Ask Nicole deBoer about her first "up close and personal" brush with the Star Trek universe, and the answer won't involve her initial visit to the set of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as counselor Ezri Dax. That brush wasn't with Captain Sisko in 24th Century New Orleans, but rather Captain Kirk in 20th Century Canada.

"Once in Toronto, I tried out for a part on TekWar," says the actress and self-proclaimed Star Trek fan, "and I didn't think about it at all, but there was this guy sitting there in a baseball cap and sunglasses. He asked if I had any questions, and I asked maybe one or two, then I said I was ready and walked to the front.

"When I turned back around, I got a better look at that guy's face under the cap and I just screamed - 'Oh my God! William Shatner! I'm sorry I didn't recognize you!' I just screamed and screamed. He just said, "Calm down," and then I read for the part - and I didn't get it. "I'm sure that all those people couldn't believe I lost control like that," deBoer says and laughs. "But I loved the original show and I watched 'Next Generation,' too."

Yet deBoer admits that she hadn't closely followed ST:DS9 during its first six years of production. She credits much of her working knowledge of the series, and specifically the centuries-long life of the Dax symbiont and its eight previous hosts, to conversations with her aunt, a fan of the show. And, deBoer says with good humor, she was able to better suppress her fanatic excitement with Star Trek when she joined the ST:DS9 cast for its seventh and final season. "When I started the show, I wasn't that freaked out that it was Star Trek. I tried to look at it as just another job," she says. "I certainly at the time didn't think that I would get to be a part of the history of the Star Trek universe; that is so cool to me.

"I wondered how things would go when there were a lot of Ezri episodes in the beginning," deBoer says. "I wasn't on much in the first two shows, but then I got some stories. I was wondering whether there would be some backlash from fans because she was on so much. But they did a good job of getting in so much Ezri stuff over just one year." During that year, deBoer says, she was thankful writers chose to touch on so many aspects of the character that she found interesting when she was selected to succeed Terry Farrell's role as Jadzia Dax. She was pleased by the opportunities to address issues specific to Ezri, such as her relationship with Worf, as well as those larger to the series, such as the Dominion war.

"I liked that they dealt with her uncertainties with carrying the symbiont," she says, "then Ezri got to have a gun! I didn't think I was going to be in the war stories so much. I mean, oh my god, she's supposed to be a counselor and a new one at that! But she's not just Ezri, but she's Dax, which means she can draw on years and years of experiences.

"I wanted to show the process of her maturing as a host, but being relaxed and light with the other characters," she says. "They struck a nice mix during the year. I'm happy with what they did with her." And she is happy with her experiences outside the show with legions of Star Trek fans. While she has done only a handful of convention appearances, she has not ruled out making more of them now that production on ST:DS9 has ended. She says she also has appreciated fans' support of her work on the show - even though a lot of those fans may not realize it.

"I'm still trying to get my mail," she says and laughs. "I thought I wasn't getting any mail from fans, and that they didn't like me at all. Now, they all must think I'm so rude, but I just found out that they've been holding sacks of mail for me."

As far as public opinion goes, deBoer says, "I only know what I hear on the street from some people, who recognize me and stop me to say something. I don't get recognized very much, so I'm not too scared about just throwing on a pair of sweats and going out of the house." She hopes her days of obscurity are numbered, deBoer says, as she prepares for her next acting projects. She would like to continue working on television or movies, and she hopes those projects continue her association with a high quality of writing such as she found on ST:DS9. And whether she has more opportunities to wear the Trill spots of Ezri Dax, she says, is not completely in her hands. "I just hope they don't kill her because she's still fairly young and she has so much potential to go on and make something of herself," deBoer says. "I would love to see her as she matures. She could become so very wise. I just don't see her riding off into the sunset just yet."

Kevin Dilmore is a contributing writer for STAR TREK: CONTINUUM. Kevin also writes for the official Star Trek fan club magazine, The Star Trek Communicator.