While studying the impending development of the planet's star into a nova, Ozaba and his colleague, Dr. Linke, were kidnapped and tortured by the Vians, in an attempt to teach the empath Gem to comprehend compassion and self-sacrifice. Ozaba was religious, and when they felt what they thought was seismic activity, attributed it to God's work. Unfortunately, both Ozaba and Linke were killed by the Vians. (TOS episode: "The Empath")