“Tacking into the Wind” is episode twenty-two of season seven of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
The episode opens with a Jem’Hadar warship leaving a planet, and then exploding. And then un-exploding as the recording is wound back. Colonel Kira then starts critiquing the mission; she says that the Cardassian cell planted the explosive in too obvious a place, and that they had ignored their instructions and training. It’s pointed out that the ship was still destroyed, but Kira says that this is only due to luck.
The Cardassians are not entirely grasping guerilla warfare or cellular security, and Gul Rusot in particular is not taking Kira’s instructions well. Damar is backing Rusot. Odo also returns from his mission, which went well. He is not doing so good though.
Garak manages to surprise Odo, who is in a lot poorer shape than he is pretending. Odo is deteriorating rapidly, and he says that he has been shapeshifting into a lot of shapes over the past few weeks, and it’s accelerating the disease. Odo is also keeping his condition from Kira.
On Cardassia Prime, Weyoun considers the rebellion no threat. The female Changeling wants to start cracking down on civilians and using them as human shields against Damar’s attacks – something that Kira essentially warned Damar would happen. This has the potential to backfire on the Dominion. The Breen are also going to start install their energy dampening weapon on Dominion ships.
Kira tells the Cardassians that the Federation is coming no closer to figuring out the Breen weapons, nor why the Klingon ships are proving to be immune. She says they need to steal one of the weapons and get it to the Federation to help. Garak agrees, but Rusot doesn’t see why they should help the Federation. Damar says that the idea makes sense, though, so Kira suggests a mission involving the four of them and Odo. Garak tells Kira that Odo is much worse then he appears, but Kira already knew. More friction ensues between Kira and Rusot.
In the previous episode, “When It Rains…”, Dr. Bashir discovered, to no great surprise, that Section 31 was obstructing his attempts to get the information needed to try and find a cure for Odo. It also came as no great surprise that it was Section 31 who had infected the Changelings, and it was through Odo that this was done. Odo was the first Changeling to be infected, not the last. So why was he the last to show any symptoms?
Julian is staying up all night trying to find a cure, and O’Brien tells him that he can’t keep it up. Bashir agrees, as he’s not getting anywhere. Miles thinks they need to find the creator of the disease, but to do so they need to get inside Section 31, which has remained hidden for 300 years. Julian says that they also can’t take it to Sisko, because Section 31 would find out and just go deeper into cover. Bashir says that science will solve it, but the failures are clearly getting to him.
Chancellor Gowron is second-guessing General Martok’s actions during an assault that Gowron himself ordered. An assault that Sisko thinks was a bad idea to start with – he is clearly not happy with Gowron. Martok himself was gravely injured, but will recover. Sisko places the blame for the failure squarely on Gowron, who takes it better than might be supposed – but that’s because he thinks Sisko is simply being loyal to Martok. Not because he thinks that Gowron is a disaster.
Sisko speaks to Worf, saying that they have a serious problem with Gowron. Worf agrees, and says that the Chancellor is doing it simply to humiliate Martok, who he sees as a political risk. Putting the entire Quadrant at risk in the process. Worf says that he has a solution, but this doesn’t quite work. A chat with Ezri makes Worf realise what must be done.