TREKCORE > DEEP SPACE NINE > CAST > Tora Ziyal

PLAYED BY: Cyia Batten, Tracy Middendorf, Melanie Smith
NAME: Tora Ziyal
SPECIES: Cardassian/Bajoran hybrid
BIRTHPLACE: Bajor
PARENTS: Dukat (Father), Tora Naprem (Mother)
HALF-SIBLINGS: Mikor Dukat; Dukat's 6 other legitimate children; half-Bajoran infant, his son or daughter by Mika
LOVE INTEREST: Garak
HOBBIES/INTERESTS: Sketching, painting

Tora Ziyal was born in 2353, the illegitimate daughter of Gul Dukat by one of his Bajoran mistresses, Tora Naprem. At age 13, Ziyal was sent with her mother to Lissepia by Dukat, who knew the Occupation would soon end and that Ziyal would not be accepted by either Bajoran or Cardassian society. The ship they were on, the Ravinok, crashed in the Dozaria system; Naprem died in the impact.

Ziyal spent the next six years enslaved in a Breen mine, until she was found there by her father and Kira. Rather than kill Ziyal as he had planned, Dukat chose to take her home and face the consequences ("Indiscretion"). Although his acknowledgement of her was the direct cause of his political downfall, Dukat did not abandon his daughter, and kept her with him as a member of his crew on the Groumall. She stayed until Kira decided to take her back to live on DS9, so that Ziyal would be spared the life of a terrorist ("Return to Grace").

On DS9, in "For the Cause", Ziyal met and befriended Garak, her father's enemy. She fell in love with him, a fact which displeased Dukat, who disowned her when she chose to wait for Garak's return rather than go to Cardassia with her father ("In Purgatory's Shadow"/"By Inferno's Light").

Ziyal was evacuated to Bajor in "Call to Arms", and attended art school at a Bajoran university, until she finally reconciled with her father and returned to the station ("Sons and Daughters").

In "Favor the Bold"/"Sacrifice of Angels", at Kira's request, Ziyal tried to talk her father into freeing Rom, but failed, which caused another rift between them. Later, she aided Quark in breaking Kira and the others out of a holding cell. As the Cardassian/Dominion forces evacuated, Ziyal refused to leave with her father, and told him of her actions. She was then murdered by Damar, who had overheard.