The station picks up a mysterious coded message from the Gamma Quadrant that appears to be Cardassian. Garak reveals that the message is some sort of distress call from his mentor Enabran Tain, the former head of the Obsidian Order, who was presumed to be dead. Garak convinces Sisko to allow him to travel to the Gamma Quadrant to search for Tain, and Sisko sends Worf along as a "chaperone." When Garak and Worf are captured, the station learns of an impending Dominion invasion.