Chakotay
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This article or section requires an update. |
Commander Chakotay (2377) | |
| Gender: | Male |
| Species: | Human |
| Affiliation: | Federation Star Fleet Maquis |
| Rank: | Commander (provisional) |
| Occupation: | First officer |
| Serial number: | 47-alpha-612 |
| Status: | Active (2378) |
| Born: | 2329 |
| Father: | Kolopak |
Commander Chakotay (2371) | |
- You may be looking for Admiral Chekote of Star Fleet Command.
Chakotay was a 24th century Star Fleet officer and former Maquis member, best known as first officer under Captain Kathryn Janeway aboard the USS Voyager.
In 2371, while Star Fleet was trying to capture him in the Badlands, he and his Maquis crew were pulled into the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker's array and forced to merge with the crew of the Voyager during its seven-year journey home. Before serving as Voyager's first officer, he had resigned Star Fleet after years of service in order to join the Maquis to defend his home colony.
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Early Life and Family
Chakotay was born in 2329 on a Federation colony near the Cardassian Demilitarized Zone, where he was raised by his father, Kolopak. Chakotay also had a mother, who routinely got a sore neck, which he used to massage. Chakotay had a sister and a cousin who lived in Ohio. During an incident in 2373 that took the USS Voyager to late 20th century Earth, Chakotay mentioned he knew of an ancestor who worked as a school teacher in Arizona.
Being of Mayan, Native American descent, Chakotay's tribe - mainly because of the intrusion of more technological societies - left Earth a few hundred years ago 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 to 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 about his father's connection to their ancestral lands and spirits, leaving Kolopak rather disappointed about his son's lack of enthusiasm about their ways. During their quest, Chakotay, who was fifteen years old and his sights already set on Star Fleet, shocked his father by telling him he would be leaving the tribe to enter Star Fleet 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.
Chakotay and his father were not on good terms when Kolopak was killed while defending his colony against Cardassians. When the news reached Chakotay, he was unsure about how to reconcile their differences and heal their old wounds. He finally resigned from Star Fleet to join the Maquis and defend his home colony, continuing the fight in his father's name. It was then that he took the mark, his 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.
The Pakra is the name of the solitary ritual by which Chakotay commemorates the anniversary of Kolopak's death. On stardate 49005.3, Captain Janeway granted him the use of a shuttlecraft so he could perform the ritual in private.
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.
Career
Star Fleet Academy
Chakotay's entry into Star Fleet Academy, at the age of fifteen, was sponsored by Captain Sulu.
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.
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." His personal trainer was Academy groundsman Boothby.
Star Fleet officer
Chakotay graduated in 2348, and went on to serve aboard a Star Fleet 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.
Another of his earlier missions was serving aboard a starship that made first contact with the Tarkannans.
On another occasion he beamed down to a planet and the pattern buffer malfunctioned, misreading his Star Fleet uniform. When he rematerialized all he had was his combadge.
Once while serving in Star Fleet, he learned to communicate with a "Terrelian seapod," something normally thought very difficult to communicate with.
The Maquis
Chakotay resigned from his position as an instructor in Star Fleet's Advanced Tactical Training to join the Maquis, sparked by his father's death fighting Cardassians on the tribe's homeworld along the Demilitarized Zone. He gave his resignation to Admiral Namimby on March 3, 2368 to join the Maquis.
After his father was killed in 2368, 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. He was one of the Maquis who was in the fight for principle, not mercenary gain or violent outlet. 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
While trying to escape from a Cardassian warship piloted by Gul Evek in the Badlands, Chakotay and his crew, including B'Elanna Torres and Tuvok - Captain Janeway's security chief working undercover as a Maquis - were transported to the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker's array. In an attempt to locate the disappeared Maquis ship, Voyager followed them into the Badlands and was also transported to the Delta Quadrant shortly after.
