Events do not bode well, both on and off the station: between Odo's stark security report and word of missing starships, the station's command staff is depressed, most notably Captain Sisko. Jake Sisko decides to buy a 1951 Willie Maysrookiebaseball card at Quark's upcoming auction and to present it to his baseball-loving father in an attempt to cheer him up. As a Federation citizen, however, Jake does not have the funds to buy the card; he enlists Cadet Nog's help to acquire the antique. However, the oddball Dr. Elias Giger wins the lot that includes the card. Giger offers to give the card to Jake in exchange for a strange melange of equipment – material to help finish the "cellular regeneration and entertainment chamber", which the doctor believes will grant immortality. Privately, the boys decide the man is crazy but agree to his offer, and obtain the required materials by doing various odd jobs for Chief O'Brien, Doctor Bashir, Major Kira and Lieutenant Commander Worf. To keep Jake's surprise gift a secret, however, neither of them reveal the reason they want such diverse items. Against this backdrop, Kai Winn comes to the station to consult with the Emissary of the Prophets on an upcoming meeting with the Dominion's Vorta representative, Weyoun. The Dominion is offering a non-aggression pact with Bajor. Winn is torn between her desire to avoid aligning Bajor with the Dominion and her belief that the Federation would not devote its full resources to defending Bajor in the likely event of war with the Dominion. Sisko recommends that Winn stall for time before committing herself to a decision. The Dominion contingent, meanwhile, has guest quarters above Giger's, and Weyoun and his accompanying Jem'Hadar soldiers are wary of the odd noises emanating from below them. Returning to Giger's quarters with the last of his requested equipment, Jake and Nog find the room empty with no sign of Giger. Jake concludes that Winn is one of the "soulless minions of orthodoxy" whom Giger fears are trying to sabotage his work. Jake confronts the Kai and accuses her of kidnapping the doctor. After a reprimand from Captain Sisko, Jake and Nog are beamed from a turbolift aboard a Dominion ship. Weyoun is somehow aware that the youths have been in frequent contact not only with the strange Dr. Giger living underneath their guest quarters, but also with Kai Winn and the entirety of the station's senior staff. Facing the suspicious Vorta – and several Jem'Hadar soldiers – Jake points to the auction lot materials and explains the entire scheme to obtain the card. Weyoun initially seems incredulous, so Jake concocts a "more plausible" story: he and Nog are time travel agents investigating Willie Mays' sudden appearance in the Baseball Hall of Fame... Weyoun, however, believes Jake's first story, deciding it was all innocent coincidence after all. He sends the boys away - with the card - and strikes up a friendship with Giger over their shared interest in "unorthodox genetics". During Sisko's concluding captain's log – which foreshadows the imminent Dominion War – the camera cuts to various scenes of the crew benefiting from Jake and Nog's recent work: O'Brien leaving the holodeck after running the rapids, Bashir sitting near his stuffed bear, Kira delivering an effective speech, Worf enjoying Klingon opera, even Weyoun using Giger's immortality machine under his supervision, and, finally, Captain Sisko hugging his son upon receipt of the card.
Reception
In 2011, this episode was noted by Forbes as an episode that features bartering and an anti-aging technology. In 2019, CBR ranked "In the Cards" the 18th funniest episode of Star Trek.
