Melora Pazlar Melora Pazlar was an Elaysian Starfleet officer during the late - 24th century . She was the first of her species to enter Starfleet and specialized in stellar cartography . Personal life . Being from a species native to a low - gravity planet , it was extremely difficult for Melora Pazlar to function in " standard " gravity . As a result of this limitation , only a small number of her kind actually left the Elaysian homeworld to explore space . The limitation she experienced did not stop her , however , and she soon enlisted in Starfleet . Part of her reasoning for joining Starfleet was to encourage others and show them that she could overcome any adversity ; however , she also had a strong desire to explore space and other worlds , instead of merely being confined to her planet . At some point in her life , she learned to speak Klingonese to a fluent level and developed an interest in Vulcan music such as etudes by Delvok . She also enjoyed Klingon food , preferring to see " the blood running through the veins " of her " racht . " ( ) Starfleet career . During her studies at Starfleet Academy , Melora kept people at arm ' s length , believing other people would treat her differently because of her limited mobility in " normal " gravity . Her servo controls and anti - grav chair were needed for her to operate effectively at the Academy and she felt these distinguished her from the rest of the students . She eventually graduated as a stellar cartographer . Following her graduation at the Academy , she did mention having two friends , who despite being assigned to different ships , were able to get engaged . By 2370 , Melora had achieved the rank of ensign . Her first deep space assignment came in that year , when she was temporarily assigned to Deep Space 9 , to survey a sector in the Gamma Quadrant . Upon her arrival at the space station , she requested permission from Commander Benjamin Sisko to conduct the survey alone , believing she could accomplish the task quicker and to a better standard than if somebody accompanied her . When Sisko refused , she treated it as evidence that he thought she was disabled in some way , though Sisko eventually made it clear that Starfleet policy did not allow anyone to go on a mission alone , especially not an ensign . Her stubbornness to do things by herself caused her to have an accident while attempting to obtain an astrophysics array for her mission . When entering the cargo bay , she tripped , landing on her servo controls . It was only after Lieutenant Dax found her that Melora was taken to the infirmary and her controls repaired . Subsequently , the mission to the Gamma Quadrant was delayed by a day , in order to give her time to recover . During Melora ' s time on the station , Doctor Bashir researched and further developed Nathaniel Teros ' work on neuromuscular adaptation . If successful , the therapy would make it possible for a low - gravity species , such as Elaysians , to move in an Earth - like gravity by elevating the motor cortex neural output of the brain . Melora was initially ecstatic about the news that she may be able to function in " normal " gravity like the rest of the crew , but after her second treatment , disadvantages emerged ; once the procedure was complete , it would be irreversible , and any exposure to low - gravity could seriously disrupt her nervous system . Melora decided she would take the time to think about the treatment , over the course of her mission in the Gamma Quadrant . Upon returning from that mission , she and Dax were ambushed by the criminal Fallit Kot and forced back into their runabout , the " Orinoco " . When Commander Sisko prevented their departure by means of a tractor beam , Kot shot Melora , forcing an overload in her servo controls and knocking her to the deck . The tractor beam was subsequently released and Melora , along with Quark and Dax , were taken through the wormhole . Commander Sisko , accompanied by Chief O ' Brien and Doctor Bashir , quickly beamed to the runabout " Rio Grande " and initiated pursuit . On the " Orinoco " , an injured Melora lay on the floor as the ship accelerated to warp . Believing she was dead , Kot paid her no attention , thereby enabling Melora to reach the gravity controls by the transporter pad , where she disabled gravity on the runabout . While all of the " Orinoco " s inhabitants floated in the air , she kicked herself away from a console and into Kot , knocking him against the cockpit window and allowing Dax to gain control of the situation . The " Rio Grande " eventually caught up with them and Melora was taken back to the station . After having given some thought as to her neuromuscular treatments , Melora ultimately decided not to go ahead with them , believing it would strip her of what it meant to be an Elaysian . She was later reassigned to another position within Starfleet . ( ) Personal relationships . Family . Melora had a brother who resided on Elaysia with her family , none of whom had been off - world before . When she decided to leave her homeworld for a career in Starfleet , they gave her a cane made from the wood of a garlanic tree as a gift . Melora also kept a picture of her brother , on a table in her quarters . Julian Bashir . Doctor Bashir was the officer who prepared the station for Melora prior to her arrival . During the course of his preparation , he came to know her Starfleet record by heart , greatly admiring her devotion to overcome any adversity . As a result of this , he once said he felt as though he had known her for years . Upon her arrival , he took the time to befriend her and attempt to see beyond her defensive exterior . He eventually