Maquis History

(Note: As the Maquis denounced their Federation citizenship, I had not included them in the Federation section as they were not Federation citizens)

The Maquis originate in a long history of Cardassian/Federation conflict. The Cardassians and the Federation have been to war in the 2350s and many Federation citizens have a deep distrust of Cardassians which breaches on racism. However despite this during the 2360s there was a cooling down of relations between the Cardassians and Federation. In 2366, 2367 and then most importantly 2370, three treaties were signed between the two powers. However the latter treaty included some extensive dividing up of the borders. Federation colonies found themselves in Cardassian space, Cardassian colonies similarly found themselves in Federation space. The Federation colonists extremely objected to this. They had spent years building up new lives for themselves, only to have a Federation which seemed to have nothing to do with them, hand it over to a species which they disliked, and some even hated. Soon after the Maquis were set up. The Maquis started a string of terrorist attacks, mainly against the Cardassians, but also occasionally against Starfleet ships attempting to hurt the Maquis or protect the Cardassians. Despite this the Maquis weren't really known of by the public until a few months later. At this time a Cardassian Freighter, the Bok'Nor, was docked at Federation Station Deep Space 9, when it was destroyed. The Cardassians blamed the Maquis, as proof they produced a video of Federation Colonist William Samuels, admitting responsibility for the act. Unfortunately Samuels had died in Cardassian captivity, apparently of 'suicide'. Cardassian official, Gul Dukat, who was assisting DS9 Commander, Commander Benjamin Sisko, with his investigation in an unofficial capacity was abducted by the Maquis. Sisko rescued Dukat by force. During the rescue the two uncovered evidence that the Cardassian Central Command was supplying the Cardassians on the border with weapons, in direct contradiction of the 2370 treaty. Sisko and Dukat then foiled an attack on a Cardassian weapons depot, which would of surely lead to a Cardassian-Federation war. The news of the Maquis slowly spread over the Federation. Officially, Starfleet, the Federation and the Cardassians saw them as terrorists. Many Federation citizens and Starfleet officers, saw them as heroes, many sympathised with the Maquis. An example of this is the story of one Starfleet officer. Near the end of 2370 Lieutenant (SG) Ro Laren, a Bajoran member of Starfleet, who had recently completed Starfleet's Advanced Tactical Training program, and had been assigned to the USS Enterprise-D was asked to infiltrate a Maquis cell, posing as a fugitive, fleeing from Starfleet having killed a Cardassian, Ro was invited to join a cell. She learned of an impending pre-emptive strike against a rumoured Cardassian shipment of biogenic weapons. Ro proved how trustworthy she was by assisting in the absconding of medical supplies from the Enterprise. As a result she was assigned to help a Maquis force in a Starfleet ambush. At the last minute, Ro felt guilt about her actions, and helping to imprison her new friends. She aborted the operation and helped her friends run from the trap, ending her Starfleet career. In 2371 a Maquis ship went missing in the Demilitarised Zone. The ship, commanded by one Captain Chakotay, went missing and was assumed destroyed. Little did Starfleet know, that this vessels crew, would turn out to be the last remaining Maquis. Near the end of 2372 the Federation got ready to deliver twelve industrial replicators to the Cardassian government, they placed them on DS9. Using Freighter Captain Kasidy Yates, who supplied the Maquis as a distraction a Maquis operative, a Lieutenant Commander Michael Eddington, chief of Starfleet Security aboard the station. Helped reveal her connection to the Maquis. Many of the stations senior staff proceeded aboard the USS Defiant to follow Yates ship, the Xhosa. Meanwhile Eddington was left onboard and in command. Pretending Starfleet had ordered the movement of the replicators, Eddington used Starfleet personnel on the station to move the replicators into Maquis hands. Yates was arrested but Eddington escaped and became the traitor whom all Starfleet chased. Eddington eventually rose to become the leader of the Maquis. Around halfway through 2373, Sisko once again encountered Eddington. He left the Defiant crippled and Sisko, humiliated. Eddington attacked Cardassian colonies in the Demilitarised Zone with a biogenic weapon. In retaliation Sisko used a similar agent on a Maquis colony, an offence against Starfleet regulations, Eddington agreed to hand himself over if Sisko stopped it. Sisko agreed and Eddington was arrested into custody. Two weeks later the Cardassian Union joined the Dominion. The Dominion wiped out every Maquis within Cardassian borders or so it seemed. The Maquis had been ready to declare themselves an independant state, but they had been robbed of that chance. However not all the Maquis died. Later that year Sisko received an intercepted Maquis message intended for Eddington. It stated that as a last resort the few remaining Maquis had launched missiles which would devastate Cardassia Prime and perhaps start a chain of events leading to war with the Dominion (Note: Please take note that this was before the Dominion War started, or the Federation had protection from Phased Polaron Beams). Taking Eddington with him, he went to find the base from which the missiles were launched. Evading Jem'Hadar Sisko and Eddington made it towards the base from which the missiles were launched. They eventually found the remaining Maquis after running through corridors of Eddington's former comrades-in-arms who had been shot by Jem'Hadar. Eddington revealed there were no missiles. It was a way to tell him that there were Maquis at the secret fall back base, and to attempt a rescue. Unfortunately the Jem'Hadar had found it first. Sisko evacuated the remaining Maquis, but Eddington stayed behind, and died valiantly attempting to save them. The few Maquis that remained lived out lives in the Federation, many were imprisoned. The very last free Maquis returned aboard the USS Voyager in 2377, after it's historic 7 year journey in the Delta Quadrant. The fate of those Maquis remains in the balance. The Federation is still considering whether to give them a full pardon, or to imprison them.