Rick Berman, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, and Ira Steven Behr originally expected to open Season Four with a two-part episode, postponed from the end of Season Three, that ultimately became "" and "". Paramount determined that the writers needed to come up with a much different opener to satisfy the audience but without giving specific instructions. The production staff decided to begin a plotline based around suspicions between the Federation and the Klingons, finally leading to conflict between the former allies, which was inspired by a line from the Season Three episode "". With the Klingons set to reappear, Berman suggested the return of a character from ' – the Klingon Worf – as a permanent officer aboard Deep Space Nine. While both the new plot and character offered interesting possibilities, the producers felt that their vision for ' was put off-course for almost one year.