Plot

Quark and Rom take Nog to Earth and Starfleet Academy, but a malfunction with the ship takes the crew back in time, to Roswell, New Mexico in 1947.

Nog is about to leave for the Academy and Quark spots a perfect opportunity. He has just received a shuttle from his cousin Gaila, that was promised him ten years ago. He doesn't trust it and asks Rom to, but he can find nothing out of order. Quark and Rom decide to take Nog to the Academy with it. Not because Quark approves or wants to do the boy a favor, he wants to take contraband along: kemacite. When they arrive at Earth, they find out Gaila intention's weren't so good after all. He sabotaged the ship, they can't get out of warp and eventually it will tear to pieces. Rom can think of only one thing: start a cascade reaction in the kemacite, create an inversion wave in the warp core, then crash land on Earth and hope for the best. When they wake up, they are locked up in a room. Earth seems to have changed a bit. It's 1947... Roswell, New Mexico. The three "aliens" are then taken by the local authorities who are both fascinated and fearful of these extraterrestials, and Quark must find a way to con their captors in order to escape and find a way to get back to their own time.—Arnoud Tiele (imdb@tiele.nl)

The episode opens with Rom explaining a Ferengi ritual to patrons at Quark's bar, where a Ferengi going on a journey sells much of their possessions. As Rom's son, Nog, is destined to travel to Earth to enroll in Starfleet Academy, he is selling off most of his possessions as per the custom. Worf buys a Ferengi tooth sharpener, and Kira is interested in buying a holosuite sports racket only to realize that it is hers-- Nog had swiped it from her quarters. Rom decides to keep a pair of his son's pajamas for himself.

Quark pulls Rom away from the sale to tell him of a windfall he's just come in to: Quark's insidious, weaselly cousin, Gaila, is finally fulfilling a promise he made Quark ten years ago; buying Quark his own ship in return for financing a weapons business venture Gaila was setting up. The ship has just been delivered to Deep Space NIne and Quark needs Rom to give it a thorough examination to make sure it isn't faulty or derelict-- Quark never trusted Gaila and still doesn't. But Rom, after going over the ship meticulously, pronounces it completely spaceworthy and in excellent working order. Quark decides to make his new ship's maiden voyage a trip to Earth to bring Nog to Starfleet Academy-- with intention to make an underground contraband deal on the way.

Quark appoints Morn to run the bar in his stead while he's away, warning him sternly to keep an eye on Odo because Odo will be doing likewise to Morn. Nog and Jake reminisce about their friendship together even since Captain Sisko took command of Deep Space Nine, spending one last time hanging out together on the upper Promenade just watching pedestrian traffic through the area. Dr. Bashir and Chief O'Brien give Nog a going-away present: a datapad that will serve as an interactive guide book on Earth culture.

On the ship, piloting it toward Earth, Rom makes small talk with Quark and Nog, as Nog studies the guide book. Rom reveals he's found out that Quark is smuggling a highly volatile mineral called Kemacite in the ship's cargo hold, intending to sell it in the Orion system en route back to Deep Space Nine. Quark must (very reluctantly) promise both Rom and Nog a cut of the profits from the sale in return for their silence. Quark gets very impatient to finish the trip and Rom accelerates the shuttle's warp speed.

As the ship nears Earth, Rom prepares to leave warp speed, only to find that the command sequencer responsible for handling the warp drive is not responding. This makes no sense to Rom, as he had given the ship a complete examination prior to departure from Deep Space Nine... until he realizes to his horror that the reason the sequencer didn't show as faulty, was because it was most likely BUILT to fail-- a measure Gaila had taken in anticipation of Quark's suspecting that Gaila would betray him. Now the ship is stuck in accelerating warp speed until the ship is torn apart from the stress. As panic starts to set in, Rom comes up with an idea: they need to expose the kemacite to the plasma vent from the warp core, which should create an energy field that will force the ship out of warp, allowing them to make an emergency landing. This being their only hope, they execute the plan.

Quark snaps awake to find himself laying on a metal gurney covered to his chest in a white linen sheet. He finds Rom and Nog in similar states beside him and shouts to awaken them.

