Online Encyclopedia
Maquis (Star Trek)
The Maquis were an organization of Federation-born colonists who organized against the Cardassian occupation of their homes in the Demilitarized Zone, after their colonies were ceded to the Cardassian Union by the Treaty of 2370 . The term maquis comes from a name for groups of the French Resistance that fought the German occupation during the Second World War.
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Background
The roots of the Maquis insurrection can be traced back to the 2350s during the Cardassian wars . The Federation and the Cardassians settled a large number of Class M planets in close proximity to each other, and the issue of ownership of these colonies — as well as their security — became the causes of war. Although the Federation relinquished claims to all planets occupied by Cardassian colonies, the Cardassians sought to annex several crucial worlds along the border, including Minos Korva and Setlik III . (TNG: "The Wounded ", "Chain of Command, Part I ")
Despite the risks of settling on worlds close to the Cardassian border, many Federation citizens, especially Humans, chose to settle on the fertile worlds in the region. Colonies including Volon II , Volon III , Saltok IV , Umoth VII , and others became thriving outposts of Federation civilization, but also became targets for the Cardassian military.
By the mid-2360s , the wars had settled into an effective stalemate, with neither side gaining advantage in terms of firepower or territory. Finally, in 2367 a truce was established, that enforced an end to active hostilities but left many of the major questions of the conflict unresolved.
Seeds of Resistance
It took another three years for a final peace treaty to be negotiated, and although the questions of territory were finally settled, neither side was entirely happy with the solution. The Treaty of 2370 established a new Demilitarized Zone (also known as the DMZ), from which all large warships belonging to either side were excluded.
Much more controversial, however, was the exchange of colonies which was to take place. The treaty stipulated that each side would transfer ownership of certain worlds. The inhabitants of those worlds would be resettled elsewhere beforehand. Despite the vehement protests of many colony leaders, the Federation Council signed the treaty. Starfleet was given the task of evacuating the colonists from their homes and transporting them to other worlds.
Starfleet immediately met with resistance, however. One of the first worlds slated to be evacuated was Dorvan V , a world settled in 2350 by a group of American Indians. The Indians claimed that they had a special, spiritual connection to their world, and refused to be evacuated. USS Enterprise-D captain Jean-Luc Picard attempted to negotiate an agreement with the settlers, but they steadfastly refused to leave. Violence nearly broke out when Picard attempted to evacuate the settlers by force.
Ultimately, an agreement was made, whereby the Dorvan colonists were permitted to remain in their colony under Cardassian jurisdiction. The arrangement was approved by Gul Evek , the Cardassian official in charge of affairs in the Demilitarized Zone. (TNG: "Journey's End ")
Following the Dorvan agreement, colonists on many other worlds also refused to abandon their homes and demanded to be permitted to stay on their colonies. Both the Federation Council and the Cardassian Central Command acquiesced.
Civil Unrest
However, the resolution of the dispute did not prove to be a practical solution. Although Starfleet assigned an attaché, Lt. Commander Calvin Hudson , to the Demilitarized Zone, resentment began to fester as hardships mounted. Although the Cardassian government had officially pledged to leave the Federation colonists alone, a wide campaign of oppression began at practically the same time. Food replicators were poisoned, mobs were organized, and general harassment of the Federation colonists made life difficult at best.
At the same time, the Central Command secretly began arming their own colonists on the Federation side of the Demilitarized Zone. By shipping the weapons through intermediaries such as the Lissepian s, they managed to avoid the attention of Starfleet. The Cardassian colonists mounted the weapons — including Galor-class heavy disruptors — onto shuttlecraft-sized vessels and used them to attack Federation interests.
The Federation colonists would not accept these attacks passively. While Starfleet conducted "official" investigations into the situation, the colonists banded together into underground paramilitary cells, and began acquiring weapons of their own through the black market. These weapons were mounted on Federation-designed shuttles and couriers and used to defend against the Cardassian colonists' attacks. The Demilitarized Zone was becoming very militarized.
Open Conflict
The first open attack by the Maquis, as the Federation paramilitary groups came to be known, was against the Cardassian freighter Bok'Nor at outpost Deep Space 9. The Bok'Nor was suspected of running weapons to the Cardassian colonists in the DMZ. Maquis sympathizer William Samuels planted an implosive protomatter device on the Bok'Nor's hull, causing a catastrophic overload in the fusion reactor, destroying the ship.
Barely a week later, Gul Dukat was abducted from Deep Space 9 by Maquis operatives, and taken to a class-M asteroid in the Badlands. DS9 commander Benjamin Sisko pursued, and discovered that the Maquis cell involved was led by Calvin Hudson , the Starfleet attaché and a personal friend. (DS9: "The Maquis, Part I ") Sisko was eventually successful in rescuing Dukat from the Maquis.
Based on intelligence obtained from Sakonna , a former Maquis member who had been influential in purchasing many of the group's ships and weapons, Sisko determined that the Maquis were planning to attack a suspected weapons depot on Bryma , a former Cardassian colony. In order to prevent the possible outbreak of a new full-scale war, Sisko intercepted the Maquis attack (which was led by his friend Hudson) and forced them to retreat.
