Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season 3

[Nog has been asking Sisko for a letter of recommendation to join Starfleet Academy; Sisko has refused, thinking it's some kind of scam]

Sisko:
I'm not going to put my reputation on the line just to satisfy some whim of yours.

Nog:
It's not just a whim. I'm serious about joining Starfleet.

Sisko:
: I don't have time for this, Nog. Now whatever little scheme you had, you can forget it. I'm not giving you that letter.

Nog:
[angered] It's not a joke or a scheme! I want to join Starfleet. I want it more than anything I've ever wanted anything in my life!

Sisko:
You're a Ferengi. Why would you want to be in Starfleet? Where's the profit in it?

Nog:
I don't care about profit!

Sisko:
Then what do you care about!? [Sisko takes Nog's shoulders and shakes him] Come on, Nog, tell me! Why is it so damned important for you to get into Starfleet? Why are you doing this?

Nog:
[voice breaking] Because I don't want to end up like my father! [shocked, Sisko releases him]

Sisko:
Your father?

Nog:
That's right. My father. He's been chasing profit his whole life, and what has it gotten him? Nothing. And you know why? Because he doesn't have the lobes...and neither do I.

Sisko:
[quoting] "And a Ferengi without profit..."

Nog:
…"is no Ferengi at all."

Sisko:
The eighteenth Rule of Acquisition.

Nog:
My father is a mechanical genius. He could've been Chief Engineer of a starship if he'd had the opportunity. But he went into business, like a good Ferengi. The only thing is, he's not a good Ferengi, not when it comes to acquiring profit. So now all he has to live for is the slim chance that someday, somehow, he might be able to take over my uncle's bar. Well, I'm not going to make the same mistake. I want to do something with my life. Something worthwhile.

Sisko:
Like joining Starfleet.

Nog:
I may not have an instinct for business, but I have my father's hands and my uncle's tenacity. I know I've got something to offer, I just need the chance to prove it.

Sisko:
All right. I'll see that you get that chance.

Nog:
[overjoyed] You're going to recommend me to Starfleet Academy?

Sisko:
I'll send the letter the first thing tomorrow morning.

Nog:
Commander, I don't know how to thank you! [he tries to embrace Sisko, only for Sisko to hold him at arm's length]

Sisko:
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Don't thank me yet. You still have a lot of work ahead of you.

Nog:
Don't worry. You're never going to regret this. [he offers his hand and Sisko shakes it]