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Rescued from the Kazon by Voyager and Neelix, Kes becomes an adviser and medic aboard Voyager. Kes is instrumental in giving The Doctor addition freedoms while improving his social skills. Living only 9 years, Kes observes all of the challenges of life in a short span. Kes possess unusual, and often understood, mental abilities and powers.

Portrayed By: Jennifer Lien

Position/Role: Medical Assistant

Race: Occampan

Duration: Seasons 1-3; 6 (one appearance)

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Kes has already begun to develop her abilities, pursuing a full-fledged medical training course with the EMH Doctor and studying Vulcan mental disciplines with Tuvok. She has already led the ship into a disappointing rendezvous with the "female Caretaker" Susporia and a renegade Ocampa colony of advanced yet malevolent brethren, who almost allowed her to lose control of her new powers and kill her Vulcan friend. Kes' medical training has advanced so far that she can now handle away team medical duties, a welcome relief for the holographic doctor. She also helps Neelix in the kitchen and handles the airponics bay gardening.

She had first met Neelix when he stole water from the Kazon-Ogla to bring to her, and now absolutely adores him, standing by in his times of crisis; while doing all she could to discourage his jealous streak she was baffled when he and his perceived rival Paris came back old pals from birthing a reptilloid infant, and was even fearful to tell him that she and the Doctor were married in his holo-program malfunction. She has indeed developed a close friendship with the Doctor, whose medical teaching is repaid in a way by her encouragement on the road to his increasingly human programming - including hints about bedside manner, raising his level of respect by the rest of the crew, and a joint effort with Paris to get him and Vidiian Dr. Danara Pel's hologram together for a date.

Kes faces the greatest crisis of her young life when she became prematurely pregnant with the elogium due to the electrophoretic activity of nearby space-dwelling creatures and confronted with Neelix the emotional roller-coaster of whether or not to conceive a child at her young age. She opted not to, but the absence of the creatures and remission of the elogium effects made it a moot point; she should be fine at the right time. She would have chosen her father to perform her rolisisin pre-mating ritual had she been home for it; her mother may not be alive, since she is unmentioned.

Our "youngest" crew member, aside from Samantha Wildman's baby, continues to make incredible growth and contributions to this crew as she nears her third Ocampan birthday. I do not know how we could have survived without advanced medical skills if not for her independent and quick-witted actions during the Swarm attack, when she initialized and grafted on more memory to our EMH when its memory database overloaded and began to degrade. It is too her humanity that she spoke out against fully blanking the Doctor's acquired memory and personality, and I understand she has more than risen to the challenge of aiding himin his newly mobile state. This is why, apart from the personal note, I felt the need to risk retrieving Kes from the Nechani.

Since her premature elogium, the past year has been nothing but an emotional rollercoaster for Kes as well, beginning with Neelix and Tuvok's freakish transporter merger into one new lifeform, dubbed Tuvix, and her disquiet with his residual attraction for her. Her reaction, along with many other factors, led to the decision I made at that time to try for the separation.

Closer to home, her body's possession by the Ilaran warlord Tiernan has affected her perception of Tuvok, the Doctor, and even Neelix, although it is to her credit that Kes' will and ethics fought through the abduction. Still, I note with some sadness that she and Neelix have embarked on a platonic relationship for now at her request; it is good to know, for instance, that he still prepares her favorite meal of Trellian crepes on Wednesdays. But I wish them well along whatever path they choose.

Kes has undergone a radical evolutionary process. Following contact with the species known only by their Borg designation as "8472", Kes began to exhibit extremely elevated serotonin levels. After running a micro-synaptic analysis, I found no way to slow the increase in telesynaptic activity. Kes continued to destabilize at the molecular level and eventually became a being seemingly comprised of pure energy. Kes left the starship Voyager at the time of her destabilization, but imparted a gift to the crew; she propelled us 9, 500 light years towards home, completely circumventing Borg space.

