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The Maquis (DS9 episode)
Encyclopedia
"The Maquis" is a two-part episode from the second season of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
. The Maquis, and their dissatisfaction with the Federation, would recur in future episodes such as "For the Cause", "For the Uniform", and "Blaze of Glory". It would also serve as an important element in the pilot episode of Star Trek: Voyager
, "Caretaker", and in several episodes of that series' run.
vessel, the Bok'nor, is shown preparing for departure from Deep Space Nine
. During this scene, a human-looking character surreptitiously makes adjustments. Shortly after departing, the vessel is destroyed, killing everyone on board.
The crew begins an investigation. Starfleet sends Lieutenant Commander Calvin Hudson, stationed in the demilitarized zone along the Cardassian border and an old friend of both Sisko and Dax, to the station to investigate the possibility of retaliatory attacks. He tells Sisko his presence on the border is a joke; his assignment has been to help colonists whose land the Federation gave to Cardassia adjust to the new circumstances. Contrary to Starfleet
's belief, Hudson is sure the Cardassians will not retaliate, but he guarantees a response will come.
Meanwhile, the man who sabotaged the Bok'Nor is abducted. When Sisko returns to his quarters that evening, he finds Gul Dukat
waiting for him. Dukat explains that Cardassian Central Command is unaware of his presence on DS9, but he has come unofficially to help Sisko find the truth about the destruction of the freighter. In order to do so, the two of them take a runabout to a group of colonies in the demilitarized zone, which Dukat describes as "not so demilitarized, I'm afraid". There, they find two Cardassian attack vessels attacking a Federation merchant ship; before the runabout can intervene, another Federation vessel arrives and destroys the Cardassians.
Quark
has arranged a "business" dinner with a Vulcan
woman named Sakonna. She is eager to begin negotiations but he quotes one of the Rules of Acquisition
: "Never begin a business negotiation on an empty stomach." When he describes the Rules of Acquisition, she finds them logical and "quite reassuring". Once Quark is ready to discuss business, he is surprised to hear she is looking to acquire weapons: She wishes to acquire a continuous supply of "guns, phaser banks, photon torpedoes, troop transports, and a number of cobalt thorium devices", among others.
In the demilitarized zone, Gul Evek, the Cardassian attaché
to the demilitarized zone, is in a heated debate with Cal Hudson when Dukat and Sisko enter the room. When they describe the incident they observed, both sides seem to feel that their colonists were justified. Evek then produces a confession from the Bok'Nor saboteur, William Patrick Samuels, but claims that Samuels committed suicide shortly after giving it. One of the colonists present attacks Evek and is restrained.
Later that night, Hudson warns Sisko that the Cardassians have no intention of allowing the Federation colonists to stay and tells him the Bok'Nor was likely transporting weapons to Cardassian colonists. He concedes that Samuels might have destroyed the freighter but claims the colonists have the right to defend themselves. On the way back to Deep Space Nine, Sisko discovers Dukat knew of Samuels' confession but knew nothing of the 'suicide'. Furthermore, Dukat swears on the lives of his children that the Bok'Nor was not transporting weapons.
Sekonna requests that Quark move the weapon shipment schedule forward and he complies greedily. Meanwhile, O'Brien
has confirmed what Sisko believed: the bomb that destroyed the Bok'Nor was of Federation origin. Shortly after Sisko's and Dukat's arrival on the station, a group consisting of a man posing as a Starfleet security guard, Sakonna, and several colonists kidnap Dukat. Sisko and the rest of the crew determine the course the terrorists most likely took and he, Major Kira, and Dr. Bashir
follow them in a runabout. Before the trio leaves, an anonymous transmission from the demilitarized zone attributes the bombing of the Bok'Nor and the recent kidnappings to a group calling itself the Maquis
.
They follow the Maquis into an area called the Badlands with which Bashir is unfamiliar. Kira explains that it is an area of the Cardassian-Federation border with frequent plasma storms
, which pilots generally try to avoid. "Sounds like the perfect place for a hideout," he observes. They beam to the surface of a planet, where the armed Maquis members emerge from nearby foliage — followed by Cal Hudson, out of uniform. It is revealed he is part of the Maquis.
Admiral Nechayev is waiting for Sisko when he returns to Deep Space Nine, and Dax informs him that Legate Parn of the Cardassian Central Command will be arriving soon as well. Nechayev refers to the Maquis as "a bunch of irresponsible hotheads" and tells Sisko to talk to them, although he finds such sentiments out of touch with reality. When Nechayev leaves, Kira informs him that Legate Parn has just arrived. He is on his way to greet the Cardassian leader when Odo reports that he has caught "one of the Vulcan's accomplices".
