Improbable Cause ( episode ) Odo begins an investigation after a bomb destroys Garak ' s tailor shop . ( Part 1 of 2 ) Summary . Teaser . Julian Bashir and Elim Garak are having lunch upstairs at Quark ' s and discussing Shakespeare ' s " " . Garak finds it unrealistic that Caesar couldn ' t have foreseen his own murder – he was a head of state after all . But Bashir has to run back to the infirmary ; there is lots of work to be done . Garak thinks Human s just eat too fast , and he suspects a dark reason explains it . As they leave , Major Kira Nerys finds Bashir and updates him on the problems she has been having in preparing quarters for the Yalosian Ambassador . The combination of gas es he breathes has dissolved the carpet . Just then , an explosion rocks the Promenade . Bashir sees that it occurred in Garak ' s tailor shop , and he runs down to see if Garak ' s all right . Entering the burning shop , Bashir finds that Garak is sprawled on the floor amid the flames and debris , but he " is " conscious . He tells Bashir that his pants won ' t be ready tomorrow after all . Act One . Later , Miles O ' Brien and Constable Odo are on the scene investigating . O ' Brien says that the explosion was caused by a rupture in a power conduit behind a wall , which was probably caused by an overload in an ODN juncture . Odo grunts his disbelief , noting that it is quite a coincidence that something like this would happen to Garak , of all people . Garak " does " have many enemies . O ' Brien announces he ' s detected nitrilin , which could be the residue of a micro - explosive device . Odo theorizes that it was planted on the conduit to make the explosion look like an accident . Commander Benjamin Sisko orders all ship departures temporarily delayed . In the infirmary , Garak rhetorically asks why anyone would want to kill a simple tailor . Odo scoffs and reminds Garak that he " was " in the Obsidian Order . Garak says Odo should not listen too much to the doctor and his " flights of fancy " . Sisko urges Garak to take the matter seriously . Garak recalls that there might be a few people who might want him dead , including Major Kira . Odo says that if Kira wanted him dead , he would be . Garak doesn ' t think that the incident has anything to do with his exile from Cardassia . After all , the Cardassian Finance Ministry usually does not kill anyone . But no one believes that tax evasion is the real reason for Garak ' s exile . Garak ' s prevarications anger Sisko – he does not like explosions on his station . Garak promises to let them know if he can think of anyone who ' d try to kill him . Garak is upset , apparently , that no one believes him , even though he is telling the truth . Bashir asks if he has ever heard the Human story , " The Boy Who Cried Wolf " . Garak says no , so Bashir tells him the story , concluding that the moral is that if you lie all the time , no one will ever believe you , even when you do tell the truth . Garak , however , thinks the moral of the story is that you should never tell the same lie twice . In the security office , Odo asks Garak to look over the passenger manifests to see if he can spot a name that might ring a bell . O ' Brien comes in and tells Odo , quietly , about some more results of the investigation . Odo thinks they indicate the presence of a pheromonic sensor , which can be used to detonate a bomb when a specific species comes in range . They ' re known to be used by Flaxian assassin s , and Odo observes that a Flaxian came on board the station that day . Act Two . Odo interrogates the Flaxian , a Mr . Retaya , in the wardroom . Retaya was a merchant dealing in fabrics and fragrances . As he asks the Flaxian questions , Odo pretends to be interested in purchasing a fragrance for a friend , but as he has no sense of smell himself , asks Retaya for his opinion on some of Retaya ' s products . Odo mixes two fragrances together – floral and musky . Retaya says that together , they ' re very nice . Odo asks how they ' d be with a spicy perfume added in . Retaya says that he doesn ' t think Odo ' s lady friend would like it . Odo moves to add the third , and Retaya stops him assertively . Odo says that the three fragrances , when added together would create a poison ous gas . Retaya says he didn ' t know that ; he merely stopped Odo because he was sure that Odo ' s friend wouldn ' t like it . Odo tells Retaya that he ' ll let him know when he can leave the station . Later , on the upper level of the Promenade , O ' Brien tells Odo that the transponder has been installed on the Flaxian ' s ship . Odo will be able to track the ship up to a half light year away . Arriving at a runabout , Odo finds that Garak is already there , expecting to go with Odo to