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Yeoman Tamura was a female Human Starfleet enlisted crewmember in the 23rd century. She served in the operations division aboard the USS Enterprise in 2267 under the command of Captain James T. Kirk, during a historic five-year mission that starship undertook.

Service record[]

In 2267, Tamura delivered a PADD to Captain Kirk, beside the engineering station on the Enterprise's bridge. After he signed the document, she walked away, towards the main viewscreen. Moments later, she took the PADD back to a position next to the engineering station and discussed it there with Montgomery Scott. They were surprised when, in conversation with Kirk at the command chair, Ambassador Robert Fox demanded that the Enterprise proceed to planet Eminiar VII, despite the vessel's captain wanting to do otherwise, due to a Code 710.

Carrying a tricorder, Tamura subsequently joined a landing party that visited the planet's surface. Shortly after they beamed down to the planet and Kirk introduced the landing party (including Tamura) to Anan 7, Spock asked her to conduct a scientific survey, using her tricorder, to identify the nature of an attack on Eminiar VII, an assault which had purportedly been committed by the planet Vendikar. She reported that, although the tricorder was working properly, she could detect no evidence of radiation nor any disturbances, such as explosions. Her confusing lack of confirmation for the attack was one clue that helped Spock realize the war between Eminiar and Vendikar existed only as a series of computer models.

From time to time during the away mission on Eminiar VII, Tamura asked her superior officers what she and the rest of the landing party should do. For example, after they managed to free themselves from a detention room, she asked Kirk what they should do next. When they returned to the room later while the Eminians searched for them, she asked Kirk why the landing party had returned to that room, to which he explained that the Eminians were unlikely to look for them there. He assigned Tamura, handing her a sonic disruptor, to guard the detention room's door. Doing as Kirk had directed her, she also provided Spock with an Eminian communicator while he was explaining to Kirk how successful a raid against the Eminians had been. After Kirk and Ambassador Fox were captured by the Eminians, Tamura asked Spock, who had just managed to speak with Scott aboard the Enterprise, about what he now planned to do, which Spock answered by stating he was about to search for Kirk and Fox. He left her in charge of Mea 3, with instructions to prevent Mea from reporting to a disintegration station, as citizens of Eminiar VII dutifully did that when declared casualties and Mea had indeed recently been named a casualty. (TOS: "A Taste of Armageddon")

Appendices[]

Background information[]

Tamura was played by actress Miko Mayama.

According to the 7 December 1966 revision of the script, this character was referred as "Yeoman Thompson".

The revised final draft of the script, dated 12 December 1966, later described this individual as "Yeoman Manning", a male. The 27 December 1966 call sheet still included the name "Manning" but noted that the role was still uncast.

By the time of filming, the character's name was identified as "Tamula", as noted in the credits, although the pronunciation itself, as well as the closed-captioned script spelled her name as "Tamura" (a typical Japanese family name).

Although women handled phasers from time to time in The Original Series (such as Uhura, Marlena Moreau, and Marla McGivers), Tamura is a rare case of a woman being issued a phaser in a security context. (Two other examples are security officer Martha Landon and Number One, although when the latter beams down to rescue Captain Pike she bears the laser pistol common to that time period.)

The novel Pawns and Symbols gave her first name as "Keiko".

External links[]

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