Tuesday 24 September 2024

Make sure everyone knows they can't just drop by your quarters to say "Hello --"




Odo and Worf talk about security and order


ODO: 
I've cleared the rooms above, below and 
to both sides of the First Minister's quarters.

WORF: 
I would recommend clearing that 
entire section of the Habitat Ring.

ODO: 
I'm afraid that isn't feasible. There are 
over twelve hundred people living there.
WORF: Providing security was difficult enough aboard the Enterprise. It appears to be next to impossible on this station.
ODO: It isn't easy.
WORF: I prefer a more orderly environment.
ODO: We have that in common. My people have an innate need for order.
WORF: How do you tolerate living here?
ODO: I make order where I can. For one thing, I have a daily routine which I follow unwaveringly. Shopkeepers on the Promenade joke that they can set their clocks by me.
WORF: Unfortunately, I have found it difficult to establish a routine here.
ODO: There are other ways to create order in your life. Your quarters, for example. Everything in mine has its specific place and it's all arranged just so.
WORF: Yes, mine too. Even with my eyes closed I would still know where everything was.
ODO: Exactly.
WORF: I would not tolerate it any other way.
ODO: I'll tell you what else to do. Make sure everyone knows they can't just drop by your quarters to say "Hello --" If someone does, whatever happens, don't make them feel welcome.
WORF: Of course not! That would only invite SUBSEQUENT visits.
ODO: Precisely.
WORF: So far, the only person who has a tendency to drop by is Chief O'Brien.
ODO: That's probably because he knows you from the Enterprise.
WORF: Perhaps if I am more inhospitable, he will stop.
ODO: Good luck.






[Odo's quarters]

(Odo trashes his room to relieve his anger and frustration, including throwing the bucket of flowers against the wall, then sits in the mess for a while.)
QUARK [OC]: I know you're in there. I heard you.

[Corridor]

QUARK: Fine. We'll do this the hard way.
(Quark picks the lock.)

[Odo's quarters]

QUARK: I knew it would come to this. You take the form of an animal, you're going to end up behaving like one. What was it? A Klingon targ, a Trellan crocodile? I tell you, this time you crossed the line. I've had it. Odo. Odo! Are you okay?
ODO: You were right.
QUARK: Oh. I take it Major Kira and Shakaar are? You really are in love. I must say, I really didn't think you had it in you. It takes passion to do something like this, and I always thought you were colder than a Breen winter.
ODO: What was I thinking? How could I have fooled myself into believing she could ever love someone like me?
QUARK: Look, the last thing I want to do is interfere with your personal life but this, this just isn't any good, for either of us.
ODO: I'll try to keep my problems more quiet next time.
QUARK: I'm not talking about the noise, I'm talking about business. I'm losing my shirt in the manhunt pool.
ODO: The what?
QUARK: Anytime there's an unusual crime committed on the station, I run a pool so that people can bet on how long it'll take for you to catch the perpetrator. It's very popular. Frankly, I don't care whether you and Major Kira end up living happily ever after or not. I just want to see the situation resolved. The way I see it, you've either got to tell her how you feel, or forget about her and get on with your life. Concentrate on the essentials. Because you can't keep going like this. It's interfering with your job. And my profits.
ODO: Your profits?
QUARK: Unless you do something about the situation, I'm going to have to stop running the pool.
ODO: I'm devastated.
QUARK: You should be. The fact that that pool exists says something about you, about who you are. People see you as the guy who always gets his man. Now you're becoming the guy who tears up his quarters and sits alone in the rubble. And no one's going to want to place bets on how long someone's going to sit around in the dark. Well, I've said my piece. Sorry for butting in. But I'm just looking out for my business.
ODO: Funny. For a minute there I thought you were talking to me as a friend.
QUARK: (big pause) Nah.

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