Quark does not know he's being watched-- on the transparent side of a two-way mirror, a U.S. Army captain phones his general, telling him, 'The Martians are awake.' The camera pans to the right of the captain to show a calendar listing the year as 1947.

The commanding officer of the army base at Roswell, New Mexico, General Denning (Charles Napier) meets up with Captain Wainwright (James MacDonald) to observe the Ferengi as they come to and try to figure out where they are. They watch Quark pound on the locked door hoping it will attract someone's attention. Denning has arranged for a professor named Jeff Carlson (Conor O'Farrell) to initiate contact with the aliens. Carlson is a gifted linguist who also happens to be engaged to a pretty Army nurse on the base named Garland (Megan Gallagher).

Carlson, Wainwright and Garland enter the room to meet Quark, Rom and Nog. Listening to the greeting, the Ferengi realize they can't understand the humans-- their universal translator devices must be malfunctioning. Their translators are placed within their inner ears, and the Ferengi start hitting their foreheads hoping to jar the translators back online. The humans, of course, don't understand the Ferengi either and think that perhaps that the gesture is their way of saying hello, so they begin to copy the gesture. When Nog tells Rom and Quark that he recognizes from Wainwright's uniform that they've been warped back in time to 20th century Earth, before humans had universal translators, Quark realizes that the humans are simply mimicking them. He pinches and wiggles his nose to test the theory and laughs in smug delight as he sees Wainwright copy the gesture. Quark is convinced that the 20th century humans are utter morons and completely primitive.

Garland takes Quark's blood pressure and finds that Ferengi physiology is different enough from human physiology that she will have no idea what to make of the results of the exam. She observes Rom trying to reset Nog's universal translator and deduces that they are father and son, though she mistakes Rom's actions as a grooming ritual. Still, she is pleased to discover that these aliens have a family structure similar to humans. Quark is offended by the smell from Denning's cigar, but is delighted at Nog's explanation that the smell is coming from an Earth herb named tobacco that poisons the human body over time. If these humans would buy poison, they'd buy anything. Thoughts of returning to his own time back in Deep Space Nine quickly fade away as he sees himself setting up a business empire on Earth that will let him rule the world... soon as the universal translators are fixed and he can begin communicating.

Rom notices Garland adjust her hairpin and quickly points at her, shouting in Ferengi. Although Garland and Carlson cannot deciper the language, Carlson sees that Rom is pointing at Garland's hairpin and realizes that Rom wants Garland to give it to him. Garland complies, but she winces when she sees Rom stick the hairpin into Nog's ear, not knowing that Rom is trying to use it to hit the reset switch on Nog's universal translator.

Carlson steps outside to confer with Denning and Wainwright. President Truman has been informed about the Ferengi (who everyone that's 'in' on the contact, still believe are Martians), and is getting impatient about learning what they are up to. Too many people know about the aliens and there is concern about them being scouts for a possible attack on Earth. Carlson strokes the fur of a K-9 German Shepherd dog as he quietly reflects on the Ferengi, saying he doesn't believe their intentions are hostile.

Suddenly Garland steps outside of the building and tells Carlson, Denning and Wainwright that they need to come back inside right away. They enter the room where the Ferengi are being kept and hear Quark tell them his name and that he is here with a business proposition for them.

Quark explains the universal translators to Denning and that Rom has finally gotten them back in working order, which is what allows them to communicate with each other. Launching into his smoothest sales pitch, Quark tries to make a business arrangement with Denning, offering to sell technology to the humans that can do things they'd never dreamed of. Denning doesn't buy the pitch, becoming even more suspicious when Quark resignedly says that if the Americans won't do business, maybe another country on the planet will (Denning immediately believes Quark is specifically talking about the Russians, as the Cold War between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. was in full swing). Denning announces that the U.S. President must authorize any actions on his behalf and he leaves the room.

Nog tries to warn Quark about changing human history, that selling 24th century technology to 20th century Earth could alter the timeline in a way that would result in Deep Space Nine-- and Quark's bar there-- no longer existing. Of course, Quark sees no reason to want to return to his time if he can make a business arrangement that would have him practically ruling a business empire over the whole world.

