Mariette Hartley Mariette Hartley is the Emmy Award - winning actress who portrayed Zarabeth in the episode . She filmed her scenes on Monday , Tuesday and Thursday at Desilu Stage 10 and Paramount Stage 5 . She was later one of the performers considered for the role of Gillian Taylor for , however the role was ultimately won out by Catherine Hicks . ( " " , , p . 39 ) Born Mary Loretta Hartley in Weston , Connecticut , Hartley studied with acting legend at the Repertory Stratford and with Oscar - nominated actress at Lucille Lortel ' s White Barn Theatre . Afterward , Hartley initially struggled to acquire work , but was ultimately cast in ' s Western film " Ride the High Country " , which co - starred future TNG guest actor John Anderson . Her career took off , and more roles began to pour in , not just for films , but for television as well . On film , Hartley went on to co - star in ' s 1964 thriller " Marnie " ( with Meg Wyllie ) , John Sturges ' science fiction drama " Marooned " ( 1969 , co - starring Nancy Kovack ) , the 1972 thriller " Skyjacked " ( with John Fiedler ) , " The Magnificent Seven Ride ! " ( 1972 , co - starring Ed Lauter , William Lucking , and James B . Sikking ) , 1988 war drama " 1969 " ( co - starring Joanna Cassidy ) , and the popular 1992 comedy " Encino Man " ( with Erick Avari ) , among a few others . However , Hartley ' s greatest success was undoubtedly on television , where she has accumulated over a hundred credits . Early in her career , Hartley made guest appearances on such popular TV westerns as " Gunsmoke " , " The Virginian " , " Death Valley Days " , and " Bonanza " . In 1964 , she appeared in the episode of entitled " The Long Morrow " along with Robert Lansing . During the 1965 - 66 TV season , she was a regular on the soap opera " Peyton Place " , and from 1966 through ' 67 , she starred with in the short - lived sitcom " The Hero " . In 1971 , Hartley co - starred with Gary Lockwood in an unsold pilot for a sci - fi series entitled " Earth II " . And in 1973 , four years after her appearance on " Star Trek " , that show ' s creator , Gene Roddenberry , had Hartley cast in yet another pilot for a planned sci - fi series , this one entitled " Genesis II " and co - starring fellow TOS alumni Majel Barrett , Ted Cassidy , and Percy Rodriguez . Unfortunately , this series did not sell either . ( In a humorous reference to the fact that Hartley was forbidden by the network censors to show her belly button on " Star Trek " , Roddenberry gave her two belly buttons for " Genesis II " . ) Hartley continued with her TV career , appearing on " The Bob Newhart Show " , " The Streets of San Francisco " ( two episodes , one with Clint Howard , another with Robert Foxworth , Steve Sandor , Mark Richman , and written by Dorothy Fontana ) , " Barnaby Jones " ( starring Lee Meriwether and also guest - starring Teri Garr and William Sargent ) , " McCloud " ( starring Diana Muldaur and Ken Lynch ) , " Little House on the Prairie " , and " M * A * S * H " ( with David Ogden Stiers ) , among others . In 1977 , she appeared ( along with Arthur Batanides , Robert Brown , Stewart Moss , Bill Quinn , and James B . Sikking ) in the TV movie " The Last Hurrah " , receiving her first Emmy Award nomination . A guest starring role in the first episode of the second season of " The Incredible Hulk " the following year earned her a second Emmy nomination and her first win . A 1979 appearance on " The Rockford Files " also earned her an Emmy Award nomination , as well as some unwanted press , as her shared kiss with co - star was photographed and sensationalized by the tabloids . This led to the rumor that Hartley and Garner were a couple , a rumor initially fueled by their earlier chemistry in a series of Polaroid commercials . Hartley also received Emmy nominations for her performance in the thirty - minute TV special " The Halloween That Almost Wasn ' t " ( co - starring Henry Gibson and John Schuck ) and for her starring role in the 1983 TV drama " M . A . D . D . : Mothers Against Drunk Driving " ( with Nicholas Coster , David Huddleston , William Lucking , Bert Remsen , and John Rubinstein ) . She earned yet another Emmy nomination for her role on the short - lived series " Goodnight , Beantown " . She also played in " Big Jesse " in " Cimarron Strip " in 1967 . From 1990 through 1991 , Hartley co - starred with Wallace Langham , Phil Morris , Eric Pierpoint , and Harris Yulin on the drama series " W . I . O . U . " Later TV credits include guest spots on " Murder , She Wrote " , " Caroline in the City " , " Nash Bridges " , , " NCIS " , and " Dirt " . Hartley is married to Jerry Sroka , who played the Talaxian Laxeth on the episode . Other " Trek " connections . Additional projects in which Hartley worked with other " Star Trek " alumni include :