The pilot of Deep Space Nine is unusual in that no one particularly wants to be there. Commander Sisko is bitter about being relegated to a backwater posting. Odo isn’t enthusiastic about working with the Federation, and Major Kira is downright hostile about it. It’s just another job for Lieutenant Dax, and an especially demanding job for Chief O’Brien. The one man excited to be working on the frontier, young Doctor Bashir, is portrayed as naïve in his enthusiasm.
Of course, the old Cardassian station above Bajor doesn’t remain obscure for long. The pilot features the discovery of a wormhole to the distant Gamma Quadrant, and that wormhole is occupied by aliens the Bajorans revere as godlike Prophets. Matters are further complicated when Sisko develops a unique relationship with the Prophets, making the Bajorans dub him the Emissary of a belief system he has little faith in.
