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Deep Space Nine Characters

Benjamin Sisko Kira Odo Jadzia Dax Ezri Dax Bashir O'Brien Worf Jake Sisko Quark

All biographical data as of DS9: "What You Leave Behind" (2375).

Benjamin Sisko

Species: male human
Full name: Benjamin Lafayette Sisko
Rank: Captain
Date of birth: 2332
Place of birth: New Orleans, Lousiana, Earth
Place of disappearance: Fire Caves, Bajor
Current whereabouts: uncertain
Parents: Joseph Sisko and Sarah Sisko (a Bajoran Prophet)
Son: Jake Sisko
Sister: Judith Sisko
Marital status: married with Kasidy Yates (2375), widowed from Jennifer Sisko (2367)

Played by Avery Brooks

Starfleet officer who commanded station Deep Space 9 following the Cardassian withdrawal from Bajor in 2369. Shortly after his posting to Deep Space 9, Sisko made contact with the mysterious life-forms identified as Bajor's legendary Prophets in the Bajoran Celestial Temple located in the Denorios Belt. As a result, religious leader Kai Opaka indicated that Sisko was the Emissary promised by prophecy as the one who would save the Bajoran people. Sisko was uncomfortable with his role as Emissary, but felt obligated to respect Bajoran religious beliefs (DS9: "Emissary").

Ben Sisko entered Starfleet Academy in 2350. For the first few weeks, he would beam back to his family home in New Orleans every night to have dinner with his parents (DS9: "Homefront"). During his sophomore year, Benjamin Sisko spent a field-study assignment on Starbase 137 (DS9: "The Ascent"). Early in his Starfleet career, Ensign Sisko was mentored by Curzon Dax, a Trill who met Sisko at Pelios Station before the two served aboard the USS Livingston (DS9: "Invasive Procedures"). Sisko later served aboard the Starship Okinawa under Captain Leyton. While Sisko's interests were in engineering, Leyton saw command potential in the young officer and promoted him to lieutenant commander, making him the ship's first officer (DS9: "Homefront", "Paradise Lost"). Aboard the Okinawa, Sisko and Leyton fought in the war between the Federation and the Tzenkethi (DS9: "The Adversary"). Sisko served as executive officer with the rank of lieutenant commander aboard the USS Saratoga at the time of the ship's destruction in the battle of Wolf 359 (DS9: "Emissary"). Sisko was subsequently assigned to the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards on Mars, where he spent three years (DS9: "Emissary"). One of his projects at Utopia Planitia included design work on the experimental Starship Defiant (DS9: "Defiant"). Sisko also worked on Earth, directing the construction of orbital habitats (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior"). Sisko was subsequently promoted to commander and assigned to station Deep Space 9 (DS9: "Emissary"). Among Sisko's staff at Deep Space 9 was Science Officer Jadzia Dax, a Trill whom he had once known as Curzon Dax. Sisko initially found it difficult to relate to his old friend in the body of a beautiful woman, but the two eventually came to renew their friendship (DS9: "A Man Alone", "Dax").

Commanding Deep Space 9 brought its share of difficult decisions, tempered with Sisko's personal experiences. He was profoundly affected by his encounter with the Borg. In 2370, when a protouniverse threatened the safety of his station, Sisko refused to arbitrarily destroy the miniature cosmos, because he felt that to do so would be to act with the same indifference the Borg had shown to the Federation (DS9: "Playing God"). Later that year, Sisko lost his friendship with academy classmate Calvin Hudson when Hudson joined the Maquis, fighting the Cardassians in violation of Federation law (DS9: "The Maquis, Part I"). In 2372, Sisko was temporarily appointed head of Starfleet security when a Dominion infiltration of Starfleet was feared. Sisko was instrumental in preventing an attempted coup by Admiral Leyton (DS9: "Homefront", "Paradise Lost").

Sisko's role as Emissary of the Bajoran people sometimes put him in a difficult position with regard to his duties as a Starfleet officer. In 2373, Sisko felt obligated to oppose Bajor's admission to the Federation. Sisko had experienced a vision, called pag'tem'far in the Bajoran language, that led him to believe that admission at that time would be unwise. The Bajoran Chamber of Ministers accepted Sisko's recommendation, angering the Federation government and Starfleet Command (DS9: "Rapture").

In 2371, Sisko was abducted by Miles O'Brien (mirror) and taken to the mirror universe to help the Terran rebellion's fight against the Alliance. Sisko was disconcerted to learn that the counterpart of his late wife, Jennifer, was still alive in the mirror universe. It was Sisko's difficult job to convince Jennifer Sisko (mirror) to abandon her work for the Alliance, and to persuade her to instead join the Terran rebellion (DS9: "Through the Looking Glass").

Benjamin Sisko was promoted to the rank of captain on stardate 48959.1, in late 2371 (DS9: "The Adversary"). Sisko was injured in a Jem'Hadar attack in early 2372 aboard the Defiant, during a trade conference with the Karemma. Sisko suffered a blow to his head, resulting in a concussion with subcranial bleeding (DS9: "Starship Down")

Ben Sisko was believed killed in early 2372 in an accident aboard the Defiant. In fact, Sisko had vanished from our time continuum, but reappeared periodically, somehow tied to his son, Jake. After several decades, Jake sacrificed himself to allow his father to return to the time of the accident, thereby excising this future timeline (DS9: "The Visitor").

Perhaps Benjamin Sisko's greatest challenge was the Dominion War, which began in late 2373. In his role of the Emissary to the Bajoran people, Sisko felt compelled to recommend that the Bajoran government sign a nonaggression treaty with the Dominion, despite Starfleet objections. Shortly thereafter, Sisko and all other Starfleet personnel were ordered to abandon station Deep Space 9, and the facility was returned to Cardassian control (DS9: "Call to Arms"). Sisko was subsequently stationed at Starbase 375. He was assigned to a covert mission to pilot a captured Dominion spacecraft into Cardassian space to destroy a Dominion ketracel-white storage facility, the first major Starfleet victory in the brutal Dominion War (DS9: "A Time to Stand"). Sisko subsequently led a daring offensive into Dominion territory to recapture station Deep Space 9 in a successful effort to prevent a huge Dominion fleet from invading the Alpha Quadrant. Sisko's role as the Emissary was of unexpected value when he was able to convince the Prophets to intervene on behalf of the Bajoran people to destroy the Dominion fleet in the wormhole (DS9: "Sacrifice of Angels"). During the following months, Starfleet casualties in the conflict reached horrific proportions, prompting Sisko to believe that survival of the Federation depended on persuading the Romulan government to enter the war against the Dominion. Sisko, with the assistance of Elim Garak, effected the Romulan entry by falsifying evidence that the Dominion was planning to invade Romulan territory. Sisko regretted his illegal acts in the operation that cost at least two lives, but he firmly believed it necessary to the survival of not only the Federation, but the Klingon and Romulan empires as well (DS9: "In the Pale Moonlight").

