Saavik

Lieutenant Saavik is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe. She appeared first in the second Star Trek movie, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, in which she was played by Kirstie Alley. She was also a main character in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, and appeared for a short time in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home; in these movies she was played by Robin Curtis.

Saavik's background was never explored on screen, but has been fleshed out in novels and comic books, though it should be noted that none of these sources is considered canon. According to the novels and comics, Saavik was born on Hellguard, an abandoned Romulan colony. She is half Vulcan and half Romulan. (A line of dialogue that would have revealed this in Wrath of Khan was edited out prior to the film's release and never restored; as a result, the canonicity of this piece of information has been debated for more than two decades. It does, however, explain her somewhat emotional behavior in that film, though she adopted a more proper Vulcan demeanor in later appearances. Saavik's mixed parentage is referenced often in her appearances in Star Trek novels. It should be noted, however, that if Saavik's mixed ancestry were to be made canon, it would violate the continuity created by the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Balance of Terror" (which takes place after Saavik's birth) in which Starfleet learns for the first time that Romulans resemble Vulcans, a fact that appears to be unknown to Vulcans as well.)

As the (non-canon) origin story goes, she was rescued from the colony, along with other children, by Mr. Spock, and she was adopted by his parents Ambassador Sarek and Amanda Grayson. Following in the footsteps of her step-brother and role model Spock she entered Starfleet Academy. After graduating, as a fresh lieutenant Saavik was on her cadet cruise on the Enterprise with Admiral James T. Kirk and Captain Spock when Kirk's old enemy Khan sought revenge and attacked the Enterprise.

Spock died while saving the Enterprise, but before his death transferred his mind to another Enterprise crewmember; later his body was discovered alive, and Saavik took him to Vulcan where his body and mind were reunited. After that, she remained on Vulcan with Spock's family for reasons never explained; the film's writers intended that this was because she was pregnant with Spock's child as a result of events during the rescue mission, but no references to her pregancy made it into the finished movie and it was never followed up, thereby once again placing this development into a grey area in terms of canon.

Also planned, but not featured in the final versions of Wrath of Khan and Search for Spock was a romantic relationship between Saavik and Kirk's son, David Marcus.

A significant character in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country was a young female Vulcan protege of Spock, who turned out to be working with the villains. In an early draft of the script, this was Saavik, in the hopes that Alley would return for the large role, using characters that had appeared in prior films (even in small parts) turning out to be significant players this time. Alley turned down the role and they instead created Valeris' character, played by Kim Cattrall. The novelization of this film includes a sequence in which Valeris, newly appointed to the Enterprise, meets Saavik.

In the novel Vulcan's Forge, which takes place some years after Undiscovered Country, an older Saavik marries Spock. The character was at one point to appear in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "Cause and Effect" but the idea was dropped when Kirstie Alley was once again unavailable to reprise the role.

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