The K-9 dog begins to bark, disrupting the conversation. Quark stares at the dog in irritation, not knowing exactly what kind of creature it is. The dog suddenly walks over to Quark and stands on its hind legs, putting its front paws on Quark's shoulders-- and morphs into Odo.

Odo never believed for a minute that Quark was making the trip to Earth just to bring Nog to Starfleet; nephew or not... he stowed away aboard the ship and knows about the kemacite. Odo tells Quark, Rom and Nog that he knows that the longer they stay in 20th Century Earth, the more likely they are to get into serious trouble. Odo knows that Quark's ship is being stashed in a hangar on the base, and they must find a way to get to it as quickly as possible. In order to remain undetected and to discreetly gather more information that will help in the escape break, Odo changes back into the K-9 dog.

Outside, Wainwright and Denning are talking. After further conferring with President Truman, it's been decided that the Ferengi must be interrogated and their motives learned through whatever means possible. Denning authorizes Wainwright to conduct the interrogation. He enters the holding room with soldiers and quickly snap burlap sacks over Quark, Rom, and Nog's heads.

The three Ferengi are tied to chairs. Quark screams in agony as Garland injects him with sodium penathol for the fifth time, resignedly telling Wainwright that it is having no effect due to the differences in body chemistry. Wainwright decides to try some good old-fashioned intimidation, picking up a scalpel and holding it to Quark's throat. He muses about which Ferengi to use it on first, finally putting the scalpel to Rom's neck. Breaking down in fear, Rom tries to tell Wainwright the truth that they are from the future and arrived in the 20th century by a freak accident, and he desperately wants to go home. But Nog, seeing that Wainwright is convinced that they are scouts for a 'Martian' invasion, tries to jockey for advantage by admitting that Earth is about to be attacked, shrugging off any fear of reprisement because Earth's primitive weapons will be no match for the invasion fleet. He asks to be untied so he can point out initial enemy landing sites on a map on the wall. As Wainwright leans in for a closer look where Nog is pointing, Nog puts his rudimentary combat training to use, hitting Wainwright in the groin and taking him out. Carlson and Garland, who believe Rom's story and that the Ferengi are no threat whatsoever, bonk the other soldiers on the head from behind. They rush to a jeep with Quark, Rom and Nog in tow. Garland has an alibi ready to escape disciplinary action: that the Ferengi used insidious mind-control powers to force them into compliance (Quark is begrudgingly impressed at the idea).

As they near the hangar where Quark's ship is stashed, they are stopped by General Denning and two other soldiers who have automatic weapons at the ready. Pretending that his finger can discharge a death ray that will destroy Garland, who obligingly poses as a hostage, Quark buys enough time for Odo to come up from behind General Denning, and incapacitate both he and the two soldiers.

Carlson and Garland get the Ferengi and Odo to the hangar. Rom has come up with a plan to create a replica of the energy field that sent them back through time: there is still some kemacite in the cargo hold; if it can be exposed to a sufficient energy discharge, Rom can manipulate the reaction to create a reverse time warp that should return them to the 24th century. Carlson and Garland tell them that an atomic bomb detonation is scheduled to be tested in Nevada in seven minutes. Rom assures them that the ship is fast enough to reach the test site in time. As they watch the ship take off, Carlson and Garland muse about humanity joining the "Federation of Planets..." and laugh, showing neither of them truly believe it.

Wainwright and Dennings also observe the aliens escaping. All the public will ever know that that the Army found nothing more than a crashed weather balloon.

Quark's ship emerges from the reverse warp. As he, Rom, Nog and Odo come to, they find they are in orbit around Earth-- and their ship is being hailed. The reverse time warp has worked and they are back in their own time period. Earth Federation control tells Rom that a shuttle will be sent to tow them onto the planet surface.

Quark, Rom and Odo are arriving back on Deep Space Nine after Nog has been situated at Starfleet Academy. Quark had to sell his ship for spare parts, which was enough to buy transport passage back to the station with some pocket change left over. But Odo then grabs Quark's arm, announcing he is taking Quark to a holding cell to await trial for smuggling kemacite, even though all of it was consumed in the time warp and there is no physical evidence-- he tells Quark, 'tell that to the arbiter.'

The episode ends with Rom smiling in delight as he watches Odo take Quark away.