Marla McGivers Lieutenant Marla McGivers was a female Human Starfleet officer in the 23rd century who served in the operations division aboard the in 2267 under the command of Captain James T . Kirk , during the historic five - year mission . She was ship ' s historian ; however , she rarely had active duties to perform . On the few occasions when she was called to service , McGivers regarded it almost as an inconvenience , and on one occasion she even kept a landing party waiting for her arrival . Judging from McGivers ' cluttered quarters , crowded with painting s and sculpted busts , her primary pastime was art . Her favorite subjects were all strong , forceful leaders from Earth ' s history . McGivers ' works of art depicted men such as Alexander the Great , Napoléon , Richard the Lionheart , Leif Ericson , and Flavius , a gladiator . McGivers was of the opinion that modern men did not live up to her heroes of the past . As a historian with a fascination for bold , colorful characters , McGivers was particularly intrigued when , in 2267 , the " Enterprise " discovered the and Khan Noonien Singh , a dictator who had ruled much of Earth in the 1990s . Though she protested that her interest in Khan was professional , she invited him to her quarters , where she began painting his portrait . She later arranged a full - dress welcome dinner in his honor , a function normally reserved for a fleet admiral . When Khan pursued her , McGivers was surprised and shocked by his bullying manner , but also deeply flattered . Khan demanded absolute loyalty from her ; desperately afraid of losing him , she promised to do anything he asked - including helping him in his attempts to seize the " Enterprise " . Fortunately , McGivers was uncomfortable with Khan ' s murderous plans ; she turned against him for long enough to prevent Captain Kirk ' s death and to help retake the ship , but it was too late to save her career . When Kirk sent Khan and his followers on Ceti Alpha V , McGivers was given a choice between facing court - martial or accompanying Khan . She chose to go with Khan , and he called her " a superior woman . " ( ) At the time that Khan ' s party settled on the planet , it was perfectly fit for Human habitation . However , a mere six months after their arrival , the neighboring planet , Ceti Alpha VI , exploded , causing an ecological disaster on Ceti Alpha V which left the planet a barren wasteland . Khan ' s followers struggled to survive , but Marla did not survive to be freed from the planet . She was killed by a Ceti eel . ( ) Appendices . Background information . Marla McGivers was played by Madlyn Rhue . Although she was referred to as " lieutenant " in dialogue , she wore no rank stripe ( denoting an ensign ) . Presumably , McGivers wore a red uniform because as ship ' s historian , her duties would fall under the classification of engineering and support services . The Second Revised Final Draft of the script , dated , indicated that McGivers ' historian duties are in addition to her job as a " control systems specialist . " In the for , McGivers is stated specifically to be Khan ' s " beloved wife " who was killed by the ceti eel . Khan ' s line directly referencing McGivers did not make it into the final cut of the film , however , and thus McGivers ' status as Khan ' s late wife remains non - canon , but probable . According to Harve Bennett , McGivers was actually to appear in " Star Trek II " . After he discovered Rhue to have been confined to a wheelchair due to , however , the character was written out as it was felt it would be unfair to recast the role . ( " " ; ) Apocrypha . " Madlyn " was established as Lt . Marla McGivers ' middle name in the novel " " by Greg Cox . In the early part of the novel , Kirk , Spock and McCoy , returning to Ceti Alpha V in 2287 , discover McGivers ' tomb , hand - carved by Khan himself , showing a birth year of 2242 and a death year of 2273 . " To Reign in Hell " indicated that Marla married Khan shortly before the destruction of Ceti Alpha VI , and , because she and Khan appeared incapable of producing children by dint of her non - Augment genetics , she tended to the children of Khan ' s people in their cavern home after the cataclysm . She was captured by Harulf Ericsson , one of Khan ' s former operatives on Earth who sought to overthrow him , and infected with a Ceti eel with the intention of using her to kill Khan . However , as Clark Terrell did when ordered to kill Kirk , Marla committed suicide instead . This scenario played out similarly in of the comic book series " " .