ALJULI VILLAGE - DAY

The locals are in the streets of the small Bajoran village, helping to clean up the mess after the recent flood. They pick up driftwood, brush leftover water into the drains.

LENARIS (v.o.)
I don’t know how you did it, Ro.
But I have to admit I’m impressed.

5 INT. BAJORAN CONTROL CENTRE

Captain RO LAREN stands and talks to General LENARIS on the main viewscreen. She is the only one in the control centre, exhausted, not to mention confused by Lenaris’ praise.

RO
Umm... thank you, General. How are
the First Minister and the Kai?

LENARIS (screen)
Both quite safe. And I intend to
make sure they both understand
what you’ve done for Bajor today.
(shakes head)
A forcefield around the planet -
I hope Starfleet knows what they
have in you, Captain. Lenaris out.

Lenaris drops the line before Ro can protest. She turns at the sound of the TRANSPORTER... and some of her junior officers beam in, also exhausted but celebrating. They won.

ETANA and RICHTER rush over to Ro and hug her fiercely, congratulating her, thanking her. Ro accepts it, still unsure - she has no idea where the forcefield came from.

6 EXT. VANADWAN MONASTERY - DAY

The monastery, crumbling precariously on the mountaintop. A runabout is already parked on the docking platform outside.

7 INT. VANADWAN MONASTERY - COMMISSARY - DAY

Tenmei REMATERIALISES in the largest communal room of the monastery, expecting scenes of horror and misery...

...but finds everyone safe, if a touch dishevelled. O’BRIEN and KEIKO with their kids, MATTHIAS and SIBIAS with theirs, RAIQ and VEXH taking care of their baby, JAKE and RENA sat together and whispering, REBECCA asleep in KASIDY’s lap.

Kasidy looks up with tired but content eyes...

KASIDY
Prynn! Hello...

TENMEI
Umm... hi. Are you all okay?

MATTHIAS
We’re fine, Lieutenant. You?

TENMEI
Fine. Sorry to drop in unannounced.
(looks around)
Looks like you all had fun here.

O’BRIEN
Something like that. Where’s Kira?

TENMEI
Umm...

JAKE
Prynn, where’s my dad?

TENMEI
Okay, one at a time.
(to Jake and Kasidy)
Captain Sisko’s fine. He stayed on
the Robinson for the journey back.
(to O’Brien)
Julian and Nog are there too.
(looks down)
As for Kira... that’s why they’re
there. They’re inspecting the
damage to her runabout.

At this, Raiq finally looks up at Tenmei. Tenmei looks back at her, unwilling to say it... but Raiq already knows.

8 INT. VANADWAN MONASTERY - HOSPICE ROOM - DAY

The door CREAKS open, and Tenmei pokes her head in. Opaka turns to her, heartbroken at having to break the news. She steps aside, revealing a body draped in a sheet on the bed.

...and again, Tenmei already knew. The dam breaks, and she falls into Opaka’s arms, the older woman holding her close as the tears of mixed sorrow and relief start to flow.

9 INT. VANADWAN MONASTERY - COMMISSARY - DAY

In the commissary, the mood is dampened as everyone absorbs the news about Kira. O’Brien and Keiko sit together at one table, commiserating MOS. Kasidy approaches RAIQ as the latter cares for her baby with her co-parent VEXH...

KASIDY
Raiq...
(Raiq turns to her)
...I’m sorry about Kira. I know
you were close.

Raiq lowers her eyes without speaking. Vexh steps up...

VEXH
Kira spoke of you often. We know
that you were close also.

Raiq cannot speak - it’s all too much - but she hopes her actions will say it loud. She holds out her baby to Kasidy. Kasidy is overwhelmed at the gesture, given what Raiq did to Rebecca... she takes the Ascendant baby, whose tiny gold eyes GLOW as she giggles happily. Kasidy is enchanted...

ELSEWHERE, Matthias beckons a Bajoran civilian over - the vineyard worker she rescued in 14x21. To her husband... 

MATTHIAS
Sibias... I’d like to introduce you
to someone. This is Chon Ivarish,
from the Tilar Peninsula.

SIBIAS
(shakes hand,
polite)
Nice to meet you...
(then realises)
...wait, did you say Chon? From Tilar?

MATTHIAS
That’s right, hun. Your family.

Sibias can barely believe it, he never knew any family...

ELSEWHERE, Jake and Rena sit on the ground, against a stone wall, Rebecca fast asleep between Jake’s legs, her head on his chest. Rena gently takes Jake’s hand in hers...

RENA
Jake... I don’t know if this is the
right time, given what Prynn
just told us... but here.

She moves his hand onto her belly, presses it there. He is momentarily confused... then BEAMS with amazed realisation.

JAKE
Oh my god... are you serious?

RENA
(nods, smiles)
I don’t know if it was us sleeping
at the bakery again... or whatever
happened today with Rebecca
and Raiq... but yes. I’m serious.

Jake WHOOPS with delight and pulls Rena into a hug. Rebecca stirs at the noise...

ELSEWHERE, Kasidy gently hands baby Aniq back to Raiq, when the excited cry comes from across the room...

REBECCA (o.s.)
Mommy! Come and see!

Intrigued, Kasidy goes to her daughter...

