“Penumbra” is episode seventeen of season seven of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Sisko is showing a place on Bajor to Kassidy Yates. He says it’s the place he plans to build his house – and not merely plans, he’s already bought the land. Sisko is going to start building when the war is over. Kassidy asks Sisko if he ever thought he would become so attached to Bajor that he would want to spend the rest of life there. Sisko says that nothing has turned out way he has imagined it when he first set foot on the station. It makes him think that he is under the influence of destiny. Kassidy says that finding out Sisko’s mother was part wormhole alien made destiny becomes relevant.
Ezri is talking about an alien with a transparent skull who Jadzia dated – who has never actually been seen – who she bumped into with O’Brien and Julian when Kira comes over to their table. Two Klingon ships were ambushed near the Badlands, and Worf was in command of one of them, which was lost. He also wasn’t on any of the recovered escape pods.
The Defiant has been out looking for Worf without success for three days and Ezri, who is still on the station, is concerned. Quark reassures her that Worf will be back – he owes Quark money and couldn’t enjoy the afterlife with that on his mind, knowing that Quark has something on him. Then Ezri gets a message from Sisko, saying that he has called off the search because there are too many Jem’Hadar warships in the area.
On Cardassia Prime, Weyoun wonders why the Defiant searched for so long. Damar tells him that’s because not everyone considers their soldiers to be disposable. Damar also asks how the Founder is, as last time he saw her, she didn’t look well – Weyoun 6 told Odo in “Treachery, Faith and the Great River” that all the Founders were ill. Damar suggests she might be ill, but Weyoun says that gods can’t be ill. So Damar suggests that maybe she isn’t a god. The Founder also wants a secure comlink – it’s not specified why, but perhaps she wants to be able to talk to Odo, as he is not affected by whatever is making the Founders ill.
Ezri is reliving Jadzia’s memories of Worf, perhaps too much. When the Defiant arrives back at DS9, Kira tells Sisko that Ezri has taken a runabout and gone looking for Worf herself. Ezri doesn’t come back when ordered, but Sisko decides to help her anyway.
Sisko also proposes to Kassidy, and their small wedding looks like it’s going to become something much bigger. Sisko is, after all, the Emissary.
Ezri may be becoming a bit too attached to Worf, which is forbidden by Trill custom, although when she finds him it doesn’t appear that way after they have been on the runabout for a bit. Events soon conspire to keep them with each other for longer. Gul Dukat is back and he’s up to something.
There are unresolved matters at the end of the episode. Not a cliff-hanger, but they lead into the next episode, “‘Til Death Do Us Part”.