Being alone, in an uncharted part of the galaxy, Chakotay agreed to cooperate with Janeway, when both of their crews were subjected to medical testing by the Caretaker, and were missing crewmembers as a result. The crewmembers were eventually found and the Caretaker's Array destroyed so it would not fall into the hands of the ruthless Kazon. Chakotay crashed his ship, the Val Jean, into a Kazon carrier vessel in order to protect Voyager while it destroyed the Array. Following the destruction of his ship in the Delta Quadrant, Chakotay and his crew joined Voyagers crew as one Star Fleet crew in order to find a way home. He was granted the provisional rank of Commander and became Voyagers second in command. He accepted Kathryn Janeway as Captain, embraced Star Fleet ways and expected his Maquis crew to do the same with devotion and respect.
On one of the first away missions of the new Voyager crew, Chakotay discovered a race called the Vidiians. Chakotay agreed to take Neelix on the away mission, who was then attacked by the aliens who used a medical device to remove his lungs. He helped capture one of the aliens who in turn used their advanced medical technology to adapt one of Kes' lungs for transplantation into Neelix.
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 apparently rendered brain dead, forcing the Doctor to use artificial means to keep his body alive. In reality, however, his neural energy had been extracted, turning him into a disembodied spirit, while Tuvok - who had been in the shuttlecraft with him - was possessed by the Komar in an attempt to steal the crew's neural energy. Although Chakotay soon learned how to control others in order to prevent the crew being attacked by the Komar, his actions were initially taken as being the actions of a hostile entity trying to sabotage the ship. However, when Tuvok's possessed status was revealed, his presence was confirmed when he ejected the warp core after having occupied B'Elanna's body: she lacked the authority to eject the core by herself, but, as first officer, Chakotay possessed the required command codes. With his presence confirmed, he subsequently used a medicine wheel that B'Elanna had placed in sickbay to provide the crew with a map out of the nebula, the Doctor later developing a treatment that returned his mind to his body. Even in a disembodied condition he was able to help Voyager.
He lead the rescue attempt of Tom Paris and Torres who had been captured by the Vidiians, and he attempted 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, and disappeared. Eventually, they would be saved by the Doctor.
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 off-line and that he needed to return to sickbay so that his matrix could be adjusted.
Later that year, Voyager was attacked by a swarm of space-dwelling aliens whose energy played havoc with Voyager's 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.
Chakotay was a man of great moral conviction and courage and served Janeway well as First Officer - eventually being able to forge a meaningful friendship with her; his loyalty never wavered and he helped keep the peace and establish cooperation and a positive rapport between his Maquis crew and the Star Fleet crew; he even threatened to throw Seska and Jarvin into the brig when they said they would support him in a mutiny. When Tuvok wished to train a group of Maquis in order to bring them up to Star Fleet standards, Chakotay forcefully persuaded them after they initially resisted and wanted to do things "the Maquis way". Despite his attempts to stay as neutral and objective as possible when it came to the merged crew, he sometimes felt the need to stand up for some of his former Maquis crew members, knowing that if he didn't stand up for them, no one else would. He, for example, recommended a hot tempered B'Elanna Torres as chief engineer and was willing, against all odds, to give Seska the benefit of the doubt when she was accused of secretly collaborating with the enemy
However, Chakotay also had his share of personal disappointments after joining Voyager: he found out that Tuvok was a Federation spy and actually Captain Janeway's security chief sent to infiltrate his crew, Seska, his lover, was revealed to be a Cardassian spy who had begun to secretly collaborate with and sell Federation technology to the Kazon, and he had to deal with Tom Paris, a person he not only did not got along with, but whom he actually considered to be nothing but a mercenary willing to sell out to the highest bidder; a sentiment that changed greatly after Paris saved his life on Ocampa and as the crew moved forward and gradually grew closer.
2372
When Captain Janeway became disabled during the confrontation with the Botha - a species that projected 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 Kes' telepathic powers were able to block the hallucinations.
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.
Chakotay and Janeway were infected with an incurable virus that necessitated them being left on a planet whose environment blocked the progression of the disease. During their time together, they drew closer and the first signs of affection between the two began to manifest. After an antidote was found for the disease and they returned to the ship, they reverted back to and maintained a professional relationship.
