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An accident on the planet Golana sends Molly O'Brien through a time portal three hundred years into the past into an uninhabited world. Beamed back too late, Molly returns to the present eighteen years old with no immediate recollection of her life or her family.

Summary

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For the first time since the beginning of the Dominion War, the O'Brien family is reunited and they go on a picnic on Golana to enjoy their time together. Keiko is brushing Molly's hair. Molly asks O'Brien if he will send them away again. There, Miles O'Brien is living a moment of true happiness and makes the promise that they will never be apart again. He will put in for a transfer should the war heat up again. Molly smiles, and begins doing cartwheels in the meadow. As the adults talk and watch the baby, Molly drifts closer to a nearby cavern. The picnic is cut short when they hear Molly screaming, not far away. When Miles arrives in the cavern she was playing in, it is only to find his daughter hanging from a cliff over a mysterious mist. He is not able to get her up and the little girl falls into the phenomenon.

It is discovered later that the phenomenon was caused by an old device, thought to be a time portal. A science team from Deep Space 9 tries to figure the device out and even if the functioning is not clear, they are finally able to reopen it and beam Molly back, based on her DNA signature. To everyone's surprise, the Molly that materializes in front of them is ten years older. She becomes frightened and bites O'Brien. Bashir sedated her.

She is taken to a medical facility on the ship.While she is still sedated, Bashir confirms that this is indeed Molly. The Chief wants to try again, to get young Molly back. Bashir points out that if they do, the 18 year of Moloy will disappear. keiko says this girl is their Molly--even if they haven't spent the last ten years with her, they don't have the right to take those years away from her. Bashir says it will not be easy for her to re assimilate--she may even have blocked out all memories of her early life. He believes time with the O'Briens will be her best hope for recovering. They plan to return to Deep Space Nine where a cargo bay is being converted to provide a safe environment for her. Bashir says they'll just have to "feel their way through" her recovery process.

Back on the station, Dax has offered to watch the O'Briens toddler son Yoshi while they spend time with Molly. However, Dax is due to run spectral scans on a comet that will pass by DS9 that night. Worf offers to watch the baby so she can work her shift. Dax mentions that she has had 9 children (5 as a mother, 4 as a father). She's not sure Worf understands how much work babies are, since he did not begin caring for his own son until Alexander was 4. Worf says they will be fine and tells Dax to go to work.

Molly wakes up in a grassy area which has been set up in the middle of the cargo bay. When the O'Briens enter, she becomes frightened and climbs the tree in the grassy area. The .chief shows her a plate of fruit and tries to tempt her. Wary, she comes down and begins eating at a distance from them. Molly tries saying Mommy, but is still afraid.

Keiko shows Molly her doll, Lupe. Molly takes the doll and stares at it intently.

The O'Briens continue working with Molly on language skills and socialisation. They try playing games with balls. Molly likes the balls, but each time the Chief tosses one to her, instead of tossing it back, she takes it and hides it. Finally they achieve a breakthrough when Molly is just about to hide another ball and the ?Chief says, "Please" and she rolls the ball back to him. All 3 smile.

In Worf and Dax's quarters, Yoshi is fussing. Worf complains that nothing helps--he will not go to sleep. Dax offers to help, but Worf makes an impassioned speech saying he will succeed. Dax asks him why "this babysitting thing is so important all of a sudden?" Worf replies that Dax is judging him on his fitness to parent her future children. He tells her to go back to sleep, "I have work to do."

In the cargo bay, Molly is asleep in the tree and O'Brien is asleep on a nearby couch. Keiko enters and says Dax has agreed to watch Yoshi so The Chief can get some work done. While she is sitting next to O'Brien on the couch, keiko begins brushing her hair. Molly wakes and watched her, then comes close, hand out for the brush. Keiko starts to give her the brush, but Molky leaves Keiko's hand on it and kneels down, pushing Keiko's hand to brush Molly's hair as she used to do when Molly was little.

The next scene is O'Brien and Bashir walking through a corridor. Bashir asks several questions about Molly. O'Brien says she's not talking yet, but she clearly understands what they're saying to her and she responds to her name. More and more she reminds him of the little girl she used to be. He shows Bashir a picture she drew and says she's started to eat with a spoon. Bashir cautions O'Brien against pushing her too hard, but O'Brien says she's doing great.

