“Treachery, Faith and the Great River” is episode six of season seven of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Odo is giving Kira a massage after playing springball against him. Odo is using his Changeling skills for the massage. Odo is also going away for a few days; he has received a coded message from Gul Russol, who was supposed to have been executed after Cardassia joined the Dominion. Russol used to be one of Odo’s best informants inside Cardassia, so Odo is going to see him in a runabout.
Russol is, of course, dead, and Weyoun used his name to lure Odo to meet him. Not for any reason that might initially be guessed, but because Weyoun no longer considers himself to be a member of the Dominion. He is defecting. Or so it seems. Odo believes that Gul Russol is dead. He is less convinced by the idea that Weyoun is defecting. Weyoun says he left Cardassia because his life was in danger. From everyone. When Odo accuses Weyoun of being paranoid, Weyoun answers with the great line ‘Of course I’m paranoid, everyone’s trying to kill me.’ The war with the Federation has gone on for far longer than it should, and Weyoun is taking the blame.
Odo is still less than convinced, so challenges Weyoun to supply information. Which Weyoun does. Which seems either more convincing or part of a long-term plan. So Odo beams him aboard the runabout. As Weyoun and Odo are heading back to the station, they get hailed. By Weyoun. Another Weyoun. So, what is going on here? The Vorta are clones, and both Weyouns state that the Weyoun, number Five, that Odo had previously dealt with was killed a month ago. In an ‘accident.’ The Weyoun, Six, with Odo is stated by the other Weyoun, Seven, to be defective. Odo’s Weyoun questioned the war with the Federation, which is why he was considered to be defective.
Neither Seven nor Damar want Odo and Six to return to DS9, and Seven makes a decision that could also be considered to be ‘defective.’
O’Brien and Nog are on the Promenade doing repairs, which Quark is not happy about as they have been ongoing for some time. Sisko wants to know when the gravity net on the Defiant will be repaired. It needs a new graviton stabiliser. According to O’Brien, this will take three weeks. Sisko wants it ready in three days. The sector quartermaster that O’Brien is dealing with says it will take three weeks to get a new stabiliser. Which is a problem. Nog has a solution; he will get to know the quartermaster and have the new stabiliser in three days. When O’Brien asks Nog not to do anything that he wouldn’t do, Nog says not to cripple him like that. So O’Brien changes it to anything that will get them court martialed.
This results in one of Nog’s complicated trades between many different people, as has happened a couple of times before. This leads to problems, rather annoyed people and a discussion between O’Brien and Nog about the Great Material Continuum, or Great River, part of the beliefs of the Ferengi.
There are discussions about the Vorta, their origins and faith, and the faith of the Ferengi, as well as some troubling news about Odo’s people.