Jake comes to his father for advice on where to take a Bajoran girl on a first date, his first ever. Unfortunately, Commander Sisko's time as head of Deep Space Nine is at a crossroads. Now, Major Kira brings him news that a Cardassian labor camp is still holding Bajorans on Cardassia IV. One of the prisoners is a man, thought to be dead, who could reunite Bajor. Kira requests a Runabout in order to rescue the Bajorans from their illegal imprisonment. Meanwhile, an ultra-nationalistic Bajoran group called The Circle makes their presence known on DS9.
When the Cardassian occupation of Bajor ended in 2369, the mining space station Terok Nor was left abandoned, its systems ripped out. By invitation of the Bajoran provisional government, Starfleet stepped in to oversee the rebuilding and day-to-day operations of the newly christened Deep Space Nine.
The years of Starfleet's nonintervention into Cardassian matters, however, had taken its toll on relations with the Bajorans. Consequently, Starfleet's position was a tenuous one; many Bajorans, suspicious and hostile as a result of decades of Cardassian oppression and brutality, did not greet the Federation's presence with open arms. The Federation's assistance is put to the test as DS9 becomes a center of travel and commerce that stretches into the Gamma Quadrant.