Dax (Star Trek)
Encyclopedia
Dax is the name of a fictional being in the Star Trek
universe, a Trill symbiont. It's a very long-lived slug-shaped sentient worm-like life form that lives inside the bodies of a succession of Trills
, a race of humanoid aliens. The symbiont merges with its host
by a process called "joining" after which it becomes an essential part of the host's body for the rest of the host's life. Each successive host has access to the memories of the previous hosts including their accumulated skills and work experience.
Two of Dax's hosts, Jadzia Dax
and Ezri Dax
, appear as major characters in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
. Others are only seen episodically – in few flashbacks
and when taking over others' bodies in the Facets DS9 season 3 episode. They play more important roles in some non-canon spin-off
s such as Star Trek: The Human Frontier and The Lives of Dax.
Throughout the franchise's timeline, Dax has been joined with four men and five women, living for more than three hundred years in total. Dax is a part of some of the most important events in the Star Trek history like signing of the Khitomer Accords and discovery of the Bajoran wormhole.
Deep Space Nine episode where her consciousness takes over the body of Kira Nerys
(Nana Visitor
) at Jadzia's zhian'tara ceremony. She is the first Dax incarnation to which Jadzia speaks. Lela is shown as very sociable and easy-going. She comforts Jadzia and dispels her worries as Jadzia was anxious of what she might experience at the ceremony. When talking about herself, Lela says she was one of the first women to be elected to the Trill legislature. She says she took the habit of clasping her hands behind her back to curb excessive hand gesturing while speaking publicly. Jadzia finds she has inherited this behaviour.
(Colm Meaney
). He is shown as extremely timid and shy in social situations. He is very nervous, biting O'Brien's fingernails and continuously making apologies for no real reason. Jadzia tells him she was able to recall his own proof of Fermat's Last Theorem
and was fascinated by its original approach.
In the same episode, Curzon Dax tells Jadzia that at his own zhian'tara when his friends and family temporarily embodied past Dax hosts, he gleefully got Tobin's host roaring drunk.
In The Siege DS9 season 2 episode, Jadzia uses Tobin's knowledge of sub-impulse thrusters to repair one on an old bajoran fighter. She describes Tobin as "barely a sex life and no imagination, but he knew phase coil inverters like no one else".
In the non-canon short story "Dead Man's Hand" (written by Jeffrey Lang and collected into The Lives of Dax), Tobin Dax is involved in the creation of an early transporter and encountered the Vulcan
scientist Skon (Spock
's grandfather) during an altercation with enemy Romulan
s.
). Emony thanks Jadzia for finding such a splendid host for her as Leeta's body is well-trained and flexible, able to perform acrobatic tricks. She tells Jadzia that she was afraid her concentration and physical coordination would be impaired due to the join and it turned out just the opposite.
In the Trials and Tribble-ations
DS9 season 5 episode, Jadzia recalls that Emony has traveled to the Earth
once to judge a gymnastics competition at the University of Mississippi
where she met a young Leonard McCoy
. She says Emony had a feeling that Leonard would become a doctor: "He had the hands of a surgeon".
In the Facets episode, Audrid lends the body of Quark
(Armin Shimerman
). Quark only agrees to the ceremony very reluctantly and Jadzia "forgets to mention" that Quark would be embodying one of Dax's female hosts. Being possessed by Audrid is doubly embarrassing for him as she mainly speaks on womanly subjects such as her feelings of love and motherhood. Audrid says that her election and the birth of her first child were the happiest days of her life.
In the non-canon short story "Sins of the Mother" (written by S.D. Perry and collected into The Lives of Dax), Audrid Dax is part of a joint Trill-Starfleet
scientific task force
led by Fleet Captain Christopher Pike
which investigates a rogue comet which seems to contain Trill life signs. The comet proves to contain a member of an evil parasitic species instead (TNG
: "Conspiracy
") that seizes control of Audrid's husband, Jayvin Vod. To ensure that the parasite dies, Dax is forced to let her husband die as well which is the cause for her daughter Neema's estrangement from her. The two meet again later in the non-canon novel Unity when Dax is in Ezri and Neema's symbiont Cyl is joined with a Trill enforcement officer Taulin.
serving as a shuttle test pilot. He is piloting a new Starfleet shuttle when it suffers a catastrophic system failure and crashes, costing Torias his life. After Torias' death, official Trill records indicate that Dax is held in stasis for six months and is then transplanted into Curzon (Equilibrium DS9 episode); this is actually a cover-up by the Trill government since Dax's next host is Joran, a psychopath and a murderer.