Sisko arrives in the security office to find Quark in a holding cell. Quark attempts to evade discussion of his business with Sakonna but eventually reveals that he arranged for the Maquis to acquire weapons. While he had not heard of the Maquis at the time, he is sure Sakonna plans to execute her plans within the next few days. Upon meeting with Sisko, Legate Parn informs him and Kira that the Cardassian Central Command has discovered Dukat to be the leader of "a small group of misguided officers" who were smuggling weapons to the demilitarized zone. However, neither Sisko nor Kira believe him.
On one of the Maquis worlds, Sakonna attempts to establish a Vulcan mind meld with Dukat, who openly mocks his captors. When Sisko, Bashir, and Odo interrupt the interrogation, there is a momentary standoff, during which Dukat grows impatient. "Shoot them!" he yells and knocks Sakonna over, triggering a firefight. The Maquis are arrested, but Sisko allows one of them, Amaros, to go free with a message to Cal Hudson that it is not too late to settle things peacefully. They bring Dukat back to Deep Space Nine, where he inquires about the fact that Federation not Cardassian forces rescued him. Sisko tells Dukat about Legate Parn turning him into a scapegoat and the two men put past differences aside to work together to stop both the weapons smuggling and the Maquis. By this time, Odo has obtained an extensive list of weapons Sakonna bought from Quark, but he has been unable to find out more. The crew focus on the weapons smuggling instead for the time being. With Dukat's help, they find a Xepolite trader and detain a shipment of weapons from him, finally obtaining proof of the conspiracy.
Back on the station, Quark and Sakonna share a holding cell. He calls her position with the Maquis illogical and uses the Rules of Acquisition to explain that with the Cardassian plan exposed, "peace can be bought at a bargain price." She informs Sisko that the Maquis are planning to blow up a hidden Cardassian weapons depot in the next 52 hours, but she does not know where it is. Dukat says he can find the depot's location, and in the meantime, Sisko visits Cal Hudson one final time. He brings along Hudson's uniform, which Hudson vaporizes with a phaser.
The crew is waiting in runabouts when the Maquis arrive at the depot, and as neither Hudson nor Sisko wants to hurt the other, the resulting dogfight
is relatively slow paced. Sisko's runabout and Hudson's raider each try to disable the other. Hudson manages to knock out Sisko's engines, but his own phasers are disabled. He flees and, over Dukat's objections, Sisko allows him to escape. Ultimately, Sisko wonders if he has prevented a war or delayed the inevitable.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
. The Maquis, and their dissatisfaction with the Federation, would recur in future episodes such as "For the Cause", "For the Uniform", and "Blaze of Glory". It would also serve as an important element in the pilot episode of Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
, "Caretaker", and in several episodes of that series' run.
Part I
A CardassianCardassian
The Cardassians are an extraterrestrial species in the Star Trek science fiction franchise. First introduced in the 1991 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Wounded", the species originating on the fictional Alpha Quadrant planet Cardassia Prime...
vessel, the Bok'nor, is shown preparing for departure from Deep Space Nine
Deep Space Nine (space station)
Deep Space Nine is a fictitious space station, and is the eponymous primary setting of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It serves as a base for the exploration of the Gamma Quadrant via the Bajoran wormhole, and is a hub of trade and travel for the sector's denizens...
. During this scene, a human-looking character surreptitiously makes adjustments. Shortly after departing, the vessel is destroyed, killing everyone on board.
The crew begins an investigation. Starfleet sends Lieutenant Commander Calvin Hudson, stationed in the demilitarized zone along the Cardassian border and an old friend of both Sisko and Dax, to the station to investigate the possibility of retaliatory attacks. He tells Sisko his presence on the border is a joke; his assignment has been to help colonists whose land the Federation gave to Cardassia adjust to the new circumstances. Contrary to Starfleet
Starfleet
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet or the Federation Starfleet is the deep-space exploratory, peacekeeping and military service maintained by the United Federation of Planets . It is the principal means by which the Federation conducts its exploration, defense, diplomacy and research...
's belief, Hudson is sure the Cardassians will not retaliate, but he guarantees a response will come.
