Chakotay

Chakotay (2377)
Lt. Commander Chakotay (2377)
Gender:	Male
Species:	Human
Born:	2329
Father:	Kolopak
Actor:	Robert Beltran
File:Chakotay 2371.jpg
Lt. Commander Chakotay (2371)

Chakotay was a Starfleet officer who resigned to join the Maquis to defend his home colony. In 2371 while Starfleet was trying to capture him, he and his crew were pulled into the Delta Quadrant and forced to merge with the crew of the USS Voyager, where he served as First Officer during its seven-year journey home.

Early Life and Family

A young Chakotay with his Father

Chakotay was the son of Kolopak, born in 2329 on a Federation colony near the Cardassian Demilitarized Zone.

Being of Native American descent, his father tried to impart his values on Chakotay often, and in many ways, such as hikes to nearby forested worlds. He wore a tattoo on his forehead to signify his Native American heritage.

Chakotay also has a sister, and a cousin who lives in Ohio. (VOY: "Author, Author", "Message in a Bottle")

When Chakotay was young he looked after his grandfather, who suffered from hallucinations caused by an inherited defective gene. This gene was suppressed in Chakotay before birth, although it was activated for a brief period in 2375 by aliens who attempted to make contact with the crew of Voyager. (VOY: "The Fight")

Chakotay's father, Kolopak, disapproved of his son joining Starfleet. In 2344 Kolopak was insistent upon finding his ancestors home in Central America. There Chakotay, who was fifteen years old and his sights already set on Starfleet, shocked his father by telling him he would be leaving him to enter Starfleet Academy. Kolopak was killed while defending his colony against Cardassians. When the news reached Chakotay, he resigned from Starfleet to join the Maquis. It was then that he got his tattoo in order to honor the memory of his father. (VOY: "Tattoo")

Later in life Chakotay would place great faith in his spiritual background. He used vision quests to help guide his life and commune with his father's spirit, and used a Mayan medicine wheel for healing himself.

The Pakra is the name of the solitary ritual by which Chakotay commemorates the anniversary of Kolopak's death. On stardate 49005.3 Captain Kathryn Janeway granted him the use of a shuttlecraft so he could perform the ritual in private. (VOY: "Initiations")

Chakotay had an ancestor that lived in Arizona during the 1990s. She was a school teacher. (VOY: "Future's End")

Career

Starfleet Academy

Chakotay's entry in to Starfleet Academy, at the age of fifteen, was sponsored by Captain Sulu. (VOY:" Tattoo")

It is generally accepted that Chakotay was referring to Captain Hikaru Sulu or one of his descendants. The non-canon anthology Star Trek: The Captain's Table states that it was Captain Demora Sulu, Hikaru's daughter, who sponsored him. Although it is explained in the story, Chakotay did specifically refer to the Captain Sulu who sponsored him as "he" in "Tattoo".

Chakotay possessed great piloting skills. In his first year, he trained as a pilot in North America. Then he went to Venus for a couple of months to learn how to handle atmospheric storms, and later dodged asteroids for a semester in the Sol system asteroid belt. (VOY: "Future's End, Part II")

Chakotay also became a proficient boxer at the light heavyweight level, with a record of 23 wins and one loss. The loss was to a Nausicaan with "a mean right hook." According to B'Elanna Torres, "Legend has it that 'The Tattooed Terror' has put more men in sickbay than the Ankaran flu." (VOY: "Tsunkatse")

His personal trainer was Academy groundsman Boothby. (VOY: "The Fight")

Starfleet Officer

Chakotay graduated in 2348, and went on to serve aboard a Starfleet ship. On one of his earlier away missions, he visited a tomb excavation on Ktaria VII. Unaware of local custom, he wanted to take a memento, and stole a small stone from the burial. He was later informed that each stone represents a prayer, and he had desecrated the burial site. (VOY: "Emanations")

As Chakotay entered the Academy at 15, presuming he stayed for 4 years, he would have graduated in 2348. We don't know what Starships he served on, but his initial Character Bible suggests the USS Merrimack.

