Maquis, a galactic battle, and holodoctors in this batch (after we took a multi-month break)--
- Starfleet security officer turned Maquis "terrorist" Michael Eddington is back in "For the Uniform". We also get a new gimmick--the "holo-communicator"--that can bring up a 3D image of the person at the other end of the line. It's like the CNN gimmick, but better. Eddington uses it to lecture Siskp after knocking out the Defiant's systems. Starfleet takes him off the Eddington case--and he's less than happy to say the least. When he gets word of another attack, Sisko takes the damaged Defiant--Nog has to act as a living message courier. Maneuvering is like NASA--everything is manual. Sisko finally plays on Eddington's dreams of being a hero by putting Maquis systems in danger--Eddington surrenders to stop him.
- It's another two-parter, starting with "In Purgatory's Shadow". A coded message from Cardassians in the Gamma Quadrant sends Garak and Worf on a reconnaissance mission--and get thrown in a prison for their trouble. They find Klingon General Martok (remember, he was replaced by a Changeling), Cardassian Enabran Tain (now close to death), and--Bashir?? Turns out he was replaced by a Changeling weeks earlier. We learn that Garak is Tain's son just before he dies--that's why Garak was so loyal to him. Meanwhile, with a Dominion attack imminent, Sisko makes plans to seal the wormhole as a last resort--but the faux-Bashir sabotages their efforts. Scenes with the various couples act as "hamburger helper" to stretch out what otherwise could have been a single episode.
- Part two, "Inferno's Light”--the Casdassian fleet arrives--and pass by the station on their way to Cardassia. Turns out they have allied with the Dominion--Dukat led the negotiations and is now the head of their government! Meanwhile, the Dominion prisoners continue their efforts to escape, while Worf is pulled into an Ultimate FIghting competition--with his life at stake. Garak has to fix some technobabble to save them, despite severe claustrophobia. The Klingon fleet shows up at DS9, with Gowron aka Barney Google leading them. Sisko gets him to agree to work together. Dukat threatens to take over the station. Faux-Bashir does everything but twirl an imaginary mustache, but continues to fool the crew. Worf manages to impress the Jem'Hadar in battle, and Garak fixes the doohickey just in time to beam them back to the runabout, so they can warn DS9 about Faux-Bashir. He's busy about to blow up Bajor's sun, but the Defiant stops him. The whole Dominion attack was a ruse, designed to concentrate all Starfleet forces in one spot and destroy it. Unfortunately, all they did was bring the Federation and the Klingon Empire back together.
- Another Trek doctor drops by in "Doctor Bashir, I Presume"--should I get my sonic screwdriver? The other doctor, Zimmerman, is the template for the holographic doctor on Voyager, already in it's third season by that time. He's dropping by DS9 to offer Bashir the role of the new template. We get some impressive shots of dual Bashirs and Zimmermen as the holodoctors are tested. Bashir, who's normally rather boastful, doesn't want Zimmerman to interview his parents as part of the process. Zimmerman ignores him, and the parents suddenly arrive on the station. Bashir has a dark secret--he's the result of illegal genetic manipulation, which enhanced his intelligence and helped to make him the brilliant doctor he is. His father, who never owned up to anything before in his life, accepts a short prison sentence in order to save Bashir's career. A rather silly episode quickly turned into a serious social commentary. There's a B-story about Leeta and Rom--they finally get together.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (and all the Trek series) is available on Netflix.