Kira Nerys
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In the fictional Star Trek universe, Kira Nerys, a Bajoran soldier, is a colonel in the Bajoran Militia, serving as first officer and Bajoran liaison officer on space station Deep Space Nine. The role is played by actress Nana Visitor.
Kira Nerys was born in Dakhur province, Bajor, during the 50-year Cardassian occupation of the planet. (As is standard with Bajoran names, "Kira" is her surname.) After the death of her father Kira Taban, Nerys was recruited to the Shakaar resistance cell, an underground resistance movement which carried out terrorist attacks against Cardassians, both military and civilian.
For a long time, Nerys believed that her mother Kira Meru had also died when she was a child. (Nerys also had two brothers, Reon and Pohl, seen briefly as infants during the series. Their ultimate fate is unknown.) Later, Nerys used an Orb of the Prophets to travel back in time, and discovered that her mother was taken as a comfort woman by the Cardassians. Meru had even been the lover of Nerys' arch enemy Gul Dukat, who treated her with kindness.
After Cardassia withdrew from Bajor, Kira became an influential figure in its reconstruction and the politics of the region, due to her assignment (then holding the rank of major) to Deep Space Nine, and her closeness to Captain Benjamin Sisko, whom the Bajorans believe to be a spiritual emissary from the Bajoran Prophets.
Initially, Kira was opposed to the Federation presence on Deep Space Nine, feeling that the Bajoran people should not have anything to do with the Federation. Over time, her sentiments changed, and she eventually became one of the strongest supporters of Bajor becoming a full member of the Federation.
Major Kira had a relationship with Vedek Bareil Antos until his death in a shuttle accident. She later had a brief romantic liaison with her former cell commander, later first minister of Bajor, Shakaar Edon. During this time, she also agreed to gestate the baby of Miles and Keiko O'Brien, when Keiko was wounded and nearly miscarried during an away mission. (Actress Nana Visitor was pregnant in real life, with Alexander Siddig who played Dr Bashir.) Doctor Bashir monitored her condition closely, as well as that of the baby. Bashir had concerns over the baby's gestation, due to the differences between human and Bajoran biology. She gave birth to their son Kirayoshi in 2373. After she and Shakaar broke up, she started a relationship with Odo during the Dominion War.
She was promoted to Colonel in 2374 during Captain Sisko's personal leave. Later that year she also received a Starfleet field commission as a Commander in order to assist the Cardassian Resistance. She was instrumental in ending the Dominion War, and later took command of DS9 after the disappearance of Sisko at the war's conclusion. (In the Star Trek novels taking place after the end of the series, Bajor joins the Federation and Kira receives a permanent Starfleet commission of Captain.)
Kira Nerys exists in the mirror universe first discovered by James T. Kirk in the classic episode "Mirror, Mirror". In the DS9 episode "Crossover", Kira encounters her mirror self, who is Intendant of Terok Nor, with Garak as her first officer. The bisexual mirror Kira falls in love with her duplicate and also counts the Mirror Universe versions of Benjamin Sisko and Ezri Dax among her lovers.
Kira's age was never explicitly confirmed in the series, although it is strongly suggested that she was in her late 20s at the time the series began. In reality, actress Nana Visitor was in her late 30s-early 40s during the run of the series, but there is no canonical indication that Kira fell into this same age range.
Trivia
When DS9 was first conceived, the Star Trek: The Next Generation character of Ensign Ro Laren was to have played a major role in the new series. When actress Michelle Forbes declined the offer to appear in the new series, Major Kira was created instead.
External links
- Kira Nerys (http://www.memory-alpha.org/en/index.php/Kira_Nerys) at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek WikiWiki.
- StarTrek.com: Kira Nerys (http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/DS9/character/1112436.html)