During the course of planning out the of "", the producers were looking to add a recurring character who could conflict with the regular cast at times as well as a new conn officer to replace Wesley Crusher. With that in mind, the episode "" was written by Michael Piller, from a story idea created in conjunction with Rick Berman, to specifically introduce the character of Ensign Ro Laren. The episode was designed to show a backstory for the character, who would be at odds with series creator Gene Roddenberry's ideal that Starfleet officers should all work together seamlessly. One of her major character traits was that she would be a member of an oppressed people, whose homeworld had been conquered by another. Supervising producer Jeri Taylor explained that they had sought to add some "fresh life" using a darker character.