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Kira Nerys ( ) is a fictional character in the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999). She was played by actress
Nana Visitor Nana Visitor ( ; born Nana Tucker; July 26, 1957), is an American actress, best known for playing Kira Nerys in the television series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' and Jean Ritter in the television series ''Wildfire''. Early life Nana Tucker ...
. The character is from the fictional planet
Bajor The Bajorans (variously pronounced , , )Script notes
specify "bah-JOR-an" and "BAY-jor" as the correc ...
, a world which has recently emerged from a brutal foreign occupation. She was a member of the resistance, and the decades-long conflict has left her tough and uncompromising, but she is sustained by her strong faith in traditional Bajoran religion. She has been assigned to Deep Space Nine, a space station jointly operated by the
United Federation of Planets In the fictional universe of ''Star Trek'', the United Federation of Planets (UFP) is the interstellar government with which, as part of its space force Starfleet, most of the characters and starships of the franchise are affiliated. Commonly re ...
and the new provisional Bajoran government, where she serves as second in command as well as the ranking representative of her people.


Backstory

Per Bajoran custom, her family name, Kira, precedes her given name, Nerys. She has two brothers (Kira Reon and Kira Pohl), and her parents' names are Kira Taban (played by
Thomas Kopache Thomas Kopache (born October 17, 1945) is an American actor. Career Kopache was born in Manchester, New Hampshire, the son of Dorothy E. (née Sterling). He is known for his roles as Assistant Secretary of State Bob Slattery in ''The West Wing'' ...
throughout the series) and Kira Meru (played by
Leslie Hope Leslie Hope is a Canadian actress and director, best known for her role as Teri Bauer on the Fox television series '' 24'' and prosecutor Anita Gibbs on ''Suits''. Other credits include '' Shadow Builder'' (1998), ''Murdoch Mysteries'', ''The ...
in "
Wrongs Darker than Death or Night "Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night" is the 141st episode of the science fiction television series ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', the 17th episode of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 6, sixth season. Set in the 24th century, the series ta ...
"). The backstory of the character states that Kira Nerys was born 2343, in Dakhur province,
Bajor The Bajorans (variously pronounced , , )Script notes
specify "bah-JOR-an" and "BAY-jor" as the correc ...
, during the 50-year
Cardassian The Cardassians () are a fictional Extraterrestrial life in popular culture, extraterrestrial species in the American science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. They were devised in 1991 for the series ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' before b ...
occupation of the planet. She was raised in a labor camp. Her family were members of the artisan caste, namely sculptors of clay, or potters. At age 13, Kira was recruited into the Shakaar resistance cell, part of an underground movement which carried out guerrilla attacks against Cardassian military and civilians with the ultimate goal of ending the occupation.


Story

Kira is assigned as the senior Bajoran Militia officer aboard Deep Space Nine (DS9), acting as the station's executive officer under the Starfleet Commander
Benjamin Sisko Benjamin Lafayette Sisko is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise portrayed by Avery Brooks. He was the main character of the television series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (''DS9''), which was originally broadcast between 199 ...
, who commands the facility. Initially, Kira is opposed to the Federation presence on DS9, feeling that the Bajoran people should have nothing to do with the Federation, as she believes that Bajor needs to be able to stand on its own two feet, after enduring a long, brutal occupation by the Cardassians. Over time, her sentiments change and she becomes one of the strongest supporters of Bajor joining the Federation, and is a steadfast ally and friend of Sisko. She is deeply religious, which makes her relationship with Sisko somewhat complicated; not only is he her commanding officer, he is also the emissary of the Prophets, the Bajorans' gods. As a member of the Bajoran Militia, Kira is an invaluable help to Starfleet in its mission on DS9. She often commands Starfleet personnel as DS9's executive officer. In the third season, she also serves as the first officer of the ''Defiant'', a Starfleet warship based at DS9, until Lieutenant Commander
Worf Worf, son of Mogh is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, portrayed by actor Michael Dorn. He appears in the television series ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''TNG''), seasons four through seven of ''Star Trek: Deep Space ...
assumes that role in the fourth season. When the
Dominion A dominion was any of several largely self-governance, self-governing countries of the British Empire, once known collectively as the ''British Commonwealth of Nations''. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of self-governing colony, colon ...
recaptures Deep Space Nine at the start of the Dominion War, at the end of the fifth season, Kira remains aboard the station as liaison officer, as a result of Bajor's non-aggression pact with the Dominion. At the beginning of the sixth season, The Federation is losing the war against the Dominion and this, alongside a Vedek's suicide which she witnesses, galvanizes Kira to start plotting a resistance movement against the Dominion. The movement is eventually successful in helping Starfleet retake the station and driving the Dominion back behind enemy lines. Towards the end of the seventh and final season, Kira is promoted to colonel and temporarily commissioned as a Starfleet commander. She plays a significant role in helping the Cardassian Resistance wage a guerrilla war against the Dominion, being sent by Sisko to Cardassia itself to teach Damar and his followers the tactics she learned during the Cardassian occupation of Bajor. At the conclusion of the war (and the end of the series), Kira takes command of DS9 after the disappearance of Sisko. She is still in command several years later as seen in the '' Star Trek: Lower Decks'' Season 3 episode, "Hear All, Trust Nothing".


