Captain Sisko's Darkest Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Episode Was Built On Another Character's Lies

"In the Pale Moonlight" has always been one of my favorite episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but I didn't realize until recently that almost everything Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) does in the episode is based on lies. It is no secret that Deep Space Nine's resident Cardassian tailor, plain and simple Elim Garak (Andrew J. Robinson) tells a lot of lies. Indeed, almost every detail that DS9 has ever revealed about Garak's past has been filled with lies and misdirections from the last Cardassian in Bajoran space.

On the surface level, Garak seems to be particularly honest in "In the Pale Moonlight." He helps Captain Sisko trick the Romulan Star Empire into joining the Dominion War on the Federation’s side, and he does so by openly using all the skills he learned from a lifetime of spying. It is undeniable that the Garak of "In the Pale Moonlight" is not the simple tailor that he so often claims to be. So, I was a little surprised to realize that the entire story of the episode is based upon three major lies that Garak tells Captain Sisko.

3Garak Lied When He Told Captain Sisko He Called His Cardiassian Contacts

If They're All "Dead," Sisko Won't Ask For More Favors

At the start of "In the Pale Moonlight," Captain Sisko asks Garak to reach out to his contacts on Cardassia for help drawing the Romulans into the war. Garak, however, tells him that there will be no help from Cardassia, as when he reached out he found all his contacts were dead or otherwise unavailable. But, thinking about Garak's story for even a moment, it becomes clear that he was almost certainly lying to Captain Sisko.

We know that Garak still has ties to the Obsidian Order, and it would not make sense that literally all of them would be dead or incapacitated. They were trained spies and assassins, and even the Dominion would not be able to eradicate literally every former spy on Cardassia.

Garak likely already had a plan to draw the Romulans into the war through forgery, but telling Captain Sisko that he no longer had contacts on Cardassia would keep the Captain from asking for similar favors in the future. By lying to Captain Sisko, Garak was able to help as much as he wanted without risking further connections to Starfleet and the Federation.

2Garak Lied About Why He Needed The Bio-Mimetic Gel

It's Not Currancy - It's A Bomb

Garak's second lie of the episode comes when he tells Captain Sisko that he will need two liters of bio-mimetic gel in order to purchase an authentic Cardassian data rod. Bio-mimetic gel is a highly controlled substance in the Federation — so much so that Deep Space Nine's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig), lodges a formal complaint when Captain Sisko asks for the gel. But, while Garak may claim that bio-mimetic gel is just the cost of doing business, this is almost certainly a lie.

Firstly, there’s ample evidence in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine to suggest that Garak already had a Cardassian data rod. In the season 3 episode "Improbable Cause," Garak references having secret data rods stashed on Deep Space Nine - he tells Dr. Bashir to eat one. And, if Garak didn't need the gel for currency, there is another, darker, use for the gel. Star Trek: The Next Generation already established that bio-mimetic gel can be used to make explosives, and, in the end, it was just such an explosive that Garak used to kill the Romulan Senator Vreenak (Stephen McHattie).

1Romulan Senator Vreenak's Death Was Garak's Plan All Along

Killing Vreenak Was The Best Way To Acomplish His Goals

But the biggest lie that Garak told Captain Sisko during "In The Pale Moonlight" was that forging a convincing enough fake to fool the Romulans was ever possible. The Romulan Star Empire is a society built on secrecy and lies, and a forged data rod is exactly the sort of subterfuge that they would be primed to uncover. As a former spy, Garak would be well aware of the fact that it would be impossible for Sisko and Garak to create a fake good enough to fool the Romulans indefinitely.

But the subterfuge of a damaged rod and a dead ambassador is exactly what the Romulans could expect from the Dominion. As soon as Sisko came to him for help, Garak planned for Vreenak's death. Of course, these lies are Star Trek theories, in the end. Neither the audience nor Captain Sisko will ever really be able to know when Garak is lying. So, when watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, it is safer to assume that everything Garak says is true, especially the lies.