Shattered Mirror (episode)
Professor Jennifer Sisko uses Jake to lure Sisko to the "mirror universe" to help the rebels build another starship Defiant.

Summary

Teaser

Jake Sisko is at his usual place on the second floor of the Promenade when Odo walks by. Instinctively, he goes to leave as Odo often did when Nog was around with him, but Odo doesn't have a problem with just Jake there. Jake dismisses missing Nog that much, but Quark, standing nearby, says he does miss him a lot and furthermore complains about losing a waiter. Jake leaves to think somewhere else.

When he arrives in his quarters, he is shocked to find his dad apparently sitting with his long-dead mother. "Mom?", Jake asks.

Act One
Jennifer and Ben quickly explain to Jake that while  in front of him is Jennifer Sisko, she is not his mother but rather her counterpart from the mirror universe. Jake quickly comes to grips with the situation, though he's amazed how much she looks and sounds like his mother. Although he knows Jennifer is not his mother, he becomes very affectionate to her. Benjamin is then called to duty, as a Bajoran Minister, Gettor, is anxious to see him. He is forced to leave the two alone.

When he returns, he discovers that Jake and Mirror Jennifer have left the station, leaving behind a multidimensional transporter device laid down on the Sisko's dinner table. Sisko tries to follow this trail, accompanied by Major Kira and Chief O'Brien, only to discover the device was programmed to transport only him to the mirror universe alone. He finds himself on  (which the Terran Rebellion had captured from the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance) and sees , who says Jake is with the professor, but he is not willing to let Sisko go. Some armed guards make the point stick, drawing their weapons at Sisko and confiscating his phaser.

Act Two

In the office, Smiley explains they have built a copy of the  based on the data and schematics that Smiley downloaded from Deep Space 9's computers. Like the original, this copy has structural problems, and the rebels need Sisko's help to prepare it for an upcoming battle with the Alliance. Smiley is willing to transport the Siskos back to their universe before the battle begins, but only after the modifications are complete. Benjamin admits the structural integrity field grids needed overhauling, a two-week process. The Alliance attack, however, is expected in only four days – likely not enough time. Smiley promises him that, if he doesn't help, he'll either die in the firefight or serve in the Alliance with Jake. Then,  enters demanding to know whether Sisko will help them. Smiley says he will, and Bashir immediately punches him, a payback for Sisko's punch earlier.

Sisko goes to  to find Jake with Jennifer and talking to , mentioning they were friends. Nog can't believe it, but invites him to spend time with one of the women there. Sisko yells for Jake, and Jake admits he wanted to spend time with his mother. Sisko tells him Jennifer is nothing like her, but Jake is unphased. He scolds Jennifer privately for what she did, but Jennifer has the same attitude that Smiley has. They are desperate to fight the Alliance. He agrees to help, but orders her to stay away from Jake, but she says she's unable, as Jake wants to spend all his time with her.

Meanwhile, the lead Alliance ship, commanded by Regent , is on its way. He has  brought to him, and blames him for the loss of Terok Nor. Garak tries to explain he's not alone in the blame, but Worf is infuriated that he's the only one to escape, implying cowardice. He says he cut his losses while the Intendant  pleaded for her life. Worf commits to dealing with the rebels himself, promising Garak will be forced to fight as well. Garak forces enthusiasm, but he is chained and Worf won't release him until the rebels are killed.

Act Three
Sisko is on the bridge of the Defiant working on various parts and coordinating with Smiley. , after hearing Sisko is back, barges in and slaps him for being intimate with her the year earlier in order to keep his ruse and pulls a knife to his throat. He quickly agrees never to try that again when they hear a scream from inside the station. The Intendant is being tortured by Bashir for trying to escape her interrogation. Sisko objects to Bashir continuing to hurt her out of malice, saying just because the Alliance was brutal doesn't mean he needs to be. Bashir orders her taken away, but not before she comments on how fooled she was by Sisko earlier.

Word has reached the Alliance ships of the Defiant. Worf is told about the ship, and is angered at the increased effort it will mean for him. Garak suggests increasing their speed, but Worf is rebukes him, still blaming him for the situation.