Personal relationships

Kira becomes romantically involved with
Bareil Antos This is a list of characters from the science fiction television series ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. Only characters who played a significant major role in the series are listed. ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' was a science fiction televisi ...
, a prominent Bajoran vedek (cleric). Following his death, she later becomes involved with
Shakaar Edon This is a list of characters from the science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. Only characters who played a significant major role in the series are listed. ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' was a science fiction televis ...
, a former resistance leader during the Cardassian occupation, who later becomes Bajor's First Minister. After a couple of years, accepting that the relationship is going nowhere (and after a visit to the Kenda Shrine on Bajor), the couple decide to end their relationship. Kira then forms a romantic relationship with the shapeshifter Odo, who had pined after her for years, though this too ends when Odo rejoins his people in the Gamma Quadrant at the conclusion of the series. Kira also becomes the
surrogate mother Surrogacy is an arrangement whereby a woman gets pregnant and gives birth on behalf of another person or couple who will become the child's legal parents after birth. People pursue surrogacy for a variety of reasons such as infertility, danger ...
to Kirayoshi O'Brien, the then-unborn child of Chief Engineer Miles O'Brien and his wife Keiko. When the pregnant Keiko was injured in a shuttle accident, Dr
Julian Bashir Julian Subatoi Bashir, MD is a fictional character from the television series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', portrayed by Alexander Siddig. Bashir is the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of space station Deep Space Nine and the USS ''Defiant''. ...
saves the fetus by transporting it into Kira's womb. Kira continues to carry the fetus until birth.


Enemies

Kira's arch enemy is the former Cardassian head of Deep Space 9, Gul Dukat. At the beginning of the series, Kira despises Dukat for helping oversee the occupation of Bajor and takes every opportunity to antagonise him further. As the series progresses, the relationship slightly softens, particularly after Kira learns that Dukat has a half-Bajoran daughter named Ziyal whom he initially believed had been killed. Dukat's military career and status suffer when he takes Ziyal back to Cardassia Prime and he and Kira join forces to help defend both Cardassia and Deep Space 9 against a Klingon invasion. After Dukat, with the aid of the Dominion, reassumes command of Deep Space 9, Kira realises that he is using Ziyal to try and get close to her and, from that point onward, their relationship is chiefly adversarial. After Dukat has been driven off the station, he later contacts Kira and discloses the close relationship he had with her mother Kira Meru, which Kira confirms after using the Orb of Time to travel back to witness the beginning of the relationship, which starts due to the Cardassians needing "comfort women". Dukat and Kira have one final encounter in the seventh season when he abducts her to space station Empok Nor and reveals he has become the leader of a cult worshipping the evil Bajoran spirits known as the Pah-Wraiths. Kira only narrowly manages to stop Dukat orchestrating the deaths of his Bajoran followers through mass suicide before he transports off the station. Kira also has a fractious relationship with Vedek (later Kai) Winn, a Bajoran religious leader who is in favour of separating her people from the influence of The Federation. In the final episode of the first season, Winn travels to Deep Space 9 in order to secretly plan the assassination of her rival (and Kira's lover) Vedek Bareil but fails (although Kira is unable to concretely prove that Winn was responsible). Kira nearly prevents Winn becoming the new Kai, but realises that doing so would reveal the truth about her predecessor Kai Opaka's role in a massacre and possibly lead Bajor into a civil war. Winn and Kira remain adversaries even when working together in Bajor's interests, especially when Winn attempts to interfere in government matters. Later in the sixth season, Kira is possessed by a Prophet and nearly defeats a rival Pah-Wraith which has possessed Jake Sisko, but Winn floods the station with chroniton radiation and the reckoning is stopped; Kira is furious that Winn has defied the will of the Prophets and that the Pah-Wraiths remain at large. In the final season, Winn again visits the station and Kira tries to convince her to step aside as Kai. A furious Winn refuses and this drives her into the arms of Dukat as they plan to release the Pah-Wraiths together.


