“In the Cards” is episode twenty-five of season five of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
DS9’s senior staff are dining together, with Nog and Jake serving. None of them appear terribly happy. Starfleet has apparently lost a third ship on the Cardassian border in the past three weeks. Sisko tries to change the subject. This doesn’t work so well. According to Odo, the theft of food and medical supplies has increased drastically – a jump he hasn’t seen since just before the Cardassians were forced to abandon DS9. As the meal ends and everyone leaves, Sisko receives a message – Kai Winn is coming to the station the next day and wants to meet with him. Which caps a depressing time.
Nog and Jake repair to Quark’s, where Quark tells them that there is going to be an auction tomorrow of some of the galaxy’s rarest antiquities. According to Quark, he isn’t selling the items, just running the auction. The Bajorans had found a derelict freighter about a light year away, with the cargo hold full of all sorts of things.
When Nog reads out the list of junk, Jake stops him when he gets to one item. A 20th century baseball card. More precisely, a mint 1951 Willie Mays rookie card. Jake thinks that this is the perfect item to cheer up his father. Jake plans to bid on the card himself, and give it to Sisko. How hard can that be? Famous last words. Nog is not willing to lend Jake the money he needs to bid; of course, Jake has none of his own. So Jake uses emotional blackmail. The auction for the Willie Mays card reaches a higher price than expected. Much higher – an amount far higher than the amount of money Nog has.
Jake really wants to get the baseball card. The question is how. They speak to the winning bidder, Dr. Elias Giger (Brian Markinson), but he isn’t interested in talking. He also seems rather weird. Later, he is more willing to talk. And definitely rather strange. He will trade the card – not sell it – in exchange for a list of items he needs, that he personally would struggle to get but which he believes that Jake and Nog can find. For his research – into stopping death. Research he has nearly completed – and whose result also sounds a bit bonkers. So that Jake won’t let his father down – in his own mind anyway – he agrees to find the items. Which results in Nog and Jake doing lots of favours for lots of people to get the items. Then things get a little unexpected.
Kai Winn is on the station to meet a representative of the Dominion (Weyoun), at the Dominion’s request. Winn does not know why they want to meet her. She is worried about Bajor, and the potential dangers for the planet of a war between the Dominion and the Federation. Sisko agrees with her on this matter, and says he will do everything he can to help. Except being nice to Weyoun. Kai Winn is unsure about what she should do regarding Weyoun’s proposal.