This is a very strong finish to the double header with excellent character moments and it sets up the Marquis arc for further development in the franchise.
Almost all scenes and dialogue exchanges between characters are superb, with the standouts for me being everything involving Gul Dukat, plus Quark's banter with Sakonna and Odo. Sisko has some of his best material of the show with the character being put in a tough position.
Terrorism is an intriguing subject. It is a word that has often been applied to certain incidents and organisations when it suits the purpose of the powers that be and DS9 handles the complexities it quite well. The Marquis have a recognisable cause, but in the same breath, violence against civilian targets is never justifiable, not even in all out war, and the writers acknowledge this well. The ending, involving a decision that Sisko has to make is quintessentially Star Trek.
Marc Alaimo, Armin Shimerman, Avery Brooks are all on top form. Plus the support from other characters is strong.
The production values are very good, with strong cinematography, editing, set design and space action sequences.
For me it is an 8.5/10, but I round upwards.
