Star Trek : The Maquis

Every once in a while, Star Trek,

especially 90s Trek, showed us some

cracks in Rodenberry's vision of a

united humanity spreading enlightened

liberalism across the stars. One of

those cracks, the Machi, suggests a lot

more cumulatively than any given episode

featuring them plainly shows. It's a

slow build story arc. In the fourth

season of Star Trek: The Next

Generation, the episode The Wounded

introduces the Kardashians, a militant

and authoritarian state that fought a

war with the Federation some years

before. Chief O'Brien and Captain

Peicard are both veterans of that war.

The peace treaty, framed as being quite

recent, involves seeding several

Federation planets along the border.

It has been nearly a year since a peace

treaty ended the long conflict between

the Federation and Kardashia.

This is the first we hear about it, and

when a Kardashian ship attacks the

Enterprise, it's brushed off as an

annoyance, suggesting that this wasn't a

conflict that threatened the survival of

the Federation, but rather a regional

bit of interstellar fisticuffs. However,

season 4 began with that incident at

Wolf 359 where Starfleet got stomped by

the Borg.

Jeanluke,

I don't have to tell you the Federation

is not prepared for a new sustained

conflict.

You must preserve the peace no matter

what the cost.

They don't have enough ships to maintain

prior levels of power projection.

Something had to give. Calming the

cardies down frees up ships for bigger

problems. But Captain Maxwell, O'Brien's

CEO during the war, is convinced that

the Kardashians are violating the terms

of the treaty by arming their colonists

for raids against the Federation

settlers and goes rogue to catch them in

the act.

You must think I've gone mad.

Thought had occurred. It seems there's a

disconnect between what some in

Starfleet see happening and what the

Federation state says is happening.

Maxwell was right. Those ships were not

carrying scientific equipment, were

they?

This thread is built up over a few other

episodes as well. Most notably, Journeys

End, where the Enterprise is sent to

relocate a colony of American Indians

living on a planet being handed over to

the Kardashians, and Enson Row, getting

into what bastards the Spoon heads were

during the occupation of Bear. While Tre

has stories about Federation citizens

resisting relocation prior to this

thread, one of the most direct parallels

being the Next Generation episode,

Incense of Command, the Mache thread

really starts to take shape in Deep

Space 9 with the two-parter, The Mache.

It opens with a shot of one of the

generic alien ship models that turn up

over and over throughout track. We first

saw this one in Star Trek 3, if I

remember correctly. This time it has

Kardashian markings. A shifty fella in a

Starfleet jumpsuit does a little

tampering and the ship explodes on its

way out.

It's not very wellleveraged terrorism.

At first glance, the Machi don't make a

lot of sense. Yet, if we think of them

as displaced Federation citizens in the

context of the society that Tre

presents, there's a whole new layer to

it because the Federation is stable,

comfortable, smoothly governed by well

understood rules. And that's the

environment that these people exist

within. Even as frontier colonists, they

still have abundant food, climate

controlled housing, soft beds, and the

like. They might see themselves as

Daniel Boone, but the truth is they're

glamping long term. When they get left

behind, they discover

there's a lot they don't know. When the

Machini need to acquire weapons, they

don't know how to go about it. So, one

of them asks Quark.

Fangi are shady. He'll know some gun

runners, right? Meanwhile, an old friend

of Commander Cisco, also the

Starfleet's add a shade to the

Federation colonies in the new

demilitarized zone,

is there to help the investigation

consult so the story can happen. Let's

just handwave that this is a story about

armed smugglers in a world with

replicators for a moment because the

core of this story is a much more

interesting thread to tug on. This isn't

exactly seizure of land. The colonists

aren't being forced to leave. I thought

these colonists wanted to stay, that

they refused to evacuate.

The treaty gave away their territory to

the Kardashians. Territory that these

people had invested their lives in.

They can stay on these planets, but the

sovereignty is being transferred. Like

say Arizona was seated to Mexico or

Alberta, annexed by the United States.

Maybe you'll be all right and maybe you

won't, but you have been traded and left

somewhere between spoils of war and an

unwanted stepchild. The Kardashians

intend to make life so unpleasant for

Federation citizens that they'll leave.

Exactly.

