Ro Laren

Ro Laren was a female Bajoran national who served as a commander in Starfleet, working for Starfleet Intelligence during the early 25th century. 
A survivor of the Cardassian occupation of Bajor, Ro had a tumultuous career within Starfleet. Following a court martial and demotion due to a catastrophic away mission, she was assigned to the Federation starship in 2368 and mentored by Captain Jean-Luc Picard. In 2370, Ro defected to the Maquis, after she started sympathizing with the group's goals during an undercover mission. ()
Later in life, Ro served time in prison and was recruited and rehabilitated by Starfleet Intelligence. In her new position, she had to rise through the ranks again, eventually becoming a Commander and handler of other operatives. In 2401, Ro uncovered a Changeling infiltration of Starfleet and shared extensive knowledge about the threat with her former mentor Picard, shortly before her death. ()
== Childhood ==
Ro was born on January 17, 2340 on Bajor to Ro Talia and Ro Gale. ( personnel file) 
Recalling her childhood as "a long, depressing period of [her] life, [she] was grateful when it was finally over." () Ro had grown up in the Bajoran diaspora, as one of the thousands displaced into refugee camps by the Cardassian occupation of her homeworld. During her youth, she spent some time in the camps on Valo II. () In all, she spent ten years in the camps. ()
Although most of the time she didn't even have a bed while living in the camps, there were times she did, when she was very young, and she would be afraid of the imaginary monsters that were under her bed. () To help ease her fears, Ro's father would play the belaklavion for her, which he told her had "special powers" and that "monsters were afraid of it, and they'd disappear whenever they heard it." She recalled that when she heard her father's music, she was never afraid to go to sleep. ()
In 2347, Ro was shown the true nature of the occupation when she was given a piece of sugar candy by a Cardassian, who led her to a room where she found her father sitting inside. For the next two hours she was forced to sit and watch as a Cardassian questioned and tortured her father until he died.
Throughout the entire ordeal, Ro felt ashamed of being a Bajoran. She was ashamed of her father for being so weak, as she watched him beg for mercy. Laren eventually found that she could not live in an environment where her people were unable to feed and clothe themselves. Because of this, she ran away. Her father's death led her to have a life long hatred of Cardassians. () After his death, she finally realized that even her father could not make all the monsters in her life go away. ()
Over time, Ro began to understand how misguided her feelings of shame were, and eventually she chose to no longer be ashamed of her heritage. Ro decided to keep her name in traditional form: family name first, given name second. She did this despite the fact that most Bajorans accepted the distortion of their names in order to assimilate. She also strongly favored wearing the traditional Bajoran earring, albeit on the left ear as opposed to the traditional right ear. () 
Later in her life, she revealed that she never really drew a picture of her mother. It was also revealed that the young Ro Laren was a repressed . ()
== Starfleet career ==
=== Academy and early career ===
Ro Laren entered Starfleet Academy in 2358 and graduated with the class of 2362. Her Starfleet service serial number was HL-2133-8947 (APL). ()
One of Ro's early assignments was aboard the . During that assignment in the mid-2360s, Ro was a member of the disastrous away team mission to Garon II. During the mission, Ro disobeyed direct orders, causing the eight other members of the away team to die. Ro was court martialed for her actions and refused to speak in her own defense. With little alternative, the court found Ro guilty and sentenced her to imprisonment in the stockade on Jaros II. () Jean-Luc Picard felt that, had Ro not lost her rank following her court martial, she could have been a lieutenant commander by late 2368. ()
=== USS Enterprise-D ===
==== First mission ====
In 2368, Ro was released by Admiral Kennelly and reinstated into Starfleet in exchange for helping locate a Bajoran terrorist. While secretly conducting her mission, Ro was assigned to assist the USS Enterprise-D on stardate 45076.3. Due to her familiarity with the Valo system, she was initially assigned as flight control officer. Upon reaching Valo II, she suggested the best route for them to take would be to go to the camp on the southern continent to find a man named Keeve Falor. 
