Invasive Procedures (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

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Invasive Procedures is the 24th episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s second season. A bitter unjoined Trill named Verad tries to steal Jadzia Dax’s symbiont during a dangerous plasma storm that forces most of DS9 to evacuate. Verad, with two Klingon mercenaries and a former prostitute named Mareel, boards the station, takes the crew hostage, and makes Bashir transfer the Dax symbiont into Verad. Without the symbiont, Jadzia will die within hours.

Bashir, aided by a Klingon ally, races to save Jadzia. Commander Sisko confronts Verad, who now bears the memories of all Dax hosts, including Curzon Dax, Sisko’s old friend. Verad wants to keep the joining, which horrifies Mareel, who begins to see how much Verad has changed. Quark secretly helps by letting Bashir access Odo, who frees the other hostages and helps stop Verad. Verad escapes with Kira as a hostage, but Odo releases the docking clamps, stranding him. Kira overpowers her guard, and Verad flees to another ship. Sisko finally stuns Verad at the airlock to protect Jadzia, and the Dax symbiont is returned to Jadzia.

The episode also features Tim Russ as Klingon T’Kar and explores the Trill concept of a host and a symbiont, and how the memories of past hosts affect a joined individual.