K es is a female Ocampa, the species with a life span of only nine years whose home system Voyager was pulled into by the "Caretaker" entity of the Nacene race; although she appears as a twenty-year-old in human years, Kes is actually just two. A tough survivor and a bit of a rebel despite her waif-like air, she came aboard as Neelix's lover and to escape her abuse as a slave with the Kazon-Ogla on the surface of her world, having fled her peoples' passive underground existence to pursue the outside world and the mental acuities rumored to have flourished among her ancestors. She did so at the regret of leaving behind her wise father, Benarem, who died just after her first birthday; she was very close to him and still feels his presence as a guide.

Kes has already begun to develop her abilities, pursuing a full-fledged medical training course with the EMH Doctor and studying Vulcan mental disciplines with Tuvok . She has already led the ship into a disappointing rendezvous with the "female Caretaker" Suspiria and a renegade Ocampa colony of advanced yet malevolent brethren, who almost allowed her to lose control of her new powers and kill her Vulcan friend. Kes' medical training has advanced so far that she can now handle away team medical duties, a welcome relief for the holographic doctor. She also helps Neelix in the kitchen and handles the airponics bay gardening.

She first met Neelix when he stole water from the Kazon-Ogla to bring to her, and now absolutely adores him, standing by in his times of crisis; while doing all she could to discourage his jealous streak, she was baffled when he and his perceived rival Paris came back old pals from birthing a reptilloid infant, and was even fearful to tell him that she and the Doctor were married in his holo-program malfunction. She has indeed developed a close friendship with the Doctor, whose medical teaching is repaid in a way by her encouragement on the road to his increasingly human programming � including hints about bedside manner, raising his level of respect by the rest of the crew, and a joint effort with Paris to get him and Vidiian Dr. Danara Pel's hologram together for a date.

Kes faced the greatest crisis of her young life when she became prematurely pregnant with the elogium due to the electrophoretic activity of nearby space-dwelling creatures and confronted Neelix with the emotional rollercoaster of whether or not to conceive a child at her young age. She opted not to, but the absence of the creatures and remission of the elogium effects made it a moot point; she should be fine at the right time. She would have chosen her father to perform her rolisisin pre-mating ritual had she been home for it; her mother may not be alive, since she is unmentioned.

At 16, Jennifer was hired by Another World and moved to New York to portray the newly-created character of Hannah, a misfit orphan, on the NBC daytime drama. She remained with the show for a year and a half, then gave her face a rest and put her voice to work. She can be heard on Saturday Night Live regular Adam Sandler's comedy album, has guest-voiced on The Critic , and even dubbed lines in the English version of the French Miramax film "Baby Blood."

Back before the camera, she landed the role of Roanne in the ABC series Phenom , and appeared in the short independent film trailer "The Hairy Bird." Jennifer has also appeared in the acclaimed film "American History X," as well as "S.L.C. Punk!" with Matthew Lillard. Her voice work includes "The Lion King II: Simba's Pride" and Men in Black: The Series .

In 2000, Lien made a return guest appearance on Star Trek: Voyager as a vengeful Kes in the episode "Fury."

The Story Of Why One Of Star Trek: Voyager's Most Divisive Characters Left The Show

In January 1995, Paramount launched the United Paramount Network, a brand-new TV station with a massive lineup of original shows. Its original 1995 lineup included thrillers like "Marker," "Deadly Games," "Nowhere Man," and "The Watcher," as well as sitcoms like "Platypus Man," and "Pig Sty." The UPN's flagship program was a brand new "Star Trek" series called "Star Trek: Voyager," the fifth series in the franchise and the first to launch after the end of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" the year before. The premise essentially mixed "Star Trek" with "Lost in Space," throwing a ship called the U.S.S. Voyager clear across the galaxy, about 75 years from Earth. Facing limited resources and no backup from Starfleet — none of the local aliens had ever heard of the Federation before — the ship faced a long journey home. 

In the pilot episode, the crew of the Voyager took on a pair of local aliens. There was the Talaxian chef Neelix (Ethan Phillips) and his Ocampa girlfriend Kes (Jennifer Lien). Neelix was a jolly hobbit-like character who didn't ever quite understand Starfleet's formalism and propriety. Kes was a gentle, compassionate character who brought a sense of conscience to the show. She was mildly psychic, but was still too young to master her powers. Controversially, her species only had a lifespan of nine years, and while Lien was 20 when "Voyager" debuted, Kes' stated age of two led some to feel Neelix was committing pedophilia. 

