June 13th, 1993, "Duet"
Fiver by Marc
The Episode
DAX: Power balance levels are reading normal. I was a champion window breaker. On a dark night with a few rocks, I was deadly.
KIRA: Er, which you are you talking about?
It's an interesting question: how many glass windows still exist in the Federation? I'm not saying that all windows are transparent aluminum in the future, but there must be a more durable option than glass. Something that would resist your standard hurricane or baseball.
As for which Dax this is, I'm fairly certain it wasn't Jadzia. My money is on Torias, the pilot. He seemed like the reckless one.
KIRA: Commander, I'd like to go down to the Infirmary and meet that patient.
SISKO: Of course. Why?
KIRA: The only cases of Kalla-Nohra I know of were the result of a mining accident at a Bajoran forced labour camp I helped liberate. The survivors of Gallitep have always been a symbol to us of strength and courage.
I'm having trouble believing that Cardassians and Bajorans would have the same chronic health effects from the same source.
BASHIR: Will someone tell me what's going on? This man needs medical care.
KIRA: Then give it to him in his cell.
Ugh. The Cardassians would have the foresight to fortify one of the medical bays to be securable. You'd want to protect Gul Dukat while he was undergoing surgery, right? Furthermore, I don't mean to be a jerk, but Marritza is an old man. One deputy in the corner with a phaser set to stun should be able to handle him. Toss in being handcuffed to the bed and he's not going anywhere.
KIRA: The only way he could have contracted that condition was to have served at the Gallitep labour camp at the time of the mining accident.
SISKO: So that makes him a war criminal, just being there?
I don't care to explore the comparisons with Nazi concentration camps or the degree of culpability the lower-ranking Nazis would have. It's enough to say that this specific case requires more exploration.
KAVAL [on monitor]: Commander, if this Marritza was at Gallitep, we want him, and we will have him. Is that clear?
This seems like a topic that needs to be explored more. Were the Cardassians, including their civilians, told to not travel in or near Bajoran space lest they be incarcerated pending proof of innocence in the atrocities of the Occupation?
KIRA: And the Federation has no right telling us how to deal with our criminals.
SISKO: If it turns out that he is a criminal, then he'll be yours and you're welcome to him. Until then, he's just a traveller under suspicion.
You know, they really forgot to resolve the events from last week, because the consequences of rampant suspicion can be politically dangerous. I get that this episode is meant to soften Kira a bit, but I think the writers rushed things a bit to much.
SISKO: I think you're too close to be objective, yes.
KIRA: You're right, I'm not objective.
Yeah, that should be a signal to Sisko to ask for a new liason officer. Kira is not the final arbiter of Bajoran justice, and acting like she is will get her into trouble over and over again and eventually cause a diplomatic incident.
KAINON: I'll do my best. Oh, and Odo let me know when you hang the Cardassian.
I wonder what a Bajoran execution looks like. Probably not hanging.
MARRITZA: Persecuting Cardassians goes far beyond your job, Major, it's your passion.
Yes, this is blatant manipulation on Marritza's part, but the beautify part is how much truth there is. Cardassians take delight in hurting Bajorans, so why shouldn't the reverse also be true. That's one place where the Federation really is more advanced.
KIRA: I hope we don't keep you waiting long. I never heard of a filing clerk becoming an instructor at a military academy.
MARRITZA: Until now.
KIRA: And what did you teach?
MARRITZA: Believe it or not, filing.
Like SF Debris says, she walked into that one.
MARRITZA: You saw what we wanted you to see. Who do you think started the rumours about brutality at Gallitep? It was Gul Darhe'el himself. Now there was a leader. Brilliant, extraordinary man. He knew that to rule by fear was to rule completely. Why bother with actual mass murders, when the mere reports of such incidents had the same effect.
I'm having trouble seeing the Cardassians do this. It seems more like a Romulan thing to do.
DUKAT [on monitor]: Commander, I was led to believe the Federation guarantees the safe and unrestricted passage of all travellers visiting your station.
SISKO: That's correct.
DUKAT [on monitor]: Then how do you explain the detention of a Cardassian citizen?
It's a shocking day when Dukat is reasonable and Kira isn't. As the episode continues I think that this stuff should've happened before "Dramatis Personae", the contrast in Kira's behavior would've been more apparent.
DUKAT [on monitor]: I assure you, Commander, you don't require our assistance. If this patient says his name is Marritza, then that's who he is.
Whatever crimes you can pin onto the Cardassians, lying about your identity is not one that stands out to me. Cardassians would be proud of who and what they are, no matter how humble the position. They would appreciate the necessity of grunts like filing clerks.
DUKAT [on monitor]: I do appreciate the awkwardness of your position here, Commander. This Bajoran obsession with alleged Cardassian improprieties during the occupation is really quite distasteful.
And here's where Dukat loses the moral high ground. He should never be allowed to use "alleged" in this context.
KIRA: All I want is to see him punished.
DAX: Even if he is just a file clerk?
KIRA: That's just it. I don't want him to be a file clerk. I want him to be, I don't know, something worse.
DAX: You want him to be guilty.
KIRA: As far as I'm concerned, if he was at Gallitep, he is guilty. They're all guilty. His punishment will let Bajor feel some satisfaction.
DAX: It sounds like you're trying too hard to believe what you're saying. You already know if you punish him without reason, it won't mean anything. And you already know vengeance isn't enough.
A good conversation. Kira's character development hasn't reached the point yet where she can appreciate that not all Cardassians are alike. Like I've said before, Garak should stand as an example. He never ranted about the inferiority of Bajorans. He doesn't feel the need to lift himself up by tearing others down. When he insults someone, it's about stuff they really did.
MARRITZA: War crimes? How could there be war crimes when there hasn't been a war? Oh, I can understand your wish there had been a war. Your need to indulge some pathetic fantasy of brave Bajoran soldiers marching to honourable defeat. But in fact, Major, you and I know there was no war, no glory. Bajor didn't resist, it surrendered.
A war crime is a violation of the law of war. In reading the list I'm not sure they actually happened, because Marritza is right: Bajor wasn't able to fight a war against the Cardassians and fell quickly.
However, there is the separate category of "crimes against humanity" that don't need a war to happen. Wikipedia has a lot of interesting information on this subject. Cardassia is definitely guilty of these during the Occupation.