2373
Chakotay became involved in the Distant Origin Theory controversy between the Voth. Forra Gegen, a leading Voth scientist, believed that the Voth were descended from a species in a different part of the galaxy. The official interpretation on the planet was that the Voth were the first beings to evolve into intelligent beings in the galaxy. After finding the bones of a Voyager crewmember, he believed that he had evidence of his theory. He discovered Voyager, and, using a cloaked device, boarded the ship. After Chakotay discovered him, Gegen explained his presence. The Doctor determined that the Voth had evolved from the dinosaurs on Earth. When the evidence was presented to the Voth council, Chakotay stood with him to support his evidence. The council rejected it and threatened to imprison Chakotay and the rest of the Voyager crew, unless Gegen publicly disavowed his theory, which he did.
Later that year, Voyager encountered the Nyrians, a race that used a translocation system that transported them on Voyager while sending the crew to a prison environment system on their planet. After Janeway was captured, Chakotay, took command and tried to stop the aliens. They were able to escape when they accessed the translocation device.
Chakotay's holodeck image became a central figure in a Tuvok-written holoprogram about a Maquis-led mutiny. The program was accessed by Seska before she left the ship and almost destroyed Voyager.
2374-2375
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. They used scenarios of innocent Vori being killed and tortured. He became so embittered that he turned into a killing machine. He was rescued by Tuvok.
He and the crew were used in medical experiments by the Srivani, and helped Neelix regain a purpose for his existence. Neelix was almost killed in an accident and when he was brought back to life, he questioned his beliefs in the afterlife, and the meaning of life itself.
Chakotay saved Voyager from the Dream species, whose dream state was their reality. They had caused the crew to remain in a dream state while they were attempting to destroy the ship. Chakotay used a stimulant to stay awake until he found a large transmitter responsible for the dream state. He told The Doctor to deploy a torpedo at the cavern, and the alien leader was forced to neutralize the transmitter, which woke the crew and freed them from alien control.
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. They had assumed various identities of Star Fleet officers. He became romantically involved with one of the aliens who had assumed the identity of a Star Fleet Lieutenant Commander named Valerie Archer. After helping to broker a truce with Species 8472, he kissed her good-bye. He also encountered aliens when Voyager became trapped in chaotic space. Chakotay saw the faces of his friends as the aliens who told him how to guide the ship out of chaotic space before it was destroyed by the anomaly.
He lead an away team in an attempt to stop a Malon export vessel from exploding and spreading radiation into space.
2376
Chakotay helped defeat the Vaadwaur, who were revived from stasis after hundreds of years. He was leery of awakening them, calling them Dragon's Teeth and telling Janeway about an old Greek story about a dragon killed in battle whose teeth fell to the ground only to spring up as full-grown warriors to continue fighting.
Seven overloaded her Human brain trying to download too much information at once and became delusional about possible conspiracies aboard the ship. Chakotay and Janeway almost came into conflict as Seven had told them two competing conspiracy theories.
Chakotay suffered from violent dreams that put him in the middle of an massacre that killed innocent civilians and about the cover-up that followed after an away mission. This was a result of a synaptic transmitter in a structure on the planet that sent neurogenic pulses that caused memories of the massacre to be implanted on anyone who came near the structure. It was a memorial to the victims and a reminder to never let such a massacre happen again.
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. Assuming an identity of Amal Kotay, 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. In the Quarren Power Plant, Chakotay displayed expertise in thermionic conversion, but it was revealed he had only moderate knowledge of microkinetics.
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.
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 twenty-three 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.
The Kazon
Chakotay became one of the central figures in the conflict with the Kazon. One of the first encounters took place during the time he was performing the Pakra, a ritual to honor his father's death. A young Kazon, Kar, who was being initiated as a warrior, attacked him while he was alone in the shuttle craft performing the ceremony. 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 not be as lenient and kill him. His next meeting with the Kazon also was a reunion with Seska, who had defected to the Kazon-Nistrim, led by Maje 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 shortly thereafter, Seska told him that she had extracted his DNA and impregnated herself with it.
