Li Nalas Li Nalas was a member of one of Bajor ' s many resistance cells during the Cardassian Occupation of Bajor . A revered war hero , he was considered by many to be the greatest Bajoran resistance fighter ever . History . Early life and the resistance . Prior to his time in the Resistance , Li had spent time working in Terok Nor ' s ore processing center . Later , Li was part of a minor resistance cell . When they were in the mountain s surrounding the Sahving Valley , the cell was ambush ed by the Cardassian s . Li and two others survived . After two day s hiding in the hills , they were forced by a lack of food and water into the valley . They made their way to a ridge overlooking a small lake . As Li was the only one with a phaser , he left his companions and scouted ahead for the enemy . About halfway down the embankment , he stumbled and landed on his back just as a tall Cardassian emerged from the water . He was a gul in the Cardassian military , and he might have just been bathing in the lake . There was a pause , as the two were frozen in surprise – Li laying on his back , stunned , on the shore and Zarale , embarrassed in his underwear , shivering from the cold . Acting first , Zarale reached for his phaser rifle , which was lying on his clothes , on a nearby rock ; however , before he could fire his rifle , Li fired his phaser and killed the gul . The gul ' s body collapsed onto Li . Moments later , this was how Li ' s companions found him . Upon finding him and the dead gul , one of his companions identified the gul as Zarale , who was responsible for the massacre of half a dozen Bajoran village s . Before Li could explain how he came about killing the gul , his companions , convinced there was a savage struggle between the gul and Li , began spreading their story of how Li killed the gul . Efforts by Li of denying his companions ' story failed , as he became a legend in the resistance and victories were attributed to his leadership . His exploits spread and grew to mythic proportions . Li Nalas ' career as a resistance fighter ended with his capture in 2360 . Although his body was never found , he was presumed killed in action until 2370 , when he was rescued from the Hutet labor camp on Cardassia IV by Major Kira Nerys of the Bajoran Militia and Miles O ' Brien who posed as prostitute and her pimp , respectively , to gain access to the camp . In the camp , he was an inspiration to the other Bajoran captives . ( ) Bajoran hero . After he and his fellow prisoners were rescued , Li was taken to Deep Space 9 where he was immediately recognized . He was very uncomfortable with his status as a hero and attempted to secretly leave the station for the Gamma Quadrant . Discovered by the crew of the departing ship , he was returned to Commander Benjamin Sisko . After Sisko questioned Li and pressed him for an explanation , he admitted that the stories of his heroism were largely based on myth . Li told the commander the truth behind the myth that surrounded his reputation . As Li would relate to Sisko , he would never forget the embarrassed look on the Cardassian officer ' s face as he died in his underwear . Li confided with Sisko that he had always felt uncomfortable with being an accidental hero . Sisko confronted Li with the unfortunate truth that Bajor needed a symbol ; someone that the people could believe in because the planet was on the verge of civil war . Shortly after his return to Bajor , Li was given both the title of Navarch and Kira ' s position as Bajoran liaison officer on board Deep Space 9 , much to his embarrassment . Li assured the Commander that he would do his best to fulfill his duties but that he could never replace Kira . This was done by Minister Jaro Essa , who wanted to get Kira out of a position of power and to get Li off Bajor so that he would not influence Jaro ' s plot to take over the government . ( ) His rescue proved to be just in the nick of time , as he was able to play a pivotal role in preventing a disastrous " coup d ' état " orchestrated by the Alliance for Global Unity . He helped rescue Kira from the insurgents , calmed down a riot as some Bajorans attempted to flee the station by encouraging them to defend their home , and helped defend the station against General ' s troops , who attempted to take the station by force . After capturing Krim , Li was able to explain that the " coup " was being orchestrated by the Cardassians . Krim told his troops to stand down . Li was killed while saving Sisko from an attack by Colonel Day Kannu , and as a result , became a hero both in legend and reality . ( ) Memorable quotes . " " Well , I consider myself something of a history buff and I must say some of the campaigns you led against the Cardassians were truly remarkable examples of tactical - " " " " Doctor , I think you ' ll find that others enjoy talking about those days more than I do . " " " " Of course . I understand " completely " . " " " " I thought they ' d have forgotten me by now . " " " " It appears you were wrong . " " " " This morning I was a slave and tonight I ' m a hero . " " " " Where are you running to ? This is Bajor . We ' re Bajorans . We fought a war to regain our homeland . How can you abandon it like frightened Cardassian voles ? These ships are for our guests who must leave because it ' s no longer safe for them . We ' re Bajorans . I say we stay and solve our problems together . Are you willing to join me ? " " " " Off the hook . . . after all . . . " " Appendices . Background information . According to the , the pronunciation for Li Nalas was " LEE NAH - less " . Li Nalas was played by Richard Beymer in his only " Star Trek " appearance . His jacket from " The Homecoming " was sold off on the It ' s A Wrap ! sale and auction on eBay . The script for " The Homecoming " states the pronunciation of Li ' s name is " LEE NAH - less . " Furthermore , it describes him as " " a tall , rangy , laconic Bajoran in his late forties " [ . . . ] " a man of great physical presence , has a quiet self - effacing Abraham Lincoln / Gary Cooper charisma . He ' s intensely self - conscious ; but years of living with his reputation has taught him to hide his true feelings behind his public image . " " ( " " ) The writers briefly considered having Li survive the final episode of the trilogy and become a recurring character . Both Peter Allan Fields and Michael Piller supported this idea ; " " It seemed to me that killing him would send us back to square one , " " said Fields , " " Why go through three episodes with this guy , and then let him die ? You ' re back as if he ' d never been around . We could have written the whole thing without him . " " The final decision , however , came down to Ira Steven Behr , who believed that the character ' s death was truly necessary for the episode ; " " I just felt that this was a man who was living a lie , and at the end there needed to be a form of redemption , one that involved some self - sacrifice . The character was so impotent in certain ways , so out of his depth , and so clearly miserable as this figurehead . I think death really was , at that point , a blessing for him . . . " " As executive producer , Behr also had the practical concerns to think about . From a production standpoint , he didn ' t know how easy it would be to get Richard Beymer back to reprise the role , or how much it would cost to hire him . Ultimately , the writers decided they did need a someone to fulfill Li ' s role and so the character of Shakaar Edon was created in third season . ( " " , p . 83 ) In their review of " The Siege " , authors Mark Jones and Lance Parkin wrote of Li Nalas , " " It ' s odd that they kill Li Nalas after so much build up . But this is another strong episode . " " ( " Beyond the Final Frontier " , p . 193 ) Apocrypha . Li Nalas appears in the " " novel " Dawn of the Eagles " , which features his capture by the Cardassians . In the " " novel " Abyss " , and the novels " Cathedral " and " Lesser Evil " , the Bajoran Militia name their ship - of - state the " Li Nalas " in his honor . In the Pocket DS9 novel " Rising Son " , Jake Sisko discusses the return of Li Nalas with Opaka Sulan . His mirror universe counterpart is depicted as being the First Minister of Bajor in " Saturn ' s Children " .