managed to persuade Melora to realize that nobody is completely independent , when he pointed out that " " in space , we all depend on one another to some degree . " " Melora quickly became romantically involved with the doctor . Although she initially questioned whether a relationship between two such different species could work , the two of them did enjoy meals at the Klingon restaurant . She even lowered her guard enough to allow Bashir to experience weightlessness with her , during which they also shared their first kiss . When Melora decided not to continue with her neuromuscular treatment , Bashir was disappointed but respected her decision and offered to continue with it at any point , should she change her mind . Before leaving Deep Space 9 , Melora had one last meal with him at the Klingon restaurant , where they were serenaded with Klingon lullabies by the chef . Jadzia Dax . Commander Sisko assigned Lieutenant Jadzia Dax to the survey mission after he had refused Melora ' s request to conduct it alone . Though Melora initially objected to this , she soon came to develop a working relationship with Dax , even going as far as to ask her advice on long distance relationships , after Melora became involved with Doctor Bashir . Though Dax agreed that " love across light years " was hard and lacked intimacy , she partially alleviated Melora ' s fears by recounting the story of a hydrogen - breathing Lothra and an Oxygene who fell " hopelessly in love , " staying together for fifty - seven years despite the fact they could only spend forty minutes a day in the same room . Concluding , Dax advised her to focus on the present , enjoy the moment , and not look to the future until it was necessary . ( ) Memorable quotes . " " I ' m sorry if I seem overly sensitive . But I ' m used to being shut out of the ' Melora ' problem . The truth is there is no ' Melora ' problem . Until people create one . " " " " I don ' t need a medical opinion to tell me my own capabilities . . . " " " " I ' ve been in one chair or another since I left my homeworld . My family gave me this cane made from the wood of a garlanic tree . . . They had no idea what it would be like to live off - world . . . in what you consider ' normal ' gravity . Only a handful of Elaysians have ever left home . But I always knew I had to be one of them . I dreamed about exploring the stars as a girl . And I wasn ' t going to allow any . . . ' handicap , ' not a chair , not a Cardassian station . . . to stop me from chasing that dream . " " " " Melora . . . no one on this station is completely independent . . . In space , we all depend on one another to some degree . . . " " " " I just want you all to know you can depend on me . . . " " " " Okay , you ' ve proven that . . . What do the rest of us have to do to convince you ? " " " " Of what ? " " " " That you can depend on us . " " " " I don ' t understand , myself . . . How can I possibly have second thoughts . . . ? This would mean real independence . . . It ' s everything I ever wished for . . . But then I start to think about home . . . and how I won ' t ever be able to go back . . . maybe just for a short visit . . . but never really go back . . . " " " " Let ' s just sit here awhile and listen . . . I want to remember all of this . . . " " Appendices . Background information . Melora Pazlar was played by Daphne Ashbrook in her only " Star Trek " appearance . The character was initially to be Deep Space 9 ' s science officer , because the producers liked the idea of a character who came from a low - gravity environment , but this was changed to the Trill Jadzia Dax , as it would lead to fewer complications . ( " " , p . 93 ) The character was created by Evan Carlos Somers , who wrote the initial draft of " Melora " . As Somers himself uses a wheelchair , the story held special importance for him , with his experiences of working in the narrow studio offices contributing to the personality of the character . ( ) The producers initially thought the character would be male , but Somers always envisioned her as a female , and a love interest for Bashir ; " " Zero - gravity sex with Bashir ' was a " prime " element to the story in my mind . I also liked the idea that by falling in love with someone who isn ' t disabled , and having this cure presented to her concomitant to a growing love affair , maybe Melora is doing it for him . How can she turn this cure down ? He loves her and he would never want to do anything wrong for her . But she didn ' t really think it out . In fact , she was surviving , and functioning very well , prior to her arrival on the station . Now , she ' s faced with a difficult assignment , but when she leaves , things are going to be OK again . She doesn ' t have to be cured , and she doesn ' t have to do it to please Bashir . " " ( ) In the first draft script of " Melora " , the character of Melora was a lieutenant with the surname " Opree " ( though she already had the first name " Melora " ) . The same script draft described her as " a stunning humanoid woman in her late twenties . " By comparison , the revised final draft of the episode ' s script described her as " " a cool , professional young woman in her mid - to late - 20s [ . . . ] Although her face is a mask , the extraordinary pressure from gravity is apparent in every move she makes . " " This would put her year of birth somewhere between 2340 and 2345 . Daphne Ashbrook prepared for the role of Melora by taking a wheelchair to a local shopping mall . Commenting on the experience , she said , " " Everything ' s an obstacle and also nobody looks at you . I think because people are uncomfortable and they don ' t know what to do . " " The make - up used for Melora ' s physical appearance was influenced by the fact she was to be involved in a romantic relationship that had to be believable for Bashir , as the extent of the make - up was therefore kept to a minimum , so that Melora was kept beautiful despite being an alien . A blond wig with a receded hairline was used to allow for an alien - looking forehead appliance . ( " " , p . 