Ronald D. Moore's conclusion about the Maquis goes back to the roots of the Maquis storyline. According to Moore, who also worked as a producer and writer on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," the Maquis were created as a plot device for introducing "Voyager." He explained, "Here are Starfleet officers who had become terrorist resistance fighters, guerrilla warriors. The Federation has got them on the run and both of these groups are thrown in a ship on another side of the galaxy and forced to live together."
If Moore had the chance to reimagine the Voyager crew, they would be much less agreeable. He continued, "It should have been these two sides that were forced to work together that still don't like each other and still are gunning for each other, wondering who's going to come out on top. Who's going to betray who?"
But ultimately, that concept of the two sides trapped together who must work out their serious trust issues with nary a Counselor Troi on board felt a little too bleak for the network bosses. "It should have been gold, but they got scared," Moore continued, emphasizing that the ratings performance of the darker-toned "Deep Space Nine" had left them uneasy. Instead, Moore said, "They wanted a show that was more like Next Generation and easier to swallow and where people didn't have to think as much. So they drew all the wrong lessons and said, 'Let's play it safe.'"