Meanwhile, the man who sabotaged the Bok'Nor is abducted. When Sisko returns to his quarters that evening, he finds Gul Dukat
Dukat (Star Trek)
Gul Dukat is the main antagonist of the fictional television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He is a member of the fictional Cardassian species, and leader in the Cardassian Union. At times he is an enemy, whilst at others an ally of the series' protagonist Benjamin Sisko. He was played by actor...
waiting for him. Dukat explains that Cardassian Central Command is unaware of his presence on DS9, but he has come unofficially to help Sisko find the truth about the destruction of the freighter. In order to do so, the two of them take a runabout to a group of colonies in the demilitarized zone, which Dukat describes as "not so demilitarized, I'm afraid". There, they find two Cardassian attack vessels attacking a Federation merchant ship; before the runabout can intervene, another Federation vessel arrives and destroys the Cardassians.
Quark
Quark (Star Trek)
Quark is a fictional character in the American television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The character, which was played by Armin Shimerman, was depicted as a member of an extraterrestrial race known as the Ferengi, who are stereotypically ultra-capitalist and only motivated by...
has arranged a "business" dinner with a Vulcan
Vulcan (Star Trek)
Vulcans, or sometimes Vulcanians, are an extraterrestrial humanoid species in the Star Trek universe who evolved on the planet Vulcan, and are noted for their attempt to live by reason and logic with no interference from emotion. They were the first extraterrestrial species in the Star Trek...
woman named Sakonna. She is eager to begin negotiations but he quotes one of the Rules of Acquisition
Rules of Acquisition
The Rules of Acquisition, in the fictional Star Trek universe, are a set of guidelines intended to ensure the profitability of businesses owned by the ultra-capitalist alien race known as Ferengi.-Background:...
: "Never begin a business negotiation on an empty stomach." When he describes the Rules of Acquisition, she finds them logical and "quite reassuring". Once Quark is ready to discuss business, he is surprised to hear she is looking to acquire weapons: She wishes to acquire a continuous supply of "guns, phaser banks, photon torpedoes, troop transports, and a number of cobalt thorium devices", among others.
In the demilitarized zone, Gul Evek, the Cardassian attaché
Attaché
Attaché is a French term in diplomacy referring to a person who is assigned to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency...
to the demilitarized zone, is in a heated debate with Cal Hudson when Dukat and Sisko enter the room. When they describe the incident they observed, both sides seem to feel that their colonists were justified. Evek then produces a confession from the Bok'Nor saboteur, William Patrick Samuels, but claims that Samuels committed suicide shortly after giving it. One of the colonists present attacks Evek and is restrained.
Later that night, Hudson warns Sisko that the Cardassians have no intention of allowing the Federation colonists to stay and tells him the Bok'Nor was likely transporting weapons to Cardassian colonists. He concedes that Samuels might have destroyed the freighter but claims the colonists have the right to defend themselves. On the way back to Deep Space Nine, Sisko discovers Dukat knew of Samuels' confession but knew nothing of the 'suicide'. Furthermore, Dukat swears on the lives of his children that the Bok'Nor was not transporting weapons.
Sekonna requests that Quark move the weapon shipment schedule forward and he complies greedily. Meanwhile, O'Brien
Miles O'Brien (Star Trek)
Miles Edward O'Brien, played by Colm Meaney, is Chief of Operations in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Before DS9, he appeared as a recurring transporter chief in Star Trek: The Next Generation...
has confirmed what Sisko believed: the bomb that destroyed the Bok'Nor was of Federation origin. Shortly after Sisko's and Dukat's arrival on the station, a group consisting of a man posing as a Starfleet security guard, Sakonna, and several colonists kidnap Dukat. Sisko and the rest of the crew determine the course the terrorists most likely took and he, Major Kira, and Dr. Bashir
Julian Bashir
Lieutenant Julian Subatoi Bashir, M.D., played by Alexander Siddig, is a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Bashir is the chief medical officer of space station Deep Space Nine and the USS Defiant.-Overview:...
follow them in a runabout. Before the trio leaves, an anonymous transmission from the demilitarized zone attributes the bombing of the Bok'Nor and the recent kidnappings to a group calling itself the Maquis
Maquis (Star Trek)
In the American Star Trek science-fiction franchise, the Maquis are a 24th Century paramilitary organization or terrorist group first introduced in the 1994 episode "The Maquis" of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, who subsequently also appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation and...
.
They follow the Maquis into an area called the Badlands with which Bashir is unfamiliar. Kira explains that it is an area of the Cardassian-Federation border with frequent plasma storms
Plasma (physics)
In physics and chemistry, plasma is a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionized. Heating a gas may ionize its molecules or atoms , thus turning it into a plasma, which contains charged particles: positive ions and negative electrons or ions...
