[3] Prior to the start of the series, Dukat held the military title of Legate (Admiral) and was the head of the Cardassian occupation government of the planet Bajor as well as commander of the Cardassian-built station originally named Terok Nor (which would become known as Deep Space Nine under the Federation).

In his debut appearance in the pilot episode "Emissary", he takes a Cardassian warship to Deep Space Nine to demand from the new Starfleet-appointed commander Benjamin Sisko one of the recently discovered Orbs of the Bajoran Prophets.

[7][8][9] In the season four episode "Indiscretion", Kira Nerys accompanies Gul Dukat on a search for a lost Cardassian starship, where it is revealed he is trying to track down and kill his illegitimate half-Bajoran daughter Tora Ziyal.

[10] The follow-up episode "Return to Grace" shows Dukat being disgraced with the Cardassian military as a result of this move, reduced to commanding a freighter with Ziyal and his deputy Damar.

[11] In this capacity he helps Sisko, Miles O'Brien, Odo and Worf infiltrate the Klingon Empire in the season five premiere "Apocalypse Rising".

[12] Dukat's character returned to being a more antagonistic role in season five's "By Inferno's Light", where he is revealed to have negotiated Cardassia's joining the Dominion, becoming head of the Union's government in the process.

[13] He leads an invasion force which recaptures Deep Space Nine in the season finale "Call to Arms", effectively starting the Dominion War and retaking his old command.

[14] Dukat loses the station again in the sixth season episode "Sacrifice of Angels", where Damar kills Ziyal in retaliation for having helped the Federation.

[19] In this guise, he convinces Kai Winn to join him in his efforts to free the Pah-wraiths from their imprisonment in the Bajoran Fire Caves in "Strange Bedfellows", even when she discovers his true identity in "The Changing Face of Evil.