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In the Next Generation episode Legacy the Enterprise crew is introduced to someone that they are told is Tasha Yar's sister, Ishara Yar. The crew is cautious at first, but after a DNA comparison by Doctor Crusher confirms Tasha and Ishara were sisters, everyone readily accepts Ishara.

But was Ishara actually Tasha's sister? We find out later, in the season 7 episode Bloodlines that it is possible to alter someone's DNA. And considering Ishara's and the Coalition's objectives and modi operandi, it would not seem beyond their morals to perform such a procedure on someone just to gain an edge over their enemies.

While memory-alpha doesn't list there being any doubt in Ishara's relation, this is a question that has always bugged me about this episode and character.

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    If you can resequence DNA in a living organism with that degree of skill there are much more interesting things you can do in wartime than fool a familial DNA test. Seems unlikely that the guerillas would waste such technology on such a simple ruse. It also seems unlikely that these guerilla yahoos would have the necessary expertise, let alone be able to implement it within hours after Enterprise arrived.
    – Kyle Jones
    Commented Jan 9, 2013 at 3:32
  • @KyleJones I heartily agree. Speculation like this is fun, but there's absolutely no canon cause for suspicion.
    – Valorum
    Commented Feb 2, 2014 at 1:24

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Ishara was Tasha's Sister.

The evidence, both direct and circumstantial is pretty overwhelming;

The script and screenplay list her as being Tasha's sister, the (isomorphic) DNA comparison run by Crusher indicated that they shared familial DNA and the DNA alteration technique mentioned in Bloodlines would have left her with noticable neurological damage, none of which showed up in her scans.

Picard : Doctor Crusher just called me with the results of her DNA comparison. Ishara is Tasha's sister.

It's pretty unrealistic to imagine that the rebels would have sufficient access to the crew roster for a Federation vessel to identify a crewmember who'd recently died, somehow locate her DNA and then implant that DNA into a fake 'relative' that (hopefully) that crewmember had never discussed with her colleagues. Also Ishara's stories of her and Tasha's early life in the colony tally perfectly with what the crew had been told.

Ishara Yar

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  • Not to mention...what would they stand to gain from it? Picard says flat-out that her resemblance wont' curry them any favors, and it seems unlikely that they would even think that it would. They don't even acknowledge the possiblity - Picard's the one who insists that she come over personally, and brings up their strong resemblance and possible relationship.
    – Zibbobz
    Commented May 2, 2014 at 17:22
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I believe she really was her sister.

I doubt the Coalition had the means to alter someone's DNA.

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