Field of Fire ( episode ) After several crew members are murdered , Ezri summons the memories and personality of Joran Dax to help her find the murderer . Summary . Teaser . Several of the senior staff are gathered in Quark ' s , toast ing one young Lieutenant Hector Ilario for his excellent performance at the ' s helm in a recent battle . They laugh and drink , toasting to Ilario ' s accomplishments until the wee hours . At around 0300 hours , the party winds down and only Kira Nerys and Ezri Dax are left , having one last drink with the lieutenant . Ilario can barely get up and tumbles from being drunk , so Ezri offers to escort him back , as his quarters are close to hers . When they get back to Ilario ' s quarters , he shows Ezri a picture of him and his two Starfleet companions , saying he wished they could have been there when he maneuvered the " Defiant " into battle . After looking at the picture and helping Ilario settle , Ezri wishes him a good night and leaves . At 0600 hours she receives her usual wake up call . As she gets ready and prepares her routine , she hears voices in the corridor . Everyone is running around nervously , talking about initiating a security alert . Ezri soon discovers what the commotion is all about : Ilario has been found dead in his quarters , having been shot right through the heart . Act One . Perplexingly , there is no evidence of a forced entry , nor of any entry at all . Even more mysterious is the fact that he was killed , at close range , with a projectile weapon rather than a directed energy weapon such as a phaser or disruptor . The tritanium bullet is matched to a Federation prototype TR - 116 rifle , which was never mass - produced , having been abandoned in favor of regenerative phasers . However , this does not mean that the killer did not have access to the weapon ' s replication pattern . Chief O ' Brien points out that only Starfleet officers have access to those files ; a thought Captain Sisko finds very disturbing . Drawing on his knowledge of 20th century crime novel s , Odo notes that there are no gun - powder burns on the body , suggesting that the shot was fired from a longer range , even though it appears as if Ilario was shot point blank at close range . All the while the officers are discussing the murder weapon , Ezri is standing in the corner , still in disbelief over what happened . She is disturbed to find out that Ilario was shot only ten minutes after she left his quarters . Sisko wants everyone to find out everything they can about Ilario . The officers mention that there was not much , as he has only been on the station for ten days and in that time was known to be intelligent , dedicated and eager to please . Sisko wants answers , however , and whoever is responsible for this caught as soon as possible . At " Quark ' s " , Doctor Bashir , the Chief and Ezri remember Ilario . The men feel bad about not having taken him to the holosuite with them as he had wanted , while Ezri wishes she had stayed around a bit longer , so that maybe he would be alive now . She feels distressed about the whole situation and cannot believe that Ilario has been murdered like this . The same night , she has a conversation with Dr . Bashir who tells her that the whole concept of someone killing another person in cold blood seems incomprehensible . Ezri replies that to her , it is not a very foreign concept , as she knows exactly what it feels like to have the urge to take a life . She points to the sixth host of the , Joran , who killed three people . She says she tries not to think about Joran and suppress the memories of him , just like Jadzia before her . However , the thought of someone like Joran even being on Deep Space 9 really irks her . She decides to get some rest . Later that night , Ezri has a nightmare about the murdered lieutenant and Joran . In her dream , Joran tells her to stop being afraid of him as if he was a stranger . He points out that after all , the " worm " in her belly used to be in him , which means he is a part of her just as she is a part of him . He tells her to perform the Rite of Emergence already and simply ask him to help her if she wants to find the killer . She is resistant and says that she wants nothing to do with him after what he did , but Joran is smug , saying that there is nowhere else for him to go as he is within her all the time . He beckons her to let him out , saying that he can help because he knows how a murderer thinks . Upon awakening , she is summoned to the site of another murder . . . Act Two . This time the victim is Greta Vanderweg , a science officer . Similarly to Ilario , she was killed by a tritanium bullet , apparently fired at close range but without leaving any gun - powder burns . Sisko is still puzzled at the motive . He wonders if there is a pattern to this madness or if someone is just killing these officers at random . Odo points out that there are over 900 Starfleet officers on the Station and that they need to narrow the field of suspects . Sisko assigns Ezri to assist Odo with her forensic psychology training . At the Replimat , Bashir and O ' Brien discuss the issue further . They wonder why use a rifle at all if you are going to shoot somebody at close range . Davy Crockett ' s attachment to a particular weapon comes up , and as Bashir tells an old story about Davy Crockett using frying pans to perform a trick shot , the Chief has an epiphany about how the killer has fired from close range without leaving powder burns : displaced targeting . He believes the killer set up an alternate bullet trajectory which did not require