Sisko drags the imprisoned Eddington along to stop a supposed Maquis missile strike on Cardassia, only to learn Eddington has his own agenda.
Sisko intercepts a message suggesting that the last surviving Maquis have launched cloaked missiles at Cardassia, an attack that could ignite a wider war with the Dominion. He takes Michael Eddington from prison to help find and disarm them, and the two trade threats as they fly through the Badlands.
At the hidden base on Athos IV they find Jem'Hadar troops and dead Maquis. Eddington reveals there never were any missiles; the message was a signal from his wife Rebecca, and he needed Sisko's help to rescue the captured survivors. Eddington is killed holding off the Jem'Hadar while Sisko escapes with the prisoners. On the station, Nog earns the respect of the Klingons by standing up to them.