"In the Pale Moonlight" is the 19th episode of the 6th season of Star Trek: Deep Space 9.
Sick of the losses the Federation is taking in the war, Sisko enlists Garak's help in getting the Romulans to join the Federation against the Dominion. Sisko soon learns that in order to save the Federation, he must abandon the values it stands for.
The title of the episode refers to a quote from the Batman movie: "Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?"
Episode summary
This is generally considered to be one of the best episodes, occurring precisely at the height of the Dominion War. The episode is structured as an entry in Captain Sisko's log, made after the fact, allowing Sisko to narrate.
The war with the Dominion has been costly for The Federation and its allies. Weekly casualty reports seem unending as the number of dead climbs to millions. They weigh heavily on the mind of Captain Benjamin Sisko, the man who fired the first shot in this bloody conflict.
As yet another casualty report makes its way to his desk, he comes to realize that the list is likely to grow far longer: the Federation seems headed for defeat. This moment of lucidity brings about a determination to do something about it. After deliberating with his old friend Jadzia Dax, he comes to realize that the only way to defeat The Dominion is to get the Romulans to abandon their neutrality and join the Federation and its allies.
In persual of this goal, Sisko enlists the help of the station's resident spymaster, Garak. His experience as a high-ranking member of the Obsidian Order makes for a long list of useful contacts back on Cardassia Prime. The initial plan calls for Garak's operatives to infiltrate the Dominion's stronghold on Cardassia and obtain evidence of plans to eventually conquer the Romulan Empire. Unfortunately, Dominion security is highly efficient and all operatives are eliminated within a day of being contacted.
Sisko, disappointed at the dismal failure of his admitted "long shot" plan, is ready to call it a day, but Garak believes that there might be another way. Garak's plan calls for the construction of fake official holographic records of a meeting wherein the invasion of Romulan territory is discussed. Sisko is told that the datarod containing these records will be genuine and indistinguishable from the real thing.
Once the counterfeit rod is completed, Sisko invites high-ranking Romulan Senator Vreenak to a secret meeting on station premises. He tries to convince the doubtful Romulan that the Dominion's ultimate goal is to dominate all of the Alpha Quadrant and that it is only a matter of time before they set their sights on Romulus. Vreenak demands proof and is presented with the fake datarod. After careful study, however, Vreenak emerges from his shuttle declaring the rod to be a fake. Sisko is dejected, thinking that his plan has failed yet again and, worse still, Vreenak will return to the Senate with news of Starfleet's duplicity. Sisko, in attempting to make new allies, has only alienated them.
On his way home, however, Vreenak's shuttle mysteriously explodes as he crosses into Romulan space — an explosion Garak seems very smug about. Sisko is, at first, incensed, but Garak successfully defends his unexpected addition to the plan: the bomb he planted was similar in nature to Dominion explosives, so the Romulans will believe that they destroyed Vreenak's shuttle. The datarod, floating in space but damaged enough to cover its counterfeit nature, will be discovered and taken at face value. Clearly, they will believe that Vreenak managed to obtain the Dominion's invasion plans and that the Dominion killed him rather than allow him to return home. All goes as Garak has predicted, and the Romulans join the war effort and destroy a number of Dominion installations near their territory. This event marks a turning point in the Dominion War, with the Cardassia-Dominion alliance never quite regaining its initial momentum.
This episode is considered a Star Trek classic, both because it is extremely well executed and because it stands as a prime example of Deep Space 9's frequent rejection of Federation idealist dogma in favour of more practical, though less righteous, solutions. Sisko has, as Garak puts it, saved the Alpha Quadrant, at the cost of (1) the life of one Romulan senator, (2) the life of one criminal forger, and (3) the self-respect of one Starfleet officer. Sisko, though troubled, decides that he can live with that. He then orders the computer to delete the log, leaving viewers with a blank screen as the credits roll.
Guest stars
External links
Last updated: 10-19-2005 21:27:46
