Odo meticulously arranges his office in preparation for a routine meeting with Kira. For her, it’s an enjoyable part of her workday, but Odo looks like he’s nervously preparing for a date.
Quark complains that Odo makes too much noise shape-shifting into various creatures in the quarters above his.
First Minister Shakaar arrives for a formal visit, with his assistant Sarish in tow. Dax asks why Kira never mentioned Shakaar was so good-looking.
As Shakaar prepares to give a speech on the Promenade deck, Odo receives word of a credible assassination attempt from a Cardassian extremist group. Sarish downplays the threat. Sisko puts Worf in charge of a security detail.
Worf and Odo bond over their preference for order and solitude.
Shakaar annoys Odo with an unplanned visit to the temple. The cinematography encourages us to suspect an old woman who it turns out is simply trying to help a little boy see the First Minister.
Shakaar tells Odo he’s willing to put his life in Odo’s hands because Kira speaks highly of him. A bit later at a reception, Kira comments casually about how she thinks Odo looks better with a belt (an optional part of the uniform that he generates, in his shape-shifterly way). Again, Kira is just chatting casually with a work buddy, but Odo glows under the attention.
The camera work focuses on Odo’s reaction as he tags along to provide security as Shakaar and Kira go for a stroll, laughing and talking.
Shakaar takes on Odo as a confidante. The constable commiserating over how frustrating it can be to deal with the Federation: “They claim to be open and understanding, but somehow they’re always convinced that they’re right.”
As Shakaar confess that he thinks he’s in love with Kira, some very good writing lets us into Odo’s mindset.
Shakaar: Maybe I should just be patient.
Odo: That’s what I would do.
[…]
Shakaar: Talking about humanoid relationships can’t be that interesting to you.
Odo: For the most part, no.
Later Odo thwarts Quark’s plans to eavesdrop on the political talks. Under cover of needling his frenemy, Quark tries to get Odo to admit that he’s in love with Kira and that he’s worried she’s falling for Shakaar.
Kira arrives late for her routine meeting with Odo, having already shared a raktajino with Shakaar in his quarters, and she rushes through their meeting saying she promised she’d take the First Minister on a tour of the station.
Odo tags along again, a sad third wheel, as Kira and Shakaar make a wish on the wormhole, share a kiss, and make further plans. Odo overlooks a security protocol and has to morph into some kind of mechanical wedge to stop a falling turbolift.
He confesses to Sisko that he was “distracted” by “a personal matter.”
Worf notes that Odo seems distant and is staring at a wall instead of acting to find the assassin.
Odo marches purposefully to Kira’s quarters, but whatever he was going to say remains unsaid because he sees Shakaar leaving Kira’s quarters after a romantic dinner. Kira is so happy she hugs Odo, calling him a good friend, and telling him she’s glad he’s the first to know about her relationship with Shakaar. Thinking Odo has come by to talk about the investigation, she seems genuinely disappointed when he closes up and leaves.
Odo is surprised to find that Worf has arrested a suspect in the assassination attempt.
He returns to his quarters and has a grand tantrum, which includes throwing the plant that Kira once gave him (s3e6 “The Abandoned“).
Hearing the commotion, Quark stops by for a visit, and lets himself in by picking the lock. He claims that he runs a popular betting pool whenever there’s an unusual crime on the station, He claims that he doesn’t care whether he and Kira end up living happily ever after or whether he forgets about her and gets along with his life, but nobody will bet on “the guy who tears up his quarters and sits alone in the rubble.”
Quark: Sorry for butting in. But I’m just looking out for my business.
Odo: Funny. For a minute there I thought you were talking to me as a friend.
Quark: (pause) Nah!
Odo shows up at Kira’s quarters, beltless, and says he can no longer meet with her for their security briefings, saying the Criminal Activity reports really speak for themselves.
Later at the bar, Quark tries to thank Odo for installing soundproofing in his floor. Odo scoffs, saying he ordered the floor to be reinforced, and the soundproofing is “incidental.” But the subtext is clear… Odo is actually being nice to Quark.
The constable watches from a professional distance as Kira and Shakaar chat at a table.
