Sisko rescues Cardassia's civilian leaders from the invading Klingons, bringing the full Klingon fleet down on the station, and Worf decides where his future lies.
Sisko persuades the Cardassian leaders to flee and takes the Defiant to bring the members of the new civilian Detapa Council safely to the station, fighting off Klingon ships on the way. Gowron refuses to believe that the council members are not Changelings and orders an attack on the station.
The station, newly armed, destroys many Klingon ships and the crew fights off boarding parties. With Starfleet reinforcements coming, Gowron calls off the invasion but keeps the Cardassian worlds the Klingons have taken. Worf chooses to stay in Starfleet and becomes the station's strategic operations officer. The story was first shown as a single two-hour episode.