Star Trek Deep Space Nine
First aired in: 1995
Season: 3
Stardate: 48481.2
Synopsis:
*** Warning: spoilers ahoy. ***
Part one:
Captain Sisko, Jadzia Dax, Doctor Bashir, Chief O'Brien, Odo and Major Kira are heading to a symposium on Earth on the Defiant. After transporting down to the planet, Sisko and Bashir are woken up by two police officers on the sidewalk in San Francisco. They are disoriented, unsure of where they are, and wearing Starfleet uniforms, The policemen assume they're a couple of "dims" (mentally ill people) and take them to Sanctuary District A. Sisko realizes where they are, and he explains that they're in San Francisco in a Sancutary District, a place where homeless and mentally ill people are sent, in the early 21st century. Dax is found by a wealthy businessman named Chris Brynner who assumes she's been robbed and takes her back to his office.
In the processing center in the Sanctuary District, Sisko notices that the calender on the wall reads August 30th 2024. He remembers that this is just a few days before the Bell Riots occured and explains the story to Doctor Bashir.
"lt was one of the most violent civil disturbances in history. lt happened right here. San Francisco, Sanctuary District A, the first week of September 2024. lf we don't get out of here soon, we'll be caught right in the middle of it.
The Sanctuary residents will take over the district. Hundreds of residents will be killed. And there's nothing we can do to prevent it. The riots will be one of the watershed events of the 21st century. Gabriel Bell will see to that. The man they named the riots after."
Sisko and Bashir are called into the office to be interviewed. The interviewer identifies them as "gimmes" (people looking for jobs) and gives them ration cards so they can get food and water. She warns them to beware of "ghosts" (violent people who haven't adjusted to Sanctuary life) and sends them on their way.
Meanwhile at Brynner's office, Jadzia is attempting to contact Bashir and Sisko with her comm-badge with no success. Brynner enters and tells her that he's arranged a place for her to stay. He tells her that he did some checking and her friends hadn't been admitted to any hospitals, and invites her to a party he's having later.
Back in the Sanctuary District, Sisko and Bashir are looking for a place to stay, but every building they try is full. They come across a gang of men attacking someone for his food card, Doctor Bashir attempts to get involved, but Sisko stops him, reminding him that the Prime Directive prohibits it. One of the men approaches them and asks if they want a piece of it, they tell him that they're just looking for a place to stay. He tells them that they better go look elsewhere.
On the Defiant, the crew is trying to figure out what happened and are working on a way to get them back. Chief O'Brien narrows the possibile times that they could have been transported to down to 12 possibilities, unfortunately they only have enough chronotons for 6 attempts. Kira and O'Brien decide that they will transport down to the most likely possibilities and attempt to retrieve Sisko and Bashir.
In 2024, it's morning and Sisko and Bashir have just woken up after sleeping on the sidewalk. Sisko gives Bashir some food which he acquired from the distribution point. After breakfast, they attempt to get onto the roof of one of the buildings so they can see if there's some way out of the Sanctuary District. They trade their clothes with someone in order to get access to a building. Inside they find a wary man with a knife protecting his son, who has several stab wounds. Doctor Bashir tells him that he's a doctor and the man lets him take a look, Bashir takes a look at the stab wounds and says that he's going to be alright. They ask the man if he's interested in helping them get out of the Sanctuary District with him, he declines, stating that he just wants to be left alone.
Out on the streets of the Sanctuary District, Bashir and Sisko see a man being attacked and try to intervene, resulting in the man getting stabbed to death. Sisko checks the ID and finds out that the man was Gabriel Bell, the man who would've put an end to sanctuary districts and started an era of change in the United States. They decide that they have to take Bell's place in the riots and save the hostages, since Bell would still be alive if it hadn't been for their interference.
Back on the Defiant, they've received an official order from Starfleet to abandon the attempt to travel back in time. They attempt to contact Starfleet, only to find that Starfleet no longer exists. The Earth orbital satellite system and the Utopia Planetia space yards are gone, Alpha Centauri is now under Romulan control, there's no sign of Starfleet anywhere in the sector. The only thing left is the Defiant since the transporter accident that sent Sisko, Bashir and Dax back in time had created a field around the ship which protected them from the changes in the timeline.
In San Francisco, Sisko, Bashir and Michael Webb (the man they met in the building earlier) are rounding up as many people as they can for a rally outside the processing center. In his office, Brynner tells Dax that her friends are being held in Sanctuary District A and that they're doing everything they can to get them out. Sisko has gathered hundreds of people for the rally. One of the men from the Sanctuary District grabs a gun from one of the guards and makes the guards face the wall with their hands on their heads. Sisko introduces himself to the man as Gabriel Bell. The Bell Riots are about to get underway.
Part two:
Sisko, Bashir and the sanctuary residents round the hostages into the processing center and make them sit against the wall. One of the residents tells another to shoot any of them if they move. Sisko tells them to not shoot anyone, since they need them alive to bargain with. He takes one of the guards to a computer so they can use their access code to get on the net and inform people of what's happening. On a TV screen, the local news is reporting on the event.
"Governor Chen issued a statement saying the Sanctuary District will be secured. lt's still not clear how this riot began, though there have been rumours of mounting tensions for weeks."
"Great, we're on every channel. l bet they're watching this in China."