After a long day on the Defiant, he arrives at quarters to find Jennifer with Jake having dinner. Sisko says they need to leave in order to get sleep, and Jake goes to clean up after dinner. Alone with Jennifer, she tries to massage him and remind him she is not the enemy. She says he's done well with Jake, and admits she is enjoying her time with him, the son she will never have.

Just then, Smiley enters to inform them the Alliance fleet is now only eight hours away.

Act Four
Dax says they need to stall for time. Bashir says he can get extra time with a few raiders, but Sisko is suspicious. He goes to the Intendant to get information on weaknesses in the Alliance fleet. She laughs, but Sisko convinces her that Garak has probably ran to the Regent and arguing she was at fault for losing Terok Nor and probably in danger now. After an unsuccessful attempt to get the force field lowered, she admits the ships' weak targeting sensors can be fooled with warp shadows.

Meanwhile, Garak is punished by Worf for taking the key to his chains. Insisting he didn't take it, he points out he's still trapped on the ship, and it would not do him any good. Worf loses his patience and stabs him with his d'k tahg, just as the guard finds the key in his boot. Worf takes his knife back and tells the guard to make sure he lives.

As the guard leaves with Garak, Worf is informed of six rebel raiders approaching. They don't detect that they are actually false signals, and the Birds-of-Prey go after them, but their disruptor blasts are diverted.

Jennifer finds Sisko working in a junction of a jefferies tube on the Defiant and offers to help, since she has smaller hands. During, she tells him she told Jake the reality of her intentions and what the rebels are trying to do. Furthermore, Jake said it doesn't matter, since she reminds him too much like his mother. Mentioning she never had someone care about her like that, she offers to send Jake back to Deep Space 9 now, and that both she and Smiley trust Sisko to finish what he's doing. Sisko says to go ahead. Before she leaves, she supposes that the connection they had initially between them is now lost because of what she's done, however, Sisko supposes it was never real to begin with. A little stunned, she leaves.

Jake, at his usual spot, but in the mirror universe, has his thinking interrupted by Nog. He insists his thinking is disrupting him (or perhaps his loitering) and that he should leave. Amused at the reversal of roles, he laughs, but Nog is not amused. Jennifer arrives to get Jake.

Soon, the Birds-of-Prey arrive and fire on the station. On the Defiant bridge, Smiley says Sisko can go and takes command, though not before wishing for some on-the-job training. Sisko considers it, and instead takes command himself. Smiley, very surprised, follows his commands.

Nog soon decides to free Kira as a thank you for her earlier actions in killing  and , allowing him to inherit the bar. She takes his phaser and they leave for a ship Nog has prepared. She plans to head for Bajor, and so Nog leaves her to it, going down a different corridor. Kira lets him go for a second, but rethinks it and instead kills him. Before Kira makes it to the airlock, she intercepts Jennifer and Jake.

Act Five
Sisko leads the Defiant, teaching Smiley a few maneuvers in the process, to victories against a few of the Birds-of-Prey. Meanwhile, Kira says she plans to take Jennifer as a present to the Regent. Jennifer insists Jake be left on the station, which makes Kira interested. She fakes agreement to leave him, and tries to shoot instead, only for Jennifer to jump in front of the blast. She is about to kill both of them when she asks who he is. When she realizes he is Sisko's son, she spares him to give him a message – that Sisko is now in her debt for sparing his son's life, and it is a debt on which she intends to collect.

The Defiant is now faced with the Regent's flagship. Sisko then resolves to pilot the Defiant himself, which Smiley gladly accepts. Piloting the vessel, he is able to make a couple passes very close to the ship, making it difficult to target him and at the same time inflicting major damage. The Regent is incensed, and can only demand the ship be destroyed. Another Bird-of-Prey arrives, but it is attacked by the raider, which has returned to the station. Bashir and Dax briefly celebrate, but Sisko orders them to concentrate on the flagship's forward shield, which he has punched a hole in. Garak successfully convinces Worf to flee, and the rest of the forces follow them. Worf is finally convinced that the Intendant is responsible for the loss, and Garak becomes enthusiastic about killing her himself.

Sisko returns from the battle to find Jake in the infirmary with Jennifer, who is clinging to life. With her last words, Jennifer tells Sisko that she knew they were still connected, to which he responds, "always." Sisko and Jake share an emotional hug, and Sisko quietly suggests to his son that they return home to Deep Space 9.

