- For other uses, see Necessary Evil.
"Necessary Evil" is the 28th episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 8th episode of the show's second season, first aired on 14 November 1993. The episode was written by Peter Allan FieldsMA and directed by James L. ConwayMA. After an assassination attempt on Quark, Odo reopens a five-year old murder case—in which Kira Nerys was the main suspect.
Summary[]
On Bajor, Quark visits the home of Vaatrik Pallra, a Bajoran woman who lived on Deep Space 9 during the Cardassian Occupation. She asks him to retrieve something for her from her late husband's chemist shop on the space station. Unknown to Quark, Pallra is sending an associate of hers as well to the station.
Quark and Rom break into the shop. They are disappointed to learn that what they are looking for is a list of eight Bajoran names. Pallra's man, Trazko, shoots Quark and takes the list. Quark survives and Odo starts an investigation, but the case reminds him of a case he worked years earlier when he first came to the station.
Five years earlier, Odo is invited to the station by Gul Dukat. The Bajoran chemist Vaatrik had been murdered and Dukat wanted Odo, not yet an investigator but trusted by the Bajorans, to find the murderer. Taking to Pallra, Odo learns that Vaatrik was having an affair with a woman who only arrived on the station weeks earlier. Pallra points out the woman, a young Kira Nerys, who denies the affair and says that she was working for Quark at the time that Vaatrik was murdered.
In the present, Odo visits Pallra on Bajor, who denies any knowledge of the list. Odo mentions the name of someone that Rom partially remembered from the list to Pallra and the man is later found dead. Odo blames himself, but realizes that Pallra is involved.
Back in the past, Odo meets Quark for the first time to check Kira's alibi and learns that Kira paid him to say they she was with him. Dukat overhears and asks for the suspects him, but Odo refuses to give it.
In the present, Odo learns that Pallra contacted all eight of the people on the list and all eight paid money into her bank accounts soon after. Pallra is blackmailing them as the eight must have been collaborators who profited from working for the Cardassian. Odo asks Commander Sisko to have Pallra detained and brought to the station.
In the past, Kira tells Odo the real reason she asked Quark for an alibi, she is a member of the Bajoran underground and had damaged the ore processor, knocking it offline and temporarily giving the Bajoran workers respite from the grueling work. Dukat asks if Kira is the murderer of Vaatrik but Odo saves Kira from being executed by telling Dukat she is not.
In the present, Trazko tries to kill Quark, but Rom alerts Odo and his deputies and Trazko is arrested. Both he and Pallra are put in Odo's cells, and Pallra denies that it was her who murdered her husband. Odo had realized that it was Kira who murdered Vaatrik. Vaatrik was a collaborator and the other eight collaborators link to Dukat. Kira admits the truth; another underground member damaged the ore processor, while she searched for the list of collaborators. Vaatrik walked in on her and she was forced to kill him. Odo questions her why she didn't tell him the truth since the Occupation ended, but she was worried that it would affect their friendship. Kira asks if he will be able to trust her again, but Odo does not reply.
References[]
Characters[]
- Julian Bashir • Broik • Jadzia Dax • Skrain Dukat • Jones (Lieutenant) • Kallis Ven • Kira Nerys • Odo • Quark • Rano Dake • Rom • Benjamin Sisko • Trazko • Vaatrik Drasa • Vaatrik Pallra
- Referenced only
- Hadar (Cardassian) • Ches'sarro Seeto • Mora Pol • Nog • Jake Sisko
Starships and vehicles[]
Locations[]
- Bajor • Deep Space 9 (chemist shop • habitat ring • operations center • Promenade • Quark's)
- Referenced only
- Gamma Quadrant • Meldrar I (Meldrar star system) • ore processing facility
Races and cultures[]
- Bajoran • Cardassian • Changeling • Ferengi • Human • Trill
States and organizations[]
- Bajoran Militia • Bajoran Resistance • Bajoran War Orphans Fund • Cardassian Guard • Cardassian Union • Starfleet • United Federation of Planets
- Referenced only
- Cardassian High Command • Bajoran Institute of Science
Science and classification[]
- cortical stimulator • cortolin • duranium • holosuite • magnasite • nucleonic radiation • PADD • pulsatel lockseal • tetryon
Other references[]
- advocate • basotile • black market • blackmail • Cardassian ale • Cardassian neck trick • chocolate • collaborator • constable • Ferengi Rules of Acquisition • ice • latinum • lita • Occupation of Bajor • prostitution • Pyrellian ginger tea • shapeshifter • Triskelion cargo
Appendices[]
Related media[]
- The novel Dawn of the Eagles features scenes set after the flashback portions of this episode.
Background[]
Notable cast and crew[]
- Avery Brooks as Benjamin Sisko
- Nana Visitor as Kira Nerys
- Rene Auberjonois as Odo
- Terry Farrell as Jadzia Dax
- Alexander Siddig as Julian Bashir
- Armin Shimerman as Quark
- Max Grodénchik as Rom
- Marc Alaimo as Dukat
Images[]
Connections[]
Timeline[]
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous episode: Rules of Acquisition |
DS9 episode produced | Next episode: Second Sight |
| Previous episode: Rules of Acquisition |
DS9 episode aired | Next episode: Second Sight |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous Adventure: Dyson Sphere |
Next Adventure: Infiltrator | |
External links[]
- Necessary Evil (episode) article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Necessary Evil (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.