Sisko has been told by his mother that he must walk in the path that the prophets have laid out for him, which may mean not marrying Kasidy. Kai Winn visits Benjamin and he tells her a bit about his vision. Once she leaves, she receives her first vision and is told that the Sisko has strayed from the path and that she must put Bajor on the right path again.
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.