20 Star Trek Women You Should Know

Penny Johnson as Kasidy Yates in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Image via Paramount/CBS)

12. Kasidy Yates (Deep Space Nine)

It’s true that Kasidy Yates was not much more than a recurring character on Deep Space Nine. That said, look a little closer and you’ll see a lot to admire.

Yates is a self-made woman, for one. She’s a freighter captain and founder of Kasidy Yates Interstellar Freights (I, too, wouldn’t mind finding a company with my name plastered all over everything). Her ship, the Xhosa, made many freighting runs across the galactic quadrant, first as an independent enterprise and then as part of a plum deal with the Bajoran Ministry of Commerce. Yates, it should be said, has a pretty good head for business.

Okay, if running a successful business as a space captain in the 24th century doesn’t impress you, then look to her moral record. She secretly supported the Maquis, a rebel group that resisted Cardassian occupation and often clashed with the Federation. Using the Xhosa, she smuggled cargo to the rebellion. Though she was eventually caught and imprisoned by the Federation, she took sole responsibility (thus sparing her crew) and owned up to her deeds. Regardless of whether or not you think that the Maquis are justified, you’ve got to hand it to Yates for following through on her beliefs.

Anyway, it didn’t seem to put much of a damper on her emerging romance with Benjamin Sisko. She was soon back on the station, assisting with the larger Dominion War, and even marries Sisko.