Star Trek: Everything We NOW Know About The 25th Century

Deep Space Nine went hard. That is perhaps the understatement of the century, but it does bear mention, as here we discuss one of Captain Sisko's war crimes of the week. In For The Uniform, Sisko's obsession with catching Michael Eddington, former security chief of Deep Space Nine and then-current head of the Maquis, leads him to poison the atmosphere of Solosos III. 

Though there were plenty of mitigating circumstances that led to Ben's decision, the fact is that Solosos III was unable to maintain life for fifty years, with that half-century coming to a close in 2423. The entire geography of the Alpha Quadrant has changed in the meantime.

When Sisko ordered those trilithium-loaded torpedoes into the planet's atmosphere, it was a colony used by displaced Federation citizens. Though the path to war was already paved by that point, the Dominion War had not truly erupted. This changed quickly. Dukat's deal to link the Cardassian Union and the Dominion is followed by the extermination of the Maquis and the annexation of the demilitarised zone.

Solosos III, being poisoned, didn't present any kind of target to their forces, but it was very much in their line of sight. With the cessation of hostilities and the redrawing of maps, Solosos III may find itself an untapped beacon in the 25th Century. Though the Maquis are long-gone at that point, there is no guarantee that the planet finds itself in Federation territory. It was a pawn in a Starfleet officer's gamble. Could this become a symbol of separation from that same organisation that tossed it aside?