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• 2329 births
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Chakotay was a Human Starfleet officer and Maquis leader in the 24th century . Chakotay served as first officer of the Federation starship USS Voyager during that vessel's harrowing seven- year journey in the Delta Quadrant .

• 1.1 Early life
• 1.2.1 Starfleet Academy
• 1.2.2 Early career
• 1.3 The Maquis
• 1.4.1 In the Delta Quadrant
• 1.4.2 Return to Earth
• 1.5 25th century
• 1.6 Alternate realities
• 2 Starfleet service record
• 3.1 Connections
• 3.2 Background
• 3.4.1 Appearances
• 3.4.2 References
• 3.5 External link

Biography [ ]

Early life [ ].

Chakotay was born on Trebus in 2329 , the son of a man named Kolopak and a woman named Tananka . By the age of 6 , Chakotay wanted to go against his family traditions and be a paleontologist. ( VOY novel : Pathways ; VOY episode : " One Small Step "; VOY novel : Old Wounds )

Young Chakotay also had an independent nature, and often went exploring on Trebus. In 2341 , Chakotay raided a junkyard on the planet and became trapped in the wreckage of an old shuttle pod; fortunately, he was later rescued. ( VOY novelization : Equinox )

Despite his independent nature, in 2344 and 2345 , Chakotay accompanied his father to Central America on Earth to visit the homelands of their ancestors. During his time there Chakotay learned of the Sky Spirits and began to respect his cultural heritage. ( VOY novel : Pathways ; VOY episode : " Tattoo ")

In 2345, 15-year-old Chakotay was seriously considering entering Starfleet , and often spent time around the Starfleet personnel on the planet, led by Captain Demora Sulu . Sulu sponsored Chakotay's applications into the Academy, but Chakotay had to lie to his father and state that Captain Sulu was a man in order to protect his feelings. ( VOY - Tales from the Captain's Table short story : " Seduced ")

Service in Starfleet [ ]

Starfleet academy [ ].

Thanks to the sponsorship of Captain Sulu, Chakotay entered Starfleet Academy in late 2347. During his first few weeks at the Academy he became friends with Svetlana "Sveta" Korepanova from Ekaterinburg , Russia . He also became unlikely friends with his late-assigned roommate, an unflappably cheerful Bolian named Chert .

At the end of his first year at the Academy, Chakotay considered leaving, and returned to Trebus to undergo his first vision quest using the akoonah . As a result of his vision quest he decided to continue his Academy education.

During his first year at the Academy, Chakotay underwent intensive pilot training in North America . Shortly after, Chakotay underwent training on Venus , and later underwent training for a semester in the asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter . ( VOY episodes : " Future's End, Part II ", " Blink of an Eye ")

Also during his time at the Academy, Chakotay became a proficient light-heavyweight boxer, and scored a record of 23 wins and only one loss, which was to a Nausicaan . ( VOY episodes : " The Fight ", " Tsunkatse ")

Early career [ ]

Chakotay graduated from the Academy in 2351 . By 2353 he served aboard the USS Vico , as an aide to Captain Roger Hackney and held the rank of lieutenant . It was aboard the Vico that Chakotay had his first encounter with a Cardassian warship that had violated the Federation border. ( VOY novel : Pathways )

At some point, Chakotay began serving on the USS Heritage . A female officer named Grant was the first officer . During this time, Chakotay and Grant began a romantic relationship, one which Grant noted in Chakotay's Starfleet file. In 2375 , the crew of the USS Voyager held a "roast" of Chakotay for his birthday. Parts of his Starfleet record were read aloud, including Grant's note about their relationship. ( VOY short story : " Isabo's Shirt ")

In 2362 , Chakotay transferred to the USS Gage . He stayed aboard the Gage for four years of conflict with the Cardassians. Following the end of the Federation-Cardassian War , Chakotay was granted an extended leave on Trebus.

By 2368 , Lieutenant commander Chakotay was serving aboard the USS Gettysburg , under the command of Captain Madolyn Gordon . ( VOY novel : Pathways )

In March that year, Chakotay decided to resign his commission, so upon his return to Earth he handed his resignation into Admiral Nimembeh at Starfleet Headquarters. He returned home to Trebus. ( VOY episode : " In the Flesh ")

The Maquis [ ]

In early 2370 , Chakotay visited his old Academy friend Sveta on Bajor . Sveta informed Chakotay that there was a new resistance group against the Federation-Cardassian Treaty of 2370 called the Maquis . Sveta requested that Chakotay join this group and help defend his colony and others that found themselves in the Demilitarized Zone , and subject to Cardassian rule. He supported the group, but needed time to consider his options.

A few weeks later, Chakotay's life was changed forever when his village on Trebus was destroyed by a Cardassian thermalite weapon. He joined the Maquis , and was placed in command of a ship dubbed the Liberty . One of his first contacts in the Maquis is a Bajoran woman named Seska , who Chakotay became very close to. A few weeks later, Chakotay rescued B'Elanna Torres from a Bolian freighter that had been attacked by Gul Tancret and the Cardassians. After saving her, Chakotay took her to Riva Prime and Torres joined the Maquis and became the chief engineer aboard the Liberty . (VOY book Pathways , VOY episode : " In the Flesh ")

Around stardate 47582 , Chakotay and Torres encountered the Cardassian prototype weapon, Dreadnought in the Badlands . While the self-guided weapon was meant to destroy a Maquis weapons base, Torres reprogrammed the torpedo to attack a Cardassian planet. ( VOY episode : " Dreadnought ")

Chakotay, commander of the Val Jean in 2371 .

A few weeks later, the Liberty was destroyed, but all crewmembers managed to survive. Shortly after, his team managed to salvage an old fighter from a Federation surplus depot and they name the ship Geronimo . The Geronimo herself was lost in 2371 , after she was destroyed by Tharia ch'Ren , a former crewmember who had seized control of the third Malkus Artifact . Thankfully, Chakotay and his crew were rescued by Cal Hudson . ( VOY - The Brave and the Bold, Book Two novella : The Third Artifact )

Following this event, Chakotay was given command of the Peregrine -class fighter Spartacus . In early 2371, the Spartacus discovered the plague-ridden planet Helena in the Demilitarized Zone . Chakotay's crew, along with Lieutenant Thomas Riker , succeeded in defeating the disease, and the mixed-race inhabitants of the planet. ( TNG - Double Helix novel : Quarantine )

A few weeks later, Chakotay assumed command of a Ju'day -class fighter, the Val Jean . He was to lead a large Maquis task force from the base on the Terikof belt to attacked the Cardassian Montee Fass shipyards in the Oliv system . However, plasma storm activity in the Badlands forced the attack to be called off, but instead they launched an attack on Opek Nor and succeeded in destroying the station.

The Val Jean was pursued by the Galor -class vessel Vetar , under the command of Gul Aman Evek , into the Badlands, where she was disabled in the plasma storms. Captain Chakotay didn't get to savor his victory, as shortly after his vessel was hit by a displacement wave created by the Caretaker , to carry them off to the Delta Quadrant . ( VOY - The Brave and the Bold, Book Two novella : The Third Artifact ; VOY episode : " Caretaker ")

Aboard the USS Voyager [ ]

In the delta quadrant [ ].

Commander Chakotay in 2377 .

Shortly after their arrival in the Delta Quadrant, Chakotay and his crew were transported to the Caretaker's Array , and examined for the viability to act as the Caretaker 's successor. Three weeks later, the USS Voyager was transported to the quadrant and was similarly examined. For the sake of finding a way to return to the Alpha Quadrant , Chakotay teamed up with Captain Kathryn Janeway . In the battle with the Kazon around the Array, Chakotay sacrificed the Val Jean to destroy the lead Kazon ship, and he and his crew beamed over to Voyager . When Captain Janeway decided to destroy the Array to save the Ocampa , Chakotay supported her decision and the former Maquis joined Janeway's crew with Chakotay serving as her first officer . ( VOY episode : " Caretaker ").

Initially, Chakotay had a difficult job of trying to merge his former crew to the crew of Voyager . In the first weeks, B'Elanna Torres and Joe Carey were competing for the chief engineer 's job, which at one point came to punches. The situation was resolved and Torres became chief engineer. Several of his former crew had immense problems assimilating, and upon Chakotay's suggestion, they underwent a crash course in Academy training from Lieutenant Tuvok . ( VOY episodes : " Parallax ", " Learning Curve ")

Return to Earth [ ]

Chakotay in 2377 .

Chakotay finally returned to Earth at the end of 2377 when Voyager traveled inside a Borg sphere through a transwarp conduit into the Alpha Quadrant . ( VOY episode : " Endgame ")

After settling back into life in the Alpha Quadrant , he resigned his commission eighteen months later. Together with B'Elanna Torres, Chakotay journeyed to the Demilitarized Zone to honor the memory of their fallen Maquis comrades. Later Chakotay spent an extended time traveling across North America , exploring both historic and contemporary sites significant to Native American culture. His travels also extended to various colony worlds that have been settled by Native Americans. ( VOY reference : The Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway )

Later Chakotay became captain of the prototype starship, USS Protostar . Chakotay and the Protostar 's crew had dissapeared by the year 2383 when the Protostar was found on Tars Lamora . ( PRD episode : " Kobayashi ")

25th century [ ]

In a 2385 interview with Jake Sisko , Annika Hansen said that Captain Chakotay was one of the people who inspired her to join Starfleet because of their "honor and competence." When asked whether she maintained contact with him, Hansen responded that she did not understand the question's relevance.

By 2401 , Chakotay has reached the rank of admiral . He was one of a few Starfleet officers that asked the Federation Council to reconsider the decision not to get involved in the Klingon-Gorn War . He predicted a long war in the future and the Klingons were right about the Undine threat.

He participated in the 2404 opening of the Alpha Centauri system transwarp hub. Two years later , Chakotay was promoted to head of Starfleet Intelligence . He promised more accountability and to be open in the posting. One of his earliest briefings involved him admitting the belief that at least 30 Undine infiltrators were in high-level posts and Starfleet. ( ST website : The Path to 2409 )

Alternate realities [ ]

In an alternate timeline in which the USS Voyager was forced to turn back from its journey home to Earth, Chakotay became a statesman in the Vostigye Union . He and Kathryn Janeway became lovers and would eventually have a child, Shannon Sekaya Janeway . ( VOY - Myriad Universes - Infinity's Prism novella : Places of Exile )

In an alternate timeline created by Wesley Crusher in which the Maquis never existed, Chakotay did not resign his Starfleet commission and was serving as the first officer of the USS Lakota under Captain Erika Benteen in 2373 . ( TNG short story : " Gods, Fate, and Fractals ")

In another alternate timeline, Chakotay became the captain of Voyager after Janeway was killed in a Krenim attack in 2373 . He was still in command of the ship in 2379 . ( VOY episode : " Before and After ")

Starfleet service record [ ]

Appendices [ ], connections [ ], background [ ].

