For the Uniform

"For the Uniform" is the 111th episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 13th episode of the fifth season. First broadcast on February 3, 1997, the episode's premiere was watched by 5,680,000 viewers.[1]

"For the Uniform"
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode
Episode no.Season 5
Episode 13
Directed byVictor Lobl
Written byPeter Allan Fields
Featured musicDennis McCarthy
Production code511
Original air dateFebruary 3, 1997 (1997-02-03)
Guest appearance(s)

Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the crew of the space station Deep Space Nine near the planet Bajor, as the Bajorans recover from a decades-long occupation by the imperialistic Cardassians. In the middle seasons of the series, as the United Federation of Planets maintains an uneasy peace with Cardassia, a recurring plot thread involves the Maquis, a renegade terrorist group of Federation nationals trying to strike back against the Cardassians. In this episode, Kenneth Marshall returns in his recurring role as Michael Eddington, a former Starfleet officer who has defected to the renegade Maquis; he is hunted by Benjamin Sisko, the captain of Deep Space Nine, who holds a grudge against Eddington for his betrayal.

Plot

Sisko encounters Michael Eddington, his former Starfleet Security Chief, who betrayed him and joined the Maquis. Obsessed with capturing the traitor, Sisko pursues him in his ship, the USS Defiant. But when Sisko gives the order to fire, the Defiant experiences a massive computer failure—caused by Eddington. He leaves Sisko angry and humiliated, and facing a long trip home.

The Defiant is towed back to Deep Space Nine by the starship Malinche, and Chief O'Brien begins the massive job of bringing the ship back on-line. Adding insult to injury, Sisko learns that Captain Sanders of the Malinche has been given the assignment to apprehend Eddington, since Starfleet has lost faith in Sisko's ability to do the job. But when he learns that Eddington is attacking Cardassian colonies with a weapon that renders planets uninhabitable to Cardassians, the Malinche is too far away to intercept him. Sisko sees his chance, and although the Defiant is not yet fully repaired, he and his crew take the ship back into space.

The ship lurches out of the station and soon encounters Eddington again. Eddington taunts Sisko by sending him a copy of the novel Les Misérables and comparing Sisko to the obsessive policeman Javert. The captain realizes too late that he was baited to false coordinates. As the crew sets off to find Eddington's real location, a distress call is received from the Malinche—Maquis forces have ambushed and disabled the starship.

Sisko determines Eddington's next planetary target, but is too late to stop him from releasing his weapon into the atmosphere. The Defiant chases after Eddington's fleeing ship, but Eddington cripples a transport vessel evacuating Cardassian civilians, forcing Sisko to break off his pursuit and rescue the helpless Cardassians.

Sisko realizes that Eddington sees himself as a noble hero and Sisko as the obsessed villain. In order to stop Eddington, Sisko decides he must do something truly villainous. He prepares to poison the atmosphere of a Maquis colony in retaliation, and reveals his sinister plan to all. Eddington is prepared to call his bluff. Sisko orders the deadly torpedoes launched, and the Maquis scramble to evacuate. Sisko says that he is prepared to eliminate every Maquis colony in the demilitarized zone, and Eddington, realizing Sisko is serious, makes the "heroic" gesture of offering himself in exchange. Eddington is captured, and Sisko's vendetta is finally over.

Reception

In 2020, Gizmodo listed this episode as one of the "must watch" episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine show.[2]

In 2018, Vulture.com rated "For the Uniform" the 10th best episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, noting a focus on story arcs of Michael Eddington and the Maquis.[3]

In 2016, Empire ranked this the 27th best episode out of the top 50 episodes of all the 700+ Star Trek television episodes.[4]

References
  1. http://users.telenet.be/WebTrek/Ds9/Ratings/ratings5.html
  2. "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Must-Watch Episodes". io9. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  3. Bastién, Angelica Jade (January 4, 2018). "The Best Episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Ranked". www.vulture.com. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  4. "The 50 best Star Trek episodes ever". Empire. 2016-07-27. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
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