Afterimage ( episode ) Ezri Dax has trouble adjusting with the rest of the crew ; Garak inexplicably collapses . Summary . Teaser . On the upper level of Deep Space 9 ' s Promenade , Ezri Dax discusses her feelings about being back on the space station with Morn , who has no idea who she is and promptly leaves . Not soon after , Ezri decides to visit the Bajoran temple , where she runs into Kira Nerys . Ezri , flooded with memories of Jadzia ' s recent death in that very room , confides in Kira Nerys how strange a sensation death is – no matter how many times you go through it . Kira is obviously uncomfortable with the topic , so Ezri leaves her to her prayers . In Quark ' s , Ezri is served a glass of Klingon bloodwine . Ezri is not enthusiastic about the beverage , despite Quark reminding her that it is the same vintage that was served when Jadzia married Worf , and returns it . She tells Quark that she is planning on returning to the to continue her duties as assistant counselor . " " You ' re a therapist ! ? " " a shocked Quark asks – which makes Ezri wonder why that is so surprising to everyone . Ezri notes that besides Captain Sisko , Quark is the only one of Jadzia ' s friends who do not appear to be uncomfortable around her , and the two start talking about the late night tongo games " they " used to play together . Their reminiscing is cut short by Worf , who promptly leaves after seeing Ezri in the bar . Act One . The next day , Ezri goes to visit Captain Sisko in his office ; coming in through the corridor rather than ops so as to avoid seeing Worf . Ezri tells Sisko about her encounter with Worf the previous day at Quark ' s and that she still plans to return to the " Destiny " . Despite Sisko ' s disappointment with the news , he supports his friend ' s decision . Back in Quark ' s , Julian Bashir and Miles O ' Brien , along with Odo , are planning their latest holosuite adventure . Bashir asks Garak about the status of their costumes , to which he replies that his shop is still closed due to him being so busy decoding Cardassian messages for Starfleet Intelligence . Garak becomes agitated with the crowd in the bar , which causes him to snap at them when they come too close . Garak promptly leaves and returns to his shop , where he continues his work . However , as he does so , he begins to have an anxiety attack caused by his claustrophobia . He is discovered by Odo , who promptly calls for medical attention . Act Two . In the infirmary , Odo tells Sisko about Garak ' s attack as Doctor Bashir finishes up his treatment . Sisko is confused about the circumstances of the attack – Garak ' s shop is a " good sized room , " according to Sisko . Garak tells Sisko that the attack will keep him away from his intelligence work for the time being . Sisko asks Bashir if there is anything he can do for him , but Bashir says there isn ' t – " " Our friend Garak needs his head examined . " " Taking Bashir ' s words into mind , Sisko goes to visit Ezri , who is surprised at his request to counsel Garak . Sisko asks her , " " What more can you learn in the next few months that you haven ' t already learned in the last 300 years ? " " Ezri has a few ideas – like not bursting into tears for no reason and resisting the urge to stand on her head . Sisko asks why she " is " standing on her head , to which Ezri responds that it was something Emony used to do . Finally , after some reassurance from Sisko , Ezri reluctantly agrees to try to help Garak . Meanwhile , Bashir and Quark are talking about the new Dax in the bar . Quark asks Bashir if he has the same interest in Ezri that he did Jadzia , but Bashir insists that they are not the same woman . Quark asks if Bashir is up for a little competition , much to Bashir ' s apparent confusion . Quark nonetheless declares his intent to win Ezri ' s heart . Ezri approaches Garak in his shop and tries to talk to him about his condition . She tries to relate her own struggle with space sickness and suggests that both she and Garak are " punishing themselves " with their respective conditions ; Ezri for Torias getting himself killed in a shuttle accident , and Garak for misbehaving as a child and being subsequently locked inside a closet by his father . Ezri ' s speculation leads to both her and Garak feeling space sick and claustrophobic respectively . They " both " promise to give Ezri ' s words some thought , and Ezri leaves . Later , as Ezri is walking to her quarters , she runs into Worf in the habitat ring ' s corridor who only acknowledges her by her rank . Ezri , insulted by Worf ' s indifference to her , reminds him that she used to be his wife . Worf does not take kindly to Ezri ' s words and harshly tells her that she is " not " his wife , as she is in " Sto - vo - kor " and that he does not know her , nor does he wish to . Act Three . Sisko