Ro sat alone in Ten Forward, sipping her beverage and turning people away when they offered to sit with her. As Geordi La Forge at the bar nearby expressed his displeasure at Ro's presence to Guinan, she decided to get to know Ro. During their conversation, Ro revealed that she was court-martialed for disobeying a direct order, resulting in the death of eight fellow officers. Guinan persisted despite Ro's efforts to push her away. In her quarters, Ro received a transmission from Kennelly and told him that all was going according to plan. When it came time to beam to the surface, Picard found Ro gone and the terrorists never showed up at the designated meeting location. He beamed down anyway with an away team, where they found themselves surrounded by armed Bajorans, with Ro among them. Orta emerged, his face mutilated and vocal cords cut by the Cardassians. He told them that the Bajorans did not attack Solarion IV and lets them go.
Back on the Enterprises bridge, Ro discussed the issue of who attacked Solarion IV with the other officers until Picard asked her into his ready room. There he angrily asked her to explain her actions. While her intentions appeared to have been good – she hoped to avoid bloodshed by talking to Orta before the meeting – Picard confined her to her quarters for the rest of the mission. That night, Guinan visited Ro to talk about what happened. She observed that Ro seems to trust no one, least of all herself. After a brief conversation, Guinan recalled a time in her life when she got herself into a bad situation and that she would probably still be there if she had not put her trust in one man. Despite Ro being confined to her quarters, Guinan took her to Picard's ready room. Guinan left the two of them to talk, and Ro revealed a secret about her purpose aboard the Enterprise: Admiral Kennelly wanted her to make a secret deal with Orta, in direct violation of the Prime Directive. So long as Orta stopped attacking the Federation, Kennelly would supply him and his fellows with weapons and ships. However, when she learned Orta was not responsible, she did not know what to do. Ro shared a story about how her father was tortured to death in front of her at the hands of the Cardassians, explaining that she felt ashamed to be Bajoran. She and Picard decided to find a way for Orta to help them expose the ones who really attacked the Federation colony. Picard, reluctant to let go of an officer with Ro's potential, requested that Ro remain on board for the Enterprises next scheduled mission to survey Sector 21305. ()
==== Later missions ====
Not long after Ro's transfer to the Enterprise, a quantum filament caused major damage to the ship. Unable to communicate with the rest of the crew, Ro, Lt. Cmdr. Troi, Chief O'Brien and Ensign were trapped on the bridge. The quantum resonance of the filament caused a polarity shift in the ship's antimatter containment fields, leading to a progressive degeneration in the fields, threatening the ship. Before Commander Riker and Lt. Cmdr. Data were able to restore control over the containment field, Ro suggested a saucer separation to save the saucer section, while sacrificing the stardrive section, stating that she was not sure whether anyone was still alive there. After Troi rejected Ro's proposal, the Enterprises main computer was brought back online, and the antimatter containment was fully restored. ()
On stardate 45571.2, Ro was at the helm of the Enterprise when one of the vessel's shuttlecraft crashed on the surface of a moon orbiting Mab-Bu VI. There, a number of the crew became possessed by anionic energy lifeforms superimposing neural patterns. During their attempted takeover of the bridge Ro shot at the possessed Miles O'Brien, but missed. She was in turn stunned by O'Brien.
After the lifeform-possessed crew members took over Ten Forward, Ro suggested giving them a plasma shock as a means of causing pain to the beings without causing any physical harm. If the plan worked and they were able to hit all three with a single discharge, they would cause the beings to evacuate the crew members.
Geordi La Forge and Ro Laren later attempted a rescue in the small access area between Decks 9 and 10, above Ten Forward. When they finally made their attempt, they were unable to get all three crew members in the beam, which eventually led to the abortion of their rescue attempt. ()
On stardate 45652.1, Ro served on the bridge during an encounter with a temporal causality loop. She interrupted a staff meeting to report that sensors were getting unusual readings twenty thousand kilometers off the port bow. She noted that sensors did not detect the phenomenon until the ship was almost on top of it. As she attempted to back the Enterprise off from the phenomenon, she reported that the maneuvering thrusters were not responding, and as a ship emerged and she attempted to back the ship off, she reported that the helm was not responding.