Over the years Sisko grew to love Bajor. He began to think of it as a paradise and said that he hoped to make a home there someday (DS9: "Favor the Bold"). In the midst of the Dominion War, Sisko experienced an intense Orb-shadow vision, becoming a science-fiction magazine writer on Earth during the 1950s. Sisko, as author Benny Russell, wrote a remarkable novella about a future space station commander named Ben Sisko. Neither Sisko nor Russell was entirely sure of who was the dreamer, and who was the dream (DS9: "Far Beyond the Stars"). Sisko was honored with the Christopher Pike Medal of Valor for his role in the recapture of Deep Space 9 from Dominion control. He was subsequently instrumental in planning the daring attack on Cardassian forces that liberated the Chin'toka System from Dominion control. During that battle, his close friend Jadzia Dax was killed by Gul Dukat and a Pah-wraith. Sisko, who had seen the death of literally thousands during the terrible war, found it difficult to endure yet one more death, and he took a leave to return to Earth to visit his father (DS9: "Tears of the Prophets"). Sisko spent three months on Earth until a vision from the Prophets sent him to planet Tyree to search for the heretofore-unknown Orb of the Emissary. Sisko's search was made more urgent by the fact that his vision also contained the image of a mysterious woman named Sarah Sisko, whom Ben's father, Joseph, revealed was Ben's real mother (DS9: "Image in the Sand"). Sarah had in fact been controlled by a Bajoran prophet who had seen to it that Benjamin was born to become the Bajoran Emissary. When Benjamin became engaged to Kasidy Yates in 2375, the Sarah prophet warned him that he would know nothing but sorrow if he married Kasidy. Although Sisko took the prophet's warning seriously, he nevertheless married Kasidy in a quiet civil ceremony held aboard station Deep Space 9 (DS9: "'Til Death Do Us Part"). Ben Sisko's remaining weeks as a corporeal human were dominated by the conclusion of the Dominion War. Shortly after the surrender of the Dominion, Benjamin Sisko returned to the fire caves on Bajor to confront Kosst Amojan. The evil Pah-wraith had seduced both Kai Winn and Gul Dukat, but neither was able to prevent Sisko from trapping the Pah-wraiths in the fire caves, thus ensuring the survival of not only the Bajoran people, but the Prophets themselves. His destiny fulfilled, Benjamin Sisko left the realm of linear existence and became one with the Bajoran Prophets (DS9: "What You Leave Behind").

Ben Sisko was a devoted family man who grew up in New Orleans on Earth (DS9: "Family Business", "Explorers"). His father, Joseph Sisko, was a gourmet chef who ran a small bistro called Sisko's in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The elder Sisko insisted the family dine together, so that his "taste testers" could sample his new recipes (DS9: "A Man Alone", "The Visitor"). Benjamin met Jennifer, his future wife, at Gilgo Beach on Earth, around 2353, just after Sisko's graduation from Starfleet Academy (DS9: "Emissary"). Ben and Jennifer subsequently married, and had a son, Jake, in 2355 (DS9: "Move Along Home"). Ben and Jennifer served together aboard the Starship Saratoga, until Jennifer's tragic death in the Battle of Wolf 359 in early 2367. A single parent, Sisko raised their son, Jake, first at Utopia Planitia, then at station Deep Space 9 (DS9: "Emissary"). Ben had a sister, Judith Sisko (DS9: "Homefront") who lived in Portland, Oregon, on Earth (DS9: "Past Tense, Part I"). After Jennifer's death, Sisko was reluctant to form another relationship. It was not until late 2371 that he took an interest in freighter captain Kasidy Yates (DS9: "The Adversary"). Sisko's relationship with Yates was put to the test in 2372 when it was discovered that she was a Maquis smuggler. He continued to have feelings for her despite her conviction for arms running (DS9: "For the Cause").

One of Ben's favorite recreational activities was a holosuite program of Earth's famous baseball players, such as Buck Bokai, Tris Speaker, and Ted Williams. Using this program, Ben and his son, Jake, enjoyed playing with these greats. The program also allowed Ben to cheer his hero, Buck Bokai, in the sparsely attended 2042 World Series that spelled the end of professional baseball (DS9: "If Wishes Were Horses"). Ben was something of an aficionado of 21st-century Earth history (DS9: "Past Tense, Part I"), and he enjoyed collecting ancient African artifacts (DS9: "The Search, Part I"). Sisko also enjoyed wrestling and was captain of the wrestling team at Starfleet Academy in 2351 (DS9: "Apocalypse Rising"). One of Sisko's most remarkable recreational activities was his construction of a Bajoran solar-sail vessel of ancient design, in 2371. Along with Jake, Sisko piloted it to Cardassia, a dramatic demonstration of how ancient Bajorans accomplished the same feat some eight centuries ago (DS9: "Explorers"). Sisko was an admirer of legendary starship Captain James T. Kirk. Sisko actually had a chance to meet Kirk when the Defiant traveled back in time to 2267, where he met Kirk aboard the original Starship Enterprise. In a breach of Starfleet Regulation 157, Section III, Paragraph 18, Sisko even greeted Kirk and got his autograph (DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations"). In addition to excelling as an explorer, diplomat, and leader, one of Sisko's personal passions was the ancient Earth game of baseball, an interest he shared with Kasidy Yates (DS9: "Take Me Out to the Holosuite").

Kira Nerys

Species: female Bajoran
Rank: Colonel
Date of birth: 2343
Place of birth: Dakhur Province, Bajor
Parents: Kira Taban and Kira Meru
Siblings: two brothers, Kira Pohl and Kira Reon
Marital status: single

Played by Nana Visitor

Bajoran freedom fighter who served as first officer and Bajoran liaison to station Deep Space 9 after the Cardassian withdrawal from Bajor in 2369 (DS9: "Emissary"). Kira's family was part of the Ih'valla D'jarra, which in earlier times would have required her to take up an artistic occupation. (DS9: "Accession"). Kira was born in 2343 in the Dahkur Province and spent the first 26 years of her life under Cardassian rule (DS9: "The Maquis, Part I", "Shakaar"). Stubborn and independent, she joined the Shakaar resistance cell of the Bajoran underground in 2355, when she was 12 years old (DS9: "The Circle", "Shakaar"). Kira was recruited into the Shakaar group by her friend, Lorit Akrem (DS9: "Indiscretion"). Kira was interned at the Singha refugee camp during the Cardassian occupation. Although conditions there were brutal, she was able to play springball with her brothers (DS9: "Shadowplay"). Her mother, an icon painter from Dahkur Province, died of malnutrition in the Singha refugee camp in 2343 (DS9: "Second Skin"). Kira spent much of her childhood as a freedom fighter for the Bajoran movement, although Cardassian intelligence reported her as "a minor operative whose activities (were) limited to running errands for the terrorist leaders." (DS9: "Battle Lines").

In 2365, Kira was assigned to obtain a list of Bajoran collaborators from a chemist shop on station Terok Nor (later Deep Space 9). The chemist, Vaatrik, discovered Kira during her search, and she was forced to kill him. Although she was a suspect in the killing, an investigation by station Security Chief Odo found her innocent. It was not until 2370 that Odo learned that Kira had deceived him (DS9: "Necessary Evil"). As a member of the Bajoran Shakaar resistance cell in 2357, Kira helped liberate the notorious Gallitep labor camp at which thousands of Bajorans had died under Cardassian bondage (DS9: "Duet"). Kira knew noted terrorist Tahna Los when she fought in the Bajoran underground (DS9: "Past Prologue").

In 2369, Kira opposed the Bajoran provisional government's decision to enlist Federation assistance in maintaining Deep Space 9, but nevertheless worked with Starfleet personnel on the station (DS9: "Emissary"). Kira had a deep, abiding faith in the Bajoran religion, and was personally struck by the tragedy of Kai Opaka's death in 2369 (DS9: "Battle Lines"). Her beliefs held that Benjamin Sisko was the Emissary of Bajoran prophesy, but she sometimes found it difficult to reconcile the fact that her commanding officer was a religious icon (DS9: "Destiny"). In 2370, she became romantically involved with Vedek Bareil (DS9: "Shadowplay"). At Vedek Bareil's invitation, Kira was given the privilege of encountering an Orb. This encounter had a profound effect on her life (DS9: "The Circle"). Kira's involvement with Bareil ended tragically in 2371 when he died during Cardassian peace negotiations (DS9: "Life Support"). In 2371 Kira was kidnapped and taken to Cardassia, where she was surgically altered to look like Iliana, a Cardassian operative from the Obsidian Order. She later discovered that her transformation was part of a plot to expose Legate Ghemor as a member of the Cardassian underground movement (DS9: "Second Skin"). In 2372, Kira became romantically involved with Shakaar Edon, longtime friend and former leader of the Shakaar resistance cell (DS9: "Crossfire").