In the Facets episode, Torias’s consciousness takes over the body of Julian Bashir
(Alexander Siddig
). Little is revealed about him at this moment though.
Torias's widow, Nilani Kahn, later appears in the fourth-season episode Rejoined as the same symbiont in a new host: Lenara Kahn. With Dax in a new host too, the two maintain a strained working relationship since Trill societal rules prohibit the re-association of past hosts, the penalty being a permanent exile from the Trill home world. Eventually, the two work out their troubles and part on amicable terms.
In the non-canon short story "Infinity" (written by Susan Wright and collected into The Lives of Dax), the shuttle in which Torias Dax dies is testing a prototype version of the transwarp drive (as seen in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
) with the assistance of Lieutenant Saavik
and under the command of Captain Stiles (both appear in The Search for Spock).
Most information about Joran is given in the Equilibrium season 3 DS9 episode. There, Jadzia Dax plays a melody Joran has composed and then begins experiencing hidden memories of him as hallucinations and aggressive outbursts. In the visions, a strange music is heard from nowhere, Joran is shown as a model killer maniac, wearing a mask, eager to kill anyone who his twisted imagination portrays as inappropriate. The visions endanger Jadzia and the symbiont's life so she, Sisko and Bashir travel to the Trill homeworld for treatment. There, Sisko and Bashir find out who Joran was and that all the information on his joining was erased. Jadzia remembers Joran murdering the doctor who recommended to expel him from the symbiosis program. Considering this, Sisko and Bashir deduce that Joran's joining was considered a failure and covered up to hide the fact that an obviously "unsuitable" subject was nevertheless capable of joining (the official party line
and the whole idea behind the Commission's existence was that only the few "best of the best" were capable). Jadzia's doctor denies all this and is going to let Jadzia die. Only when Sisko threatens to reveal the truth to the public does she confess. She tells that in fact about a half of the Trill's population is capable of joining and the Commission hides this fact fearing that symbionts would be in danger: "It would mean chaos. There aren't nearly enough symbionts for that many hosts. The potential danger to the symbionts would be enormous -- they would become commodities to be purchased... prizes to be fought over." She then unseals Joran's memories of Dax to save Jadzia's life.
In the Field of Fire season 7 episode, Ezri Dax calls upon her memories of Joran in order to catch a murderer who has killed several people on the Deep Space Nine
. Joran strives to entice her to kill someone to 'know how it feels' which she is able to resist.
Joran is portrayed by Jeff McBride
in the Equilibrium episode and Leigh McCloskey
in the Field of Fire episode. In the Facets episode, he possesses Benjamin Sisko
(Avery Brooks
). Due to the danger of allowing Joran to act freely, Sisko is placed in a holding cell with a force field before Joran is allowed to take over. He has a short and terse conversation with Jadzia, then begins slamming Sisko's head repeatedly into the force field, injuring him. He then tricks Jadzia into turning off the force field and catches her by the throat to "show her how to use his power". Jadzia knocks him down and Sisko finally regains himself.
. After this, Curzon becomes revered and admired among the Klingon people.
For Jadzia's zhian'tara in the Facets episode, Curzon is temporarily embodied into Odo, with a unique result — a blending of Curzon's and Odo's personalities, not unlike the blending of a Trill symbiont with its host. "Curzon Odo" takes advantage of Odo's shapeshifting abilities to transform his face to more closely resemble Curzon's while still retaining recognizable traces of Odo's features. Curzon is shown a very bright personality, extremely charismatic yet arrogant and neglectful at times where he starts behaving selfish and manipulatory.
Jadzia asks him why he recommended to drop her from the program, yet when she re-applied, advised to accept her, making her the first candidate to ever be re-accepted. Curzon manipulates her, telling he did that out of pity, feeding her fear that he didn't see her as a good enough candidate. Finalizing his blow, he declares he wishes to remain with Odo and not return to Dax. With Sisko's advice, Jadzia manages to bring Curzon down a peg and he finally confesses he has in fact been in love with her. He dropped her to cover his feelings and re-accepted because he felt guilty. He says that, after all these years, he still loves Jadzia and she convinces him to return to her so that they could be together forever.