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 and others in the quadrant. This failed when the Trabe, the Kazon's enemies, under the guise of cooperation, attempted to assassinate the leaders at the conference and otherwise didn't show much interest for diplomacy and building coalitions. 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. Conflicted as to whether he should accept this child into his heart and life given that it was conceived against his will and through deception, he sought the wisdom of his father through a vision quest. In his vision, his father appeared to him saying that the child knows nothing of deception, that it is innocent and that Chakotay must accept him just as centuries ago his ancestors accepted the children of the white conquerors who had forced themselves upon their women; one of whom was a direct ancestor of theirs. Chakotay recognized the wisdom in his father's words and decided to go find his son. Although Seska was not trustworthy, Janeway agreed to try and help him. It was a trap, however, and Voyager ended up being captured, and the crew stranded on a barren planet with nothing to survive on while the Kazon took the ship and left. Chakotay's knowledge of nature and his Maquis training helped the crew survive. He rescued Kes from the primitive tribe that inhabited the planet. He also helped the crew to elude an enormous eel-like creature that lived inside a cave that they sought shelter in by sealing off the opening as they exited. He also won the friendship of the tribe when he saved one of them from a lava flow. The crew was eventually rescued by Paris, the Doctor and Lon Suder and returned back to Voyager to resume their course home.
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 time ship.
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 calculations 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
In 2373, he encountered a group of former Borg 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 beneficial when later that year, Voyager formed an alliance with the Borg. In exchange for right of passage through Borg Space, Voyager would help them fight Species 8472 who was destroying the Borg. Chakotay was against the alliances, fearing that once their enemy was defeated, the Borg would assimilate Voyager. After Species 8472 was defeated, the Borg broke the agreement and attempted to assimilate the crew. Chakotay used his neural link ability to sever Seven of Nine, a borg drone, from the collective, thus allowing Voyager to escape assimilation by the Borg.
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.
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 mysterious illness. With the aid of Seven, he was rescued.
He helped save Borg drones who had become aware of their humanoid existence during Unimatrix Zero. He had his hand in saving the drones from the Borg Queen, but this action also started a civil war in the collective.
Personal interests
Chakotay didn't use the holodeck often, but enjoyed reading instead.
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.
Foods
Chakotay was a vegetarian; one of his favorite meals was mushroom soup. Some foods he hated were carrots and fried food (because it upset his stomach), and he refused to eat pudding because he thought "it's slimy."
Chakotay preferred 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 cargo bay 2.
Anthropology and Paleontology
One of the many reasons he joined Star Fleet was to pursue his interests in anthropology and paleontology. He was fascinated by 20th century Earth during Voyager's visit there in 2373 (1996), and said that if they were trapped there, maybe he'd become an anthropologist. Once, he considered becoming a paleontologist as well.
While serving in Star Fleet, he visited a tomb excavation on Ktaria VII.
In 2373, while examining the Distant Origin Theory, Chakotay suggested that the Voth might have evolved on an isolated continent on Earth and that natural disasters could have buried the evidence under water or rocks.
In 2375, while the telepathic pitcher plant made 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 Star Fleet Academy.
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 his ship in 2376, he was more than eager to salvage the craft when he'd found it intact. Too eager in fact - he injured himself and damaged the Flyer in his attempts to claim the craft before leaving the graviton ellipse it was caught in. 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. As a result, Seven played several of Kelly's logs that were left active when she beamed aboard. He was able to use his skills and knowledge of paleontology in the search.
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."
In 2377, Seven and Chakotay were trapped together again, this time on a world inhabited by the primitive "Ventu", who Chakotay was fascinated with. His interest in anthropology helped him to understand their culture, and he even learned many of the phrases in their sign language.
He told renowned Voth molecular paleontologist Forra Gegen he was a scientist too, and spoke of years studying science alongside navigation and starships to Kar.
Boxing
Since his time at Star Fleet Academy, Chakotay was a fan of boxing. While there, the legendary Boothby helped him train. He occasionally ran a program on the holodeck where he would box a Terrellian with Boothby's 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.
He was also a fan of professional sumo wrestling, once getting into an argument about the 77th Emperor's Cup.