"Many fleeing employees have been reported injured. Several have yet to be accounted for. There's been no count of injuries among residents, but satellite pictures show a number of possible casualties. We'll have more on this story as information becomes available."
In Brynner's office, Jadzia is watching the news report. She decides that she has to get down there to help her friends. Brynner protests, saying that it's too dangerous and that he'll contact the police once things settle down. She says that once things settle down it could be too late and heads off to the Sanctuary District.
On the Defiant, they've decided to try to use the transporter to go back to recover the missing officers and restore the timeline. Chief O'Brien has narrowed the possible timeframes down to ten. Major Kira covers up her nose so that the humans of the time don't get alarmed by her unusual Bajoran nose. They transport down to earth in what appears to be 1920's. They attempt to contact Sisko, Bashir and Dax using their comm-badges with no success.
In the processing center, one of the ghosts suggests that they trade the hostages for credit chips and a flight to wherever they want. Sisko tells him that they can't just think of themselves, they have to think about the other 10,000 people in the district. He says that they have to contact the outside world and let them know the truth about the conditions in the sanctuary districts so that the government will close down the sanctuary districts and reinstate the Federal Employment Act. Sisko tells Webb to get onto the net and tell the world about himself.
"My name is Michael Webb. l used to be a plant manager at ChemTech lndustries. l'm speaking for the residents of Sanctuary District A. We're holding six hostages. We don't want to hurt them. All we want is..."
The connection to the net is suddenly terminated by the authorities. A detective appears on the terminal screen and asks to speak to Webb. She asks to see one of the hostages to make sure they're alright. One of the ghosts grabs a hysterical hostage and pulls her to the screen, holding a gun to her head.
"Take a good look, we've got five more just like her!"
The detective arranges to meet with Sisko, Bashir and Webb at the main gate. They meet at the gate and she offers to get some food for the residents as a sign of good faith, hoping that they'll agree to release one of the hostages. They say that they aren't releasing any hostages until their demands are met. She asks what their demands are and Sisko tells them that they want the sanctuary districts closed and the Federal Employment Act reinstated. She tells them that she'll talk to the governor and see what she can do.
In the processing center, one of the hostages is looking ill and Doctor Bashir examines her. He discovers that she's hypoglycemic and tells her that he'll try to get some medicine. One of the guards sneaks up on one of the sleeping residents and tries to get his gun. The resident wakes up and just as he is about to shoot him, Sisko tells him to stop. Sisko goes up the guard and firmly warns him to not try anything like that again.
Kira and O'Brien have beamed down to another location, which resembles 1960's earth. They attempt to contact Sisko, Bashir and O'Brien with no success. Just as two hippies approach them and offer them flowers, the transporter engages and sends them back to the ship, leaving the 20th century humans in awe.
In the processing center, Dr. Bashir has found the last of the glycerin from the clinic and gives it to the hypoglycemic hostage. By the main gate, Sisko, Bashir and Webb are talking with the detective again. She tells them that if they release the hostages, the governor will drop the charges against them to incitement of riot and form a committee to look into the problems of the sanctuary districts. They tell her that it isn't acceptable and that they aren't going to release the hostages until their demands are met.
Inside, Doctor Bashir is attempting to get back onto the net with no success. One of the residents brings Jadzia into the processing center. Doctor Bashir sets out with Dax to recover her lost comm-badge. Bashir and Dax go to a house where an insane man has Jadzia's comm-badge. He pretends to be invisible and warns them of the brain-sucking aliens. Jadzia tells him that she needs the piece of jewellery he has to protect the earth from the aliens. He agrees and gives it to her.
They go to Brynner's office and try to convince him to use his access code to help the sanctuary residents get onto the net and send out their message. He agrees, and each sanctuary resident uses the computer to tell their story to the world. Outside, the detective is talking to the governor on the phone, the governor decides that they're going to send in police to retake the building.
Back on the Defiant, Chief O'Brien and Major Kira have just returned from the year 2048. They conclude that they must have arrived before 2048 since the place they were just at was much different from the 21st century history taught at Starfleet Academy. They narrow it down to times before 2048 and come up with three possible timframes, but they only have enough chronotons for one more jump. They beam down to 2024 and pick up Dax's comm-badge distress signal. They communicate with her and arrange to pick her up.
Inside the processing centre, the guards and Sisko are talking about sports when the forces outside open fire on the building. Sisko takes the hostages into the back room to keep them safe. Dozens of police storm the building and free the hostages. Doctor Bashir tends to the wounded.
Afterwards, Sisko and Bashir are leaving the building with the two guards who brought them to the sanctuary district in the first place. The guards decide to let them go and switch their ID cards with two dead people in the center.
Back on the Defiant, the timeline has been restored and Sisko, Bashir and Dax are back on board safely. Doctor Bashir shows Sisko something he found in the historical database that he found amusing, a biography of Gabriel Bell with Captain Sisko's picture as the picture of Bell.
"I'm not looking forward to explaining this to Starfleet Command."
Guest cast:
Jim Metzler as Chris Brynner
Frank Military as Biddle Coleridge
Dick Miller as Vin
Al Rodrigo as Bernardo Calvera
Tina Lifford as Lee
Bill Smitrovich as Michael Webb
Richard Lee Jackson as Danny Webb
John Lendale Bennett as Gabriel Bell
Henry Hayashi as Male Party Guest
Pattey Holly as Female Party Guest
Eric Stuart as Stairway Guard
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