Kira served as surrogate mother to Kirayoshi O'Brien, son of Miles and Keiko O'Brien. The surrogacy became necessary when Keiko was severely injured aboard the Runabout Volga during a botanical survey mission to Torad IV. Dr. Julian Bashir, fighting to save both mother and unborn child, found it necessary to implant Kirayoshi's fetus into Kira's body, else Kirayoshi would have died. Upon returning to Deep Space 9, Kira accepted an invitation from Miles and Keiko to live with them in their quarters, so that they could care for her while she carried their child to term (DS9: "Body Parts").* Living in close proximity with the O'Brien family, Kira found herself attracted to Miles, a feeling that he reciprocated. Since neither wished to jeopardize their existing relationships, they decided together not to act on those feelings (DS9: "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places"). Her pregnancy prevented her from taking active charge of the investigation when several former member of the Shakaar resistance cell were murdered around stardate 50416 (DS9: "The Darkness and the Light"). In 2373, Kira gave birth to Kirayoshi O'Brien in a traditional Bajoran birthing ceremony (DS9: "The Begotten"). Kira disliked indulging in holosuite programs (DS9: "Meridian", "The Way of the Warrior").

Her father, Kira Taban, was a farmer who fought against the Cardassian occupation as part of the Bajoran resistance forces. Nerys felt enormous guilt that she was not at her father's side when he died from wounds sustained in a Cardassian attack. She carried the guilt for years until finding a measure of absolution in 2373 when she stayed with Legate Ghemor, who regarded her as a surrogate daughter, during his final hours (DS9: "Ties of Blood and Water"). Kira's two brothers were named Kira Pohl and Kira Reon. Nerys never really knew Kira Meru, her mother, because she was three years old when her mother left. Her father, Kira Taban, always told Nerys that her mother died in the Singha refugee camp, a story that Nerys believed until 2374 when she used the Orb of Time to travel back to 2346. Nerys, in the past under an assumed name, met Meru, her mother, and was horrified to learn that Meru had served as a comfort woman for Cardassian troops and had become mistress to Gul Dukat. Feeling betrayed that her mother was a Cardassian collaborator, Nerys nearly allowed Meru to die in an assassination attempt on Dukat. Nerys saved her mother's life (and that of Dukat) when she learned that her father, Kira Taban, was able to find forgiveness for his wife, and that he loved her unconditionally despite what she had done (DS9: "Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night").

Kira was the only Bajoran official to remain behind on Deep Space 9 -or Terok Nor- after the Federation withdrew from the facility in late 2373 at the beginning of the Dominion war. Kira believed that it was her duty to respect her government's instructions to work with the Dominion and Cardassian occupation forces. Kira's feelings changed dramatically in the aftermath of Vedek Yassim's dramatic suicide in early 2374, protesting the occupation (DS9: "Rocks and Shoals"). Kira's relationship with Shakaar lasted only a year, ending after a visit to the Kenda Shrine revealed that they were not meant to walk the same path. Shortly thereafter, she learned that Odo had been in love with her for years, but had hidden his feelings so as not to jeopardize their friendship (DS9: "Children of Time"). Odo found it difficult to express his feelings for her until several months later, when a self-aware hologram named Vic Fontaine brought the two together (DS9: "His Way"). Kira Nerys was promoted to the rank of colonel in the Bajoran Militia in early 2375 (DS9: "Image in the Sand"). During the final days of the Dominion War in 2375, Kira once again became a resistance fighter, this time ironically leading the battle to liberate the Cardassian homeworld from Dominion occupation. For the purposes of this assignment, Kira accepted a Starfleet commission making it easier for her to work with Damar and other Cardassians (DS9: "When It Rains..."). After the end of the war, Kira was heartbroken when Odo felt compelled to leave her so that he could return to the Great Link of his people. Kira subsequently returned to station Deep Space 9, serving as its commander after the departure of Starfleet captain Benjamin Sisko (DS9: "What You Leave Behind").

* Kira's surrogate pregnancy was devised by the show's writers in order to deal with the fact that Nana Visitor was pregnant with her second child during the latter part of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's fourth season, and the early part of the fifth.

Odo

Species: male Changeling or Founder
Date of retrieval: 2337
Place of retrieval: Denorios Belt, Bajor system
Marital status: single

Played by René Auberjonois (1940-2019)

Security chief aboard Cardassian space station Terok Nor, who continued that function when Starfleet took over the facility in 2369. Odo was a shapeshifter or Changeling, one of the Founders of the Gamma Quadrant's Dominion (DS9: "The Search, Parts I and II"). Odo was discovered as an infant in the Denorios Belt near planet Bajor, but those that rescued him had no idea where he came from, or what species he belonged to (DS9: "Emissary").

When discovered in 2358 (DS9: "Broken Link"), Odo was a shapeless mass of organic broth. He spent several years at the Bajoran Institute of Science being studied by Dr. Mora Pol, who helped Odo assimilate himself into humanoid society. Being the only one of his kind, he attempted to fit into society by being "the life of the party." He'd turn himself into any object requested by the partygoers, which only increased his feelings of isolation and loneliness (DS9: "The Forsaken"). Odo regarded Mora as a father figure, yet resented his cold scientific attitude and constant scrutiny. He left the institute and rebelled against Mora's influence for years (DS9: "The Alternate"). Odo got his name from the Cardassian word odo'ital, something of a cruel joke, since it translates into "nothing." (DS9: "Heart of Stone"). Odo did not realize that despite Mora's seemingly unfeeling treatment, the scientist truly cared for Odo, and much of his apparent cruelty was the result of ignorance about changeling physiology (DS9: "The Begotten").

Odo came to Terok Nor in 2365, and became an unofficial arbitrator for the Bajoran nationals on the station. Later that year, station prefect Gul Dukat asked Odo to investigate a murder on the station. Kira Nerys was a suspect in that case. Dukat was so impressed with Odo's work that he made Odo chief of security for the station (DS9: "Necessary Evil"). In 2366, as part of his duties as Terok Nor's security chief, Odo was made an officer of the Cardassian court. This would become advantageous in 2370, following the arrest of Starfleet Officer Miles O'Brien by the Cardassian government. Using his position as an officer of the court, Odo was able to have himself assigned as O'Brien's nestor (DS9: "Tribunal"). When Benjamin Sisko was appointed acting chief of Earth security in 2372, Odo accompanied Sisko to Earth to as a consultant on protection against shape-shifter infiltration (DS9: "Homefront").

Odo maintained a humanoid form while at work on the station, but he had to return to his natural form, a viscous orange fluid, every 16 hours (DS9: "The Storyteller").* Having a great respect for the rights of all life-forms, however simple or evolved (DS9: "Playing God"), Odo refused to carry a weapon (DS9: "Emissary") . He didn't need to eat and only had an approximation of a mouth and digestive system (DS9: "The Forsaken", "Heart of Stone"). Once, not long after he first assumed humanoid form, he tried eating, but did not find it satisfying because he had no taste buds (DS9: "Meridian"). Odo could nevertheless simulate the act of drinking. He would form part of his body into a drinking glass, so that he could drink and reabsorb the liquid within, permitting him to share the social experience of dining with others (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior"). Odo had no sense of smell (DS9: "If Wishes Were Horses", "Improbable Cause"). He patterned his own hairstyle after Dr. Mora, the scientist assigned to study him at the research center on planet Bajor. He did not know how to gamble (DS9: "Babel"), but did try to take on new challenges. Odo sometimes joined Miles O'Brien when O'Brien ran his kayaking holographic simulation program, and O'Brien used to give Odo old Earth detective novels to read (DS9: "Heart of Stone").

