Probably the weakest episode so far, but still above average for most other Trek shows. This one feels a bit like an attempt to make sure TNG fans were watching or they would miss out on their favorite characters adventures. Vash isn't my favorite character, it never really seemed that Jean Luc was that into her despite what literally every other character has to say about it. Honestly though she is better in this episode that Q who just seems like he is sad that another human has lost interest in him. The plot with the artifact she is so proud of being the source of problems on the station felt a little weak for a B story, but the scenes with Vash and Quark together add a solid point to this ones score.
The episode opens with Bashir trying to impress a Bajoran woman with tales of conquest over medical exams while O'Brien laughs in the background. They are both called away, a runabout has come back from the wormhole with Dax on board and it doesn't even have enough power to open the door let alone run life support. Sensors show three life forms but they never really deal with this but I guess it is supposed to be the rock, not Q. In addition to Dax and some unnamed crew member is Vash, Picards semi-love interest/archaeology buddy from TNG. Since I payed attention I remembered that she left with Q but maybe that wasn't common knowledge on the Enterprise since O'Brien doesn't seem to recall this. Thus they are baffled that she has been in the gamma quadrant for the last two years. She first goes to the doctor where Julian can barely contain his excitement at meeting a beautiful woman. Next she drops off a bag of artifacts at the assay office to be held securely including a glowing stone that is obviously the episodes MacGuffin for the episode.
O'Brien can't figure out why the runabout lost power but Vash isn't worried. She starts to unpack when Q arrives determined to not let her reject him. Quark interrupts and offers to arrange an auction of her artifacts in exchange for a percentage. She rubs his ears just that way to get him to agree to a lower percentage. Quark leaves but Bashir arrives. He just can't stop thinking about her and gets her to agree to meet him for dinner. Q beats him to Quarks where he pretends to be a waiter before putting Julian to sleep for the rest of the episode, but O'Brien spots Q and recognizes him even in his Bajoran disguise. He tells Sisko who confronts Vash but Q is already there to taunt him. After making everyone disappear Q leaves but the station has started losing power in the same way the runabout did.
Before the auction Q reminds Vash how much he helped her, but she is still determined to leave him. As the auction begins the situation on the station is becoming dire. Not only have they lost power but they are being pulled into the wormhole. Since DS9 is a station, not a ship, it isn't designed to withstand the kind of stresses the wormhole puts on stuff going through it. Dax has come up with a plan to release tritium to figure out where the energy drain is coming from. The auction has Quark freaking out with joy over the profits. Q shows up to taunt him a bit but he doesn't care. The glowing stone goes last and is up to several thousand bars of latinum before Q jumps in with a million bar bid. Just as the auction close Dax rushes in with Sisko and Kira. They beam the stone into space just before it explodes. It turns into a space butterfly and disappears through the wormhole. Q finally agrees to leave Vash alone but she can't resist the urge to go on another treasure hunt.
Review: A fairly average Trek episode despite the double TNG references. Having the crisis turn out to be centered around a space butterfly is honestly hella Trek. This would have been a 5, but the Quark/Vash scenes make it:
6 out of 10
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