Despite being part of a beloved media franchise, "Voyager" floundered in the ratings for its first three seasons. For the fourth season, Kes was replaced by the character Seven of Nine, a statuesque ex-Borg played by Jeri Ryan. Ratings improved thereafter, and Seven became the show's most important character.

But why was Kes targeted?

Why was Kes targeted?

The concept for Kes was interesting. "Star Trek: The Next Generation" had lasted seven seasons, and it seemed that "Deep Space Nine" was heading down the same path. If "Voyager" was to follow suit, coming to a conclusion after seven years, then a character who lives nine years would provide an interesting arc. Kes was to be an adolescent at the beginning of the series but would die of old age by the end. An entire person's life would be presented in microcosm, and the crew would have to see Kes through a century of life experience in only seven years. Kes, meanwhile, would have to confront the fact that the Voyager crewmates around her don't appear to be aging at all. 

Kes also provided "Voyager" with a vital sense of ethics. Captain Janeway ( Kate Mulgrew ) was action-oriented and had something of an authoritarian streak . When presented with aliens or ethical dilemmas, Kes was the one who encouraged open-mindedness and empathy. She was the one who first suggested that the ship's holographic doctor (Robert Picardo) might be alive. Picardo once said that he loved Kes as a character , as he taught her medicine, and she taught him humility. Kes wasn't a cold-hearted diplomat, but a calming, gentle presence. She would also eventually develop more agency as the show progressed, dumping Neelix and developing her growing psychic powers. 

On a special feature on the DVD for the fourth season of "Voyager," producer Jeri Taylor said that Paramount thought that the show had too many characters, a fact that fans had postulated for years. The story goes that either Jennifer Lien or Garrett Wang, who played Ensign Harry Kim was going to be fired and replaced. 

People Magazine saved Kim. Lien was not so lucky.

The People Magazine of Destiny

In the third season of "Voyager," increasingly desperate measures were being taken to snag a flagging audience. Guest stars from previous "Star Trek" shows ( Jonathan Frakes , John De Lanice, Dwight Schultz) appeared. The crew's usual holographic hangout of a pool hall was replaced by a bikini beach. It smacked of desperation. 

The show's producers were also at a loss as to how to write stories for Kes and Harry Kim. This was confirmed at a convention in 2014 when "Voyager" co-creator Brannon Braga said: "We were running out of things to do with Kes. We had to make room in the budget for a new character in the cast so there was a pragmatic reason but it was primarily a creative decision." 

So someone was going to be cut, and the cast was going to be reworked. When it came to deciding between Kes and Harry Kim, however, People Magazine saved one of them. A 1997 issue featured a photo of Garrett Wang, declaring him one of the magazine's "Most Beautiful People."  That seems to have given Wang a reprieve and led to Jennifer Lien being fired. 

The "farewell" story for Kes involved her psychic powers. They were growing too strong too quickly, and Kes felt she had to leave the ship to protect her friends. Mulgrew admitted on the "Voyager" DVD that she loved working with Lien, and that when Captain Janeway bid farewell to Kes, the tears were quite real. 

Braga was pitched the idea of adding a Borg to the cast as the intriguing new character replacement. His co-creator Rick Berman said, according to Braga on a featurette for the home release of season 4, to "Make it a Borg babe," and Seven of Nine was created. Given that Jeri Ryan was constantly dressed in a skintight catsuit and corset , she was clearly invented for prurient reasons. 

Jennifer Lien's career

Seven of Nine soon became the primary focus of the series.  Robert Picardo once noted that she was so popular, she began to usurp the kinds of stories that would have once been handed to the Doctor. He also missed having a character like Kes to balance the Doctor, and Picardo suggested that Seven of Nine could perhaps be used in a similar way. No such luck. Seven of Nine became her own entity. Ratings for "Star Trek: Voyager" improved and improved. It, too, lasted seven seasons. 