152 ; " Michael Westmore ' s Aliens : Season 2 " , DS9 Season 2 DVD special features ) Jim Martin designed Melora ' s exoskeleton ; " " I started with a basic framework for her limbs . The producers didn ' t want any chest or waist pieces . They just wanted it to be around her arms , her neck , and her legs . And they didn ' t want regular hinges , because hinges aren ' t futuristic enough . So [ Senior Illustrator ] Rick Sternbach designed an expanding and contracting kind of hinge , something that pulls in rather than rotate , that I incorporated into my drawings . But the metallic bands kept popping off , once right in the middle of a scene . [ Property Master ] Joe Longo never let me forget it ! " " ( " " , p . 94 ) Melora ' s chair was initially to have utilized the anti - grav technology that has been a part of " Star Trek " since " The Original Series " , and the chair from was to be pulled out of storage and remodeled . However , the chair had originally been designed with the larger set of the in mind and it was quickly realized that it would not be practical in the relatively small " Deep Space Nine " corridor sets . ( " " , p . 108 ) Set Decorator Laura Richarz purchased the chair seen in the finished episode , which was revamped by Joe Longo . He remembered how the production crew decided to keep the wheelchair as simple as possible , recalling that he " " . . . added a control panel and some wheel covers to block out the spokes in the wheels , and changed the joystick . Basically we tried to keep it as simple as possible , because of our experience on ' Too Short a Season ' . We had made a big albatross of a moving chair for that , and it was bad . But this one worked great . " " ( " " , p . 93 ) Apocrypha . Melora Pazlar appears as a selectable crew member in the video game " " , in which her personnel file states she was assigned to the conducting deep space surveys , prior to arriving on Deep Space 9 . It further states that , following the events depicted in " Melora " , she is assigned to the stellar cartography department on the . According to the Pocket TNG novels " Gemworld " Book One and " Gemworld " Book Two , following the Dominion War , Pazlar is assigned to the , under the command of Captain Jean - Luc Picard , where she assists in a scientific study on the effects of low - gravity on Primus IV . Before arriving at the planet , Pazlar receives a telepathic distress call from one of her world ' s species , the Lipul , that indicates Gemworld is in catastrophic danger . Pazlar convinces Picard of the threat , and upon arrival at Gemworld , the " Enterprise " discovers that the machinery that maintains Gemworld ' s atmosphere is failing . Pazlar and the " Enterprise " crew manage to save the artificial world from destruction , but in doing so , Melora is forced to take the life of one of her own people . The books also detail a brief romance between her and Reginald Barclay . The first book of the " " series , entitled " Taking Wing " , establishes Melora Pazlar as serving as a lieutenant and head of the stellar cartography lab aboard the , at Captain Riker ' s request . It also mentions her being decorated for valor after saving 192 of her shipmates , during the Dominion War . In the third " Titan " novel , " Orion ' s Hounds " , Pazlar is viciously attacked by her shipmate Tuvok , who is under the telepathic control of the star - jellies . Shortly after the incident , Melora asks Tuvok to train her in various means of self - defense . She is also depicted in the cover illustration . In the " " novel " Gods of Night " , Pazlar is promoted to Lieutenant Commander and made chief science officer . " Titan " Chief Engineer Xin Ra - Havreii also makes several upgrades to the stellar cartography holotank which allows her to not only operate in a zero - gravity environment , but also project a holographic avatar of herself into every major area on the ship , via a complex holopresence system . This allows her to participate in senior staff meetings without the need to leave the holotank . Xin also makes a romantic advance towards Melora but she declines , although she does not understand why . In the " Destiny " novel " Mere Mortals " , the " Titan " arrives at New Erigol and is threatened by a Caeliar ship . Riker assigns Pazlar and Ra - Havreii to search for non - tactical weaknesses to exploit , and towards this end , they calculate the size of the sphere surrounding the planet and prepare a strike team . During the attempt , Pazlar initiates the subspace trajectory , but the attempt is aborted when a scrambling field prevents the transport from working . Pazlar is later visited by Counselor Huilan Sen ' kara , in what she thinks are her quarters but is actually the holotank ; the counselor expresses concern that she is using the tank to completely isolate herself from the rest of the crew , physically and emotionally . He further expresses that , by not using her exoskeleton , she would likely forget how to , losing the ability to ever leave , a thought she dismisses . After continuing to work , Pazlar and Ra - Havreii are able to discover the soliton pulses keeping open micro - subspace tunnels and then tap into them to witness the invasion of the Borg Collective at the Azure Nebula .