- Nog: You gonna write a story about all this?
- Jake Sisko: Probably.
- Nog: What are you going to say?
- Jake Sisko: What do you think I should say?
- Nog: That it was a good ship, with a good crew, that made a mistake. We... let ourselves blindly follow Captain Watters, and he led us over a cliff.
- Chief Dorian Collins: That's not true. Captain Watters was a great man.
- Jake Sisko: Dorian, he got everyone killed.
- Chief Dorian Collins: If he failed, it's because we failed him.
- Nog: [to Jake] Put that in your story too. Let people read it, and decide for themselves.
- [Nog gives Dorian his Red Squad insignia]
- Nog: He may have been a hero. He may even have been a great man. But in the end, he was a bad captain.
- [last lines]
- Nog: [about Watters] He may have been a hero. He may even have been a great man. But in the end, he was a bad captain.
- Jake Sisko: I don't even know who you are anymore.
- Nog: I'm the chief engineer of the starship Valiant.
- Jake Sisko: I'll have them put that on your tombstone.
- Chief Dorian Collins: You know, the sun only comes up once a month on the moon. Every lunar morning, my father and I would put on suits and... hike out across the Sea of Clouds. We'd stop at this collection of boulders on the western rim and... just wait for the sun to come up. Dawn is so... shocking on the moon. One minute you're in the darkest night you can imagine. And in the next instant the sun lifts up and this... glorious, pure light just... explodes across the surface... I felt like I met God every morning.
- Odo: I take it there's a problem with your drink replicator?
- Quark: [frustrated] A problem? No - can't be. If there were a problem, I would have submitted an emergency maintenance request this morning. And if I had done that, Chief O'Brien would have assured me that Rom would fix it right away. Then of course, Rom would have promised me that Nog would fix it before the end of the day. And since this is the end of the day and there is no Nog in sight, we can only draw one conclusion: that I don't have a problem!
- Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax: [arriving] Is your drink replicator broken?
- Quark: You're quick today.
- [Jake and Nog are having an argument about Watters' command decisions]
- Jake Sisko: I feel like I'm having a conversation with one of the bulkheads!
- Nog: You don't understand, because you've never put on one of these uniforms. You don't know anything about sacrifice, or honor, or duty, or any of the things that make up a soldier's life. I'm part of something larger than myself. All you care about is you!
- Jake Sisko: That's right. All I care about is Jake Sisko and whether or not he's gonna be killed by a bunch of delusional fanatics looking for martyrdom!
- Jake Sisko: [Watters has ordered the crew of the USS Valiant to destroy a Dominion battleship] This is suicide!
- Nog: No, it's not.
- Jake Sisko: Nog, listen to me. We're in way over our heads here. Someone told me that ship out there is twice the size of a Galaxy-class starship and three times as strong.
- Nog: That's accurate.
- Jake Sisko: And you really think we can go up against a ship like that?
- Nog: I think Captain Watters knows what he's doing.
- Jake Sisko: Oh, really? Well, did you know that Watters has been taking cordafin stimulants for the last two months?
- Nog: Where did you hear that?
- Jake Sisko: Dorian told me.
- Nog: You were ordered to stay away from her.
- Jake Sisko: Will you forget about obeying orders for just a minute!
- Nog: That's not the way we do things in Starfleet!
- Jake Sisko: I can't believe you're buying everything that Watters is selling.
- Nog: He's not selling anything. He's reminding us of our duty.
- Jake Sisko: I feel like I'm having a conversation with one of the bulkheads!
- Nog: You don't understand because you've never put on one of these uniforms. You don't know anything about sacrifice or duty or honour or any of the things that make up a soldier's life. I'm part of something larger than myself. All you care about is you.
- Jake Sisko: That's right! I care about Jake Sisko and whether or not he's going to be killed by a bunch of delusional fanatics looking for martyrdom.
- Nog: Get out!
- Jake Sisko: I don't even know who you are anymore.
- Nog: I'm the Chief Engineer of the Starship Valiant.
- Jake Sisko: I'll have them put that on your tombstone.
- Riley Shepard: [unbeknownst to Jake, Watters was eavesdropping on this whole conversation and as Jake leaves Engineering he runs right into Cadet Shepard and another cadet armed with phasers] Mister Sisko, I'm afraid you'll have to miss all the fun. You're going to spend the rest of this mission in the Brig.
- Tim Watters: This ship is special, Jake. This crew is special. And whatever fates guide this universe, they've chosen us to achieve some purpose in this conflict, I know that - just as surely as I know your presence on this ship is no coincidence. You're here to write the story - to tell people of the Valiant and her crew. Don't interfere with the story, Jake; don't become a part of it. Just let it unfold around you, observe, listen, and then write it down.
- Tim Watters: We've had to maintain strict radio silence ever since the war began. The orders were addressed to Captain Ramirez. But since he's dead, the mission's now mine. Make no mistake, I will carry out that mission, or die trying.