The USS Defiant (NX-74205) was a prototype. Commander Benjamin Sisko pulled the anti-Borg project out of mothballs in order to show the Gamma Quadrant-based Dominion that Starfleet could tough. The Defiant was designed to be maneuverable and powerful. As a result, the Defiant did not have many of the amenities taken for granted on other Federation starships: no holodecks, no recreation areas, and a very tiny infirmary.
In this painting, the Defiant returns to the Alpha Quadrant–and to Deep Space Nine–through the Bajoran Wormhole. The Defiant was probably on a routine patrol. One of the things that I noticed when re-watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine recently was that there were still numerous exploration missions into the Gamma Quadrant even after the threat of the Dominion became known.
If you’d like to hang this piece of USS Defiant art up on your wall, you can purchase multiple print options in my store!