Feds In A Pickle

At the transition from season one to season two, across the span of four episodes (In the Hands of the Prophets, The Homecoming, The Circle, and The Siege), the Federation presence on DS9 has too deal with the challenges of an insurgent social movement and a possible coup d'etat on Bajor.

For the Feds, this is troubling because they want to Bajorans to become the newest members of the United Federation of Planets, while the revolt on the planet (along with some ancillary attacks on the station) are being orchestrated by a xenophobic group called the Circle who want to get rid of the Feds. They see the Federation in many ways as a wolf in sheep's clothing and a substitute occupier to replace the recently departed Cardassians.

At the center of this power grab is a power vacuum left behind by the last Kai (the planet's religious leader). In the running are two Vedeks (priests): Vedek Winn, the socially conservative, ultra-orthodox and scheming and Vedek Bareil, the liberal, charismatic and wise. The actual election doesn't take place until near the end of season two but it is the run-up to the election that sets the scene for the these four episodes.

Religion plays a big role and the season one finally in particular demonstrates rather effectively how an ambitious and calculating individual can misappropriate scripture, manipulate spiritual fears and use dogma as a tool to their own political ends. Vedek Winn begins a crusade against the Federation's scientific teachings about the wormhole which she claims to be the "Celestial Temple." The anti-federation sentiment that brews aboard the station leads to the bombing of the school. Later we learn that this was all a ploy to lure her main opponent in the election, Vedek Bareil, to the station to have him assassinated.

Long story made short, Bareil survives the attempt but Winn and a politician named Jaro conspire to overthrow the Provisional Government through its manipulation of the military and their control of the Circle. What they don't realize is that the arms being supplied to the Circle are actually coming from the Cardassians through an intermediary. The duplicitous Cardassians have an interest in seeing the removal of the Federation so that they can come back and take over a still-weak Bajor. The Feds luckily catch wind of this, but they have orders not to interfere with the coup as it would go against the Prime Directive.

Evidence of the Cardassians' involvement is secreted away by the Bajoran liason officer, Kira Nerys, and in an act of defiance, Commander Benjamin Sisko chooses to interpret his orders loosely and remain aboard the station with his senior staff to stall and impede the Bajoran boarding party long enough for the evidence to reach the PD.

Federation efforts were successful and the coup was stopped in its tracks. But what if Sisko had obeyed his orders to the letter? What if they had allowed the coup to proceed and evacuated the station? Undoubtedly the most important location in the galaxy would have been retaken by the Cardassians and the Bajorans would return to being subjected to occupation and war. Later, as the Dominion War occurs, the Federation would be at an much weaker position and would be more likely to lose, ending an era of freedom, peace, prosperity and multicultural tolerance (not to mention a franchise).

So, realism rules the day in this collection of episodes. The Prime Directive proved inadequate in protecting the Federation and its allies. Only in disobeying it was the Federation able to maintain their strategic hold on the region and later survive the coming war.