Business as Usual (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
"Business as Usual" is the 116th episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 18th episode of the fifth season.
| "Business as Usual" | |
|---|---|
| Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 18 |
| Directed by | Siddig El Fadil |
| Written by | Bradley Thompson David Weddle |
| Featured music | David Bell |
| Production code | 516 |
| Original air date | April 7, 1997 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
| |
Despondent over his mounting financial woes, Quark allows his cousin Gaila to talk him into joining the arms sales business. Meanwhile, O'Brien juggles fatherhood, work, and social life as he cares for baby 'Yoshi.
Plot
Quark and Jadzia Dax are playing Tongo in the bar, but Quark's heart is not in the game. Since losing his business license, he has made a series of bad financial deals that have left him deeply in debt. His cousin Gaila arrives on the station and offers to help him out of his predicament; Quark swiftly realizes that Gaila intends to sell weapons. Since Odo will confiscate any actual weapons brought aboard the station, Quark is to use his skills with customers to display holographic replicas to potential customers in his bar's holosuites. The weapons will be supplied by the suavely sinister Hagath, and all transfers of cargo will occur off the station in order to circumvent Odo's regulations. Quark agrees to the deal, enticed by the prospects of paying off his debts, regaining his license, and saving money to buy his own moon. Hagath arranges for Quark's percentage of the proceeds to go immediately to his creditors until his debts are fully paid.
Quark turns out to be a natural at selling weapons and the scheme becomes quite profitable, and Odo's attempt to arrest him fails when the Bajoran government intervenes, citing Hagath's sale of weapons to the Bajoran resistance during the Cardassian occupation. However, Quark soon finds himself ostracized by his friends, particularly Jadzia, who are disgusted that Quark has sunk so low. Gaila offers Quark a chance to take a larger role in the business and earn a higher percentage, but warns him not to cross Hagath, bringing news that an associate who did so has been killed due to Hagath's sabotage of his ship. The group's latest client is the Regent of Palamar, who wants to make a purchase that will kill millions of followers of his opponent, General Nassuc. Gaila and Hagath take the matter lightly, but Quark is horrified at the idea of being responsible for so much death.
Having now paid off his debts, Quark realizes he must find a way to escape with his life and avoid being part of a genocide program. He invites Nassuc to the station on the pretense of supplying weapons to both sides, inspired by Hagath's previous dealings. He arranges for Nassuc and the Regent to encounter each other in a cargo bay, making himself conveniently absent in the process. A firefight ensues between the two leaders, and they pursue Gaila and Hagath off the station, believing the pair to be responsible for the double-cross. The Regent is later killed by Nassuc's forces. Quark's friendship with Jadzia is renewed, but he ends up in debt once again when Sisko makes him pay for the damage caused by the firefight.
Meanwhile, O'Brien finds himself caring for his new son Kirayoshi on his own, as Keiko is away on business and the couple's regular babysitter is unavailable. However, Yoshi is going through a phase in which he cries incessantly unless O'Brien holds him. Jake offers to babysit, but O'Brien instead takes Yoshi to work and even tries to play darts while holding him. A checkup by Dr. Bashir reveals no medical cause for Yoshi's crying, and O'Brien finds himself forced to take some time off in order to look after him. The baby finally settles down when Worf holds him, allowing O'Brien to get some much-needed rest.
Reception
In 2017, Business Insider listed "Business as Usual" as one of the most underrated episodes of the Star Trek franchise.[1] They note that a speech from the character Gaila on the insignificance of one star or planet among countless others is a re-interpretation of a famous monologue by Orson Welles in the 1949 film The Third Man and that, while the Star Trek Ferengi aliens are usually played for comic relief on the series, they adopt a more serious tone in this episode as Quark struggles with the morality of a lucrative arms deal which might lead to the death of millions.
References
- Holodny, Elena. "The 31 most underrated 'Star Trek' episodes". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