• Even though he is always referred to as a commander during his tenure as Voyager 's first officer, Chakotay wore the provisional rank of lieutenant commander. ( VOY episode : " Caretaker ")
• See: category:Memory Beta images (Chakotay) .

Appearances and references [ ]

Appearances [ ], references [ ].

• PIC novel : Firewall

External link [ ]

• Chakotay article at Memory Alpha , the wiki for canon Star Trek .
• 1 Lamarr class
• 2 USS Voyager (NCC-74656-A)
• 3 Wesley Crusher

Den of Geek

Star Trek Just Fixed One of the Worst Voyager Characters

Star Trek: Prodigy gives Chakotay a purpose his character never had on Voyager.

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This Star Trek: Prodigy article contains spoilers.

For decades, Chakotay represented one of Star Trek ‘s greatest failures. Chakotay was introduced in Star Trek: Voyager as the franchise’s first Native lead character, a course correction from Trek ‘s embarrassing depictions of Native culture in the past (see “The Paradise Syndrome” from The Original Series and “Journey’s End” from The Next Generation ).

Whatever producers’ intentions, Chakotay made matters worse. Not only did they fail to cast a Native actor in the part ( Robert Beltran is Mexican American) but they hired a scam artist who called himself Jamake Highwater as consultant on the character, despite the fact that he had already been exposed as a Jewish man who pretended to be Native.

Making matters worse, producers lost interest in Chakotay after the third season of Voyager , giving him less to do, much to Beltran’s frustration. Hoping to get released from the show, Beltran increasingly demanded more money, but producers always agreed—not a bad gambit, all things considered, but Beltran’s disinterest in the character made Chakotay’s limited appearances a real drag.

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In short, Chakotay seemed like the character least likely to return for any of Star Trek’s modern sequel series, even as Prodigy made Janeway’s search for her former XO a key plot point. So imagine Trekkers’ surprise when the Prodigy kids finally find Chakotay in season two—and that Chakotay completely rules.

We learn in the new season that Captain Chakotay has been stranded on an empty planet with his disabled starship the USS Protostar , a holographic reproduction of Janeway his only companion after the death of his commanding officer. By the time the kids arrive, Chakotay has settled into a deep despair, going through the motions to survive, but nothing else.

The appearance of the kids gives Chakotay hope, but not really because they have ideas that help restore the Protostar . Rather, the kids give Chakotay a crew, and thus a purpose. In the two-parter “Last Flight of the Protostar ,” Chakotay directs the new arrivals in various tasks, getting them to work efficiently as they get the Protostar back into space.

The depth of Chakotay’s development can be heard in Beltran’s voice acting performance. At the start of the storyline, Beltran gives Chakotay the same flat affect he used in the later seasons of Voyager , when the character had no reason to exist on the series. But when Chakotay finds a purpose with the kids, Beltran’s voice becomes crisp and sharp. Beltran keeps the same warmth of the best Chakotay episodes, but adds an authority rarely seen on Voyager .

Chakotay’s best moment comes late in the story, when he consoles Dal, the self-appointed leader of the kids. Dal feels like he’s failed as a future captain, which leaves him without direction. “When I was your age, I was lost too,” Chakotay tells Dal. “Lost my father, my heritage, my purpose.” He explains that the lack of direction led to his involvement in the anti-Federation resistance army the Maquis, his status at the start of Voyager . According to Chakotay, service on Voyager restored the purpose he thought he had lost forever. It brought him back to the Federation and helped him become a great Captain.

Moreover, the statement helps give context to not just Chakotay’s decision to join the Maquis, but also his relatively easy return to the Federation. One of the great missed opportunities of Voyager was the way it never addressed the fact that half of the ship’s new crew were anti-Federation terrorists. Once Voyager stayed in the Delta Quadrant after the pilot episode “Caretaker,” everyone more or less fell in line under Janeway.

Chakotay’s speech in Prodigy reveals that, at his heart, he was always a Federation member. Unlike, say Michael Eddington from Deep Space Nine , he never saw himself as a freedom fighter against the Federation. Rather, he was just lost and looking for a purpose, which the Maquis provided for a time, until Janeway made him XO of Voyager and he found his role again.

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Even more important might be what Chakotay doesn’t say in Prodigy . There’s no mention of the bones of his people, no declaration of “Akoocheemoya.” Instead, he simply mentions that he lost his heritage, a statement broad enough to retain the character’s Native heritage, but never recalls the nonsense that White producers made a Mexican American actor say to signify Indian-ness to non-Indigenous audiences. Is it as good as getting proper Native creators and actors in Trek ? No, not at all. But it is the best case scenario for a massively mishandled character.

No one watching Voyager would have believed that Chakotay would make for a believable Captain, let alone a compelling character. With Prodigy , Chakotay is a proper character, one with a real heritage and a real purpose, a character who belongs among the Star Trek greats.

Star Trek: Prodigy season two is now streaming on Netflix.

Joe George | @jageorgeii

Joe George’s writing has appeared at Slate, Polygon, Tor.com, and elsewhere!

• Edit source

Chakotay was a Human Federation Starfleet Officer and former Maquis leader who served as first officer of the USS Voyager during its seven years stranded in the Delta Quadrant. Upon Voyager's return to the Alpha Quadrant, Chakotay was promoted to Captain and took command of Voyager.

Chakotay was born in 2329 on Trebus to Kolopak and an Unamed mother. Chakotay has one younger sibling, a sister by the name of Sekaya.

• 1 Early Years
• 2 Starfleet Academy
• 3 Early Career
• 4 The Maquis
• 5.1 Beginings In the Delta Quadrant
• 7.1 Alternate Realities & Timelines

Early Years [ ]

Being of Native American descent, Chakotay's tribe - mainly because of the intrusion of more technological societies - left Earth to find their own home on another planet near the Cardassian border. His father tried to impart his values on Chakotay in many ways, such as taking him on hikes to nearby forested worlds of their ancestors. In 2344, Kolopak was insistent upon finding his ancestors' home in Central America. He took Chakotay on a quest through the Central American rainforest, looking for the descendants of the ancient Rubber Tree People, who were ultimately the ancestors of the Mayans. Chakotay was initially very resistant to learn about his father's connection to their ancestral lands and spirits. He even refused to go deer hunting with him. All this left Kolopak rather disappointed about his son's lack of enthusiasm regarding their ways.

Chakotay, who was fifteen years old and had his sights already set on Starfleet, shocked his father by telling him that he himself would be leaving the tribe to enter Starfleet Academy. Chakotay believed that their tribe lived in the past of fantasy and myth, which he did not want to be part of; he wanted to be like all the other tribes that had embraced the 24th century. His father disapproved of his son's decision but, at that time, was unable to convince him otherwise.

Starfleet Academy [ ]

Thanks to a sponsorship from Captain Sulu, Chakotay entered Starfleet Academy in lat 2347. During the first few weeks in the Academy he became friend with Svetlana "Sveta" Korepanova from Russia. He also became unlikely friends with a late assigned roomate, an unflappy cheerful Bolian named Chert.

At the end of his first year at the Academy, Chakotay considered leaving, and returned to Trbus to undergo his first vision quest using the akonnah. As a result of his vision quest he decided to continue his Academy education.

During his first year at the Academy, Chakotay underwent intensive pilot training in North America. Shortly afterward he underwent training on Venus, followed by a semster training in the asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter.

Whilst studying at the Academy, Chakotay became a proficient light-heavyweight boxer, and scored a record of 23 wins wins and only two losses, which were both to a Nausicaan.

Early Career [ ]

Chakotay graduated from the Academy in 2351, and by 2353 he served on board the USS Vico, as an aide to Captain Roger Hackney holding the rank of Lieutenant. It was aboard the Vico that he had his first encounter with a Cardassian warship that had violated the Federation bhe first officer.

At some point, Chakotay began to serve on the USS Heritage. A female officer by the name of Grant was the first officer. During this time, Chakotay and Grant began a romantic relationship, on of which Grant noted in Chakotay's starfleet record.

In 2362, Chakotay transferred to the USS Gage. He stayed aboard the Gage for four years, during the conflict with the Cardassians. Following the end of the Federation-Cardassian War, Chakotay was granted an extended leave of absence on Trebus.

By 2368, Lieutenant Commander. Chakotay was serving aboard the USS Gettysburg, under the command of Captain Madolyn Gordon.

In March that year, Chakotay decided to resign his commission, so upon his return to Earth he handed in his resignation to Admiral Nimembeh at Starfleet Headquarters. He then returned to Trebus.

The Maquis [ ]

In early 2370, Chakotay visited his old Academy friend "Sveta" on Bajor. "Sveta" informed Chakotay that there was a new resistance group against the Federation-Cardassian Treaty of 2370 called the Maquis. "Sveta" requested that Chakotay join this group and help defend his colony and others that found themselves in the Demilitarized Zone, and subject to Cardassian rule. He supported the group, but needed time to consider his options.

A few weeks later, Chakotay's life was changed forever when his village on Trebus was destroyed by a Cardassian thermalite weapon. He joined the Maquis, and was placed in command of a ship dubbed the Liberty.

Chakotay and his father were not on good terms when Kolopak was killed while defending his Trebus against Cardassians. When the news reached Chakotay, he was unsure about how to reconcile their differences and heal their old wounds. It was then that he took the mark, the tattoo, on his forehead in order to honor the memory of his father and to signify his Native American heritage. He finally began placing great faith in his spiritual background by taking pride in the stories and accomplishments of his people. He often embarked on vision quests to help guide his life and spirit and to commune with his father's spirit. He also used a medicine wheel to heal himself both spiritually and physically.

One of his first contacts in the Maquis was a Bajoran woman by the name of Seska, who Chakotay became very close to. A few weeks later, Chakotay rescued B'Elanna Torres from a Bolain freighter that had been attacked by Gul Tancret and the Cardassians. After saving her, Chakotay took her to Riva Prime and Torres joined the Maquis and became the chief engineer of the Liberty.

Around stardate 47582, Chakotay and Torres encountered the Cardassian prototype weapon, Dreadnought in the Badlands. While the self-guided weapon was meant to destroy a Maquis weapons base, Torres reprogrammed the weapon to attack Cardassian planets.