In an alternate version of events, when the Enterprise collided with the , which had emerged from the phenomenon, Ro Laren reported that the Enterprises inertial dampers were failing and that the ship was losing attitude control, moments before it was destroyed, and Ro died. ()
While investigating a damaged Romulan ship, Ro and Geordi La Forge were presumed dead in a transporter accident. Finding themselves freely walking around the ship but passing through other objects, Ro suspected that they were dead and simply remaining behind to say their goodbyes to their former lives, but La Forge refused to accept that. Eventually, La Forge figured out that they had actually been sent out of phase with the rest of the ship due to a flawed Romulan attempt to create a new kind of cloaking device, a theory that was proved when they confronted a Romulan in the same position as they. Learning of a Romulan plot to sabotage the Enterprise, Ro and La Forge managed to work out a means of canceling out the phase and restoring themselves to normal, thus allowing them to warn their shipmates of the danger. ()
During a survey mission on stardate 46235.7, Ro, Picard, Guinan and Keiko O'Brien were briefly transformed into twelve-year-olds due to a transporter accident. Although Ro initially found the experience frustrating, when the ship was captured by a crew of rogue Ferengi, she took full advantage of her childish appearance to deal with the problem, such as slapping com badges onto the Ferengi to allow them to be transported, while declaring, "Tag – you're it!" After a process was discovered to return everyone to their proper ages, Ro actually spent a few hours longer in her childhood body, drawing pictures of her mother – something she'd never done during her actual childhood. ()
On the recommendation of Captain Picard, Ro attended Starfleet's Advanced Tactical Training, where she graduated in late 2370. Following her graduation she was reassigned to the Enterprise with the rank of lieutenant and given quarters on deck four, section eight. ()
== Joining the Maquis ==
In 2370, Ro was assigned to infiltrate the Maquis. Although somewhat reluctant, she agreed, partially to validate Captain Jean-Luc Picard's belief in her. By having Lt. Commander Data and Lt. Worf faking pursuit on the pretext she had killed a Cardassian soldier, she gained the attention of the Maquis Santos in a DMZ settlement bar.
She was kidnapped by Santos and was briefly questioned by him, Kalita and Macias. Macias immediately took a liking to Ro and trusted her even before her alibi was verified by Santos. He eventually became a father-like figure.
She later gained the trust of the rest of the Maquis by "stealing" medical supplies from the Enterprise. After gaining the Maquis' trust, she had them plan to invest significant resources to attack a Yridian convoy, which in actuality was a Federation trap.
Soon after, three Cardassians attacked the area near the Maquis cell and killed Macias, who with his dying breath told Ro, "When an old fighter like me dies, someone always steps forward to take his place." She started questioning her loyalties, and tried to have the fake convoy trap canceled by claiming the Maquis would not invest resources to attack. However, Picard saw through her lies and questioned her resolve. She claimed she would carry out her duties, but Picard had Commander Riker accompany her to the attack.
During the attack, she drew a phaser on Riker and fired a low-intensity particle beam from the shuttlecraft that revealed a Starfleet attack force hiding in a nebula near the bogus convoy. When the Maquis retreated, she had her ship move towards the Enterprise so Riker could leave. When asked why she was going with the Maquis, she replied, "It's been a long time since I really felt like I belonged somewhere." Just before she beamed to another Maquis ship, she asked Riker to tell Picard she was sorry for betraying his trust. (). 
After some time with the Maquis, Ro turned herself in to Starfleet authorities and was imprisoned. ()
== Return to Starfleet ==
Due to her experience with terrorist activities, Ro was recruited by Starfleet Intelligence, who subjected her to an intensive rehabilitation program. By 2401, she had advanced to the rank of commander.
That year, she boarded the to interrogate Picard and Riker for hijacking the ship but, after a heated exchange with Picard over her betrayal and emotional reconnection, revealed that she was investigating the Changeling threat and told Picard that she believed Starfleet had been compromised at the highest levels. With tears in her eyes, she expressed sadness that she and Picard had missed many years of friendship and that each of them had not gotten to know the person the other had become. Concurrently, Ro had wished that Picard could truly understand that she did what she thought was right in joining the Maquis and never meant to hurt him. Ro gave Picard a head start to get away but was betrayed by her security team, who were actually Changelings in disguise who planted a bomb on the shuttle and beamed away, and gave the Titan-A the opportunity to escape by navigating the doomed shuttle towards the Intrepids port nacelle in an effort to cripple the vessel. Before boarding the shuttle, Ro gave Picard her Bajoran earring, which Riker discovered was a datachip containing files on her entire investigation. An incoming transmission revealed that she was Worf's handler. Picard was greatly affected by the loss. ()
== Relationships ==
=== Jean-Luc Picard ===
Although initially opposing Ro's assignment aboard the Enterprise, Captain Picard was impressed with the way she handled the situation. Following the mission, he told her she was free to leave the ship, but as a personal request, he wanted her to consider remaining in Starfleet. 