And we never find out what the

Kardashian colonists on the planet

seated to the Federation. Think about

it. Are they equally opposed forming a

gorilla movement to fight the

Federation?

That without any help from either one of

us, they've managed to start their own

little war out here.

This leads into the obvious missed

opportunity. the Machi make more sense

as a sometimes unwitting proxy of the

Federation, balancing the short-term

need to keep the border war with the

Kardashians clamp down while Starfleet

rebuilds. Recognizing that the whole

treaty is just to buy time, knowing full

well that the Kardashians are going to

violate it, giving the Federation a Cass

belly when the advantageous time arrives

to renew hostilities.

Starfleet Command isn't a bunch of naive

dogooders. Remember Captain Jelico?

We're not on a research mission. get it

done in 2 days.

Or Admiral Neev,

diplomacy is the art of the possible.

Those colonies finding themselves on the

wrong side of the border will have to be

moved.

These people are probably not the most

fun to serve under, but they know what's

going on. I wouldn't mind talking

astropolitics over a bottle of scotch

with either one of them. So, there could

have been a small-scale war happening

between the Machi and the Kardashian

settler equivalent. Each clandestinely

supplied by their home governments and

fighting to take favorable positions for

when the war inevitably resumes.

But that's the obvious route. I think

the social side of it is a bit more

interesting. A story playing with this

idea that the settlers start without any

real plan. They don't think it's a fair

treaty and they don't trust Kardashians.

They're thinking in terms of morality

and raw anger, not the practicalities of

fighting a war. The mach is almost a

game. Little raids here and there, but

gradually that bubbly Federation veneer

gets abladed away as the fighting

escalates until those people become more

pragmatic, more devious, more tribal,

more like us.

Either of these approaches, if done more

explicitly, would offset the big

critiques of the Maki storyline. But

let's just hang these there as things

that might be going on outside of our

view. 90s era trek overwhelmingly

presents this image of the Federation

being almost magically prosperous,

driven by a humanitarian impulse and

existing in a galaxy where almost every

star system seems to have one or two

temperate or subtropical planets where

you can walk around on the surface in

your jammies.

which implies that for these colonists

left behind in the Kardashian zone,

relocating would be inconvenient, but

that's all. It's not the Trail of Tears

or Gaza. They won't be starving

refugees. They'll just go to some other

temperate or subtropical M-class planet

and replicate new stuff. Well, maybe. We

know that not all Federation colony

planets end up as a franchise of

Paradise Earth. Most notably, there's

Turkana 4, Tashiar's old hood. For

whatever reason, the benign state

collapsed and the population turned from

noble Federation new men to violent

[ __ ] and the Federation

did nothing about it. But I don't think

that's the issue with these colonists on

the Kardashian border. Turana 4 is the

exception both in terms of colony worlds

and the entire body of lore from nextgen

forward. No, for them it's the principle

of the thing. They put time and effort

into making these worlds home. They

don't think it's right that they should

have to leave. And most importantly,

they don't quite understand on a

visceral level what fighting for them

will entail.

Unfortunately, the Federation has taught

you your lessons all too well. You

simply lack the commitment it takes to

do what is necessary.

They may be living on the frontier, but

that's not where they're from. The

frontier may not be the paradise running

on magical abundance and smug

righteousness that Earth has become, but

the people settling the frontier are

from that culture, a culture of comfort,

of success, of people getting what they

want. Those colonists are also more

adventurous than average or they

wouldn't be out on the frontier. And

given what was established in the prior

episodes mentioned, it's safe to assume

that many of them don't much care for

the Cardies, which is understandable.

Mix all that and you get the basis for a

popular movement built on a common cause

with the equivalent of a moderate

industrial base and a unifying mythos,

but a highly romanticized self-image.

We just received a general subspace

transmission from somewhere in the

demilitarized zone. A group there is

taking credit for the kidnapping of

Ducat. They're calling themselves

the Mali.

No United Colonies or Federation Front.

They named themselves after the French

Resistance because that's how they see

themselves through that mythologized

account of World War II, not the shitow

that the actual French resistance was.

There are the righteous ones fighting

unmitigated evil, not orphaned colonists

who have been offered every opportunity

to live peacefully elsewhere in order to

end a war.

