Pel Pel was a female Ferengi , alive during the late - 24th century . Known for disguising herself as a Ferengi male , Pel was an advocate of women ' s rights , believing females were just as capable at making profit as males . History . In 2370 , Pel was employed as a waiter at Quark ' s bar on Deep Space 9 , but due to Ferengi customs , she disguised herself as a male in order to make profit . During a Tongo game with Quark , Pel advised him to stock Gramilian sand pea s as a bar snack to increase profits . She later assisted Quark in trade meetings with the Dosi to purchase Tulaberry wine . Her advice was instrumental in obtaining an extended contact with the Dosi . However , she would end up falling in love with Quark , to the point where she kissed Quark on their mission to the Dosi homeworld . Rom , who was jealous of Pel , threatened to expose her as a female but was convinced to keep her secret in exchange for ownership of Quark ' s Bar . Pel ultimately revealed her secret to Grand Nagus Zek anyway after after he promised her a bright future . Grand Nagus Zek was going to have Pel and Quark arrest ed , because it was against Ferengi law to take financial advice from a female , but Quark pointed out to the Nagus that he , too , was guilty , as he had also taken advice from her . She told Quark that she loved him , but he tells her he would not be happy with a non - traditional Ferengi wife . Pel then left the station on an Andorian transport , as there was no place for a clothed Ferengi female with good business sense . ( ) Memorable quotes . " " So what do you think about my idea ? " " < br > " " I think I agree with the fifty - ninth Rule of Acquisition . Free advice is seldom cheap . " " < br > " " True , but the twenty second rule says , A wise man can hear profit in the wind . " " < br > " " I see you know your Rules . " " < br > " " A hundred thousand vats . That ' s a lot of tulaberries . " " < br > " " You ' ll get them . " " < br > " " How can you be so sure ? " " < br > " " Because you ' re good . And with me helping you , you ' re even better . " " < br > " " I didn ' t know the Replimat had a Ferengi menu . " " < br > " " It doesn ' t . I like to try new things . " " < br > " " That ' s unusual for a Ferengi . " " < br > " " I never heard of a Trill who could play tongo . " " < br > " " I guess that makes us both unusual . " " < br > " " On my world , women aren ' t allowed to leave the house , or wear clothes , or learn to read . " " < br > " " And you wanted more . " " < br > " " Why not ? I ' m as smart as any man . So I made myself a pair of synthetic lobes and became one . " " < br > Appendices . Background information . Pel was played by actress Hélène Udy . The character is the first Ferengi female seen on - screen . Quark ' s mother Ishka would later make an appearance in . The script for " Rules of Acquisition " describes the relationship between Quark and Pel ; " " There ' s a real rapport between these two that Dax picks up on . Rom can see it too and it leaves him seething with jealousy . " " Later , of the scene in which Pel removes her fake lobes , it says , " " Pel opens the case up ( we don ' t see its contents ) and then stares back for a beat at the mirror before reaching up and gently PULLING OFF HIS LOBES revealing the small delicately shaped ears of a Ferengi female . Yes , that ' s right , Quark ' s assistant and friend is really a woman . She carefully places the synthetic ears into the case which we now see houses two extra pair of lobes . The interior of the case has all kinds of tech devices to keep them looking and feeling real . Pel then takes off her jacket revealing the outline of her breasts . " " Udy enjoyed playing Pel , whom she described as , " " a very determined young woman who was trying to change the role of females within her species . She had tremendous courage and tremendous honour . And she was a boundary breaker . The character was an absolute honour to play because the character ’ s soul was so full of honour . " " In preparation for the role , the actress called one of her boyfriend ' s friends who was a " Star Trek " fan , staying on the phone for over an hour discussing the Ferengi . Aside from this , however , she didn ' t do too much studying so as not to get caught up in what was expected of her . " " Once I found the voice , I found the character , " " she explained . " " I loved the characters courage . That was my grounding post . I did not actually study too much on Ferengis except with the information I was given . I am glad of this . It allowed me to look at the needs of the script and the story and form the character form there , as opposed to getting caught up in what the producers might expect , and getting lost in that vortex of people