Non-canonical information

In the licensed ''Star Trek'' novels (which are not considered canonical by Paramount), following the conclusion of the television series ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', Kira Nerys takes charge of the Deep Space Nine space station as its permanent commanding officer. With the conclusion of the first wave of ''Deep Space Nine''
novels A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of '' ...
in ''Unity'', Bajor finally joins the
Federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
, and Kira is given the
Starfleet Starfleet is a fictional organization in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Within this fictional universe, Starfleet is a uniformed space force maintained by the United Federation of Planets ("the Federation") as the principal means for conduct ...
rank of
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
. Kira opens every Bajoran Orb simultaneously in a sacred place in order to defeat a monstrous enemy. This also causes the return of
Benjamin Sisko Benjamin Lafayette Sisko is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise portrayed by Avery Brooks. He was the main character of the television series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (''DS9''), which was originally broadcast between 199 ...
from the Celestial Temple to the corporeal world. In the 2019 documentary '' What We Left Behind'', former showrunner
Ira Steven Behr Ira Steven Behr (born October 23, 1953) is an American screenwriter and television producer, best known for his work on ''Star Trek'', especially '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', on which he served as showrunner and executive producer. He was th ...
and several former writers of the series participated in a "what-if" planning session for an eighth season, where Kira has resigned from Starfleet and the Bajoran Militia and is a vedek in the Bajoran religious order.


Mirror Universe

The character of Kira Nerys also exists in the
Mirror Universe The Mirror Universe is the setting of several narratives in the ''Star Trek'' science fiction franchise, a parallel universe existing alongside, but separate from, the fictional universe that is the main setting of ''Star Trek''. It resembles th ...
. In the ''DS9'' episode "
Crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Music Albums * ''Cross Over'' (album), a 1987 album by Dan Peek, or the title song * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'', an album by Intrigue * ''Crossover'', an album by ...
", Kira encounters her mirror self, who is the cruel, powerful Intendant of the station (still called Terok Nor), with
Elim Garak Elim Garak ( ) is a fictional character from the television series ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', in which he is portrayed by Andrew Robinson (actor), Andrew J. Robinson. In the series, Garak is an exiled spy from the Cardassia Prime, Cardass ...
as her first officer. Kira convinces the mirror-Sisko to rebel against the Intendant-Kira and start the Terran Resistance. This group is later successful in taking command of Terok Nor and capturing the Intendant, but she manages to escape with the help of mirror-Nog. Eventually, the escaped Intendant convinces the alternate universe's Bareil Antos to travel to the regular universe in order to obtain an Orb of the Prophets. The mirror Kira falls in love with her double from the other universe. At the time, Nana Visitor dismissed the idea of her character being
bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
, saying that she intended to portray this as "total
narcissism Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive preoccupation with oneself and one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism, named after the Greek mythological figure ''Narcissus'', has evolv ...
on her part. It had nothing to do with sexuality". However, later episodes continued to show her surrounded by a mixed-gender
harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...
, and eventually depicted her being in a relationship with her universe's version of Ezri Tigan.


Casting

In the early stages of planning ''Deep Space Nine'', the series' creators wanted to bring in the Bajoran character Ensign
Ro Laren Ro Laren is a fictional character appearing on a recurring basis in the fifth, sixth, and seventh seasons of the American science-fiction television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. The character returned for the third season of ...
, who was a recurring character in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''.
Michelle Forbes Michelle Renee Forbes Guajardo (born January 8, 1965) is an American actress who has appeared on television and in independent films. She is a Saturn Award winner with three nominations. Forbes first garnered attention for her dual role in t ...
, who had portrayed Ensign Ro, turned down the offer, so a new Bajoran character was created instead. Nana Visitor had just given birth to a baby boy mere months before she was called to audition for the role of Kira Nerys, and her becoming a mother actually shaped her decision process for accepting or turning down roles. With the character of Kira Nerys, Visitor felt "completely engaged on every level by the part". Visitor almost turned down the role, as her manager told her "you will kill your career if you do this job." Visitor said, "By the end of the call, he had convinced me that I did want to be a part of it whether it impacted the rest of my career or not. When I read the script, I thought, 'That's a man's role. That's not for me.' Yet it was all I wanted to do. I hated every part that I had to play where I was chastising a husband or getting upset about the carpet. And I did a lot of those. Any time I could get my teeth into something, that was my flow state. That's why I was an actor. Major Kira was like Disneyland for an actor."


