After several hours, Sisko makes some progress on removing Eris' collar and enlists Quark to pick the lock. Meanwhile, Jake and Nog, having returned to camp to find Sisko and Quark gone, locate the Jem'Hadar encampment. They return to the runabout but are unable to beam the captives off the planet or bypass the ship's autopilot to break orbit in order to get help. When they finally gain control of the ship, they realize that without the autopilot, they will have to learn to pilot it themselves. Back on DS9, a ship arrives unexpectedly through the wormhole, and Talak'talan suddenly materializes in Ops, despite the station's shields being raised. He informs the crew that Sisko is being detained by the Dominion, then transports away before he can be caught, walking unaffected through a security forcefield. Captain Keogh, in command of the Galaxy-class starship U.S.S. Odyssey arrives at the station to assess the situation and mount a rescue mission. He allows the station's two remaining runabouts, crewed by Major Kira, O'Brien, Dax, Odo, and Dr. Bashir, to accompany the Odyssey on its mission. Quark manages to remove Eris' collar, allowing her to disengage the force field, and the three escape. Meanwhile, the Federation ships come under attack, with the Odyssey sustaining heavy damage, as the Jem'Hadar weapons are able to bypass its shields. O'Brien beams aboard Jake and Nog's runabout and takes control, then beams aboard Sisko, Quark, and Eris. As the group begins to retreat to the Alpha Quadrant, one of the Jem'Hadar ships makes a suicide run at the Odyssey, colliding with it and destroying it almost instantly. Back at the station, Quark discovers Eris' collar is a fake, and they deduce that she is a spy for the Dominion, which she admits before transporting away — leaving the crew with the realization that their dealings with this powerful new opponent have only begun. Reception TrekNation said they "thoroughly enjoyed the episode" even though they were not sure it was a "good episode"; they felt many characters were developed and called it a "satisfying season ender" without being a cliffhanger. IGN said this one of the two best episodes in Season 2 of DS9, and noted how it introduced the Dominion saga that would dominate later seasons. In 2018, Comic Book Resources rated "The Jem'Hadar" episode paired with its sequel "The Search" as the 14th best multi episode story