Plot Summary
Three trill scientists arrive at Deep Space 9 to test their research into techniques to create a stable artifial wormhole. The leader of the team is Lenara Kahn. She is a joined trill - within her body she carries a symbiont with a lifespan many times that of her own, and which is passed from host to host, carrying the memories and experience of all its previous lives. The previous host of the Kahn symbiont, Nilani Kahn, was married to Torias Dax - whose memories, along with the Dax symbiont, now reside in Jadzia Dax.
Dax and Kahn had not met again in any of their subsequent hosts. Trill society has a taboo against 'reassociation' with partners of previous hosts, as symbiosis is intended to give the symbionts the chance to accumulate as many different life experiences as possible. The penalty for reassociation is exile from the Trill homeworld, meaning that the symbiont will die when its current host dies. Before the team arrive, Sisko tells Jadzia of the impending visit; she is shaken, and he offers her the chance to take some leave from DS9 while Lenara is on the station. Jadzia, however, decides that she will be able to handle the situation, and refuses his offer.
The tension between Jadzia and Lenara is palpable when they meet, but they both keep their emotions strictly under control. They talk together at a reception for the team of scientists, but they are aware that everyone is watching them. Lenara tells Jadzia that her brother, Bejal, who is also on the team, is particularly concerned that the two will be working together.
The next day Jadzia, as DS9's science officer, accompanies the team on the Defiant to assist with their tests. During the tests she and Lenara are left alone, and they begin to talk over the past. We learn that Torias was killed in a shuttle accident - and Nilani had known that the shuttle he was piloting was not ready for testing, but had failed to convince Torias. Lenara confesses that she is having problems separating her own feelings from those of Nilani. Jadzia tells her that the part of her that is still Torias grieves that he had not listened to her warning before he died. Deciding to take a risk, Jadzia invites Lenara to dinner.
Jadzia persuades Dr Bashir to act as chaperone for her dinner with Lenara - though the two women are so absorbed in their conversation with each other, that he is relieved when a call from the surgery allows him to excuse himself. Left alone, Jadzia takes Lenara's hand, a gesture which is witnessed by one of the other trill scientists, Huran Pren.
Back on the Defiant, the tests are progressing well, and the two women work comfortably together. Pren, however, tells Bejal of their meeting the previous evening, and he also notes their closeness as they work together. Later Bejal confronts Lenara, wanting to know that 'there is nothing going on' between her and Jadzia.
Upset by her conversation with Bejal, Lenara makes her way to Jadzia's quarters to discuss the situation. They end up admitting their feelings for each other, and they kiss.
Torn between the taboos of Trill society and her love for Lenara, Jadzia seeks advice from Sisko. He advises her not to pursue the relationship, reminding her that the price is 'too high', but tells her that if she decides this is what she really wants, he will back her all the way.
During the next set of tests, the wormhole they have created collapses and the Defiant is caught in the blast of energy. Lenara is trapped in the engine room where there is a plasma leak. Jadzia rushes to save her, and manages to pulls her to safety. Holding each other tightly, the two realise that they cannot bear to lose each other again.
Jadzia asks Lenara to continue her work with her on Deep Space 9, declaring that their relationship is worth the price. Lenara, however is not certain that she can take the consequences. She suggests she could return to Trill and think it over, but Jadzia tells her that if she leaves the next day, she knows she won't come back. The next day, Jadzia watches from the promenade as the team of scientists leave. Lenara hesitates briefly as she looks up at Jadzia, but then continues on to the airlock and boards her shuttle, as Jadzia turns sadly away.
