Editing Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (section)

==Plot elements==
[[File:Chase Masterson Nicole de Boer Star Trek Convention Las Vegas 20110812 3.jpg|thumb|[[Chase Masterson]] (''left'') portrayed the recurring character [[Leeta]] on the series; [[Nicole De Boer]] (''right'') played [[Ezri Dax]], a main character introduced in the seventh season.]]
Major plotlines focus on several key ''Star Trek'' cultures, especially interactions between the Bajorans, Cardassians, Ferengi, Klingons, and the Federation. Each of these cultures is represented by major characters in the main or recurring cast.

Major arcs revolve around Bajor's recovery from Cardassian occupation; the Maquis, a rebellious Federation splinter group; and the Dominion, a hostile imperial power from the other side of the galaxy. The war between the Dominion and the Federation spans the show's last two seasons, after tensions between the two gradually increase from the beginning of the third season. Throughout the series, loyalties and alliances change repeatedly: pacts with the Cardassians are made, broken, and remade; a short war with the Klingons flares up and is settled; Bajor grows into political stability; and formerly neutral powers are drawn into conflict.

===Bajor===
{{Main|Bajor}}
In the first episode, Starfleet Commander Benjamin Sisko arrives at ''Deep Space Nine'', a space station formerly operated by the Cardassians during their oppressive occupation of the planet Bajor. He is assigned to run the station jointly with the newly liberated Bajorans as they recover from the Cardassian occupation, to help pave the way for Bajor's entry into the Federation. Sisko and Jadzia Dax stumble upon a wormhole leading to the distant Gamma Quadrant, and discover that it is inhabited by beings not bound by normal space and time. To the strongly religious people of Bajor, the wormhole aliens are their gods (the Bajoran Prophets), and the wormhole itself is the long-prophesied Celestial Temple. Sisko is hailed as the Emissary of the Prophets, through whom the Prophets act.

Bajor's politics and religion, and Sisko's status within it, provide the basis for long-lasting story arcs. Early seasons show Bajor reckoning with the aftermath of occupation and establishing itself as a democracy. Meanwhile, Sisko initially considers his role as a religious icon with discomfort and skepticism, striving to keep his role as station commander distinct from any religious obligations that the Bajorans try to place on him. Later, he becomes more accepting of his role and, by the end of the series, he openly embraces it. He is often called upon to choose between his role as Emissary and his duties to Starfleet, as when he persuades the Bajorans to withdraw their application for Federation membership after receiving a vision from the Prophets. The political and religious implications of Sisko's status for Bajor and its spiritual leaders (most notably, Winn Adami) provide a central arc that lasts until the end of the series.

===The Maquis===
{{Main|Maquis (Star Trek)}}
The station crew early on contends with a resistance group known as the [[Maquis (Star Trek)|Maquis]]. Rooted in the events of ''The Next Generation'' episode "[[Journey's End (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|Journey's End]]", in which [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] settlers refuse to leave when their planet is given to Cardassia as part of a treaty, the Maquis are an example of the show's exploration of darker themes; its members are Federation citizens who take up arms against Cardassia in defense of their homes, and some, such as [[Calvin Hudson]], a long-time friend of Sisko's, and [[Michael Eddington]], who defects while serving aboard the station, are Starfleet officers. The show's critique of traditional ''Star Trek'' themes can be seen in episodes such as "[[For the Cause (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)|For the Cause]]", in which Eddington compares the Federation to the implacable alien hive mind known as the [[Borg (Star Trek)|Borg]]: "At least [the Borg] tell you about their plans for assimilation. You assimilate people and they don't even know it."

===The Dominion War===
{{Main|Dominion War}}
The second-season episode "[[Rules of Acquisition (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)|Rules of Acquisition]]" marks the first mention of the [[Dominion (Star Trek)|Dominion]], a ruthless empire in the Gamma Quadrant, though they are not fully introduced until the second-season finale, "[[The Jem'Hadar]]". It is led by "the Founders", a race of shape-shifting Changelings, the same species as ''DS9''{{'}}s security chief, Odo. They were once persecuted by non-shapeshifters (whom they call "solids") and they seek to impose "order" upon any who could potentially harm them, which includes nearly all solids. The Founders have created or genetically modified races to serve them: their sly diplomats and administrators, the [[Vorta]], and their fearless shock troops, the [[Jem'Hadar]]. These races worship the Founders as gods.

At the start of ''DS9''{{'}}s third season ("[[The Search (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)|The Search]]"), with the threat of a Dominion attack looming from the other side of the wormhole, the [[USS Defiant|USS ''Defiant'']], a prototype warship, is stationed at ''Deep Space Nine'', providing an avenue for plot lines away from the station. With the third season, writers from the now-completed ''The Next Generation'' began to write regularly for ''DS9''.

In the show's middle seasons, the Dominion foments discord to weaken the Alpha Quadrant powers, manipulating the Klingons into war with the Cardassians, and almost inciting a ''coup d'état'' on Earth. In the fifth-season episode "[[By Inferno's Light]]", the Dominion annexes Cardassia, and goes to war with the other major powers of the Alpha Quadrant in the season finale "[[Call to Arms (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)|Call to Arms]]". The Dominion War tests Starfleet's commitment to its ethics; when the formerly neutral [[Romulan]]s are persuaded to ally themselves with the Federation ("[[In the Pale Moonlight]]"), it occurs only through criminal and duplicitous acts on Sisko's part. This provides an example of the moral ambiguity prevalent in ''DS9'' in comparison to the other ''Star Trek'' series.

===Section 31===
Another example of ''DS9''{{'}}s darker nature is the introduction of [[Section 31 (Star Trek)|Section 31]], a secret organization dedicated to preserving the Federation way of life at any cost. This shadowy group, introduced in "[[Inquisition (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)|Inquisition]]", justifies its unlawful, unilateral tactics by claiming that it is essential to the continued existence of the Federation. Section 31 features prominently in several episodes of the Dominion War arc, especially as it is revealed that it attempted a genocide of the Founders.

===The Ferengi===
In ''DS9'', the Ferengi are no longer an enemy of the Federation, but rather an economic power whose political neutrality is mostly respected. Several episodes explore their [[capitalism|capitalistic]] nature, while others delve into the race's [[sexism|sexist]] social norms. Unlike their depiction in ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', where they were generally portrayed as sexist buffoons, in ''DS9'', they received a more complex depiction. Some Ferengi characters seek life paths outside the pursuit of profit, such as Nog, who becomes the first Ferengi to join Starfleet; others attempt to reform Ferengi society from within, such as Ishka, who leads a women's-rights revolution on the Ferengi homeworld, and Rom, who leads a strike against unfair working conditions in Quark's bar.

===The Mirror Universe===
Several episodes of ''DS9'' explore the [[Mirror Universe (Star Trek)|Mirror Universe]], first introduced in the ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' episode "[[Mirror, Mirror (Star Trek: The Original Series)|Mirror, Mirror]]". In the second-season episode "[[Crossover (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)|Crossover]]", Kira and Dr. Bashir are accidentally sent to the Mirror Universe and discover that it is dominated by a ruthless Klingon–Cardassian alliance and Terrans (humans) are slaves. Over the course of four Mirror Universe episodes of ''DS9'', the Terran workers form a resistance movement and eventually liberate themselves ("[[Through the Looking Glass (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)|Through the Looking Glass]]", "[[Shattered Mirror (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)|Shattered Mirror]]", "[[Resurrection (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)|Resurrection]]", and "[[The Emperor's New Cloak]]").