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When we got our first glance at Deep Space Nine, it was not an impressive sight. A huge,
oddly shaped station hanging in space, it didn't look like a place Starfleet officers would
hang their hats. And the inside, all sharp lines and dim lights, didn't do anything to endear
the place to our hearts. But though it didn't look like much, it was place with a dark
history and later it'd be a place that would make history.
Deep Space Nine started out life as Terok Nor. It was a Cardassian station, built as a base from which the Cardassians could oversee their continuing occupation of the planet below, Bajor. It also served as an ore-processing centre using Bajoran workers as its enslaved labor force. The two races were kept largely segregated with the Bajoran population imprisoned behind fences. As the Cardassian occupation ended, and Terok Nor's Prefect, a man we'd later get to know well--Gul Dukat, and his forces departed, the station was abandoned to the Bajorans. However, not without the Cardassians thoroughly trashing the place first. As the fences came down and the clean-up began, Starfleet moved in. While technically owned by the Bajoran government, the Federation was asked to come in to run the station on Bajor's behalf. Thus was born the Federation outpost, Deep Space Nine (still called Terok Nor by its ex-owners). Soon after, with the discovery of the only known stable wormhole in the quadrant within Bajoran space, DS9 was moved form its original position in orbit of Bajor to a spot near the wormhole to strengthen Bajor's claim over it. As such, DS9 became both a symbol of Bajoran sovereignty, and an economic tool to bolster Bajor's economy. All the other races in the quadrant quickly began arriving on Bajor's doorstep wanting to go through the wormhole and explore the newly-accessible Gamma Quadrant. Deep Space Nine, originally a place of oppression, was transformed into a place of freedom for those who had once been caged inside its walls. Over the next several years, it would fend off attacks from other races, be a centre of war for opposing sides and see another occupation, and eventually serve as the birthplace of peace and renewed hope for a quadrant. This Bajoran-owned, Cardassian-designed, Federation-operated space station has seen much joy and suffering and many an adventure in its existence. And though its adventures are no longer available to us via TV, they will undoubtedly continue in our imaginations, and our dreams.
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