A few weeks later, the Libert was destroyed, but all crewmates managed to survive. Shortly after, his team managed to salvage an old freighter from a Federation surplus depot and they named the ship Geronimo. Ther Geronimo herself was lost in 2371, after she was destroyed by Tharia ch'Ren, a former crewmember who had siezed control of the third Malkus Artifact. Thankfully, Chakotay and his crew were rescued by Cal Hudson.

Following this event, Chakotay was given command of the Ju'Day-Class fighter Spartacus. In early 2371, the Spartacus discovered the plauge ridden planet Helena in the Demilitarized Zone. Chakotay's crew, along with Lieutenant Thomas Riker, succeeded in defeating the disease, and the mixed-race inhabitants of the planet.

A few weeks after this event, Chakotay assumed command of another Ju'Day-Class fighter named the Val Jean. He was to lead a large Maquis task force from the base on the Terikof Belt to attack the Cardassian Montee Fass shipyards in the Oliv System. However, plasma storm activity in the Badlands forced the attack to be called off, but instead they launched an attack on Opek Nor and succeeded in destroying the station.

The Val Jean was pursued by the Galor-Class vessel the Vetar, under the command of Gul Aman Evek, into the Badlands, where she was disabled in the plasma storms. Captain Chakotay didn't get to savour his victory, as shortly after his vessel was hit by a mysterious displacement wave created by the Caretaker, to carry them to the far reaches of the Delta Quadrant.

Aboard The USS Voyager [ ]

Beginings in the delta quadrant [ ].

Shortly after arriving in the Delta Quadrant, Chakotay and his crew were transported to the Caretaker's Array, and examined for the viability to act as the Caretakers successor. Three weeks later, the USS Voyager was transported to the Delta Quadrant by the same displacement wave and underwent similar examinations. For the sake of finding away to return to the Alpha Quadrant, Chakotay teamed up with Captain Kathryn Janeway. In the battle with the Kazon around the Caretaker's Array, Chakotay sacrificed the Val Jean to destroy the lead Kazon ship by transporting his crew over to Voyager and setting a collission course with the Kazon vessel. When Captain Janeway decided to destroy the array to save the Ocampa, Chakotay supported her decision and the former Maquis joined Janeway's crew with Chakotay serving as her first officer.

Initially, Chakotay had a difficult job trying to merge his former Maquis crew with the crew of Voyager. In the first weeks, B'Elanna Torres and Joe Carey were competing for the position of Chief Engineer. Several of his former crew had immense problems adjusting to Starfleet ways, and upon Chakotay's suggestion, they underwent a crash course in Academy training from Lieutenant Tuvok.

Commanding The USS Voyager [ ]

After returning to Earth, Chakotay was promoted to Captain, after the promotion of Captain Janeway to Admiral and given command of Voyager. Tom Paris, who was also promoted two steps in rank, was Chakotay's choice to become Voyager's first officer. He was, however overuled by Staarfleet Command and Commander. Andrew Ellis was assigned to be Voyager's first officer. When Commander. Ellis was revealed to be a renegade changeling Paris was transferred to the position of first officer.

In June 2379, Chakotay met Admiral Janeway for dinner. The two talked about work and also possible romances before finally admitting a romantic interest in each other, which developed into a romantic liason. Janeway and Chakotay agreed to meet each other in Venice the following year, following Voyager's return from the Yaris Nebula.

In June 2380, Chakotay kept the date and waited for Janeway in Venice, only to be met by her former fiancé, Mark Johnson, who broke the news of her death. Following this revalation concerns about Chakotay's menatal and emotional state were raised by Voyager's crew, culmanating in an incident in August when Chakotay gave an order to detroy and Orion ship, which, although not an illegal order, was widely regarded as a merciless one and one which was out of character.

Voyager was one of the vessels dispatched to the Azure Nebula to provide reinforcements to the USS Aventine and USS Enterprise-E during the Borg Inavasion of 2381. When both vessels traversed a subspace tunnel, Chakotay was left in command of the fleet, coordinating the efforts of several allied vessels in opening other tunnels. He had just recieved word of the discovery of the proper frequency to open the other tunnels when aperture 26 opened, allowing seven thousand Borg Cubes through. The borg fleet overan allied forces, and Voyager emitted a distress call to Earth.

When the Borg fleet emerged from the subspace corridoors in the Azure Nebula, Chakotay was frozen in shock on the bridge, traumatised by the sight of thousands of Borg Cubes appraoching the fleet. Following the destruction of the allied fleet at the apex to the corridoors, Chakotay entered a comatose state on the bridge, remaining unresponsive to all external stimulus, forcing Tom Paris to take command of the repair efforts.

Following the Azure Nebula incident, Chakotay requested an open-ended leave of absence from Starfleet, which was granted. During this time Voyager was refitted with a slipstream drive and assigned to the Project Full Circle fleet, which was preparing to return to the Delta Quadrant. Concerned about Chakotay's command ability, Admirals Kenneth Montgomery and Willaim Batiste ordered him to under a psychological evaluation and, aware of the difficulties between them, assigned Counselor Hugh Cambridge to perform the evaluation. During the course of the conversation Chakotay and Cambridge developed a deep but mutual respect for eachother and Cambridge not only recommended that Chakotay remain as Captain of Voyager, but that his remaining in post was essential for the success of the mission. His decision, however was overturned and Montgomery and Batiste, who assigned Afsarah Eden as Commanding Officer in his place. Devastated by the decision, and increasingly concerned about the physical and mental health of Seven of Nine, Chakotay resigned from Starfleet.

The next time Chakotay visited Seven, he found her in a conscious but vacant and unresponsive state. He enlisted the help of Icheb and Sveta to undertake a vision quest, through which he was able to reach her. He then accompanied her to rendezvous with the Project Full Circle fleet. He was met with suspicion by Admiral Batiste and Captain Eden and, when evidence of sabotage was discovered aboard Voyager, initial evidence pointed to Chakotay. It was soon discovered, however, that Admiral Batiste himself was the sabateur and a member of Species 8472. Negotiations between Chakotay, Eden and the Species 8472 operative known as Valerie Archer allowed Batiste to return to fluidic space.

Following her report to Admiral Montgomery, Captain Eden was reassigned as commander of the Full Circle Fleet. She also informed Chakotay that his resignation had not, in fact, been accepted by Starfleet and invited him to resume his duties - once again as Captain of Voyager - which was accepted.

Alternate Chakotay's [ ]

Alternate realities & timelines [ ].

• In on timeline presented in the episode ('VOY:Timeless') Chakotay and Harry Kim were the only members of Voyager's crew to make it back to Earth after a test of the ships new Slipstream Drive failed causing Voyager to drop out of the slipstream and crash landing on an Arctic planet, killing the crew upon impact. Fifteen years after the incident and the eventual discovery of Voyager's whereabouts, Chakotay and Harry Kim 'Fixed' history by preventing Voyager's initial test of the drive.
• In the episode ("Before & After") in which Kes experiences an alternate timeline, Chakotay took command of Voyager after the first encounter with the Krenim Imperium resulted in the death of Captain Janeway and B'Elanna Torres.
• During the "Year of Hell" conflict with the Krenim, Chakotay and Tom Paris were captured by Annorax, the Commander of the Krenim Timeship. At first, Chakotay helped Annorax, who promised to return Voyager intact to its original timeline if Chakotay gave him enough detail about Voyager's time in Krenim space, so that Annorax could have the right calculations to use in his temporal weapon. but after Annorax destroyed a species to try to restore the timeline, Chakotay helped sabotage the ship by transmitting its location to Voyager and taking its weapons offline. This allowed Janeway to set a collision course with the Krenim Timeship, destroying it and restoring the original timeline.
• In the alterate timeline witnessed in the episodes ("Endgame Parts 1&2") where voyager took another 16 years to reach home, Chakotay married Seven of Nine, who later died on an away mission, Chakotay himself later died in 2394, the same year as Voyager's return.
• In the alternate timeline presented in the novel Star Trek: Myriad Universes: Places of Exile, Voyager was forced to remain in the Delta Quadrant due to series damage to the ship and Chakotay became a statesman in the Vostigye Union, which had become Voyager's new home. In This timeline, Chakotay and janeway were romantically involved and had a daughter named Shannon Sekaya Janeway.

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Published Jul 1, 2024

All Episodes of Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 Now Available

Old friends, new worlds, even time travel.

StarTrek.com

Ready for a brand-new classified mission? All episodes of Season 2 of Star Trek: Prodigy are now streaming!

In Season 2, these six young outcasts who make up the Prodigy crew are assigned a new mission aboard the U.S.S. Voyager -A to rescue Captain Chakotay and bring peace to Gwyn's home world. However, when their plan goes astray, it creates a time paradox that jeopardizes both their future and past.

Season 2 Episode Titles and Synopses:

201 – "Into the Breach, Part I" 

The Prodigy crew is reunited and assigned a new mission aboard the U.S.S. Voyager -A, only to discover Admiral Janeway has other plans.

202 – "Into the Breach, Part II"

After Gwyn's plan to save Solum is sabotaged, she must turn to an unlikely ally. On Voyager , Janeway's secret mission is interrupted by the arrival of a mysterious entity — and the Prodigy crew is accidentally sent through a rift.

203 – "Who Saves the Saviors"

The Prodigy crew crash lands in future Solum where they try to rescue Captain Chakotay, but when their plan goes astray, it creates a time paradox putting Gwyn in danger.

204 – "Temporal Mechanics 101"

In a race to save Gwyn, the Prodigy crew use their scientific know how to escape the dark future they are stranded in and travel back to the present, with some mysterious help from an unknown entity.

205 – "Observer's Paradox"

After saving Gwyn during a botched rescue mission, the Prodigy crew faces new scrutiny aboard Voyager . But hope is not lost if they can find the Protostar and repair the time paradox — and decode a cryptic message from Murf.

206 – "Imposter Syndrome"

Ready to embark on their quest to find the Protostar , the Prodigy crew creates holograms of themselves to leave Voyager undetected — but their holo-doubles jeopardize everything in a case of mistaken identity.

207 – "The Fast and the Curious"

As our crew travels to the spiral nebula in search of the lost Protostar , they take a shortcut through an old transwarp conduit— but are detoured by a Kazon warlord who enters them into a literal race for their lives. 

208 – "Is There in Beauty No Truth?"

With Zero's suit damaged beyond repair, the Prodigy crew visits a colony of non-corporeal beings who may be able to help Zero — by granting the Medusan a physical body.

209 – "The Devourer of All Things, Part I"

Upon arriving at the coordinates given to Gwyn by the mysterious entity, the Prodigy crew find themselves on a strange hidden planet where someone is waiting for them… and it's someone unexpected.