Another of his earlier missions was serving aboard a starship that made first contact with the Tarkannans. (VOY: "Innocence")

On another occasion he beamed down to a planet and the pattern buffer malfunctioned, misreading his Starfleet uniform. When he rematerialized all he had was his combadge. (VOY: "In the Flesh")

Once while serving in Starfleet, he learned to communicate with a "Terrelian seapod," something normally thought very difficult to communicate with. (VOY: "Equinox, Part II")

The Maquis

The last time Chakotay stepped foot in Starfleet Command was when he gave his resignation to Admiral Nimembeh on March 3, 2368 to join the Maquis. (VOY: "In the Flesh")

After his father was killed in 2371, he resisted the Cardassian takeover of his planet - as per the terms of the border treaty between Cardassia and the Federation. He could not stand by and watch his people being displaced as had happened on Earth. He became one of the leaders of the Maquis and his cell became one of the most successful in resisting the Cardassians and Federation. In order to stop him, an undercover agent by the name of Tuvok was sent to join his group and was still aboard his ship the Val Jean when it disappeared in the Badlands.

USS Voyager

The First Year

Chakotay and his crew were transported to the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker's array. Voyager also was transported at the same time. Chakotay would agree to cooperate with Janeway, when both crews were subjected to medical testing, and after they were returned to their ships, one of his crew and one of Janeway's crew was missing. The crewmembers were located and the Caretaker's Array was destroyed so it would not fall into the hands of the Kazon. Chakotay crashed his ship into a Kazon battleship protecting Voyager while it destroyed the Array.

Following the destruction of the Val Jean in the Delta Quadrant, Chakotay and his crew joined Voyager's crew.

Chakotay was granted the provisional rank of lieutenant commander and became Voyager's First Officer. (VOY: "Caretaker")

He had his share of pains after joining Voyager. He found out that Tuvok was a Federation spy. Seska, his lover, was revealed to be a Cardassian spy when Chakotay discovered that she had been disclosing Federation technology to the Kazon. A blood test would revealed that she was a Cardassian. On an away mission, his shuttlecraft was attacked by the Komar, a race that was trying to collect the crew's neural energy. After the attack, Chakotay was rendered brain dead. But, in reality, he had been taken over by one of the Komar. After defeating the Komar, Voyager became lost in a nebula. Suddenly, Neelix was compelled to rearrange markers on a medicine wheel owned by Chakotay that led them out of the nebula. Even in a disembodied condition he was able to help Voyager.(VOY: "State of Flux", "Cathexis")

Chakotay possessed great moral courage and served Janeway well as first officer; his loyalty never wavered. He helped keep the peace and establish cooperation between his Maquis crew and the Starfleet crew, and even threatened to throw Seska and Jarvin into the brig when they said they would support him in a mutiny. Also, when Tuvok wished to train a group of Maquis to bring them up to Starfleet standards, Chakotay forcefully and physically persuaded them after they initially resisted. He also supported his former Maquis crewmembers. He recommended to Janeway that Torres should be promoted to chief engineer, despite her temper. (VOY: "Learning Curve", "Parallax")

He would lead the rescue attempt of Tom Paris and Torres who were captured by the Vidiians, and attempt to find Harry Kim, who had become lost in a holoprogram of Beowulf. Confronted by the characters in the program, they attempted to fight an energy being trapped in the program, they also disappear. They would be saved by the Doctor. (VOY: "Faces", "Heroes and Demons")

2372

After an accident affected the program of the Doctor, he was about to destroy Voyager by firing a phaser into the warp core. Chakotay convinced the Doctor that the system was offline and that he needed to return to sickbay so that his matrix could be adjusted. (VOY: "Projections")

Later that year, Voyager was attacked by a swarm of space-dwelling aliens, whose energy played havoc with the Voyager systems. While trying to move away from the swarm, Voyager was confronted by a larger being wishing to mate with the swarm which believed Voyager to be its rival. Chakotay suggested that the ship submit to the larger creature and roll over. This solved the situation. (VOY: "Elogium")

Janeway became disabled during the confrontation with the Botha, who could project hallucinations into the crewmembers. Chakotay took command, but his attempts to reason with the aliens failed and fighting broke out. The Botha were driven off the ship when the Kes' telepathic powers were able to block the Botha hallucinations. (VOY: "Persistence of Vision")

While stranded on a planet, Chakotay came in contact with an alien race that spoke the language of his ancestors. Voyager had been ravaged by fierce storms that had been destroying the ship. They explained that they had visited his ancestors over 45,000 years ago, and were known to the tribe as the sky spirits. When they returned to Earth, finding no trace of the tribe, they believed they had been killed by other Humans. When Voyager made contact with the planet, they used the storms as protection because they believed the Humans would destroy them. Chakotay assured them of the peaceful intentions of Voyager, and the storms stopped. (VOY: "Tattoo")

Chakotay and Janeway were infected with an uncurable virus that necessitated them being left on a planet whose environment blocked the progresssion of the disease. During this time together, they drew closer and the first signs of affection between the two begin to manifest itself. After an antidote was found for the disease and they returned to the ship, they maintained a professional relationship. (VOY: "Resolutions")