Odo was reluctant to take a mate, claiming that he would not to want to make the compromises that a relationship would demand. Odo also had an uncompromising view of law enforcement, believing that "laws change, but justice is justice." (DS9: "A Man Alone"). Odo let his guard down slightly with Ambassador Lwaxana Troi in 2369 when the two were trapped together in a turbolift on the station. In their different ways, both Odo and Troi were loners, and their enforced proximity caused them to share each other's vulnerabilities (DS9: "The Forsaken"). In 2371, Odo came to realize that he had romantic feelings for longtime friend Kira Nerys, but he was never able to successfully express these feelings to her (DS9: "Fascination", "Heart of Stone"). In 2372, after his feelings for her interfered with his job, Odo decided to maintain an emotional detachment from her (DS9: "Crossfire"). Odo actually married Lwaxana Troi in 2372, although it was a marriage of convenience, in which Odo sought to help Troi escape from her husband, Jeyal. By marrying Odo, Troi became free to raise her son on Betazed, away from Tavnian traditions that would have kept her away from her child (DS9: "The Muse"). In 2373, Odo fell in love with Arissa, a woman who visited the station. It was with her that he had his first intimate experience with a humanoid woman (DS9: "A Simple Investigation").

Odo yearned desperately to learn of his origins, and hoped for years to meet another individual of his species. When Crodin of the planet Rakhar gave him a shape-shifting necklace from the Gamma Quadrant, Odo began to suspect that he might find other shape-shifters in that part of the galaxy (DS9: "Vortex"). In early 2371, Odo found his people on a sunless planet in the Omarion Nebula in the Gamma Quadrant. He learned that he was a member of a species of shape-shifters who were the elusive Founders of the Dominion. To learn about the galaxy, the Founders had sent 100 infant members of their species far out into space, and placed a desire to return home into their genetic makeup. Odo was one of these infants (DS9: "The Search, Parts I and II"). Odo's encounter with his fellow shape-shifters gave him a greater measure of self-confidence, even though he haddeclined to join his people's Great Link. He even stopped using his bucket for regeneration periods, instead reverting to his gelatinous state in his quarters, where he began to experiment with the sensations of turning into different shapes and textures (DS9: "The Abandoned"). Later that same year, Odo was afforded the unique opportunity to participate in Jadzia Dax's zhian'tara. But because of his shape-shifter nature, rather than just temporarily embodying the personality of Curzon Dax, Odo, in fact, became joined with him. The arrangement was very satisfactory for both beings, and for a time they refused to be separated. Even after Odo was persuaded to give up the Curzon personality, he retained memories of being joined with Curzon (DS9: "Facets").

Odo was a security officer for most of his humanoid existence, but he had never found it necessary to fire a weapon or take a life, as he abhorred the humanoid practice of violence. Nevertheless, in 2371, he became the first of his species to harm another Founder, when he accidentally killed the Founder posing as Ambassador Krajensky aboard the USS Defiant (DS9: "The Adversary"). A year later, Odo was compelled to return to the Great Link on the Founders' homeworld. There, he was judged for having killed another changeling, and in punishment was made human, unable to shape-shift (DS9: "Broken Link"). In 2373, a changeling infant was discovered on station Deep Space 9. Odo became the child's surrogate parent, determined not to repeat what he saw as the cruelty with which he was raised by Dr. Mora Pol. Odo even spurned Mora's offers of help, but later relented when the child's health deteriorated due to exposure to tetryon radiation in space. Odo experienced the joy of parenthood, then the grief of loss when the radiation poisoning proved fatal. The experience helped Odo understand how much Mora had cared for him, and how much Odo's rebellion against his surrogate father had hurt Mora. Just prior to its death, the changeling infant infused itself into Odo's body, restoring Odo's shape-shifting abilities (DS9: "The Begotten").

Odo cared deeply for his friend, Kira Nerys, but for years he was reluctant to admit it to himself or to her for fear of jeopardizing their friendship. This was especially difficult for Odo when Kira, unaware of his feelings, would confide in him about her romantic relationships with Shakaar Edon and Vedek Bareil. Odo might never have revealed his feelings to Kira had not an alternate version of himself from another timeline forced the issue in late 2373 (DS9: "Children of Time"). Odo became gradually more pen in his feelings toward Kira during the following months, although the relationship was threatened when he linked with the Founder Leader during the Dominion war. Odo found the temptations of the link to be so powerful that he inadvertently allowed Rom, a member of the resistance, to be captured by Cardassian authorities (DS9: "Behind the Lines"). Odo eventually chose to remain with his solid friends in the Alpha Quadrant (DS9: "Sacrifice of Angels"). Odo finally expressed his feelings to Kira in late 2374 after receiving encouragement and counsel from Vic Fontaine, an expert in affairs of the heart (DS9: "His Way"). Odo and Kira became romantically involved shortly thereafter, but their happiness was not to last. Unbeknownst to Odo, he had been infected with a deadly virus that had been created by Section 31. The covert Federation agency knew that Odo would pass the disease to all Founders through the Great Link. The genetically-engineered disease eventually affected Odo (DS9: "When it Rains..."). He would have died of the disease if not for the extraordinary efforts of Julian Bashir, who extracted information from the mind of Section 31 operative Sloan, making it possible to eradicate the virus (DS9: "Extreme Measures"). During the final hours of the terrible Dominion war, Odo linked with the Founder Leader, knowing that doing so would transmit Bashir's cure to her. Although Federation authorities had vehemently opposed such a link, Odo's act of trust made it possible for the Founder Leader to understand that her people could indeed live in peace with solids. This, in turn, prevented further bloodshed when she ordered the forces of the Dominion to end hostilities. The link had a second result. Odo came to realize that he must return to the Great Link, not only to cure his people, but to help them to understand that peace was possible with the solids of the galaxy. Sadly, in the process, Odo had to leave his beloved Kira (DS9: "What You Leave Behind").

* In "A Man Alone" Odo had to return to his liquid form every 18 hours.

Jadzia Dax

Species: female joined Trill
Last rank: Lieutenant commander
Father: Kela
Date of joining: 2367
Date of death: 2374
Place of Death: Deep Space 9
List of hosts: Lela Dax, Tobin Dax, Emony Dax, Audrid Dax, Torias Dax, Joran Dax (temp.), Curzon Dax, Jadzia Dax, Verad (temp.), Ezri Dax (current)
Last marital status: married with Worf

Played by Terry Farrell

Starfleet science officer assigned to Deep Space 9 in 2369, shortly after Starfleet took over the station. Jadzia Dax was a member of the Trill joined species (DS9: "Emissary").

Jadzia's father's name was Kela (DS9: "You Are Cordially Invited"). Jadzia had wanted to become a host to a Trill symbiont since she was a child and worked very hard at winning the honor. Neither of her parents nor her sister underwent symbiosis (DS9: "Invasive Procedures"). Before joining with the Dax (symbiont), Jadzia was a brilliant but shy young woman. She did extremely well in the initiate program, winning Premier Distinctions in exobiology, zoology, astrophysics, and exoarchaeology (DS9: "Dax"), and even won a third-level pilot certificate. Nevertheless, her training under Curzon Dax, her field docent, went poorly, and Curzon recommended she be rejected for joining. Curzon's harsh evaluation helped Jadzia realize she needed to find her purpose in life before she could be a successful Trill host (DS9: "Playing God"). Jadzia did not realize that the reason for Curzon's harshness was the fact that he was in love with her, a most inappropriate situation given their teacher-student relationship (DS9: "Facets"). Curzon felt guilty over his treatment of Jadzia, and later consented for her to become the Dax symbiont's next host upon his death in 2367 (DS9: "Playing God").

As Jadzia, Dax had been a close friend of Benjamin Sisko, but she noted that such friendships are often difficult to maintain when a Trill has a new host, particularly one of a different gender (DS9: "Emissary"). As is characteristic of Trills, Dax's hands are cold (DS9: "A Man Alone").