They reach the O'Brien quarters, where Worf is seated on the floor speaking Klingon to Yoshi and playing with a rattle. Worf is saying, "gung, gung, gung" and Yoshi is laughing. Worf explains that he was instructing Yoshi in a Klingon hand eye exercise designed to build a foundation for future warriors. Bashir is amused. O'Brien asks seriously how Yoshi did in the exercise, and Worf says, "He acquited himself well."

When O'Brien returns to the cargo bay, Molly is in a panic, grunting and running from one side to the other. Keiko says she has been like this for over an hour. Desperate, Molly has another language breakthrough, saying "Home. Molly home." The O'Briens are delighted, responding yes, they will take her home. They take her to their quarters. Molly looks around timidly, responding to the "starry stars" outside the view port. But when they take her to her room she becomes agitated. She grabs a picture of them all on a picnic, and keeps saying "Molly home." The O'Briens try to comfort her, but she remains sad.

Miles and Keiko decide to bring her into a holosuite of Golana to cheer her up. The idea proves to be a good one. Molly calls them Mommy and Daddy and begins doing cartwheels as she did on their picnic. The Chief thinks they can probably schedule the holo suite for an hour or two every day, as Molly continues to play happily. Then a call comes in from Quark, as a couple of Klingons have reserved the holosuite and refuse to have O'Brien pay for their time. Miles tries to tell Molly the bad news, but when she completely ignores him, he is forced to end the program. The planet disappears, and Molly is stunned to find herself now in the small, confined room but the confusion soon gives way to anger, and Molly leaves the holosuite in a feral rage, and starts to tear Quark's apart.

After assaulting a few people, a Tarkalean approaches her to which she responds by stabbing him in the gut with a broken bottle. Just then Odo and his deputies arrive and stun Molly, but the damage is done. The Tarkalean survives but presses assault with a deadly weapon charges, and Captain Sisko tells Miles that the Federation magistrate has decided that Molly should be taken to special care center on Davos Prime for evaluation, but Miles knows they'll end up keeping her there. The Chief argues that Molly needs to stay with their family to make progress. Sisko says he's sorry, he wishes there was another way.

Down in the holding cell, as Molly paces Bashir reports that her body is flooded with adrenaline due to her confinement, and that there's a risk of her going into shock. Molly then notices her parents and starts to continually throw herself into the force field to reach her father regardless of the pain. The deputy is forced to turn the force field off after which Molly starts to get wild again and is sedated. Bashir gives Miles a simple fact; Molly needs open spaces all the time. Bashir will recommend she be put into a holosuite for the time being, but The Chief is worried about what will happen when they need to put her on a transport to the special care center.

In Worf's quarters, Bashir has just finished examining Yoshi, who has fallen and has a small bump on his head. The doctor assures Dax and Worf that it's nothing serious, it happens all the time with toddlers. He leaves to return to the infirmary. Worf explains to Dax what happened. He had been pretending to be a beast and chase Yoshi. The baby was laughing so hard he didn't look where he was going and fell against the table. Worf berates himself for playing too rough, but Dax says it was just an accident. Worf says Dax was right to question his fitness as a father, but she protests she never said anything like that. He says he failed Alexander, he failed Yoshi, and he would have failed their children as well. Depressed, Worf leaves.

Later, the O'Briens debated what to do, worried about Molly at the center. Keiko realizes the Chief is up to something, and he finally admits he is planning to steal a runabout and take Molly back to Golana. Keiko says that's the first place they'll look for her, but then realizes he also plans to send her back through the portal. He says he'll destroy the portal after they send her through. He wishes there were sond other way, but he believes she can survive there and be happy.

The Chief goes to security, where Molly is sedated in a holding cell. The deputy tells him Bashir plans to move her to a holo suite before she wakes up. The Chief tells him plans have changed, there are no holo suites available and Odo wants her moved to the cargo bay instead. The deputy says GD wasn't notified of any change. The Chief tells him to check the log and then when the deputy turns away, sedates him.

The Chief takes Molly to a runabout, where Keiko has everything prepared. Before they can board, a Star Fleet officer finds them and calls Odo. Molly is still asleep. Odo sends the officer to go check on the deputy that the Chief sedated. The O'Briens beg Odo for help, saying Molly will die if she's returned to the holding cell. Odo says he's very disappointed--because he thought the Chief should have succeeded in the escape attempt. He opens the doir and tells them to get on their way. Keiko hugs him. Odo watches as they board.