The Kazon

Chakotay would become one of the central figures in the conflict with the Kazon. One of the first encounters took place during the time he was performing a ritual to honor his father's death. A young Kazon attacked him during his initiation as a warrior. Chatokay destroyed his ship, and both were captured by the Kazon and condemned to die. After escaping their death sentence, Kar killed the maje and was proclaimed a warrior, thanks in part to Chatokay's help. However, Chatokay was warned that next time he met the Kazon, they would kill him. His next meeting with the Kazon also was a reunion with Seska, who had defected to the Kazon-Nistrim, who were led by Cullah. They had stolen a module that enabled them to penetrate Voyager's shields. Chakotay was able to board the Kazon ship and destroy the module; however, he was captured and tortured by the Kazon. He was rescued by Voyager, but not before Seska told him that she had extracted his DNA and impregnated herself with it. (VOY: "Initiations", "Maneuvers")

During a constant series of attacks on Voyager by the Kazon, Chakotay suggested that Voyager try to form alliances with some of the Kazon sects. This failed when the Trabe, the Kazon's enemies, attempted to assassinate the leaders at the conference. Shortly after that, Chatokay received a message from Seska that she had given birth to his child, and that Cullah planned to kill her and take the child. Although Seska was not trustworthy, Janeway agreed to try and save his son. It was a trap and Voyager was captured, and the crew stranded on a barren planet. Chakotay's knowledge of nature and Maquis training helped the crew survive until they were rescued by Paris, the Doctor and Lon Suder. (VOY: "Alliances", "Basics, Part I and Part II")

2373

He was part of an away team that landed on the planet Takar. He discovered that the planet was ruled by two Ferengi who had become lost in a wormhole. (VOY: "False Profits")

Q involved the crew of Voyager in a civil war between factions of the Q Continuum. After Janeway is swept into the Continuum by Q, Chakotay assumes command of Voyager, who still has a female Q on board. He agrees to help the female Q and rescue both Q and Janeway who have been captured by opposing forces. They would save them and end the civil war. (VOY: "The Q and the Grey")

He was with Janeway when their shuttle crashed on a planet inhabited by an alien that invaded Janeway's cerebral cortex, and tried to convince that she was dead so she would give up her soul, so the alien could use her energy as a power source. (VOY: "Coda")

Torres would experience pon farr, after being infected by Vorik who was being driven mad by the condition. When she lands on a planet to find gallicite, she turns agressive and out of control. Chakotay and Tuvok would land on the planet to locate her, but were captured by the Sakari.

The Sakari had moved underground after their ancestors had been attacked by alien invaders. Chakotay convinces them that Voyager comes in peace, and offers a trade, Gallicite for technology to protect themselves, which the Sakari accept. After locating Torres, she engages in a ritual battle with Vorik that cures them of the pon farr. Before they leave Chakotay discovers a skeleton of one of the aliens, a Borg. (VOY: "Blood Fever")

Chakotay would become involved in the Distant Orgin Theory controversy between the Voth. Forra Gegen, a leading Voth scientist, believed that the Voth are descendent from a species in a different part of the galaxy. The offical interpretation on the planet is that the Voth were the first beings to evolve into intelligent beings in the galaxy. After finding the bones of a Voyager crewmember, he believes that he has evidence of his theory. He discovers Voyager, and, using a cloaked device, boards the ship. After Chakotay discovers him, Gegen explains his presence. The Doctor determines that the Voth have evolved from the dinosaurs on Earth. When the evidence is presented to the Voth council, Chakotay stands with him to support his evidence. The council rejects it and threatens to imprison Chakotay and the rest of the Voyager crew, unless Gegen publicly disavows his theory, which he does. (VOY: "Distant Origin")

Timelines

In 2373, Chakotay and the Voyager crew were swept back in time to 1996 after a confrontation with a future ship and its captain, Braxton. They were successful in preventing a businessman, Henry Starling, from stealing the the time ship. (VOY: "Future's End, Part I and Part II")

During the Year of Hell conflict with the Krenim, he was captured by Annorax, the commander of the Krenim ship. At first, he 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 caluations to use in his time weapon. But after Annorax destroyed a species to try to restore the timeline, Chakotay would help sabotage the ship by transmitting its location to Voyager and taking its weapons off line. This allowed Janeway to crash Voyager into the Krenim time ship, destroying it and restoring the timeline.

