Was there a TNG lead in episode for DS9

Starfleet had no record of their movements after departing Deep Space Nine. Riker knows Quark and knows how he works, so he contacts him to see if he knows anything.

 

I was going to mention that, but I am glad that I read your post before commenting.

 

Uh, from the dialog, Riker was not calling Quark directly. The call was routed to Quark after no one in Ops was able to take it.

Apparently in the first draft of the script, Riker was suppose to talk to Sisko who would then transfer the call Quark after suggesting to Riker that Quark might know something. It would’ve been nice to have seen Avery Brooks on TNG has the producers gone this route.

 

You'll have to refresh my memory with a direct quote, because I see no reference to that in the transcript.

DATA: Starfleet records contain no mention of the Duras sisters after their departure from Deep Space Nine.
K'MTAR: Did I not tell you as much?
RIKER: Have you been able to contact Deep Space Nine?
WORF: I am being patched through right now, sir.
RIKER: On screen. Quark. I see you remember me.

 

The scene in question plays with a couple of Starfleet extras in the background IIRC, so my assumption was that Riker specifically wanted to tap Quark for info, knew he had leverage to get it, and it was arranged on DS9's end for Quark to take the call.

 

FWIW, the original script contained a shout-out to Commander Sisko which wasn't present in the aired version. But it still contains the "Have you been able to make contact" and "We're being patched through now", bits, which makes it all the more confusing. A possible interpretation was that they talked to Sisko first, then Quark, but that doesn't jibe with "we're being patched through now" lines. Perhaps why the Sisko reference was cut.

QUARK
Oh, yes... Lursa and B'Etor...
(gestures)
Big talk... small tips.

RIKER
I thought you might know where
they went.

STAR TREK: "Firstborn" - REV. 01/31/94 - ACT THREE 26A.

13 CONTINUED: (2)

There's a beat as Quark realizes he's got the
advantage.

QUARK
Me? What makes you think I'd
know... ?

RIKER
Commander Sisko said if anyone
would know, you would...

QUARK
He flatters me.
(beat)
Well... I did hear a rumor,
actually...

RIKER
What kind of rumor?

 

If you notice during the exchange, Quark is being overseen by a Starfleet security officer. I think that was a subtle hint of the episode "Firstborn" taking place simultaneously with "The Maquis" two-parter, as Quark was at one point under arrest for selling weapons. In fact, "Firstborn" actually aired in between the two DS9 episodes ("The Maquis, Part I" on April 24th, "Firstborn" on April 25th, and "The Maquis, Part II" on May 1st)

 

But it still doesn’t answer when did Riker ask for Quark? The way the episode plays, Riker has Worf contact DS9 (maybe he wanted to see if anything had developed that had not been updated on the official reports), and yet all of a sudden DS9’s Ops routes it to Quark because no one from Ops or even Odo or security can take the call!

 

There's nothing in the episode to indicate that there was nobody else available to take the call. There is no mention of Ops or Security.

As presented, Riker contacts DS9 because he wants to talk to Quark. He's not talking to him as a last resort, he's talking to him on purpose.

 

He never says that he wants to talk Quark. He only asks to talk to DS9.

 

Worf had begun trying open the communication that Riker wanted sometime before the scene started, since Riker asks Worf: "Have you been able to contact Deep Space Nine?"

Riker starts the conversation off with: "Quark, I see you remember me."

That implies that Riker had specifically been trying to contact Quark, whom he already knows. The orders to get Quark on the screen obviously happened before the scene started, but there's really no other way to read the scene that makes sense.

 

No it doesn’t, especially with the line about being patched through. And Riker seems surprised when Quark comes on.

 

Oh, yeah?

 

Riker and Quark first engage in small talk and then it's made quite clear that Riker is calling for a reason.

QUARK "Is that what this is about? You're on your way and you're calling to reserve a holosuite programme?"
RIKER "Actually, I was hoping you could help me with something else. [...] I'm looking for some Klingon friends of mine. The Duras sisters, Lursa and B'Etor? [...] Do you know where I can find them?"

No, he doesn't. The shot doesn't even show Riker's expression when he says, "Quark, I see you remember me."

 

Right. "I was hoping you could" is not the kind of thing you say to someone you're surprised to see.

But yeah, let's just assume that everyone else on DS9 was busy, and it was Quark's turn to answer the phone....

 

Quark is on DS9, and Riker wants to talk to Quark... who's on DS9... It's as simple as that.

 

The is a part of me that kinda wishes the TNG crew had moved over to those uniforms prior to Generations.

 

No, those uniforms look all kinds of wrong on the TNG crew.

 

Yeah, that and the presence of the Federation computer terminal near Quark seem to imply that Quark was taken to some kind of official location to take the call. After all, it clearly isn't the bar or probably even his quarters.

So Riker contacts the station, talks to Sisko possibly, looking for Quark. (as implied by the deleted lines from the script.) Quark is taken to that room under escort.

Riker calls back later and is patched through.

 

No it’s not as simple as that. Since the episode does not support that Riker was originally calling Quark.