a direct line of sight between him and the victim . Quickly arranging a demonstration , O ' Brien shows how a micro - transporter could be attached to the muzzle of a TR - 116 rifle to beam the bullet close to the target , where it continues its trajectory . With an exographic targeting sensor , the murderer could have scanned through bulkhead s , meaning he or she could be firing from anywhere on the station , at anyone . Unfortunately , the micro - transporter does not leave enough of a transporter signature to track back . Ezri redoubles her efforts to find a connection between the two murder victims , but gets nowhere . Alone on the Promenade she runs into Worf who appears to have followed her out of concern , even though he does not admit it . He asks her about the investigation and if he can be of assistance . She says that there is actually someone who could help , but that she does not want to ask him . Worf insists that if that person can help , she should consider it , no matter how unpleasant . He knows that accomplishing a task until it is finished is " Dax ' s way " after all . Hoping to draw on the memories of Joran , Ezri performs the Trill Rite of Emergence to extract and personify Joran ; to interact with him so she can trace the killer ' s thoughts , actions , motives and drive . At first she has a bit of a hard time getting through to him , but he finally emerges , telling her that she won ' t regret having summoned him – the forgotten host , the outcast , the murderer . It seems strange for her to see him separated from all the others , standing in front of her but Joran says he has a lot to offer and that Jadzia and Curzon were wrong to deny him all this time . Ezri is eager to get to work to expose the murderer , so Joran suggests starting with the killer ' s choice of weapons . Even though Ezri knows what the killer used , Joran says that it means nothing until " she " herself holds the weapon , looks through its tracking display , picks a target , feels the power when she locks its sensors to the unexpecting prey . Joran encourages her to think like a killer so she can catch him . This thought deeply disturbs Ezri but she is determined . Act Three . Ezri takes the TR - 116 rifle out of its casing while Joran admires its aesthetic qualities , design and the power as well as sense of danger it conveys . He asks her to hold it in her hands so she feels what the killer felt . She puts on the targeting display and holds the weapon as if she was going to use it . He tells her to move to the Habitat ring with her display so she can put herself in the killer ' s mind . Then , layer by layer , they intrude into peoples ' lives . When she finds and targets a young Starfleet officer in his quarters , Joran wants to know how she feels . Ezri replies that she feels powerful and in control , like the killer would . The killing is done from a distance , remarks Joran ; it is cold and methodical , implying that either a doctor or a scientist are behind it . Ezri wants to know why choose a victim like this instead of just going to the Promenade or to " Quark ' s " . Joran suggests that she find out by pulling the trigger . Ezri is close and tempted , but at the last moment , pulls herself back together and puts down the rifle . After she puts the weapon down , Joran remarks that the gun wasn ' t loaded and that he asked her to pull the trigger so she can learn something about the killer . Ezri is irritated . In " Quark ' s " , Ezri is still shaken from her experience . Joran apologizes for having pushed her but insists that it was necessary . When Quark approaches Ezri , offering her something to drink , Joran remarks how he would love to slip a knife between Quark ' s rib s . Ezri pretends she didn ' t hear that and upon the suggestion of Joran , she decides to go check out the victims ' quarters to see if she can find any clues there . She looks around , but she simply cannot get anywhere . In Vanderweg ' s quarters she notices an animated picture of Vanderweg with her husband , laughing . She compares the two victims and realizes that besides the uniform , they both have absolutely nothing in common . She is frustrated . Later at " Quark ' s " , Ezri is deep in thought and Joran knows that she is thinking about giving up . Joran tells her that she is the problem because she refuses to see with the killer ' s eyes , feel with his hands and think with his mind . She thinks that Joran wants to turn her to a killer , to himself , when he again reminds her that she " is " him . Suddenly , they find themselves in the middle of a chase : a young Starfleet officer is being chased by the security team . Believing him to be the killer , Ezri jumps on him and , encouraged by Joran , picks up a knife and nearly stabs the man in a violent rage . Odo stops her just in time . Act Four . It turns out the man , ( Ensign Bertram ) , was being pursued by security for accessing the TR - 116 replicator pattern . However , he has turned out to be a mere weapons collector with a tight alibi : he was on Bajor at the time of the first murder . Sisko cannot believe that she was about to stab the man and wonders what is going on . He almost takes Ezri off the case , but gives her another chance when she assures him that she can find the killer if she has a little more time . On their way out , Joran remarks that he could never understand what Curzon and Jadzia saw in Sisko , as he finds him to be " insufferable and so Starfleet " . He jokes , wondering why the killer hasn ' t targeted him yet . Ezri has enough , however , and attempts to reverse the ritual