Tracy Middendorf Tracy Middendorf was the second actress to play Tora Ziyal . She appeared in the episode . As revealed in " Cinefantastique " ( Vol . 28 , No . 4 / 5 , p . 63 ) , Middendorf also auditioned for the role of Mardah , prior to portraying Ziyal . Born in Miami Beach , Florida , Middendorf was in her senior year at Pickens High School in Jasper , Georgia when , in 1987 , she left to enter a performing arts school in Miami . She later attended the State University of New York ( SUNY ) at Purchase . In 1992 , she won the role of Carrie Brady ( another character who has been played by three actresses ) on the long - running soap opera " Days of Our Lives , " which had also starred John de Lancie . The following year , she began playing the recurring role of Laura Kingman during the fourth season of " Beverly Hills , 90210 " . In 1994 , she made her film debut with a supporting role in Wes Craven ' s " New Nightmare " , co - starring Fran Bennett , Cully Fredricksen , and Matt Winston . In the first ten years of her career , she was seen in such television dramas as " Murder , She Wrote " ( in a 1996 episode with fellow DS9 guest - stars Richard Beymer , Meg Foster , and Richard Libertini ) , " Touched by an Angel " ( in a 1997 episode written by Ken LaZebnik and co - starring Clive Revill ) , " L . A . Doctors " ( in a 1998 episode with John Billingsley ) , " Ally McBeal " ( two 1999 episodes , including one with Albert Hall and Ray Walston ) , " Family Law " ( with Scott MacDonald , Christopher McDonald , and Julie Warner ) , " Six Feet Under " ( with Ed Begley , Jr . ) , " JAG " ( with Zach Grenier , Scott Lawrence , and Terry O ' Quinn ) , and " Any Day Now " ( with Daniel Dae Kim and Tom Wright ) . She also had a recurring role on " The Practice " , working with Bruce Davison , Bruce French , John Larroquette , Richard McGonagle , Lawrence Pressman , and Steve Rankin . Middendorf ' s subsequent science fiction credits following her appearance on DS9 include an episode of " Perversions of Science " with Chris Sarandon , the first episode of , in which she played ( along with Vyto Ruginis ) the very first " damsel in distress " the good vampire tried to save in the series , and a 2000 episode of with Randy Oglesby . Her more recent TV work include four episodes of " 24 " ( co - starring Michelle Forbes , Timothy Carhart , Jude Ciccolella , and fellow DS9 guest star Billy Burke as her abusive husband ) and guest spots on " CSI " , " Cold Case " ( with Michael Nouri ) , " Medical Investigation " ( starring Neal McDonough ) , " House M . D . " ( with Jennifer Morrison ) , " Without a Trace " ( co - starring Enrique Murciano and John de Lancie ) , " Shark " ( starring Jeri Ryan , William O . Campbell , and Ivar Brogger ) , and " " ( with Steven Weber ) . Middendorf has worked several times with J . J . Abrams over the years . She appeared in two episodes of Abrams ' hit series " Alias " in 2003 , with Terry O ' Quinn and Greg Grunberg in the first , William Dennis Hunt in the second , and Christian Slater in both . The first of those were written by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci and directed by the latter . Three years later , Middendorf appeared in Abrams ' feature film directorial debut , Paramount ' s " Mission : Impossible III " ( also co - written by Kurtzman and Orci and co - starring Simon Pegg and Greg Grunberg ) . Most recently , Middendorf appeared in two episodes of " Lost " , the hit ABC series co - created by Abrams and Damon Lindelof and starring Daniel Dae Kim , Terry O ' Quinn , and Sam Anderson . Middendorf has subsequently guest starred in " Boardwalk Empire " , " Scream " , and " The Last Ship " .