The House of Quark

This episode was directed by Les Landau, with writing by Tom Benko and Ronald D. Moore.[2]

With the fear of the Dominion looming over Deep Space Nine, business at Quark‘s bar is slow. No one is there except for a drunk Klingon named Kozak. Quark is not happy to hear that the Klingon has no money for a refill of blood wine and is asking for credit. When Quark tries to negotiate with Kozak, the intoxicated Klingon assaults him with a knife. During the scuffle, Kozak accidentally stabs himself and dies. At first shocked, Quark is pleased to see a giant crowd of potential customers gathering to see what has happened and seizes the opportunity to pretend to have slain Kozak in self-defense. The lie succeeds in attracting more customers to his bar with his newfound notoriety. Only Odo is suspicious of Quark's story, especially when he learns that Kozak, while a notorious drunkard, was the patriarch of a powerful Klingon family. Fearful of the prospect of Kozak's family coming to seek revenge, Quark’s brother, Rom pleads to Quark to tell the truth. Quark refuses, saying that his coverup is now not for profit, but for respect - something he never had up until now. Later that day, a Klingon named D'Ghor, claiming to be Kozak's brother, accosts Quark in private and extracts the truth, but intimidates Quark into maintaining his lie because an accidental death would dishonor his family.

Kozak's widow, Grilka, visits Quark's bar and attacks him to test his mettle, and sees that he is no mighty warrior. Quark sheepishly admits that Kozak's death was an accident. Grilka then abducts him and takes him to the Klingon homeworld of Qo'noS. A confused Quark awakens in the ancestral home of Kozak's family. Grilka's advisor, Tumek, explains to Quark that Kozak left no male heir, leaving the House of Kozak leaderless and defunct. Women are normally forbidden from leading a House, but had Kozak's death been ruled an accident, his wife would have been granted special dispensation to take over the family. Because of Quark’s bragging and lies, everyone believes that Kozak died in honorable combat. Tumek also reveals that D'Ghor is not actually Kozak's brother: He is Kozak’s archenemy from a rival House to which the House of Kozak is heavily in debt. In desperation, Grilka forcibly marries Quark, making him the new head of Kozak's family, which legally prevents D'Ghor from seizing her property.

After a rocky start, Quark and Grilka develop a respect for one another after Quark convinces her to tell him the current situation, with the request of equal partnership. Grilka explains that her husband made unwise investments and extravagant gambling debts to D’Ghor. Quark inspects the family ledgers and discovers that for several years, D'Ghor has been using financial scams to weaken the House of Kozak's assets. This is dishonorable conduct for a Klingon, and Quark exposes D'Ghor's actions before Chancellor Gowron. D'Ghor, in turn, exposes Quark's lie regarding the circumstances of Kozak's death, using a captured Rom as a witness. D'Ghor challenges Quark to a duel to the death.

Quark tries to flee the planet in the middle of the night. A disappointed Grilka admits that she had thought Quark was different from the other Ferengi, whom Klingons generally regard as cowardly and dishonorable. Ridden with guilt, Quark shows up for the fight, astonishing everybody. Quark throws his weapon to the ground, and denounces the duel as no better than an execution since Quark has no chance of winning. He goads D’Ghor into killing him, pointing out that there would be no glory in killing an unarmed Ferengi. D’Ghor is happy to kill Quark anyway, and moves in for the kill. Gowron, disgusted by D'Ghor's conduct, aborts the duel and discommendates D'Ghor on the spot. Gowron, after complimenting Quark for showing exceptional bravery for a Ferengi, rules that there are enough "unusual circumstances" to grant Grilka special dispensation to lead her House in her dead husband's stead. Quark asks the grateful Grilka for a divorce, which she happily and immediately grants with a slap to his face. She then kisses him, grateful for having saved her House from ruin.

In this episode's subplot, Keiko O'Brien feels bored and useless since she closed her school due to lack of students. Her husband Miles advises her to focus on her botanical career instead, and convinces her to go on a botanical expedition to Bajor. She takes their daughter Molly with her, leaving Miles alone on the station.

This episode was noted in To Boldly Go: Essays on Gender and Identity in the Star Trek Universe for featuring Keiko as a space school teacher aboard the Deep Space Nine space station.[3] They note that in "House of Quark", she is forced to close the school, and then goes to work on a 6-month expedition to exoplanet Bajor as a botanist.[3]

Tor.com called it a "..good Ferengi episode" and "a good Klingon episode" as well as having "intrigue" and love stories.[4]

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• "The House of Quark" at IMDb
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• The House of Quark at StarTrek.com