Explorers ( episode ) Sisko builds a replica of an eight hundred - year - old Bajoran spaceship , and tries to use it to prove that Bajoran explorers could have made it to Cardassia without developing warp drive . Summary . Teaser . Dr . Bashir sits alone in Quark ' s reading a PADD as a dabo girl , Leeta , approaches him to solicit his help in treating her " cough " . The two flirt and he orders them a Fanalian toddy , but Dax interrupts to inform him that an old colleague , Elizabeth Lense , will be arriving on the in three weeks . Bashir is visibly apprehensive ; during his time at Starfleet Medical Academy , he was the salutatorian rather than valedictorian ( an honor which went to Lense ) due to him mistaking a preganglionic fiber for a postganglionic nerve . Meanwhile , Sisko has returned from Bajor , attending the opening of a library , and greets Jake . He ' s extremely excited and tells Jake about a Bajoran lightship . He tells Jake that he plans to build and fly one in order to recreate the process by which ancient Bajoran s achieved space flight . Act One . Sisko begins by procuring space in a cargo bay . Even though Chief O ' Brien is unsure whether the starship is even spaceworthy , Sisko begins the laborious task of building a lightship from scratch . Further , he wants to build it like the Bajorans did , because it ' ll be fun – with the only exception being the installation of a gravity net in the floor , as weightlessness makes him queasy . Intent on proving the vessel can fly , Sisko plans to fly to the Denorios belt as his major goal . He doesn ' t know if he could get all the way to Cardassia as the ancient Bajorans supposedly did , a hotly contested modern debate , but getting to the belt would be a good proving point . Taking a break for a meal in his quarters , he asks Jake to accompany him , since it will only be a few days , but Jake wants to see Leanne when she gets back from Bajor . Later , he takes another break when Dax stops by and pleasantly observes that she has not seen Sisko so excited since he and Jennifer decided to have a baby . Later , Jake receives a message in his quarters from Wellington on Earth . He ' s happy with it , but it makes him think . Going down to the lightship , he says he now wants to go with his father . Act Two . At the Replimat , Bashir is preparing for Lense ' s arrival by reviewing several medical texts . Dropping by , Dax asks why they are competitive , when they both got the positions they wanted . Bashir , however , says regardless he will always feel second - best . Sisko prepares to leave when Gul Dukat calls to warn him not to attempt the journey , as lightships are fragile . Despite his overt concern for Sisko ' s safety , noting possible Maquis trouble , he obviously is of the opinion that these lightships could not have made the trip to Cardassia . Sisko responds that the Maquis have no motive either way on this , and he ' s prepared emergency procedures . This is while implying a threat from Dukat , but he insists that ' s not the case . He ends the call wishing him luck instead . Jake and Benjamin bond during their voyage , and they both enjoy the tranquility of the lightship . With a few coordinated pulls of levers , the sails are up and they are on their way . Act Three . Benjamin has determined to do things " exactly " as the Bajorans did – even taking zero - gravity ration pack s instead of a portable replicator . He has Jake change the heading a bit and then sits down , where he explains the next few actions they ' ll need to take . Jake notices the ( strange ) bathroom , designed for a zero gravity environment . He ' s also not a fan of the rations . Benjamin tells him he ' s very glad he ' s here , even if he didn ' t want to come . Then , after weeks of hiding it from even his father , Jake finally asks Benjamin to read a story he has been diligently working on . Meanwhile , Morn and Quark have made a bet on how long Bashir will talk with his old schoolmate once she arrives on the station . As usual , Odo has kept tabs on the situation as well . Bashir nervously sits in Quark ' s with Miles , observing Lense from afar , and finally gets up the nerve to talk to her ; however , she walks past him as if he does not exist . Having read Jake ' s story , Sisko appears reluctant to give his opinion of it . He is genuinely impressed , claiming the story shows " a lot of promise " , but does not feel his son has experience with the issues being dealt with in the story . Jake seems to understand , and his father tells him he should keep writing . He then reveals he received a message from the Pennington School with an offer for a writing fellowship . His father is surprised and pleased , but they are interrupted as there is a crash and one of the mast supports gives way . Act Four . Sisko says they need to immediately jettison the lightship ' s starboard sprit . Without the sprit , sail efficiency has been compromised . Sisko ' s enthusiasm about the journey ' s chances wanes , but Jake encourages his father to press on . Meanwhile , Bashir and O ' Brien drunkenly sing together in the latter ' s quarters . The doctor is perplexed by Elizabeth ' s reaction ( or lack thereof ) to him , and the chief notes with amusement that Lense must be either in love with , or unable to stand , his friend . O ' Brien encourages him to ask her himself – in the morning , when they are less drunk . Back on the lightship , Jake informs his father that he has decided to defer admission for a year . The older Sisko relates a story about when he left for Starfleet