follow the Flaxian . Odo tells him to leave , but Garak is insistent , and Odo relents . They depart , and just as the Flaxian ship goes to warp , it explodes . Act Three . Afterward , in the wardroom , the crew discusses what happened . Lieutenant Jadzia Dax observes that an odd pattern they received through the transponder could have been caused by a forced neutrino inversion . Odo notes that that ' s a Romulan tactic , and speculates that they killed Retaya after he failed to kill Garak . Garak says he has no idea why the Romulans would want to kill him . This angers Sisko again , but Odo is sure that this time Garak is telling the truth , since he isn ' t telling an elaborate lie to cover it up with . Later , in a subspace communication in Sisko ' s office , a Romulan member of the Tal Shiar verifies that they did in fact kill Retaya , and they did it legally since he was guilty of crimes against the Romulan Star Empire . Sisko and Odo find her story too convenient . They discuss Garak ' s uncertain past and decide that Odo will go to Cardassia to see if he can find out anything from his contacts there . Odo meets his contact in a cave on a barren moon . Odo ' s contact , without letting Odo see him , confirms that the Romulans have something to do with the attempt on Garak ' s life . But the attack on Garak is merely a small piece of a much larger puzzle . Cloaked Romulan warbird s have been detected near the Cardassian border and there ' s other activity too . And five other Obsidian Order operatives were also killed the day before , three from " natural causes " and two had unfortunate " accidents " . Garak is shocked – and exuberant – when Odo informs him of the dead operatives . Odo explodes with anger and accuses Garak of blowing up his own shop . Odo explains that he realized when he spoke to the Flaxian that he wasn ' t responsible , as assassins don ' t like to change their methods . . . the Flaxian had actually been planning to poison Garak . Odo then theorizes that Garak knew that the Flaxian was going to try to kill him and planted the bomb in his shop to get Odo involved in such a way that Garak wouldn ' t have to explain why someone was trying to kill him and guesses that Garak took perverse satisfaction in seeing his shop burn to the ground . Garak admits that his shop ' s destruction didn ' t upset him , then tells Odo that he and the other five were associates of Enabran Tain , but he really does not know why Romulans would want him dead . Garak calls Tain and reaches Mila , Tain ' s housekeeper . But Tain ' s not there – he left in a hurry the day before . Mila has him promise to help Tain , and Garak agrees . When the communication ends , Garak asks for a runabout , and Odo says he ' s coming with him . Act Four . Bashir sees Garak off at the airlock , giving him the Delavian chocolates he gave him earlier , saying he believes Garak needs it more than he does . He thanks him and leaves . Once on the runabout , Odo and Garak take a runabout to the third planet of the Unefra system , where Tain has a safe house . Garak tells Odo that Tain was directly responsible for Garak ' s exile , but won ' t say why he ' d risk his life to save him . Odo guesses that Tain was Garak ' s mentor and cares about him , despite the exile . But Garak will not confirm nor deny it . Garak retorts by pressing Odo if Odo truly understands humanoid emotions or has any feelings for anyone . Odo won ' t say , and Garak says that ' s a wise decision . Later , a Romulan warbird decloaks above the runabout and tractors the runabout into a bay . Odo tries to send a distress signal , but it ' s jammed . Garak cannot move the runabout away , as the tractor beam ' s strength is too great . They ' re boarded by Romulans and taken to the ship . On board the warbird , Garak and Odo are taken to a room , where they find Enabran Tain sitting at a desk . Tain says Garak has spared him the effort to send someone else to kill him . Act Five . Asked about the apparent end of Tain ' s retirement , Tain says that the ship they are on is part of a Romulan / Cardassian joint fleet that will be soon heading through the wormhole and into the Gamma Quadrant . Odo sees that they plan on attacking the Dominion in a bold first strike . When Garak asks about the Cardassian Central Command , Tain tells him that Central Command knows nothing about it ; this is a joint operation of the Obsidian Order and the Tal Shiar , the intelligence agencies of the Cardassians and Romulans , respectively . They have been building a fleet in the Orias system , a mystery to the Central Command and Starfleet since earlier that year . They intend to wipe out the Founder s on their homeworld , defeating the Dominion in one swift stroke . Odo now sees that the Romulans shared the intelligence they received from Starfleet on its location . Garak asks why this plan required killing retired operatives . Tain explains that he intends to resume his active role in the Order , and that he does not want anyone from the old days , who might know a thing or two about Tain , to complicate matters . Garak says that " he " never betrayed Tain , and there is no reason to kill him . Tain believes Garak , and offers him a choice : he can walk away and Tain won ' t try to hurt him , or he can join Tain on the mission and all will be forgiven . Odo reminds Garak of all the things Tain did to him – the exile , the attempt to kill him just two days ago , but Garak doesn ' t care . He joins Tain , declaring , " " I ' m back " . " TO BE CONTINUED . . . Memorable quotes . " " This is serious , Garak . " " " " I ' m being serious . I don ' t think she likes me . " " " " She doesn ' t . But if she wanted you dead , you would be . " " " " About those atmospheric specifications you requested for the Yalosian ambassador ? " " " " 60 % nitrogen , 10 % benzene , and the rest hydrogen fluoride , as I recall . " " " " Well we ran a test in one of the guest quarters . The mixture is so corrosive it dissolved the carpet . " " " " Don ' t look at me . It ' s what they breathe . " " " " Then I guess we ' ll just have to rip out the carpets . " " " " Be sure not to replace it with anything red or orange . " " " " Why not ? " " " " They don ' t see that part of the color spectrum . " " " " You wanted to see me ? " " " " I have bad news for you . Major Kira has an airtight alibi . " " " " I seriously doubt the Finance Ministry would try to have me killed for failure to pay my taxes . " " " " But the point is , if you lie all the time , nobody ' s going to believe you , even when you ' re telling the truth . " " " " Are you sure that ' s the point , doctor ? " " " " Of course , what else could it be ? " " " " That you should never tell the same lie twice . . . " " " " I ' m not about to leave you alone in here so you can look through my security files . " " " " What makes you think I haven ' t already looked through them ? " " " " The truth is usually just an excuse for a lack of imagination . " " " " I take it you don ' t believe her either . " " " " No . " " " " But the question still remains : why would the Romulans want to have Garak killed ? " " " " I don ' t know . Considering those uniforms of theirs , you ' d think they ' d appreciate a decent tailor . " " " " Well , that ' s an interesting way of scrambling a signal . " " " " Yes , I thought you might appreciate it , on an aesthetic level . " " " " Is there anything you need me to do while you ' re gone ? " " " " Like what ? " " " " I don ' t know . Any unfinished business ? " " " " Actually , doctor . . . there is something . " " " " Oh , what ? " " " " If you go into my quarters and examine the bulkhead next to the replicator , you ' ll notice there ' s a false panel . Behind that panel is a compartment containing an isolinear rod . If I ' m not back within 78 hours , I want you to take that rod . . . and eat it . " " " " Eat it ? " " ( affirmatively ) " " Hm . " " " " You ' re joking . " " " " Yes doctor , I am . " " " " Or am I wrong ? Tell me , is there one person in this universe that you care about ? One person that is more to you than just an interesting puzzle to be solved . Is there , Odo . . . anyone ? " " " " If there were , I certainly wouldn ' t tell you . . . " " " " And that . . . would be a wise decision . " " Links and references . References . act ; advisor ; alibi ; Alpha Quadrant ; assassination ; Bajoran ; Bajoran wormhole ; benzene ; biomolecular scan ; ' ; ; ; Cardassia ; Cardassian s ; Cardassian border ; Cardassian Central Command ; Cardassian Finance Ministry ; Cardassian government ; Cardassian neck trick ; Cardassian space ; children ' s story ; cobbler ; constable ; ; ; Dekora Assan ; Delavian chocolate ; Dominion ; Dominion cold war ; exile ; farce ; fashion ; Ferengi ; Flaxian ; Flaxian ship ; forced neutrino inverter ; Former heads of the Obsidian Order ; Gamma Quadrant ; heart attack ; Human eating ; hydrogen fluoride ; indigestion ; Japori II ; ' ; magneton relay ; Milky Way Galaxy ; " Mother Goose " ; Nausicaan ; nitrilin ; nitrogen ; Obsidian Order ; Orias system ; pheromonic sensor ; poison ; Promenade ; Quark ' s ; replicator ; Roman Empire ; Romulan s ; Romulan Star Empire ; Romulus ; runabout ; safe house ; ; shepherd ; subspace energy surge ; Talarian eating ; tactician ; Tain ' s former advisors ; Talarian ; tragedy ; transponder ; Tal Shiar ; tractor beam ; tricorder ; Unefra III ; Unefra system ; wedding suit ; wolf ; Yalosian ; Yalosian ambassador ; Yridian