- For other uses, see Neela.
- See Daren for other articles with titles that contain, either by relationship or by coincidence, this character's surname.
Lieutenant Commander Nella Daren (sometimes known as Neela Daren) was a 24th century Human woman, a career officer in the Federation Starfleet in the 2350s and 2360s decades.
Biography[]
Early career[]
Daren, the daughter of Doctor Aura and Vernis Daren, was born on Evadne IV in the year 2328. In 2349, she graduated from Starfleet Academy in the 95th percentile, and was posted to the astrophysics department aboard the USS Constellation. In 2355, Daren was promoted to lieutenant and continued to serve aboard the Constellation.
She finally transferred to the USS Bellerophon in 2357 when an opening became available in their stellar cartography department. In 2362, Daren earned a promotion to lieutenant commander, after she developed a new star-mapping system which used nadion pulses to echo-locate varying densities of matter. This new system allowed the Bellerophon to perform a preliminary mapping mission in the Drago Cluster. (ST video game: Starship Creator)
In 2365, Daren was appointed head of the Bellerophon's stellar cartography section. One of her first assignments as department head was a star-mapping mission of Sector 1608 and Sector 1609, in which an uncharted asteroid field was discovered.
In 2366, Daren transferred to Starbase 218 to head a project to update the official star-charts for Sector 1509 so that they could be used by Starfleet. After three years heading up the project, she transferred off the base.
In 2369, Daren was assigned as a science officer on the starship Enterprise-D, holding the officer rank of lieutenant commander. Daren was in charge of the ship's stellar cartography department. (TNG episode: "Lessons")
Aboard the Enterprise-D[]
Soon after coming aboard the Enterprise, she met Captain Jean-Luc Picard. A friendship quickly formed between the two which was based on their love of music. Daren was a skilled piano player who accompanied Picard on a portable piano while he played the Ressikan flute. Their friendship soon blossomed into love.
When a firestorm threatened the Federation outpost on Bersallis III, Daren suggested cross-connecting several thermal deflector units to create a protective shield against the heat while the Enterprise evacuated the colonists. Eight crewmen lost their lives, but Daren survived. Afterwards, it became obvious to Picard and Daren that it would be extremely difficult to continue their relationship while serving on the same ship. Daren requested a transfer. As they said goodbye, they promised to keep seeing each other, but even then they knew that their relationship would never be the same. (TNG episode: "Lessons"; TTN novel: Taking Wing)
After the Enterprise[]
Picard recalled that she had left the Enterprise-D for the USS Havana. (CoE eBook: Remembrance of Things Past, Book I)
After transferring off the Enterprise she accepted a position as head of the stellar cartography department aboard the Oberth-class science vessel, USS Yosemite. (ST video game: Starship Creator)
In 2372, a Changeling infiltrator boarded the USS Enterprise-E and studied Picard's personal logs. It then used this information during negotiations to state it could assume the form of any of Picard's female acquaintances, including Daren. (TNG - Slings and Arrows eBook: A Sea of Troubles)
Starfleet service record[]
| location | assignment | dates | rank or rate | assignment insignia | rank insignia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starfleet Academy | student officer | until 2349 | cadet |  |
|
| USS Constellation | astrophysics | 2349–2355 | ensign | 
| |
| 2355–2357 | lieutenant | 
| |||
| USS Bellerophon | stellar cartography | 2357–2362 | |||
| 2362–2365 | lieutenant commander | 
| |||
| head of stellar cartography | 2365–2366 |  
| |||
| Starbase 218 | 2366–2369 | ||||
| USS Enterprise-D | 2369 | ||||
| USS Havana | |||||
| USS Yosemite |
Appendices[]
Connections[]
| USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) sciences personnel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slava ibn Abdallah • Marla Aster • Bill Belt • Bergeron • Rick Berman • Butterfield • David Carson • Casby • Chryso • Carolyn Dahm • Nella Daren • Deyllar • Bob Dutton • Moll Enor • Gladstone • Kristine Fernandes • Grastow • Hibberd • Iovino • Janeway • Leila Koryev • Peter Lauritson • Rachel Lopez • Mendon • Moezer • Nev Reoh • Kendra Novak • Tim Pearson • Calissa Pike • Joe Pinkos • Andrew Powell • Prixis • Lori Roberts • Royce • Russell Steele • Swenson • Zandra Taitt • David Takemura • Reggie Tanaka • Thralen • Debbie Tieman • T'Proll • Stephanie Triggiani • Dawn Velazquez • Sandy Veneziano • Ron Wilkinson • Michelle Wright • Victoria Wilson • Bernie Williams • Lance Woods • Victoria Zamora • Herman Zimmerman • alternate realities: A. Isaac | 
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| see also: engineering personnel • medical personnel • pilots & flight control personnel • operations personnel • security & tactical personnel • senior staff • unnamed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Background[]
Neela Daren from Star Trek: Red Alert!.
- "Neela Daren" (original script spelling) is a playable character in the customizable disc game Star Trek: Red Alert! by Last Unicorn Games.
Appearances and references[]
Appearances[]
References[]
- ST reference: The Star Trek Encyclopedia
- ST reference: Star Trek Chronology
- TNG reference: Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion
- ST video game: Starship Creator
- TTN novel: Taking Wing
- CoE eBook: Remembrance of Things Past, Book I
- TNG - Slings and Arrows eBook: A Sea of Troubles
External links[]
- Nella Daren article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Nella Daren article at the Star Trek Timelines Wiki.