- Rank: Lieutenant Commander
- Current assignment: Science Officer: Deep Space Nine; helm officer U.S.S. Defiant
- Species: Joined Trill
- Year of birth: 2341
- Place of birth: Trill
- Education: (host) Starfleet Academy, 2359-63
- Marital status: Single (current host)
- Children: None (current host)
- Quarters: Deep Space Nine: Level 6 near Corridor 1; U.S.S. Defiant: Deck 3
The eighth eventual Trill host of the symbiont Dax is the discoverer of the Bajoran wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant, which catapulted the area into the galactic hotseat. The perspective of seven previous lifetimes has left her with an extremely broad view of life which surprisingly skews to the unpredictable and even mischievous rather than the staid and conservative, while symbiosis itself at times has proved to beproblematic in her off-world career. Jadzia has two parents and one sister, all still alive by 2372. Although she was not above breaking windows at night as a crack shot with rocks when younger, the quiet, shy and naive young woman had worked hard since childhood to qualify for the Trill hosting program and received academic degrees in exobiology, zoology, astrophysics and exo-archaealogy at Starfleet Academy, although at the time of her DS9 posting at age 28 as a lieutenant she has never served on a starship. In 2367 at age 26, Jadzia made history as the only rejected Trill initiate to return successfully and pass the program. She had spent three years in all as an initiate and hardly ever left its complex; she didn't receive basic flight experience certification of Level 3 until her last year of training. Ironically, after acceptance she chose the Dax symbiont previously hosted by Curzon, her harsh field docent who'd rejected her in the first place after only two weeks of field training as unmotivated and unfocused -- an act which dogged Jadzia for years, despite her success; she had studied his infamous record and was already nauseated with the pressure, crying herself to sleep each night until she was dropped. It was only later, after she redoubled her efforts and passed the training with his approval, that she learned he had really rejected her only out of misplaced guilt due to his sexual attraction to the attractive young woman. The Joining was completed as Curzon neared the end of a slow, lingering death in mid-year.Such a turbulent relationship with the previous host of the symbiont she now carries has haunted Jadzia, who has found herself in a love-hate relationship with his legacy that at times has bordered on sheer competitor. In addition, due to her off-world posting, Dax has probably endured more conflict due to symbiosis than the typical Joined Trill. Accused of Curzon's alleged murder of Klaestron IV's General Tandro by his zealous son, she had rather faced a death sentence than expose Tandro's role as a rebel collaborator and Curzon's affair with his wife, both eventually revealed. In 2370 she supervised her own first initiate trainee, Arjin, only three years younger than she, and came to grips with some suppressed bitterness about Curzon's treatment of her. Curzon figured again weeks later when she swore to uphold a blood oath of his on an unauthorized quest with Klingons, Kor, Kang and Koloth that could have cost her her life, much less her Starfleet career. Dax has also been forced to reintegrate memories from two unexpected hosts; one, in 2370, was the the once-rejected host candidate Verad who hijacked the symbiont from Jadzia, and again a year later, when a failing memory block revealed in series of nightmares the onetime murderer Joran Belar and the yet-unrevealed Symbiosis Commission cover-up of the error 85 years earlier. After years of procrastination due to her uneasiness at confronting Curzon again, she underwent first Trill zhian'tara Rite of Closure to meet all previous hosts, when the uniquely melded Odo/Curzon reincarnation almost decided to stay in that form permanently. The eventual return of Curzon's memories to Jadzia allowed her the additional experience of a changeling's perspective. Dax's personal as well as professional reunion with Curzon's old protege Ben Sisko at DS9 is unique in some ways in light of the Trill taboo against reassociation. Even more so, in 2372 she had considered remating with former host Torias's widow's symbiont Kahn in its current host, Lenara -- until Lenara succumbed to the social pressure and broke it off. Earlier, her only romantic encounter since 2270 had been a bittersweet encounter with a resident of planet Meridian, a dimension-shifting world destined to appear in solid form in this universe once every 60 years. Despite this rarity of outward sexual intimacy, Dax's long life as both genders has if anything broadened her perspective on romance, sex, and multiculturalism, not diminished it. She generally enjoys the attention shown her by men overall and is tolerantly amused by the crushes of Bashir and Quark, actually enjoying the Ferengi oddities that turn Kira off. She's been studying up on the Rules of Acquisition and had always wanted to see a Ferengi in Starfleet but, like Sisko, was skeptical of Nog's Academy application. Dax even thinks Morn is cute, but once turned down his dinner invitation; she later accepted one from the clear-skulled Gallamite Capt. Boday. Still, her longevity has fostered a cavalier attitude about others' privacy and secrets: she's somewhat jealous that Sisko won't share his personal side as much as he did with Curzon. Actually, her relationship with Bashir has matured from his puppy love to a deep friendship. She submitted Bashir's Carrington nomination through an old friend of Curzon's and throws him a surprise birthday party each year; he, in turn, has risked his life and career on more than one occasion to save hers, usually due to a quirk of her symbiotic state. Dax remains in superior physical condition, enjoying Galeo-Manada style wrestling as well as the more well known Klingon martial arts, which she began studying after her Joining thanks to Curzon's previous extensive contact with the culture. A near match in combat expertise for Worf, she became his unexpected confidant when the Klingon signed aboard the station in early 2372, searching with him and Kor for the Sword of Kahless and intercepting his brother Kurn's Mauk-toVor ritual suicide. Personally, Dax is a self-professed "night owl" and hates to be "appropriate" -- thus explaining her interest in forgotten composers like the Romulan Frenchotte as well as interstellar gourmet and Klingon food. She is better at poker and Tongo than Curzon ever was, but she and Sisko are an even match at traditional 2-D chess. She also inherited a love of steamed azna from prior hosts, along with the Altonian brain teaser puzzle some 140 years before her Joining -- when either Emony or Audrid were Dax's host. A Black Hole is one favorite drink, although on duty she usually prefers an iced raktajino with extra cream. Her quarters are heavily decorated with small sculptures, knick-knacks, and scientific antique tools; circa SD 48212 she briefly coiffed her hair in a more matronly style before returning to her former look.