Image in the Sand ( episode ) Sisko tries to regain contact with the Prophets . ( Part One of Two ) ( " Season premiere " ) Summary . Teaser . Three months have passed since Captain Benjamin Sisko left Deep Space 9 . On the Promenade , newly promoted Colonel Kira and Odo worry that he won ' t be coming back as they observe members of the cult of the Pah - wraiths , identified by red armbands . The cult has become very influential since the Prophet s became disconnected from Bajor by turning the orbs black and locking the wormhole entrance . Meanwhile , the returns to the station from convoy duty , which is now becoming a regular mission for the ship . When Ensign Nog comments that he ' d rather be on convoy duty than being in battle , Worf , who is frustrated at having to protect shipments of stem bolt s as well as the fact the Federation ' s invasion of Cardassian space has made no progress since the First Battle of Chin ' toka , takes offense and angrily leaves the bridge . Bashir and O ' Brien assure Nog it wasn ' t personal , and that Worf is hoping that some combat might help him get over his wife Jadzia ' s death . On Earth , at Joseph Sisko ' s New Orleans restaurant / home , Jake watches his father play piano and tells his grandfather ( Joseph ) that he is worried because Sisko has been doing nothing and going nowhere since they arrived . Joseph is concerned but suggests that they leave him alone . Suddenly , the baseball sitting on top of the piano ( the one Sisko took from his desk on DS9 ) , rolls off and lands on the floor . Moving over to reach for it on the floor , Benjamin has a vision of the desert planet , where he digs in the sand with a shovel to uncover a woman ' s face . Coming out of his vision , Sisko tells Jake that he knows why he has come to Earth ; he has to find this woman . Act One . Admiral Ross informs Kira that the Romulans will be setting up an office on DS9 led by Senator Cretak . She is concerned about Romulan soldiers on the station , but Ross says Cretak is cooperative and supportive of the Alliance . The Federation needs to do all they can to support her in turn . Furthermore , only twelve Romulans at most would be on the station . Kira is still uneasy , but Ross pulls rank , stating he doesn ' t need her acceptance . Ross compliments Kira on taking over for Sisko , but Kira obviously thinks it ' s temporary . On Cardassia Prime , Weyoun and Legate Damar discuss the war effort . They plan to contain the Alliance in their newly - claimed Chin ' toka system . Damar is pleased , so he celebrates with a drink of kanar , knowing that Weyoun won ' t join in . They are pleased that the closing of the wormhole has somehow shifted the war in their favor . Nevertheless , Weyoun expresses worry about Damar ' s constant drinking . Back on Earth , Sisko recreates the woman ' s face on a PADD , and Jake recognizes it from a photo he found while cleaning a storage space . Joseph is in it , so they show the photo to him and ask who she is . Oddly , he is dismissive and angrily refuses to reveal her identity . Act Two . In his quarters , Worf is in his and Jadzia ' s bed and finds himself unable to sleep , his mind is full of thoughts of his late wife . After looking at a photo from their wedding , he gets up and goes to the holosuite and activates the Vic Fontaine program asking the singer to perform " All the Way " . Vic attempts to refuse , but Worf orders him to sing . As Vic reluctantly sings the sad song , Worf ' s face is a mixture of fury and indescribable sadness . Halfway through , he slowly stands and then , with a roar of anger , begins to trash the lounge . Later , Kira goes to the office set up for the Romulans to greet Cretak . She ' s cautious in her greeting , but Cretak is surprisingly cordial , acknowledging Romulans ' reputation for being arrogant and looking forward to the common goal of defeating the Dominion . Kira agrees . Sisko asks his father about the woman again , and when Joseph stonewalls Ben again , the captain gets frustrated and shocks his old father by grabbing and shaking him . Joseph sadly reveals that the woman is Sisko ' s real mother Sarah ( the woman