Ro Laren

Bajoran Starfleet Lieutenant Ro Laren was born in 2340 on Cardassian occupied Bajor. She served aboard the USS Wellington, the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), and starbase Deep Space 9.

Early Life
Ro was was raised in Bajoran re-settlement camps under the watchful eyes of the Cardassian overseers. When she was seven, a Cardassian lured her into a tent with a piece of candy, and she was forced to watch as the Cardassians tortured her father for hours until he died.

She eventually escaped her oppressors and re-located to the free worlds of the United Federation of Planets, where she enrolled in Starfleet Academy. Upon her graduation, she was considered to have a promising career in Starfleet.

Starfleet and the Maquis
Ro's Starfleet career turned out differently than expected. Her time as an ensign aboard the USS Wellington was riddled with disciplinary measures, and after dis-obeying orders on the planet Garon II, eight members of an away team were killed.

Ro was subsquently courtmartialed and imprisoned at the penal facility at Jaros II. One of the officers presiding over her courtmartial was Admiral Leonard James Akaar.

In 2368, she was offered a deal by Admiral Kenelly; her freedom in exchange for her assisting the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) in finding the Bajoran terrorist Orta, who was believed to responsible for attacking Federation targets.

When Ro discovered that the attackers of the Federation facilities were actually Cardassians, she turned to Enterprise captain Jean-Luc Picard to uncover the truth.

After the encounter with Orta and the Cardassians, Ro served aboard the Enterprise for over a year, before returning to the Academy for Advanced Tactical Training.

Upon her return to the Enterprise in late 2370, Ro- now a full Lieutenant- was assigned to infiltrate the Maquis, a group of Federation citizens and former Starfleet officers who were fighting off the Cardassians in the De-militarized Zone in defiance of a recent Federation treaty with the Cardassian Union. Ro found that she both symapatized and fit in better with the Maquis more than she ever did in Starfleet, so she once again defied orders, betrayed Starfleet and joined the Maquis. (TNG episodes: "Ensign Ro", "Pre-emptive Strike")

In the year 2373, just before the destruction of the Maquis by new Cardassian allies, the Dominion, Ro found herself injured and alone on the planet Sindorin. She was nursed back to health by a tribe Ingavi that had colonized the world escaping the Cardassian occupation of their own world. (S31 novel: Abyss)

After the destruction of the Maquis, Ro and a few other Maquis survivors fought their own, independent, war effort against the Dominion and their allies. After the war ended, Ro returned to Bajor, where she was given the rank of Lieutenant in the Bajoran militia. Starfleet had originally wanted to have her arrested, but did not after the behind the senes urging of Jean-Luc Picard. (DS9 novels: Avatar books one and two)

Deep Space 9
Her superiors in the Bajoran militia assigned her the job of Chief of Security aboard the space station Deep Space 9, under the command of Colonel Kira Nerys in late February of 2376.

Shortly after her arrival at the station, Ro discovered a book of prophcies written the heretic Ohalu some 20,000 years previously that had been removed from the ruins of the city of B'Hala by murder victim, Prylar Istani Reyla.

Reyla was killed because the Vedek Assembly, led by Vedek Yevir Linjarin, wanted the book suppressed. Ro, stating the book was evidence in Istani's murder investigation, refused to turn it over. Kira interceded by giving the book back to Vedek Assembly, but uploaded the contents of the book to the bajoran comnet, making them public. For thisn act of defiance, Kira was attained from the Bajoran faith. (DS9 novels: Avatar books one and two)

Ro returned to Sindorin a few weeks later, when it was discovered that a rogue agent of the independent intelligence agency Section 31 named Ethan Locken had re-furbished a Dominion Jem'Hadar factory, and was creating his own army. Ro traveled with Dr. Julian Bashir, Ezri Dax and the Jem'Hadar observer Taran'atar to Sindorin where they Defeated Locken's plans and rescued the Ingavi tribe from Locke's Jem'Hadar troops. (S31 novel: Abyss)

Soon after, Ro went undercover as a Dabo girl when the Ferengi bartender, Quark, found himself in over his head with the Orion Syndicate on the world of Farius Prime. Ro managed to bring down the entire organiztion of the Orion crimelord, Malik, and freed an Orion Slave Girl named Trier from servitude. (DS9 novel: Gateways book four: Demons of Air and Darkness)

When it was announced the the documentation admitting Bajor into the United Federation of Planets would be signed on the Promenade of Deep Space 9, Ro was put in charge of the security arrangements.

A member of the Trill contingent named Hiziki Gard was assigned to assist Ro, and Ro gave him full access to his plans. When Gard assassinated Bajoran Prime Minister Shakaar before the documents could be signed, there was nothing Ro could do to stop him.

Ro eventually brought Gard into custody only to find out that the creature that Gard had killed wasn't Shakaar at all, but an alien Parasite that had consumed his psyche. Shakaar had already been long dead. (DS9 novel, Mission Gamma)

Return to Starfleet
After the resolution to the parasite crisis, Ro was prepared to resign her commission and leave the Bajoran sector with Quark, with whom which she had developed a friendship, as they both felt that they would have no place in the Bajoran sector after the planets admittance to the Federation.

It was only after the persuasion of Captain Picard that Ro stayed with the Bajoran militia as it was integrated into Starfleet. Ro was once again given the rank of Lieutenant in Starfleet. (DS9 novel, Unity)

Ro later accompanied Quark and his nephew Nog to Ferenginar and helped them maintain the rule of Grand Nagus Rom from a take-over attempt by Congressman Brunt. (DS9 novel, Worlds of Deep Space Nine volume three: "Ferenginar: Satisfaction is not Guaranteed")

On the final day of 2376, Ro was attacked by the Jem'Hadar observer, Taran'atar. Her fate is unknown at this time. (DS9 novel, Worlds of Deep Space Nine volume three: "The Dominion: Oympus Descending")


 * Ro's fate will be revealed with the release of Warpath, by David Mack.