Home Fires Home Fires Summary . Description . Domenica Corsi brings fellow crewmate Fabian Stevens ( " who she has yet to admit to herself is her boyfriend " ) home to meet her parents , with whom they will be staying for a week . At first her mother , Ulrika , greets them warmly and helps them get settled in for their stay . Domenica and her mother discuss Fabian ' s feelings for Domenica . The two , who are not quite dating , have gotten very close after recent events , including the near - destruction of the " da Vinci " at Galvan VI . When Domenica ' s father , Aldo Corsi , returns home , he does not question his daughter about her well - being but instead asks her about " the axe " . After telling her father than the artifact is fine , Domenica explains to Fabian how she and her father haven ' t been very close since she joined Starfleet , going so much as to ask about an object before asking about her . Her father explains that he must leave for his cargo run immediately , and can ' t chat with them . Fabian , trying to rectify the situation between Domenica and her father , arranges for them to go along on the trip . en route to a rendezvous with the Thelkans , their cargo freighter , the " Pharaon " , experiences engine trouble . As Fabian and Wilson ( Aldo Corsi ' s friend and ship ' s engineer ) try to fix the problem , Domenica insists on having a talk with her father about why he hates Starfleet officers so much . He explains that back in 2355 , just before the Cardassian wars , Starfleet came to him in the form of a Lieutenant Commander William Ross . Ross asked Aldo to store spy equipment aboard his freighter , the " Ulrika ' s Hope " , as his cargo route would pass near Cardassian space . Aldo reluctantly agreed since his brother and close friend , Giancarlo Corsi , was very eager to work with Starfleet . Part way into the mission , the Starfleet officers tried to scan a moon nearby , believing it may have been a new Cardassian listening station . The Cardassians , detecting strange readings from the " Ulrika ' s Hope " , investigated and insisted on boarding and inspecting the freighter . The gul in charge , Gul Mogad , was an acquaintance of Aldo Corsi , so the Cardassian kept the search at a minimum with the intention of letting them go . But Mogad ' s officers detected the spying equipment , and the Starfleet officers were forced to open fire . This led to an all - out fire fight in the cargo bay , where three of the freighter ' s crew were killed , including Giancarlo . To stop the bloodshed , Aldo was able to work out a compromise with the Cardassians in which he would hand over any scans Starfleet personnel obtained , and in exchange , the Cardassians would let them go . Gul Mogad reluctantly agreed . While Commander Ross argued that Argo could not turn over such classified information , Aldo was too angry over the death of his brother to care . Aboard the " Pharaon " , Domenica feels a new sense of closeness to her father , this being the first time he ' d ever truly opened up to her . Fabian enters and explains the warp drive is back online . The freighter then continues onward to its rendezvous with the Thelkans . Domenica accidentally walks into Fabian ' s quarters just after he had taken a shower . Discussing the future , Fabian explains that he has decided to leave Starfleet due to his experience at Galvan VI , a revelation which shocks Domenica . She explains that every one had lost people at Galvan VI , and that she had to sleep with a highlighted list of the survivors next to her bed every night just so she knew who was still alive . She tells him that if she can go on after such an incident , then he would have to do so as well . Memorable quotes . " Ghrovlatrei was right " , Donovan chided himself . " This assignment was better when it was boring . " " " You come aboard my ship and murder my brother in defense of your illegal encroachment into an area of space that does not belong to you . Are you planning to enslave another culture like all of the others you ’ ve crushed beneath your boots ? Is Giancarlo but the latest victim in your endless thirst for conquest ? " "