Although Jadzia believed she was Dax's seventh host, she learned in 2371 of a previously unknown joining. This deeply held secret was revealed when Jadzia began experiencing vivid hallucinations and a dangerous drop in her isoboramine levels. These symptoms were found to have been caused by the deterioration of a memory block created by the Trill Symbiosis Commission in 2285 in hopes of suppressing knowledge of the existence of Joran Dax (DS9: "Equilibrium"). Jadzia and her friends subsequently agreed to keep Joran Dax's existence a secret.In 2370 Jadzia almost died when a Trill named Verad briefly stole her symbiont (DS9: "Invasive Procedures"). Later that year, Jadzia honored Curzon's blood oath of vengeance against the Albino and accompanied Kor, Kang, and Koloth to Secarus IV to kill him. She battled the Albino, but could not bring herself to kill him (DS9: "Blood Oath").

As an attractive woman, Dax drew the attentions of many men, including Dr. Julian Bashir. Dax considered herself above such interests, although she once admitted that she thought Morn was cute (DS9: "Progress"). Captain Boday was once her lover (DS9: "Let He Who Is Without Sin..."). As of 2369, Dax had been attempting to master the Altonian brain teaser for 140 years (DS9: "A Man Alone"). Jadzia Dax liked icoberry juice, but drinking it always made her spots itch (DS9: "Let He Who Is Without Sin...").

Jadzia was regarded by her friends as something of a night owl (DS9: "Playing God"). She often threw surprise birthday parties for her friends at Deep Space 9 (DS9: "Distant Voices"). Jadzia had several hobbies, including Galeo-Manada style wrestling, and collecting the music of lost composers. She and Ben Sisko played Earth chess together. Jadzia enjoyed the game of tongo. Perhaps as a result of the Dax symbiont's many lifetimes of experience, Jadzia Dax disliked what she regarded as blind compliance to society's norms, and she occasionally enjoyed indulging in "inappropriate" behavior (such as playing tongo) for its shock value. Like Curzon, she had great fondness for Klingon food and Klingon music (DS9: "Playing God"). She enjoyed playing practical jokes on her colleagues. On several occasions in early 2372, she broke into Odo's quarters while he was regenerating, and moved all of his furniture very slightly, just to annoy him (DS9: "Homefront").

Dax learned a great deal about her past in 2371 when she underwent her zhian'tara ceremony. In the zhian'tara, a Trill's friends embody the personalities of the symbiont's earlier hosts, giving the joined Trill the opportunity to meet his or her earlier selves (DS9: "Facets"). When Jadzia Dax was reunited with Lenara Kahn in 2372, the two felt a great desire to continue the relationship started by their previous hosts, Torias Dax and Nilani Kahn. Though Jadzia felt strongly enough to go against Trill taboo, Lenara didn't wish to risk exile for reassociating with Dax. Lenara Kahn returned to Trill to continue her work (DS9: "Rejoined").

Jadzia found herself strongly attracted to Strategic Operations Officer Worf. Dax's familiarity with Klingon culture was helpful in winning his attentions in 2373, although the process proved hazardous to both (DS9: "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places"). In late 2373, Worf and Jadzia became engaged to be married, just as the Dominion war was beginning. Jadzia, worried that Worf might welcome the glorious death that war might offer, insisted on the engagement so that Worf would have a good reason to keep himself alive (DS9: "Call to Arms"). Following the reassignment of Benjamin Sisko as Admiral Ross's adjutant in 2374, Dax served as captain of the Starship Defiant, conducting many hazardous missions against the Dominion (DS9: "Behind the Lines"). In 2374, on stardate 51247.5, Worf and Dax were married in a traditional Klingon wedding ceremony on Deep Space 9, at which time Dax was accepted into the House of Martok (DS9: "You Are Cordially Invited"). Jadzia was deeply in love with Worf, and hoped to raise a family with him. That dream was shattered in late 2374 when Dax was mortally wounded by a Pah-wraith inhabiting the body of Gul Dukat. Station medical personnel were successful in removing the Dax symbiont for transplantation, but Jadzia died shortly thereafter (DS9: "Tears of the Prophets"). Worf took Jadzia's death very hard (DS9: "Image in the Sand"). He found some measure of comfort in the fact that General Martok allowed him to command a dangerous mission to Monac IV, where he won a great victory in Jadzia's name, guaranteeing her entry into Sto-Vo-Kor (DS9: "Shadows and Symbols").

Ezri Dax

Species: female joined Trill
Rank: Lieutenant junior grade
Place of origin: New Sydney colony
Birth name: Ezri Tigan
Mother: Yanas Tigan
Siblings: Janel Tigan, Norvo Tigan
Date of joining: 2374
List of hosts: Lela Dax, Tobin Dax, Emony Dax, Audrid Dax, Torias Dax, Joran Dax (temp.), Curzon Dax, Jadzia Dax, Verad (temp.), Ezri Dax (current)
Marital status: single

Played by Nicole deBoer

Ninth host of the Dax symbiont (DS9: "Image in the Sand"). Ezri's mother, Yanas Tigan, was a wealthy mining magnate on New Sydney but never got along with her family very well, except for her favorite brother Norvo. In 2375 she returned to her home planet in order to investigate the death of Morica Bilby, only to find that Norvo was responsible for it (DS9: "Prodigal Daughter").

Ensign Ezri Tigan was an assistant counselor aboard the Starship Destiny in late 2374 when the ship was assigned to transport the Dax symbiont back to Trill. En route, the medical condition of the symbiont took a turn for the worse, and it became necessary to implant it into the only Trill on the ship, Ensign Ezri Tigan. The newly joined Ezri Dax did her best to adjust to symbiotic life, despite the fact that she did not undergo the years of training and counseling normally required before joining. Also, she found that after joining, she tended to get queasy when traveling at warp speeds (DS9: "Shadows and Symbols").

Ezri had been right-handed, but became left-handed after her joining. At one point, she found joined life so difficult that she considered having the symbiont removed, but she soon found the inner strength necessary to adapt. Not only did she find she could still serve as an effective counselor, but she was promoted to the rank of lieutenant junior grade, and appointed as counselor for station Deep Space 9. Even so, she nearly declined the appointment out of respect for Worf's discomfort at working in proximity to the new Dax host, until Worf indicated that he thought Jadzia would have wanted him to accept the new host (DS9: "Afterimage"). When the two were shipwrecked on a planet, Ezri had a brief affair with Worf (DS9: "Penumbra"). But Ezri soon realized that she more than only shared Jadzia's fondness for Julian Bashir. Ezri and Julian became romantically involved late in 2375 (DS9: "What You Leave Behind").

Julian Bashir

Species: male human
Full name: Dr. Julian Subatoi Bashir
Rank: Lieutenant
Date of birth: 2341
Parents: Richard and Amsha Bashir
Marital status: single

Played by Alexander Siddig*

Starfleet medical officer, born 2341 (DS9: "Distant Voices"), assigned to station Deep Space 9 in 2369, shortly after the Cardassian withdrawal from the Bajoran system (DS9: "Emissary"). Dr. Julian Bashir's middle name was Subatoi (DS9: "The Wire"). His parents were Richard and Amsha Bashir (DS9: "Doctor Bashir, I Presume?"). Julian was born with serious learning disabilities and did poorly at early school. When he was six years old, Julian's parents took him to planet Adigeon Prime, where he underwent genetic resequencing. The procedure, illegal under Federation law, greatly enhanced his intellectual and physical abilities. When Julian learned what his parents had done, he began to feel unnatural, as if he were an artificial replacement for a defective child. Bashir's parents went to great lengths to conceal this alteration, until their secret was uncovered in 2373 by Dr. Lewis Zimmerman (DS9: "Doctor Bashir, I Presume?").