Conflict With The Borg

Later that year, Chakotay discovered the presence of the Borg when he landed on a planet to mine galliecite. There he met the Sakari, who moved underground to escape attacks from invaders. He found a corpse of one of the invaders, which was Borg. Later that same year he encountered a group of former drones, who, due to an accident in space, were released from the collective, and returned to their humanity. Chakotay was seriously injured on this away mission. The group, headed by a human called Riley Frazier, still maintained the ability to link. They used their link to help heal Chakotay. Riley told him that there was another group of former drones with whom they were in conflict. She wanted Voyager to help her activate a neural transmitter on the disabled Borg ship so they could link with the dissent group. Janeway refused, so the group used its former link with Chakotay to activate the transmitter. This neural link proved benefical when later that year, Voyager formed an alliance with the Borg to fight Species 8472. After Species 8472 was defeated, Chakotay used his neural link ability to sever Seven of Nine from the collective, thus allowing Voyager to escape assimilation by the Borg. (VOY: "Unity", "Scorpion, Part II")

In 2375, Chakotay and Janeway devised a plan to steal a transwarp core from a Borg ship. When Seven was captured, Janeway lead an away team to rescue her. Chakotay, in command of Voyager, attacked the Borg conduit, destroying it. (VOY: "Dark Frontier")

He was captured by a Borg ship piloted by child Borg drones that were separated from the collective when the elder Borgs died due to a msyterious illness. With the aid of Seven, he was rescued. (VOY: "Collective")

He helped save Borg drones who had become aware of their humanoid existence during Unimatrix Zero. Saving the drone from the Borg Queen started a civil war in the collective. (VOY: "Unimatrix Zero, Part I and Part II")

Species Encounters

Chakotay loses his hair and starts rapidly aging

In 2374, he had various encounters with a number of different races. He was brainwashed by the Vori, who had him join their war against the Kradin. When the Hirogen took over Voyager and used its crew in holo-programs to hunt, he was the leader af a US Army divison in a Nazi program. (VOY: "Nemesis", "The Killing Game, Part I and Part II")

He and the crew would be used in medical experiments by the Srivani, and help Neelix regain a purpose for his existence. Neelix was almost killed in an accident and when he was broke back to life, he questioned his beliefs in the afterlife, and the meaning of life itself. (VOY: "Scientific Method", "Mortal Coil")

Chakotay also encountered Species 8472 again, when Voyager discovered an Earth-like structure on a planet. It was a training facility for a possible invasion of Earth by Species 8472. He also encountered aliens in chaotic space that helped him chart a course out of chaotic space. (VOY: "In the Flesh", "The Fight")

He would lead an away team in an attempt to stop a Malon ship from exploding and spreading radiation into space. (VOY: "Juggernaut")

The Return Home

In 2377, the last year of Voyager's return home from the Delta Quadrant, Chakotay attempted to hijack Voyager with a Maquis crewman due to a brainwash suggestion implanted by a Bajoran named Teero Anaydis. He also restored Voyager to the proper timeline when it was hit by the gravimetric force of a spatial rift. Chakotay rescued the crew from the Quarren workforce when the crew's memories were wiped out in order to solve the workforce shortage on the planet. (VOY: "Repression", "Shattered", "Workforce, Part I and Part II")

Near the end of Voyager's time in the Delta Quadrant, he became romantically involved with Seven of Nine. They became very close during an away mission when they were stranded on a planet due to a shuttle crash. They discovered a primitive tribe that helped them repair their ship. (VOY: "Natural Law")

Voyager returned home using a Borg conduit. Admiral Janeway had returned to the past to help her counterpart, Captain Janeway, defeat the Borg and return the ship sooner than the fifteen years it took her. This saved the life of Seven, who had been killed on the original journey home, and helped Tuvok avoid a mental breakdown due to a neural disease. (VOY: "Endgame")

Personal interests

Chakotay didn't use the holodeck often, but enjoyed reading instead. (VOY: "One Small Step")

He occasionally took the time to embrace his artistic side, such as creations using colored sand while trapped on 'New Earth' and carvings of Native American symbols. (VOY: "Resolutions", "State of Flux")

Foods

Chakotay is a vegetarian, one of his favorite meals is Mushroom soup. Some foods he hates include carrots, fried food because it upsets his stomach, and he refuse to eat pudding because he thinks "it's slimy." (VOY: "State of Flux", "Unforgettable")

Chakotay prefers to avoid alcoholic beverages when possible, saying he preferred to "stay in control" but has been known to imbibe on special occasions. For example, he kept a secret stash of Antarian cider hidden among the salvaged Borg components in cargobay 2. (VOY: "In the Flesh", "Shattered")