In the Blood Oath season 2 episode, it's revealed that one of Curzon's friends, a Klingon named Kang, named his firstborn Dax and asked Curzon to be the child's godfather. When the young Dax is murdered by an alien known as "The Albino", Curzon joins Kang, Kor and Koloth (whose firstborns have also been murdered by Albino) in their oath of blood vengeance. The oath is fulfilled by Jadzia and the three Klingons in that episode.
Curzon dies of "Jah-ma haron" on Risa suffering a heart attack while in the company of a beautiful young woman. Upon his death, the Dax symbiont is transferred into Jadzia. This moment is shown during Jadzia's flashback in Emissary, the first DS9 episode.
In the non-canon novels The Art of the Impossible
and Catalyst of Sorrows
, Curzon Dax is mentored by Vulcan Ambassador Sarek
in diplomatic matters and is a close friend and occasional lover of the Head of the Starfleet Intelligence, Nyota Uhura.
in the TV series, is a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
seasons 1 to 6.
The station's chief science officer, she marries her fellow DS9 officer Lieutenant Commander Worf
but their family happiness is destroyed when she is killed by a Cardassian
Gul Dukat possessed by a Pah-wraith.
) is a major character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 7. After joining, she serves as the station's counselor. She briefly resumes Jadzia's relationship with Worf and later begins a romance with Julian Bashir
.
, steals the Dax symbiont for a few hours in the "Invasive Procedures
" DS9 season 2 episode. Verad is a rejected candidate for joining. He makes Bashir remove the Dax symbiont surgically from Jadzia and implant it into himself. Dax is later returned to Jadzia before the symbiont and the host integrate. When joined with Verad, Dax is highly motivated to continue Verad's immoral plan despite a continued feeling of friendship with Sisko and others on DS9. Jadzia, on the other hand, comments on how lonely and inconfident she feels once separated from Dax.
, is a host of the Dax symbiont in an alternate timeline
that is created when the USS Defiant travels two hundred years back in time in the Children of Time
DS9 season 5 episode. He is the great-grandson of Jadzia Dax and Worf. His existence is erased when the Defiant avoids the crash and that timeline is averted.
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
universe, a Trill symbiont. It's a very long-lived slug-shaped sentient worm-like life form that lives inside the bodies of a succession of Trills
Trill (Star Trek)
The Trill are a fictional species of symbiotic life forms, depicted in the Star Trek media franchise. First introduced in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the species became a major part of the spin-off series, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, which featured a Trill named Dax as one of its...
, a race of humanoid aliens. The symbiont merges with its host
Host (biology)
In biology, a host is an organism that harbors a parasite, or a mutual or commensal symbiont, typically providing nourishment and shelter. In botany, a host plant is one that supplies food resources and substrate for certain insects or other fauna...
by a process called "joining" after which it becomes an essential part of the host's body for the rest of the host's life. Each successive host has access to the memories of the previous hosts including their accumulated skills and work experience.
Two of Dax's hosts, Jadzia Dax
Jadzia Dax
Jadzia Dax , played by Terry Farrell, was a main character during the first six seasons of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine....
and Ezri Dax
Ezri Dax
Ezri Dax , played by Nicole de Boer, is a counselor aboard Deep Space Nine in the seventh season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Casting:The role of Ezri Dax was created when Terry Farrell decided to leave the show and her character was subsequently killed by Dukat.When Nicole de Boer read for the...
, appear as major characters in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
. Others are only seen episodically – in few flashbacks
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
and when taking over others' bodies in the Facets DS9 season 3 episode. They play more important roles in some non-canon spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
s such as Star Trek: The Human Frontier and The Lives of Dax.
Throughout the franchise's timeline, Dax has been joined with four men and five women, living for more than three hundred years in total. Dax is a part of some of the most important events in the Star Trek history like signing of the Khitomer Accords and discovery of the Bajoran wormhole.
Lela Dax
Lela Dax is the first host of the Dax symbiont. Lela appears in the FacetsFacets (DS9 episode)
"Facets" is an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 25th and penultimate episode of the third season. It is rated 4.2/5 on the official Star Trek Website....