pleasing . The need to please can often kill the ability to venture out . It is always best for me , to come from my own heart and hope for the best . " " Though she enjoyed playing the character , Udy did experience a number of issues with the Ferengi makeup . " " We had the hardest time with the kiss , because the dentures were modelled very carefully after Piranha teeth . And they were extremely sharp . We had a few painful encounters . But Armin was such a lovely and welcoming guy . And very funny . He had great comic timing . We got over it . " " As a result of wearing the makeup for long periods of time , Udy also learned that she was in fact claustrophobic . " " This uncontrollable need to tear my face off as the day wore on almost overcame me one very long 14 hour day . In my delusion , I called my then boyfriend and told him that I was very close to pulling my face off . Lucky for me , we lived 5 minutes from the set and he appeared immediately to make sure I did nothing stupid . But I do think the producer was aware that I was losing my mind . " " As a result of her unfortunate experience , the producers of the show warned future guest stars against auditioning if they had claustrophobia , something Udy thought was a shame . " " Kind of a pity . " " she recalled . " " Pel had the potential to recur , but they knew in that first episode that my claustrophobia would make that unlikely . " " The case in which Pel carries her lobes was designed by Illustrator Jim Martin while Makeup Designer Michael Westmore created the lobes themselves . Property Master Joe Longo was charged with making the case , which he did from scratch . ( " " , P . 98 ) The idea of putting breasts on Pel so the audience knew she was a female was the idea of Director David Livingston . " " A director has to take what ' s in the script and then make sure that all of the intentions are realized visually , " " he recalled . " " I asked them to give her breasts . Because just taking off an ear , to a Human audience , doesn ' t necessarily signal a female . " " Indeed , Livingston thought Udy as Pel was , " " just extraordinary . I ' ve talked to people who ' ve said that they didn ' t know she was a woman until she took off her vest . " " Ira Steven Behr said in agreement , " " One of the problems of doing science fiction is you ' re ultimately dealing with Human actors and Human concepts and a TV show isn ' t a book where you can imagine all kinds of things . So , yeah , it ' s very important that the audience gets it , up front , right away . " " ( " " , p . 97 ; " Captains ' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages " , p . 65 ) Though he was happy with some elements of Pel ' s episode , Behr had mixed feelings overall , especially in relation to the kiss between her and Quark . " " I thought they blew the big scene in the tent when " [ Pel ] " kisses " [ Quark ] " . It was not done the way I expected it to be . It was too schticky and slapstick and it should have been a wonderful , confusing scene . I was not a happy camper when I saw those dailies . " " ( " Captains ' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages " , p . 65 ) In his review of " Rules of Acquisition " , " Star Trek " author Keith R . A . DeCandido wrote that Udy , " " does a fine job as Pel " " , going on to describe Pel herself as , " " an interesting character , who earns Quark ’ s respect ( and Rom ’ s ire ) , but she ruins all of it by letting her infatuation with Quark get in the way of her mission , which is to earn profit as a female . It cuts the episode off at the knees by not letting her be what she can be because of a romance . " " Apocrypha . In " Legends of the Ferengi " , Pel is shown under Rule of Acquisition # 33 ; " " It never hurts to suck up to the boss . " " An image from " Rules of Acquisition " showing Quark grovelling to Grand Nagus Zek with Pel looking on , is included with the caption , " " Some would call this grovelling . To a good businessman , it ' s tactical . It also impresses the females . Note the admiration in Pel ' s eyes . " " Pel also appears in the " Seven Deadly Sins " novella " Reservoir Ferengi " , in which she becomes stuck on the planet Solamin Prime during the Dominion War , where she learns how to pilot shuttlecraft . Later , in 2377 , Pel partners up with , serving as his pilot aboard the " Golden Handshake " . At the same time , Brunt becomes another partner of hers , causing Gaila to suspect that they are plotting against him . He orders his Breen guards to kill them both though Brunt saves Pel and the two began a new partnership . In the " " eBook " Lust ' s Latinum Lost ( and Found ) " , Pel works with Rionoj and T ' lana to get Quark to help them publish " Vulcan Love Slave IV : Lust ' s Latinum Lost " .