Memorable quotes
"You remember Captain Bashir."
"Captain?"
"Captain Bashir, Captain O'Brien, Captain Sisko. We may not have enough weapons or troops or ships but we have plenty of captains."
 - Mirror O'Brien and Sisko

"This time, I will deal with the rebels myself."
 - Mirror Worf, referencing Darth Vader's line from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope 

"When we first met, there was a… a connection between us. Now because of what I've done it's gone, isn't it?"
"I'm not sure it was real to begin with."
 - Mirror Jennifer and Sisko

"That Cruiser has us in weapons range. Do we make a run for it?"
"We run alright, right at it!"
"Ahh! Pattern suicide."
 - Mirror O'Brien and Captain Sisko

"The Intendant was bad enough! She was irrational, accusatory, unappreciative but at least…"
"At least what?"
"At least I was able to please her now and then."
"You are not my type."
"I never said I was."
 - Mirror Garak while being chained up near Mirror Worf

"Terok Nor will soon be ours again!  Then you can spend the rest of your life contemplating your failure as you labor alongside the other slaves in the ore processing center!"
"It's nice to have something to look forward to."

- Mirror Worf and Mirror Garak

"You know, I bet if we put our… heads together, we could create a little excitement for ourselves."
"You sentenced my wife to death."
"Isn't that a coincidence? I was hoping you weren't married."
 - Intendant Kira and guard

"Make it so!"
 - Mirror Worf, using one of Jean-Luc Picard's famous lines

"Forgive me my Regent, but perhaps the moment has arrived to remove your august presence from the battlefield!"
 - Garak (mirror)

Background information

Production history 
 Final draft script –

Production 
 Director James L. Conway says of the mirror universe, "It's dark and sexy, and there's no subtlety over there." ()
 Each of the actors who portray their mirror universe counterparts in this episode had their own distinct interpretations of the differences between the usual character and the mirror character. The  lists some of them:
 Nana Visitor says of , "she and Kira are exactly the same person. But the Intendant's ego has been warped, so that everything that Kira would do for her people, The Intendant does for herself. She's self-serving with a capital S!"
 Alexander Siddig says of his mirror universe counterpart, "I want him to be the inverse of Dr. Bashir, like a doppelgänger, the animus to his anima. Bashir wouldn't hurt a fly, but this guy is unstable, difficult, and stupid."
 Colm Meaney says of Smiley, "I picture him as being a bit dirty and scuzzier than the regular O'Brien, just because of what he's had to go through. He's a trickster, and there's something sort of seedy about him. Miles, on the other hand, is straight as an arrow."
 Aron Eisenberg says of , "He was obnoxious and rude, so I played him like an edgy Quark."
 Aron Eisenberg, a trained martial artist, did all of his own stunts for this episode.

Reception
Rene Echevarria commented "We got great reaction to Worf's character, so he might be the focus of the next "crossover" episode. Just a show filled references. The Jake angle was a great one, realizing that there would be a mirror Jennifer and that he would be drawn there." (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages p 118) Added Hans Beimler: "Ira’s directive has been that this show must be fun, fun fun. Those are the three things that he wants and I think it really does deliver on that. I'm very proud of it. It was directed by Jim Conway who did a phenomenal job."
Of the first three mirror universe episodes, Nana Visitor favored "Shattered Mirror". Visitor commented "It was the darkest. I think I found a darker place for her, because of the way they wrote it, and I liked it." ("Introducing the Intendant", )

Continuity 
 The mirror universe version of  makes his first appearance in this episode. Michael Dorn was originally to appear as Worf in , but he was unable to do so because he was shooting the the final season of  at the time. All of his dialogue was given to , and the dialogue that had been intended for Garak was used to create the character of Telok.
  is the third Ferengi to die in the mirror universe.  was killed by  in  and  was killed by  in .
 This is the only episode in DS9's mirror universe arc where Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisko) appears. This episode establishes that Jake was never born in the mirror universe.
 Dennis Madalone makes his third appearance as the Terran marauder. We learn he is a widower.
 The weapons locker from which Kira gets the phasers in the teaser is a reuse of the prop from  which was shot directly before this episode. You can recognize the number 47 on its label.
 For this episode's first terrestrial release in the UK, the scene in which Garak is stabbed by Worf was slightly edited.
 This episode marks the last on-screen appearance of any incarnation of Jennifer Sisko, and thereby actress Felecia M. Bell.
 Prior to the establishment of the history of the televised mirror universe, a mirror version of Worf appeared in the novel Dark Mirror, depicting a mirror universe in which the Terran Empire had survived well into the 24th century with Klingons being one of their many slave races. That version of Worf was a slave aboard the ISS Enterprise (ICC-1701-D) in 2367.
 One of the statues seen in the commander's office aboard Terok Nor was previously seen as Arctus Baran's statue in .
 James L. Conway later directed , another episode dealing with the mirror universe.

