A defecting Weyoun clone seeks Odo's protection and reveals that a fatal disease is spreading among the Founders, while Nog trades his way to a part for O'Brien.
Weyoun summons Odo to a secret meeting and announces that he wants to defect, convinced the war is a mistake. This is the sixth clone, activated after the previous one died, and the Dominion has already activated a seventh, who orders him to self-terminate. As Damar presses Weyoun VII to destroy the runabout, Weyoun VI reveals that a lethal illness is spreading through the Founders and urges Odo to prepare to lead the Dominion. Unable to escape, he triggers his implant to save Odo, asking for his blessing before he dies.
On the station, O'Brien needs a part for the Defiant, and Nog offers to navigate the Great Material Continuum, the Ferengi idea of trade as a river. A string of increasingly alarming deals, including lending out Sisko's desk, gets everything delivered. The seventh-season episode introduces the Founders' disease that drives the final arc and explores the Vorta's devotion to the Founders.