In 2376, 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 warrior's skills and instinct.
Personal relationships
Chakotay had many personal relationships among the crews of both the Val Jean and Voyager. On his Maquis ship, people were very informal, so he got to know his crew very well. 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 Jarvin, who once suggested he would support Chakotay if he wanted to mutiny against Captain Janeway. Chakotay told him that if he ever heard him talk like that again, he would throw him in the brig. Also, Kenneth Dalby once disrespected Tuvok after he was subjected to learning Star Fleet protocol from him by walking out of his lesson. Dalby told Chakotay that there was the Star Fleet way and the Maquis way and would choose the Maquis way. Suddenly, Chakotay punched him, knocking him out of his chair, saying that was the way the Maquis handled situations.
Friends
Kathryn Janeway
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 Star Fleet regulations were too rigid to survive alone. He urged her to seek alliances with other sects of the Kazon.
Chakotay wanted to assist a group of former Borg drones establish a link with another group to stop fighting between the groups. Janeway refused 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.
When Janeway tried to carry out a Star Fleet directive called the Omega Directive in secret, he persuaded her to brief the crew on the mission so it could be accomplished.
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 crewman and told Janeway she had crossed the line. Janeway relieved him of duty.
But the two eventually settle their differences, after Ransom 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 ship's 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."
Chakotay's relationship with Kathryn Janeway wasn't always controversial. Early in their voyage home, he showed her how to talk to her "animal guide," and showed her his private medicine bundle.
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 its 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, afterward 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.
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.
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 fiancé Mark Johnson, which she'd never lent to anyone. 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."
B'Elanna Torres
B'Elanna Torres was Chakotay's engineer (and unofficial first officer) aboard the Val Jean, and the two had had a close working relationship for years.
After Captain Janeway destroyed the Caretaker's array, Torres 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 Star Fleet way, and initially the most hesitant and resistant to do this was Torres.
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 Torres for the position. Although Janeway thought it was a long shot, he continued trying to convince her – and told Torres that her behavior on the ship would have to be more acceptable if she wanted the position. Torres was thankful that Chakotay thought highly enough of her for it, and after proving herself to Janeway, Torres got the job.
Torres didn't instantly become the perfect Star Fleet 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 Star Fleet-one-liner, from a Maquis perspective.
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.
In 2374 until early 2375, Torres went to the holodeck and played the most dangerous programs she could find with the safety protocols off line. 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 (or he) didn't deserve to live.
When it was found that Torres 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 child's godfather, and even suggested several names – such as Taya, the feminine form of Chakotay.
Tom Paris
Chakotay knew Tom Paris before most of the other Star Fleet crew of Voyager, from when Paris 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."
In 2372, Paris pretended to have some animosity towards Chakotay in order to expose a traitor on board Voyager. During this time, he set up a gambling operation which Chakotay broke up and he forcefully pushed Chakotay to the floor of the bridge. He also loudly expressed his negative opinion on Chakotay's role as first officer in Voyager's mess hall to many crewmembers. The two later set aside their differences after Chakotay was told about Paris' true intentions.
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 Culluh's child.
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.
Kellin
Kellin, a Ramuran, whose society is closed, fell in love with Chakotay. If a Ramuran left the planet, they were hunted down and returned to the planet with the memories of those who they met erased from their minds. Those who they met couldn't hold their memories of contact with the Ramurans for more than a few hours once they left. Kellin explained that she had visited Voyager previously and that she and Chakotay fell in love.
The Ramuran ships once again attacked Voyager and an agent beamed aboard to take Kellin back; he hit her with a transmitter and again wiped out her knowledge of Chakotay. As she left, he recorded memories of her in his log, so they wouldn't be forgotten.
Seven of Nine
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.
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.
In 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.
Alternate realities and 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.
Another separate 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.
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. He had a grave marker at a cemetery on Earth, so it is possible he may have survived at least long enough to make it home.
In an alternate timeline experienced by Kes, Chakotay was Captain of the USS Voyager after Captain Janeway and B'Elanna Torres were killed by a chronoton torpedo in a Krenim attack.
