Kira Nerys Wears a Uniform: It’s Too Tight
Deep Space Nine introduces Kira Nerys: Star Trek’s freedom fighting first officer. But when we meet her she wears a uniform. It’s too tight.
For 50 years the Cardassian Empire occupies Bajor. 15 million deaths are on the books during that time. But that doesn’t account for disease, for the erasure of Bajoran history, for the orphans or for the endless trauma of all those who survive. The actual number of deaths is likely triple that at least.
When the Cardassians leave Bajor, both the planet and its people are so ravaged they cannot survive alone. Their provisional government is in a constant state of falling apart and one of the only things holding it together is aid from the Federation.
There’s also one more thing holding things together: Major Kira Nerys.
At this point, Kira has never known a life without Cardassian occupation. Her entire existence is fire fights, sneak attacks, freedom fighting, and, yes, terrorism. But when the Cardassians leave, Kira has to ask herself: what now? If she keeps literally blowing up the problem, the only places she will destroy are Bajoran homes. The only people she’ll be killing are her own.
And so Kira puts on a uniform. When we meet her in DS9‘s pilot episode “Emissary” it’s safe to say that uniform is fresh on. It’s also safe to say she doesn’t like wearing it very much. It’s too tight. And it doesn’t get any easier wearing it from there. Until it does. And that’s even worse.
Working For Vs Working Against
Following the rules is not first nature to Major Kira Nerys, but she learns to compromise quickly. And there are two, almost diametrically opposed, reasons at play which account for this shift: fear of a Cardassian return and doubts that the cost of fighting them was worth it when they ultimately left on their own. We see her actions play out these fears time and again.
In “Past Prologue” Kira stops Tahna Los and the Kohn-Ma from destroying the wormhole that makes Bajor so desirable. This is a man and a group which Kira formerly worked with. But she turns against them. Why? Because she already believes that Bajor needs the Federation to keep the Cardassians away. No wormhole, no Federation. So she fights her own people.
In “Progress” Kira forces a Bajoran man to relocate from his home in order to pave the way for mining facilities. In the past, she would have fought for his right to stay. But now she thinks the mining work means survival. And she knows that if she leaves forced evacuation to someone else, people may die. So she does the ugly work herself. To keep people alive.
With every step, Kira feels her uniform. And it’s too tight.
Kira Nerys, and “Duet”
How many Cardassians does Kira Nerys kill in her time with the Shakaar resistance cell? If you ask past Kira, she will tell you she kills as many as it takes to guarantee Bajoran survival. But once she puts on the uniform, she’s not so sure. She feels guilt for what she’s done. And then she feels guilty for doubting herself.
In “Duet” she faces a man she believes to be “the Butcher of Gallitep,” a Cardassian whose leadership of a Bajoran labor camp leads to the torture and death of countless innocents. She believes he must die for there to be justice. But this man is no butcher, he was merely the filing clerk for the butcher.
Which is worse? Kira killing Cardassians without questioning who they are? Or this false butcher for doing nothing as his boss tortures and kills innocents? “Duet” posits that this is a false dichotomy. Justice can only come when they both reckon with the consequences of their actions.
But what does that mean for Kira Nerys? And why, as she tries to keep Bajor safe, as she changes in ways that she thinks makes her better at that goal, does her uniform feel so tight?
The Circle
There are few things more dangerous than the co-opting of a resistance by power hungry opportunists. The Circle is supposedly a fringe group of Bajorans who believe anyone who is not of Bajor should get off. But that fringe group isn’t run by former resistance fighters. It’s led by Minister Jaro—a man who believes he should rule Bajor with total authoritarian control.
Jaro, like many leaders who falsely wrap themselves in the language of resistance, finds support in religious extremism. Vedek Winn wishes to be Bajor’s religious leader. She doesn’t like non-Bajorans either. She even pushes one of her flock to blow up a school because it teaches Bajoran children about non-Bajoran science.
And this is where Kira Nerys struggles most. She wants Bajor to flourish under its own power. She knows that faith is a huge part of how her people survived the Cardassian occupation.
But what Jaro and Winn want is fascism. They want a world where only the people they deem fit get to be part of Bajor’s future. Jaro is so singularly minded he doesn’t realize his movement’s weapons are being supplied by the Cardassians. And so it is incumbent upon Kira to pull together a group of people to fight back before Jaro lets the Cardassians back in.
