When it comes to negotiating the delicate boundaries of space, most treaties aren't built in a day. Such was the case with the agreement reached in 2370 between the Cardassian and Federation governments. The pact took three years of negotiations and was finally drawn up with a few concessions on both sides. Though both parties knew that the treaty would inspire dissatisfaction, at the time, they had no idea that it would eventually bring about a greater conflict in the form of a wildly controversial paramilitary organization known as the Maquis.

"It has taken us two centuries to find this place. We do not want to spend another 200 years searching for what we already have." — Anthwara, leader of the Native American colonists on Dorvan V

The seeds of the Maquis were planted only moments after the treaty was signed. Fleet Admiral Alynna Necheyev delivered the news to Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the starship U.S.S. Enterprise-D: the treaty re-defined the Federation/Cardassian border, putting several Federation colonies in Cardassian territory and vice versa. It also created a Demilitarized Zone along the border to serve as a buffer — neither side was allowed to put military outposts or warships in this area. The Admiral also gave Picard new orders. One of the Federation colonies on the border was Dorvan V, home to a group of North American Indians for 20 years. As the new boundaries put them in Cardassian territory, the colonists were to be informed of the treaty and evacuated. The captain could not help but express a measure of dismay at his mission — after all, this particular group of people founded their colony in order to preserve their unique culture. Still, he knew that he had to carry out his orders.

As expected, Picard and his crew encountered resistance from the colonists. Dorvan V, they argued, was more than a piece of land — it was their spiritual home. Both Picard and Necheyev attempted to re-open the issue of this particular colony with the Federation, but they were rebuffed. After a tense encounter between the colonists and the Cardassians, a solution was worked out: the colonists were allowed to stay, so long as they agreed to live under Cardassian jurisdiction. At the time, the Cardassian powers-that-be noted that if the colonists left the Cardassians alone, they would return the favor. Lieutenant Commander Calvin Hudson was assigned as Starfleet's attache to the Demilitarized Zone colonies, while the Cardassian Gul Evek was appointed as his counterpart. Though this seemed like a peaceful resolution to a rather tangled dilemma, it proved to be only the beginning of the conflict.

"Now do you begin to see, Commander, that without any help from either of us, they've managed to start their own little war out here." — Gul Dukat

"These people have a right to defend themselves. When the Federation said good-bye to them, they left them no other choice." — Calvin Hudson

Later that year, Commander Benjamin Sisko found himself embroiled in the Demilitarized Zone conflict. There was a personal aspect to his involvement — a theme that would soon be echoed by many who found themselves a part of this chapter in Federation history. A Cardassian freighter, the Bok'Nor, was destroyed by an implosive device as it was leaving Sisko's command, Deep Space Nine. Unbeknownst to Sisko and the Federation, the device was planted by a Federation colonist, William Samuels. Accompanied by Gul Dukat, Sisko paid a visit to the Volon Colonies in the Demilitarized Zone, only to discover evidence that a war was on the verge of breaking out — the commander witnessed Cardassian and Federation vessels engaged in a violent skirmish.

Slowly, a disturbing picture began to form. As the Federation colonies claimed to feel abandoned, evidence seemed to suggest that the Cardassian Central Command was supplying weapons to its Demilitarized Zone colonists. According to Hudson, the Cardassians were determined to force the Federation colonists out. The colonists, many of whom felt a special connection to their homes, decided that they would have to take matters into their own hands. In response to the increasing hostilities, they created an organization to combat the Cardassians: the Maquis. The organization was set up as a series of cells and only the cell leaders knew the location of the other cells. Their spacecraft was a hodgepodge of older ships, many of them obtained from Federation sources.

Like Picard, Sisko sympathized with the Federation colonists to some degree. The issue was compounded for him by his old friend Hudson, who joined the Maquis and tried to recruit Sisko to the cause. The commander refused, but still hoped to find a peaceful solution. In the end, he succeeded in at least one aspect. Once it was confirmed that Cardassian Central Command was smuggling weapons to their colonists, Sisko learned that the Maquis planned an attack on concealed weapons depot. Such a move would mean war, and would most definitely threaten the newly-minted treaty. Determined to keep the peace, Sisko headed off the Maquis at the pass, and managed to stop the attack. Still, he lost his friend Hudson, who opted to stay with the Maquis and was later killed.

"It's been a long time since I really felt like I belonged somewhere." — Ro Laren

Sisko wasn't the only Starfleet officer to develop a personal stake in the Maquis conflict. The organization proved to have a polarizing effect within Starfleet. Some officers, like Necheyev, saw the situation in black and white: the colonists chose their lot and it was a mistake to allow them to stay in the Demilitarized Zone in the first place. Others, like Sisko, couldn't help but sympathize — Earth, he once noted, is paradise, but out in the rougher areas of space, things aren't perfect yet. Still, he and other like-minded individuals couldn't condone the violence resorted to by the Maquis. Perhaps the Bok'Nor was smuggling weapons — its destruction still claimed innocent lives. Sisko also worried that the Maquis leaders were selling their members on a hopeless dream — that they would one day be able to return to their homes.

The cause of the Maquis proved to be a potent one, however, and appealed to a wide spectrum of individuals — even those who didn't live in the colonies in the first place. Lieutenant Ro Laren wasn't a colonist, but she eventually found herself sympathetic to the Maquis cause. Shortly after being promoted to Lieutenant, Ro was assigned by Necheyev and Picard to infiltrate a Maquis cell. Necheyev hoped that Ro would help the Federation shut the Maquis down, as Cardassia had delivered an ultimatum: force the organization to uphold the peace treaty, or the Cardassians would take matters into their own hands. As a Bajoran who survived the Cardassian occupation of her own homeworld, Ro had a perfect cover story — but in the end, this also made it easier for her to truly sympathize with the other cell members.