Jennifer Lien did return to play Kes in a time-travel episode called "Fury" (May 3, 2000). By then, Kes was a destructive, middle-aged psychic. "Fury" was meant to give Kes better closure, but the episode wasn't terribly good. Some even consider it to be one of the worst episodes of the series. 

Lien, meanwhile, gave up on acting shortly thereafter. She would voice a character in the "Men in Black" animated series through 2000, but when her son was born in 2002, she retired altogether. Sadly, Lien's mental health suffered, and, in the mid-2010s, was arrested for several crimes, including ramming a cop car , mooning the neighbors , and driving under the influence . Many of those charges were later dropped. 

Lien did attend a few "Star Trek" conventions after 2000 but has largely retreated from associations with the franchise. The Ocampa are rarely mentioned in extant Trek lore, and Kes is rarely referred to. When the "Voyager" cast reunited in 2020 for a public appearance, Lien was absent. The reasons for her absence can only be conjectured. 

One can merely hope that she's living the life she wants, and is content at home.

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Before and After

• Episode aired Apr 9, 1997

On her deathbed, Kes relives her life, jumping backwards in spurts of time towards birth, gaining knowledge as to why as she goes. On her deathbed, Kes relives her life, jumping backwards in spurts of time towards birth, gaining knowledge as to why as she goes. On her deathbed, Kes relives her life, jumping backwards in spurts of time towards birth, gaining knowledge as to why as she goes.

• Allan Kroeker
• Gene Roddenberry
• Rick Berman
• Michael Piller
• Kate Mulgrew
• Robert Beltran
• Roxann Dawson
• 23 User reviews
• 6 Critic reviews

• Capt. Kathryn Janeway

• Cmdr. Chakotay

• Lt. B'Elanna Torres
• (as Roxann Biggs-Dawson)

• Lt. Tom Paris

• Ensign Harry Kim

• Linnis Paris
• (as Christopher Aguilar)

• Voyager Computer
• (uncredited)
• Science Division Officer
• Crewman Foster

• Lt. Russell
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• Trivia First appearance of Kes's longer hair style instead of the very short hair style from seasons 1, 2, and part of 3. Jennifer Lien , the actress who played Kes, was apparently sensitive to the make-up and adhesive used to apply her Ocampa ears. With the longer hairstyle, it was no longer necessary to apply the Ocampa ears each time she was filmed.
• Goofs The Doctor says there are no other Ocampans on board to compare with, although there are two others, Kes's daughter Linnis and her grandson Andrew; however, the Doctor was referring to the symptoms of the morilogium - which only affects Ocampa in the final stage of their lives - he had no other Ocampa to compare them with. Since Linnis and Andrew haven't reached that stage yet, the Doctor's statement is quite correct. Furthermore, Linnis and Andrew are both only part Ocampan, so their genetic structure is likely to be different anyway.

Neelix : So, I'm going to become a security officer. How about that?

Lieutenant Tuvok : Fortunately, Mr. Neelix, what Kes has been describing is merely one possible future. On each occasion that she jumped to a previous time, her subsequent actions most likely altered the future from that moment on.

Neelix : Good point, Tuvok. Maybe I'll turn out to be Chief Security Officer.

• Connections Featured in Star Trek: Voyager: Year of Hell (1997)
• Soundtracks Star Trek: Voyager - Main Title Written by Jerry Goldsmith Performed by Jay Chattaway

User reviews 23

• Jun 9, 2013
• April 9, 1997 (United States)
• United States
• Official site
• Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA (Studio)
• Paramount Television
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 45 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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Kes' emotional farewell to Voyager was more about saying goodbye to Jennifer Lien

S eason four of Star Trek: Voyager brought changes to the series, beginning with saying goodbye to Jennifer LIen's Kes. Lien was being written out and essentially replaced by Jeri Ryan's Seven of Nine. To say that many people were disappointed by the loss of Kes is an understatement. The cast had an especially difficult time with saying goodbye to her as Garrett Wang and Robert Duncan McNeill shared in The Delta Flyers' podcat. [ via Screenrant ]

"The Gift," the second episode of season four marked Lien's final appearance as a series regular, and the emotional scenes that played out between Captain Kathryn Janeway and Kes were more about Kate Mulgrew saying goodbye to Lien.