to rebury Joran ' s memories , realizing that he is just too dangerous of an influence to be around . But she is interrupted by news of another murder : Zim Brott , a Bolian petty officer , has been found dead , by the same method . While searching the latest victim ' s quarters for clues , Joran looks at a picture , wondering cynically how someone could be so happy with such unattractive children . And that is when it finally dawns on Ezri : she realizes that the only commonality between the victims is the pictures of them laughing and that therefore , the killer is someone who hates laughter , who hates emotion , such as a Vulcan maybe . Joran notes that all Vulcans dislike emotion but that they don ' t go out killing people for smiling , but Ezri reasons that a Vulcan , sufficiently traumatized , might see the pictures as an unbearable , frozen display of emotion . When he looks through the targeting sensor and sees those pictures , to Ezri , the laughter seems to mock him . Joran is pleased that she is thinking like the killer now . They find out that there are currently 48 Vulcans serving on DS9 and realize that they need to narrow their list . Joran notes they need to eliminate 47 of them . She comes up with a short list of suspects who fit what she has deduced . In the turbolift and on her way to review her list and shorten it further , she and Joran run into a Vulcan who seems to fit the killer ' s profile . Joran knows right away that it ' s him , but Ezri needs further proof . Act Five . Checking his personnel file , she discovers that he is a science officer and that his name is Chu ' lak . She further discovers that he has indeed suffered a recent emotional trauma : the ship he served on for ten years was destroyed by the Jem ' Hadar and he was one of the only six crew members out of 1250 , to survive . That is a painful loss , even for a Vulcan . Ezri has doubts still , however , but Joran urges her to listen to her instincts , to listen to " him " . Using the TR - 116 and exographic scanner , she goes after Chu ' lak and finds out that he is looking at her personnel file . She is even more mortified when she sees him retrieve the TR - 116 rifle and scanner , aiming it at her . Although Joran encourages her to shoot the Vulcan , she hesitates slightly and then only wounds him non - fatally . It is enough , however , to cause Chu ' lak ' s shot to miss its mark , striking the wall behind Ezri and Joran , and the two of them rush to the wounded Vulcan ' s quarters . Joran tells Ezri he is proud of her . In Chu ' lak ' s quarters , Ezri confronts the Vulcan , wanting to know why he did it . Chu ' lak answers that it was because logic demanded it . All the while she is aiming the rifle directly at him with Joran breathing on her neck , encouraging her to finish him off . He keeps telling her that she should just do it , knowing that he deserves to die . Though Ezri is tempted , once again , at the last moment , she pulls herself together and lowers her weapon , much to Joran ' s dismay . After calling for medical assistance for her would - be killer , Ezri mocks Joran , saying he should at least " try " to not look too disappointed . Finally , having solved the murders and come to terms with her memories of Joran , she begins the process of sending him back . As she recites her incantation , Joran tells her that from now on she will not be able to forget him and bury him as deeply as Curzon and Jadzia did . He tells her that he is a part of her now , as much as all the other hosts . Ezri understands the change that has taken place and the place Joran will take in her psyche from now . She slowly watches him vanish , knowing that he will never really be gone . Memorable quotes . " " Joran – the forgotten host , the outcast . " " " " The murderer . " " " " Now , let ' s get to work . We have a killer to catch . " " " " I still can ' t believe anyone in Starfleet could be doing this . " " " " How can anyone be so happy with such unattractive children ? " " " " Nice melon ! " " - Odo , to Ezri Dax " " Ezri ? I think you need a vacation . You ' re talking to yourself . " " " " Tell me , why did you do it ? " " " " Because logic " demanded " it . " " Links and references . References . 20th century ; 2353 ; 2372 ; Alpha Centauri ; Bajor ; Bajoran s ; Bolarus ; Bolian ; Brott ' s co - spouses ; bullet ; bullet hole ; centimeter ; ; chemical ; cherub ; co - husband ; combustion ; computer console ; coonskin cap ; counselor crime novel ; ; dampening field ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; displaced targeting ; docking ring ; doctor ; Earth ; ; exographic targeting sensor ; Ezri ' s father ; Fanalian tea ; Federation ; Ferengi ; ; fighter pilot ; frontiersman ; frying pan ; forensic psychology ; goggles ; ; " Grissom " casualties ; " Grissom " survivors ; habitat ring ; ; heart ; helmsman ; holosuite ; ; knife ; lighter ; melon ; micropaleontologist ; micro - transporter ; Milky Way Galaxy ; Mora V ; mythology ; name ; New Sydney ; novel ; packrat ; petty officer ; photography ; powder burn ; projectile weapon ; Promenade ; prototype ; Quark ' s ; ; radiogenic ; " raktajino " ; regenerative phaser ; replication pattern ; rib ; Ricktor Prime ; Rite of Emergence ; ; Sally ; Sappora system ; Saurian brandy ; science lab ; science officer ; scientist ; serial killer ; service record ; Starfleet Academy ; Starfleet Command ; Starfleet Security ; ; ; ; tall tale ; targeting display ; toast ; TR - 116 rifle ; tricorder ; tritanium ; ; Vulcan ; Vulcan suspects ; wedding ; Chu ' lak ' s personnel file . 2278 ; ; S ' Lara region ;