Chakotay (Vanguard)

Chakotay was a Starfleet officer, most famous for his assignments to Federation starships USS Voyager and USS Livingston.

Early life
Chakotay was born on March 7th, 2329 on Solosos IV, to Kolopak and his mother Sayoona. Sayoona later left Chakotay and Kolopak when Chakotay was eleven and never returned. Chakotay was never interested in his father's spiritual beliefs while growing up, even more so when his father took him back to Earth for a hiking expedition to the jungles of South America in 2344. Chakotay recieved news before the trip that his application to Starfleet Academy would be sponsored by Captain Hikaru Sulu. Kolopak was not happy with his son's decision and it drove a wedge between them for years.

Chakotay arrived in San Francisco in September 2344. He was assigned quarters at Starfleet Academy with Cadet Matthew MacTavish and the two became close friends. Chakotay was serious about the Academy and studied hard for every exam in all of his classes. Chakotay made the academic list at the Academy every year he attended. Chakotay later graduated from the Academy along with MacTavish in 2348 with honors in quantum mechanics, engineering, micro-dynamics and warp propulsion theory.

Starfleet career
After graduation, Chakotay was assigned to the USS Merrimack with the rank of Ensign in the command division. Chakotay was in charge of maintaining the ship's environmental systems. Chakotay was happy to learn that Ensign MacTavish had also been assigned to the ship with him. On one of their first missions, Chakotay and MacTavish had to head down to planet Beta Gigah VII to collect plant specimens, since they were needed for an antidote on a Federation colony. On the planet, a group of dangerous Romulans were waiting for Starfleet officers to beam down, laying a trap for Chakotay and MacTavish. They were both captured. Chakotay, remembering his Academy fighting and boxing training, broke one of the Romulan's arms and tapped his combadge for two the beam up. The Merrimack was able to leave at maximum warp. For saving the planet with the plant specimen and thus saving an entire species, Chakotay and MacTavish were both promoted to lieutenant junior grade.

Chakotay spent the next several years on the Merrimack before transferring to the USS Ajax in 2355. He and MacTavish both parted ways after MacTavish recieved a promotion to Lieutenant and was assigned as a junior engineer on the USS Melbourne the following year. During his time on the Ajax, Chakotay saved himself and the entire crew from certain death when he ejected the warp core from the ship. Radiation poisioning had flooded the ship and Chakotay was the only one conscious. For this action, Chakotay was awarded the Starfleet Medal of Honor and a promotion to Commander. He was named first officer of the USS Livingston in 2358, under the command of Captain Grady Howard.

Assignment aboard the Livingston
Chakotay assumed his first officer duties on stardate 35012.8. For the first few years of the Livingston's voyage, the ship encountered many different species, both new and old. About five years into the voyage, the ship recieved a new crewman, Andrew Richardson in 2362. After picking up Richardson, the Livingston discovered the planet Faki. Chakotay, eager to discover this new planet, volunteered to lead the away team. Captain Howard agreed and had Crewman Richardson accompany him. Unknown the crew at the time, the planet's atmosphere made the Human mind extremely delusional. The instant Chakotay and Richardson beamed down, Richardson started chasing Chakotay through the lush forest. Chakotay, remembering the mind techniques his father had taught him when he was a child helped him to supress the delusions in his brain. Eventually, Chakotay was able to defeat Richardson in hand-to-hand combat and the two returned to the Livingston. In 2365, after seven years of exploring, the Livingston returned to Earth. The ship was overhauled with the latest Starfleet technology and was ready for launch two years later. In 2367, the Livingston was assigned to head out for another long-term exploration mission. Captain Howard and most of the senior staff returned, including Chakotay. Howard had the ship head out for Deep Space 7 to pick up supplies, to drop off and pick up crewmembers. While there, the ship recieved a new crewmember, Crewman Deon Bennett. The Livingston then headed out for a six year mission of exploration of the galaxy. Three weeks into the ship's journey, the Livingston encountered a Klingon scout vessel. Chakotay assumed that it posed no threat to the ship, so he had Crewman Bennett tow the ship with a tractor beam. However, it was revealed to be a trap and the ship was disabled by a neutrino blast. Thirteen Klingons beamed on the ship and took various positions on important decks. Chakotay orded Crewman Bennett to crawl inside a Jeffries tube hidden behind a bridge console. Bennett was able to get inside just before J'Kos, the Klingon captain, arrived on the bridge with two Klingons for personal guards. Bennett, who fortunately diagrams of the Livingston was able to find an access panel containing warp plasma conduits. Chakotay meanwhile was being beaten by the Klingons. Just as J'Kos ordered Chakotay's death by Klingon disruptor, the bridge's consoles exploded, giving the crew an upper hand. Captain Howard punched J'Kos and Chakotay was able to overpower the two guards. The Klingons were sent to a Federation rehabilitation colony, where they would be released by 2375.