210 – "The Devourer of All Things, Part II"

After meeting the entity who's been helping our crew find the Protostar and fix the timeline, their plans are interrupted by an attack from the Loom and the arrival of Voyager .

211 – "Last Flight of the Protostar , Part I"

After a brush with the Loom, the Prodigy crew find the lost Protostar on a deserted ocean planet, but their only hope to fix the timeline is in jeopardy when its captain refuses to leave.

212 – "Last Flight of the Protostar , Part II"

After convincing Chakotay to help repair the Protostar , the Prodigy crew now need fuel for it to fly — which means converting it into a literal ship and sailing across the planet's gaseous ocean in an epic tale of survival.

213 – "A Tribble Called Quest"

The Protostar crew lands on a strange new world in search of the exotic matter they need to proto-warp back to Voyager … only to discover the planet is infested with an unusually large species of Tribbles. 

214 – "Cracked Mirror"

When a proto-warp gone wrong fractures Voyager into different realities, the Prodigy crew must venture through dangerous alternate dimensions to reunite with Admiral Janeway.

215 – "Ascension, Part I"

The Prodigy crew and Chakotay reunite with Voyager , bringing the timelost Protostar with them. But the past catches up to them when Ilthuran delivers a dire warning — Asencia is coming.

216 – "Ascension, Part II"

When Asencia's mysterious time weapon strikes Voyager and threatens all aboard, it's up to the crews of the Protostar , Voyager , and Nova Squadron to survive the attack.

217 – "Brink"

To prevent a war with Solum, Gwyn leads the Protostar crew on a mission to rescue Ilthuran. But surprising discoveries force Gwyn to make hard choices which have dire consequences for everyone.

218 – "Touch of Grey"

Admiral Janeway and her senior officers feel their age as they find themselves thrown back in danger on an old school away mission to rescue the Protostar crew. 

219 – "Ouroboros, Part I"

Determined to save both Starfleet and Solum, the Prodigy crew must stop an invasion and open the wormhole that will send the Protostar back to Tars Lamora.

220 – "Ouroboros, Part II"

To save the present and fix the past, our crew must face the Loom and pilot the Protostar through the temporal wormhole back to Tars Lamora. Even if they succeed, what will the future hold?

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Star Trek: Prodigy will stream on Netflix globally (excluding Canada, Nordics, CEE, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Russia, Belarus and Mainland China) and Season 1 is currently available on SkyShowtime in the Nordics, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Central and Eastern Europe with Season 2 coming soon. Season two has launched in France on France Televisions channels and Okoo.

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The Intriguing World Of Entertainment

Whatever Happened to Robert Beltran, Chakotay From ‘Star Trek: Voyager’?

By Christopher Covello | January 18, 2023

Robert Beltran is known for his role as Commander Chakotay on the cult-favorite 1990s show Star Trek: Voyager, but the actor had a string of credits to his name before appearing on the hit show. 

The California-born actor shared the screen early on with legendary Chuck Norris, but where is he now? Keep reading to find out! 

Early Life  

Robert Adame Beltran was born in Bakersfield, CA, on November 19, 1953, to Aurelia and Luis Beltran Perez, and is of Mexican-Native American ancestry, with Beltran describing his heritage as Latindo. 

The actor is one of ten children, having two sisters and seven brothers. Robert Beltran is the brother of Louie Cruz Beltran , a Latin Jazz musician who uses Afro-Cuban rhythms in his music. 

Beltran attended East Bakersfield High School, followed by Bakersfield College, and then graduated from California State University, Fresno , with a degree in Theater Arts. 

The actor told the Latin Post this about his childhood, ‘Although we didn’t have a lot of money when I was growing up, we had a really good time. We had a lot of fun.”

Acting Career

Beltran moved to Los Angeles after college to pursue acting and first appeared in the film Zoot Suit (1981). A year later, he had his breakout role in the movie Eating Raoul, where he played the title character. He went on to land roles in films like Lone Wolf McQuade (1983), The Mystic Warrior (1984), and Night of the Comet (1984). 

In addition, Beltran eventually landed several roles to help him grow his fan base and become a household name. Here’s a look at some of the roles he is most known for. 

Models, Inc. 

Models, Inc. was a prime-time soap opera that aired for one season, from 1994-1995. The FOX series was a spinoff of Melrose Place, and the storyline revolved around a Los Angeles modeling agency. Beltran had a recurring role as Louis Soto, a police lieutenant investigating the murder of one of the main characters. 

Nixon 

Beltran played Frank Sturgis, one of the White House plumbers to break into Watergate in the 1995 film Nixon. The historical film drama starred Anthony Hopkins as U.S. President Richard Nixon and was directed by Oliver Stone. 

Star Trek: Voyager 

Likely his most well-known role, Beltran appeared as Commander Chakotay for 172 episodes in the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager . The series ran from 1995-2001, with Beltran appearing in all seven seasons. 

Beltran has been nominated for his performances on Star Trek: Voyager, including one win in 1997 for Outstanding Actor in a Television Series.

Criticisms of the show

Unfortunately, fans didn’t feel the love for Beltran’s character, with some fans saying they didn’t appreciate the stereotypical Native American story lines and felt producers misrepresented his character.

Robert was also vocal about his feelings toward his character and expressed his disdain for how Commander Chakotay was represented. Robert, as well as many fans of the show felt his character was under-utilized and had no meaningful interactions beyond that of his scenes with Kate Mulgrew’ character.

He has said jokingly that Voyager was “punishment for everything in my life up till that point.” 

Unfortunately, producers proceeded to give Beltran’s character less screen time, which led Beltran to attempt to get fired from the show by asking for more money.

Still, the show met his demands to keep his character until the show ended. Ultimately, Beltran stayed on until the series went off the air in 2001. 

Star Trek Voyager: In retrospect

Although Robert has been vocal about the direction of his character on the show, he said that his experience on the show was largely positive and ‘wonderful’.

When asked about what his favorite epsiodes of Voyager was, Robert mentioned the pilot episode, “Tattoo”, “Unforgettable”, “In the Flesh”, “Maneuvers”, “Scorpion 1 & 2”, “Emanations” and “Nemesis”.

Robert has joking said that his most memorable moment on the show was when he was able to ‘take Jeri Ryan into my arms and give her the kiss of her life and the kiss of my life as well.’

What is Robert Beltran doing now?

Beltran continues to act, often appears in television shows and films, and has over 50 credits to his name. But what are some of his latest credits? Let’s take a closer look. 

• Big Love  – Beltran appeared as Jerry Flute from 2009-2011 in the hit drama series Big Love. The show centered around a fundamentalist Mormon family who practiced polygamy and starred Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny, and Ginnifer Goodwin. 
• Renegades – Renegades was a sci-fi series that aired in 2017, with Beltran playing the part of Cordero for two episodes. The show revolves around a group of outcasts and rebels who attempt to stop forces from jeopardizing the Confederation. 
• Butterflies – Beltran appeared in the 2020 short film Butterflies and played the main character, James, who is greeted by a mysterious young woman in his hotel room and forced to accept his former indiscretions. 

Star Trek: Prodigy

In 2022, Beltran reprises his role of Chakotay for Star Trek: Prodigy, an animated series targeted toward a younger audience. The actor will have a recurring part on the show, the tenth in the Star Trek series. The show was created for the streaming service Paramount+ and the popular children’s network Nickelodeon. 

Star Trek Conventions

Beltran on occasion will attend Star Trek conventions . The last convention he attended was in 2022 for the 56-Year Mission Las Vegas convention and in 2021 he attended the 55-Year Mission Tour.

Robert says he doesn’t attend many conventions because he hates traveling. He says he hates airports and flying and especially flying overseas, where he gets little sleep on those flights. It often takes him 2-3 days to recover from flying overseas.

Charity Work

Robert is an ardent supporter of the National Assosciation For Down Syndrome . His youngest brother has Down Syndrome and Robert mentions it is a near and dear cause for him.

Social Media

Fans of the actor can stay up to date on his happenings by following him on Twitter . 

Family Life 

Robert Beltran has worked to keep his personal life to himself, however he has mentioned that he is married. The actor has one daughter, Marlena Beltran, who was born in 2011. 

Related Posts:

About Christopher Covello

Christopher Covello is a professional freelancer and published author. He writes copy, content, and SEO-focused material in various niches including music, entertainment, fitness, video games, business, travel, pet care, and eCommerce. More from Christopher

Tattoo (episode)

• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 1.6 Act Five
• 2 Memorable quotes
• 3.1 Story and script
• 3.3 Production and effects
• 3.4 Reception
• 3.5 Continuity
• 3.6 Video and DVD releases
• 4.1 Starring
• 4.2 Also starring
• 4.3 Guest stars
• 4.4 Co-stars
• 4.5 Uncredited co-stars
• 4.6 Stand-ins
• 4.7 References
• 4.8 External links

Summary [ ]

Chakotay, Neelix and Tuvok examine an ancient symbol

Commander Chakotay and an away team are investigating some polyferranide deposits on an uninhabited moon when Tuvok discovers an unusual symbol in the remains of a long-dead campfire. This symbol sparks a flashback for Chakotay, returning him to a memory of a childhood camping trip in Central America with two local guides and his father, Kolopak . The young Chakotay spots the same symbol carved into a fallen tree trunk that the men have overlooked. His father calls the symbol a CHAH-mooz-ee and explains to him that the local tribe are descendants of the ancient Rubber Tree People , just as they themselves are, and left it as a blessing to the land after cutting down the tree for firewood. Unlike their own tribe , the local tribe never left the jungles, living as the Rubber Tree People did and are the closest thing to the ancient tribe in the modern era. As they discuss their ancestral traditions, Chakotay displays unconcern and dislike for his father's insistence on following traditional beliefs. His father attempts to teach Chakotay about the Sky Spirits and their role in Indian history, but Chakotay remains skeptical. As the scene reverts to the present, Chakotay tells the others that the symbol is "a blessing to the land, for damaging it with the campfire." Tuvok is skeptical, and Chakotay plays down his knowledge of the rituals.

Act One [ ]

Back on USS Voyager , Ensign Wildman is in sickbay , complaining of a "shooting" pain in her lower back. The Doctor informs her that the baby is fine, it is just pressing against a nerve in her back. Kes wants to relieve Wildman of duty for a couple of days, but The Doctor refuses, telling her that she'd just have to "learn to live with" the discomforts surrounding pregnancy, and schedules her for a follow-up appointment. After she leaves, Kes lectures The Doctor about showing compassion for his patients, and he replies by stating that Voyager is crewed by adults, and that he would not "coddle them." As Kes leaves, The Doctor refutes her arguments (to himself) by proclaiming that he doesn't have a life, only a program.

