Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (TV Series)

Rules of Engagement (1996)

Avery Brooks: Captain Benjamin 'Ben' Sisko

Photos 

Quotes 

• [last lines] 

  Lt. Commander Worf : Life is a great deal more complicated in this red uniform.

  Captain Sisko : Wait till you get four pips on that collar. You'll wish you had gone into botany.

• [on behalf of his crew, Sisko has invited Worf to a party at Quark's] 

  Lt. Commander Worf : But I do not feel like celebrating.

  Captain Sisko : Part of being a captain is knowing when to smile. Make the troops happy, even when it's the last thing in the world you want to do. Because they're your troops, and you have to take care of them.

• Ch'Pok : It's an interesting system of justice you have, Captain. It does have its flaws however. It emphasizes procedure over substance, form over fact.

  Captain Sisko : I'm sorry if you feel that puts you at a disadvantage.

  Ch'Pok : On the contrary. I look forward to fighting on your terms.

  Captain Sisko : This is not a fight. It's the search for the truth.

  Ch'Pok : The truth must be won! I'll see you on the battlefield.

• Captain Sisko : Care to step onto *my* battlefield?

• Captain Sisko : You made a military decision, to protect your ship and crew. But you're a Starfleet officer, Worf. We don't put civilians at risk or even potentially at risk to save ourselves. Sometimes that means we lose the battle, and sometimes our lives. But if you can't make that choice, then you can't wear that uniform.

• Captain Sisko : Chief, do you believe Worf was correct in giving the order to fire?

  Chief O'Brien : I stand by his decision.

  Captain Sisko : Is there any question in your mind about his motives?

  Chief O'Brien : No, sir. I've known Commander Worf for nine years. He's an honorable man. He would never intentionally fire on an unarmed ship.

  Captain Sisko : Thank you, Chief.

  Ch'Pok : I'm curious, Chief. You said you stand by Commander Worf's decision. Do you agree with it?

  Chief O'Brien : I completely support him.

  Ch'Pok : That's not my question. Do you agree with his decision?

  Chief O'Brien : I wasn't in command. It's not my place to question his judgment.

  Ch'Pok : What if you were in command? What would you have done?

  Chief O'Brien : I don't know.

  Ch'Pok : Chief, how many years have you been in Starfleet?

  Chief O'Brien : Twenty-two.

  Ch'Pok : And how many combat situations have you been in?

  Chief O'Brien : I couldn't even guess.

  Ch'Pok : Try.

  Chief O'Brien : A hundred... a hundred and fifty?

  Ch'Pok : [to the JAG officer]  For the record, Chief O'Brien has been in 235 separate engagements and Starfleet has decorated him fifteen times. I would like to have him declared an expert in the area of starship combat.

• Captain Sisko : 441 people somehow survived a crash on Galorda Prime. And then a few weeks later, they all decide to take another trip - on the same day, on the same transport ship, under the same captain and crew; and then that ship is destroyed, too. This is a very unlucky group of people, wouldn't you say?

  Ch'Pok : I am not an expert on luck.

• [Ch'Pok has suggested to Sisko to concede Worf's extradition process, so he can defend Worf in a Klingon court] 

  Ch'Pok : What matters to me is the thrill of the fight, not which side I'm on. And I think we both know, the extradition fight is over.

  Captain Sisko : You're not making this offer out of kindness. You want the Federation to concede, so the convoys will stop, and the Klingons can move in on the Pentath system.

  Ch'Pok : As Humans would say, that would be icing on the cake.

  Captain Sisko : I wouldn't try eating that cake just yet, if I were you.