Kira stops Jaro and the Circle. But the Bajoran provisional government is still weak. And Vedek Winn uses the moment to gain more power, setting her up to become the new spiritual leader of Bajor. And Kira, in many ways, now has to answer to Winn.
Kira Nerys feels her uniform. It’s so tight now that she feels like she might suffocate. But what can she do but wear it anyway?
Kira Nerys and the Dominion Occupation
There is a point in the Dominion War where the Federation accepts they cannot remain on Deep Space Nine. And as Captain Sisko leaves, he tells Kira she has one job: keep the peace. Don’t be a revolutionary. Your job right now is just to survive. Make sure everyone survives.
After years of fighting her own duality, Kira Nerys relents.
The Cardassians return with the Dominion. And Kira does nothing. She wakes up, she gets her hot cup of raktajino, and she maintains. She sees Odo becoming part of a ruling council as a scary but ultimately good thing. Kira quips that Gul Dukat, the man who nearly wiped out her world, is a despot, but she still celebrates with him when his daughter finds success as an artist.
Kira Nerys wears a uniform: it fits perfectly. It is not “a” uniform. It’s her uniform. It’s her.
When the Dominion wants to send forces down to Bajor, Kira hardly puts up a fuss. When Vedek Yassim begs her to stop this, Kira tells her not to protest. Let it happen. Sure, preventing a second Cardassian occupation is the reason Kira put on the uniform in the first place, but this is different. Right?
Vedek Yassim hangs herself in front of everyone. Her final words are, “evil must be opposed!” And Kira realizes only too late that there’s a word for what she is now: a collaborator.
And just like that, her uniform is so tight it feels like it could kill someone. Because it has.
Victory?
There are six episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine which comprise the story of the station’s occupation by the Dominion. A lot of time passes during those stories and our characters change enormously. While Kira tries to maintain peace, it’s Sisko who winds up leading what is, in many ways, a resistance.
Captain Sisko creates rituals, almost like a faith, around Federation battles against the Dominion. Back on the station his son, Jake, eschews requests from the Dominion to write propaganda in favor of honest journalism, even if it’s censored. And a little passing of messages across enemy lines doesn’t hurt either.
Kira realizes she has to fight back, too. Sisko told her to keep the peace, but would he even agree with that sentiment now? Unlikely. She stops speaking to Dukat. She builds a small resistance on the station to shut down power and prevent Dominion forces from getting through the wormhole.
But the fight is not easy or without casualty. Rom is captured and threatened with execution. And Odo, Kira’s strongest ally, abandons her to seek belonging in the Great Link. He chooses his safety over everyone else’s right up until the last second.
Sisko returns, fights the Dominion, and takes back Deep Space Nine. But he only wins by deus ex machina. The Prophets, the Bajoran gods, intervene. That’s the only reason for their victory in the end. It’s a miracle with a price for Sisko.
But everyone pays a price. Kira becomes a collaborator. Odo abandons his friends. Even Dukat’s daughter dies. Everyone compromises themselves and loses even in victory.
Was it worth it? There’s no good answer to that question. All anyone can do is live knowing their victory only lasts if they keep fighting.
Kira Nerys, Too Tight Uniforms, and You
Kira Nerys is like a lot of us. You probably recognize some of yourself in her. We don’t need literal Cardassian occupations to be revolutionaries in our youths. Nor do we need marching orders from superiors to make us favor pragmatism as we age. Not every war is worth fighting. “Blow it up” cannot be the solution to every problem. These are common life lessons.
But the need for freedom fighting will still come, regardless of how old we are or whether or not we are prepared. Cardassians don’t exist, but occupations do. Sometimes the evil we swore would never return finds its way back to power.
Going stealth cannot always be the answer. Just keeping the peace cannot always be the answer. Allies will unexpectedly flee for safer pastures. We cannot assume their return. And there are no gods or miracles to save the day. Just us.
Most of us wear uniforms after a fashion. Over time, we find the clothes, the aesthetic, and the attitudes that make it so we can survive in whatever boxes civilization puts us into. Most of us find a way to make the uniform we’re assigned fit. Because we know what happens to those of us who don’t or can’t.
But that uniform should always feel a little too tight. And as someone who cannot hide behind a uniform, I hope you always feel it.