"[For] both of them ... This had nothing to do with actual Kes or Janeway."Garrett Wang

Wang admits that he gets emotional watching the scene as between Mulgrew and Lien was emotional as well. It was a difficult time for the cast as clearly everyone had grown to love Lien. Though Voyager's showrunners have said in the past that her character had "reached a creative dead end," [ via Heavy ], we all know there was more to her departure.

The decision to terminate Lien was a difficult one, and according to Star Trek: Voyager: A Celebration by Ben Robinson and Mark Wright, it had nothing to do with Jeri Ryan, contracts, or budget constraints. Jeri Taylor did say in the book that they "knew something was going on [with Lien], but she wouldn't talk about it or let us offer to help."

Lien's final episode as a series regular was a touching send-off, and she played it well even knowing it was her last time working with the cast. (At the time, she didn't she would return in the season six episode, "Fury.") For all everyone knew, this was the last time they'd work with her on Voyager.

"Kes tells Janeway that this is her time to leave, and all those lines? Forget about those lines. All the lines that were said in this scene were basically Kate Mulgrew telling Jennifer Lien, 'I'm gonna miss you. I can't believe production has let you go,' basically, is what this entire scene was. This was the emotional one for me. This is the one where I started getting emotional just watching this, just knowing, you know, that this was--"Garrett Wang

"Well, Kate was very emotional, and you could see Jennifer was very emotional."Robert Duncan McNeill

This article was originally published on redshirtsalwaysdie.com as Kes' emotional farewell to Voyager was more about saying goodbye to Jennifer Lien .

Why Did Kes Leave Voyager: The Tragedy Of Jennifer Lien & Her Star Trek Character

The following article discusses  mental health.

When "Star Trek: Voyager" premiered in 1995, it had the virtue of subverting the brand for the better. Not only was Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) the first female captain in the franchise, but the show's concept also took a turn. Instead of going on a five-year diplomatic mission famous in the "Star Trek" lexicon, the Voyager crew tries to find their way home after getting lost in the Delta Quadrant. "Voyager" had a cast of unprecedented characters , including that of the Ocampa, Kes (Jennifer Lien). Kes was fascinating because of her use of telepathy and streamlined life span of only nine years. She offered many interesting opportunities for the series, but unfortunately, it didn't come to fruition. After only three years on the show, Lien left the series — a loss for many behind the scenes.

Speaking to "Star Trek Monthly," Mulgrew said the following regarding Lien's departure: "A great sorrow to me on many levels, foremost among them being the fracturing of an ensemble cast that was extremely special to me." At the time, the reasons for Lien leaving the show were a little murky. Writers confessed to feeling they wrote themselves into a corner with her character. But in later years, a sadder truth was revealed. Lien's mental health became increasingly unstable, and despite best intentions, the "Star Trek" producers had no other option but to release her from her contract.

Lien's issues continued after leaving Star Trek

Letting Jennifer Lien go had not been the production's first choice. Though specifics on the actor's condition were never offered, she had been dealing with it for some time. As her performance started to deteriorate, the crew tried to help.

"We knew that there was something going on," producer Jeri Taylor said in "Star Trek Voyager: A Celebration," the 2020 book revolving around the series. "But she wouldn't talk or let us offer to help." With no other foreseeable options, showrunners decided to write her out of the show. Her departure occurred at the beginning of Season 4 when Kes' telepathic abilities spiral out of control, resulting in her transforming into an orb of energy. 

Unfortunately for Lien, quitting acting was not the solution. The former "Voyager" star had brushes with the law, including an incident where she was arrested for indecent exposure. Per  Variety , Lien exposed herself to children in 2015, reportedly resisting arrest and threatening violence against the arresting officers. After paying restitution, she stayed out of the public eye until 2018, when WATE 6  reported she was arrested for driving on a revoked license.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website .

