Star Trek: Voyager Proved How To Reform DS9’s Enemies

Star Trek: Voyager proved that one of Starfleet's enemies in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine could be reformed. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Maquis were a guerrilla resistance group started by civilians whose homes had been annexed by the Cardassians and disillusioned former Starfleet officers. The Federation considered the Maquis traitors, and vehemently pursued their capture.DS9's Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) had a particularly difficult time with Starfleet officer turned Maquis fighter Michael Eddington (Kenneth Marshall), and infamously resorted to poisoning the atmosphere of Eddington's safe haven in order to draw him out.

Captain Kathryn Janeway's (Kate Mulgrew) first mission as captain of the USS Voyager was to recover the Maquis raider ValJean from the Badlands after leaving DS9. When both Commander Chakotay's (Robert Beltran) ValJean and Voyager were swept to the Delta Quadrant, the Starfleet and Maquis crews needed to work together to get back home. Upon returning to the Alpha Quadrant, Star Trek: Voyager's Maquis crew members were pardoned for their crimes, having proven their dedication to the Federation. Chakotay was welcomed back into Starfleet, as were Lieutenants Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) and B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson).

Star Trek: Lower Decks Reveals A Starfleet Ship Is Crewed By Reformed Maquis

The Half-Maquis USS Voyager Crew Inspired The California-Class USS Reseda

In Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 6, "Of Gods and Angles", Ensign Olly (Saba Homayoon) is a recent transfer to the USS Cerritos from the USS Reseda. Lieutenant Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) notes that the USS Reseda is crewed entirely by reformed Maquis. Because the Maquis evolved out of disillusionment with the Federation's ideals, they attracted people who didn't really fit into Starfleet, but still had valuable skills and wanted to belong somewhere. An apparent rebel, Olly should've been at home among former Maquis, but she didn't work out on the Reseda, either.

Captain Janeway's tactics were likely employed by Starfleet when training former Maquis who had been welcomed back to Starfleet. Instead of writing off the Maquis as traitorous terrorists, Janeway took Commander Chakotay's suggestion to meet the Maquis for who they are. Because they were far from Federation space and recognized as people with genuine skill but unmet needs, most of Voyager's Maquis crew became willing to work with Janeway in return. In Star Trek: Lower Decks, Commander Jack Ransom (Jerry O'Connell) takes a similar approach to Mariner, who in turn gives that same kind of grace to Ensign Olly.

Why Star Trek: DS9’s Maquis Is No Longer A Threat In Lower Decks

After The Dominion War, Most Of The Maquis Are Dead

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Maquis are no longer a threat in Star Trek: Lower Decks because most of the active Maquis resistance cells were decimated during DS9's Dominion War. After suffering heavy losses to the Klingons, the Cardassians were positioned to join the Dominion in order to regain their former military power. As part of the Dominion, the Cardassians were able to easily wipe out the Maquis. The alliance didn't last, however, and the Cardassians were also attacked by the Dominion. Without their primary enemy, the Maquis lost their whole reason for fighting in the first place.

At the end of the Dominion War, the only surviving Maquis had either managed to evade the Dominion or served on the USS Voyager. Any former Maquis officers who still wanted to fight were pardoned and allowed to rejoin Starfleet. By the time Star Trek: Lower Decks' USS Reseda is revealed to be crewed entirely by former Maquis, the Dominion War has been over for 7 years. The cooperation between Starfleet and the Maquis in Star Trek: Voyager made it possible for ships like the USS Reseda to exist as havens for scrappy former Maquis officers who march to their own beats.