The date: 2369. After 60 years, war-torn Bajor finally wins its freedom from a brutal occupation by Cardassia. Weak but wary, Bajor's new provisional government invites Starfleet to oversee and defend an old Cardassian mining station in orbit. In hopes that aiding Bajor will one day lead to its joining the Federation, Starfleet assigns Commander Benjamin Sisko to head the station, now dubbed Deep Space Nine. A single father still bitter over the loss of his wife in battle, Sisko is not happy about the mission — until he discovers a stable nearby wormhole to the distant Gamma Quadrant and meets its builders, the aliens worshipped by Bajorans as "The Prophets." Overnight, the station becomes a strategic hub of commerce and exploration where Sisko and his crew must help heal Bajor, keep Cardassia at bay, and handle whatever unknowns might be lurking just beyond the wormhole.