In the year 2357, command was given to Admiral Owen Paris for a one-year mission known as the Arias Expedition. While officially, the Arias Expedition was a study of massive halo objects. The ship would travel 600 light-years past Deep Space 7 to the galactic rim where there was a suspected birthplace of these objects. However, in addition to their official mission, a group of Rangers aboard would be carrying out a spy mission along the Cardassian Union border.