In the cavern, Keiko has packed a bag with a knife, a blanket, and Molly's doll. O'Brien reactivates the portal, and Molly smiles. Her parents hug her, then tell her to go home. They tell her they will be watching her from the stars. She says "Molly loves you" and goes through the portal, holding the bag Keiko gave her.

Once she is through, she finds little girl Molly crying. Older Molly takes her by the hand and tells her "Mommy, Daddy, there," pointing to the portal. She gives little girl Molly the doll from the bag, and urges her through. Then she smiles and says, "Molly, home." as she starts to disappear. As little Molly crosses into the present, the older version of herself vanishes, having never existed. The O'Briens hug their little girl.

Back on DS9, Worf re enters his quarters. Dax says it's safe to come in--she dropped Yoshi off at the O'Briens a few minutes ago. She says he was really happy to see his sister. Dax tells Worf they understand the head bump was an accident and they invited Dax and Worf to dinner to thank them for all the babysitting. Worf nervously asks what she replied and she said she told them she'd have to check with him.

Then she asks Worf, "What does 'gung, grung, gung' mean?" She says Yoshi kept shaking his rattle and saying it. Worf is pleased. Dax tells him he obviously made a big impression on the toddler. "maybe you're not as bad with children as you thought." Worf says not as back as she thought, and she says she was never so glad to be proven wrong and they hug. Worf says they had better get to dinner with the O'Briens.

Later that night, Keiko and the Chief are talking while Molly is drawing a picture. The Chief says Captain Sisko is going to represent him at the Star Fleet inquiry, and Keiko says if anyone can make them understand, Sisko can. Molly asks if she can see the girl who found her again. Keiko says not for awhile. The Chief says Dax explained the re calibration didn't hold, which is why older Molly ended up going through to the same point in time. Keiko wonders if she realized the little girl was herself. The Chief says he hopes so.

Molly shows them her picture--it is the same as the one older Molly drew. Molly says it's where they had the picnic. The O'Briens are startled, but then tell her it's lovely.

Memorable quotes

"By the way, what does... "gung-gung-gung" mean?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Well, it was the strangest thing. I was taking Yoshi home, and he kept shaking his rattle and saying gung-gung-gung!"
"He did?"
"He seemed to get a big kick out of it. So what does it mean?"
"That is between Yoshi and me."

- Dax and Worf


"I am a Klingon warrior and a Starfleet officer. I have piloted starships through Dominion minefields. I have stood in battle against Kelvans twice my size. I courted and won the heart of the magnificent Jadzia Dax. If I can do these things, I can make this child go to sleep."
"Talk about losing perspective."

- Worf and Dax


"Oh, bollocks!"

- Miles O'Brien

Background information

Story and script

  • The working title of this episode was "Out of Time". (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 577)
  • The basic premise of this episode was originally conceived by Joe Menosky for The Next Generation as a way to write Alexander Rozhenko out of the series (as René Echevarria explains it, Menosky came up with the story "as a way to get rid of Alexander, who he really disliked!"). In the original story, Worf and Alexander are on a hunting trip, and Worf loses sight of his son for moment, at which time Alexander falls into a time portal and is retrieved fifteen years later as an embittered Klingon warrior who hates his father for having abandoned him. The episode was never green-lit because Michael Piller was not keen on killing off the character (again, as Echevarria explains, "Alexander was Michael Piller's mother's favorite character!"). (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, pp. 577-579) However, the idea of an older Alexander from the future did form the basis of the episode "Firstborn". (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion 2nd ed., p. 292)
  • Although René Echevarria had pitched Menosky's story (with Molly O'Brien instead of Alexander) several times to Ira Steven Behr over the years, Behr had always said no to the episode. Finally, as the sixth season drew to a close, Behr relented, claiming there were three reasons to make the show at the time; "It had been a long time since we'd done a science fiction episode, we'd wanted to do another O'Brien show, and we needed to do something that would be pretty much a bottle show." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 578)
  • In the first draft of Bradley Thompson and David Weddle's script, Molly spends ten years in another culture, where she is raised in a farming community, by people who treat her really well. When she returns to Deep Space 9, she is shy and confused, but most of all resentful of her parents, but this idea was scrapped because, as Thompson explains, "It came across as if she had been sent to a bad summer school." Similarly, Echevarria points out, "It was full of all this teen angst emotional stuff and she sounded so damned American." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, pp. 578-9)
  • The idea to alter the story so that Molly was a feral child was Ira Behr's. When composing the script, Thompson and Weddle interviewed a number of psychologists and clinical social workers, and much of the behavior exhibited by Molly in the episode is realistic for someone cut off from Human contact from the ages of 8 to 18. For example, her loss of linguistic skills is based on the fact that she's simply forgotten how to speak because she hasn't needed to for ten years, or her tendency to anthropomorphize objects such as trees and rocks, is based upon an innate need, especially in children, for company and companionship. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 579)
  • According to the writers, Molly's fear of captivity is based upon a real syndrome suffered by dolphins known as "capture shock"; when a dolphin is trapped, there is a fifty-fifty chance that it will die simply from the act of being trapped - the mere concept of confinement literally kills it. This is why Bashir is so quick to sedate Molly, because he is worried that her reaction to captivity could literally harm her in and of itself. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 579)
  • In the original script, there was no B-story in this episode. However, after filming was completed, it became apparent that the A-story was running about nine minutes short. When the producers were trying to conceive of a short B-story, they came to a realization about something; ""Tears of the Prophets" represented the last time we would ever see Jadzia Dax, and the last time we'd see the Worf/Jadzia relationship. So we realized that whatever juice we were going to get out of it, we'd better get out of it now." As things turned out, Behr was especially delighted with the B-story, as he felt it has a great level of poignancy, considering what happens in "Tears of the Prophets"; "It seemed like it'd be nice to show Worf and Dax talking about a future, a future that was never going to be." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, pp. 580-581)