Deep Space Nine episode where her consciousness takes over the body of Kira Nerys
Kira Nerys
Kira Nerys , played by Nana Visitor, is a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Backstory:Per Bajoran custom, her family name, Kira, precedes her given name, Nerys. She has two brothers , and her parents' names are Kira Taban and Kira Meru...
(Nana Visitor
Nana Visitor
Nana Visitor , born Nana Tucker, is an American actress, best known for playing Kira Nerys in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Jean Ritter in the television series Wildfire.-Early life:...
) at Jadzia's zhian'tara ceremony. She is the first Dax incarnation to which Jadzia speaks. Lela is shown as very sociable and easy-going. She comforts Jadzia and dispels her worries as Jadzia was anxious of what she might experience at the ceremony. When talking about herself, Lela says she was one of the first women to be elected to the Trill legislature. She says she took the habit of clasping her hands behind her back to curb excessive hand gesturing while speaking publicly. Jadzia finds she has inherited this behaviour.
Tobin Dax
Tobin Dax is a noted engineer and mathematician in the Trill history and is the second host of the Dax symbiont. In the Facets episode, Tobin possesses Miles O'BrienMiles O'Brien (Star Trek)
Miles Edward O'Brien, played by Colm Meaney, is Chief of Operations in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Before DS9, he appeared as a recurring transporter chief in Star Trek: The Next Generation...
(Colm Meaney
Colm Meaney
Colm J. Meaney is an Irish actor widely known for playing Miles O'Brien in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He is second only to Michael Dorn in most appearances in Star Trek episodes. He has guest-starred on many TV shows from Law & Order to The Simpsons...
). He is shown as extremely timid and shy in social situations. He is very nervous, biting O'Brien's fingernails and continuously making apologies for no real reason. Jadzia tells him she was able to recall his own proof of Fermat's Last Theorem
Fermat's Last Theorem
In number theory, Fermat's Last Theorem states that no three positive integers a, b, and c can satisfy the equation an + bn = cn for any integer value of n greater than two....
and was fascinated by its original approach.
In the same episode, Curzon Dax tells Jadzia that at his own zhian'tara when his friends and family temporarily embodied past Dax hosts, he gleefully got Tobin's host roaring drunk.
In The Siege DS9 season 2 episode, Jadzia uses Tobin's knowledge of sub-impulse thrusters to repair one on an old bajoran fighter. She describes Tobin as "barely a sex life and no imagination, but he knew phase coil inverters like no one else".
In the non-canon short story "Dead Man's Hand" (written by Jeffrey Lang and collected into The Lives of Dax), Tobin Dax is involved in the creation of an early transporter and encountered the Vulcan
Vulcan (Star Trek)
Vulcans, or sometimes Vulcanians, are an extraterrestrial humanoid species in the Star Trek universe who evolved on the planet Vulcan, and are noted for their attempt to live by reason and logic with no interference from emotion. They were the first extraterrestrial species in the Star Trek...
scientist Skon (Spock
Spock
Spock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in the original Star Trek series, Spock also appears in the animated Star Trek series, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, seven of the Star Trek feature films, and numerous Star Trek...
's grandfather) during an altercation with enemy Romulan
Romulan
The Romulans are a fictional alien race in the Star Trek universe. First appearing in the original Star Trek series in the 1966 episode "Balance of Terror", they have since made appearances in all the main later Star Trek series: The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager...
s.
Emony Dax
Emony Dax is the third host of the Dax symbiont. She is an Olympic gymnast. In the Facets episode, she inhabits the body of Leeta (Chase MastersonChase Masterson
Chase Masterson, born Christianne Carafano on February 26, 1963 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is an American actress and singer.-Career:...
). Emony thanks Jadzia for finding such a splendid host for her as Leeta's body is well-trained and flexible, able to perform acrobatic tricks. She tells Jadzia that she was afraid her concentration and physical coordination would be impaired due to the join and it turned out just the opposite.
In the Trials and Tribble-ations
Trials and Tribble-ations (DS9 episode)
"Trials and Tribble-ations" is a fifth season episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It has an average fan rating of 4.7/5 on the official Star Trek website and was written as a tribute to the original series of Star Trek, in the 30th anniversary year of the show; sister...