goes to visit Ezri in her quarters , and he tells her that Garak is back on the job . Ezri talks with Sisko about her earlier encounter with Worf in the corridor and Sisko offers to speak with him . Ezri declines , on the grounds that Worf is intimidated by Sisko . After voicing his amusement with this , Sisko offers Ezri a counselor ' s position on the station – with a promotion to lieutenant junior grade . Ezri is touched by Sisko ' s offer , but her issues with Worf cause her to decline . Later in the replimat , Ezri meets Bashir , who orders two drinks . They sit together and talk , but Ezri quickly realizes his attempts at conversation are simply flirting , and she says she is flattered but asks him to stop . She realizes how sad he is over the loss of Jadzia , and he admits that talking to her helps ease the pain a little . She tenderly takes his hand , which Worf notices and does not look happy about . Bashir suddenly gets a call from station security saying there is a medical emergency at airlock seven – it ' s Garak . Arriving on - scene , they find that Garak has entered an airlock and is trying to open the outer door – his claustrophobia has returned , and he so affected by it he does not realize that there is no ship on the other side – he will be killed if he opens the door . Act Four . Ezri has taken Garak to a holosuite and the two of them sit on the edge of an outcropping of rock overlooking a vast seascape . Garak knows that it ’ s just an illusion , however , and is still having problems . Garak says he simply couldn ’ t breathe and wanted to get out . He knows that he has to get his claustrophobia under control , or he ’ ll have to leave the station , but he also knows that if he does he ’ ll have nowhere to go . Ezri offers to tell Quark to leave the holosuite available any time Garak feels another attack coming on . Garak simply says he ’ d like to be alone for a while . Ezri leaves promising to check back on him later . Bashir is treating Quark for an ear infection from a tympanic tickle caused by an amateur when Worf accosts him , saying “ We need to talk ” . He then violently pins Bashir to the wall , warning him to stay away from Ezri . Julian says he can be friends with whomever he chooses , but Worf warns him ( and Quark too ) that if he dishonors Jadzia ’ s memory he will regret it . He storms out , leaving the other two confused and hurt . Ezri is surprised to find Garak back in his shop instead of the holosuite . He says that work is the answer to his problems , based on what his father used to tell him . Ezri tries to get him to talk about it , but Garak asks her to “ spare me your insipid psychobabble ” . He tells Ezri she couldn ’ t possibly understand . She says she ’ d like to try . He begins to insult her , telling her she is a scared , confused child who has no hope of ever living up to the reputation of her predecessors . “ Now get out of here , before I say something unkind . ” Ezri leaves , nearly in tears , and as she heads down the promenade , she walks into the Bajoran temple and slumps against a wall inside , sobbing . Act Five . Later , in Sisko ’ s office , Ezri gives him her resignation from Starfleet , telling him Garak was right . How can she help others when she can ’ t even help herself ? She gets angry when he calls her “ Old man ” , and says she is not Curzon , or Jadzia . He says she is Ezri , and she ’ s been given eight lifetimes ’ worth of experience . He tells her to go back to and have the symbiont removed , but she says he knows that ’ s impossible . He says she could become one of the s deep underground where no one would talk to her . After all , her symbiont had eight great lifetimes . Who cares if the ninth was a waste ? He tells her she doesn ’ t deserve the symbiont or even the Starfleet uniform and dismisses her . Ezri leaves in an even worse mood . O ’ Brien enters Worf ’ s quarters with another bottle of Blood Wine . Worf says that Bashir needs to realize that Ezri is not Jadzia and treating her like Jadzia dishonors her memory . O ’ Brien says treating Ezri like a stranger is what is dishonoring Jadzia ’ s memory . Worf doesn ’ t know how he can honor Jadzia when she ’ s not really dead . O ’ Brien tells him that the best person to ask is the person he ’ s been avoiding : Ezri . Back in Garak ’ s shop , Ezri shows up to say she was sorry she couldn ’ t help him , and that she ’ ll be leaving for Trill in the morning . She tells him the " Destiny " , her former ship , is heading to join the Seventh Fleet at Kalandra . She tells him that thanks to the information he got from the messages he decoded , Starfleet was able to determine that the Dominion was weak there . If the offensive there goes well , Starfleet will have him to thank for it . Garak grows agitated by the news . Ezri realizes that the messages he is