In the meantime, Chakotay and Captain Janeway are discussing Chakotay's flashback on the surface of the moon as they walk into his quarters . He reveals that he'd hated the expedition, expressing his dislike for being away from home and friends near the Cardassian border for an expedition in the jungle, seeking the closest descendants of the ancient Rubber Tree People. Chakotay shows the captain a picture of the pattern he found; set against the ceremonial stone from his medicine bundle , the designs are nearly identical. Chakotay can offer only one explanation, citing an ancient myth that claims that a group of "Sky Spirits" created the Rubber Tree People and led them to a "sacred land" where they could live eternal lives. Janeway points out that he doesn't seem to believe the myth, and Chakotay counters by bringing up the story of Adam and Eve , comparing that belief to his. The captain reveals that B'Elanna Torres has detected a warp trail leading away from the moon, and asks Chakotay if he thinks they should follow it. He claims to not want to put his interests ahead of the ship's, while Janeway counters by claiming that the race that left the trail might have the polyferranide the crew needs. Chakotay agrees with her logic .

The crew tracks the warp signature to an M-class planet , but sensors can't find any life signs on the surface. They do, however, discover some unusually elevated EM readings, which are too high to be natural. Chakotay believes it is some sort of cloaking device , and Janeway orders Ensign Kim to transmit a continuous identification message. Lieutenant Torres then calls to inform the captain that they've discovered large deposits of polyferranide some ten kilometers underground. The captain orders an away mission to survey the deposit, and Chakotay, Torres, Tuvok , and Neelix prepare to transport to the surface.

In the transporter room , however, problems arise. Torres and the transporter chief have tried seven sets of beam-down coordinates, but each time they lock on, a mysterious thunderstorm develops which blocks transport. Tuvok speculates that the transporter beam is causing electrostatic discharges in the atmosphere, and the team decides to proceed in a shuttle .

As the shuttle enters the planet's atmosphere , another mysterious storm develops, sparking for Chakotay another flashback of the camping trip. As they were waiting out a downpour in the rainforest , young Chakotay and his father had another disagreement about the nature and intentions of the Sky Spirits, and Chakotay still seems skeptical of their existence. Outside of the shuttle, Chakotay sees a man's face in the flashes of lightning.

Act Two [ ]

The Doctor sneezes after having infected himself with a holo virus

Arriving for duty in sickbay, Kes activates the Doctor who responds with his standard greeting. Kes is confused as she thought the Doctor had removed it from his programming, only for him to explain that he restored it after he was struggling to find new ways to introduce himself before sneezing. The Doctor has "infected" himself with the symptoms of the 29-hour Levodian flu following Kes's worry he is unable to feel compassion for the patients he treats. He explains that he intends for it to be a learning experience but not for himself; he intends to show the crew that a simple illness doesn't give one an excuse to complain or not go about their usual routine. Meanwhile on the planet, the away team searches a jungle. Chakotay spots a rare flower which appears identical to one he saw during the camping trip with his father. While Torres discovers a possible lead on the mineral, Chakotay is distracted by a hawk . He remembers telling his father his plans to leave the tribe to join Starfleet . His father has mixed emotions: he recognizes his son's desire to explore the universe , but is worried that if young Chakotay leaves the tribe now he will forever be caught between worlds. Amid their conflict, they discover a primitive structure.

" I'll be damned. " " What? " " It almost looks like a hawk, doesn't it? "

Back in the present, Neelix is attacked by the same hawk Chakotay saw, getting clawed in the face by its talons. While trying to fight the hawk off, Chakotay again sees a brief flash of a face. As Neelix beams out, Tuvok discovers an alien structure which amazingly resembles the primitive structure from Chakotay's past; while this structure obviously consists of materials from a high tech society, the way they used them is in nearly the exact same manner.

Act Three [ ]

The Doctor treats Neelix, pointing out that he is twenty hours into his sickness and still does not require compassion.

After examining the structure and surrounding area, the Away team reports that while there was a civilization nearby but it left quickly, just before their arrival on the surface. Chakotay believes that with no evidence to the contrary that the beings are hiding nearby and orders the team to lay down their weapons, as his father had on the journey in his past. On that trip, after laying down their weapons to show that they posed no threat, the primitive descendants of the Rubber Tree People from which Chakotay's tribe also descends appeared from the brush to make friendly contact.

A severe storm strikes up very quickly, causing the away team to try to get back to their shuttle. Chakotay sees an alien figure running through the brush and is separated when a tree is blown over, knocking him to the ground and knocking off his combadge . Thus when Tuvok calls for an emergency beam out , Chakotay is left behind.

Act Four [ ]

Paris scans the ground and finds no trace of the shuttle. Janeway prepares to return to the surface to find the commander but is interrupted by the EMH – his 29-hour flu has lasted thirty hours, causing him to panic. Kes admits she added two hours to the illness The Doctor programmed, to teach him a lesson.

Chakotay awakens and returns to the structure. He attempts once again to address the aliens, telling them they have nothing to fear from him. He remembers his earlier experience: the Rubber Tree People stripped their clothes off and drew the tattoo symbol on his father's forehead. Chakotay strips down and dons a robe he finds in the structure.

When it becomes clear that weather prevents any attempt to beam down to the surface, Tuvok postulates that someone is controlling the climate to prevent visitors. Left with no other choice, Janeway decides to prepare Voyager to land on the surface to search for the missing commander . However the landing goes wrong and Voyager gets caught in a cyclone when the weather's severity suddenly increases.

Act Five [ ]

Paris fights with the controls while Torres down in engineering squeezes out every bit of power she can for the engines, but it's not enough and Voyager is in danger of crashing on the surface.

" My people called you the Sky Spirits. "

Chakotay takes shelter from the intense weather in a cave where he once more tries to communicate with the aliens. This time he is apparently successful: several armed humanoid aliens appear, each with a tattoo similar to his own. They however only speak in the tribal language of the Rubber Tree People and Chakotay's tribe, which he admits he never learned; without his combadge he can't understand them. He does however recognize the lead alien saying the same words as the lead tribesman did to his father. Chakotay can only repeat "CHAH-mooz-ee" ; the lead alien walks up to him and turns Chakotay's chin to examine his tattoo. The lead alien puts a device in his hands, which turns out to be a universal translator . The alien is shocked to learn that he is Human, and calls him a descendant of "The Inheritors "; they had been taught that Chakotay's more recent ancestors had been annihilated, and Earth ravaged by other Human races. Chakotay states that is no longer true and that while the tribes are no longer as numerous they do survive, but admits that he has no memory of Inheritors. As a descendant, Chakotay is supposed to have the memory as one of their gifts, but the alien accepts that perhaps it has been lost over time; the previous flashes of the man's face in Chakotay's mind is all he has received. Touching Chakotay's collarbone with his fingertips, he shows him the memory…

Forty-five thousand years previously, the alien's people visited Earth and ran across a small group of primitive nomadic hunters in a cold northern climate, who had no spoken language and no culture other than fire and stone tools. Deeply impressed by their respect for the land and other living creatures, the beings gifted the people with an inheritance, a genetic bonding, in the exact same way that the alien is touching Chakotay now, so the hunters might thrive and protect their world.

They monitored Chakotay's ancient ancestors with subsequent visits and found that their genetic gift brought about a spirit of curiosity and adventure, which impelled these Human descendants, whom the Spirits referred to as "the Inheritors," to migrate away from their cold climate to the North and South American continents over the course of nearly a thousand generations. Eventually, they numbered in the hundreds of thousands, but thousands of years later they were decimated by invaders from other lands with weapons and disease. Those who survived scattered, many seeking refuge in other societies. When the Sky Spirits eventually returned twelve generations ago, they found no signs of the Inheritors' existence. They are the Sky Spirits Chakotay's people have worshiped for countless generations.

The Sky Spirit goes on to explain that when they received Voyager 's message of peace, they were worried – they were afraid that Voyager 's Human crew, like the Human conquerors generations ago, were dishonest and intended to wipe them out. After Chakotay explains that they've tried to change their ways and they mean no harm, the weather suddenly dissipates, freeing Voyager .

Chakotay is given as much polyferranide as the Sky Spirits are willing to part with, and though they apologize that it is not the full amount Voyager needs, Chakotay is grateful for their generosity. Chakotay tells the lead Sky Spirit about how he joined the Maquis and took the tattoo after his father died defending the colony from the Cardassians, and spoke to him on vision quests , but he never answered… until now. The Sky Spirit comments that it sounds like that Kolopak honored the land like their tribe's ancestors did. Chakotay is located by an away team and says goodbye to the Sky Spirit people. As a hawk flies overhead, he hears his father's voice, " Do you hear him, Chakotay? " " Yes father, " Chakotay says aloud, " I finally hear him. "

Memorable quotes [ ]

" I don't have a life, I have a program. "

" Doc? I don't feel so good. " " Neither do I and you don't hear me complaining. "

" Choose the word that would best describe your pain; burning, throbbing, piercing, pinching, biting, stinging, shooting… "

" The logical course isn't always the right course. "

" Sorry, Sky Spirits. I will never make friends with bugs. " " Maybe that's why they keep biting you. "

" Holographic tissue paper for the holographic runny nose. Don't offer them to patients. "

" You're lucky the bird didn't tear your eye from its socket – we have no spare Talaxian eyeballs. "

" She's far more devious than I ever suspected. "

" The Sky Spirits must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. "

" Warning, approach vector is too steep. Discontinue landing sequence. " " Can somebody turn that off, please ?! "

" Can we go to low warp? " " The ship might make it without inertial dampers but we'll all be stains on the back wall. "

" We need that extra power, B'Elanna. " " Ten minutes. I just need ten minutes. "

" Put those away! "

" A lot of things have changed since the last time you stopped by. "

Background information [ ]

Story and script [ ].