In 2368, Chakotay was commanding the Livingston during the night shift when he recieved a personal message from Solosos IV. His father, Kolopak, had been murdered by Cardasssians while defending his home planet. Chakotay was emotionally devastated and right at that moment decided to turn against Starfleet and join the growing resistance of Humans against the Cardassians, a group called "The Maquis". Chakotay talked with his close friend, chief engineer of the Livingston, Lieutenant MacTavish, about his decision. MacTavish tried to talk him out of it, but Chakotay wouldn't listen. Chakotay wrote up his resignation from Starfleet and caught the next transport to Earth to officially resign to Admiral Namimby. Chakotay was succeded in his role by acting first officer Lieutenant William Yal, who was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and officially became first officer the following year.

The Maquis
Chakotay's first few months in the Maquis were turbulent, to say the least. The Maquis had no command structure and their attacks against the Cardassians were weak and uncoordinated. Chakotay took the Maquis and changed them into a formidable threat. However, in 2369, Starfleet became aware of the threat of the Maquis and began to hunt them. Chakotay and his Maquis cell barely escaped capture by the USS Enterprise-D. Realizing he needed help to evade Starfleet, Chakotay contacted Lieutenant MacTavish on the Livingston for Federation information. MacTavish, at first, refused, but was swayed by his twenty-five year friendship to Chakotay. However, a few months later, Captain Howard discovered MacTavish's encoded transmissions to Chakotay and he was arrested. Chakotay continued to attack the Cardassians and in 2370, he seized a small shuttle, the Val Jean from Starbase 47 for use in the Maquis. During the same year, a half-Klingon, half-Human woman named B'Elanna Torres met Chakotay when he saved her life from the Cardassians. She joined his cell and the two became friends. During the next year, in 2371, a Vulcan named Tuvok also joined Chakotay's growing group of Maquis. Shortly after picking up Tuvok, the Val Jean was intercepted by the Cardassian vessel, the Vetar. The Vetar chased the Val Jean all the way to the Badlands. The Vetar was hit by a plasma storm and was unable to pursue the Val Jean. Chakotay decided to begin repairs, however, the ship was scanned by a coherent tetryon beam and was transported to the Delta Quadrant, 70,000 light years away.

First officer of Voyager
Chakotay and his crew were taken aboard the Caretaker's array, where each of the crew were scanned, to see if they were compatible to procreate with the Caretaker. None of Chakotay's crew were compatible, save for his chief engineer, B'Elanna Torres. She was kidnapped and sent to Ocampa, a desert-like planet located near the array. Soon after, the Federation starship Voyager was brought to the Delta Quadrant in the same way. The crew of Voyager was experimented on in the same way and a crewmember from that ship was also kidnapped and brought to Ocampa, Ensign Harry Kim. Chakotay was hailed by the CO of Voyager, Captain Kathryn Janeway. The two crews worked together to try and find their missing crewmates. Eventually, after recieving help from a local alien named Neelix, Voyager was able to located Torres and Kim. Tuvok later revealed to Chakotay that he was a Starfleet officer and was working undercover to bring Chakotay to justice. Chakotay was dismayed at this, but was more furious that a former Maquis, named Tom Paris, helped Voyager track down Chakotay and his cell. Janeway later beamed aboad the array and asked the Caretaker for his help to return Voyager back to Federation space. The Caretaker was unable to and asked Janeway to destroy the array, so it would not fall into the hands of the Kazon, a ruthless Delta Quadrant species, who would use the array to annihilate the Ocampa, a species the Caretaker was protecting. Janeway respected his wishes and destroyed the array, stranding Voyager seventy years from Earth. Since the original XO of Voyager, Lieutenant Commander Aaron Cavit was killed when the ship was pulled into the Delta Quadrant, Chakotay was granted the provisional rank of Commander and replaced him.

During Chakotay's seven years as the ship's XO, he had seen the ship through countless battles with the Kazon, the Viidians, the Hirogen and the Borg. He had met an actual decendant of the Sky Spirits in 2372 and many other adventures. During one day in 2376, Chakotay recieved a letter from Captain Grady Howard, via the Pathfinder Project. He revealed that Chakotay's best friend, SCPO Matthew MacTavish had been killed in the line of duty. Chakotay was distraught at this news and was in a daze for the rest of the week. Chakotay later laid out his medicine bundle and prayed to his father's spirit to watch over MacTavish as his soul entered the afterlife. Two years later, in 2378, Chakotay fell in love with the ship's chief astrometrics officer, Seven of Nine. During this time, a future version of Captain Janeway from the year 2404 helped Voyager return to Earth much earlier than it was supposed to. When Voyager entered orbit of Earth, Chakotay was greeted by his old Captain, Grady Howard. After Chakotay's first week back on Earth, the Federation council decided to clear Chakotay and his surviving Maquis crew of all the charges they orignally faced in 2371 and Chakotay's Starfleet commission was reinstated with the rank of Captain and he was given command of Voyager. Before Chakotay began his new mission, he decided to build a home in South America in 2379. He enlisted the aid of former Starfleet officer and architect Deon Bennett, to build him and Seven a house. Chakotay hand picked his new crew of Voyager, selecting Lieutenant Commander Tom Paris as his first officer, Lieutenant Commander B'Elanna Torres as his chief engineer, The Doctor as chief medical officer and Lieutenant Harry Kim as his chief tactical officer.