decoding are leading to the deaths of his people . Garak finally admits to her that instead of helping his people , his actions are leading to the destruction of his race . He then collapses to the floor with another panic attack . Later , in the infirmary Garak thanks her for finally figuring out what was wrong with him . He says he will continue his intelligence work , because he must . He says Sisko should thank her too . He asks if she ’ s still returning to Trill . She decides not to . She will stay in Starfleet , but then panics when she realizes that she has submitted her resignation ! In Sisko ’ s office , she asks to be reinstated , but he smiles and tells her he never sent her resignation in . She realizes he was simply using reverse psychology to “ rattle her cage ” , and he replies she used to do it to him often enough . He ’ s glad it worked . She still won ’ t stay at Deep Space 9 , though . As she is packing , Worf enters her quarters . He admits he has not treated her as Jadzia would have wanted . He loved her , and she says that Jadzia loved him . He is conflicted , with part of him happy she is not completely gone , and part of him wishing she was . He asks her to stay , knowing that is what Jadzia would have wanted . He says he will get used to her , but it will take time , and she agrees to keep her distance . Ezri gets her promotion , and Sisko tells her her new job will not be easy : She will be responsible for the mental health of many people . She gets a dinner invitation from Odo and Kira . The others are also friendly to her , but Ezri is still nervous , until she sees Worf in the corner raise his cup to her in a salute . Memorable quotes . " " These pronouns are going to drive me crazy ! " " " " Now wait a minute ! You have no right to tell me who I can be friends with ! " " " " If you dishonor Jadzia ' s memory , you will regret it . And that goes for you , too , Ferengi ! " " " " What did " I " do ? ! " " " " It ' s a strange sensation , dying . No matter how many times it happens to you , you never get used to it . " " " " You ' re a therapist ? " " " " Why does everyone sound so surprised when they hear that ? " " " " Spare me your insipid psychobabble . I ' m not some quivering neurotic who feels sorry for himself because his daddy wasn ' t nice . You couldn ' t begin to understand me ! " " " " I want someone to help me get back to work . And you , my dear , are not up to this task . I mean , look at you . You ' re pathetic – a confused child trying to live up to a legacy left by her predecessors . You ' re not worthy of the name " Dax . " I knew Jadzia . She was vital , alive . She owned herself , and you . . . you don ' t even know who you are . How dare you presume to help me ? You can ' t even help yourself . Now , get out of here before I say something unkind . " " " " You are not Jadzia . Jadzia died and went to " Sto - vo - kor " . I do not know you , nor do I wish to know you . " " " " Oh , no . Not again . " " " " Julian swears there ' s nothing going on between him and Ezri . There ' s no reason for you to be jealous . " " " " This has nothing to do with jealousy ! I know that Doctor Bashir cared for Jadzia , but this woman is not Jadzia , and treating her as if she were dishonors her memory . " " " " Wrong . Treating Ezri like a stranger dishonors Jadzia ' s memory . " " " " She is cute . " " " " She ' s also about three hundred years too old for you . " " " " Will you come to dinner with us ? " " " " Please , I don ' t want to intrude . . . " " " " Honestly , it ' s fine . It ' ll take some pressure off me . All he does is sit and count how many times I chew . " " " " Stop it , Benjamin ! I thought you of all people would understand . " " " " I do understand . And you ' re right . You don ' t deserve the Dax symbiont . Quite frankly , you don ' t deserve to wear that uniform ! I ' ll pass this on to Starfleet Command . Dismissed ! " " Links and references . References . Alamo , Battle of the ; antibiotic ; assistant ship ' s counselor ( aka assistant counselor ) Bajor ; Bajoran shrine ; " bat ' leth " ; bloodwine ; Bolian s ; Cardassia ; Cardassian s ; Caves of Mak ' ala ; claustrophobia ; closet ; coffee ; commission ; costume ; counselor ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; Dominion ; Dominion War ; Fanalian toddy ; Ferengi ; ; holosuite ; I ' danian spice pudding ; inertial damper s ; Infirmary ; Kalandra sector ; kilm steak ; latinum ; meter ; Obsidian Order ; " Old Man " ; Promenade ; pronoun ; Quark ' s ; Raymer ; Saltah ' na clock ; Santa Anna ; Seventh Fleet ; sewing ; space sickness ; spouse ; Starfleet Command ; Starfleet Intelligence ; Starfleet Medical ; " Sto - vo - kor " ; symbiont ; symbiont pool ; Symbiosis Commission ; ; Talpet ; therapist ; tongo ; ; ; Trill s ; tympanic tickle ; vegetarian ; Vulcan s ; waiver