“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” took place on a space station, not a starship. The eponymous station orbited the frontier world of Bajor, recently freed from occupation by the tyrannical Cardassians. In fact, Deep Space Nine itself was not native Starfleet hardware, but a repurposed Cardassian outpost once called Terok Nor.

That causes problems in season 5 episode “Empok Nor,” when DS9 needs repairs with parts Starfleet doesn’t have. Chief Miles O’Brien (Colm Meaney) leads a salvage team to the abandoned Cardassian station Empok Nor, bringing along the semi-friendly Cardassian Garak (Andrew Robinson) to help disarm booby traps. Among said traps are some Cardassian sleeper agents.

“Empok Nor” unfolds like a slasher movie in space, taking place in tight corridors and dark lighting (diegetically because the station is unpowered) as characters are picked off one-by-one. Redshirts (disposable Starfleet crew members) are a common feature of “Star Trek,” but the four in this episode feel as much like teenagers targeted by Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees.

If there’s a weak link to the episode, it’s (I can’t believe I’m saying this) Garak. The episode turns him into a villain, justifying it with the Cardassians on Empok Nor having experimented with a drug to amp up xenophobia — yes, a racism drug. The episode ties it together with Garak egging O’Brien about his service in the Federation-Cardassian War (as revealed in the first Cardassian episode, “The Wounded” from “The Next Generation”), so against Garak, O’Brien must again fight a Cardassian foe and become a soldier to do so. In the end, though, it’s just not the best use of Garak, the fey, silver-tongued rogue we know and love.