Not an episode with a ton of scope, the alien races introduced in this one never show up again, but an episode that does a good job with mixing the classic Trek scifi/societal issues with solid character development. O'Brien keeps insisting he can't stand being around Bashir, but his protestations seem to be getting a bit weaker over time. It seems like the aliens in this episode have probably started a bigger conflict with the Federation than they intended, but since they aren't Bajoran we never hear anything else about it which is more TOS or TNG style than DS9, but whatever.
The episode opens with Bashir and O'Brien on an alien space station working on a solution to destroy a dangerous biological weapon. Bashir figures out just the right dose of radiation and it works perfectly. They contact DS9 and Sisko encourages them to stay an extra day to celebrate their success to which Bashir is delighted and O'Brien is annoyed. After contacting the station they get to work destroying the last of the weapon and also purging the computer of any records of how to create it. Just as they finish soldiers burst in and start killing everybody. O'Briens military training pays off and along with Bashir's help they manage to kill the soldiers and after failing to beam to the runabout beam down to the planets surface. In the process though Miles gets a small quantity of the genetic weapon onto his skin.
Back on DS9 Sisko is contacted by the ambassadors of both alien races to express their condolences, they claim O'Brien accidentally triggered a failsafe on the station which killed everyone with a powerful pulse of radiation. The staff on the station begin mourning while on the unoccupied planet Bashir and O'Brien get to work trying to survive. While working on a transmitter they spend their time talking about relationships and we learn about Julian's failed love while at the academy and how happy Miles is to be married. But as they work Miles starts coming down with the symptoms of the weapon and Julian has to start doing his work for him.
Back on the station Keiko insists on watching the tape of their supposed deaths and notices Miles is drinking coffee late in the afternoon, something she says he never does. This gets Sisko and Dax working on figuring out of the recording was altered. They arrive at the station where the incident happened but things seem fine. When they inspect the runabout though they discover a deleted record on O'Brien trying to beam off the station after he had allegedly been killed. On the surface Julian and Miles are confronted by soldiers from both races, apparently they want everyone with any knowledge of the weapon killed but Sisko beams them out just in time. They escape by fooling the aliens into thinking they are on the other runabout and when they get back to DS9 Keiko mentions the coffee to which Miles replies that he drinks coffee in the afternoon all the time.
Review: A good if not great episode. A bit above average, especially for the Miles/Julian stuff when they are trapped on the planet.
6 out of 10
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