Meanwhile, after the shipments of weapons to the Cardassian colonies were exposed, the Central Command officially denied all involvement in the matter. Legate Parn placed the blame on Dukat (who was in the custody of the Maquis at the time) and a small cadre of "misguided" offiicials. Dukat later observed that he was simply used as a scapegoat to deflect the blame for the violation of the treaty away from the Central Command. (DS9: "The Maquis, Part II ")
Although full-scale war was avoided, the Demilitarized Zone was quickly becoming a hotbed of conflict. Now that both sides' civilian colonists possessed advanced weaponry, an underground war broke out without any direct involvement from either the Cardassian or the Federation fleets.
Growing Problem
In the following weeks and months, the tension continued to mount as both sides continued arming themselves for their underground war. Despite the best efforts of both Starfleet and the Central Command, the rival paramilitary groups continued to obtain weaponry through backdoor channels. Although both the Cardassians and the Federation accused the other of secretly lending official sanction to their respective colonists, these allegations were never conclusively proven.
Late in 2370 , the Cardassians launched an elaborate scheme to attempt to discredit the Federation's policies and to establish grounds to invade the DMZ to eliminate the Maquis. They attempted to portray the Maquis as "savage, Federation-born killers" who were operating with secret but official sanction from Starfleet Command. Using an undercover operative who had assumed the guise of former Starfleet officer Raymond Boone , the Cardassians planted a cache of photon torpedo warheads stolen from Deep Space 9 aboard a runabout piloted by Miles O'Brien, DS9's chief of operations . When the runabout was subsequently intercepted by a Cardassian patrol ship , the photon warheads provided sufficient grounds to arrest O'Brien and charge him with attempting to smuggle weapons to the Maquis. The Cardassians staged an elaborate trial under their traditional laws , loudly proclaiming O'Brien guilty of anti-Cardassian crimes and sentencing him to death. However, this ruse was ultimately discredited when the operative disguised as Boone was discovered on DS9 and taken to Cardassia Prime, and O'Brien was released. (DS9: "Tribunal")
By the end of the year, a precarious stalemate had developed inside the Demilitarized Zone. However, the Maquis continued to gain strength, and continued to launch attacks against Cardassian and neutral shipping in the region. In one of their boldest offensives, a Maquis cell launched a massive attack against Gul Evek's flagship, the Vetar , crippling it before being driven off by the Enterprise-D. (TNG: "Preemptive Strike ")
As critical as the Maquis' offensives were, even more embarrassing were the continued stream of Starfleet officers who resigned their commissions in the Federation to join the Maquis in their fight against the Cardassians. The Maquis managed to portray themselves as the innocent victims, with their homes under attack and supposedly carelessly given away by the Federation authorities. In addition to Calvin Hudson , other Starfleet officers such as Ro Laren, Chakotay, and Thomas Riker also resigned or deserted their posts to fight "the good fight".
However, the Maquis were not satisfied with the delicate and armed stalemate that had developed. Thanks to the influx of personnel and unofficial support, the Maquis began expanding their operations to include larger targets. Thanks to sympathizers, they also managed to evade almost every trap that Starfleet laid for them outside the Demilitarized Zone. And thanks to the treaty, both Starfleet and the Cardassians were unable to send in sufficient armaments to eradicate them.
The Orias Assault
One of the Maquis' most daring assaults occurred in early 2371 . Former Starfleet officer Thomas Riker posed as his doppelgänger William T. Riker and boarded Deep Space 9. Using his counterpart's passwords and access codes, Riker gained access to the USS Defiant , Starfleet's most powerful warship, then assigned to DS9. Using a fake warp core breach as a diversion, Riker beamed aboard several Maquis personnel from the station, hijacking the ship.
Once the Defiant escaped into the Demilitarized Zone, the Maquis launched an elaborate offensive against Cardassian military outposts along the border. However, the purpose of the attacks was simply as a diversion — using the Defiant's cloaking device, Riker piloted the ship past the border patrols and launched a series of random attacks against the interior of Cardassian space.
The Maquis' true objective was as surprising as it was unconventional. Riker's cell had received intelligence reports that a faction of the Cardassian government was secretly building a fleet in the Orias System , outside of the authority of the Central Command. Believing the force to be intended for an "unofficial" assault against the DMZ, the Maquis sought to destroy this new force before it could be used against them.
However, Riker had not anticipated the presence of active warships operating out of Orias yet. As the Defiant approached Orias, pursued by ten Galor-class warships, it was confronted by six Keldon-class heavy cruisers emerging from the system. With both his advance and retreat blocked, Riker opted to surrender. In a deal brokered by Commander Sisko and Gul Dukat, Riker agreed to stand trial on Cardassia, while the remainder of the Maquis were turned over to Federation authorities, and the Defiant returned to Starfleet control. (DS9: "Defiant ")
(Ironically, the secret fleet in the Orias System — which was being built by the Cardassian Obsidian Order — was not intended to fight the Maquis at all, but rather was aimed at launching a surprise attack against the Dominion.) (DS9: "Improbable Cause ")
Consolidating Strength
Over the next two years, the Maquis managed to not only survive, but to expand their influence and consolidate their position inside the Demilitarized Zone. The Maquis' good fortune came in large part thanks to massive upheavals inside the Cardassian empire. Following the destruction of the Obsidian Order the previous year (c.f. DS9: "The Die is Cast "), the Cardassian dissident movement managed to overthrow the Central Command and place power in the civilian Detapa Council .
