Rick Berman originally pictured that the Dominion War would last for a limited number of episodes before a prompt resolution. Planning the arc, Ira Steven Behr, Ronald D. Moore, and the writers conceived a longer chain of first five, then six connected episodes, stretching from "A Time to Stand" to "", as themes increased demands for greater narrative development. No writer had previously contributed to a series involving arcs of such length, and Moore, Behr, and novice scripting partner & supervising producer Hans Beimler have all stated that the writing process changed as a result, with more production collaboration and interaction than for earlier seasons of "Deep Space Nine". The potential for serialization that Rick Berman had perceived from the start of "Deep Space Nine" came to fruition as a result of the multiple plotlines accumulating to form the Dominion War.