• This episode had the working title "First World". [1] The story was originally planned for inclusion during Star Trek: Voyager 's first season . ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages ) Co-writer Larry Brody commented, " I came up with the idea and wrote the preliminary treatment for the episode, but because of time problems, I was never able to write the teleplay […] 'Tattoo' was sold after about half a dozen meetings with the Voyager staff. " [2] The evolution of the plot was initially problematic. Executive Producer Michael Piller offered, " It was […] a story that had been pitched and we bought but which didn't turn out right. Nobody could figure out how to make it work. " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages ) Consequently, the story was virtually abandoned. ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages ; Cinefantastique , Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 88)
• The episode was resurrected by Michael Piller. As such, the outing was the first of four from Star Trek: Voyager 's second season that he was involved in writing (apart from an uncredited rewrite on the earlier Season 2 installment " Parturition "). ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 88) In its final form, the story developed from a series of meetings designed to get the series back on track during its second season. " This is the first story, " declared Michael Piller, " that came out of the emergency development meetings that we had. " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages )
• Michael Piller was intensely interested in further developing the narrative. " I'd always been attracted to the idea of the pitch, " he said, " which was that Indians have these myths about sky spirits, and a natural extension of that myth was that these could have been travelers from space. " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages ) Piller also reminisced, " I had always had a fondness for [it] […] The idea always appealed to me that it was part of the Native American lore that sky spirits came down and affected them or blessed them in some fashion. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 88) The opportunity to explore the character of Chakotay was another factor that appealed to Piller. He remarked, " For Chakotay to find evidence of these sky spirits seemed to be the beginning of a terrific personal journey. " Piller elaborated, " Here's a man who has lost his faith, and he gets it back through this journey. That's a very interesting thing to write […] I looked at this as an opportunity to really delve into his character. " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages )
• The notion of including flashbacks to Chakotay's youth came naturally to the writer. " I had the idea of doing flashbacks at this development meeting and I said, 'Let me take a crack at it. I think I can do something about his relationship with his tribe and his father and cut back and forth and maybe go back to the original sky spirits.' " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages )
• The episode's B-story, concerning The Doctor dealing with Levodian flu, was originally suggested by actor Robert Picardo . " That was the first story idea that I suggested that has actually been used by the writers, " Picardo reflected. " I pitched that idea first to Jeri Taylor and then to Michael Piller. Not having any interest in writing myself, I was doing it just because I thought it might be a fun thing to act. In my version, Captain Janeway, in an effort to teach me a lesson, changed my program. But being a much smarter man than I, Michael Piller had the notion to make it my own challenge to myself, and that I altered my program to prove that illness would not in any way affect my job performance. " Moments later, a laughing Picardo remembered, " I said to Michael Piller that, of course, the holographic doctor, once he has this [flu], he became an absolutely terrible patient. I suggested simply a common cold , but I think in the world of Star Trek the common cold has long been cured. Michael took that kernel of an idea, and created a great 'B' story, and was very appreciative of my suggestion. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 28, No. 4/5, pp. 96-97)
• Another addition that Robert Picardo made to the story was the content of the first scene of the episode's first act. " I […] suggested that the first scene be with Ensign Wildman, " Picardo explained. " I thought it would be very funny for the audience if I was showing absolutely no sympathy for a very pregnant woman. I wanted to pick a situation where the audience was most likely to find my lack of sympathy objectionable. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 96)
• The act of writing this episode was somewhat of a personal revolution for Michael Piller. He recalled, " This was a beginning for me of rediscovering what was so neat about writing Star Trek . Suddenly I was writing a story about a man who is, during the course of investigating a mystery, reconciling his conflicts with his father, learning to embrace his cultural heritage, learning about Indian lore and even anthropology. So many different elements were working together in the script, it was very, very satisfying. " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages )
• The writing of this episode was influenced by the fact that Michael Piller, having recently analyzed the pacing of other contemporary television programs, had come to firmly believe that Star Trek: Voyager 's pacing should be considerably faster and tighter than it had been. He related, " 'Tattoo' was written in sort of a rage, because this was right in the middle of my battle about pace. I set out to prove that there was a way to tell stories without writing long scenes and I turned in a script that had 190 or 200 scenes. Look at all the levels you're dealing with–flashbacks, a mystery, a culture and an issue of history–there are so many things going on. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 83)
• The final draft of this episode's script was submitted on 11 August 1995 . [3]
• This is the second in a triumvirate of Chakotay-centric, second season episodes that Chakotay actor Robert Beltran thought were all "really fine scripts" (the other episodes being " Initiations " and " Maneuvers "). ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 99) Beltran felt that this episode's themes were vast but relatable. The actor explained, " That was like a huge epic story condensed into one hour. For me, it was a very personal episode because I related to it on a couple of different levels. For example, in the episode, Chakotay says, 'I don't understand the ancient language of my people,' and my Spanish is passable but I'm always revealing that I'm not yet able to participate fully in conversation with my own people. So a lot of elements of that story resonated very strongly with me. " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 20 ) Beltran thought more highly of this episode upon watching or re-watching it than he had when working on it. At about the end of the second season, he said, " I just saw 'Tattoo' again recently. I found it to be much better than I remembered. It's very rich and complex, and I just liked the many layers of the story […] It was a good strong episode. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 99) Near the end of production of the series in 2001 , Beltran commented that he felt this episode was " pretty inspiring, I think because it dealt with issues of ecology and acceptance of one's heritage. " [4]
• The shot of a nude Chakotay used a body double, instead of Robert Beltran. ( Delta Quadrant , p. 79)
• Robert Picardo ultimately held this episode in high esteem. He commented, " I was quite proud of that episode […] and I thought the finished product was pretty funny. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 28, No. 4/5, pp. 96 & 97)

Production and effects [ ]

• This was the first of ten Star Trek: Voyager episodes to be directed by Alexander Singer .
• Voyager 's production personnel were initially anxious about creating such an ambitious episode as this. Michael Piller remembered, " The call from the production people was 'We can't do this.' I said 'Yes you can. Let's find a way.' " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 83)
• Scenes concerning The Doctor's encounter with Levodian flu were filmed in a single day. Robert Picardo recalled of the episode, " [It] really only required one day's work of me […] That was a fun day's work. We shot the scenes out of sequence, so I kind of had to track the progression of my illness carefully. I had great fun doing that. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 28, No. 4/5, pp. 96 & 97)
• Alan Sims was responsible for hiring the trained hawk for this episode that swooped down and attacked Neelix. The fact that the bird was filmed on location became problematic during production, however, as the hawk did not do what was required of it. " Instead, " recalled Alan Sims, " the hawk spotted a crow and went off after it in the opposite direction. It took hours to find him. The delay was a nightmare. " ( Star Trek 30 Years , p. 46)
• Michael Piller found the location work involved in the making of this episode to be "quite disappointing". ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages )
• On the other hand, of all the sets designed by production designer Richard James during the first two seasons of Star Trek: Voyager , Tuvok actor Tim Russ ' favorite set was the jungle environment from this episode. " The combination high-tech, yet ancient structures, combined with the tropical forest was amazing, " Russ enthused. " It was humid, it smelled like dirt. There's never any need to imagine that you are on an alien planet, because the realism is so breathtaking. " ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 111 , p. 53)
• The scene in which the young Chakotay, Kolopak and their companions disarm utilized stock weapon props. ( Delta Quadrant , p. 79)
• The footage of Voyager descending towards the Sky Spirit's planet was evidently reused from " The 37's ".
• This is the second Star Trek episode, after TNG : " A Matter Of Honor ", to feature on-screen subtitles .

Reception [ ]

• Michael Piller was extremely proud of this episode's teleplay. " It was an incredibly ambitious script and I was delighted with it, " he enthused. " It is full of dark and brooding emotions. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 83) Additionally, Piller was grateful that the episode had been given the go-ahead. He said of the installment, " It represented a commitment by this staff to do challenging, provocative material. The show had a mystery, a personal meaning for Chakotay, and it explored the Human condition through that character. Those to me are the kinds of goals we should have as a writing staff. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 88)
• However, Michael Piller ultimately felt that this episode did not achieve the full potential of its script. " The show lost something in translation to film, " he said. " I would say it's one of the most disappointing episodes for me, because I know what was on the page. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 88) He also remarked, " Maybe it was too ambitious, because something was lost on the way to film. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 83) Explaining what he believed were some of the episode's weak points, Piller stated, " There was a certain intensity, a certain dark, brooding quality that we wanted to get out of Chakotay that I think we didn't get to […] and I felt that the show was named 'Tattoo', but you could barely see the tattoos on anybody. " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages )
• Larry Brody admired Michael Piller's work on the installment, saying, " To his credit, [he] made 'Tattoo' into an episode I really liked. " [5]
• Executive Producer Rick Berman was also pleased with how this episode turned out, referring to the finished product as "a lovely show". ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 105 , p. 12)
• This episode achieved a Nielsen rating of 5.8 million homes, and an 8% share. [6] (X)
• Star Trek Monthly gave this episode 3 out of 5 stars, defined as "Warp Speed". ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 14 , p. 62)
• Cinefantastique gave the installment 3 out of 4 stars. ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 84)
• The reference book Delta Quadrant (p. 81) scored the episode 5 out of 10.

Continuity [ ]

• Michael Piller believed this episode dealt more substantially with a character arc than any of the previous episodes in Star Trek: Voyager 's second season. " Up until that point, " he said, " the shows really weren't about anything. Here was an episode that really went back to basics. It was 'Let's try to make this show not just about a man finding Indians in space, let's make it about Chakotay. Let's talk about character' […] In general I thought it was a show that led the way in terms of being about something. " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages )
• This installment, at least in Robert Beltran's opinion, gave more back story to the Chakotay character than any previous episode of the series but still left some questions about him unanswered. Beltran said of the episode, " We [now] know what happened with the tattoo and why he has the tattoo, which was a question that a lot of people had. I think that a lot of questions were answered, and I think we found some more layers opened up about him. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 99) Shortly after working on the episode, Beltran also explained, " We knew Chakotay had a medicine bundle and that he liked to have quiet moments of prayer, which I've always felt were fascinating things to see on a science-fiction show. What we couldn't go ahead with until recently was explaining some of his back story. What is his specific tribe? What does the tattoo mean? Those questions have been pretty much answered in 'Tattoo.' Now we know more about his people; we've narrowed things down, though we still don't know everything, like the exact name of Chakotay's tribe. That will come. " ( The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine  issue 7 ) Chakotay's particular tribe is never named in the entire series of Voyager , however.
• Although Chakotay's homeworld is left unnamed in this episode (as with the rest of the series), Star Trek Monthly  issue 10 refers to the planet as Dorvan V . This planet, which appears in TNG : " Journey's End ", was indeed originally intended to have been Chakotay's homeworld. ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 4 , p. 55)
• Ensign Wildman's pregnancy continues in this episode, after being introduced in " Elogium ".
• Kes claims in this episode that The Doctor has never felt pain. In fact, he did feel pain during a holodeck malfunction in " Projections ", though Kes would not necessarily have known this.
• In a flashback scene, Chakotay mentions having asked a "Captain Sulu" to sponsor him at Starfleet Academy. It's unclear if this is a reference to Hikaru Sulu , who did indeed make the rank of captain, but would have been very advanced in age by this point.
• This is the second time Voyager engages in its landing sequence, having first done so in " The 37's ". However the attempt is aborted and Voyager does not touch down on the planet in this episode.
• This is the second time the crew of Voyager discover a direct connection to Earth in the Delta Quadrant, having previously encountered descendants of Humans abducted from Earth (" The 37's "). It is also the third time they have discovered a connection between the Alpha Quadrant and Delta Quadrant more generally, having previously discovered a wormhole connecting the two quadrants (" Eye of the Needle ").
• According to the Star Trek: Star Charts , on page 84, the Voyager visited the Sky Spirits' Homeworld on stardate 49070. This places this episode after " Cold Fire " in that book, which it incorrectly places as stardate 49040.

