Babel ( episode ) A virus infects the station ' s residents , making almost everyone unable to speak coherently . Summary . Teaser . Aboard Deep Space 9 , Chief O ' Brien is feeling both overworked and underappreciated . While he and his crew are in the docking pylon , trying to free several crew members stuck in a jammed airlock , a Boslic freighter captain , Jaheel , complains that O ' Brien hasn ' t yet fixed his ship ' s antimatter flow converter ; if his ship is left in dock for too long , the perishable goods aboard will be useless . After Jaheel exits with a rude comment , O ' Brien is summoned to Lieutenant Jadzia Dax ' s lab , where an incessant whine has been coming from her equipment . After fixing this , he rushes to Ops , to repair a conduit near Major Kira ' s terminal . Just as he ' s thought he ' s earned a breather , Commander Sisko gags on a mug of coffee delivered by the Ops replicator and asks why it hasn ' t been fixed yet . O ' Brien grumpily makes his way down to the command level . " " Can ' t have the operations chief sitting around daydreaming when there ' s work to be done , can we ? Oh , ho , ho , I ' ll get right on it ! " " , he says while leaving , causing Sisko and Major Kira to exchange looks . After fixing the replicators , O ' Brien asks for a cup of hot coffee , black , double sweet as a test . It tastes fine , but behind the panel , a long - hidden electronic device activates and starts sending a signal into the replicator . Act One . In Quark ' s , Asoth , an angry Markalian customer complains to Quark about his Kohlanese stew , forcing Quark to taste a sample of it . Odo recommends Quark ask O ' Brien to fix his replicators , but warns wryly that O ' Brien is a very busy man . After Odo leaves the bar , Quark breaks into the Cardassian computer system to find the location of a replicator on the station that " isn ' t " broken . Jadzia Dax , walking along the Promenade with Major Kira , discusses how odd it feels – being female for the first time in eighty years , she clarifies when Kira is confused . They notice Quark ' s is busy as they pass , and Quark himself greets them to say that they ' re having " " a little party " " to celebrate his replicators being fixed , and invites them to join in . Kira quickly excuses herself and tells Dax to go in if she wants . Dax is left flustered for a moment , before catching herself and smiling at Quark . Back in Ops , Sisko thanks O ' Brien for fixing the replicator ; he also compliments the chief ' s wife , Keiko , on being a good teacher in the station ' s new school , which she recently opened . When Major Kira is speaking with O ' Brien a moment later , his talk turns to gibberish , which no one can understand . He appears unable to comprehend anything said by anyone . Act Two . Dr . Bashir diagnoses the chief as suffering from aphasia , wherein the brain incorrectly interprets sights and sounds . As the senior staff discussed O ' Brien ' s condition , Lieutenant Dax is suddenly stricken with aphasia , unable to communicate with the people around her . In the infirmary , Bashir discovers that a virus has infected the brain ' s synapses ; as other crew members are afflicted , Sisko orders DS9 to be placed in quarantine immediately . Odo notices that business is booming in Quark ' s . When questioned , Quark lies and says his replicators were fixed by Rom ; in fact , Quark is surreptitiously using the replicator of a quarantined crew member . Odo , disguised as a piece of furniture , catches Quark in the act soon after this . Sisko finds his son Jake on the Promenade after having been playing with classmate Nog . The concerned father orders his son back to their quarters . Sisko is now confronted by Jaheel , the impatient freighter captain , who is told to stay put . Back in Ops , Sisko begins to suspect the replicators are spreading the virus . When Odo informs them that Quark has been supplying his entire menu with an infected replicator , Bashir checks the station ' s air , and determines that the virus has mutated into an airborne pathogen . They are now " all " infected ; however , the virus has different incubation periods in different people . Act Three . While searching with a tricorder , Kira finds the device hidden in the replicator ' s pattern generator . By now , 60 percent of the station population is showing signs of the virus . The replicators were creating the virus within the food they were replicating ( at the molecular level ) . While Kira initially suspects Cardassian s are to blame , Doctor Bashir determines that the virus is actually Bajoran in origin , possibly placed aboard the station by the Bajoran Resistance years ago ; the device is 18 years old , the same age as DS9 itself , built in 2351 . As Sisko takes Jake , recently afflicted , to crew quarters converted into a hospital ward , he tries to console Dax and O ' Brien , but they still can ' t comprehend one another . The situation soon worsens , as O ' Brien is found unconscious in his hospital bed . The virus has attacked O ' Brien ' s autonomic nervous system , threatening his life . Act Four . Using her old contacts in the Bajoran Resistance , Kira tries to discover the creator of the virus . Her search leads her