A Cardassian ship is destroyed moments after leaving dock at DS9, and evidence is discovered pointing to sabotage - committed not by Bajorans, but by someone in the Federation. Gul Dukat arrives on the station, telling Sisko that things are heating up along the recently realigned Cardassian/Federation border, along which a demilitarized zone has been erected. Also present on the station is the Federation attache' to the Federation colonies on the border, Commander Hudson, who also happens to be an old friend of Sisko. Dukat and Sisko travel to one of the border colonies, witnessing a furious battle between Federation and Cardassian colonists' vessels along the way. On arrival, they discover that the human responsible for the destruction of the Cardassian vessel has been captured on DS9, interrogated and then killed, enraging the human colonists. After returning to the station, Dukat is kidnapped and taken from the station. A message is received from a group who call themselves the Maquis, claiming responsibility for the abduction. Sisko, Kira and Bashir track down the ship that must have taken Dukat from the station, and Sisko discovers that Hudson, who has voiced sympathies for the displaced Federation colonists, is the leader of the colonists in their war against their Cardassian neighbors.
