Alternate Voyager – The Bridge

This week in Alternate Voyager, we continue to breakdown what our version of the crew would be like. This entry focuses on the bridge crew. A major element of Alternate Voyager is how divided the Maquis and Federation officers are when the series begins. The bridge is mostly held by the Federation, and the attitudes and characterization of it’s members have a lot to do with the tenuous situation they’re forced into. Another notable difference is that the bridge crew basically serves only on the bridge. They don’t use shuttle pods or go on away missions unless there’s a special reason. They make the big decisions and manage the daily running of the ship. The exception is Tuvok and Ayala, whose responsibilities include commanding away missions.

Captain Katheryn Janeway
Alternate Janeway isn’t too much different from her original counterpart. She’ll be a little younger, (and Chakotay a little older) which adds another layer to their initial rivalry. Previous to being flung into the Delta Quadrant Janeway had spent a few years assigned to dealing with The Maquis and other decidedly un-scientific pursuits. Janeway identifies herself as a scientist more than anything else, and her experiences in the last few years have been difficult. One of the reasons her friendship and bond with Tuvok is so strong is because she privately depends on him in a lot of ways. She longs to return to what she considers her real business- exploration and learning. In the beginning of our series she might be considered an idealist, trusting that the values of the Federation can help bring the crews together in an effort to find a way home. Even though she becomes more tenacious and pragmatic as the series continues, her idealism is not a weakness, but something that makes it possible for her to accomplish the new mission successfully and lead Voyager rather than succumbing to base survival tactics.

Chakotay
Our version of Chakotay is a little more charged up. He has an inner peace that he returns to and is centered by, but his sense of justice has a sharper edge to it. It’s one of the reasons he defected from Starfleet in the middle of a successful career and joined the Maquis. Chokotay is also a particularly skilled tactician, often coming up with creative solutions in combat. He and Tuvok respect each other because of this quality. Chakotay doesn’t really even hold Tuvok’s spying on the Maquis against him. Another detail: he’s an excellent hand-to-hand fighter, as good as Tuvok even though he doesn’t have Vulcan strength. Our Chakotay is a hero to his Maquis crew, and he has a much more combative relationship with Janeway. In fact the two of them engage in some secretive and manipulative tactics to ensure their influence on Voyager for the first few episodes. The dangers of being stranded in the Delta Quadrant and the noble quality of those involved eventually bring Chakotay and Janeway to trust each other, but it’s a longer road in our Voyager.

Lt. Commander Tuvok
As regular readers of LWST are probably already aware, we love Tuvok, so our version won’t be that much different. One tweak is that he uses logic and skills of perception to understand the emotions of others, and is able to incorporate the emotional needs of other crew members into his interactions and strategies rather than being dumbfounded by illogical behavior the way some Vulcans can. The Maquis pin a lot of their anger about the Federation on Tuvok because he was a spy that they considered one of their own. In fact most of the Maquis dislike Tuvok more than Janeway or any other Starfleet officer. Tuvok also doesn’t think that Janeway made the right decision in allowing the two crews to integrate. We’ll also go further in our emphasis on Tuvok as Janeway’s right hand officer and confidant. All of her most important decisions are discussed privately with Tuvok.

Lt. Kestra Stadi
A Betazoid Flight Control Officer. In the original Voyager she dies in the premiere, but she survives in our version, remaining at the ships helm (That’s right, Paris isn’t at helm). Stadi is unlike other Betazoid characters. Other crewmen sometimes describe her as aloof. This is mostly because she doesn’t care what people think of her. She strives to be honorable and compassionate but has no interest in whether or not anyone knows. Her ability to sense other’s thoughts make her feel like an observer of the crew, but they also allow her to manipulate people when she chooses. Stadi and Tuvok have a mutual admiration for each other and often eat together in the mess hall. If Chakotay or Tuvok are not present she has command of the bridge. Also, when someone is on the view screen, or in any way not physically present, she can’t read their thoughts, because c’mon.

Tarik Ayala
Engineering Liaison to the Bridge. Ayala is a trusted friend of Chakotay and someone that Chakotay insisted have a presence on the bridge. He also commands away missions with Tuvok. He has the equivalent rank of Lieutenant and is fifth in line to command the bridge. He never served in Starfleet and Ayala has a little difficulty adjusting to the operating procedures on Voyager, but his loyalty to Chakotay motivates him to excel and set an example for the rest of the Maquis. He usually favors more aggressive actions but is never insubordinate to Chakotay. He doesn’t have as much of a problem with the Federation as some other Maquis, particularly B’Elanna, and previous to being stuck on Voyager didn’t get along with B’Elanna at all.

Lt. Susan Nicoletti
We’re moving a (very) minor character that was originally in Engineering over to the science division. In fact Nicoletti is Alternate Voyager’s Chief Science Officer and is usually at the Science station on the bridge. Ensign Wildman and Lt. Jr. Grade Ashmore both report to Nicoletti. (More on them next week) One of Nicoletti’s duties in the first season is to oversee The Doctor’s performance and ensure that he’s able to meet the heightened requirements. She has a wry sense of humor and enjoys her time trading barbs with the Doctor in the sick bay. Along with Kes, Nicoletti is one of the first people to recognize The Doctor’s sentience.

Ensign Harry Kim
Stationed at Ops, just like in the real Voyager series. In our version Ensign Kim is one of the youngest members of the crew, but his attitude is a lot different from the original Kim. Harry is still very smart but green, but he’s also a little more ambitious, and is flush with the excitement of just being in starfleet. In fact being flung into the Delta quadrant is secretly exciting to him. He views this as an adventure to test his mettle. We’ll really play him a bit younger than he ever seemed in the original Voyager. For instance he doesn’t like Paris at all for most of the first season, but they end up bonding over their enthusiasm for women. Kim is also fiercely loyal to Janeway. She represents the Federation to him, and when the Maquis threaten that image it angers him.

Next week in Alternate Voyager: The last crew entry before we start discussing the plot of our first season. See what our version of The Doctor, Paris, Kes, and Neelix will be like…