to a Dekon Elig , a Bajoran Resistance member , but he is deceased , his death certificate having been witnessed by a Surmak Ren , who was also a member of the underground . Surmak Ren has now been repatriated to Bajor and is currently a medical administrator . When she contacts him about the aphasia virus , he rudely terminates the connection . Odo warns Quark that , with DS9 ' s current skeleton staff , Quark would be held accountable for any thefts occurring during the quarantine . In the infirmary , as Dr . Bashir continues searching for a cure to no avail , he is overcome by the virus , suddenly speaking gibberish to the medical computer and is forced to abandon his research . Sisko allows Kira to pilot a runabout to Bajor to confront the uncooperative Surmak Ren ; she assures Sisko she will not set foot on the planet ( so as not to spread the virus ) . She beams Surmak , without his permission , to the runabout . At first , Surmak protests that his involvement with the Resistance was minimal , and he is not to blame for the station ' s current troubles . Kira snaps that she is not interested in assigning blame , just the cure for the virus . Surmak says he doesn ' t know if Dekon even created a cure – for all he knows , a cure doesn ' t exist . Kira informs him that she is infected with the virus , and now he has been exposed as well , so anything he knows about Dekon ' s work had better be put to use , and quickly . They return to DS9 to help with the cure . On DS9 , Jaheel , the impatient and frightened freighter captain , decides to leave the station without permission . However , the docking clamps are still securing his vessel to the space station . As he increases power to his engines , the mooring clamps become stuck in place . The freighter ' s engine begins to overheat , threatening to explode , taking half the docking ring with it . Act Five . Odo suggests they explode the mooring clamp s to blow the ship clear of the station , but finds himself soon working alone , as Sisko now succumbs to the sickness . When Odo broadcasts a call for help throughout the entire station , it is answered in the form of Quark , one of the few people left unaffected . After smugly advising Odo that they could discuss his compensation later , Quark assumes control of Ops , beaming Odo directly to the docking ring ; Kira is absolutely stunned to find Quark answering her hail as she returns to the station . After boarding and showing Surmak to medical , however , she becomes the virus ' s latest unintelligible victim . Odo rescues the babbling freighter captain and jettisons the doomed ship just in time . Surmak Ren , whose memory is refreshed about the virus once he looks at Doctor Bashir ' s notes , quickly develops an antidote for the virus , curing everyone . As things begin to return to normal , Sisko welcomes O ' Brien back to Ops – only to find a moment later that the replicators are faulty once more . Memorable quotes . " " Chief , I thought you were going to fix the replicators ! " " " " Oh , you ' re absolutely right , sir ! I knew I ' d forgotten something ! Can ' t have the operations chief sitting around daydreaming when there ' s work to be done , can we ? Oh ho ho ho , I ' ll get right on it ! " " " " ' Fix the replicator s , chief . ' ' My console ' s offline , chief . ' Should have transferred to a cargo drone . No people , no complaints . " " " " Major Kira , Lieutenant Dax . . . I ' d be honored if you ' d join my party , as my guests , of course . " " " " What ' s all this , Quark ? You cheat your 1 , 000th customer ? " " " " Who says Bajorans don ' t have a sense of humor ? " " " " There ' s an old Ferengi saying : ' Never " ask " when you can " take " . " ' " " " Rom ' s an idiot . He couldn ' t fix a straw if it was bent . " " " " Waylink complete . . . WAYLINK ! ! " " " " Food , dabo , drinks ! Money , hand mine , give ! " " " " Well Quark , I see even you couldn ' t weasel your way clear of this one . " " " " You underestimate the Ferengi immune system , commander . I ' m merely here visiting my less fortunate customers to make sure they ' re not faking their illness to avoid paying their bills ! " " " " All right . You can . . . cross barrels . All job appalled . " " " " What was that ? " " " " Bread . . . the arrive . . . seen earlier ! " " " " Oh , I see . " " " " Quark ? Am I to believe that you ' re actually volunteering to help ? " " " " Who said anything about " volunteering " ? We ' ll haggle over price later . " " " " I ' ve got to get down to the docking ring before that ship explodes . " " " " I ' ll beam you down there . " " " " You ' ll . . . ? " " " " Relax , I served on a Ferengi freighter for eight years . I must have witnessed the procedure hundreds of times . " " " " Witnessed ? ! You mean you never operated the controls yourself ? " " " " Energizing ! " " " " Welcome back ! I could use some help up here ! " " " Quark ? ! " What are you doing in Ops ? " " " " Computer , replay morning . " " " " Command unclear . Please repeat . " " " " Glass lunch judge a bin to let it ! " " " " Dog . . . fellow . . . distance . " " " " Yeah , tell me about it . " " " " O ' BRIEN ! " " Links and references . 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