Anthropology

One of the many reasons he joined Starfleet was to pursue his interest in Anthropology. He was fascinated by 20th century Earth during Voyager's visit there in 2373 (1996), and explained if they were trapped there, maybe he'd become one. (VOY: "Future's End, Part II")

Once while serving in Starfleet, he visited a tomb excavation on Ktaria VII. (VOY: "Emanations")

In 2375, while the telepathic pitcher plant made the most of the crew believe they were going to reach Earth through a wormhole, Chakotay imagined he'd received a full pardon - and a professorship of Anthropology at Starfleet Academy. (VOY: "Bliss")

Chakotay was interested in the early history of space exploration, John Kelly being one of his childhood heroes. So when Voyager got the chance to actually find it in 2376, he was more than eager to salvage the craft when he'd found it intact. Too eager in fact, his attempts to claim it before leaving the graviton ellipse it was caught in injured him, and damaged the Flyer. Seven of Nine had to beam aboard the Ares IV to retrieve a component, and Chakotay tried desperately to get her to realize how special it was. For him, Seven played several of Kelly's logs that were left active when she beamed aboard. (VOY: "One Small Step")

Later that year, he was very interested in a planet they discovered that moved at an accelerated rate compared to normal space-time. He had Voyager send down a probe to take images as the planet advanced. At one point he commented that every second they missed they could be missing "whole civilizations", to which B'Elanna replied "So? We'll catch the next one." (VOY: "Blink of an Eye")

In 2377, Seven and Chakotay were trapped together again, this time on a world inhabited by the primitive "Ventu", who Chakotay was fascinated by. His interest in anthropology helped him to understand their culture, and he even learned many of the phrases in their sign language. (VOY: "Natural Law")

Boxing

File:TerrellianBoxer.jpg

Chakotay and a Terrellian boxer (2375)

Since his time at Starfleet Academy, Chakotay was a fan of boxing. While there, the legendary Boothby helped him train. He would occasionally run a program on the holodeck where he would box a Terrellian with Boothbys assistance. He also said that "boxing helped him relax."

In fact, in 2375 while running this program an alien species that lived in chaotic space tried contacting him, and used images of the boxing simulation in their communication.(VOY: "The Fight")

He was also a fan of professional sumo wrestling, once getting into an argument about the 77th Emperor's Cup. (VOY: "Latent Image")

In 2377, Voyager came across a game called Tsunkatse on Norcadia Prime. He was quite a fan, and was sure to watch several of the matches live. Although the Doctor didn't approve, Chakotay insisted it was an excellent way to test a warriors skills and instinct. (VOY: "Tsunkatse")

Personal relationships

Chakotay had many personal relationships among the crews of both the Valjean and Voyager. On his maquis ship people were very informal, so he got to know his crew very well. And he got to know his crew better, as well as the crew of Voyager, when he served as first officer, a middle-man between the crew and the Captain.

He was on a very personal level with many of his former Maquis friends, such as Kenneth Dalby, who once suggested he would support Chakotay if he wanted to mutiny against Captain Janeway. For this, Chakotay punched him, knocking him out of his chair, saying he never wanted to hear talk like that again. (VOY: "Learning Curve")

Friends

Kathryn Janeway

Janeway realizes their relationship may be inappropriate

From day one Chakotay and Captain Janeway didn't always see eye to eye on command decisions, after all she was sent into the badlands to hunt him and his crew down.

He had reservations about destroying the Caretaker's Array, which left Voyager and his Maquis stranded in the Delta Quadrant. After constant attacks by the Kazon, he urged Janeway to think more like a Maquis because Starfleet regulations were too rigid to survive alone. He urged her to seek alliances with other sects of the Kazon. (VOY: "Caretaker", "Alliances")

Chakotay wanted to assist a group of former Borg drones establish a link with another group to stop fighting between the groups. Janeway would refuse to let him board the disabled Borg ship and retrieve a generator that could establish a new link between the groups. Due to a former link between the cooperative as they were called now, which was used to heal Chakotay, they were able to command him to retrieve the generator. (VOY: "Unity")

When Janeway tried to carry out a Starfleet directive called the Omega Directive in secret, he persuaded her to brief the crew on the mission so it could be accomplished. (VOY: "The Omega Directive")

One of the most serious conflicts between them occurred during the encounter with the USS Equinox. The Equinox, which was commanded by Captain Rudolph Ransom, was using nucleogenic beings as fuel for his ship. Equinox tried to escape Voyager, and they kidnapped Seven of Nine. In order to find the location of the Equinox, Janeway put a member of the Equinox in a cargo bay and threatened to release the beings which had been killing the crew unless he told her of the location of the Equinox. When Chakotay realized what she was doing and that she wasn't bluffing, he released the crewmen and told Janeway she had crossed the line. Janeway relieved him of duty.