10 INT. QUARK’S NEW BAR

QUARK commands the rest of his staff to tidy up in here, or to serve locals who feel the need for a good stiff drink. All except for HETIK, who hugs Lt CANDLEWOOD tightly...

HETIK
Actually I feel good. Watching my
old orphanage get destroyed was
strangely cathartic.

CANDLEWOOD
That’s nice. I feel like I somehow
betrayed my own character arc.

HETIK
(chuckle)
What does that even mean?

CANDLEWOOD
(sigh)
I was supposed to be proving I was
good at my job and I didn’t need a
man. But my tachyon buoys got
blown up, again - people seriously
need to stop doing that, by the
way, it’s very rude - plus I failed to
separate the wormholes, and here
I am... running back to my man.

HETIK
(quiet smile)
Your man...?

CANDLEWOOD
(bashful)
Shush.

HETIK
John... nobody gets it right the
first time. You build something...
it falls apart through no fault of
your own... but you don’t give up.
You learn your lessons. You build
it again, stronger and better.

CANDLEWOOD
Are we still talking about the
tachyon buoys?

HETIK
Why don’t we get a drink... and
I’ll explain.

Hetik heads behind the bar and starts mixing... Candlewood sits down, quietly thrilled at the way this is going...

11 EXT. ROMULUS - CAPITAL CITY - NIGHT

The cityscape of Romulus’s capital, under cover of night.

12 INT. ROMULAN STRONGHOLD

Two pairs of boots CLACK on the floor as they progress down a broad corridor offering access to a long series of prison cells, built from ancient stone, unchanged for centuries.

Finally the boots reach the last cell. A stone slab serves as the only furniture. The occupant, the half-Romulan half-human woman SELA glares disdainfully through the forcefield at her visitors - Praetor KAMEMOR and Proconsul VENTEL.

KAMEMOR
Good evening.

Sela pointedly ignores them, just as Tomalak did before.

KAMEMOR
It may interest you to know your
former position as chairwoman
of the Tal Shiar has been filled.

Sneering, Sela reaches down to an alcove, and comes back holding a BRONZE CHALICE. She pointedly tips the chalice over, pouring its contents - a thick, viscous silver liquid - onto the floor, holding Kamemor’s steady gaze throughout.

KAMEMOR
It was not my choice to place the
goblet in your cell. But in crimes
of this magnitude, the law is
quite specific.

SELA
Of course it wasn’t your choice.
That would have been too Romulan
an action for you to take.

KAMEMOR
(re the puddle)
And for you as well, apparently.

SELA
Nothing is too Romulan for me. My
mother was human, and yet I’m
more Romulan than you will ever be.

KAMEMOR
I think that you and I have very
different ideas of what it means
to be Romulan.

SELA
Clearly. All I’ve done is fight to
overcome the Federation’s military
advantage, and I’ve had to do that
because the supposed leader of our
people refuses to do so herself.

KAMEMOR
Starfleet has been installing the
quantum slipstream drive on its
ships for three years now. And yet
not once in all that time have they
attempted to penetrate our space.

SELA
Just because they haven’t attacked
yet doesn’t mean they won’t.

KAMEMOR
Surely past behaviour is the best
predictor of future behaviour?

SELA
It’s inevitable. The inferior always
resent their betters.

KAMEMOR
So we’re back to that, are we?
Romulan exceptionalism. Such
an outdated notion. But even
if we are superior... so what?
(off Sela’s
amazement)
Does that necessarily mean we
must vanquish them? Wouldn’t a
truly superior species help lift up
the less fortunate of the galaxy?

SELA
I can see our rightful place in
the universe. Why can’t you?

KAMEMOR
Our rightful place? Or yours? Like
Tomalak, you espouse patriotism, but
neither of your actions have in any
way benefited Romulus. In his case,
it was pure self-aggrandisement. In
yours... I suspect it’s more of a
reaction to your self-loathing.
(shrug)
Regardless, you and Tomalak can
discuss your respective neuroses
with a Federation counsellor. Who
knows - it’s always possible you
and he will have adjoining cells.

SELA
The Empire has no extradition
treaties with the Federation.

KAMEMOR
True, we didn’t. But while I was on
Earth, President Bacco and I came
to a short-term agreement about
delivering accused criminals into
each other’s custody. Both the
Imperial Senate and the Federation
Council have already ratified it.

Kamemor steps close to the forcefield, demonstrating her victory calmly but firmly, so there is no ambiguity.

KAMEMOR
That’s why I came to see you - to
tell you that tomorrow, you’ll be
placed into stasis. When you are
taken out of it again, you’ll find
yourself in a Federation holding
cell. I thought you should know.

SELA
(w/ horror)
You... you can’t do that! You have
to give me a choice.

KAMEMOR
Sela, everything you’ve done to
reach this point has been your
choice. All that’s left now is
consequences. Jolan tru.

Kamemor turns to walk away, Ventel ever loyal by her side. Their boots both CLATTER on the cold stone floor.

A dozen steps away, there echoes the PING of a metal goblet hitting the stone, then the THUD of a body following it.

They turn and look back - the goblet has rolled up to the forcefield, the silver liquid it carried still dripping.

VENTEL
She was never going to choose
Earth, Madam Praetor.

KAMEMOR
No. I suppose not.

Disappointed, they turn and walk on.

FADE OUT

END OF ACT ONE