Star Trek’s TNG-Era Villains, the Maquis, Explained

Introduced in Star Trek: The Next GenerationIn the 24th century era, the Maquis were more complex than many Star Trek villains. Like many science fiction sagas, Star Trek often drew clear lines between good guys and bad guys. Captains like James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) had strong morals, even outside of Starfleet rules and regulations. However, as the television landscape changed and storytelling styles changed, morally gray characters and antiheroes became more common.

With the debut of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in 1993 and Star Trek: Voyager In 1995, the world Star Trek: The Next Generation expanded and became more interconnected. The Maquis were introduced in DS9, for example, but the resistance group played an important role in the stories of both TNG and Traveler. Maquis members came from all over the Alpha Quadrant, united by their common goal of opposing the Cardassian Union. Many of them were good people who felt abandoned by Starfleet, making it difficult to fit the Maquis into the villain category.

Who were the maquis in Star Trek: TNG era?

The Maquis were resistance fighters considered traitors by the Federation

The Maquis were a group of resistance fighters who organized to oppose the Cardassian occupation of their homes in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Following the Cardassian Federation Treaties in the late 2360s and early 2370s, several colonies in the DMZ were ceded to the Cardassian Union, although Federation colonists still lived there. Many of these colonists joined with disillusioned former Starfleet officers to form the Maquis. Labeled a traitor by Starfleet and a terrorist by the Cardassians, the Maquis used a variety of tactics to oppose the occupation.

As Starfleet attaché to the DMZ, Lieutenant Commander Calvin Hudson (Bernie Casey) saw firsthand how the Cardassians treated Federation citizens in the colonies along the Cardassian border. Although Hudson took his concerns to Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) on Deep Space Nine, the newly formed Maquis took matters into his own hands when Starfleet was too slow to respond. Hudson was one of the first Starfleet officers to become a Maquis leader and insisted that his people wanted peace above all else, but could not sit by while their homes were destroyed.

Although the Maquis knew that Cardassian Central Command had supplied weapons to Cardassian settlers on these borders, the Cardassian Union denied any involvement. Without Starfleet support, the Maquis began to wage an underground war with the Cardassians within the DMZ. Initially, Starfleet considered the Maquis little more than a nuisance, but they quickly became a much bigger problem. The Maquis achieved many of their greatest victories under the command of Michael Eddington (Kenneth Marshall), a former Starfleet security officer.

Which Star Trek characters joined the Maquis?

Some former Starfleet officers chose to use their skills for the Maquis

As the Maquis resistance movement began to gain strength, more and more Starfleet officers became sympathetic to their cause. The Maquis were introduced in the aptly titled Star Trek: Deep Space Nine two parts of the second season, “The Maquis”, which saw Calvin Hudson became the first Starfleet officer viewers watched defect to the Maquis. Later DS9, Michael Eddington worked as Chief of Starfleet Security on the space station for a year and a half before joining the Maquis, which Captain Sisko considered a personal betrayal.

In Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 7, Episode 24, ‘Preemptive Strike’, Lieutenant Ro Laren infiltrated a Maquis cell and began to question his loyalty to Starfleet. At the end, Ro found a place among the Maquis and left Starfleet, expressing his regret for disappointing Picard. Commander William Riker’s (Jonathan Frakes) transporter clone, Thomas Riker, also joined the Maquis because “people are dying in the DMZ and Starfleet isn’t doing anything about it.” After stealing DS9’s USS Defiant, Riker was captured and sent to a Cardassian labor camp.

Maquis’ plot spilled over into the premiere of Star Trek: Voyager as Captain Kathryn Janeway’s (Kate Mulgrew) first mission was to locate the missing Maquis ship, the Val Jean. Janeway recruited Tom Paris (who had previously been involved with the Marquis) to be part of her crew, and Chakotay and B’Elanna Torres served aboard the Val Jean. After Voyager became stranded in the Delta Quadrant and the Val Jean was destroyed, members of the Maquis were integrated into Voyager’s crew.

What happened to the Maquis after Star Trek: DS9 and Voyager?

The Maquis were almost exterminated by the Dominion

Under the leadership of Michael Eddington, the Maquis launched more significant attacks against the Cardassians. Captain Sisko remained dogged in his pursuit of Eddington until he forced the former security officer to surrender, threatening all Maquis colonies. Eddington was killed shortly after his capture. When the Cardassian Union agreed to become part of the Dominion, they gained access to Jem’Hadar warships. Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo) then launched a massive offensive against the Cardassian’s enemies, including the Maquis. With such superior weapons, the Cardassians destroyed all Maquis settlements in the DMZ, effectively putting an end to the resistance group.

The largest group of former Maquis members were on the USS Voyager in the Delta Quadrant, and they were devastated when they learned of their friends’ fate. The few remaining Maquis members in the Alpha Quadrant were left scattered or in Federation prisons. Despite their inferior ships and technology, the Maquis proved to be a significant threat in the Alpha Quadrant for several years before the Dominion eliminated them. With their understandable frustration with Starfleet, the Maquis were unique among Star Trek villains, making their stories even more attractive.

• Release date

  September 28, 1987
  

  Seasons

  7

  Presenter

  Gene Roddenberry

• Release date

  January 3, 1993
  

  Seasons

  7

  Presenter

  Michael Piller, Ira Steven Behr

• Cast

  Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson, Robert Duncan McNeill, Ethan Phillips, Robert Picardo, Tim Russ, Garrett Wang, Majel Barrett, Jeri Ryan, Jennifer Lien, Scarlett Pomers, Martha Hackett, Tarik Ergin, Manu Intiraymi, Nancy Hower, Alexander Enberg, Dwight Schultz, Josh Clark, Simon Billig

  Release date

  January 16, 1995
  

  Seasons

  7

  Presenter

  Michael Piller, Jeri Taylor, Brannon Braga, Kenneth Biller