Ro Laren

Ro Laren was a Bajoran national who formerly served in Starfleet aboard the Federation starship Enterprise-D before finally sympathizing with, and later joining, the Maquis.

Childhood
Born in 2340 on Bajor to Ro Gale and Ro Talia, Laren grew up in the Bajoran diaspora, one of 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. Later in her life, it was revealed that the young Ro Laren was a repressed jumper.

In 2347, Ro was shown the true nature of the occupation as 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 for being a Bajoran. She was ashamed for her father 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.

Over time, Ro later began to understand how misguided her feelings of shame were and eventually chose to no longer be ashamed of her heritage, as she had been before. 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. ("Ensign Ro," "Rascals")

Academy and Early Career
Ro Laren entered Starfleet Academy in 2358. She was assigned to Nebula Squadron, and graduated with the class of 2362. ("The Next Phase", Star Trek: Pendragon)

Following her graduation, she served on a number of various starships.

One of Ro's early assignments was aboard the USS Wellington. 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 defense. One of the judges at her court-martial was Admiral Leonard James Akaar. With little alternative, the court found Ro guilty and sentenced her to imprisonment in the stockade on Jaros II. ("Ensign Ro")

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 controller. Upon reaching Valo II, she suggested the best route for them to take would be for them to go to the camp on the southern continent to find a man named Keeve Falor.

Since the Enterprise was next scheduled to survey sector 21305, and Picard was reluctant to let go of an officer with Ro's potential, he asked her to remain on board after her mission had concluded. ("Ensign Ro")

Later missions
On stardate 45571.2, Ro Laren 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 life-forms superimposing neural patterns. During their attempted takeover of the bridge, Ro attempted to shoot the possessed Miles O'Brien, but missed. She was in turn stunned by O'Brien.

After the life-form possessed crew members took over Ten-Forward, Ro suggested giving the crew members a plasma shock, as a means of causing pain to the beings without causing any physical harm. If the plan was to work, 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 10 and 11, 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. (TNG: "Power Play").

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 USS Bozeman, 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. (TNG: "Cause and Effect")

The Maquis


In 2370 Ro was assigned to infiltrate the Maquis. Although a bit reluctant she agreed, partially to validate Captain Jean-Luc Picard's belief in her. By having lieutenant commanders Data, and Worf faking pursuit on the basis she 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-D.

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 foward 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 claimed "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. (TNG: "Preemptive Strike")

In 2373 Cardassia joined the Dominion, and quickly slaughtered the vast majority of Maquis, however, Ro's fate remains unknown. (DS9: "Blaze of Glory")

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 with his words, 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 one, 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. ("Ensign Ro")

Picard later sponsored Ro's entrance into Starfleet's Advanced Tactical Training program. Though the program was exceptionally difficult Ro graduated and was re-posted to the Enterprise as a full Lieutenant. (TNG: "Preemptive Strike")

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 impudent to Ro's acceptance of her assignment aboard the Enterprise, when she stated that "it was better than prison." ("Ensign Ro", "Conundrum", "Preemptive Strike")

Later, during a period in which the Enterprise crew were stripped of 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. (TNG: "Conundrum")

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 confounded Ro. (TNG: "The Next Phase")

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, nor did she belong 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. (TNG: "Ensign Ro", "The Next Phase")

Deanna Troi
During the period when 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 or not 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 did not appear to be guided by sentimentality when in a crisis situation, as indicated by her harsh comment to Troi during this incident. (TNG: "Disaster", "Contagion")

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. (TNG: "Ensign Ro", "Rascals")

Appearances

 * TNG:
 * "Ensign Ro"
 * "Disaster"
 * "Conundrum"
 * "Power Play"
 * "Cause and Effect"
 * "The Next Phase"
 * "Rascals"
 * "Preemptive Strike"
 * PDN:
 * "Wounded Soldiers"
 * "Sword of Damocles"
 * "Children of the Burning Heart"
 * "The Martyr's Diplomacy"
 * "The Good Fight"
 * "The Advocate"
 * "Promised Land"
 * "Above the Wrecks of Time"

Background

 * Ensign Ro was played by Michelle Forbes and first appeared in the fifth season TNG episode named for her. Many personal details are derived from her personnel file seen onscreen in TNG: "Conundrum" and TNG: "The Next Phase."
 * During the production of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, it was intended that Ro Laren would be a member of the station's crew. Michelle Forbes turned it down. The character was modified and became the basis for Kira Nerys.

Apocrypha

 * Ro Laren appeared in 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 Star Trek: The Next Generation Dominion War novels Behind Enemy Lines and Tunnel Through the Stars by John Vornholt, where she and Captain Picard led a team to destroy an artificial wormhole being constructed by the Dominion in Cardassian space.  Ro Laren is a main character in the Deep Space Nine relaunch novels, replacing Odo as Chief of Security on DS9 and eventually starting a relationship with Quark.
 * The fan produced Trek series Hidden Frontier features Ro's brother, Ro Nevin, prominently.