Marla McGivers

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Lieutenant Marla McGivers was a female Human Starfleet officer in the 23rd century who served in the operations division aboard the in 2267 under the command of Captain James T. Kirk, during the historic five-year mission. 
She was ship's historian; however, she rarely had active duties to perform, indeed, Kirk could rarely recall her name, believing at one time, it was "McIvers". On the few occasions when she was called to service, McGivers regarded it almost as an inconvenience, and on one occasion she even kept a landing party waiting for her arrival. Judging from McGivers' cluttered quarters, crowded with paintings and sculpted busts, her primary pastime was art. Her favorite subjects were all strong, forceful leaders from Earth's history. McGivers' works of art depicted men such as Alexander the Great, Napoléon, Richard the Lionheart, Leif Ericson, and Flavius, a gladiator. McGivers was of the opinion that modern men did not live up to her heroes of the past.
As an historian with a fascination for bold, colorful characters, McGivers was particularly intrigued when, in 2267, the Enterprise discovered the carrying Khan Noonien Singh, a genetically-engineered dictator who had ruled much of Earth in the 1990s during the Eugenics Wars. Though she protested that her interest in Khan was professional, she invited him to her quarters, where she began painting his portrait. She later arranged a full-dress welcome dinner in his honor, a function normally reserved for a fleet admiral. When Khan pursued her, McGivers was surprised and shocked by his bullying manner, but also deeply flattered. Khan demanded absolute loyalty from her; desperately afraid of losing him, she promised to do anything he asked - including helping him in his attempts to seize the Enterprise.
Fortunately, McGivers was uncomfortable with Khan's murderous plans; she turned against him long enough to prevent Captain Kirk's death and to help retake the ship, but it was too late to save her career. When Kirk sent Khan and his followers into exile on Ceti Alpha V, McGivers was given a choice between facing court-martial or accompanying Khan. She chose to go with Khan, and he called her "a superior woman." ()
At the time that Khan's party settled on the planet, it was perfectly fit for Human habitation. However, a mere six months after their arrival, the neighboring planet, Ceti Alpha VI, exploded, causing an ecological disaster on Ceti Alpha V which left the planet a barren wasteland, devoid of nearly all natural life and resources. While Khan and his followers, aided by their genetic engineering, managed to remain alive in the inhospitable desert conditions, Marla did not survive to be freed from the planet. (). 
== Appendices ==
=== Background information ===
Marla McGivers was played by Madlyn Rhue. 
Although she was referred to as "lieutenant" in dialogue, she wore no rank stripe, denoting an ensign. Presumably, McGivers wore a red uniform because as ship's historian, her duties would fall under the classification of engineering and support services.
The Second Revised Final Draft of the script, dated , indicated that McGivers' historian duties are in addition to her job as a "control systems specialist." 
In the script for The Wrath of Khan, McGivers is stated specifically to be Khan's "beloved wife" who was killed by the ceti eel. Khan's line directly referencing McGivers did not make it into the final cut of the film, however, and thus McGivers' status as Khan's late wife remains unconfirmed, though probable. The early The Genesis Project script treatment, scene 14, had Khan unequivocally confirm McGivers' status as his wife. 
According to the film's Executive Producer Harve Bennett, McGivers was actually slated to make a re-appearance in Star Trek II as not only Khan's wife and confidant, but most notably as the helmsman of the commandeered – rather logically considering her being a former Starfleet officer – and McGivers scenes had already been written for two early script drafts (see: below). But after he discovered Rhue was then using a wheelchair due to , the character was written out as it was felt it would be unfair to recast the role. (Set Phasers to Stun: 50 Years of Star Trek; ) However, Rhue's supposed infirmity becoming the reason for Bennet and/or Director Nicholas Meyer to eliminate the part has long since been debunked as a myth, as Rhue's condition had at that particular point in time not yet progressed far enough to immobilize her. She did appear between 1982 and 1985 without assistance on an episode of Diff'rent Strokes which aired three days before Khan commenced principal photography, besides being seen standing and walking in her recurring role on the series Fame. The McGivers role in the film was largely taken over by the Joachim character, the helmsman part in particular.
=== Apocrypha ===
"Madlyn" was established as Lt. Marla McGivers' middle name in the novel To Reign in Hell: The Exile of Khan Noonien Singh by Greg Cox. In the early part of the novel, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, returning to Ceti Alpha V in 2287, discover McGivers' tomb, hand-carved by Khan himself, showing a birth year of 2242 and a death year of 2273.
To Reign in Hell indicated that Marla married Khan shortly before the destruction of Ceti Alpha VI, and, because she and Khan appeared incapable of producing children by dint of her non-Augment genetics, she tended to the children of Khan's people in their cavern home after the cataclysm. She was captured by Harulf Ericsson, one of Khan's former operatives on Earth who sought to overthrow him, and infected with a Ceti eel with the intention of using her to kill Khan. However, as Clark Terrell did when ordered to kill Kirk, Marla committed suicide instead. This scenario played out similarly in issue 3 of the series Star Trek: Khan - Ruling in Hell.
McGivers' unwavering in her loyalty to Khan character trait incidentally, chimes with the demise of the couple as written for the early The Genesis Project script treatment (scene 211); it is the gravely wounded McGivers who is resolute in her conviction for Khan not to give in to Kirk's surrender demand after the USS Reliant had been put out of action. 
=== External links ===
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