, which pilots generally try to avoid. "Sounds like the perfect place for a hideout," he observes. They beam to the surface of a planet, where the armed Maquis members emerge from nearby foliage — followed by Cal Hudson, out of uniform. It is revealed he is part of the Maquis.
Part II
Sisko demands to see Gul Dukat, whom the Maquis abducted, to which Hudson accuses Sisko of siding with the Cardassians over him. According to Hudson, the Maquis's top priority is peace but insists the Cardassians' crimes cannot go unpunished, and Sisko points out that it is revenge, not peace, they seek. "I prefer to call it retaliation," Hudson smirks. After Sisko declines an offer to join the Maquis, the Maquis stun him, Kira, and Bashir.Admiral Nechayev is waiting for Sisko when he returns to Deep Space Nine, and Dax informs him that Legate Parn of the Cardassian Central Command will be arriving soon as well. Nechayev refers to the Maquis as "a bunch of irresponsible hotheads" and tells Sisko to talk to them, although he finds such sentiments out of touch with reality. When Nechayev leaves, Kira informs him that Legate Parn has just arrived. He is on his way to greet the Cardassian leader when Odo reports that he has caught "one of the Vulcan's accomplices".
Sisko arrives in the security office to find Quark in a holding cell. Quark attempts to evade discussion of his business with Sakonna but eventually reveals that he arranged for the Maquis to acquire weapons. While he had not heard of the Maquis at the time, he is sure Sakonna plans to execute her plans within the next few days. Upon meeting with Sisko, Legate Parn informs him and Kira that the Cardassian Central Command has discovered Dukat to be the leader of "a small group of misguided officers" who were smuggling weapons to the demilitarized zone. However, neither Sisko nor Kira believe him.
On one of the Maquis worlds, Sakonna attempts to establish a Vulcan mind meld with Dukat, who openly mocks his captors. When Sisko, Bashir, and Odo interrupt the interrogation, there is a momentary standoff, during which Dukat grows impatient. "Shoot them!" he yells and knocks Sakonna over, triggering a firefight. The Maquis are arrested, but Sisko allows one of them, Amaros, to go free with a message to Cal Hudson that it is not too late to settle things peacefully. They bring Dukat back to Deep Space Nine, where he inquires about the fact that Federation not Cardassian forces rescued him. Sisko tells Dukat about Legate Parn turning him into a scapegoat and the two men put past differences aside to work together to stop both the weapons smuggling and the Maquis. By this time, Odo has obtained an extensive list of weapons Sakonna bought from Quark, but he has been unable to find out more. The crew focus on the weapons smuggling instead for the time being. With Dukat's help, they find a Xepolite trader and detain a shipment of weapons from him, finally obtaining proof of the conspiracy.
Back on the station, Quark and Sakonna share a holding cell. He calls her position with the Maquis illogical and uses the Rules of Acquisition to explain that with the Cardassian plan exposed, "peace can be bought at a bargain price." She informs Sisko that the Maquis are planning to blow up a hidden Cardassian weapons depot in the next 52 hours, but she does not know where it is. Dukat says he can find the depot's location, and in the meantime, Sisko visits Cal Hudson one final time. He brings along Hudson's uniform, which Hudson vaporizes with a phaser.
The crew is waiting in runabouts when the Maquis arrive at the depot, and as neither Hudson nor Sisko wants to hurt the other, the resulting dogfight
Dogfight
A dogfight, or dog fight, is a form of aerial combat between fighter aircraft; in particular, combat of maneuver at short range, where each side is aware of the other's presence. Dogfighting first appeared during World War I, shortly after the invention of the airplane...
is relatively slow paced. Sisko's runabout and Hudson's raider each try to disable the other. Hudson manages to knock out Sisko's engines, but his own phasers are disabled. He flees and, over Dukat's objections, Sisko allows him to escape. Ultimately, Sisko wonders if he has prevented a war or delayed the inevitable.
Arc significance
- Following the signing of a new treaty (cf. "Journey's End (TNG Episode)") with the Cardassians, the Federation has handed over several of its colonies to the Cardassians, and vice versa. The colonists chose to remain rather than evacuate, which has caused tension along the border.
- A group of colonists has banded together to defend themselves from Cardassians who are harassing them when the Federation refuses to take action.
- The character of Dukat gets more depth, revealing that he is genuinely interested in keeping the peace between Cardassia and the Federation.
- Dukat also provides Sisko with insight into the Cardassian education and justice systems, hinting at a very Orwellian society (cf. "The Wire").