Tamura Yeoman Tamura was a female Human Starfleet enlisted crew member in the 23rd century . She served in the operations division aboard the in 2267 under the command of Captain James T . Kirk , during a historic five - year mission that starship undertook . Service record . In 2267 , Tamura delivered a PADD to Captain Kirk , beside the engineering station on the " Enterprise " s bridge . After he signed the document , she walked away , towards the main viewscreen . Moments later , she took the PADD back to a position next to the engineering station and discussed it there with Montgomery Scott . They were surprised when , in conversation with Kirk at the command chair , Ambassador Robert Fox demanded that the " Enterprise " proceed to planet Eminiar VII , despite the vessel ' s captain wanting to do otherwise , due to a Code 710 . Carrying a tricorder , Tamura subsequently joined a landing party that visited the planet ' s surface . Shortly after they beam ed down to the planet and Kirk introduced the landing party ( including Tamura ) to Anan 7 , Spock asked her to conduct a scientific survey , using her tricorder , to identify the nature of an attack on Eminiar VII , an assault which had purportedly been committed by the planet Vendikar . She reported that , although the tricorder was working properly , she could detect no evidence of radiation nor any disturbances , such as explosions . Her confusing lack of confirmation for the attack was one clue that helped Spock realize the war between Eminiar and Vendikar existed only as a series of computer models . From time to time during the away mission on Eminiar VII , Tamura asked her superior officers what she and the rest of the landing party should do . For example , after they managed to free themselves from a detention room , she asked Kirk what they should do next . When they returned to the room later while the Eminians searched for them , she asked Kirk why the landing party had returned to that room , to which he explained that the Eminians were unlikely to look for them there . He assigned Tamura , handing her a sonic disruptor , to guard the detention room ' s door . Doing as Kirk had directed her , she also provided Spock with an Eminian communicator while he was explaining to Kirk how successful a raid against the Eminians had been . After Kirk and Ambassador Fox were captured by the Eminians , Tamura asked Spock , who had just managed to speak with Scott aboard the " Enterprise " , about what he now planned to do , which Spock answered by stating he was about to search for Kirk and Fox . He left her in charge of Mea 3 , with instructions to prevent Mea from reporting to a disintegration station , as citizens of Eminiar VII dutifully did that when declared casualties and Mea had indeed recently been named a casualty . ( ) Appendices . Background information . Tamura was played by actress Miko Mayama . The character ' s name was spelled " Tamula " in the credits , although the closed - captioned script spelled her name as " Tamura " ( a typical Japanese family name ) . The revised final draft of the script , dated , described this individual as " Yeoman Manning " , a male . A prior revision , dated , referred to the character as " Yeoman Thompson " . The novel " Pawns and Symbols " gave her first name as " Keiko " . Although women handled phaser s from time to time in " " ( such as Uhura , Marlena Moreau , and Marla McGivers ) , Tamura was the only woman ever given a weapon for a security job .