As a training exercise for Bajoran admission to the Federation, Deep Space Nine has been put under the complete management of Bajor. At first, Major Kira is delighted when her people are put in charge - until she learns that Kai Winn will be taking personal command of the station.
Meanwhile on the Defiant, Sisko and his crew rush to the aid of a peaceful, highly advanced planet facing invasion by not-so-peaceful neighbors. With the Defiant damaged, Sisko must find a way to rally the inhabitants to their own defense.
On the station, Kai Winn is facing an invasion of her own from hostile alien forces not unlike the Cardassians who tormented Bajor in her youth. Reaching into the past for strength, Kai Winn recalls her moments of greatest triumph and greatest danger while in the Bajoran resistance.