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Melora Pazlar was an Elaysian, and had one brother.

History

As a a child, Melora dreamed of exploring the universe. Because Elaysia is a low-gravity world, only a handful of Elyasians ever leave their homeworld, but this did not stop her from fulfilling her dream.

Melora was the first Elaysian to enter Starfleet. During her studies she kept people at arm's length; she thought that other people might treat her differently because of her limited mobility in "normal" gravity. (Low-gravity species need special equipment, such as an anti-grav unit, to be able to move in an Earth-like gravity.)

She spoke fluent Klingonese and liked Vulcan music such as etudes by Delvok.

Melora graduated from Starfleet Academy as a stellar cartographer. In 2370, she was assigned to Deep Space 9, her first deep-space assignment, to survey a sector in the Gamma Quadrant.

Upon starting her mission, she asked to do the survey on her own, saying she could work better and faster than when someone was with her. When Commander Benjamin Sisko refused, she treated it as evidence that he thought she was disabled in some way. Sisko eventually made it clear that Starfleet policy did not allow someone to go alone on a mission. Her stubbornness affected all aspects of her daily life, such as when she tripped while trying to enter a cargo bay, landed on the controls to her anti-grav unit, and then could not get up.

Doctor Bashir knew her Starfleet record by heart and admired her greatly. Even before her arrival on DS9, he felt a special connection with Melora just by helping to prepare for her arrival. Once she arrived on DS9, he took the time to befriend her and try to see beyond her defensive exterior. His probing questions forced her to reconsider her "independence" when he pointed out that everyone aboard a starship or space station depends on each other, and needing help was nothing to be ashamed of.

Melora became romantically involved with the Doctor, although from the beginning she questioned whether a relationship between two such different species could work. Melora was also concerned about the difficulties of maintaining a successful relationship in Starfleet, where officers were continually reassigned. During their relationship, Julian researched the work of Nathaniel Teros on neuromuscular adaptation, which would make it possible for a low-gravity species to move in an Earth-like gravity by elevating the motor cortex neural output of the brain. He soon realized that once the treatment was completed, it would be irreversible.

On her second charting mission, Melora began to have doubts about the treatment and wondered if it was worth it; she did not like the fact that she would not be able to return to her homeworld for anything more than short visits. When she and Jadzia Dax returned with the Orinoco from their mission, they where taken hostage by Fallit Kot. When Commander Sisko prevented their departure by means of a tractor beam, Fallit Kot shot Melora to persuade Sisko to release them.

During the pursuit of the Orinoco by the Rio Grande Jadzia Dax noticed that Melora was still alive and was trying to reach the gravity control panel where she was able to turn off the artificial gravity. This gave Jadzia a chance to stop the Orinoco while Melora, because of her experience with near zero gravity, was able to disarm Fallit Kot. It seems that the treatment Melora was undergoing protected her from the effects of the phaser.

Ultimately, Melora decided to stop with the treatment because she felt that she would not be truly Elaysian anymore. Julian told her that the treatment could be started again if she wanted it to. (DS9: "Melora")

Appendices

Background information

Melora Pazlar exoskeleton design

The early design sketch for Melora's exoskeleton

  • Melora Pazlar was played by Daphne Ashbrook.
  • The character of Melora Pazlar was initially to be Deep Space 9's science officer because the producers liked the idea of a character who came from a low-gravity environment, but this was changed to the Trill Jadzia Dax, as it would lead to fewer complications. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p.93)
  • Jim Martin designed Melora's exoskeleton; "I started with a basic framework for her limbs. The producers didn't want any chest or waist pieces. They just wanted it to be around her arms, her neck, and her legs. And they didn't want regular hinges, because hinges aren't futuristic enough. So [Senior llustrator] Rick Sternbach designed an expanding and contracting kind of hinge, something that pulls in rather than rotate, that I incorporated into my drawings. But the metallic bands kept popping off, once right in the middle of a scene. Joe Longo never let me forget it!" (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 94)
  • It unknown if the relationship with Bashir ended in "Melora", although by 2371, he had entered into a relationship with Leeta.

Apocrypha

  • According to Pocket TNG novels, Gemworld Book One and Gemworld Book Two, following the Dominion War, Pazlar is assigned to the USS Enterprise-E, under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, where she assists in a scientific study on the effects of low-gravity on Primus IV. Before arriving at the planet, Pazlar receives a telepathic distress call from one of her worlds species, the Lipul, that indicates Gemworld is in catastrophic danger. Pazlar convinces Picard of the threat and upon arrival at Gemworld, the Enterprise discovers that the machinery that maintains Gemworld's atmosphere is failing. Pazlar and the Enterprise crew manage to save the artificial world from destruction, but in doing so, Melora is forced to take the life of one of her own people. The books also detail a brief romance between her and Reginald Barclay.
  • The first book of the Star Trek: Titan series, entitled Taking Wing, establishes Melora Pazlar as serving as a lieutenant and head of the stellar cartography lab aboard the USS Titan at Captain Riker's request. It also mentions her being decorated for valor after saving 192 of her shipmates during the Dominion War.
  • In the third Titan novel, Orion's Hounds, Pazlar is viciously attacked by her shipmate Tuvok, who is under the telepathic control of the star-jellies. Shortly after the incident, Melora asks Tuvok to train her in various means of self-defense.
  • In the Star Trek: Destiny novel, Gods of Night, Pazlar is promoted to Lieutenant Commander and made chief science officer. Titan Chief Engineer Xin Ra-Havreii also makes several upgrades to the stellar cartography holotank which allows her to not only operate in a zero-gravity environment, but also project a holographic avatar of herself into every major area on the ship, via a complex holopresence system. This allows her to participate in senior staff meetings without the need to leave the holotank. Xin also makes a romantic advance towards Melora but she declines, although she did not understand why.
  • In the Destiny novel, Mere Mortals, the Titan arives at New Erigol and is threatened by a Caeliar ship. Riker assigns Pazlar and Ra-Havreii to search for non-tactical weaknesses to exploit and towards this end, they calculate the size of the sphere surrounding the planet and prepares a strike team. During the attempt, Pazlar initiates the subspace trajectory, but the attempt is aborted when a scrambling field prevents the transport from working. Pazlar is later visited by Counselor Huilan Sen'kara in what she thinks are her quarters but is actually the holotank; the counselor expresses concern that she is using the tank to completely isolate herself from the rest of the crew physically and emotionally. He further expresses that by not using her exoskeleton, she would likely forget how to, losing the ability to ever leave, a thought she dismisses. After continuing to work, Pazlar and Ra-Havreii are able to discover the soliton pulses keeping open micro-subspace tunnels and then tap into them to witness the invasion of the Borg Collective at the Azure Nebula.

External link

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