DS9 season 5 episode, Jadzia recalls that Emony has traveled to the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
once to judge a gymnastics competition at the University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
where she met a young Leonard McCoy
Leonard McCoy
Leonard "Bones" McCoy is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by DeForest Kelley in the original Star Trek series, McCoy also appears in the animated Star Trek series, seven Star Trek movies, the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and in numerous books,...
. She says Emony had a feeling that Leonard would become a doctor: "He had the hands of a surgeon".
Audrid Dax
Audrid Dax is the fourth host of the Dax symbiont. During her lifetime, she rises to become the head of the Trill Symbiosis Commission and gives birth to at least two children, Neema and Gran.In the Facets episode, Audrid lends the body of Quark
Quark (Star Trek)
Quark is a fictional character in the American television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The character, which was played by Armin Shimerman, was depicted as a member of an extraterrestrial race known as the Ferengi, who are stereotypically ultra-capitalist and only motivated by...
(Armin Shimerman
Armin Shimerman
Armin Shimerman is an American actor. Shimerman is best known for playing the Ferengi bartender Quark in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Principal Snyder in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Kramer's caddy Stan on Seinfeld, voicing Dr. Nefarious in the Ratchet & Clank series, and Andrew...
). Quark only agrees to the ceremony very reluctantly and Jadzia "forgets to mention" that Quark would be embodying one of Dax's female hosts. Being possessed by Audrid is doubly embarrassing for him as she mainly speaks on womanly subjects such as her feelings of love and motherhood. Audrid says that her election and the birth of her first child were the happiest days of her life.
In the non-canon short story "Sins of the Mother" (written by S.D. Perry and collected into The Lives of Dax), Audrid Dax is part of a joint Trill-Starfleet
Starfleet
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet or the Federation Starfleet is the deep-space exploratory, peacekeeping and military service maintained by the United Federation of Planets . It is the principal means by which the Federation conducts its exploration, defense, diplomacy and research...
scientific task force
Task force
A task force is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology...
led by Fleet Captain Christopher Pike
Christopher Pike (Star Trek)
Christopher Pike is a character in the Star Trek franchise. He was portrayed by Jeffrey Hunter in the original Star Trek pilot episode, "The Cage", as captain of the USS Enterprise. The pilot was rejected, and the character was dropped during development of the second pilot when Hunter decided that...
which investigates a rogue comet which seems to contain Trill life signs. The comet proves to contain a member of an evil parasitic species instead (TNG
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
: "Conspiracy
Conspiracy (TNG episode)
"Conspiracy" is the 25th episode of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation-Overview:The strange behavior of high-ranking officers leads Picard to uncover an alien conspiracy within Starfleet preparing an invasion.-Plot:...
") that seizes control of Audrid's husband, Jayvin Vod. To ensure that the parasite dies, Dax is forced to let her husband die as well which is the cause for her daughter Neema's estrangement from her. The two meet again later in the non-canon novel Unity when Dax is in Ezri and Neema's symbiont Cyl is joined with a Trill enforcement officer Taulin.
Torias Dax
Torias Dax is the first Dax host to join the StarfleetStarfleet
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet or the Federation Starfleet is the deep-space exploratory, peacekeeping and military service maintained by the United Federation of Planets . It is the principal means by which the Federation conducts its exploration, defense, diplomacy and research...
serving as a shuttle test pilot. He is piloting a new Starfleet shuttle when it suffers a catastrophic system failure and crashes, costing Torias his life. After Torias' death, official Trill records indicate that Dax is held in stasis for six months and is then transplanted into Curzon (Equilibrium DS9 episode); this is actually a cover-up by the Trill government since Dax's next host is Joran, a psychopath and a murderer.
In the Facets episode, Torias’s consciousness takes over the body of Julian Bashir
Julian Bashir
Lieutenant Julian Subatoi Bashir, M.D., played by Alexander Siddig, is a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Bashir is the chief medical officer of space station Deep Space Nine and the USS Defiant.-Overview:...
(Alexander Siddig
Alexander Siddig
Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abderrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Karim El Mahdi is a Sudanese-born English actor, also known as Siddig El Fadil and his stage name Alexander Siddig. He is known for playing Dr...
). Little is revealed about him at this moment though.