Production

  • All of the exteriors for this episode were shot in Malibu Creek State Park. During the filming of the picnic scene, Rosalind Chao heard some of the crew whispering during her dialog, which is an unheard of occurrence, however, she didn't pay any attention and continued on with the scene. After cut had been called, Steve Oster slowly approached the cast and said, "Now Rosalind, don't panic, but...." As Oster explains, "We were in a big open field shooting the master shot with Keiko and Miles and the two children, when we saw something moving in the grass. It was a rattlesnake working its way towards the shot. We didn't want to alarm the actors and cause a bigger problem. There were two small children there, and we didn't want to freak them out. Allan was unaware of what we were seeing because he was concentrating on the performances, so he didn't call 'Cut'!" Oster and the camera crew quickly discussed what to do (which was the whispering heard by Chao), but decided to play it cool, so as soon as Kroeker did say cut, Oster very calmly asked all the cast to walk slowly towards him, which they did. The snake then proceeded through the shot, closely followed by a park ranger. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 577)

Trivia

  • In one scene, after a piece of equipment in the background explodes, Chief O'Brien shouts "Bollocks"; this is an Irish and British expletive referring to the testicles. When the episode was first screened by the BBC in the United Kingdom, the word was removed, although strangely, when RTÉ screened the episode in Ireland, it was left on the soundtrack.
  • This episode marks the second and final appearance of Chester, Miles' cat, which was given to him by Liam Bilby in the episode "Honor Among Thieves".
  • The console Chief O'Brien uses to operate the time portal is a re-use of the console he and Dr. Bashir used to deactivate the Harvester bio-weapons from the second season episode "Armageddon Game". It also bears a vague similarity to the TARDIS console from Doctor Who.
  • Molly mentions to Yoshi that "last time they went to Golana" he was unborn and being carried by Keiko. Since Miles was in every episode containing Keiko's pregnancy (before Kira Nerys took Yoshi), it is reasonable to assume that this trip happened between episodes.
  • This is the second time that the show has shown someone being erased from time as a result of their past being altered in order to save an individual. This had previously occurred in "Children of Time".

Video and DVD releases

Links and references

Starring

Also starring

Guest stars

Co-stars

Uncredited co-stars

Stunt double

References

Bajorans; Bajoran Archaeological Institute; bat'leth; Chester; chroniton; comet; Defiant, USS; Defiant-class; Dalvos Prime; Denorios belt; Federation; Golana; Golana melon; hand-eye coordination; hehh-duHpp; Hey! Hey! Little Ship!; holosuite; Kelvan; Lupi; magistrate; "Mr. Froggy"; minefield; Quark's; Rozhenko, Alexander; runabout; spoon; Tarkalean; temporal field; temporal field generator; time portal; time travel

External links

Previous episode:
"Profit and Lace"
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Season 6
Next episode:
"The Sound of Her Voice"
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