During their first mission together, he observed her potential and noticed a certain quality about her that could possibly be harnessed and molded. Although Ro was flattered, she didn't feel she belonged in the uniform. Picard believed that she had a lot to learn from Starfleet, and she retorted that she felt Starfleet had a lot to learn from her. Picard felt that attitude was common among the best officers he had served with, and that although she was not one of those officers, someday she could be if she decided to work at it. 
Ro accepted Picard's "interesting challenge," something she rarely refused, and in return, at Ro's request, Picard allowed her to bend the Starfleet uniform code and wear her traditional Bajoran earring. While Ro claimed that the earring was for the family that she had lost, Picard later came to believe that it was for Ro's own ego, although this was after their relationship had turned sour. (; )
Picard later sponsored Ro's entrance into Starfleet's Advanced Tactical Training program. Although the program was exceptionally difficult, Ro graduated and was re-posted to the Enterprise as a full lieutenant. When she betrayed Starfleet and permanently joined the Maquis, Picard felt responsible for Ro's betrayal and believed he pushed her in doing so, but he also felt angry that she ultimately did. ()
Thirty years later, the two were reunited when Ro boarded the during the Changeling crisis, leading a confrontation between them in a holographic version of 10 Forward Avenue. Picard, who had been practicing for thirty years for the conversation, accused Ro of betraying everything that he believed in and their relationship of mutual respect, while Ro, offended that Picard questioned her honor, accused Picard of forcing her to live under his "relentless judgment," wanting to mold her in his image, and that Picard's mentorship and affection were conditional. Ro had joined the Maquis to fight against injustice, even if it meant betraying Starfleet and it was who she was, but Picard had confused morality with duty which was his dishonor. Ro believed that Picard had only believed in her when it was easy for him and that if Picard had truly felt the way he claimed, he would've understood and the two admitted that their hearts were broken by each other.
The genuine mutual shared during the confrontation proved to both that the other wasn't a Changeling and Ro took Picard into her confidence about her investigation into the Changeling conspiracy. Picard was deeply upset by Ro's subsequent death, but affirmed to Ro in her last moments that he did truly see her now while Ro was giving Picard the fighting chance that he had once given to her. After Ro's death, Picard discovered that her Bajoran earring, which Ro had given to him before her death, contained all of her files on Ro's investigation into the conspiracy. Picard admitted to William T. Riker that even Picard didn't know what Ro had meant to him. ()
=== William T. Riker ===
Commander Riker was not thrilled with the assignment of Ro to the Enterprise, and demanded nothing but the highest standards of performance from her. 
Upon her initial beam-in, Riker immediately reprimanded her for wearing her traditional Bajoran earring, which was not allowed according to the Starfleet uniform code. Riker later shared his concerns with Picard, stating that there would be members of the crew who would not want to serve with Ro. 
