The Siege of AR - 558 ( episode ) During a supply run to AR - 558 , Sisko finds the defending Starfleet unit with over two thirds of the troops dead and the remaining soldiers ' morale extremely low . When the " Defiant " comes under attack , Sisko , Bashir , Dax , Nog , and Quark choose to remain on the planet , which is about to come under attack by a much larger contingent of Jem ' Hadar soldiers . Summary . Teaser . In Vic ' s lounge , Rom auditions for a " gig " , singing " The Lady is a Tramp " – and not very well . Vic tries to let him down easy , reminding Rom that a singer would be a poor opening act for another singer . Dr . Bashir enters the lounge , and retrieves a recording Vic has made for him to give to the Starfleet soldiers on AR - 558 . Meanwhile , Odo finds Captain Sisko in the wardroom , where Sisko is looking over the ever - growing list of casualties from the Dominion War . He mentions to Odo that at the start of the war , he tried to memorize the names of the fallen , as if to pay tribute to them , but as the list grew , the names seemed to blur together . Kira interrupts them over the comm to inform Sisko that the is ready . Quark mopes in the mess hall of the " Defiant " , wondering why Grand Nagus Zek would want him to go on a " fact - finding mission " to the front lines of the war . Ezri tries to comfort him , believing the Nagus wants a Ferengi perspective of the war . Unfortunately , her efforts to cheer him up are in vain , and even more so as the " Defiant " shakes from Dominion fire . Ezri rushes to the bridge , but Quark follows after her , not wanting to be alone . He runs into Worf , who tells him that the Dominion is pushing hard to reclaim the Chin ' toka system from Federation control . Quark nervously enters the bridge behind Worf , just as the " Defiant " succeeds in destroying a Jem ' Hadar fighter with quantum torpedo es . Sisko tells Miles O ' Brien to keep an eye out for more enemy ships . Once the immediate threat is over , Quark ' s presence on the bridge becomes rather obvious , and he quickly excuses himself . Embarrassed , Nog assures Sisko that his uncle will not disrupt their work again . When the " Defiant " reaches AR - 558 , Sisko relinquishes command to Worf and he , Ezri , Bashir , Quark , and Nog beam down to the planet ' s barren surface , armed with phaser rifle s . Once there , they come under immediate phaser fire . Act One . The phaser fire is Federation , and stops when the ranking Starfleet officer , Lieutenant Nadia Larkin , orders her men to hold their fire . One of them , Vargas , who believes they are all doomed , is a bit of a hothead and mistook Sisko ' s party for Jem ' Hadar . Sisko is surprised at the state of the garrison : the troops have been stranded for five months ( when regulations require forces to be rotated off the front line every ninety days ) , without reinforcements or supplies . Of the original one hundred fifty soldiers , only 43 are left . The other 107 , including Captain and the XO , Commander , have been killed in action . After seeing to the garrison ' s most serious injuries , Bashir pulls Sisko aside and warns that the soldiers ' health , not to mention their morale , are both dangerously fragile . In the cave the Starfleet forces are defending , Larkin shows Sisko the object of all the fighting : a captured Dominion communication array which , if the engineer s can figure out how it works , would allow the Federation to tap into enemy comm traffic all over the sector . As they talk , a muffled explosion is heard , and Larkin curses as another of her men is claimed by a " Houdini , " Dominion anti - personnel mines that hide in subspace and appear at random . They have been trying to find a way to expose or eliminate them , without success . , one of the most hardened soldiers , acerbically tells the others not to waste their breath explaining their situation to Sisko , who will be leaving the planet with his crew shortly . When the " Defiant " is forced to leave while coming under attack by Jem ' Hadar fighters , Sisko ' s conscience kicks in and he informs Worf that they intend to stay . As the commanding officer on the ground , Sisko now has only one order : hold . Act Two . Sisko orders Ezri to work with one of the few surviving engineers , Crewman , to find a way of unmasking the mines . Though she is no longer an engineer or science officer , Ezri has the benefit of her previous host s ' experience . She and Kellin quickly get to like each other . Jem ' Hadar soldiers later beam down and attack , but something is wrong ; they do not fire , and they seem to walk into the line of enemy volleys , ignorant of their casualties . Sisko orders his men to hold as he realizes the Dominion trickery . Almost immediately , the attackers vanish . The soldiers weren ' t real ; they were hologram s intended to assess the enemy strength without firing a shot , and they have just succeeded . Between that and the Houdinis , things are looking grim . Sisko has his hands full trying to shore up the morale of the tired soldiers . Aside , Quark explains to Nog that , for all their civilized ways , Human s can become just as savage as bloodthirsty Klingons , if they go too long without food , sleep , or creature comforts . Sisko decides it is imperative that they discover the location of the Jem ' Hadar encampment and assess their strength . He orders Nog ( with his superior Ferengi hearing ) to accompany Larkin and Reese on the scouting mission , a decision Quark objects strongly to . Sisko says that Nog is only doing his duty , and Quark retorts that Sisko wouldn ' t send Jake out there so casually . Sisko responds that his son is not a Starfleet officer , but this argument doesn ' t convince Quark . Act Three . Using his lobes , Nog successfully leads the scout team to the Jem ' Hadar camp , where two column s of Jem ' Hadar are preparing to attack . Hearing the sounds of a patrol , Nog signals for them to withdraw , but as they are returning to camp , they are ambushed by Jem ' Hadar . Larkin is killed , and Nog ' s left leg takes a direct strike below the knee . Meanwhile , Dax successfully modifies a tricorder to cut through the jamming signal s , enough to scan the whole compound . Kellin excitedly takes it and states the next step : recalibrating it to find the mines in subspace . When Dax suggests to cross - link its optronic and isodyne relay s , Kellin is further impressed and briefly asks about her experience with nine lifetimes of memories to sort through . Dax relates that she remembers battles from past hosts . He reassures her she ' ll be fine when the time comes . Reese runs back to camp carrying the injured Nog , and Quark is stricken to see his nephew wounded . Reese gives credit to Nog for making it as far as they did . When Captain Sisko tries to check on Nog , Quark reveals that he is going to lose his leg . Act Four . Later , Doctor Bashir is able to successfully remove Nog ' s leg to prevent further injury , but whether it can be regenerated is unclear ; he needs to visit a Starfleet Medical facility . Quark takes out his fury on Sisko , accusing him of regarding Nog as expendable " cannon fodder . " Sisko , equally furious and getting fed up with Quark , retaliates by saying that he cares deeply about the lives of " every " person under his command , including Nog . The captain goes to visit Nog in his hospital bed . Nog begins to apologize for falling into the ambush , but Sisko says he has accomplished his mission , and Sisko is very proud of him . He glances at Nog ' s wound , and Nog reassures him that it doesn ' t hurt . Then , Nog ' s confident facade cracks a little bit , and asks Sisko to reassure him that the communications array , for which so many people have died , is really worth it . Sisko says he hopes to God it is . There is some good news for the officers as Ezri and Kellin find a way to reveal the Houdinis ' locations . Once it is put into effect , hundreds of the dreaded killers pop out throughout the defenders ' positions . But instead of disarming them , Sisko says he plans to use them against the Jem ' Hadar . Based on Reese and Nog ' s report , the Starfleet forces are hopelessly outnumbered , unless they find a way to even the odds . The irony of the situation is not lost on Ezri : a few hours earlier , the Houdinis were an inhuman weapon , the kind only the Dominion would use ; now , with their position so desperate , " they seem a whole lot friendlier . " Reese reports that the Jem ' Hadar will need to approach the Federation camp through a narrow ravine , so that is where the mines are placed . Once this is done , Sisko and his crew take position behind the barricades , phasers ready . Trying to relieve some of the tension , Bashir plays Vic ' s recording of " I ' ll Be Seeing You " over the sound system . Quark , the only civilian , stays by Nog ' s side in the makeshift infirmary , doing his best to keep his nephew comfortable . In the distance , they hear