Scholarly reception

An article in the ''Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis'' finds the character of Kira "emotionally difficult". In ''Star Trek and Sacred Ground: Explorations of Star Trek, Religion, and American Culture'', noted that Kira was not shown worshipping privately until the 1997 episode " Ties of Blood and Water". Film magazine '' CineAction'' called Kira "perhaps the best character" in ''Deep Space Nine'''s cast.


Popular reception

On the 25th anniversary of ''DS9'' in 2018, Daniel Holloway and Joe Otterson discussed the character at length saying, "Fan reception to the character, and to the show as a whole, ran hot and cold. Previous female "Star Trek" characters had been helpmates—a switchboard operator (Lt.
Uhura Nyota Uhura (), or simply Uhura, is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. In the Star Trek: The Original Series, original television series, the character was portrayed by Nichelle Nichols, who reprised the role for the first six L ...
in the original series), a therapist (Counselor Troi in ''
Next Generation Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to: Publications and literature * ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company * Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...
''), a healer (Dr.
Crusher A crusher is a machine designed to reduce large rocks into smaller rocks, gravel, sand or rock dust. Crushers may be used to reduce the size, or change the form, of waste materials so they can be more easily disposed of or recycled, or to reduce ...
in '' The Next Generation''). None had been a war veteran with emotional skeletons. Visitor said, "Some people in the 'Star Trek' world were like, 'That's not what a woman in "Star Trek" should be. That's the wrong thing to be teaching. But what I saw her as was a woman of appetite and gray area—lots of gray area. Very fallible, but growing and trying. And that's all over television now." Holloway and Otterson suggested the character was a precursor to
Michael Burnham Michael Burnham is the protagonist of '' Star Trek: Discovery'', portrayed by American actress Sonequa Martin-Green. She originally appears as the First Officer of USS ''Shenzhou'' under Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) until she commits mu ...
on '' Star Trek: Discovery''. In 2016, ''
ScreenRant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and comic books. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publications including Comic Book Resources, Collider, MovieWeb and XDA Developers. ...
'' rated Kira Nerys as the fifth-best character in ''Star Trek'' overall. In 2018, ''
TheWrap ''TheWrap'' is an American online news organization that covers the business of entertainment and media. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman in 2009 and is based in Los Angeles. The site features original reporting, analysis, and editor ...
'' rated Kira as the tenth-best character of ''Star Trek'' overall, noting her role in ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' noted the character's role in the season one episode "
Duet A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...
" which they ranked as the 7th-best episode of the series; Nana Visitor, who played Kira, praised the episode's writing. In 2009,
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
ranked Kira as the 11th-best character of ''Star Trek'' overall. In 2018, CBR ranked Kira as the 11th-best
Starfleet Starfleet is a fictional organization in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Within this fictional universe, Starfleet is a uniformed space force maintained by the United Federation of Planets ("the Federation") as the principal means for conduct ...
character of ''Star Trek''. They elaborate that Kira in the show is not actually part of Starfleet until the last episode, in that brief time she has a big impact on the Dominion war. In 2018, ''TheWrap'' placed Kira as 10th out 39 in a ranking of main cast characters of the Star Trek franchise prior to '' Star Trek: Discovery''. In 2013, ''Slate magazine'' ranked Kira Nerys one of the ten best crew characters in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. In 2016, the character of Colonel Kira was ranked as the 7th-most-important character of Starfleet within the ''Star Trek'' science fiction universe by ''
Wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...
''. In 2020, ''ScreenRant'' ranked Kira one of the top 5 most likeable characters on the show.


References


Bibliography

*


External links


Kira Nerys
at
StarTrek.com ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the series of the same name and became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. Since its creation, the franchise has expanded into var ...
{{Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Star Trek: Deep Space Nine characters Bajorans Television characters introduced in 1993 Fictional military personnel in television Fictional first officers Fictional colonels Fictional female majors Fictional terrorists Starfleet commanders Fictional_characters_from_the_24th_century