Academy , for the first week he transported home to New Orleans for dinner because he was homesick , but Jake claims he does not want to leave Ben alone . Jake turns the conversation to encouraging his father to date again , and he says he knows someone interested . Their conversation is interrupted as the ship rocks suddenly . The port mainsail breaks off as they accelerate quickly and go to warp for several minutes Act Five . Sisko doesn ' t know how the ship got to warp , but they need to stop the ship . They do so successfully and check the map . There were no spatial anomalies but , when Jake points out the tachyon eddies , Sisko realizes that , while a regular starship is not affected by tachyon eddies , a Bajoran lightship is different as due to its solar sail s , since its surface area is much greater relative to its mass . As tachyons travel faster than light , it ' s possible that their impact on the sails somehow pulled the ship to warp , and probably far off - course . This new information for ancient Bajoran space travel doesn ' t do them much good for their current situation : main power is offline , they ' ve lost the jib along with the port mainsail , leaving only the starboard mainsail and port sprit , and the sextant had fallen to the deck during the warp jump and smashed to pieces , without which Sisko can ' t determine their location or heading . Although they were less than a day from their goal of reaching the Denorios belt , Sisko decides they have no choice but to call the station for pick up with the emergency com unit he brought , but doesn ' t get an answer . As it ' s not damaged , Sisko believes they could be so far out that the signal hasn ' t yet reached Deep Space 9 . The next day , Bashir gets up the courage to confront Lense , who shows no sign of recognition . He discovers that , while at a New Year ' s Eve party of a mutual friend in 2367 , Lense was mistakenly informed that Bashir was an Andorian . Once the two begin talking , Lense confesses how bored she has been aboard the " Lexington " , and claims she envies Bashir ' s opportunity to work on long - term projects . Bashir invites her to examine some of his latest results at the infirmary , which she is more than eager to see . On the second level directly above them , Quark happily informs Morn that he has won their bet . With nothing better to do , the Siskos discuss a freighter captain , Kasidy Yates , to whom Jake wants to introduce Benjamin . He confesses that he has decided to stay aboard DS9 not just for his father but because the station will prove an excellent source of the kind of experience Ben noted that he needs to be a truly great writer . Their conversation is interrupted as several Cardassian warships arrive , headed by Dukat , and congratulate them on having just entered the Cardassian system , thereby proving that the idea of the ancient Bajorans sailing there was possible . The tachyon eddy allowed the ship to get past the Denorios belt , presumably how the ancient Bajorans successfully met the Cardassians so many centuries earlier . Coincidentally ( which Sisko strongly doubts ) , Cardassian Central Command has announced the discovery of an ancient crash site on Cardassia Prime , proving the story about ancient first contact is true . The Cardassian ships set off fireworks around their ships in recognition of this momentous event . Memorable quotes . " " What is this ? " " " " I thought it was time for a change . " " " " Oh , you sound just like a Cardassian . " " " " I beg your pardon ? " " " " They ' ve denied the possibility of ancient contact for decades because they cannot stand the idea of Bajor having interstellar flight before they did . " " " " With all due respect , major , you ' re beginning to sound like a Romulan . " " " " A Romulan ? " " " " There is no piece of technology in existence they don ' t claim they invented before everyone else . " " " " Listen . " " " " I don ' t hear anything . " " " " Exactly . Not even the hum of an engine . It ' s almost like being on the deck of an old sailing ship . Except the stars are not just up in the sky ; they ' re all around us . " " " " Hammock time ! " " " " Yo . " " " " You ' re not an in - between kind of guy . People either love you or hate you . " " " " Really ? " " " " I mean , I " hated " you when we first met . " " " " I remember . " " " " And now . . . " " " " And now ? " " " " Well . . . Now , I don ' t . " " " " That means a lot to me , chief , it really does . " " " " And that is from the heart ! I really do . . . not hate you anymore . " " " " Here is the immunological data you asked for . " " " " GO AWAY " " Links and references . References . ancient contact ; Andorian ; Bajor ; Bajoran ; Bajoran lightship ; Bajoran system ; Bajoran wormhole ; Cardassia ; Cardassian ; Cardassian government ; Cardassian system ; Cardassian history ; " " ; cough ; dabo girl ; ; Denorios belt ; England ; Erit ; fairy tale ; Fanalian toddy ; fellowship ; final exam ; ; ; graduation ; graduating class ; gravity net ; hammock ; immunology ; infirmary ; ion storm ; " Jerusalem " ; Jerusalem ; laser ; laser cutter ; Leanne ; ; living room ; ; lumber ; money ; New Orleans ; New Year ' s Eve ; New Zealand ; Nog ; New Orleans ; ; Pennington School ; photosynthesis ; Promenade ; Quark ' s ; replicator ; Replimat ; Romulan ; runabout ; sabre saw ; salutatorian ; San Francisco ; ; stairs ; Starfleet Academy ; Starfleet Medical Academy ; tachyon ; tachyon eddy ; T - cell anomaly ; transporter credit ; valedictorian ; Wellington ; winch Unreferenced material . Baraka