Nancy Hedford Nancy Hedford was a Human female civilian who lived during the 23rd century . In 2267 , Hedford served as a Federation Assistant Commissioner when she was dispatched to Epsilon Canaris III to prevent the outbreak of war . Her mission was interrupted when she contracted Sakuro ' s Disease , an extremely rare illness that was fatal if left untreated . She was extremely bitter about her recall , blaming her illness on the incompetence of Starfleet Medical . She believed she should have been properly vaccinated , despite Doctor McCoy ' s statement that the odds against developing Sakuro ' s Disease were literally billions to one . The sent a shuttlecraft to retrieve the commissioner so that she could be ferried back to the ship ' s sickbay for a cure . En route to the starship , an alien called the Companion seized control of the shuttlecraft , diverting it to a small planetoid in the Gamma Canaris region . This posed a problem because , while Sakuro ' s Disease was curable in a medical facility , it was guaranteed to be fatal outside of such a facility . Marooned , Nancy Hedford faced certain death . Living on the planetoid was Zefram Cochrane , inventor of the warp drive , and the Companion . Cochrane " felt " to the Companion a need for more Human companionship . He hoped the alien would free him to seek this elsewhere , but instead it brought nearby Human s to it . Various attempts to persuade the Companion to cure Nancy Hedford , or to free its Human charges all failed , until Captain Kirk realized it was in love with Cochrane , and presented its differences as an eternal barrier to that love ; he hoped this would at last convince the alien to free the Humans – love expressed as sacrifice . Instead , the Companion elected to merge with Nancy Hedford , who was moments from succumbing to her illness . To do this , the creature abandoned its immortality and its suite of powers . The combined Hedford / Companion entity and Cochrane remained on their small planetoid , there to live out the remainder of a normal Human lifespan . ( ) Appendices . Background information . Nancy Hedford was played by actress Elinor Donahue . The character ' s full name ( " Nancy Hedford " ) appears in the script and credits , but the first name , " Nancy , " was not spoken aloud in the actual episode . Hedford was described in the final draft of the script as " " a very beautiful woman in her early thirties , but one whose beauty is marred by the slightly sullen , annoyed look on her face . We should get the impression , from her attitude and appearance , that despite her beauty she is not particularly a pleasant person to be around . " " She was first contacted about the role by Gene Roddenberry . However , Donahue was somewhat surprised to be asked to play the part because , at the time , she was retired . ( " " # 130 , pp . 74 - 75 ) Elinor Donahue found that Commissioner Hedford turned out to be one of her favorite roles . " " I " do " remember the experience as being very positive , " " she noted . One aspect that made the experience enjoyable for her was that the episode ' s director , Ralph Senensky , was very capable of telling actors how he wanted them to play their parts . " " I felt very grateful for that , " " the actress admitted , " " because it ' s always good to have " one " director around instead of four or five . " " ( " " # 130 , p . 74 ) The on - screen portrayal of Nancy Hedford was also influenced by Elinor Donahue ' s body weight . " " After a few days , I was honored to be asked to share with them " [ i . e . , the cast ] " their specially prepared diet barbecued lunches . As a result , I lost weight and the costumer fashioned gauze drape around my head and chest to disguise my boniness . " " ( " " # 130 , p . 74 ) Apocrypha . The novel " Forged in Fire " depicts a shuttlecraft having been named after as of 2289 .