But the two eventually made up, after Ransom had had a change of heart and beamed his crew aboard Voyager. Janeway told Chakotay about how he "had reason to stage a mutiny" himself, but he told her that that would have been crossing the line. After saying he'd bring a salad to a potluck Neelix was holding, she added that she'd bring the croutons. Symbolically, she then found the ships dedication plaque had fallen, noting that after all the battles they've been through, it'd never done so before. The two of them put it back up, "where it belonged." (VOY: "Equinox, Part II")

But Chakotays relationship with Kathryn Janeway wasn't always controversy. Early in their voyage home, he showed her how to talk to her "animal guide," and showed her his private medicine bundle. (VOY: "The Cloud")

The two of them had a certain chemistry together, that eventually became evident to both of them while they were trapped on a planet in Vidiian space they called "New Earth." The two of them were infected with a virus that trapped them on the planet, and while Janeway tried to find a cure (as Voyager had continued on it's mission) Chakotay preferred to make the planet their home. One day a plasma storm destroyed most of Janeway's equipment as she curled up under a table for protection with Chakotay, afterwards realizing the planet would be their home. After a long day repairing the damage, Janeway complained about an ache in her shoulders. Chakotay offered to give her a massage, which she enjoyed until she realized it probably wasn't appropriate. She couldn't sleep that night, and when she attempted to "define parameters" about the two of them, Chakotay told what he called "an ancient legend among his people," about a warrior, and a woman warrior that he swore to protect. When he finished his story, Janeway asked if it was really a legend. He replied "No, but it made it easier to say."

When the two were cured and rescued, they agreed that certain things were to be left behind on the planet, and returned to their usual relationship. (VOY: "Resolutions")

In 2376, an error in Seven's processing abilities made her convince Chakotay that Janeway was out to get him, and Janeway that Chakotay was out to get her. When the ordeal was over, they had dinner, apologizing that Seven had a malfunction to blame, but they should have known each other better. (VOY: "The Voyager Conspiracy")

They remained great friends though, and even had weekly dinners together. Janeway lent Chakotay a copy of "Dante's Inferno" given to her by her fiance Mark Johnson, which she'd never lent to anyone. And when a past Janeway asked him about their relationship in the future, as he seemed to know so much about her, he simply replied "there are some barriers we never cross." (VOY: "Shattered")

B'Elanna Torres

Chakotay tries to get B'Elanna to tell him why she's been "trying to kill herself"

B'Elanna was Chakotay's Engineer (and unofficial first officer) aboard the Valjean, and the two had had a close working relationship for years.

After Captain Janeway destroyed the Caretaker's array, B'Elanna was the first to speak up that it wasn't her right to make that decision. But speaking as her commanding officer, he told her "She's the Captain." From then on Chakotay asked his entire crew to follow Janeway, and the Starfleet way, and initially the most hesitant and resistant to do this was B'Elanna. (VOY: "Caretaker")

One of the officers killed when Voyager came to the Delta Quadrant was the chief engineer, and although Joe Carey was next in line, Chakotay insisted that Janeway consider B'Elanna for the position. Although Janeway thought it was a long shot, he continued trying to convince her - and told B'Elanna that her behavior on the ship would have to be more acceptable if she wants the position. B'Elanna was thankful that Chakotay thought highly enough of her for it, and after proving herself to Janeway, B'Elanna got the job. (VOY: "Parallax")

B'Elanna didn't instantly become the perfect Starfleet officer though, and when ever she needed someone to blame for a rough patch in her life over the next several years, she'd go to Chakotay with a Starfleet-one-liner, from a Maquis perspective. (VOY: "Maneuvers", "Barge of the Dead")

The two occasionally played hoverball together on the holodeck, though he wasn't very good. On one occasion, she was beating him "19 to 7," but he claimed he was just lulling her into a false sense of security. (VOY: "Maneuvers")

In 2374 until early 2375, B'Elanna would go to the holodeck and play the most dangerous programs should could find with the safety protocols offline. This eventually impaired her ability to work, and although Janeway confined her to her quarters and took away her holodeck privileges, Chakotay took the time to stop by and ask her what was really bothering her. He even took her down to the holodeck, leading her to believe they'd play a simple program-- instead he forced her into a program where she was re-enacting the massacre of the maquis. He forced her to face her inner demons, and come to terms that they both wished they could have been there to help them fight, but that didn't mean she (nor he) didn't deserve to live. (VOY: "Extreme Risk")