muffled explosions as the Jem ' Hadar trip the mines – and then nothing . In the tense silence that follows , Vargas nervously wonders whether the Jem ' Hadar have all been killed , or else decided to retreat . But then the Jem ' Hadar come charging towards the barricades , yelling war cries . Sisko yells for the Starfleet forces to open fire . Act Five . Dozens of Jem ' Hadar go down under phaser fire , but dozens more jump over the barricades and the battle becomes a desperate melee . Vargas and Kellin are killed . Quark , alone in the infirmary , is the only person available to defend it , and he is forced to kill an enemy soldier with his phaser in defense of Nog . Sisko is knocked out . The last thing he sees is a Jem ' Hadar soldier standing over him with a disruptor . When he awakens , Reese is standing over him , asking if he is alive . Sisko gets up and looks around . Many of the officers he knew are now dead , and there are few soldiers left , but as he puts it , " " We held . " " The " Defiant " returns to AR - 558 along with the , which will pick up the survivors and transport the injured officers as well as Nog and Bashir to Starbase 371 . Worf tells Sisko that they achieved a great victory , however Sisko can only think of what this victory cost . A fresh batch of officers start beaming down from the " Veracruz " . Reese notes that the newcomers are young , to which Sisko responds that they ' ll grow up fast . Back aboard DS9 , the next casualty list comes in . When Sisko asks how many , Kira replies the number is 1730 , including those lost on AR - 558 . Kira states that it ' s " " . . . a lot of names " " but Sisko , feeling the weight of his recent experiences , tells her that behind every name is a person and it ' s important not to forget them or the sacrifice they ' ve made . Memorable quotes . " " You know , pally ? Some times being a hologram can be a real pain in the asymmetric photons . " " " " Remember the 34th rule of acquisition : War is good for business . " " " " Only from a distance ! The closer you get to the front lines , the less profitable it gets . " " " " Welcome to paradise , captain . " " " " Sir , what are your orders ? " " " " There ' s only one order , lieutenant . We hold . " " " " Let me tell you something about Hew - mons , nephew . They ' re a wonderful , friendly people – as long as their bellies are full and their holosuite s are working . But take away their creature comforts . . . deprive them of food , sleep , sonic showers . . . put their lives in jeopardy over an extended period of time . . . and those same friendly , intelligent , wonderful people will become as nasty and violent as the most bloodthirsty Klingon . You don ' t believe me ? Look at those faces , look at their eyes . . . " " " " Well , haven ' t you got anything to say ? " " " " I feel sorry for the Jem ' Hadar . " " " " I ' m sorry captain , but I ' m an engineer , not a magician . " " " " Captain . . . the kid did all right . " " " " How is he ? " " " " It ' s a little late for you to care about that , isn ' t it ? " " " " Quark - " " " " He ' s going to lose his leg ! Does that answer your question ? " " " " The communications array . . . it ' s worth it , right ? " " " " I hope to God it is . " " " " We held . " " " " Those were our orders , sir . " " " " This was a great victory . Worthy of story and song . " " " " It cost enough . " " " " Children . " " " " Not for long . " " " " They ' re not just names , it ' s important we remember that . We " have " to remember . . . " " Links and references . References . adrenaline ; amputation ; anti - personnel mine ; AR - 558 ; asometric photon ; " Bashir 62 " ; biosynthetic limb ; chestnut ; Chin ' toka system ; coil spanner ; column ; comedian ; communication array ; ; ; ; ; ; Dominion ; Dominion War ; duonetic coupler ; evasive maneuvers ; Federation ; femur ; Ferengi ; Ferengi Alliance ; fever ; frequency discriminator ; God ; Grand Nagus ; hologram ; holosuite ; hospital ; " Houdini s " ; " I ' ll Be Seeing You " ; isodyne relay ; isolinear rod ; Jem ' Hadar ; Jem ' Hadar fighter ; ketracel - white ; kilometer ; " " ; latinum ; ; mail order ; McGreevey ; meter ; microdyne coupler ; motor nerve ; music ; necklace ; numinol tetraminothen ; " Old Man " ; optronic relay ; ; phase amplifier ; phaser rifle ; power pack ; raktajino ; ravine ; replicator ; Rules of Acquisition ; ; sonic shower ; Starbase 371 ; Starfleet Regulations ; subspace ; subspace mine ; tricorder ; USO ; ; vole ; Zek