As she gained their trust, Ro found herself believing in the Maquis cause. Captain Picard attempted to use her to set a trap for the group, but in the end, she turned on Starfleet and saved the Maquis from being taken down. Ro's story is not unique: many Starfleet officers found themselves defecting to the Maquis, casting aside their commissions and their careers in order to support a cause they believed in. As the organization grew larger, however, it attracted all types — even those who weren't particularly politically-minded, like fighter pilot and disgraced Starfleet officer Tom Paris.

In 2371, another officer was sent undercover — Lieutenant Tuvok, who infiltrated the cell run by Chakotay, a former Starfleet officer. Chakotay's ship disappeared into the Badlands, a stretch of space along the Cardassian border that was considered dangerous for space travel because of its numerous plasma storms. The ship was pursued by Captain Kathryn Janeway, Tuvok's commanding officer, and her ship, the U.S.S. Voyager. Voyager and the Maquis ship were both abducted and brought to the Delta Quadrant, 70,000 light years from home. When the Maquis ship was destroyed, Starfleet and Maquis officers were forced to put aside their differences and join forces in order to find a way home. Janeway even integrated the two crews, appointing Chakotay as her first officer. Though the Maquis' renegade style often clashed with by-the-book Starfleet, the two crews actually managed to work and live together, eventually returning to the Alpha Quadrant seven years later.

"They're humans, just like you and me, and Starfleet took everything away from them. Remember that the next time you put on that uniform. There's a war out there and you're on the wrong side." — Michael Eddington, to Benjamin Sisko

While this group of Maquis was learning to get along with Starfleet, tensions remained high back in the Alpha Quadrant. By 2372, the Maquis were no longer considered Federation citizens. That same year, it was discovered that at least one Maquis defector had retained his Starfleet post, unbeknownst to his superiors. Michael Eddington served as a high-ranking security officer onboard Deep Space Nine while working undercover for the Maquis — he used his post to feed the Maquis information about Starfleet. He would eventually go on to become a Maquis leader. Eddington's true allegiance was discovered when he hijacked a shipment of Federation industrial replicators bound for Cardassia. He quickly escaped Starfleet and went into hiding, but the Federation had surely not heard the last of him.

In 2373, he launched an attack on the Cardassian colonies using biogenic weapons. Eddington enmeshed former commanding officer Sisko — now a captain — in a deadly game of cat and mouse. Finally, Sisko managed to apprehend Eddington by threatening to poison the atmosphere of a Maquis colony. Sisko actually carried through with his plan, forcing the colonists to evacuate. He threatened to do the same to every Maquis colony unless Eddington gave himself up. Eddington — who, like many of the Maquis, considered himself an innately noble man — surrendered.

Considering the passion of many members for the cause and the Maquis talent for getting by on rag-tag resources, it seemed like the group could have gone on fighting forever. In the end, though, they were undone by a force more powerful than their original Cardassian foes. Despite aid from the Klingon government, which provided the Maquis with cloaking devices, the organization was eventually wiped out by a force that would go on to threaten a considerable chunk of the galaxy. As tensions between various galactic factions mounted, the Cardassians found themselves allied with the Dominion, which proved to be an insurmountable foe. The majority of the Maquis were wiped out by the Dominion — over the course of three days, reports came in detailing their demise.

Only a small group of survivors made it out alive. Eddington's wife, Rebecca Sullivan, initiated a ruse to let her husband know that some of the Maquis had escaped. Rebecca sent word that the survivors planned to attack Cardassia. As Cardassia was under Dominion protection, such a plan would have surely resulted in all-out war. When Sisko caught wind of the false plan, he set out to find the Maquis survivors, taking Eddington with him. When the two mean reached their destination — Athos IV, a small planet located in the Badlands — Sisko learned the true nature of the message. Eddington and Sullivan knew that they needed Sisko to help the survivors escape, and concocted the false plan in order to get him there. Unfortunately, Sisko arrived too late — the Dominion had already sent Jem'Hadar soldiers, who slaughtered many of the remaining Maquis, leaving only a handful alive. In the end, Sisko and Eddington managed to evacuate the remaining Maquis, but Eddington died fighting off the Jem'Hadar.

"There could still be more of them out there, hiding from the Dominion, biding their time." — Benjamin Sisko
"You sound almost hopeful." — Jadzia Dax
"There is something attractive about a lost cause." — Sisko

The Maquis, it seems, died with Eddington. In the coming years, the Dominion War would consume the galaxy, forcing the Federation to experience violence and bloodshed on an even more gut-wrenching level.

Still, the Maquis conflict remains a dark and morally conflicted page in the Federation's past. This was a situation where right answers weren't always discernable, where protecting a home became a violent undertaking, where too many lives on both sides were lost. Friends turned against friends and Starfleet officers often found themselves more conflicted than ever before.

The Maquis members that did survive will always hold the memories of their compatriots close to their hearts. B'Elanna Torres, a former Maquis member who became part of the blended Voyager crew, was deeply saddened when she learned that her friends back in the Alpha Quadrant had been slaughtered by Cardassian/Dominion forces. The news plunged Torres into a deep depression, but she eventually realized that her comrades would live on, so long as she remembered them.

Perhaps that is the lesson we can all take away from this chaotic time — as long as we remember, we can only learn from it.