The data files are still in transit from Starfleet Headquarters. Information will be made available soon.
RULES OF ACQUISITION:
A Ferengi female who has defied the law and disguised herself as a male risks it all
when she falls in love with Quark.
While engaging in a game of Tongo with Rom, Dax, and a young Ferengi waiter
named Pel, Quark is hailed by his leader, Grand Nagus Zek, who has good news for
him -- Zek has chosen him to act as his chief negotiator in the Ferengi expansion into
the Gamma Quadrant. Soon afterward, Zek meets with Sisko and Kira, hoping they
will let him use the station for a business conference with the Dosi, a race from the
Gamma Quadrant, and they reluctantly agree. Zek then goes to Quark's quarters and
instructs him to purchase ten thousand vats of tulaberry wine from the Dosi, a move
he feels will establish a strong Ferengi presence. Quark later brags about his
profitable assignment to Rom, but Pel, who overhears them, warns him to be wary of
Zek's motives, since Zek will be credited for success but Quark will almost certainly
be blamed for any failure. Impressed, Quark asks Pel to serve as his assistant,
leaving Rom stung. Pel then returns to his quarters, removing his false earlobes and
revealing that he is actually a female.
The Dosi arrive on Deep Space Nine, and Quark nervously begins negotiations with
Inglatu, the disagreeable leader, and Zyree, an equally difficult female. Things get off
to a bad start when Inglatu says he will only sell Quark five thousand vats of wine,
then demands to deal with Zek directly, but Pel steps in and firmly states that Quark
is the sole contact in the negotiations. Still, Quark is shaken, and is even more upset
when Zek informs him that he now wants one hundred thousand vats of wine, but Pel
steps in and tells Zek this is a wonderful idea. She then steals a moment alone with
Quark and convinces him that he is capable of negotiating this deal. Dax quietly
observes the entire interaction and, the next day, questions Pel about her loyalty to
Quark, then hears that Pel is not only in love with Quark, she is also a female, having
disguised herself as a male to escape the domestic drudgery that is a Ferengi
female's legally-mandated lot in life.
The next day, Quark relays to Zek that negotiations did not go well -- the Dosi have
left the station. Zek becomes enraged, but Pel tells him that they will travel to the
Gamma Quadrant and make the deal with the Dosi in their territory. Soon, she is
alone on a ship with Quark, and almost reveals her secret as the sexual tension
mounts, leaving Quark vaguely troubled. Meanwhile, back on the station, a jealous
Rom ransacks Pel's quarters and learns the truth about her gender.
In the Dosi homeworld, Quark boldly approaches Inglatu with the contract, but he still
refuses. Quark decides to camp out on the planet to be close to Inglatu in case he
changes his mind, putting Pel, who is sharing a tiny tent with him, in an awkward
position. Unable to resist, she impulsively kisses Quark, but Zyree enters before he
can react, and reveals that Inglatu doesn't have one hundred thousands vats of wine
to sell. However, she tips off Quark to the Karemma, an important power in the
Dominion, a mysterious group who holds sizable influence in the Gamma Quadrant.
Realizing that this information, not the wine, is what Zek really wants, he and Pel
return to the station. Quark refuses to talk with Pel about the kiss and goes straight
to meet with Zek, who promises Quark a percentage of every Ferengi opportunity in
the Gamma Quadrant in exchange for a meeting with a member of the Dominion.
Suddenly, Rom Interrupts and pulls Quark away, telling him the truth about Pel.
Quark promptly faints.
In the Infirmary, Rom reminds Quark that since she wears clothes and tries to earn
profit, Pel has violated Ferengi law and should be punished. Afraid to ruin his
reputation with Zek, Quark promises to give Rom the bar in exchange for his silence.
Quark then visits Pel in her quarters and tells her to leave the station. She tells Quark
that she loves him, but despite his feelings for her, he tells her he would not be happy
with a non-traditional Ferengi wife. Determined to make her point, Pel confronts Zek
and reveals her true identity. Zek threatens to imprison both her and Quark, who is
guilty of the Ferengi crime of taking business advice from a female, until Quark
reminds Zek that he, too, is guilty. Zek agrees to keep quiet, costing Quark his
potential Gamma Quadrant profits. Pel leaves the station to continue her adventures,
and Quark is left with nothing but the sadness of his first lost love.
RULES OF ACQUISITION:
