Kurt Bendera was a Maquis fighter who served on the raider the SS Zola under Chakotay until 2371. In 2371 the SS Zola and the USS Voyager were both stranded in the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker's array. The SS Zola was destroyed by ramming a Kazon warship while fighting the Kazon-Ogla, as a result the crew of the SS Zola, Bendera included, joined the crew of the USS Voyager as Starfleet personal and traveled on the USS Voyager on its historic trek home from the Delta Quadrant. (VGR: "Caretaker")
While Bendera was still in the Alpha Quadrant he was present when Chakotay was attacked by an angry group, who disagreed with Chakotay's sense of humour. Bendera, a complete stranger to Chakotay, backed him up and the two were friends afterwards. Bendera also once saved the life of B'Elanna Torres near the Cardassian border. (VOY : "Alliances")
Kurt Bendera was killed in 2372 while on duty in Engineering as the ship came under attack from the Kazon-Nistrim. (VOY : "Alliances")