The situation in the Demilitarized Zone changed drastically with the sudden onset of the Klingon-Cardassian War in early 2372. The Klingon Empire launched a major assault against the Cardassian Union, acting under the belief that the recent revolution had been engineered by the Dominion. The Klingon invasion led to the occupation of more than a dozen outlying colonies, the destruction of a large portion of the Cardassian fleet, and massive damage to the Union's industrial infrastructure. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior", "Rules of Engagement")
With the Cardassians' eye turned inward and their military reduced to a third-rate power, the Maquis had nearly free reign of the DMZ. Additionally, the Klingons formed a secret, informal alliance with the Maquis. Aside from providing material assistance, the Klingons also provided the Maquis with thirty class-4 cloaking devices to mount on their ships. (DS9: "Blaze of Glory ")
The June Offensive
The Maquis' greatest victories, however, came under the leadership of Michael Eddington. Eddington was a former Starfleet officer, a Lieutenant Commander assigned to command the Security detachment stationed on DS9. In late 2372, Eddington defected to the Maquis, taking with him a shipment of 12 industrial replicator s that were part of a Federation relief shipment bound for Cardassia. (DS9: "For the Cause ")
In June of 2373 , the Maquis attacked on two freighters carrying selenium and rhodium nitrite . Using the materials from those captured cargos, the Maquis created a large cache of cobalt diselenide — a biogenic agent deadly to Cardassians. Eddington attacked the Cardassian colonies on Veloz Prime and Quatal Prime , poisoning the biospheres and making the planets uninhabitable for Cardassians. The Maquis announced their intention to "reclaim" those planets for themselves, and to launch similar attacks against all other Cardassian colonies inside the Demilitarized Zone.
At the same time, Starfleet was vigilantly but fruitlessly pursuing Eddington, seeking to bring him to justice for his treason. Eddington attacked and disabled both the USS Defiant and the USS Malinche in separate engagements. Thus provoked, the Captain Sisko launched his own offensive inside the DMZ, in an attempt to capture Eddington. Sisko attacked the Maquis colony on Solosos III , using trilithium resin to poison the planet's atmosphere and make it uninhabitable for Humans for the next fifty years. Sisko then announced his intention to poison every single Maquis colony in order to end the Maquis threat. Horrified, Eddington turned over the remaining biogenic weapons and surrendered himself to Starfleet in order to prevent such an attack. (DS9: "For the Uniform ")
Sudden Death
Barely a month later, Gul Dukat made the startling announcement that the Cardassian Union had agreed to become a part of the Dominion. The Cardassian military was immediately occupied by a large fleet of Jem'Hadar warships that entered the Alpha Quadrant through the Bajoran wormhole.
Dukat, as the new leader of Cardassia, announced a grand offensive against all of Cardassia's enemies, being primarily the Klingons and the Maquis. Dukat vowed to eliminate every last Maquis colony inside Cardassian territory within the space of three days. With the Jem'Hadar as allies, the Cardassians made good on that threat. Ignoring the treaty's restrictions, they launched a massive invasion of the Demilitarized Zone, rapidly and efficiently wiping out every Maquis colony. The Maquis attempted to put up a valiant fight, but the small raiders and fighters they possessed were hardly a match for the fearsome Jem'Hadar attack ship s. (DS9: "By Inferno's Light ")
In the aftermath of the Cardassian and Dominion offensive, only small pockets of Maquis remained, isolated and completely impotent. Aside from those Maquis who had been captured by the Federation and imprisoned, the largest group of survivors were from Eddington's former cell on Athos IV — and even then, only a few dozen members managed to survive. (DS9: "Blaze of Glory ") Chakotay's Maquis band had also survived on Voyager in the Delta Quadrant.
Aftermath
Only months after the utter destruction of the Maquis, the Federation was plunged into the Dominion War. The Maquis insurrection will be remembered as one of the primary causes leading to the war, albeit in an indirect way. The Maquis cause, though temporarily successful, had made the Cardassians so desperate that they were willing to sacrifice their independence for the security offered by the Dominion.
The Maquis cause remains controversial even after its demise; opinions differ on whether the Maquis could ultimately have succeeded in repelling the Cardassians from the Demilitarized Zone and establishing their own independent state. Although they had the Cardassians on the run in early 2373 and victory appeared within reach, many argue that it is unlikely that the Maquis would have succeeded even had the Dominion not annexed Cardassia. Thus, in the aftermath of the Maquis' destruction, many Starfleet officers viewed the movement as a grand, and perhaps noble, lost cause.
External Links
Maquis entry at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek WikiWiki