Ro Laren was born in 2340 to Ro Gale and Ro Talia.1 She had a typical Bajoran upbringing, scavenging for food in one of the refugee camps her people were forced into by the Cardassian occupation. At an early age she was forced to watch as the Cardassians tortured her father to death. She was determined not to continue living in the camps, regarding the people who accepted them as having accepted defeat at Cardassian hands – something she vowed she would never do.2 She joined Starfleet 2358, graduating in 2364 – two years longer than normal.1 She served aboard the USS Wellington, where she participated in a disastrous mission which led to several deaths. Ro was blamed for the tragedy, and imprisoned in the Garon II stockade.2Whilst there Ro was offered a chance for release by Admiral Kennelly, on the condition that she participate in a mission to investigate Bajoran terrorist activity by the Enterprise-D. Unknown to Captain Picard, Kennelly was trying to expose the Bajoran terrorists so that the Cardassians could murder them all. Ro confessed her role in the plot to Picard, who exposed the Admiral. Afterwards Picard offered Ro a chance to serve aboard the Enterprise-D, which she accepted.2
Ro flourished on the Enterprise-D, though her abrasive personality frequently caused considerable friction – most especially with Commander Riker, her immediate superior. Despite this, when the two lost their memories as a result of the Satarran weapon they developed a romantic attachment to one another. Riker was highly embarrassed by this afterwards, much to the amusement of Ro and Deanna Troi.1
Ro underwent something of a spiritual crisis on stardate 45092.4, when she and Geordi LaForge were both placed into a phased state by a transporter accident in the vicinity of a Romulan phase cloak device. Unable to interact with normal matter or to be seen by anybody else, Ro came to believe that she had died and was existing in some form of spirit state. Although the truth was eventually revealed, Ro commented that she had come to re-evaluate some of her spiritual beliefs in light of the experience.3
Ro had another benchmark experience on stardate 46235.7, when another transporter accident regressed her apparent physical age by some twenty years. She was highly resistant to being a child again, remembering the difficulties of her original childhood. However, under the influence of Guinan Ro did eventually manage to accept her new state and allowed herself to experience some of the freedoms and joys of childhood before being returned to normal.4
Ro enrolled in Starfleet’s advanced tactical training course, where she began to hear of the existence of the Maquis – a group of Federation terrorists fighting against the Cardassian presence in the de-militarised zone between Cardassia and the Federation. Ro had a great deal of sympathy for the Maquis, and her loyalties were divided when she graduated from advanced training and was assigned to infiltrate the Maquis and lead them into a trap. She felt a great sense of loyalty to Captain Picard because of the role he had played in rehabilitating her after her earlier incarceration, but ultimately she could not betray the Maquis and left to join them.5
Played by
References
