weren't they curious?

[varek]

Why did Starfleet not seem especially interested in exploring the Gamma Quadrant before the Dominion War? With a wormhole there at DS9, wouldn't you have thought they would be extremely curious--at least sending countless probes through it?

Later, in the post-series books, Starfleet does launch several expeditions to explore the Gamma Quadrant. But, why did it take them so long to begin?

 

[DS9forever]

A few episodes mentioned that there were Vulcan ships exploring the GQ. "Vortex" and "The Sword of Kahless" spring to mind.

 

[Finn]

^Yes. It was clear they had ships exploring Gamma Quadrant early on. That's how they ended up in a war with the Dominion….

 

[Timo]

I guess the point here is that Commander Benjamin Sisko's mission did not include exploring the Gamma Quadrant. Our heroes were not to explore, they were to mind the gate only. When they ventured to the other side of the wormhole, it was either a joyride (showing Kai Okampa the sights and getting her killed, giving Jake and Nog a grand day out and getting the UFP into conflict with the Dominion, etc.) or a response to events initiated by somebody from Gamma (returning fugitives or arguing for their future, chasing after criminals or attackers, searching for lost items, etc.).

Starfleet as such no doubt did a lot of exploring. It just wasn't Sisko's duty or place to join in. Not until he got command of the only ship in Starfleet capable of continuing reconnaissance in the hostile quadrant...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Smellincoffee]

Also, DS9 took place right after Wolf 359, and the large battle in First Contact happened within its timeline. Maybe Starfleet Command wanted to deploy its capital ships a bit more conservatively considering the threat of Borg attacks.

 

[MacLeod]

It wasn't right after it was just over two years after Wolf 359.

 

[Nebusj]

It wasn't right after it was just over two years after Wolf 359.

That pretty much is right after. Assuming it takes on the order of two to three years to build a capital ship --- a wild guess, I admit, but a rate that's been pretty steady since the age of steam; the increase in desired capability seems to match the time saved by improved manufacturing techniques, and I can accept the cultural factors which create that balance lasting --- then the first starships built wholly post-Wolf-359 would just be coming online as the Gamma Quadrant opened up.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

At least three starships (Maryland, Proxima and Sarajevo) all vanished in the GQ. Without any further information it would be a safe bet that they were on exploratory missions--unless two of them were sent searching for the first ship that went missing and then went MIA themselves.

 

[HIjol]

...perhaps,a place to reboot?...DS 9 as the "anchor" with as much of its show and cast and story that could be rebooted AND make sense, but the real reboot could be new cast new ship new exploration...perhaps.

 

[Tosk]

It wasn't right after it was just over two years after Wolf 359.

Three.

 

[MacLeod]

Battle of Wolf 359 Stardate 44002.3, Emissary Stardate 46379.1

1000 stardates seemed to equal one year, so doing the maths around 2 years 4 months and a week or two. Of course if you translate into years from the time Picard was kidnapped by the Borg in 2366 and when Emissary occurs in 2369 you could say three years later.

 

[Tosk]

The episode itself has a title card that says:

STARDATE 46379.1
THREE YEARS LATER

 

[Timo]

If January 1st fit between SD XX002 and XX379, then the "two years and a bit equals three years" thing would be quite natural. But it seems that SDXX002 is somewhere in late summer, early autumn (that is, the start of the television season), and XX379 is before New Year...

At least three starships (Maryland, Proxima and Sarajevo) all vanished in the GQ.

One wonders how many of them really were done in by the Jem'Hadar, and how much of that was empty boasting. Going missing for years or decades might be standard fare for starships; being lost because of mysterious space event X could be statistically more likely than being destroyed by the Dominion, even in the Gamma Quadrant.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Ro_Laren]

I was never under the impression that Starfleet wasn't exploring the Gamma Quadrant. We just didn't see the main Starfleet cast from the TV show DS9 exploring the GQ 24/7. The Bajorans invited Starfleet to serve on DS9 for a reason. They needed Starfleet to repair and help maintain DS9, help assist in the rebuilding of Bajor, and act as a deterrent to the Cardassians returning to Bajor. Starfleet (i.e. the Starfleet senior officers on the TV show) couldn't do those things if spent all their time exploring the GQ instead of actually staying on DS9.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

^ Exactly. Sisko and the others were there to help and assess the Bajorans, which was why they only had runabouts and little in the way of station defences, and were so ill-equipped for exploratory operations. The station would be used as a launching pad for ships assigned to explore the GQ.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

In Gem'Hadar didn't they hand a list to Kira of all the ships they destroyed in the Gamma Quadrant?

It's pretty clear there was significant exploration in the gamma quadrant, ranging from diplomatic missions to planetary surveys. Just, they didn't mention it much in the show because it wasn't part of the story they were telling on the station.

 

[Tosk]

In Gem'Hadar didn't they hand a list to Kira of all the ships they destroyed in the Gamma Quadrant?

Yes. And at least one Bajoran colony, too.

 

[varek]

I didn't know the Bajorans had gone through the wormhole and founded one or more colonies there. That puts the Bajorans in a rather different light than I had pictured them!

 

[Sec31StatnChf]

Or, perhaps they introduced the Jem'Hadar to save a show with declining ratings?

 

[Tosk]

I didn't know the Bajorans had gone through the wormhole and founded one or more colonies there. That puts the Bajorans in a rather different light than I had pictured them!

Yep, the Jem'Hadar third mentions it while speaking with Nerys...a line I quite like. (Although it's at least 50% the delivery that makes me like it.)

She asks where he got the PADD he's using and he says to her, "From the Bajoran colony on our side of the anomaly. You should be proud. I hear they fought well...for a spiritual people. I hope we won't have to repeat this lesson."