This isn't to say that they're just a

bunch of stubborn, entitled punks from a

wealthy culture that wanted to larersmen

and revolutionaries. Their grievances

are real. The Federation has failed in

one of the core functions of government,

perhaps the most important source of

legitimacy, protecting its people from

other versions of itself.

They colonized these places under the

banner of the Federation, which then

gave away the land under their feet. Why

should they trust the Federation when it

offers to relocate them?

It's a bad treaty. The Federation gave

away too much. Ah, now we're getting to

the heart of it. It's only partly about

the land. There's the betrayal, the

abuse of trust, the loss of legitimacy.

And all of these elements are

illustrated in the Deep Space 9 episode,

Defiant.

Remember Thomas Reiker? Yeah, Will's

transporter brother. Don't talk to me

about conservation of mass. The short of

it is that he's become sympathetic to

the Machi and arrives at the wormhole

bies impersonating Commander Will Riker

so that he can steal the Defiant, slip

into Kardashian spacecloaked and expose

a massive shipyard in violation of the

treaty based on the assumption that

Starfleet command doesn't know and when

they find out it will change things

rather than looking at it as the whole

treaty being a cynical ploy to buy time.

Gull Ducat and Cisco team up to go after

him and prevent a war. The Kardashian

military in the Obsidian Order, it's

kind of their CIA equivalent. Get into

it because surprise, they really are

violating the treaty.

You'll send no ships to the Arias

system.

You're here as an observer. You have no

authority.

That sector is under direct control of

the Obsidian Order, and you will not

enter it.

Why?

That matters classified.

[ __ ] spoonheads. And the conclusion

reveals a lot about the Federation at

that point. First, the obvious point.

Cisco and Ducat hail the Defiant. Offer

them terms they've worked out that allow

the crew to return to the Federation for

trial. And only Riker goes to a

Kardashian labor camp. All right.

I would be willing to hand over Major

Kira, the marquee, and the ship, but not

Riker.

And Riker agrees in order to spare his

crew. Take one for the team. I agree to

your terms.

You need to reverse course and surrender

the divine to one of the ships that's

been following you.

But I have to wonder what the hell did

they think they were getting themselves

into when they signed on to hijack a

Federation warship and fly into a

Kardashian shipyard. It points back to

the comfortable Federation lifestyle

again. Intellectually, they understand

what the mission entails, what war is,

but when it comes down to actually

committing to it, they waver.

Riker gets talked down by a brief speech

from Major Kira, a woman he barely

knows.

I know you want Tom Riker to go out in a

blaze of glory that they talk about for

the next 10 years.

Don't drag them along with you.

And his crew don't protest at all when

their daring and principled mission

turns into a dumb stunt and a prison

sentence. Do it. But there's something

else here that's extremely revealing

about the state of the Federation and

how it's not quite as principled as it

likes to put on. Tom Riker takes action

outside the chain of command, as did

Captain Maxwell back in the wounded,

Cisco's old friend Cal Hudson in the

two-parter the Machi Edington a bit

later. People in Starfleet know that

it's a bad treaty, that the Federation

betrayed its citizens, and that the

Kardashians aren't even abiding by the

terms. They aren't wideeyed conspiracy

theorists talking nonsense. It's all

happening. But the political

establishment of the Federation has a

policy goal, a constructed narrative to

support it. And woe to any who don't tow

the line. And Cisco is aligned with that

political class. Not because he follows

orders, but because he thinks like them.

It's illustrated when he's negotiating

terms with Ducat.

I might be able to get him to do it on

one condition.

We both know that Kardashian's sentences

are determined well in advance of the

trial. I'd like you to arrange a

sentence other than death.

Cisco bargains away Riker just as the

Federation bargained away those

colonies. Is it the wrong choice?

Probably not. But the Federation doesn't

present pragmatism as its core value.

They talk about higher principles. Yet

Cisco does what's politically expedient

with very little hesitation.

So, let's jump ahead to season 4 in the

episode For the Cause. We open with

Cisco and his girlfriend, the freighter

captain Cassidy Yates. The next scene is

a briefing by Lieutenant Commander

Michael Eddington in charge of security

for a shipment of industrial replicators

that the Mache are expected to try to

interdict.