Torias's widow, Nilani Kahn, later appears in the fourth-season episode Rejoined as the same symbiont in a new host: Lenara Kahn. With Dax in a new host too, the two maintain a strained working relationship since Trill societal rules prohibit the re-association of past hosts, the penalty being a permanent exile from the Trill home world. Eventually, the two work out their troubles and part on amicable terms.
In the non-canon short story "Infinity" (written by Susan Wright and collected into The Lives of Dax), the shuttle in which Torias Dax dies is testing a prototype version of the transwarp drive (as seen in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is a 1984 motion picture released by Paramount Pictures. The film is the third feature based on the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the center of a three-film story arc that begins with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and concludes with Star Trek IV:...
) with the assistance of Lieutenant Saavik
Saavik
Lieutenant JG Saavik is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe. She first appeared in the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan played by Kirstie Alley. Robin Curtis took on the role after a salary dispute caused Alley to drop out of the sequel, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock...
and under the command of Captain Stiles (both appear in The Search for Spock).
Joran Dax
Joran Dax (born Joran Belar) is a noted musician on the Trill planet and is chosen to host the Dax symbiont after the untimely death of the previous host, Torias. However,at that time it's not known that Joran is a psychopath and a murderer.Most information about Joran is given in the Equilibrium season 3 DS9 episode. There, Jadzia Dax plays a melody Joran has composed and then begins experiencing hidden memories of him as hallucinations and aggressive outbursts. In the visions, a strange music is heard from nowhere, Joran is shown as a model killer maniac, wearing a mask, eager to kill anyone who his twisted imagination portrays as inappropriate. The visions endanger Jadzia and the symbiont's life so she, Sisko and Bashir travel to the Trill homeworld for treatment. There, Sisko and Bashir find out who Joran was and that all the information on his joining was erased. Jadzia remembers Joran murdering the doctor who recommended to expel him from the symbiosis program. Considering this, Sisko and Bashir deduce that Joran's joining was considered a failure and covered up to hide the fact that an obviously "unsuitable" subject was nevertheless capable of joining (the official party line
Party line (politics)
In politics, the line or the party line is an idiom for a political party or social movement's canon agenda, as well as specific ideological elements specific to the organization's partisanship. The common phrase toeing the party line describes a person who speaks in a manner that conforms to his...
and the whole idea behind the Commission's existence was that only the few "best of the best" were capable). Jadzia's doctor denies all this and is going to let Jadzia die. Only when Sisko threatens to reveal the truth to the public does she confess. She tells that in fact about a half of the Trill's population is capable of joining and the Commission hides this fact fearing that symbionts would be in danger: "It would mean chaos. There aren't nearly enough symbionts for that many hosts. The potential danger to the symbionts would be enormous -- they would become commodities to be purchased... prizes to be fought over." She then unseals Joran's memories of Dax to save Jadzia's life.
In the Field of Fire season 7 episode, Ezri Dax calls upon her memories of Joran in order to catch a murderer who has killed several people on the Deep Space Nine
Deep Space Nine (space station)
Deep Space Nine is a fictitious space station, and is the eponymous primary setting of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It serves as a base for the exploration of the Gamma Quadrant via the Bajoran wormhole, and is a hub of trade and travel for the sector's denizens...
. Joran strives to entice her to kill someone to 'know how it feels' which she is able to resist.
Joran is portrayed by Jeff McBride
Jeff McBride
Jeff McBride is an American magician from Monticello New York. He is known for his sleight of hand skills and specializes in the manipulation of playing cards, coins, and other small objects. His stage performances blend elements of kabuki, a Japanese theater form, with traditional conjuring...
in the Equilibrium episode and Leigh McCloskey
Leigh McCloskey
Leigh Joseph McCloskey is an American film and television actor.-Career:McCloskey was classically trained as an actor at the Juilliard School in Lincoln Center, New York. As an actor, he is perhaps most widely known for his role as Mitch Cooper on the CBS soap opera Dallas...
in the Field of Fire episode. In the Facets episode, he possesses Benjamin Sisko
Benjamin Sisko
Benjamin Lafayette Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, is the main character of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Early life and career:...