• View history

The Ocampa or Ocampans were a humanoid species who lived on the planet Ocampa in the Delta Quadrant . Their early history was shrouded in mystery but their own legends told of a time when they were capable of great mental feats. ( VOY : " Cold Fire ", " Shattered ")

• 2.1 Mental abilities
• 5.1 Appearances
• 5.2 Background information
• 5.3 Apocrypha
• 5.4 External link

History [ ]

About five hundred Ocampan generations before 2371 , Nacene explorers from another galaxy inadvertently damaged the atmosphere of the planet Ocampa so badly that all nucleogenic particles were lost, thus rendering the atmosphere incapable of producing rain . The planet rapidly became a desert , a time the Ocampans later remembered as " The Warming ". The Nacene left two of their kind behind to "honor the debt that could never be repaid" to the Ocampa. The male Nacene, known as the Caretaker to the Ocampa, led the endangered species through tunnels into a vast underground city constructed especially for them. The Caretaker provided them with food , entertainment, water from subterranean sources, and power from the Caretaker's array nearby in space . The Nacene then sealed the Ocampa in, using a force barrier . The Ocampa ruling Elders were subsequently charged with discovering the wishes of the Caretaker, who had become almost a deity to the Ocampan populace. ( VOY : " Caretaker ")

By the late 21st century , the female Nacene, called Suspiria by the Ocampa, had decided to leave her mate to seek out "more interesting places." She established her own array, with a colony of Ocampa. Despite this, Ocampa history had no tales of any of them leaving or being abducted by aliens . Under Suspiria's guidance, these Ocampa colonists developed their mental talents and eventually created technology capable of increasing their natural life spans to as much as twenty years. This made them arrogant to the point that they might look at other humanoids like they looked at pets. ( VOY : " Cold Fire ")

On Ocampa, a dissident movement had developed among the younger generations by 2371 . They moved out of the city and began to provide for themselves. They were fascinated by ancient stories stating that the Ocampa once had extraordinary mental capacities. The Elders claimed that the stories were apocryphal, but the dissidents believed these mental powers had only become dormant after centuries of dependence on the Caretaker. In that same year, their reliance on the Caretaker was forcibly ended by the entity's death and the destruction of the array. They had enough energy in the city's reserves to last until 2376 – then they would be forced to return to the planet's surface. ( VOY : " Caretaker ")

In 2377 , a class of schoolchildren on Earth were learning about Delta Quadrant races that the USS Voyager had encountered, including the Ocampa. ( VOY : " Inside Man ")

Physiology [ ]

Kes as a newborn Ocampa

The Ocampa were humanoid and resembled Humans except for a few folds of skin around their ears . They were born without ear folds, which grew as the infants aged. ( VOY : " Elogium ", " Before and After ")

They aged very rapidly, resulting in an average life span of only eight or nine years. ( VOY : " Jetrel ") Consequently, they developed and learned extremely quickly. Most of their growth took place in the first six months , and by one year old, they had reached a young adult stage. They remained in this stage for several years.

Between the ages of four and five, female Ocampa entered the elogium , the time of sexual maturation. During the elogium , a mitral sac formed on the back of the female. The sac accommodated a developing child (or children), and it was from the sac that the child was born, as its mother stood upright.

Ocampan babies came out of the mitral sac feet first and with an evident navel, suggesting that an umbilical cord detached from the abdomen during or shortly before birth. ( VOY : " Before and After ")

The ipasaphor , a sticky yellow substance, appeared on the female's hands for the six-day mating bond. Once the ipasaphor had appeared, mating needed to commence within fifty-two hours. ( VOY : " Elogium ", " Before and After ")

An Ocampan woman giving birth, standing

Having remained young-looking for a number of years, they reached middle age sometime around their seventh year. Again, their aging seemed to stop, only to rapidly increase near their ninth year with the onset of the morilogium . At this stage of life, the Ocampa moved from middle age to extreme old age in the space of a few weeks, becoming confused and amnesiac before dying. ( VOY : " Before and After ")

It is interesting to note that the rapid development and aging was a dominant trait. It was found in half- and even quarter-Ocampa. ( VOY : " Before and After ") Though in the case Kes's alternate great-grandson, he appeared as a child at age 1, rather than fully grown. This demonstrated Ocampa rapid devlopment began slowing or disappearing in hybrid offspring the more the Ocampa DNA was reduced by reproduction with other species. At this time it's unknown if this would alter reproduction.

