Piller noted the natural assumptions many had about Forbes. Since Ro Laren was a Bajoran character, it seemed logical that she would be part of a show about the Bajoran homeworld. Forbes, however, was tired of acting on television and wanted to make feature films instead. This was in the early 1990s, and Forbes would soon be moving on to notable indies like “Kalifornia” and “Swimming with Sharks.” Piller recalled Forbes’ ambitions:
“Michelle Forbes is a wonderful actress, and her character of Ensign Ro created the entire canvas for this new series. It had always been assumed that she would be one of the people spun off and moved over to ‘DS9,’ but she wanted to be a feature actress.”
Ro Laren, it should be noted, was a Starfleet officer, while Kira Nerys was not. When Piller realized he could no longer write Ensign Ro as a counterpart to Commander Sisko, he was struck by what he felt was a much better idea. If Sisko’s Bajoran first officer wasn’t part of Starfleet, she would feel less beholden to his authority, causing more opportunities for interpersonal drama. As Piller put it:
“I found there was a great deal more conflict in having the Bajoran not be Starfleet. Immediately you have different priorities and agendas, and the two people immediately have a conflict with each other the moment they step onto the station. The one between Sisko and Ro would have been a much different one, because ultimately she’s Starfleet and has to do what the boss says. Kira Nerys could do things that are not appropriate Starfleet behavior.”
A lot of Ro’s old dialogue was handed to Kira, and a dynamic new entity was born.