When it was found that B'Elanna was pregnant, he initially came up to her jokingly "Is there something different? You seem to be glowing today." She immediately knew someone had told him. Chakotay was hoping to be the childs godfather, and even suggested several names - such as Taya, the feminine form of Chakotay. (VOY: "Lineage")

The Mimetic-Duplicate of Chakotay served as "Father of the Bride" during B'Elanna's and Tom Paris' wedding aboard the duplicate Voyager in 2375. (VOY: "Course: Oblivion")

Tom Paris

Chakotay knew Tom Paris before most of the other Starfleet crew of Voyager, from when Tom was in the Maquis. Chakotay originally saw Paris as a "mercenary, willing to fight for anyone willing to pay his bar bills."

They eventually came face to face, after the Caretaker had released them to their ships, and Chakotay beamed aboard Voyager. Although Chakotay was particularly angry at Paris (possibly added to by the fact he'd just found out that Tuvok was a spy) Janeway warned him to speak to Paris as he would have her speak to one of his crew. The two were able to come to terms enough to go down to the planet together, and when Chakotay broke his leg trying to escape, Paris went back to save him. Showing his ignorance about Native-American traditions, Paris told him "If I save you, your life belongs to me, right?" and tried to carry him over a staircase that was about to collapse. Being heavy, Paris also added "Can't you turn into a bird and fly us out of here?" The two eventually made it out safely, and Chakotay joked to the Captain when they returned that he'd be "Paris' personal body guard." (VOY: "Caretaker")

Romance

Seska

Seska once tried to artificially inseminate herself so she could have Chakotay's baby (without his knowledge), but it turned out to be Maje Cullahs. (VOY: "Basics, Part II")

In 2377 Voyager was fractured into over a dozen time periods, including the period when Seska took over the ship. She commented that the gray hair made him look 'distinguished', but when he ignored her advances, also added "too bad their mind starts to go." At which point she threatened to shoot him if he didn't get away from the console. (VOY: "Shattered")

Kellin

Chakotay and Kellin's brief love affair

Kellin, a Ramuran, whose society is closed, fell in love with Chakotay. If a Ramuran leaves the planet, they are hunted down and returned to the planet with the memories of those who they met erased from their minds. Those who they meet cannot hold their memories of contact with the Ramurans for more than a few hours once they leave. Kellin explains that she had visited Voyager previously and that she and Chakotay fell in love.

The Ramuran ships once again attack Voyager and an agent beams aboard to take Kellin back; he hits her with a transmitter and again wipes out her knowledge of Chakotay. As she leaves he write down in his log about her so he will not forget her. (VOY: "Unforgettable")

Seven of Nine

A picnic in the cargo bay

Seven of Nine and Chakotay got off to a rough start, initially he compared her to a story about a scorpion, and how she would betray them. He voiced his opinion to Captain Janeway that he didn't think bringing her on their journey was a good idea. (VOY: "Scorpion, Part II")

Chakotay convinced Seven to allow three former drones who were in her collective to remove their neural implants so they could live individually, even if it meant they would die within a month. Seven, due to a malfunction in her neural node, tried to convince Chakotay that Voyager was stranded in the Delta Quadrant on purpose to stage an invasion. He believed that he took part in a massacre of colonists. This was caused by a synaptic transmitter left behind on a planet as a reminder of the massacre. (VOY: "Survival Instinct", "The Voyager Conspiracy", "Memorial")

File:SevenChakotay2378.jpg

Seven of Nine and Chakotay share a private moment in 2378.

In early 2378, Chakotay and Seven began dating. On their third date, Seven prepared a picnic in cargo bay 2 for them, complete with wine. He described it as "perfection." Later, they had a private dinner in Chakotay's quarters. Seven transported in, saying she didn't think it would be seen as appropriate carrying flowers to the first officer's quarters. To avoid the uncomfortable anticipation of the first kiss, Seven figured it would be best if she got it over with. When Chakotay asked about the second kiss, she replied she'd have to check her research - but the two continued passionately, until being called to the bridge moments later. (VOY: "Endgame")

Chakotay and Seven subsequently break up in the relaunch novel series.

