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DS9 "Indiscretion":

KIRA: Now I know why you're in such a hurry to find the survivors. You're hoping that she's still alive and you can rescue her.

DUKAT: Not quite. You see, if my daughter is still alive, I'll have no choice but to kill her.

At this point they had discovered no survivors and knew nothing yet. They weren't in a hurry or on any special timetable. Why not simply take Dukat back to the ship willingly or unwillingly and lock him up there? Why risk something bad happening?

Later he tells Kira that she needs him to help with the rescue, but not at this point. This obviously is not the answer I'm looking for and additionally she doesn't have to listen to Dukat(a cardassian and the head of the invasion?)

At this point how could Major Kira continue her mission with Dukat once he made the threat to kill?

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  • 1
    “Later he tells Kira that she needs him to help with the rescue, but not at this point.” Sure, but I think she can figure out on her own that it’s going to be much more risky and difficult making it through the Breen ship to get the kid out on her own.
    – Paul D. Waite
    Jun 11, 2015 at 9:41
  • Also, I would say that what Dukat said specifically left her some room to work, that he'll "have no choice". That means that he doesn't want to, and Kira can potentially change his mind.
    – Chris B. Behrens
    Jun 11, 2015 at 15:06
  • @Daft is adding an imdb link to a series title a necessary or helpful edit in some way. I never see it done this way but for some reason on all of my recent posts you've been editing them to add hyperlinks to imdb. Why not a hyperlink to a wiki article? Or to an official star trek site? Why a hyperlink at all? I'm curious to know why and if you do this on every question you see?
    – JMFB
    Jun 11, 2015 at 17:03
  • @ChrisB.Behrens but it's not the policy of the Federation and I believe Bajorans as well to put innocent people potentially in harms way after a major threat to see if they can change their mind. Imagine Picard in this scenario, do you see him still bringing Dukat along? Remember there's no hurry to do any of this, they have all the time in the world with little resistance to carry out this plan. Kira could have easily gone back and brought twenty crewman to ensure the success of the mission. IDK this just didn't make sense to me.
    – JMFB
    Jun 11, 2015 at 17:58
  • @JMFB : Question was tagged twice as star-trek-ds9 and ds9. star-trek-ds9 is the official tag, and so I edited to remove the ds9 one. (I will also check if there are any other questions with ds9 and edit accordingly.)
    – Praxis
    Jun 12, 2015 at 15:14

1 Answer 1

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In a fight with Kira, Dukat would lose...

In the episode, Kira makes it very clear that she will kill Dukat if he harms Ziyal in any way. Given Kira's ferocity and the fact that she has killed actual Cardassian soldiers in the past (something Dukat is well aware of), she likely thinks the threat alone is enough to keep Dukat in check.

KIRA: There's no way I'm leaving you alone here.

DUKAT: Well, then I suggest we devise a plan to rescue these prisoners together. You need me, Major.

KIRA: Maybe I do. But if you hurt that girl, I promise I'll kill you.

While they didn't have this particular conversation until they discovered the survivors, Kira was clearly always willing from the outset to use deadly force to stop Dukat, and believes she can indeed stop him. Hence, from her point of view, it is not necessary for her to detain Dukat, especially given his potential usefulness for the mission.

Also note that the Cardassian Union contacted the Federation and Starfleet before Kira left for the search insisting that a Cardassian representative chaperone Kira on her mission. From Memory Alpha:

While Kira prepares for her departure from the station, Captain Sisko drops in on her and asks Kira to put off her departure, as the Cardassians have asked to send someone along with Kira. She tells Sisko that she'll wait two days, and not a minute more, before she leaves.

A little later:

When Sisko makes it back to Ops, he's told by Worf that the Cardassians want to beam someone directly into Ops — someone who turns out to be Dukat. It seems that he is the one who's to accompany Kira on her search for the Ravinok, and he too is anxious to leave.

Putting the facts together...

  • Kira must take a Cardassian with her
  • Kira wants to leave for the search as soon as possible
  • The Cardassian assigned is Dukat — she could petition through government channels for a change, but this would take time (and may result in nothing)
  • Dukat reveals that Tora Ziyal, one of the potential survivors, is his daughter, who he will terminate if he finds her
  • Kira is rightly shocked and sickened, but (a) she knows she can disable Dukat if necessary (her fighting skills are superior), (b) she has been ordered to let Dukat accompany her everywhere on the mission, and (c) they are about to infiltrate a Breen prison camp and two people are better than one for a mission with this level of danger
  • Given her reputation, she likely believes that the threat alone of killing Dukat in retaliation for harming Ziyal is enough to keep him in line
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  • This didn't really answer my question. I already stated this in my question. When he told her this they were still close to the runabout. Would you bring somebody to help on a rescue mission that has stated from the onset that they are going to kill one of the people you are trying to rescue?
    – JMFB
    Jun 11, 2015 at 17:00
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    @JMFB : I believe I did answer your question (she intends to stop him if he tries to harm Ziyal + he's useful = she will bring him along). But there's actually another fact from the episode that is relevant, and so I will add that to the answer in a few minutes. Hopefully that will make it complete in your eyes.
    – Praxis
    Jun 11, 2015 at 23:23
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    @JMFB : Done. Hope this helps.
    – Praxis
    Jun 11, 2015 at 23:44
  • I like what you added, and it helped framed it for me a little better. It still seems like she could have locked him up on the ship, or come back. But I could also see how she wouldn't want to do that. She might not get permission, it might take awhile as you suggest, so this may have been her only option. Makes sense to me. Good answer.
    – JMFB
    Jun 12, 2015 at 5:27
  • @JMFB : Thanks. :-)
    – Praxis
    Jun 12, 2015 at 6:37

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