Stardate not given: The Cardassian freighter Bok'Nor explodes while departing from Deep Space 9. When Jadzia Dax suspects that it was a terrorist act, Starfleet sends Lieutenant Commander Calvin Hudson, an old friend of Sisko's, to investigate the case, which endangers the fragile peace treaty between the Federation and the Cardassians. Gul Dukat claims that Federation colonists are conducting terrorist acts against the Cardassians in the newly established Demilitarized Zone. Soon Sisko and Dukat witness how Federation ships destroy two Cardassian vessels. Moreover, O'Brien finds out that the device that caused the explosion of the Bok'Nor was of Federation origin. Then Dukat is kidnapped from Deep Space 9. When Sisko, Kira and Bashir follow the traces of the kidnappers into a border region called the Badlands, they find a group of resistance fighters, the Maquis, their leader being no one else but Calvin Hudson. Hudson escapes and Sisko decides not yet to inform Starfleet of his friend's betrayal. Meanwhile, it seems clear that the Cardassians are breaking the treaty by smuggling weapons into the Demilitarized Zone. Sisko manages to free Dukat and take prisoners. He sides with the Cardassian officer, who appears to have lost the support of his superiors. Together they foil a Maquis attack on a Cardassian colony that serves as a weapons depot. When just Sisko's and Hudson's vessels are still operational, Sisko allows his old friend to escape.

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