Video and DVD releases [ ]

• UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video ): Volume 2.3, 25 March 1996
• As part of the VOY Season 2 DVD collection

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway

Also starring [ ]

• Robert Beltran as Commander Chakotay
• Roxann Biggs-Dawson as Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres
• Jennifer Lien as Kes
• Robert Duncan McNeill as Lieutenant Tom Paris
• Ethan Phillips as Neelix
• Robert Picardo as The Doctor
• Tim Russ as Lieutenant Tuvok
• Garrett Wang as Ensign Harry Kim

Guest stars [ ]

• Henry Darrow as Father
• Richard Fancy as Alien
• Douglas Spain as Young Chakotay
• Nancy Hower as Samantha Wildman
• Richard Chaves as Chief

Co-stars [ ]

• Joseph Palmas as Antonio
• Majel Barrett as Computer Voice

Uncredited co-stars [ ]

• Norman Gibbs as Voyager operations officer
• Kevin Grover as ancient sky spirit
• Louis Ortiz as Culhane
• Kaiyoti Pesante as guide
• David Reyes as guide
• John Tampoya as Kashimuro Nozawa

Stand-ins [ ]

• David Reyes as body double for Robert Beltran

References [ ]

45,000 years ago ; 21st century ; 24th century ; 2344 ; ability ; astiline ; Adam and Eve ; alloy-polymer matrix ; antithoron ; away team ; Baldoxic vinegar ; barometric pressure ; botanical surveyor ; breeder ; bug ; Cardassian border ; Central America ; CHAH-mooz-ee ; Chakotay's mother ; Chakotay's tribe ; cloaking device ; combadge ; cooking ; cyclone ; cranky ; cypripedium ; Delta Quadrant ; Earth ; electrical storm ; electrostatic charge ; Emergency medical holographic channel ; expedition hat ; eyeball ; eye socket ; faith ; fire ; flight path ; fusion reactor ; gale ; generation ; hawk ; horticulture ; ignorance ; inertial damper ; inheritance ; Inheritor ; Inheritor (first) ; intermarriage ; kilometer ; knot ; Levodian flu ; lizard ; logic ; magnesite ; meter ; migration ; Mister Vulcan ; monsoon ; moon visited by Sky Spirits ; nose ; orchid ; Paphiopedilum ; pinch ; polyferranide ; red alert ; Rubber Tree People ; runny nose ; salad ; sciatic nerve ; Sky Spirit ; Sky Spirits' homeworld ; spoken language ; sponsor ; Starfleet ; Starfleet Academy ; Starfleet protocol ; Sulu ; surveyor ; Talaxian ; tissue paper ; touch ; towel ; transport site ; transporter ; transporter anomaly ; transporter beam ; transporter lock ; Transporter Room 3 ; tribe ; tricorder ; Type 8 shuttlecraft ( unnamed ); universe ; variety ; village ; visibility ; Vulcan orchid ; warp coil ; warp signature

External links [ ]

• " Tattoo " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " Tattoo " at Wikipedia
• " Tattoo " at MissionLogPodcast.com
• " Tattoo " at the Internet Movie Database
• 1 USS Voyager (NCC-74656-A)
• 2 Daniels (Crewman)
• 3 Star Trek: Prodigy

Star Trek: Voyager's Seven of Nine and Chakotay Romance Was a Mistake

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• The most controversial thing Star Trek: Voyager did was the Seven and Chakotay relationship.
• It was bad timing to explore a relationship for Seven of Nine.
• The relationship appeared to be more of a rebound from Janeway than an authentic relationship.

As with most new entries in the saga created by Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek: Voyager was a controversial series amongst fans. After seven seasons, four with the unassimilated Borg character Seven of Nine, the series finale remains a classic in the franchise's history. However, the romance between Seven of Nine and Commander Chakotay, the ship's first officer, was a massive mistake for narrative reasons. The continuation of the characters' stories in Star Trek: Prodigy and Picard corrected it, but it's worth examining why the choice was the wrong one.

Of course, Seven of Nine's story could've been much worse. In The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years: From the Next Generation to J. J. Abrams: The Complete, Uncensored, and Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek by Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross, executive producer Brannon Braga said his only regret about Seven of Nine was not killing her in the finale. He wrote an episode revealing a Borg implant prevented her from loving another person, which takes on a new layer when considering he, at the time, was dating actor Jeri Ryan. So, an ill-foreshadowed romance with a problematic power dynamic isn't as bad as it could've gone for the future captain of the USS Enterprise NCC 1701-G . Both Ryan and Beltran also detail in the book their dissatisfaction at the lost opportunities for their characters to have built an authentic relationship. In one episode, "Human Error," Seven falls for a holographic simulation of Chakotay. While filming "Natural Law," where Seven and Chakotay crash on a planet together, they asked if they should play it as romance. She said they were told not to. Yet, there's a two-part episode in Season 7 called "Workforce," that makes the romance even worse.

RELATED: The Past 30 Years of Star Trek Movies Are Missing This Key Ingredient

Seven of Nine Was Still a Child, Emotionally, in Voyager Season 7

Season 7's stories worked against the relationship, but it was the longer arc of Seven of Nine's development standing in the way. The premise of "Human Error" found Seven of Nine using holographic simulations of the crew to "practice" social interaction. The ex-Borg drone had reached a point of emotional maturity in which she began to care what others thought about her. Practicing how one behaves in social situations is an exercise teenagers across the world undertake without holographic assistance. Seven of Nine was a classic Star Trek hero almost immediately, brilliant, capable and brave. Assimilated by the Borg as a child, her emotional growth was that of a girl getting ready to start her freshman year in high school. The normally dedicated Voyager crewmember fell behind in her work because of her first crush on the holographic Chakotay. In fact, it makes sense that's who she'd fall for.

If there was any slow-burn romance on Star Trek: Voyager it was between Captain Kathryn Janeway and Chakotay. As the captain, she couldn't allow herself romantic entanglements with the crew. Yet, she did have a deep, emotional relationship with Seven of Nine. She was more than her mentor, she was very much Seven of Nine's mother figure. The romantic tension between Janeway and Chakotay was mutual. It makes a kind of sense that Seven's first crush would be the only person on Voyager who Janeway pined for. Chakotay was a good friend to the folks on the ship who had trouble fitting in. In early seasons how much he cared for B'Elanna Torres send shippers to their keyboards with fanfiction in their hearts. There was no differentiation from that part of his character to his more romantic interest in Seven of Nine.

Just like in Season 7 of Star Trek: TNG with Deanna Troi and Worf, the romance seemed like it was included just to spite the expectations set up by the preceding seasons. Only, in this case, it was the ship's first officer who got paired with the wrong choice. Seven of Nine wasn't technically Starfleet , but she was part of the crew. Chakotay's position and Seven's relationship to Janeway made the whole thing feel like more than just a storytelling mistake. It cheapened the sensitive, empathetic character Beltran and the writers built over seven seasons. However, with Janeway in mind, the "Workforce" episode made it worse. It made Seven of Nine seem like Chaktoay's "rebound" relationship.

RELATED: Star Trek Uses Shields and Deflector Screens Better Than Any Other Sci-Fi Property

Chakotay's Relationship with Seven of Nine Seems Born Out of Janeway Jealousy

The lack of any narrative setup for the romance between Seven of Nine and Chakotay wasn't the only problem. Five episodes before Chakotay and Seven crashed on that planet together, most of Voyager's crew was brainwashed and put to work on a multi-species planet suffering a labor shortage . While there, the brainwashed Janeway met and moved in with a man named Jaffen. When Chakotay sneaks onto the planet to rescue the crew, he sees them together. He appeals to the deep friendship he and Janeway share to convince her to help him. Yet, even once she's aware of her real life, she doesn't feel any less affection for Jaffen. In fact, she implies that if he joined the crew, she'd still have romantic feelings for him.

The episode ends with Chakotay asking if she regretted that he'd rescued her. She said "not for a second." However, with the long unspoken romantic tension between them, pairing Chakotay with someone so soon after Janeway fell for Jaffen makes it seem like a rebound thing. That the object of Chakotay's affection is Janeway's (fully adult, of course) surrogate daughter adds an even more problematic element to it. Putting the romance in the series finale turned what could be written off as a dalliance or simple bad judgment into an "endgame" romantic pairing. It stains what is an otherwise perfect Star Trek series finale.

Star Trek: Prodigy, searching for a new network currently, has Vice Admiral Janeway undertaking a mission to find the lost now-Captain Chakotay. She does so with a determination that doesn't discourage "JC" shippers, either. Similarly, Star Trek: Picard further developed Seven of Nine. She had a relationship with Raffi Musiker, now her First Officer on the new Enterprise. So, while the romance between Seven of Nine and Chakotay was a mistake, the current Star Trek stories are working to correct it.

• star trek: voyager

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Natural Law

• Episode aired May 2, 2001

Chakotay and Seven of Nine's shuttle is crippled by an energy field and they crash on a planet inhabited by a primitive species. Chakotay and Seven of Nine's shuttle is crippled by an energy field and they crash on a planet inhabited by a primitive species. Chakotay and Seven of Nine's shuttle is crippled by an energy field and they crash on a planet inhabited by a primitive species.

• Terry Windell
• Gene Roddenberry
• Rick Berman
• Michael Piller
• Kate Mulgrew
• Robert Beltran
• Roxann Dawson
• 9 User reviews
• 5 Critic reviews

• Capt. Kathryn Janeway

• Cmdr. Chakotay

• Lt. B'Elanna Torres

• Lt. Tom Paris

• Seven of Nine

• Ensign Harry Kim

• Kleg, Flying Instructor
• (as Neil C. Vipond)

• Port Authority Officer
• Transporter N.D.

• Voyager Computer

• (uncredited)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• Trivia Three-time Star Trek guest actor Albie Selznick was responsible for the Ventu movements and received credit as "Ventu" Choreographer in the end credits.
• Goofs It seems odd that Chakotay takes the time to grab a large, apparently empty case during an emergency beam out but not an emergency medical kit.