In 2352, young Julian and his father, who was a diplomat, were stranded during a planetary ion storm on planet Invernia II. Father and son were forced to watch one of the local inhabitants succumb to a disease which could have been treated with a local herb. The incident left a lasting impression on Julian, and was in part responsible for his decision later to study medicine (DS9: "Melora"). As a child of five, Julian performed his first surgery when he stitched the leg of Kukalaka, his beloved teddy bear. Julian was so fond of Kukalaka that he kept him on a shelf in his room, even after he'd grown up (DS9: "The Quickening"). In addition to his medical training, Bashir took engineering extension courses at Starfleet Medical. While studying to become a physician he fell in love with Delon Palis, a ballet dancer whom he never forgot (DS9: "Armageddon Game"). Bashir was a brilliant physician, having graduated second in his class. He would have graduated first had he not mistaken a preganglionic fiber for a postganglionic nerve. Fancying himself to be an adventurer, he requested posting to Deep Space 9 because he wanted to experience the excitement of the frontier (DS9: "Emissary"). Bashir was first in his class in pediatric medicine (DS9: "To the Death").

As a young man on Deep Space 9, Bashir found himself attracted to the beautiful Jadzia Dax. Unfortunately, Dax did not return the affection, although the two had a good professional working relationship and eventually became close friends. Bashir's interest in Dax became a source of embarrassment on stardate 46853, when unknown aliens from the Gamma Quadrant, seeking to study humanoid life, created a replica of Dax who was as attracted to Bashir as he was to her (DS9: "If Wishes Were Horses"). Bashir became romantically involved with Ensign Melora Pazlar when he helped her to adapt to Deep Space 9's gravity in 2370 (DS9: "Melora"). Bashir became romantically involved with Leeta for a few months, until they performed the Bajoran Rite of Separation on Risa in 2373, ending their relationship (DS9: "Let He Who Is Without Sin..."). Bashir enjoyed playing racquetball and was the captain of the racquetball team at Starfleet Medical Academy. He sometimes played racquetball on Deep Space 9 with Miles O'Brien (DS9: "Rivals"). He befriended Elim Garak, and despite his initial distrust, Bashir began to respect Garak's insights (DS9: "Cardassians"). Bashir's fantasy life included indulging in a holosuite adventure in which he played a colorful secret agent who worked for the British government in 1960's era Earth (DS9: "Our Man Bashir"). Bashir suspected he was experiencing a predestination paradox when he traveled back in time to 2267 and met Lieutenant Watley, a woman he thought might have been his great-grandmother, aboard the original Starship Enterprise (DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations").

Bashir worked hard to relieve suffering on many worlds, often at great personal risk to himself. He spent several weeks in 2372 trying unsuccessfully to find a cure for the addiction to ketracel-white that kept the Jem'Hadar under Dominion control (DS9: "Hippocratic Oath"). He also sought to discover a cure for the Teplan blight that plagued the entire population of a planet in the Teplan system, and was successful in identifying and developing an inoculation against a deadly pathogen that had taken thousands of lives on Boranis III (DS9: "The Quickening"). In 2371, Bashir's research in biomolecular replication was recognized when he was nominated for that year's Carrington Award, becoming the youngest nominee in the history of the prize (DS9: "Prophet Motive").

In 2373, while attending a burn treatment conference on Meezan IV, Bashir was abducted by the Dominion and replaced by a Founder. The changeling infiltrator hijacked the runabout Yukon and attempted to destroy the Bajoran sun with a trilithium explosive. Bashir, meanwhile, was held captive by the Jem'Hadar at Dominion internment camp 371, on an asteroid in the Gamma Quadrant (DS9: "In Purgatory's Shadow", "By Inferno's Light").

Julian Bashir was a distant relative of 15th-century Earth poet Singh el Bashir. Julian's genetic enhancements included mental ability, hand-eye coordination, reflexes, and vision (DS9: "Statistical Probabilities"). Bashir was kidnapped in 2374 by operatives of Starfleet's Section 31, a covert-operations unit of Starfleet Intelligence. Bashir demonstrated his loyalty to Starfleet and the Federation during extreme duress during tests imposed by Section 31 operatives. Bashir subsequently declined an invitation to become a part of the intelligence unit (DS9: "Inquisition"). Although Bashir was remarkably successful in keeping his genetically enhanced nature from interfering with his integration into normal society, it did serve as a barrier to his entering into a long-term romantic relationship. In 2375, he briefly hoped that his former patient, Sarina Douglas, who was herself genetically enhanced, might return the affection that he felt for her (DS9: "Chrysalis"). Bashir discovered that Section 31 had been responsible for developing and unleashing a deadly virus against the Founders of the Dominion (DS9: "When it Rains..."). Angered that a Federation agency would attempt to commit genocide, Bashir kidnapped Section 31 operative Luther Sloan, and forcibly obtained technical information about the virus from Sloan's brain. Using these data, Bashir developed a cure for the disease (DS9: "Extreme Measures"). Bashir's cure saved the Founders' race and was a major factor in the ending of the devastating Dominion war. Late in 2375, Julian Bashir became romantically involved with Ezri Dax (DS9: "What You Leave Behind").

* Alexander Siddig was originally listed as "Siddig El Fadil" during the first three seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He changed his screen credit to Alexander Siddig at the beginning of the show's fourth season.

Miles O'Brien

Species: male human
Full name: Miles Edward O'Brien*
Rank: uncertain**
Place of origin: Dublin, Ireland, Earth
Father: Michael O'Brien
Siblings: two brothers
Children: Molly O'Brien (born 2368), Kirayoshi O'Brien (born 2373)
Marital status: married with Keiko O'Brien (née Ishikawa)

Played by Colm Meaney

Starfleet engineer, chief of operations at station Deep Space 9 (DS9: "Emissary"). O'Brien's family resided in Dublin, Ireland, on Earth (DS9: "Homefront"). His ancestors included noted 20th-century union leader Sean Aloysius O'Brien and 11th-century Irish King Brian Boru (DS9: "Bar Association"). Prior to being assigned to Deep Space 9 in 2369, Miles Edward O'Brien had been operating transporters for some 22 years, the last six of which were spent on the Enterprise-D (TNG: "Realm of Fear"). As of 2372, he had been decorated 15 times by Starfleet Command (DS9: "Rules of Engagement").

Miles, who was born in the month of September (DS9: "Whispers"), grew up with two brothers (DS9: "Invasive Procedures"). During his youth, O'Brien did poorly in mechanical aptitude tests, but his later skills belied his test scores (DS9: "Paradise"). His father, Michael, wanted him to be a concert cellist, but two days before he was to start at the Aldebaran Music Academy, Miles signed up for Starfleet (DS9: "Shadowplay"). Early in his Starfleet career, O'Brien had been the tactical officer aboard the USS Rutledge under the command of Captain Benjamin Maxwell. O'Brien's first experience with transporters came in 2347, when the Rutledge responded to the Cardassian massacre at planet Setlik III. O'Brien repaired a balky field transporter, preventing himself and 13 Starfleet personnel from becoming Cardassian prisoners of war. He also participated in the rescue of several survivors of that bloody massacre. While at Setlik III, O'Brien led two dozen troops against the Barrica encampment, successfully driving out an entire regiment of Cardassian soldiers (DS9: "Empok Nor"). The experience of Setlik III scarred O'Brien deeply, and he continued to harbor bitterness against the Cardassians for many years (TNG: "The Wounded"). He was rewarded for his resourcefulness by being promoted to Rutledge tactical officer (DS9: "Paradise").***

O'Brien was deathly afraid of spiders, until an incident where he had to crawl through a Jefferies tube past twenty Talarian hook spiders to perform a critical repair at Zayra IV. After that considerable act of courage, O'Brien said he wasn't quite so fearful of arachnids, and even kept a Lycosa tarantula named Christina as a pet (TNG: "Realm of Fear"). O'Brien once dislocated his left shoulder while kayaking on the holodeck. O'Brien was healed, almost miraculously, by a touch from the Zalkonian named John Doe (TNG: "Transfigurations").