(Avery Brooks
Avery Brooks
Avery Franklin Brooks is an American actor, television director, jazz musician, opera singer and college professor. Brooks is perhaps best known for his television roles as Benjamin Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and as Hawk on Spenser: For Hire and its spinoff A Man Called Hawk, and in the...
). Due to the danger of allowing Joran to act freely, Sisko is placed in a holding cell with a force field before Joran is allowed to take over. He has a short and terse conversation with Jadzia, then begins slamming Sisko's head repeatedly into the force field, injuring him. He then tricks Jadzia into turning off the force field and catches her by the throat to "show her how to use his power". Jadzia knocks him down and Sisko finally regains himself.
Curzon Dax
Curzon Dax is a negotiator in the Khitomer Accords whose activities result in the Klingon Empire entering an alliance with the United Federation of PlanetsUnited Federation of Planets
The United Federation of Planets, also known as "The Federation" is a fictional interplanetary federal republic depicted in the Star Trek television series and motion pictures...
. After this, Curzon becomes revered and admired among the Klingon people.
For Jadzia's zhian'tara in the Facets episode, Curzon is temporarily embodied into Odo, with a unique result — a blending of Curzon's and Odo's personalities, not unlike the blending of a Trill symbiont with its host. "Curzon Odo" takes advantage of Odo's shapeshifting abilities to transform his face to more closely resemble Curzon's while still retaining recognizable traces of Odo's features. Curzon is shown a very bright personality, extremely charismatic yet arrogant and neglectful at times where he starts behaving selfish and manipulatory.
Jadzia asks him why he recommended to drop her from the program, yet when she re-applied, advised to accept her, making her the first candidate to ever be re-accepted. Curzon manipulates her, telling he did that out of pity, feeding her fear that he didn't see her as a good enough candidate. Finalizing his blow, he declares he wishes to remain with Odo and not return to Dax. With Sisko's advice, Jadzia manages to bring Curzon down a peg and he finally confesses he has in fact been in love with her. He dropped her to cover his feelings and re-accepted because he felt guilty. He says that, after all these years, he still loves Jadzia and she convinces him to return to her so that they could be together forever.
In the Blood Oath season 2 episode, it's revealed that one of Curzon's friends, a Klingon named Kang, named his firstborn Dax and asked Curzon to be the child's godfather. When the young Dax is murdered by an alien known as "The Albino", Curzon joins Kang, Kor and Koloth (whose firstborns have also been murdered by Albino) in their oath of blood vengeance. The oath is fulfilled by Jadzia and the three Klingons in that episode.
Curzon dies of "Jah-ma haron" on Risa suffering a heart attack while in the company of a beautiful young woman. Upon his death, the Dax symbiont is transferred into Jadzia. This moment is shown during Jadzia's flashback in Emissary, the first DS9 episode.
In the non-canon novels The Art of the Impossible
Star Trek: The Lost Era
Star Trek: The Lost Era is a series of novels that take place during the time period between the 23rd century events of the film Star Trek Generations and the first season of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, set in 2364....
and Catalyst of Sorrows
Star Trek: The Lost Era
Star Trek: The Lost Era is a series of novels that take place during the time period between the 23rd century events of the film Star Trek Generations and the first season of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, set in 2364....
, Curzon Dax is mentored by Vulcan Ambassador Sarek
Sarek
Sarek is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. He is a Vulcan astrophysicist, the Vulcan ambassador to the United Federation of Planets, and father of Spock...
in diplomatic matters and is a close friend and occasional lover of the Head of the Starfleet Intelligence, Nyota Uhura.
Jadzia Dax
Jadzia Dax, portrayed by Terry FarrellTerry Farrell (actress)
Theresa Lee "Terry" Farrell is an American actress and former fashion model. She is perhaps best known for her performances in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Becker.-Early life:...
in the TV series, is a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
seasons 1 to 6.
The station's chief science officer, she marries her fellow DS9 officer Lieutenant Commander Worf
Worf
Worf, played by Michael Dorn, is a main character in Star Trek: The Next Generation and in seasons four to seven of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He also appears in the films based on The Next Generation. Worf is the first Klingon main character to appear in Star Trek, and has appeared in more Star...
but their family happiness is destroyed when she is killed by a Cardassian
Cardassian
The Cardassians are an extraterrestrial species in the Star Trek science fiction franchise. First introduced in the 1991 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Wounded", the species originating on the fictional Alpha Quadrant planet Cardassia Prime...
