[Prbreak][/prbreak]
Allow me to begin by stating that this is perhaps my favorite episode of Star Trek ever made. When this episode originally came out, I was pretty young, thus I didn't understand the subtle nuance and brilliance that this episode is. I've always loved the darker brands of Science Fiction, the Battlestar Galacticas, the Stargate Universes; thus when I re-watched this episode a few years ago, it was an pleasant surprise.
This episode features Stephen Mchattie as Senator Vreenak. Mchattie has since been in Star Trek: Enterprise, 300, and Watchmen to name a few. According to the script for “In the Pale Moonlight” the Romulan Senator is described as "a little bemused by this whole adventure and we get the feeling it may be hard for him to take Sisko seriously." (AOL Chat) Stephen McHattie’s performance as Senator Vreenak is praised by many fans and critics alike. His portrayal of the Senator makes him such a lovable bad guy despite his short life span.
“In the Pale Moonlight” begins with Captain Benjamin Sisko dictating his log entry to the computer. He is so traumatized, he can’t even get the date right. He his confession of the horrible thing he had just done not but a few weeks earlier. Sisko is so revolted by what he had done, he has to tell something, even if no one will ever hear it.
In the exposition of the episode, Sisko states in his log how every Friday he posts the casualty reports from the frontlines of the Dominion War in the Wardroom on Deep Space Nine. This sombering exercise has taken a toll on him and his comrades. This Friday however, Sisko has decided to do something about it. He has decided to draw the Romulans into the war.
At the time, Romulus and the Dominion have a standing Non-Aggression pact, making the two empires de facto allies. Sisko comes to the realization that the Romulans will not support the Federation and the Klingons in this fight unless he has unequivocal evidence that Romulus is in danger of coming under attack. He is convinced that if there was such evidence, it would be located on Cardassia Prime, where the Dominion forces in the Alpha Quadrant are headquartered. As such a place is all but impossible for him to get to, Sisko turns to the station’s resident spymaster turned exiled dressmaker: Elim Garak.
Garak tells Sisko that stealing the information is all but out of the question, but alludes to the fact are other ways of drawing the Romulans into the conflict. Sisko is warned that this might be a very bloody undertaking, to which Sisko replies, “I posted my fourteenth casualty list this morning, I’m already involved in a very messy, very bloody business, and the only way I can see to end it is to bring the romulans into the war. I am prepared to do whatever it takes to accomplish that goal.”
That night, Sisko is awoken to the news that Betazed has been taken by the Dominion. The planet fell in less than ten hours. Sisko goes to Garak to see if he has any ideas as to how exactly to solicit the Romulans. Garak does, but what Sisko is unprepared for, is how duplicitous he would have to be in order to complete his mission, thus a plan is devised. They would manufacture the evidence themselves.
The plot they devised revolves around convincing a romulan Senator by the name of Vreenak, of an impending attack by the Dominion. They produce a holographic recording in which key members of the Dominion’s hierarchy discuss and plan the invasion of Romulus. Producing this recording comes at an extremely high cost.
First he must procure a person to forge the recording. This forger by the name of Grathon Tolar, once in Sisko’s custody, through an unfortunate turn of events proceeds to assault the station’s favorite barkeeper, Quark. Quark is looking to file charges against Mr. Tolar, which would endanger Sisko’s operation. Sisko asks what Quark would exchange to ‘forget’ that this incident took place. Sisko agrees to repay Quark for the loss in business and help move some (probably illegal) items through customs, to which Quark thanks him for restoring his faith in the 98th Rule of Acquisition, “Every man has his price.”
The next point in which Sisko’s conscience is called into question is when he's the price told what the rod, in which the forgery is to be placed will cost not money, but Bio-Mimetic gel, a controlled substance which can be used to make biogenic weapons and biogenic explosives, whose sale is illegal under Federation Law. At first, Sisko tells Garak to look elsewhere for the rod, but after being convinced of the rarity of these data rods, he capitulates. With the rod secured and the forgery imprinted on it, all that is left is to present it to Senator Vreenak.
Senator Vreenak and Sisko exchange false platitudes, with Vreenak frequently dispensing disparaging remarks at Sisko, as if the Dominion had won already, when Sisko begins to unveil the (albeit artificial) threat that the Romulan Empire now faces. Vreenak insists on seeing proof. Sisko shows him the recording. Upon its conclusion, Vreenak insists on examining it.
Sisko returns to his log, he finds himself unable to return to his work, so he begins pacing. Addressing his log, he states, “The cost of failure was so high [...] If Vreenak discovered that the data rod was a forgery, if he realized that we were trying to trick them into the war it could push the Romulans even farther into the enemy camp.” So, Sisko enters the briefing room, where the Senator is waiting for him.
Here, Vreenak delivers the often most quoted line of Deep Space Nine, “It’s a Fake!” Sisko’s work was all for nothing. Vreenak left Sisko with several scathing remarks, and stated that he would expose Sisko’s deception to the entire quadrant. Sisko returned to work, knowing that there was nothing left he could do.
Two days later, Sisko received word that a high ranking Romulan Senator killed in a shuttle accident, returning from a conference with the Dominion. Worf states that preliminary intelligence reports implicate the Dominion’s involvement in the shuttle’s destruction. Sisko is furious.
Sisko realizes that this was Garak’s plan all along. Garak explains how he knew the Romulans would detect the forgery and how Vreenak would react upon the discovery. Thus, Garak admitted to Sisko that when he snuck on the Senator’s shuttle, he planted a bomb. When the Tal Shir inspected it, Garak explained how they would find their dead senator and evidence that the Dominion was planning an invasion.
The plot succeeded. The Romulan Star Empire formally declared war against the Dominion and according to Garak, “All it cost was the life of one Romulan Senator, one criminal, and the self respect of one Starfleet Officer.”
To read more about the characters of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, check out Soral's essay located here.
