The Malcorian science minister who longed to see space and left her world aboard the Enterprise-D after its troubled first contact.
Mirasta Yale was the science minister of Malcor III, a pre-warp world close to developing faster-than-light travel. In First Contact she was approached by Picard and Troi, who revealed the existence of the Federation. Yale was thrilled, though her chancellor, Durken, was more cautious.
When William Riker, who had been studying the planet in disguise, was injured and held in a hospital, the discovery fuelled fears of an alien invasion. Durken decided his people were not ready for contact and asked the Federation to leave. Yale asked to go with the Enterprise, and Picard agreed.