Alternate Chakotays

File:Chakotay, Author, author.jpg

The Bajoran Chakotay, "Katanay", from the Doctor's holonovel

File:Chakotays grave.jpg

Chakotay's grave

• Course: Oblivion

Holographic recreations

• Worst Case Scenario
• Living Witness
• Human Error
• Author, Author

Alternate timelines

In another timeline, Chakotay and Harry Kim flew the Delta Flyer to Earth after Voyager was destroyed due to a mistake of Harry's. Fifteen years later, as fugitives, they found Voyager and "fixed" history. (VOY: "Timeless")

Another seperate timeline was created when Captain Braxton, from the 29th century, placed a temporal disruptor aboard Voyager, creating several temporal distortions. At one point while Chakotay was giving a damage report to Captain Janeway, he passed through a temporal distortion, and appeared to echo - both his voice, and his appearance. (VOY: "Relativity")

In an alternate timeline, Chakotay married Seven of Nine, who later died on an away mission. He himself died in 2394, the same year as Voyager's return. (VOY: "Endgame")

In an alternate timeline expirienced by Kes, Chakotay was Captain of the USS Voyager after Captain Janeway and B'Elanna Tores were killed in by a chronoton torpedo in a Krenim attack.

Background

Chakotay was played by Robert Beltran during the course of the Voyager series. In VOY: "Tattoo," a younger Chakotay was played by Douglas Spain.

Although Chakotay was invariably referred to as "commander" during the run of this series, he wore the provisional rank insignia of a lieutenant commander. This is not contradictory, as it is accepted terminology to shorten the rank; however it is odd that no one ever mentioned his real rank, in full.

In TNG: "Preemptive Strike", the lieutenant commander Ro Laren refers to as her instructor at Starfleet Tactical Training in 2369/2370 and joined the Maquis, was intended by the producers as a reference to Chakotay. In fact, this fact is included in Ro Laren's biography at StarTrek.com. That intention was contradicted in VOY: "In the Flesh" where Chakotay stated that he resigned his commission on March 3, 2368.

Addendum: According to StarTrek.com's biography on Chakotay, he resigned his commission in 2370, but it also lists his father dying in 2370 (which sparks his resignation), and later in the same article that his father dies in 2371. It would seem that there is some confusion as to this.

Character Bible Description

The First Officer is a complex - some would say difficult - man. His background is unique: he spans two cultures, one foot in each, belonging to both and yet to neither. In the twenty-second century, a group of Indian traditionalists became dissatisfied with the "homogenization" of humans that was occurring on Earth. Strongly motivated to preserve their cultural identity, they relocated to a remote planet near what has now become known as the Demilitarized Zone.

Chakotay is a member of that Indian nation, but was always what his people call a "contrary;" he had a mind of his own, an individualistic rather than communal way of thinking. Though proud of his heritage and his traditions, he was not satisfied to ignore the galaxy around him - a galaxy teeming with diverse life-forms and amazing technology. He broke from his people, educated himself in the ways of the twenty-fourth century, and attended Starfleet Academy.

But he was "contrary" at the Academy, also, and found he had difficulty adhering to the rigid codes and rules. He was commissioned and posted to the Merrimac just after the end of the Cardassian wars. When he learned that his people were becoming victims of attack by Cardassians, he left Starfleet to defend them, joining the then-infant group, Maquis. Chakotay never gave up his practice of traditional rituals, and he preserves them aboard Voyager. In his quarters is an Indian altar and other traditional ritual items. One wall contains a version of traditional mural art. He visits the Holodeck where he has a "habak" program for the celebration of his people's ceremonial cycle.

As an adolescent, Chakotay pursued a vision quest, and in doing so obtained a "spirit guide" - a timber wolf - which appears to him now in dreams and visions, and often guides him in his decision-making process.

He has a reverence for all living things, and when he eats he offers thanks to the earth for providing food; he will not eat meat; he takes no drugs or alcohol.

As a leader he is steady, fearless, and capable of inspiring absolute devotion. Though he comes onto Voyager more by necessity than choice, he quickly wins the respect of even the most die-hard Starfleet veterans. He strikes an immediate and powerful bond with Janeway, and an unusual one with Kim, who through Chakotay's example begins to question his own homogenization and the loss of his traditional values.

Apocrypha

In the Voyager relaunch book series, Chakotay returns to Starfleet, and becomes captain of USS Voyager. It also shows his younger sister, Sekaya, who's become a spiritual leader of their tribe.

In the novel Pathways, it is stated that the Starfleet captain who sponsored Chakotay in applying to Starfleet Academy was Hiromi Sulu, the grandson of Hikaru Sulu and son of Demora Sulu, while in the short story Seduced from the anthology Tales from the Captain's Table, it is stated that it was Demora Sulu. That Chakotay referred to this Captain as a "he" is explained as a deliberate deception on Chakotay's part as he didn't believe that his father would have the same respect for a woman as he would for a man.