The scene concludes with Edington and

security chief Odo informing Cisco that

they suspect Cassidy is a smuggler

working for the Mache. They want to put

her under surveillance, which puts Cisco

in an awkward position. He initially

refuses.

You'll have to show me some real

evidence before I'll authorize what

you're proposing.

If she's really a marquee, then she's no

longer a Federation citizen.

The answer is no.

Oh, well, that's interesting. Revocation

of citizenship for subversive political

activity. But after a moment's

reflection, Cisco finds a way to satisfy

both the needs of security and his own

sense of somewhat pliable principles.

Gentlemen,

there are times we have to search

vessels docked at the station.

If you can find a reason.

He ends up sending Warf and the Defiant

to follow her, catching her in the act

of meeting some terrorists. They set up

a little sting for the next time.

Mr. Edington and I have discussed this

at length and we both feel that if the

Zosa makes another rendevous with a Maki

raider, we should seize both vessels and

arrest everyone aboard. This episode is

really a turning point in what the

Machis stand for. Because after all the

intrigue and betrayal to nab those

replicators, Edington explains that it's

not just about some border colonies and

a bad treaty anymore. It runs so much

deeper to the heart of what the

Federation is and how it sees itself.

Open your eyes, Captain. Why is the

Federation so obsessed with the Maki?

We've never harmed you, and yet we're

constantly arrested and charged with

terrorism.

Starships chase us through the bad

lands, and our supporters are harassed

and ridiculed. Why? Because we've left

the Federation, and that's the one thing

you can't accept.

You know, in some ways, you're even

worse than the Borg.

At least they tell you about their plans

for assimilation.

You're more insidious. You assimilate

people and they don't even know it.

The break began when the Federation sold

them on a promise, then revoked it along

with the homes they built, yet continued

to expect their loyalty and obedience.

But when the Federation started to

actively subjugate them, often working

together with the Kardashians to that

end, the relationship between the

Federation as a state and its citizens

is irrevocably changed. and the Machi

cease to be just a dissident group of

colonists and instead become an

independent daughter civilization with

its own culture and values distinct from

those of the Federation. Unfortunately,

Edington has too much influence at this

point. The Edington story arc continues

in the following season with for the

uniform which has Cisco chasing him

around always a step behind obsessed

with bringing him to Federation justice.

He's just a man like me

and he beat me.

All while the mache gradually shift into

this anti-federation, a reminder that

under all the laborsaving technology and

clean jumpsuits, humanity retains a

vicious streak when pushed. And they

wage war against the Kardashians, taking

territory and operating with looser

rules of engagement than the Federation

is accustomed to.

Edington just up the ante. He attacked

the Kardashian colony on Vellos Prime

with a biogenic weapon.

What?

Those bumbling terrorists have grown

from blowing up random freighters to

nerve gasing entire planets, which I

think is a really interesting parallel

with the overall story arc of DS9. The

Machi are just Federation citizens

pushed past the edge of their idealism.

And the Dominion does the same thing to

the Federation as a whole. Spoiler alert

for anyone that hasn't watched Deep

Space 9. The war ends with the

Federation infecting the founders with a

degenerative plague, forcing them to

surrender or die.

Not unprecedented, Peicard considered

doing something similar to the Borg. But

the situation wasn't desperate enough

then. His abstract principles won out

over the concrete threat. Altogether, it

reveals something both kind of dark, but

also, I think, profoundly encouraging

about the humanity depicted in Star

Trek. Because underneath all the

high-tech and idealism, DS9 shows that

the humans of the Federation are still

like us deep down. Back them into a

corner and they'll be as violent and

genocidal as any other group of humans

throughout history. But they've reached

a stage where that isn't the default.

They have to be really pushed to get

there. It suggests that a peaceful and

prosperous future isn't just science

fiction, but something we can actually

attain through actionable steps in the

material world. We don't need alien

assistance or fundamental transformation

of our basic nature. We just need to

build more padding into our social

structures, a little more buffer,

a little more slack.

And generally speaking, governments have

an easier time if they don't lie to,

sell out, and abuse their citizens.

When my son looks back on this day,

the only thing he'll remember is that a

Federation officer on a Federation ship

invaded his home

and kept his father away from him on his

11th birthday.

And he won't look back with

understanding.

[Music]

He'll look back with hatred.

And that's sad.