Video and DVD releases
UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 4.10, 
This was one of only two volumes of DS9 (the other being 4.12) to receive a 15 certificate, due to the violent scenes in this episode and the preceding one, .
As part of the DS9 Season 4 DVD collection
As part of the Star Trek: Fan Collective - Alternate Realities collection

Links and references

Guest Stars
 Felecia M. Bell as 
 Aron Eisenberg as 
 Carlos Carrasco as Officer

Special Guest Star
 Andrew Robinson as

Co-Stars
 James Black as Helmsman
 Dennis Madalone as Guard

Uncredited Co-Stars
 Bill Blair as Klingon Alliance officer
 Michael Dorn as  (mirror)
 Judi Durand as Station Computer Voice
 Terry Farrell as  (mirror)
 Heather Ferguson as Terran marauder
 Terry Green as operations lieutenant
 Leslie Hoffman as Terran rebel
 Jon Horback as Terran marauder
 Mark Lentry as Human command lieutenant
 David B. Levinson as Broik
 Mary Mascari as Bajoran woman
 Colm Meaney as  (mirror)
 Tom Morga as Klingon Alliance officer
 Alexander Siddig as  (mirror)
 Steph Silvestri as Human operations officer
 Nana Visitor as  (mirror)
 Michael Wajacs as Bajoran civilian
 Unknown performers as
 Gettor
 Alien with frilled ears
 Unknown stunt performers as
 Klingon Alliance officer #1
 Klingon Alliance officer #2

Stunt doubles 
 J.D. David as stunt double for Felecia M. Bell
 Chester E. Tripp III as stunt double for Andrew J. Robinson

References
2363; 47; adrenaline; agonizer; airlock; assembly crew;  (mirror); bearing; boot; Breen; Cardassian-Klingon Alliance; ; chicken à la Sisko; ; collar; computer file; cooking; cruiser; dad (aka father); death sentence; deuterium injector; docking clamps; Docking Port 5; docking scaffold; doctor; dinner; dom-jot; Emissary of the Prophets; evasive maneuvers; face; false pretense; fireworks; flow regulator; friend; heart; helm; icicle; inertial dampers; intendant; interrogation; Jake-o; jettison; key; kidnap; Kira's friends on Bajor (mirror); Klingon; land reform program; Landing Pad C; "making love"; Marani; married; massage; meeting; minister; mom (aka mother); multi-targeting phaser banks; nephew; Nog; officer; "on the job training"; ore processing center; ; parallel universe (aka alternate universe); "Pattern Suicide"; personnel report; professor; Promenade; p'tak; quantum torpedoes (aka "improved photon torpedoes");  (mirror);  (mirror); raktajino; rebel; regent; ;  (mirror); safe passage; sand peas; scalpel; schematics; servant; shrimp creole;  (mirror); ; slave; smile; Smiley; Starfleet Academy; Starfleet uniform; structural integrity field grid; SIF generator; surrender; targeting system;  (mirror); Terran guard's wife; Terran Rebellion; torpedo bay; torpedo chambering mechanism; torque sensors; torture; traitor; troops; tyrant; uncle; waiter; warp shadow; weapons array

Spacecraft references 
Bashir's raider; ; ; ; ; Enterprise;  (unnamed); Gettor's shuttle; ; International Space Station; Klingon Bird-of-Prey (unnamed); ; Nog's ship; Regent's flagship; Terran raider (aka Rebel raider);  (mirror)

External links 
 
 
 
 

de:Der zerbrochene Spiegel
es:Shattered Mirror
fr:Shattered Mirror (épisode)
nl:Shattered Mirror
DS9 episodes