O'Brien, Keiko

O'Brien, Keiko: (Rosalind Chao). Starfleet botanist, formerly assigned to the Enterprise -D, later stationed at Deep Space 9.

Born Keiko Ishikawa, she married fellow crew member Miles O'Brien in 2367. Their wedding, held aboard the Enterprise -D in the Ten-Forward Lounge, was a mixture of Japanese and Irish traditions. ("Data's Day" [TNG]). The words Picard spoke in the O'Brien wedding ceremony are almost identical to the ceremony per f ormed by Captain Kirk in "Balance of Terror" (TOS), a deliberate homage by episode writer Ronald D. Moore. Keiko gave birth to a girl, Molly O'Brien, a year later. Molly was born in Ten-Forward during a ship-wide systems failure. ("Disaster" [TNG]). Keiko was briefly reduced to a child after passing through an energy field in 2369. ("Rascals" [TNG]). (Young Keiko was played by Caroline Junko King.)

Keiko accepted a transfer to station Deep Space 9 in 2369 when her husband was assigned there as chief of ope rations. Keiko was appalled at the living accommodations on the station, but remained there for the sake of her husband's career. ("Emissary" [DS9]). Keiko and her husband visited Earth that same year for her mother's 100th birthday. ("Dax" [DS9]). As a c hild, Keiko helped her grandmother with her Japanese brush painting. It had been the young Keiko's special task to fill the old chipped cup that her grandmother, whom she called Obachan, used to clean the brush. ("Violations" [TNG]).

Keiko found adapting to life on the station difficult. She was dissatisfied by the lack of professional opportunities on the station for a botanist, and was concerned about the lack of educational facilities for her daughter. Keiko was able to address this last issue when Comma n der Sisko granted her permission to establish a schoolroom on the station. ("A Man Alone" [DS9]). Keiko operated the school until early 2371, when enrollment dropped dramatically because of fears of a possible Dominion attack. Shortly thereafter she accep t ed an assignment as chief botanist on a agrobiology expedition to Bajor. The assignment kept Keiko and her daughter, Molly, away from the station for much of that year. ("The House of Quark" [DS9], "Fascination" [DS9]). In 2372, Keiko became pregnant with her second child. Later that year she completed her assignment on Bajor, and she and her daughter returned to live on station Deep Space 9. ("Accession" [DS9]). Keiko's second pregnancy nearly ended disastrously when she was seriously injured in an accide n t aboard the Runabout Volga during a botanical survey mission to Torad IV. Dr. Bashir saved her life, but it was necessary to remove her unborn child and implant it into the body of Kira Nerys. Keiko and Miles subsequently invited Kira to live with them i n their quarters so that they could help care for her while she carried their child to term. ("Body Parts" [DS9]). While Kira carried her child, Keiko was captured by an alien entity known as a Pah-wraith who briefly gained control of her mind and body. Th e Pah-wraith had intended to use Keiko in an elaborate plan to kill the Bajoran Prophets. Fortunately, the plan failed, and Keiko was released from the entity. ("The Assignment" [DS9]). In 2373, Kira delivered Kirayoshi O'Brien in a traditional Bajoran bir thing ceremony. ("The Begotten" [DS9]).Keiko's first appearance was in "Data's Day" (TNG). She joined the cast of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in "A Man Alone" (DS9).

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