The Ocampa on Suspiria's array could reach the age of twenty years, with the use of technology to prolong their lives. ( VOY : " Cold Fire ")

Ocampa had a body temperature of around sixteen to seventeen degrees Celsius (about 61–63 degreees Fahrenheit ). They also had an extremely high rate of tissue regeneration. ( VOY : " Before and After ", " Deadlock ")

Mental abilities [ ]

All Ocampa appeared to be natural telepaths , able to communicate with members of their species and those of other species, as well. Among the more unusual mental abilities exhibited by the Ocampa were eidetic memory , precognition , telekinesis of varying strength, and the ability to sense and manipulate the subatomic level of matter . Tanis , an Ocampa living on Suspiria's array, demonstrated to Kes that she could control the life force in living things, causing them to grow or die as she wished. Tanis also told Kes that the Ocampa could join Suspiria in a subspace layer called Exosia , which he described as a realm of pure thought.

In early 2374 , Kes experienced a rapid and uncontrollable blossoming of her mental abilities. Her body and everything around her, including Voyager , began to destabilize at the subatomic level. Kes left the ship and allowed this process to complete itself, apparently evolving into a being of pure energy . She could then move objects through space without need of conventional propulsion, and later exhibited the ability to travel through time . In 2376 an angry and bitter Kes came back to Voyager and almost destroyed it with her mental powers; only by seeing a recording of herself made before she left Voyager was the timeline changed; Kes elected to return to her homeworld. ( VOY : " Fury ")

Culture [ ]

The Ocampa believed in an immortal soul, called the comra . They buried their dead, believing that the comra would move on to the afterlife . ( VOY : " Emanations ")

On Ocampa, mates were chosen for life (due to their short lifespans), and there was no distrust, jealousy, envy, or betrayal in this relation. Upon hearing this, The Doctor speculated that the Ocampa must have had very dry literature. ( VOY : " Parturition ")

• Ocampan prayer taper
• Andrew Kim (Human (¾)/Ocampa (¼) hybrid, alternate timeline)
• Linnis Paris (Human/Ocampa hybrid, alternate timeline)
• Unnamed Ocampa

Appendices [ ]

Appearances [ ].

A list of all appearances of Ocampa (excluding all appearances of Kes):

• " Caretaker " (Season 1)
• " Cold Fire " (Season 2)
• " Before and After " (Season 3)

Background information [ ]

Ocampan-playing actors Jennifer Lien and Gary Graham with Director Cliff Bole

The first material evidence of the Ocampa is the note of a single word, " Androgynous ", which was part of a couple of brief notes on Star Trek: Voyager 's early development that were written on 30 July 1993 . By 3 August 1993 , it was still undecided if the species was to have genders or be androgynous, though a lifespan of seven years had been postulated for the species and the aliens had been nicknamed "Mayfly", since their short lifespan would be in common with the insect of the same name. ( A Vision of the Future - Star Trek: Voyager , pp. 175, 176-177 & 199) The aliens' ultimate lifespan of "only about nine years" and the fact that they have genders were chosen on or had been chosen by 17 August 1993, when another series of notes described the female main character from this species (i.e. Kes ) as a "delicate creature" and suggested, " We might want to endow her with some kind of special, super-human ability. " ( A Vision of the Future - Star Trek: Voyager , p. 189) There was, in fact, a continuing discussion about giving her one or more types of psychic ability, which culminated in parapsychological research being carried out by Zayra Cabot and Joan Pearce Research Associates . ( A Vision of the Future - Star Trek: Voyager , p. 199) On 21 September 1993 , the producers received the research report from Joan Pearce. Following examination of the possibilities presented in the document, the producers finally decided to initially imbue the female Mayfly with some measure of telepathic ability and to then see how stories developed from that point onward. ( A Vision of the Future - Star Trek: Voyager , p. 206) The species had been named Ocampa by the end of that month, at which point the name appeared in the first draft of the series writers' bible. ( A Vision of the Future - Star Trek: Voyager , p. 208)

