The Ladies of Multiple Star Trek Series

Barbara March as Lursa in
Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

                         
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Star Trek: The Next Generation       Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Lursa is a member of the politically powerful Duras family, and the older of Duras' two sisters. Duras killed Ambassador K'Ehleyr in 2367, and was subsequently killed by Lieutenant Worf.  Lursa and her sister B'Etor immediately began to conspire with the Romulan operative Sela to overthrow Gowron's leadership of the Klingon High Council, even before he was installed as Leader of the High Council.  The USS Enterprise arrives at the Klingon homeworld to see Gowron installed as Leader of the High Council, since Captain Picard is the chosen arbiter of succession (Redemption).  Lursa and B'Etor interrupt the installation of Gowron and produce Toral, Duras' bastard son, who claims the right to succession.  This halts the ceremony until Picard can decide if the child has a legitimate claim.  He decides that Toral does not have a valid claim; he has won no battles and achieved no honor; maybe later, but not now.  Gowron is installed as the Leader and the council is split, with some following Gowron and some following Toral, who we discover is backed by the Romulans.  The Romulans and the family of Duras make plans that will drag the Federation into the war.  The Duras family initially appears to be winning; but Captain Picard believes the Romulans are aiding Duras.  He convinces Starfleet that the Romulans may be involved and gets permission to set up a blockade at the Romulan border to prevent supplies from reaching the Duras forces.  The blockade is successful and confirms the Romulan involvement, and they desert the fight, leaving the Duras forces to their own devices.  Lursa and B'Etor beam to their ship and disappear.  They stay out of sight for almost two years, until 2369 when they attempt to raise capital by selling bilitrium explosives to the Kohn-ma, a Bajoran terrorist organization with operatives on Deep Space Nine (Past Prologue).  Captain Sisko and his crew thwart the transaction and Lursa and B'Etor disappear again.  A holodeck celebration of Worf's promotion to lieutenant commander aboard the USS Enterprise NCC 1701-D is cut short by a personal communique to Captain Picard and a distress call from the Amargosa Solar Observatory.  The Enterprise rescues a few survivors from the observatory, including an El-Aurian, Doctor Tolian Soren.  An investigation determines that the attackers were searching for trilithium, a vital component in a new and highly destructive explosive device.  Doctor Soran escapes from the Enterprise back to the observatory, claiming he wants to continue his work.  He launches a probe from the observatory into a nearby star, the star explodes, leaving only minutes before the stellar shock waves reach and destroy the Enterprise and the entire solar system.  Doctor Soran escapes the away team from the Enterprise by capturing Lieutenant Commander LaForge and beaming to a Klingon Bird of Prey commanded by Lursa and B'Etor (Star Trek VII: Generations).   The Enterprise tracks down the Duras sisters' ship, and Captain Picard agrees to exchange himself for Commander LaForge as a hostage so he can try to stop Soran from launching another probe and destroying a star in his mad attempt to get to the nexus where time is meaningless.  Commander LaForge is returned to the Enterprise with an undetectable transmitter that sends his VISOR's input to Lursa and B'Etor on their Bird of Prey.  They use information he sees inengineering to disable the Enterprise's shields and launch an attack.  Lieutenant Commander Worf discovers a weakness in the Bird of Prey's defenses, and manages to destroy the ship and kill the Duras sisters

See Some Photos of Lursa

Barbara March is best known, at least to the world of Star Trek, as Lursa, the older of the two Duras sisters; Klingons who have followed in their father's footsteps and conspired with the Romulans at every opportunity to achieve their personal ambitions, regardless of the consequences to the Klingon Empire.  Barbara's screen credits include Marguerite Chirac in The Portrait (1992); Val Manufort in Deserters (1983).  She also appeared as Helen Diebolt in the Total Security episode, Who's poppa? (1997) and as Prairie Kate in made-for-television movie The Gambler Returns (1991).  She is of course best known to visitors to this site as Lursa in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes, Firstborn (1994) and the two-part Redemption (1991) and the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode, Past Prologue (1993).

See a Photo of Barbara March

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