Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) is largely to blame for the creation of the Maquis terrorist organization. The Maquis were created for Star Trek: Voyager as the show wanted a rogue element among its crew, but the organization was seeded in TNG and the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine two-parter “The Maquis”. Discussing the Maquis in the reference book Star Trek: The Next Generation 365, Ronald D. Moore reflected that they were a controversial addition that led to disagreements between producers Rick Berman and Michael Piller:
“He really thought that Gene (Roddenberry) wouldn’t have liked the whole Maquis story line. I know that Michael and Rick had a lot of arguments about that…”
The Maquis were a group of Federation citizens who opposed the Cardassian occupation of their territory, resulting from the creation of a demilitarized zone in the wake of the Federation-Cardassian War. The concept of the DMZ was introduced in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Journey’s End”, in which Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) is assigned to relocate a colony of Native Americans from Dorvan V. The events that took place on Dorvan V foreshadowed the rise of the Maquis in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and it all started with Wesley Crusher.
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Wesley Crusher spent most of his adolescence on the USS Enterprise-D in Star Trek: TNG, long before he returned as the Traveler in Star Trek: Picard.
TNG’s Wesley Crusher Caused DS9’s Maquis Situation
“You’re not going to let them do that, are you?”
Wesley Crusher effectively gives the Maquis their rallying cry in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 7, episode 20, “Journey’s End”. Disillusioned with Starfleet, Wesley visits Dorvan V and witnesses how Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise-D are planning to forcibly beam the colonists off the planet before handing it over to the Cardassians. Outraged, Wesley tells the colonists of Starfleet’s plan and challenges them to forcibly object. Wesley is chastized for this by Captain Picard, before he takes off his badge and resigning from the Academy.
Wesley wouldn’t be the only Starfleet officer who resigned in solidarity with those colonists forced to live under Cardassian occupation. Four episodes later, Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes) joined the Maquis, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine later revealed that Lt. Thomas Riker (Jonathan Frakes) also joined the organization. Wesley’s actions on Dorvan V lead Picard to negotiate a new treaty with the colonists, who agree to live under Cardassian control. However, it soon became clear that the Cardassians wouldn’t be living alongside these colonists in the spirit of peaceful co-habitation.
Wesley Crusher’s TNG Decision Had A Huge Impact On DS9 And Voyager
The Maquis changed the shape of the Star Trek universe.
If it weren’t for Wesley Crusher, Picard likely would have beamed the Dorvan V colonists off the surface and relocated them to a new world, in direct opposition to their beliefs and desires. When he notified the colonists of Picard’s plans and incited a revolt, Wesley inadvertently inspired other colonies to do the same. This decision created huge ripples across the Star Trek universe that were felt in both Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager. This was always the plan of the production team, who wanted the Maquis to be a known entity by the time Voyager premiered in January 1995.
Star Trek: Voyager‘s Maquis crew were largely former Starfleet officers who, like Wesley Crusher, had resigned in disillusion with the Federation. Meanwhile, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine had three close allies of Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) betray him in solidarity with the organization. From his former best friend Cal Hudson (Bernie Casey) to his girlfriend Kasidy Yates (Penny Johnson Jerald), Sisko lost some important people to the Maquis cause. The impact of the Maquis on Sisko is a perfect example of how one decision by Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation changed the fabric of the Star Trek universe.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
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Star Trek: The Next Generation is the third installment in the sci-fi franchise and follows the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew members of the USS Enterprise. Set around one hundred years after the original series, Picard and his crew travel through the galaxy in largely self-contained episodes exploring the crew dynamics and their own political discourse. The series also had several overarching plots that would develop over the course of the isolated episodes, with four films released in tandem with the series to further some of these story elements.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.
Star Trek: Voyager
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The fifth entry in the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Voyager, is a sci-fi series that sees the crew of the USS Voyager on a long journey back to their home after finding themselves stranded at the far ends of the Milky Way Galaxy. Led by Captain Kathryn Janeway, the series follows the crew as they embark through truly uncharted areas of space, with new species, friends, foes, and mysteries to solve as they wrestle with the politics of a crew in a situation they’ve never faced before.
