Joret Dal was a Cardassian military officer and a Federation operative.
In 2370, he was rescued from an escape pod by the crew of the USS Enterprise-D. He risked his life to contact the Enterprise-D to provide information about Cardassian military movements. These movements threatened Bajor and other nearby planets. This information he provided would help strengthen the security of Bajor. He did not consider himself a traitor, but rather a patriot. He had served in the military all his life, only to see it become "little more than a platform for ambitious Guls hoping to make their reputations in battle." He believed that Cardassia was being led down the path to destruction.
In order to return home, he needed to make it appear as if he were a bounty hunter on the run from Starfleet. He planned on pretending that he stole a shuttle and had captured a Bajoran terrorist. He was given the shuttlecraft Curie and was temporarily accompanied by the Bajoran Ensign Sito Jaxa, who posed as his prisoner. Although Dal safely returned to Cardassian territory, Sito was believed killed as she attempted to return to the Enterprise-D. (TNG: "Lower Decks")
The final draft script of "Lower Decks" refers to Joret Dal as being "about forty" at the time of the episode's setting. The character was played by actor Don Reilly. Regarding the casting of Reilly as Joret, René Echevarria said, "The idea of a Cardassian defector immediately changes the tenor of, you know, what we were looking for. And he has a nice mix there of cold […] and that prejudice that they brought towards the Bajorans." ("Lower Decks" audio commentary, TNG Season 7 Blu-ray special features)
External link[]
- Joret Dal at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works