Está estabelecido no roteiro que Sisko e O'Brien estão explorando sistemas próximos ao buraco de minhoca (por exemplo, ao invés de através dele).
SISKO (V.O.): Station log, Stardate 47573.1. We're getting more and
more requests for information about setting up colonies in sectors
close to the wormhole. So, Chief O'Brien and I have set out to survey
near-by star systems for M-Class planets.
...
SISKO: It's M-Class all right. One hundred and sixty million kilometers from Orellius Minor. Should be a perfect place to set up a colony...
DS9: Paradise - Original Screenplay
E embora não seja claro abundantemente no episódio que eles estão no lado do Quadrante Alfa, os materiais adicionais fornecidos (o Gráficos Star Trek Star e o banco de dados oficial do StarTrek.com não deixa espaço para interpretação.
Orellius Minor: Name for an F-type star in Sector 401 -- adjacent to the Bajoran sector -- and its major, Class M world orbiting at 160 million km. The previously unscouted planet is found to host a human colony, led by an idealistic but single- minded opponent of technology who kept Commander Sisko and Chief O'Brien captive until they escaped in 2370.
http://www.startrek.com/database_article/orellius-minor