The Ascent
- FIRST SHOWN (US)
- 25 November 1996
- ON
- First-run syndication
- STARDATE
- None given
- DIRECTED BY
- Allan Kroeker
- PRODUCTION NO.
- 507
WRITTEN BYWritten by Ira Steven Behr & Robert Hewitt Wolfe
Odo is escorting Quark to testify against the Orion Syndicate when sabotage leaves the two old adversaries stranded together on a frozen world.
Red alert: the full plot, ending included. Haven't watched yet?REVEAL SYNOPSIS
Odo is escorting Quark to testify against the Orion Syndicate, and the long runabout journey soon has them bickering. Then a bomb explodes on board and the runabout crash-lands on a frozen, desolate planet. Their communications are damaged and supplies are limited, and their only hope is to haul a subspace transmitter to the top of a mountain, where it can reach help. The climb pushes both of them to their limits. Tempers flare, insults turn into a fight, and Odo is badly injured. In the end it is Quark who reaches the summit and sends the distress call that brings rescue. Meanwhile Nog returns to the station as a Starfleet cadet and moves in with Jake, but the two old friends clash badly as roommates until their fathers step in and help them find a way to live together.
- 01Ira Steven Behr had long wanted to do a Waiting for Godot style story, with Odo and Quark in the roles of Vladimir and Estragon.
- 02The episode marks the debut of the Orion Syndicate.
- 03The last episode to feature the original DS9 Starfleet uniforms before the switch to the design seen in Star Trek: First Contact.