Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (TV Series)
Paradise Lost (1996)
Avery Brooks: Captain Benjamin 'Ben' Sisko
Photos
Quotes
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Changeling : Let me ask you a question. How many Changelings do you think are here on Earth right at this moment?
Captain Sisko : I'm not going to play any guessing games with you.
Changeling : Ah. What if I were to tell you that there are only four on this entire planet? Huh? Not counting Constable Odo, of course. Think of it - just four of us. And look at the havoc we've wrought.
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Admiral Leyton : You've always had a strong sense of duty.
Captain Sisko : My duty is to protect the Federation.
Admiral Leyton : That's what we're trying to do.
Captain Sisko : What you're trying to do is to seize control of Earth and place it under military rule.
Admiral Leyton : If that's what it takes to stop the Dominion.
Captain Sisko : So you're willing to destroy Paradise in order to save it?
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Odo : And are you sure that this cadet is telling the truth?
Captain Sisko : He admitted to committing acts of treason against the Federation. If he was going to lie, I think he would have made up a better story.
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Captain Sisko : These aren't evil people, Odo. These are people I've worked with. They're my friends - people I respect. How can I turn against them?
Odo : It seems to me, if they have committed treason against the Federation, the Federation that you swore to protect - you won't be turning against them. *They* will have turned against you.
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Captain Sisko : I don't get much time to spend on Earth. And it is so pleasant here, with a Starfleet officer on every corner. Paradise has never seemed so well armed.
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Admiral Leyton : You know, Ben... I stand here looking at you - best officer who ever served under me. Trapped in this holding cell. And I think... life can be damned cruel.
Captain Sisko : Let me out. Maybe life will look a little better.
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Captain Sisko : [reciting his father's advice] There comes a time in every man's life when he must stop thinking and start doing.
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Captain Sisko : Are you willing to risk a civil war? If the Lakota fires on the Defiant, you will be opening up a Pandora's Box that may never be closed!
Admiral Leyton : Then contact the Defiant, and tell them to stand down.
Captain Sisko : I won't do that.
Admiral Leyton : I didn't think so. But don't kid yourself, Ben. This Pandora's Box of yours - we're opening it together.
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Admiral Leyton : I have enough loyal officers to make a fight of it.
Captain Sisko : Who will you fight? Starfleet? The Federation? Don't you see, Admiral? You're fighting the wrong war! And as for your loyal officers, Benteen's already abandoned you. And she was closer to you than anyone. You've lost! Don't make anyone else pay for your mistakes.
[Leyton slowly gets up, takes off his rank insignia and lays them on the table]
Admiral Leyton : I hope... you're not the one making the mistake.
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Odo : Am I the only one who's worried that there are still Changelings here on Earth?
Joseph Sisko : Worried? I'm scared to death. But I'll be damned if I'm gonna let them change the way I live my life.
Captain Sisko : If the Changelings want to destroy what we've built here, they're going to have to do it themselves. We will not do it for them.
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[Nog is telling Captain Sisko about the Red Squad]
Captain Sisko : I'd like to meet some of these cadets. You think you could introduce me to one of them?
Cadet Nog : I'm sorry, I can't do that, sir. The names of Red Squad members are supposed to be secret.
Captain Sisko : But you know who they are?
Cadet Nog : It's not easy keeping secrets from a Ferengi. But I feel funny telling anyone else. Besides, if they found out I'd told you who they were, I'd never get in.
Captain Sisko : [with increasingly commanding voice] Cadet, you are obviously under the mistaken impression that I'm asking a favor. I want a name, and I want it now, and that is an order! Understood, Mr. Nog?
Cadet Nog : Yes sir.
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[Sisko is interrogating Cadet Shepard]
Captain Sisko : Who told you there wasn't to be a written record?
Riley Shepard : Briefing officer, sir.
Captain Sisko : I want that officer's name.
Riley Shepard : She didn't give us her name, sir. But she did say there would be no record of our actions, and our role would have to go unrecognized, at least for now.
Captain Sisko : Maybe if you'd done your job better it would have. But you fouled it up, didn't you? You cadets did some sloppy work, some *damn* sloppy work!
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Admiral Leyton : I've sent the Lakota to intercept the Defiant.
Captain Sisko : You think that one Starfleet ship is going to fire on another?
Admiral Leyton : As far as Captain Benteen's crew is concerned, the Defiant isn't a Starfleet ship. They've been told everyone on the Defiant has been replaced... by shapeshifters.
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Admiral Leyton : I only wish I'd taught you more about the importance of loyalty.
Captain Sisko : You want to talk to me about loyalty? After you broke your oath with the Federation! Lied to the people of Earth? Ordered one of our own starships to fire on another! You don't have the right!
Admiral Leyton : You don't understand me at all, do you?
Captain Sisko : I used to think I did. I used to think that you were a man of principles, a man of honor! I see that I was mistaken!
Admiral Leyton : I'm sorry you feel that way.
Captain Sisko : So am I!
