Another Bajoran Gratitude Festival has arrived and, despite the Dominion War, Deep Space Nine celebrates the occasion. Things are not all joyous, however, as Odo has arrested a Vedek for a trivial criminal offense that Major Kira has trouble understanding and a rift has arisen between them. Meanwhile, while receiving another award for meritorious service, Captain Sisko is informed that the Federation, along with the Romulans, will commence an invasion of Cardassia with the Captain as the leader of the offensive.
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.