Riker was infuriated by Ro's acceptance of her assignment aboard the Enterprise when she stated that "It was better than prison." ()
Later, during a period in which the Enterprise crew lost their memories, Riker and Ro had a brief sexual tryst. Set against their prior antagonistic relationship, this created an awkward situation when the crew's memories were restored, but Counselor Deanna Troi indicated that people in such a situation might likely act on what they would subconsciously wish to do. ()
Riker was set to deliver a eulogy for Ro at a memorial service for her and Geordi La Forge when they were believed to have been killed in a transporter accident. However, he never had an opportunity to deliver it as both Ro and La Forge were revealed to be alive. The mystery of what Riker would have said baffled Ro. ()
Riker was the last Enterprise crewmember to see Ro when he joined her in an undercover effort to stave off a Maquis strike. Ro turned a phaser on him, however, explaining her defection to the Maquis, and asked him to relay her apologies to Captain Picard. Riker wished her well before she escaped. ()
After reuniting with Ro aboard the thirty years later, Riker defended Ro's betrayal and subsequent return to Starfleet to an incensed Picard. The two shared little direct contact, with Riker deducing from Ro's tone of voice that the Titan crew's guilt had already been predetermined by her even before her security review. Ro had Riker escorted out to talk to Picard privately, eventually revealing that she was working for Starfleet Intelligence and was on their side. Riker later comforted Picard over Ro's death and helped him to figure out the clues that Ro had left for Picard. Riker expressed admiration of Ro's use of "old school spycraft." ()
=== Geordi La Forge ===
Geordi La Forge believed that the only reason she was on her initial mission was because of orders, as he believed that she didn't belong aboard the Enterprise or even in a Starfleet uniform. () The two later bonded, however, when they were cloaked and phased by a Romulan interphase generator and forced to find a way to return to normal. ()
=== Deanna Troi ===
While the Enterprise was damaged due to an encounter with a quantum filament, Ro was in conflict with Deanna Troi, who was the senior officer on the bridge, about whether to detach the saucer section, thereby saving the lives they could. Troi was opposed to the idea, even though Ro argued vehemently in favor of separating the ship.
After Commanders Riker and Data stabilized the ship, Ro admitted to Troi that she was wrong. Troi responded that she might as easily have been right.
Ro does not appear to be guided by sentimentality when in a crisis situation, as indicated by her harsh comment to Troi during this incident. ()
Later the same year, Ro and Troi shared a drink in Ten Forward following the retrieval of their lost memories. ()
=== Guinan ===
Guinan became interested in Ro after learning a bit about her past from La Forge. Guinan defended Ro in front of Picard and encouraged her to reveal the truth to him about the nature of her mission. Picard was willing to listen, as he knew Guinan did not call someone a friend easily.
Ro and Guinan remained friends. When they were both transformed into children, Guinan helped Ro take the opportunity to experience the childhood she was denied as a Bajoran refugee. ()
In 2401, Picard used a holographic version of Guinan's 10 Forward Avenue bar for his confrontation with Ro, taking a phaser that Guinan had kept behind the bar. Picard asked if Ro remembered Guinan, but she didn't answer, more focused on confronting Picard. ()
== Appendices ==
=== Appearances ===
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** (Season 5)
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** (Season 6)
** (Season 7)
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=== Background information ===
==== Star Trek: The Next Generation ====
Ensign Ro was played by Michelle Forbes and first appeared in the fifth season TNG episode named for her, . Forbes was chosen for the role because the production staff were impressed with her performance as in the fourth season episode . ()
According to Rick Berman, Ro was introduced as a sharp-edged character to contrast with the TNG main cast. He explained, "The other characters in the cast are relatively homogeneous; some might even say bland. So we wanted a character with the strength and dignity of a Starfleet officer but with a troubled past, an edge." ()
Michael Piller was pleased with how Ro Laren turned out. "I created the Ensign Ro character, and I certainly loved writing for her," he enthused. "She was so fresh because she was one of those people that didn't get along with anybody easily, so she always had a lot to learn as a character." (Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection, issue 101, p. 14)
Indirectly, Michelle Forbes was Michael Westmore's inspiration for the Bajoran design and makeup. After her being hired for the part of Ro Laren in TNG, Rick Berman told Westmore, "We've hired a pretty girl and I want to keep her that way. Think of something that we can take and make her look a little alien, and still get the idea she's from another planet, but she's still gorgeous." (Michael Westmore's Aliens: Season One, DS9 Season 1 DVD special features)
Shortly before Ro made her on-screen debut in "Ensign Ro", Rick Berman regarded her as "a character who very well might recur." He went on to remark, "She plays very nicely with our characters and […] she's a very interesting character." ()
==== Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ====
During the production of , it was intended that Ro Laren be the first officer of Deep Space 9 under Benjamin Sisko's command. Michelle Forbes turned down the offer and the character was modified and became the basis for Kira Nerys. (The Making of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine bible of April 1992, Ro Laren's entry stated, "Established on ST:TNG. She is properly addressed as Lieutenant Ro since Bajorans put their family names first. (Note: She will receive a promotion from Ensign to Lieutenant on an episode of ST:TNG before this series begins.) As a Bajoran, Ro cares passionately about her people's independence. That's why she volunteered for duty on the space station. Sisko originally refused to accept her transfer…He didn't want anything to do with someone with her undistinguished service record and reputation. But during the first episode, she proves her value to him and becomes his first officer." In Jadzia Dax's entry in the bible, a friendship between Ro and Jadzia was suggested: "Ro, who forms a very close relationship with Dax, often tells her to loosen up. Dax admires Ro for her youthful energy, her purpose and her drive and becomes something of a mentor to her." In Odo's entry, Ro "finds Odo's negative attitude to authority delightful and they have a Bajoran fellowship." The bible entry for Quark posited that he and Ro would become adversaries. (The Making of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
An unproduced script was to have featured a flashback to Tom Paris' time at Starfleet Academy, showing that he and Ro were classmates. 
