Stardate not given: Returning from a conference on which a "dispassionate view" of the Cardassian occupation of Bajor was being discussed, Sisko, Odo, Garak and Dax are found lifeless in their runabout. The unconscious crew wake up on Terok Nor, apparently at a time when Odo's Predecessor Thrax was still on duty, more than nine years ago. After Dax has been taken to Gul Dukat's office, the three men discover that, in this reality, they are three Bajorans named Ishan Chaye, Jillur Gueta and Timor Landi. Odo recalls that these three were falsely accused of attempting to assassinate Gul Dukat and were executed - but this happened at a time when Odo was already the station's head of security. Thrax morphs into a changeling, and Odo is eager to not let it happen again. But in the end the three prisoners are lined up for execution in the presence of Dukat and another Odo, just as it happened seven years ago. The four wake up on Deep Space 9. Dr. Bashir finds out that during a plasma storm Odo's morphogenic enzymes created something like a miniature version of the Great Link with his crewmates, and they relived the event from the past that he still feels guilt about.

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