Seven of Nine : When Commander Chakotay and I first encountered the Ventu, I found them primitive, of little interest to me, but as I spent more time with them, I came to realize that they're... a resourceful, self-reliant people. Their isolation may limit their potential, but if that isolation ends, so will a unique way of life.

• Soundtracks Star Trek: Voyager - Main Title (uncredited) Written by Jerry Goldsmith Performed by Jay Chattaway

User reviews 9

• Nov 22, 2023
• May 2, 2001 (United States)
• United States
• Official site
• Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California, USA
• Paramount Television
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 44 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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Star Trek: Prodigy Almost Made Janeway Captain of the Enterprise , Until Kate Mulgrew Said No

By the time Voyager returns home from the Delta Quadrant at the end of its seven-season run , Kathryn Janeway has seen more in her tour of duty than most Starfleet captains see in their lifetimes (even if she and her crew got to skip out on that whole, y’know, cataclysmic interstellar war thing ). So it makes sense that she quickly shoots up Starfleet’s ranks into Admiralty, and is offered a bunch of plush positions—but it also makes sense that she’d insist on returning to her own tough little ship.

One of those plush positions almost became a thing in Star Trek: Prodigy’s second season , which finally begins streaming on Netflix today after a long, strange road to release saw it ushered away from Paramount . In the new season, with Prodigy’s young alien heroes having made their way to Starfleet and helped save the day—earning their place among the next generation of Academy cadets—they are tasked with joining Admiral Janeway on a dangerous rescue mission to find her former first officer and the missing captain of the experimental ship Protostar the kids spent season one racing around in, Chakotay. To do so, Janeway heads out on a newly refitted Voyager-A, but she almost commandeered a far more prestigious vessel in the form of Starfleet’s flagship, the Enterprise.

Prodigy is set around 2384, which means at the time the Enterprise in operation is either the Sovereign-class Enterprise-E —although a ship with its registry is seen in Prodigy’s season 1 finale having been heavily damaged, if not destroyed outright—or its follow up, the Odyssey-class Enterprise-F . They’re both pretty awesome ships, as far as the Enterprise goes, but… they’re no starship Voyager. I may be slightly biased , but hey, so is Kate Mulgrew herself, as she should be: because apparently when told that Janeway could commandeer the Enterprise in Prodigy, the actress behind her flatly refused.

“There was a moment where we were playing with the idea that [season 2’s ship] could be the Enterprise instead,” Prodigy co-creator Dan Hageman told IGN in a new interview . “We [asked] Kate, ‘What do you think if you’re the new captain of the Enterprise,’ and she was not thrilled. She’s like, ‘I’d rather it be the Voyager.’”

Putting aside that Voyager is one of the all-time great Star Trek ship designs, giving Janeway a refit of her home-away-from-home in the Delta quadrant on a mission to relocate Chakotay of all people just makes sense, for the sentimentality of it all. Plus, in-universe, the Voyager herself at this point is an admired and beloved ship in its own rights, a champion of Starfleet’s exploratory ideals in having survived the best part of a decade in a far-flung sector of the galaxy with little in the way of Federation support. It’s only fitting that Janeway get a chance to at last see what Starfleet could do in a souped-up refit of her most beloved ship, rather than just handing her the Enterprise like it’s a prize for passing into Admiralty.

Sure, a vaunted Admiral is “worthy” of the flagship, but maybe we should be asking: is the Enterprise worthy of Kathryn Janeway ?

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel , Star Wars , and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV , and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who .

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Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 Finally Brings Back A Beloved Character We Haven't Seen In Decades

The second and final season of "Star Trek: Prodigy" was released on Netflix on July 1, 2024, to almost no fanfare (as is the wont of Netflix). All 20 episodes of the season are now available, and Trekkies will be happy to know that the series connects to extant "Star Trek" lore in new and exciting ways.

For one, the series begins on board the U.S.S. Voyager-A, the improved, larger version of the central ship in "Star Trek: Voyager." Admiral Janeway is also still in command, serving on a ship populated mostly by students and cadets, all using the craft as a scientific research vessel. The idea of a high-powered school in space is an intriguing concept and could serve as the premise for a "Star Trek" spinoff in an of itself.

Also on board the Voyager-A is the Doctor (Robert Picardo), the emergency medical hologram initially activated in the first episode of "Voyager." As Trekkies can tell you, the Doctor served as the chief medical officer on the U.S.S. Voyager after its medical staff was killed in a high-speed, cross-galaxy travel cataclysm. Although the EMH was meant to serve only in emergencies, the Voyager crew left his program running. Constant use, however, cause the Doctor to develop a personality and a consciousness. By the end of the series, the Doctor was fighting for the rights of holograms, engaging in hobbies (he likes opera and photography), and even falling in love.

Later, the Doctor was given a futuristic mobile emitter that allowed him to stray away from the hologram emitters in sickbay and go wherever he wanted. Armed with such agency, the Doctor became a full-fledged Federation citizen.

After "Voyager" ended, however, Trekkies were left to wonder what happened to him. Thanks to "Prodigy," we now know.

Read more: Celebrities You Didn't Know Were In Star Trek

Robert Picardo Is Back As The Doctor

To remind readers, the final episode of "Voyager," called "Endgame" (May 23, 2001), flashed forward to a possible future wherein the U.S.S. Voyager managed to return to Earth, with 20 years having already passed. Janeway, regretting a decision she made decades before, steals a time travel widget and goes back in time to the "present" of "Voyager" to confront her younger self. The older Janeway orders the younger Janeway to make use of Borg technology to get back to Earth faster, although the younger Janeway is a little miffed that her older self would be so reckless with time travel.

In that alternate future, audiences saw the Doctor back on Earth with a wife, although little information was given about her. After the younger Janeway returned to Earth earlier, that alternate version of the Doctor was presumably erased from history. Little was seen of the Doctor after the events of "Endgame."

"Prodigy" sees the Doctor still serving in Starfleet, wearing an updated uniform, and standing on the bridge of the Voyager-A with Admiral Janeway in command. He is the chief medical officer on board the new Voyager. Importantly, the Doctor is still played by Robert Picardo, reprising his role. Picardo is now 70 and he sounds a little older than he did in 2001. However, thanks to the magic of animation, the Doctor hasn't aged a day.

Because the Voyager-A is a flying school, the Doctor seems to serve as an assistant principal of sorts. He's also the one who directs Dal (Brett Gray), Rok-Tahk (Rylee Alazraqui), Zero (Angus Imrie), Murf (Dee Bradley Baker), and Jankom Pog (Jason Mantzoukas) to their stations on the ship.

Star Trek: Prodigy Pairs An Old Friend With A New Ship

It's a relief to see the Doctor is still alive and working for Starfleet. It stood to reason that he would remain a Starfleet doctor, given that he was created by a Starfleet medical computer. It might have been interesting to see him change careers after "Endgame," but that would have required perhaps too much exposition for "Prodigy," a series about teen characters on their own adventures.

Instead, the presence of the Doctor is reassuring to '90s Trekkies. Even his mobile emitter is the same (as it should be; it was extrapolated from 29th century technology). Some characters, we find, simply progressed along a predictable career track and are still happy with their lives in Starfleet. Also, because the Doctor is seemingly immortal, he's likely in no hurry to change careers and feels he has several more centuries in Starfleet before he even needs to start thinking about another career path. Rather unfortunately, though, Picardo will not live for multiple centuries (as far as we know), but he seems game enough to return to the role 23 years after he last played it in a canonical fashion.

It's also worth noting that Chakotay (Robert Beltran)  is likewise back for the new season of "Prodigy" as the beleaguered captain of the U.S.S. Protostar, who needs to be rescued from the other side of a time hole. Chakotay was not as widely beloved a character as the snippy holographic Doctor, but he was the first officer on the Voyager and starred in most of the show's episodes. In the first part of the series, he merely stands back, letting the teen characters engage in the bulk of the action.

"Star Trek: Prodigy" is streaming on Netflix.

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I’ve Always Hated That Star Trek: Voyager Brought Kes Back In Season 6

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Star Trek: Voyager had good intentions by introducing a Native American character, but Commander Chakotay (Robert Beltran) was flawed due to a consultant’s deception. An important aspect of Star Trek 's legacy has always been its efforts to portray a diverse future, one where people of all races and creeds come together to form a better version of humanity. Star Trek: The Original Series featured the first interracial kiss on American television, while Star Trek: Discovery does tremendous work in its portrayal of gay and non-binary characters.

Star Trek: Voyager looked to continue that tradition of inclusivity by featuring the first Starfleet crew member of Native American descent. Beltran was ultimately cast in the role of Chakotay, a former Maquis operative who joined forces with Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and her crew after they ended up stranded in the Delta Quadrant. Voyager 's producers' hearts were in the right place, but Chakotay ended up something of a failed character, partially due to an infamous conman who tainted the character's early development.

Related: Voyager Killed Off Its Most Interesting Character Too Soon

Voyager's Chakotay Native American Controversy Explained

Star Trek: Voyager 's producers decided to make Chakotay's Native American background a key part of the character's personality. To get a better understanding of Native American heritage, the Voyager producers enlisted writer and journalist Jamake Highwater, a nationally recognized Native American authority who wrote books and produced TV series about his supposed heritage. Highwater was eventually exposed as a fraud; born Jackie Marks, he was of Eastern European descent and had no ties to the Cherokee people as he had long claimed.

Highwater's insights into the character proved to be shallow and stereotypical, hamstringing one of Star Trek: Voyager 's main characters before the show ever aired. Voyager 's producers seemed to realize Chakotay was not particularly working as a character, and he would slowly become a smaller presence on the series as the years went on. While it wasn't the only factor working against him, Highwater's contribution to Chakotay did real damage to the character.

Why Chakotay Was A Voyager Missed Opportunity

Chakotay stands as a serious missed opportunity for Star Trek: Voyager , and he was arguably the least compelling First Officer in all of Star Trek . Chakotay was in many ways the embodiment of Voyager 's overall problems, a bland character who felt like a poor copy of other, better Star Trek characters. There were opportunities to improve the character, such as introducing some tension between his Maquis refugees and the Voyager's largely Starfleet crew , but it never happened.

Robert Beltran was notoriously vocal about his misgivings with Voyager 's writing staff during the show's production, taking seemingly any opportunity to cut them down in the press and complain about the lack of character development for Chakotay. Beltran wasn't wrong, but his public comments likely had the opposite effect of what he intended, alienating the show's creative staff and leaving them less willing to develop Chakotay. Star Trek: Voyager had the right idea with Chakotay, but the execution was never quite there.

More: Voyager's Tuvok Was Almost TNG's Geordi

• Star Trek: Voyager (1995)