==== Star Trek: Picard ====
Terry Matalas stated in an interview that in early drafts for season 3 of , Ro was planned to survive the destruction of her shuttle in , having been beamed off of it by the Changelings for information; however, this was never filmed. Matalas described the season as already having "too ambitious of a schedule", and that "There were things that we just simply didn’t have the time and money to shoot." 
=== Apocrypha ===
In the 1990s, Ro Laren appeared in several unconnected novels and comics, since then retconned as part of the First Splinter Timeline. One of these was the Deep Space Nine novel Wrath of the Prophets, where she teamed up with Kira Nerys to track down a black market dealer on Bajor. She also appeared in the Next Generation novels The Devil's Heart, The Romulan Prize, War Drums, , The Romulan Stratagem, Sins of Commission, The Last Stand, Here There Be Dragons and The Death of Princes. Ro also appeared in the Deep Space Nine comic "Friend and Foe Alike". In the Star Trek: The Dominion War novels Behind Enemy Lines and Tunnel Through the Stars by John Vornholt, Ro Laren and Captain Picard lead a team to destroy an artificial wormhole being constructed by the Dominion in Cardassian space.
Ro Laren is one of the main characters in a number of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novels that have also since been retconned as part of the First Splinter Timeline. The novels show that Ro survived the Dominion's extermination of the Maquis and joined with a few other Maquis survivors to fight their own war effort against the Dominion. After the Dominion War, Ro returned to Bajor and was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Bajoran militia, replacing Odo as Chief of Security on DS9 and eventually starting a relationship with Quark. Initially, Starfleet wanted her arrested, but behind the scenes, Captain Picard quietly urged Starfleet to reconsider their decision. When Bajor joined the Federation, Ro considered leaving the station with Quark, but her old uniform was sent to her by Picard as encouragement to remain on the station. Ro remained with the militia as it was absorbed into Starfleet and was given a Starfleet commission at the rank of Lieutenant. As of the novel Zero Sum Game (set in 2382), Ro was the commanding officer of Deep Space 9 and a Starfleet Captain. After the destruction of the original station in the Star Trek: Typhon Pact novels Plagues of Night and Raise the Dawn, Captain Ro takes command of the new station built in its place, starting in Revelation and Dust.
Ro wears her Bajoran earring on her left ear rather than her right like every other Bajoran seen on screen, with the exception of those who worshiped the Pah-wraiths. In the aforementioned novels, it is explained that Ro does this because she does not believe in the Prophets, but still wants to acknowledge her heritage. It has the advantage of discouraging vedeks from pinching her left ear to read her pagh.
Star Trek Onlines backstory differs somewhat, stating that Ro surrendered to Starfleet in 2379, pleaded guilty to desertion, and served two years in a penal colony on Earth. Upon her release she was granted a commission in the Bajoran militia and became chief of security for Deep Space 9.
In the new timeline of the IDW comics, it is revealed that, by 2378, Ro was no longer a member of the Maquis and was secretly recruited by Worf to help him hunt down . (Star Trek: Defiant)
The Star Trek: Terok Nor novel Night of the Wolves depicts Ro's life during the Occupation.
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