The Ladies of Star Trek: The Next Generation

Michelle Forbes as Ensign/Lieutenant Ro Laren

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Ensign/Lieutenant Ro Laren was one of many navigators on the USS Enterprise NCC 1701-D.  Born on Bajor in 2340 during the Cardassian occupation of her planet, Ro Laren was raised in Bajoran refugee camps.  She was forced to witness her father's brutal torture and murder by Cardassian soldiers when she was seven years old.   Ensign Ro, a troubled young Bajoran Starfleet officer, was assigned to the USS Enterprise in 2368 over the objections of both Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Commander William T. Riker.  They both knew she had been a Lieutenant Commander who was court-martialed for disobeying orders on an away mission; her disobedience led to the deaths of eight members of the USS Wellington's crew.  She was freed from prison on Jaros II by Admiral Kennelly and given a pardon to accept the assignment, part of a covert operation to stop raids by dissident Bajorans on former Federation colonies after a treaty between the Federation and Cardassia left some of those colonies in Cardassian space (Ensign Ro).  Her performance during this mission and her assistance in proving Admiral Kennelly's conspiracy with Cardassian Central Command to eliminate the Bajoran terrorists led to a personal invitation by Captain Picard to become a permanent member of the crew of the USS Enterprise.    Many people, characters in the series as well as Star Trek fans, do not yet realize that Bajoran custom places the family name first.  She is Ensign Ro, not Ensign Laren, a fact that she is quick to point out to Captain Picard and Commander Riker in her first meeting with them (Ensign Ro).  She and Lieutenant Commander Geordi LaForge apparently died in a transporter accident (The Next Phase), but they rematerialize aboard the Enterprise; invisible due to an experimental Romulan interphase generator that is basically a personal cloaking device.  Together, they save the ship from several cloaked Romulans who have infiltrated the Enterprise.  Ensign Ro left the USS Enterprise to attend Starfleet Tactical Training to become an intelligence operative, earning promotion to Lieutenant as a result (Preemptive Strike).  Lieutenant Ro is asked by Starfleet to infiltrate the rebel Maquis, which is composed of federation citizens using terrorism to undermine the federation treaty with Cardassia because it left their colonies in Cardassian space, without federation protection.  Ro becomes increasingly sympathetic to the plight of the Maquis and ends up joining them.   Her current location and status is officially unknown, but several comic book and fan fiction stories indicate she has become a member of the Bajoran Militia, since the elimination of the Maquis.  Bajor welcomed former Maquis members, since they were fighting the Cardassians; which Bajor itself had done for sixty years.  Some stories indicate Ro holds rank as high as General in the Bajoran Militia.

See Some Photos of Ro Laren

Michelle Forbes, born on 17 February 1967, played the recurring role of Ensign Ro Laren in Star Trek: The Next Generation (Ensign Ro).  The character was originally intended to cross over to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as the First Officer.  She became a recurring guest star, and made her last recurring appearance in Rascals.  At that point, Michelle left the series and declined a major role on the new Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, in order to pursue various film projects. Michelle made her last appearance thus far as the newly-promoted Lieutenant Ro in Preemptive Strike.  The Star Trek production staff has indicated a willingness to include the Ro Laren character in future stories, depending on her busy schedule and willingness to return to the role.  Her first appearance in Star Trek: The Next Generation was in Half a Life as Dara, the daughter of the Kaelon scientist Timicin.  Forbes' film credits include Kalifornia, Swimming with Sharks, and Escape from LA.  She is currently a regular in the series Homicide: Life on the Street.

See Some Photos of Michelle Forbes

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