Sisko investigates the Maquis as tensions escalate.
The Cardassian freighter Bok'Nor explodes after leaving the station, and Sisko's investigation leads into the demilitarised zone, where Federation colonists and Cardassians are clashing. Starfleet sends Lieutenant Commander Calvin Hudson, an old friend of Sisko's, who believes the Federation has abandoned the colonists, and Dukat turns up unofficially to help.
A Vulcan named Sakonna asks Quark to help her acquire weapons, and the device that destroyed the Bok'Nor proves to be of Federation origin. Dukat is kidnapped by a group calling itself the Maquis, and when Sisko tracks them to the Badlands, he finds that Hudson is one of them.