who raised him having actually been his step - mother ) . Act Three . Sarah married Joseph after only three weeks of courtship , meeting in Jackson Square in June of 2331 . The two were together for two years and soon bore Ben , however she suddenly left Joseph two days after his first birthday . Joseph doesn ' t know why she left , and explains that he tracked her down after three years only to find she had died in an accident . As for why the Prophets sent Sisko the vision of Sarah , he concludes that finding out the truth about his mother may be the first step to recovering from recent events . Kira , on the Promenade , curiously observes Cretak buying a jumja stick , finding it unexpected . Cretak sees her and they pleasantly exchange their opinions on it , Cretak suggesting she try a tart osol twist . To business , Cretak informs her of a squadron of warbirds coming , but also to ask about building a hospital on Bajor ' s fourth moon , Derna . Kira promises to ask the Council of Ministers . Cretak is impressed with the efficiency and accommodation being shown . Kira smiles after Cretak leaves , pleased with having such a cordial conversation . O ' Brien , armed with bloodwine from 2301 , approaches a reluctant Worf in his quarters for some conversation , including their time serving together on the and recalling Reginald Barclay with the intent of bringing him out of his depressed state . Later , while nursing a hangover , he informs Bashir and Quark that after a few bottles and talking about several unrelated subjects he finally found out why Worf is so upset ; Jadzia will not enter Sto - vo - kor because she was murder ed instead of dying in combat . In order to get her there , Worf must win a great battle in her name . With the " Defiant " mired in convoy duty they decide to ask General Martok for help , who is scheduled to arrive at the station the next morning . Sisko is washing clam s behind the restaurant when Joseph gives him a necklace that belonged to Sarah , which Sisko is surprised to discover is engraved with ancient Bajoran text . Act Four . Sisko is able to translate the necklace ' s writing as the words " Orb of the Emissary . " There is no such orb mentioned in Bajoran religious texts , but he guesses that it exists , and is buried on Tyree and that it may not have gone dark along with all the others . On the station , the casualty reports come in from the counterattack on the Chin ' toka system . The Alliance successfully fended it off , but the price was high . Cretak takes comfort in the victory , and also praises Kira for helping approve the hospital , saying Romulus owes her a debt of gratitude . Kira is again impressed with her , but later , Odo informs Kira that a Starfleet ship was turned away from the hospital . Kira thinks it is because most of the wounded were Vulcan s ( historical enemies of the Romulans ) before Odo shows her a scan indicating high trilithium levels . It appears there was some deception . Meanwhile , Martok stealthily enters a holosuite where Worf is practicing bat ' leth form and attacks him . He asks Worf to be his first officer on a very dangerous combat mission , promising the victory will ensure Jadzia gets into Sto - vo - kor . Later , again in the dark alley behind the restaurant , Sisko is approached by a young Bajoran man wearing a red hood who praises him and mentions the orb . Sisko is polite and turns away before the man pulls a knife and stabs him , claiming he will never find it . Jake drops the attacker with a heavy sack of clams he was bringing out to be washed . He runs over to his bleeding father and yells at Joseph for help . Act Five . Sisko recovers and comes back to the restaurant , but not before reporting the incident to Starfleet Security . He explains that the man was a member of the Pah - wraith cult and declares his intention to go to Tyree and find the orb . Joseph is worried , not because of the cult , but because of the Pah - wraiths . At Quark ' s , O ' Brien tells Quark and Bashir that Martok ' s lone ship will try to destroy a Dominion shipyard located at Monac IV . Bashir declares he will accompany Worf to honor Jadzia ' s memory , and O ' Brien decides to go for Bashir ' s protection . Quark thinks both of them are crazy . Kira barges in on Ross and Cretak in the wardroom with proof that the Romulans have armed the hospital with plasma torpedo es . Cretak claims it is for defense , but the Bajoran government will not allow the Romulans to have weapons on its moon and have ordered them to leave the moon immediately . The news reaches Dominion Headquarters on Cardassia Prime . Having halted the Federation ' s advance into their territory , Damar and Weyoun revel upon hearing of the Romulans ' treacherous action , the kind of action that could destroy the Alliance . The morning he is about to leave for Tyree , Sisko finds the restaurant closed and Joseph and Jake packed and ready to go . He agrees to let them accompany him when there is a knock at the door . A young female Trill Starfleet ensign enters and happily greets Sisko , who does not recognize her at all . She introduces herself as Dax . Memorable quotes . " " Romulans . So predictably treacherous ! " " " " The band is threatening to quit ! " " " " They can ' t quit . . . they ' re holograms . " " " They " don ' t know that ! " " " " I just never thought I ' d see a Romulan eating a jumja stick . " " " " Who better than a Klingon to help a Klingon ? " " " " Your buddy needs some serious help . . . and soon ! " " " " Are there any other secrets I should know about ? " " " " Just my gumbo recipe . . . but I ' m taking that to my grave . " " " " So , what ' d you find out ? " " " " That you should never try to match drinks with a Klingon . " " " " Then what makes him think she ' s " not " in Sto - vo - kor ? " " " " Well for one thing , she never ate the heart of one of her enemies . " " " " She always was a little squeamish . " " " " So . . . how do you like convoy duty ? " " " " I don ' t . " " " " Good , I was afraid you might be getting soft ! " " " " Miles , I don ' t know what to say . I ' m touched . " " " " You ' re both touched ! " " " " You wanna get Jadzia to Sto - vo - kor fine , fine , go for it . But can ' t you do something more sensible ? Make a donation in her name ! Or bribe someone ! " " " " It doesn ' t work that way , Quark . " " " " It ' d be nice if it did . " " " " Life is full of choices . You make them and hope for the best . Sometimes you ` re right , sometimes you ` re not . " " " " Hello , Benjamin . " " " " Do I know you ? " " " " It ' s me . . . Dax . " " " " I don ' t suppose I can talk you out of going to Tyree . " " " " If you ' re worried about the Cult . . . " " " " I figure you can handle them . But if the Cult knows you ' re looking for the Orb of the Emissary , chances are the Pah - wraiths do as well . And that does worry me . " " Links and references . References . 47 ; ; " All the Way " ; ; ancient Bajoran texts ; Armstrong Park ; Australia ; Bajor ; Bajoran s ; Bajoran interceptor ; Bajoran government ; Bajoran wormhole ; Baldwin Piano Company ; barbecue ; ; baseball ; " bat ' leth " ; belch ; ; blackjack ; bloodwine ; Cardassia Prime ; Cardassian s ; Chin ' toka system ; clam ; ; colonel ; convoy ; craps ; crawfish étouffée ; Council of Ministers ; cuckoo ; ; ; ; Derna ; dime ; Dukat ; Dominion ; Dominion War ; Emissary of the Prophets ; ; ; facsimile construction program 047 ; Federation ; Federation Alliance ; ; first officer ; " gagh " ; ; Gamma Quadrant ; gumbo ; holo - photograph ; hologram ; holosuite ; hospital ; House of Martok ; hovercraft ; isotope ; Jackson Square ; jazz ; Jem ' Hadar ; jumja ; " kanar " ; Klingon s ; ; ; ; leave of absence ; loitering ; Monac IV ; murder ; Neral ; Orb of the Emissary ; osol twist ; Pah - wraith s ; photograph ; piano ; plasma torpedo ; ; Promenade ; Prophet s ; Quark ' s ; raktajino ; recipe ; Romulan s ; Romulan Senate ; Romulan underground movement ; Romulus ; ; runabout ; Russia ; Saltah ' na clock ; shrimp ; shrimp creole ; ; Sisko ' s ; squadron ; Starbase 129 ; Starfleet Security ; Starfleet transport ; stem bolt ; stepmother ; " Sto - vo - kor " ; system module ; ; Third Fleet ; Third Order ; " " ; Trill s ; toast ; ; tongo ; toothbrush ; trilithium ; ; ; ; ; Vulcan s ; Warbird ; ; Yaltar