One of Deep Space Nine's leading businessmen, Quark arrived on the station during the Cardassian occupation and opened a bar on the Promenade.1 He refused to take sides in the occupation, serving Cardassians in the bar whilst selling food illegally to the Bajorans.2 The latter activity gained the attention of Natima Lang, a Cardassian woman of unusually liberal political views. The two had a brief but intense affair, but when Lang discovered that Quark had used her personal access code to steal some money she broke up with him.2 Quark continued to work on Terok Nor until the end of the Occupation in 2369; he was preparing to leave when Starfleet took over the station, fearing the chaos which would follow a collapse of the Bajoran provisional government. Quark's nephew, Nog, was arrested by station security shortly after the arrival of Commander Sisko. Sisko promised to release the child on condition that Quark remained on the station to help keep the economic community together.1 The agreement has held ever since.3Later in the same year it appeared that Quark had achieved greatness when he succeeded Zek to the position of Grand Nagus. However, it transpired that Zek had faked his own death in order to test his son Krax, and Quark was stripped of the position.4
Quark was never convicted of a serious crime, but has had many brushes with the law. He has frequently proclaimed himself a victim of harassment by Security Chief Odo, but in truth he has remained free more because of his resourcefulness than his honesty.3 In 2370 Quark was hired to steal a list of names from one of the shops on the Promenade. His business associates shot him to try and keep the crime a secret, but he survived the attempt.5 Quark was also involved with Vole fighting6 and various other schemes.3 However, he would also occasionally work on the right side of the law; in 2373 he testified against the Orion Syndicate, leading to another attempt on his life.7 Quark remained on DS9 during the Dominion occupation and assisted the underground movement led by Kira Nerys in disabling the stations weapons array, making the its recapture by Starfleet possible.8
Quark has a long running feud with Brunt of the Ferengi Commerce Agency.3 In 2372 Brunt bribed a doctor to tell Quark he had Dorek's Syndrome. Hoping to turn a profit before going into the afterlife, Quark followed Ferengi tradition and sold the rights to his remains to Brunt. When the plot was revealed Brunt demanded Quark come good on the deal by killing himself, and had Quark's Ferengi Business License revoked when he refused. Quark's friends on deep Space Nine rallied around, providing him with free furniture and stocks for the bar and so allowing him to continue in business.9
Quark lost a lot of his standing with the community in 2373 when he dabbled in arms dealing, using his holosuites to demonstrate holographic simulations of weapons to potential buyers. Although he made a lot of money from the deals, Quark had a crisis of conscience and eventually destroyed the business by arranging for some of the rival customers to run into one another on the station.10
In 2375 Quark mistakenly believed that he had again become Grand Nagus when Zek announced his retirement, but was shocked to find that Rom was the real successor.11 He remained on the station in charge of Quark's bar.12
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