O'Brien married Keiko Ishikawa on stardate 44390 in a ceremony in the Ten-Forward Lounge aboard the Enterprise-D. Captain Jean-Luc Picard presided at the ceremony, and Data (who had first introduced Miles and Keiko to each other) served as father of the bride (TNG: "Data's Day"). O'Brien became a father a year later when Molly O'Brien was born (TNG: "Disaster"). O'Brien was deeply committed to his family, and was well aware of the risk that Starfleet duty entailed. He periodically recorded a "goodbye" message for his family, to be played in the event of his death. He recorded such a message every time he was about to go into battle, and as of early 2372, had done so 11 times (DS9: "To the Death"). His second child, Kirayoshi O'Brien, was born in 2373 (DS9: "The Begotten").

O'Brien was promoted and assigned to be chief of operations on station Deep Space 9 in 2369, and moved there with his wife and daughter. O'Brien's technical expertise and skill at improvisation proved invaluable, given the station's generally poor condition and the lack of technical resources at the distant post (DS9: "Emissary").

O'Brien almost died in 2370 after being exposed to nanobiogenic gel while helping the T'Lani and Kellerun governments to neutralize their deadly harvester weapon. He drank coffee, Jamaican blend, double strong, double sweet (DS9: "Armageddon Game"). Later that year, O'Brien was assigned to assist in preparations for the peace talks between the Paradan government and the rebels with whom the government had been at war. The Paradan government abducted O'Brien and replaced him with a cloned replicant that was physically identical to O'Brien. The replicant, who was programmed by the government to assassinate members of the rebel negotiating team, was given O'Brien's memories, and had no way to know that he was not the original (DS9: "Whispers").

O'Brien died of severe delta-series radioisotope contamination in 2371, when he was timeshifted several hours into a future in which the Romulan government destroyed Deep Space 9. The timeshifting was triggered by interaction of temporal displacement waves from a nearby cloaked Romulan Warbird with the radioisotopes in O'Brien's body. Ironically, O'Brien's death made it possible for his future self to travel back in time to his original "present," where the future O'Brien successfully warned station personnel of the impending Romulan attack. The future O'Brien thereby effectively changed places with the present O'Brien, and continued his life in this altered reality (DS9: "Visonary"). This would seem to mean that every appearance of O'Brien since DS9: "Visionary" has been the alternate O'Brien from several hours into the future, since the original died in that episode. The alternate O'Brien from the future fit in well, showing virtually no difference from the original O'Brien.

During a rather remarkable winning streak at darts, this O'Brien suffered a rotator cuff tear and was forced to have humeral socket replacement surgery. It ended his winning streak, but allowed him to finally complete his beloved kayaking program (DS9: "Shakaar"). In 2372, O'Brien was falsely accused of espionage by the Argrathi government and, as punishment, was implanted with memories of a 20-year prison sentence. After returning to Deep Space 9, O'Brien suffered mental stress and hallucinations caused by the implanted memories, pushing him to the brink of suicide. With help, O'Brien was able to cope with the incident (DS9: "Hard Time"). When Kira Nerys shared the O'Briens' quarters while she served as surrogate mother to their second child in 2373, both Nerys and Miles realized that they shared a mutual attraction. They nevertheless agreed to ignore their feelings (DS9: "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places").

Besides engineer, husband, and father, O'Brien briefly served as a substitute schoolteacher, when his wife visited her mother on Earth (DS9: "The Nagus"). O'Brien's off-duty pastimes also included music, and he was seen playing the cello in a string quartet in Ten-Forward aboard the Enterprise -D on at least one occasion. (TNG: "The Ensigns of Command"). O'Brien liked to kayak on the holodeck and holosuite (DS9: "Heart of Stone", "Transfigurations") and enjoyed racquetball, although perhaps not quite so much as did Dr. Julian Bashir. (DS9: "Rivals").

In 2374, Miles secretly worked as an undercover operative for Starfleet on Farius Prime. O'Brien infiltrated an Orion Syndicate group believed to have ties to the Dominion. While O'Brien was successful in his mission, he deeply regretted that it resulted in the death of Liam Bilby, a syndicate member whom O'Brien had befriended. Just before Bilby's death, O'Brien promised to take care of Bilby's pet cat, Chester. Upon returning to Deep Space 9, Chester became the O'Brien family pet (DS9: "Honor Among Thieves"). After the Dominion war, Miles O'Brien accepted a professorship in engineering at the Starfleet Academy and moved to Earth, along with his family (DS9: "What You Leave Behind").

* O'Brien was first seen as the battle bridge conn officer in TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint", a role he reprised in TNG: "All Good Things...", but it was many episodes until he got a last name. He did not get a first and middle name, Miles Edward, until "Family" (TNG).

** O'Brien is wearing lieutenant pips in TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint", but since TNG: "Family" he is holding various inconsistent NCO ranks. Read more about O'Brien's rank(s).

*** Note that DS9: "Rules of Engagement" suggests that O'Brien joined Starfleet in 2350, although the Setlik III backstory establishes that he was already in the service aboard the Rutledge in 2347.

Worf

Species: male Klingon
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Date of birth: 2340
Place of birth: Qo'noS
Father: Mogh (deceased)
Brother: Kurn
Adoptive parents: Sergey and Helena Rozhenko
Adoptive brother: Nikolai Rozhenko
Son: Alexander
Marital status: widowed from Jadzia Dax

Played by Michael Dorn

The first Klingon warrior to serve in the Federation Starfleet and an influential figure in Klingon politics. See Worf's complete biography on the TNG page.

Jake Sisko

Species: male human
Date of birth: 2355
Parents: Benjamin and Jennifer Sisko
Grandfather: Joseph Sisko
Siblings: none
Marital status: single

Played by Cirroc Lofton

Son of Benjamin Sisko and Jennifer Sisko. Born in 2355, he lost his mother on the USS Saratoga during the battle of Wolf 359 in 2367. Jake came to live on station Deep Space 9 when his father took command of the facility in 2369 (DS9: "Emissary"). On Deep Space 9, Jake befriended young Nog, with whom he created a fictitious company, the Noh-Jay Consortium, for their ingenious "business" dealings (DS9: "Progress"). Jake did well in his studies, and even tutored a young woman, Mardah, in entomology. Jake and Mardah, a dabo girl who worked at Quark's bar, became attracted to each other, to the consternation of Ben Sisko. Jake enjoyed playing dom-jot, becoming quite skilled at the game (DS9: "Playing God", "The Abandoned"). Although Ben Sisko hoped that Jake would follow in his footsteps, becoming a Starfleet officer, Jake's passion was as a writer (DS9: "The Abandoned").

In 2370, Jake told his father he didn't want to attend Starfleet Academy (DS9: "Shadowplay"). Once Jake realized that he did not want to pursue a career in Starfleet, he began to flourish as a writer. He was accepted to the prestigious Pennington School on Earth in 2371, and was even offered a writing fellowship. Jake nevertheless deferred admission, remaining instead with his father on Deep Space 9 (DS9: "Explorers"). Jake wrote his first novel in 2372, a semi-autobiographial work called Anslem. Jake's writing was inspired by a woman named Onaya, who was in reality a noncorporeal life-form who literally lived on creative energy. Although Onaya's influence was potentially fatal, Jake's father recognized her threat to his son, and drove her away (DS9: "The Muse"). During the following year, Jake wrote a story called Past Prologue (DS9: "The Ascent").