Gul Dukat possessed by a Pah-wraith.
Ezri Dax
Ezri Dax (portrayed by Nicole de BoerNicole de Boer
Nicole de Boer is a Canadian actress, perhaps best known for her roles as Ezri Dax on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine from 1998 to 1999 and as Sarah Bannerman on The Dead Zone from 2002 to 2007.-Career:...
) is a major character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 7. After joining, she serves as the station's counselor. She briefly resumes Jadzia's relationship with Worf and later begins a romance with Julian Bashir
Julian Bashir
Lieutenant Julian Subatoi Bashir, M.D., played by Alexander Siddig, is a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Bashir is the chief medical officer of space station Deep Space Nine and the USS Defiant.-Overview:...
.
Verad Dax
Verad Dax, portrayed by John GloverJohn Glover (actor)
John Soursby Glover Jr. is an American actor, perhaps best known for a range of villainous roles in films and television, including Lionel Luthor on the Superman-inspired television series Smallville.-Personal life:...
, steals the Dax symbiont for a few hours in the "Invasive Procedures
Invasive Procedures (DS9 episode)
"Invasive Procedures" is the 24th episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Plot:At a time when Deep Space Nine is all but empty, an unjoined Trill and his crew, a pair of Klingons and a former prostitute named Mareel, overpower the crew of the station. The Trill,...
" DS9 season 2 episode. Verad is a rejected candidate for joining. He makes Bashir remove the Dax symbiont surgically from Jadzia and implant it into himself. Dax is later returned to Jadzia before the symbiont and the host integrate. When joined with Verad, Dax is highly motivated to continue Verad's immoral plan despite a continued feeling of friendship with Sisko and others on DS9. Jadzia, on the other hand, comments on how lonely and inconfident she feels once separated from Dax.
Yedrin Dax
Yedrin Dax, portrayed by Gary FrankGary Frank (actor)
Gary Frank is an American actor who won an Emmy Award for his performances on the TV seriesFamily...
, is a host of the Dax symbiont in an alternate timeline
Alternate history (fiction)
Alternate history or alternative history is a genre of fiction consisting of stories that are set in worlds in which history has diverged from the actual history of the world. It can be variously seen as a sub-genre of literary fiction, science fiction, and historical fiction; different alternate...
that is created when the USS Defiant travels two hundred years back in time in the Children of Time
Children of Time (DS9 episode)
Children of Time is an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the twenty-second episode of the fifth season. It has an average fan rating of 4.2/5 on the official Star Trek website as of September, 2009. It is notable for beginning life as a fan-submitted story idea by Ethan H...
DS9 season 5 episode. He is the great-grandson of Jadzia Dax and Worf. His existence is erased when the Defiant avoids the crash and that timeline is averted.
Others named Dax
- Dax, son of Kang is a KlingonKlingonKlingons are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films...
named after his godfather, Curzon Dax (see above). - Dax (played by Michael SnyderMichael SnyderMichael Snyder is an actor who holds the distinction of being one of only 32 actors or actresses to have starred in both the original Star Trek, up to and including Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, and then in one of the spin offs....
) is also the name of a crewman aboard the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A)USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A)The USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-A is a starship in the fourth, fifth, and sixth Star Trek films.-Origin and design:The Enterprise-A used the same shooting model as the preceding NCC-1701...
in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered CountryStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered CountryStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire main cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. Released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Nicholas Meyer and...
.
Pop Culture References
- The World of WarcraftWorld of WarcraftWorld of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
expansion set Burning Crusade contains a reference to some of the hosts of the Dax symbiont: Draenei named Tobin, Emony, Audrid, Torias, and Curzon tour the museum area of The Exodar. - British comedian actor Bill BaileyBill BaileyBill Bailey is an English comedian, musician and actor. As well as his extensive stand-up work, Bailey is well known for his appearances on Black Books, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News for You, and QI.Bailey was listed by The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy in...
named his son Dax. "I may just have given him too much baggage," Bailey joked. "I'll tell him he’s named after the German stock exchangeDAXThe DAX is a blue chip stock market index consisting of the 30 major German companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Prices are taken from the electronic Xetra trading system...
."