Quatal Prime was the inhabited prime planet in its star system. This system was located in the Demilitarized Zone. This planet, the site of a Cardassian colony, had at least four moons. In 2373, the planet boasted a profitable mining operation and its defenses were in the process of being upgraded but were yet incomplete. Maquis leader Michael Eddington chose Quatal as the second target of his cobalt diselenide weapon. Captain Benjamin Sisko anticipated his actions, but the USS Defiant arrived at the planet too late to prevent the biogenic weapon from spreading through the atmosphere. The Defiant gave chase to the two Maquis raiders involved in the attack, though Eddington escaped by firing on one of the Cardassian freighters evacuating the colony, forcing the Defiant to turn back to save