In 2372, Jake traveled aboard the Starship Defiant to the Gamma Quadrant on a mission to observe a subspace inversion of the Bajoran wormhole. During the mission, his father was involved in an engine-room accident. Sisko's apparent death was devastating to the young Jake, who never fully accepted the loss. In subsequent years, Benjamin Sisko would periodically reappear to Jake for a few minutes at a time. Jake, who had become a successful author with his booksAnslem andCollected Stories, became obsessed with learning what happened to his father. He abandoned his writing career and studied physics. In doing so, he estranged his wife, Korena. With the help of his old friends aboard the Defiant, Jake learned that in the accident, a subspace link had been created between him and his father. Periodically, the link would pull Ben Sisko forward into Jake's time, accounting for Ben's mysterious appearances. After several decades, Jake sacrificed his life at a critical moment so that his father could return to the past and avert the disastrous accident aboard the Defiant. In doing so, Jake excised this future timeline, so that his younger self could grow up without losing his father. In Jake's alternate future, by 2405, the Federation had abandoned station Deep Space 9 to Klingon control, while Bajor had entered into a mutual defense pact with Cardassia against the Klingons. Julian Bashir had a family and children; Nog had become a Starfleet captain; Morn owned Quark's bar; while Quark himself had retired to a small moon (DS9: "The Visitor").

In 2373, Jake accompanied Dr. Julian Bashir to planet Ajilon Prime to help at an emergency hospital during a Klingon attack. At Ajilon Prime, Jake Sisko experienced the horrors of war firsthand and learned of the fine line between courage and cowardice (DS9: "Nor the Battle to the Strong"). A few months later, Jake moved out of his father's quarters and became roommates with Starfleet Academy cadet Nog, who had returned to Deep Space 9 for field-study duty (DS9: "The Ascent"). Jake sometimes babysat for Lieutenant Vilix'pran's children (DS9: "Business As Usual").

In late 2373 Jake Sisko became an official correspondent for the Federation News Service. He reported on events on station Deep Space 9 during the Dominion war, even risking his life by remaining on the station after the Federation withdrew from the facility (DS9: "Call to Arms"). Jake later sold a book of stories about life on Deep Space 9 under Dominion rule to the Federation News Service (DS9: "You Are Cordially Invited"). Jake and his grandfather, Joseph, accompanied Ben Sisko on an expedition to Tyree in early 2375 to find the Orb of the Emissary (DS9: "Image in the Sand").

Quark

Species: male Ferengi
Parents: Keldar and Ishka
Brother: Rom
Marital status: divorced from Grilka

Played by Armin Shimerman

Entrepreneur who ran Quark's bar on station Deep Space 9. Quark grew up on planet Ferenginar with his father Keldar, his mother Ishka, and his younger brother Rom. Inheriting his mother's good business sense, Quark left his homeworld in 2351 as soon as he reached his Age of Ascension (DS9: "Family Business"). As a young man, Quark was apprenticed to a district sub-nagus. He behaved as a proper, subservient Ferengi, and was very popular with the sub-nagus, and felt he was well on his way to success. However, Quark became involved with the sub-nagus's sister, and was ousted from his apprenticeship because of it (DS9: "Playing God"). Quark worked on a Ferengi freighter ship for eight years before opening a bar on the Cardassian mining station, Terok Nor (DS9: "Babel", "The Way of the Warrior"). Quark served as ship's cook on the freighter, and was away from Ferenginar when the planet was struck by the Great Monetary Collapse (DS9: "Homefront").

In 2363, Quark had a brief affair with Natima Lang, a Cardassian woman with unorthodox political views, who admired him for illegally selling food to Bajoran nationals on Terok Nor. Lang left Quark after learning that he had used her personal access code to steal money. Quark regarded Lang as the great love of his life and always regretted having betrayed her trust (DS9: "Profit and Loss").

During the Cardassian occupation of planet Bajor, Quark ran a black-market business for Bajoran nationals on the station. When the Cardassians left in 2369, Quark reluctantly stayed to manage his bar. Quark, a Ferengi national, felt unfairly persecuted by station security chief, Odo (DS9: "Emissary"). Later that year, Quark served as grand nagus when Grand Nagus Zek apparently died. The appointment was only temporary, however, because Zek had faked his death to test his son, Krax (DS9: "The Nagus").

In 2370, during an attempt to find a list for an acquaintance, Pallra, Quark was shot with a compressed tetryon-beam weapon and suffered life-threatening injuries to his thoracic cavity. Fortunately, he recovered (DS9: "Necessary Evil). Also in 2370, Grand Nagus Zek gave Quark the opportunity to be the first Ferengi to open business negotiations with a planet from the Gamma Quadrant. Unfortunately, the scandalous revelation that Pel, Quark's protégé in the venture, was female resulted in the loss of Quark's profits (DS9: "Rules of Acquisition").

Early in 2371, Quark found himself briefly thrust into Klingon politics when he accidentally killed Kozak, a patron at his bar. Quark temporarily became head of the House of Kozak, and husband to Grilka. In that capacity, he helped to insure Grilka's financial security by fending off a plot by D'Ghor to gain control of Kozak's assets (DS9: "The House of Quark"). The Lady Grilka returned into Quark's life in 2373 when she traveled to Deep Space 9 to ask his advice on financial matters. Quark found the Klingon woman very attractive, and, with Worf's tutelage, won her romantic attentions. As a result, Quark received a compound fracture of the right radius, two fractured ribs, torn ligaments, strained tendons, and numerous bruises, contusions, and scratches (DS9: "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places"). Quark once loaned his cousin, Gaila, latinum to start an arms consortium. Years later, when Gaila had grown enormously wealthy, he repaid the debt by presenting Quark with his own ship. Quark named the vessel Quark's Treasure, but unfortunately, the ship experienced a serious malfunction on its first voyage and had to be scrapped after an accidental side trip to Earth in the year 1947 (DS9: "Little Green Men").

In 2372, Quark was faced with an extraordinarily difficult situation when the employees at his bar formed a labor union and went on strike. Pressured by the threat of violence from the FCA, Quark settled the dispute by making secret concessions to the workers, despite Ferengi law prohibiting negotiations with labor unions (DS9: "Bar Association"). A few weeks later, while on a trip to Ferenginar, Quark was misdiagnosed with fatal Dorek syndrome by Dr. Orpax during his annual insurance physical examination. Mindful of Ferengi tradition that holds that a Ferengi who dies in debt will suffer in the afterlife, Quark tried to raise money by offering his desiccated remains on the Ferengi Futures Exchange. Quark accepted an anonymous bid of 500 bars of latinum before learning that the diagnosis was in error. He subsequently learned that the anonymous bidder was FCA Liquidator Brunt, who refused a refund and demanded fulfillment of his contract for Quark's remains. When Quark defied Ferengi law by breaking his sales contract, Brunt responded by confiscating Quark's assets and revoking his Ferengi business licence. Fortunately, Quark's friends on Deep Space 9 came to the rescue, offering help so that he could remain in business (DS9: "Body Parts"). In 2373, Quark made a brief foray into illegal arms dealing in order to settle his mounting debt (DS9: "Business As Usual").

Quark regained his Ferengi business license in 2373 in exchange for helping Brunt break up the relationship between his mother Ishka and the Grand Nagus Zek. Quark later got the two back together (DS9: "Ferengi Love Songs"). Quark became a reluctant war hero when he played a pivotal role in the dramatic Starfleet recapture of Deep Space 9 from Dominion control in 2374. Quark, along with Tora Ziyal, freed several resistance fighters from Dominion imprisonment, killing two Jem'Hadar soldiers in the process (DS9: "Sacrifice of Angels"). Later that year, Quark led a team of six Ferengi mercenaries who rescued his mother from Dominion captivity (DS9: "The Magnificent Ferengi"). Quark came to the rescue again in 2374 when he underwent a sex-change operation so that he could convince Commissioner Nilva of the wisdom of Zek's radical reforms that granted females the right to wear clothing (DS9: "Profit and Lace"). Quark was nevertheless rather conservative in his views of Ferengi politics and was opposed to many of Zek's more radical reforms. It was not surprising, therefore, that Quark was passed over by Zek in his search for a successor in 2375. While Quark's brother, Rom, became the new Grand Nagus (DS9: "Dogs of War"), Quark himself remained on Deep Space 9, tending his bar and counting his profits (DS9: "What You Leave Behind").