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"Joran, the forgotten host, the outcast."
"The murderer."
– Joran Dax and Ezri Dax, 2375 ("Field of Fire")

Joran Dax was a male Trill musician in the 23rd century. He became joined as the sixth host of the Dax symbiont.

Born Joran Belar on stardate 1024.7 (early 2260s), he was a renowned musician, who specialized in playing the piano. He graduated from one of the top music academies on Trill, along with his brother, Yolad Belar. He possessed a volatile temperament and a cold personality according to his brother. According to Symbiosis Commission records, he was a candidate for joining, but he was dropped from the program in his second year, or so everyone believed. It turned out in 2286 that Joran had in fact been joined six months prior to that date, in 2285, following Torias Dax's shuttle accident. Once the joining was complete, Joran became increasingly violent and unstable. The reasons why Joran was selected for joining have never been disclosed. It may have been that Trill doctors needed an interim host after Torias' death. Trill doctors expected the rejection of the symbiont, though this did not happen. Joran's joining to Dax did prove an important point in that it demonstrated that more of the general population could be successfully joined than was believed.

According to Yolad, (in a conversation with Commander Benjamin Sisko), Joran murdered the doctor who made the recommendation to remove him from the program to cover up the fact Joran had been joined. He had killed at least two others in addition to the doctor. (DS9: "Field of Fire").

Joran died in 2286 on stardate 8615.2 when Dax was removed from Joran and implanted into Curzon, with a memory block protecting the host from the memories of Joran's joining, and all records of his joining were purged from Trill databases. Public records stated that Joran was killed fleeing the scene of the murdered doctor, while Torias was said to have remained in a coma for the six months of Joran Dax's existence, the symbiont being removed when his isoboramine levels dropped to a dangerous point. (DS9: "Equilibrium", "Field of Fire")

Dax's memory block began to erode in early 2371, causing severe trauma to the Dax host of that time, Jadzia. The block was removed, allowing Jadzia to reconcile the memories within herself. The information was kept secret from the general populace because it would reveal that the ability to be joined was far more widespread and possible than the Commission publicized, resulting in potential hosts struggling to acquire the 'prized' symbionts such as Dax. (DS9: "Equilibrium")

Sisko as Joran

Benjamin Sisko as Joran Dax during Jadzia's zhian'tara

During Jadzia's zhian'tara in 2371, Sisko agreed to embody Joran's memories and personality. Aware of the dangers, the ritual took place with Sisko in a holding cell. Even so, Joran proved extremely dangerous, and attempted to attack Jadzia, taunting her about her feelings of inadequacy in holding the Dax symbiont. Unable to penetrate the holding cell force field, Joran kept in contact with it, hurting Sisko. He would trick Dax into thinking Sisko was back in control, and when she let him go, he'd attack her. Sisko regained control and Joran was eventually returned to Dax. (DS9: "Facets")

In 2375, Ezri Dax performed the Rite of Emergence, which brought forth Joran's memories and personality for her to interact with so she could find who was murdering the officers on DS9. Joran provided Ezri with valuable assistance in tracking down Lieutenant Chu'lak, who had committed three murders, but his constant attempts to encourage Ezri to kill the murderer in question (in addition to an innocent person who almost fit the profile) did little to endear him to his distant successor. Once the case was solved, Ezri sent Joran back into her mind, accepting she would have to be more careful than the previous hosts because now he was just as much a part of her as the others. (DS9: "Field of Fire")

After being ruthlessly interrogated by the Breen later that year, Ezri deliriously rambled, "I'm not like you, Joran, I'm not a murderer." (DS9: "'Til Death Do Us Part")

Background information[]

Joran was played by Jeff Magnus McBride in "Equilibrium", Leigh J. McCloskey in "Field of Fire", and Avery Brooks during Jadzia Dax' zhian'tara in "Facets".

Tony Dow commented: "The casting sessions for Joran were endless. Joran is a pretty complex character. The actor had to play him with a sort of crazed unpredictability, but he couldn't be such a jerk that Ezri would just put him back in the bottle. Leigh didn't have the scariness of appearance that we'd initially anticipated but he's such a terrific actor that it worked out well". (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 649))

According to his stardate of birth, Joran was born some time before TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before", in 2265 or a few years prior. According to the script for "Equilibrium", Joran was pronounced as "juh-RAN". "Equilibrium" suggested that Curzon never knew of Joran, due to the memory blocks, while "Field of Fire" clearly states that he did.

Joran also appears in the short story "Allegro Ouroboros in D Minor" in The Lives of Dax.

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