Apocrypha [ ]

In the String Theory trilogy, The Doctor was sent to Ocampa's distant past by a Nacene who wanted The Doctor to prevent the birth of a Nacene/Ocampa hybrid that it perceived as a threat. During this visit, it was revealed that Ocampa sometimes received residual memories from ancestors after they were born, their short lifespan making such a detail a valuable bonus. Kes, it would appear, was one such Ocampa, and it is revealed that she had told all she remembered to The Doctor prior to her departure from the ship. It was also shown that, in the past, Ocampa was a planet on a level similar to Earth in the Middle Ages, with a nobility-style system, but with certain military generals possessing powerful telepathic abilities.

To explain how the Ocampan population could be maintained despite each female only giving birth once, the Star Trek: Myriad Universes novella " Places of Exile " (in Infinity's Prism ) suggests that twin and triplet births were common among Ocampa. In the acknowledgments, author Christopher L. Bennett credits Bernd Schneider's Ex Astris Scientia website for the idea.

External link [ ]

• Ocampa at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• 3 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

Screen Rant

Star trek: ds9 foreshadowed voyager’s fate a year earlier.

In 1994, Star Trek began laying the groundwork for Voyager's 1995 premiere with a stark warning from Sisko about both the Maquis and the Badlands.

• DS9 set the stage for Voyager's fate, including the introduction of the Maquis and the crucial Badlands location.
• Commander Sisko's pursuit of the Maquis in DS9 foreshadowed Voyager's disappearance in the Badlands.
• The Badlands played a significant role in Voyager's pilot episode, setting the stage for the crew's journey to the Delta Quadrant.

The fate of the USS Voyager was foreshadowed by Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 2. With Star Trek: Voyager slated to premiere in January 1995, DS9 season 2 and Star Trek: The Next Generation season 7 laid some of the groundwork for the new show. The biggest way that DS9 and TNG set up Voyager was the introduction of the Maquis, the terrorist organization that would provide the rogue element in Voyager 's cast of characters. The TNG episode "Journey's End" set up the political situation from which they originated, while DS9 's two-parter "The Maquis" formally introduced them to the Star Trek universe .

Several Maquis members, including Commander Chakotay (Robert Beltran) and Lt. B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson) would later be forced to join the crew of the USS Voyager. However, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's Maquis two-parter set up the plot of Star Trek: Voyager in other ways, too . Halfway through "The Maquis", Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo) is captured by terrorists, forcing Sisko to give pursuit. Tracking the Maquis freighter, Sisko, Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor), and Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) enters the Badlands, a region of space that would play a crucial role in Voyager 's pilot episode, "Caretaker".

Star Trek: Voyager & DS9 Crossed Over In The Mirror Universe

Ds9 foreshadowed uss voyager's disappearance in the badlands, the maquis' use of the badlands as a hiding place and strategic location was seeded through ds9 seasons 2 and 3..

Briefing Dr. Julian Bashir, Kira reveals that the Badlands is beset by plasma storms, making it an incredibly dangerous region of space. To which Sisko adds that " a few ships have been lost there over the past year or two ", foreshadowing the loss of the USS Voyager a year later. DS9 would also later establish that the Badlands was a key strategic location for the Maquis in their resistance efforts against Cardassian occupation , further setting up the Star Trek: Voyager pilot. Not only was the Badlands a crucial hiding place for the Maquis, the region was also used as a staging ground for larger military operations.

The Badlands were likened to the Bermuda Triangle in an early outline of Star Trek: Voyager dated 17th August 1993.

In DS9 season 3, episode 9, "Defiant", Thomas Riker (Jonathan Frakes) hijacked the USS Defiant and took it into the Badlands to rendezvous with a fleet of Maquis raiders. "Defiant" aired a few months before Star Trek: Voyager 's pilot, in which Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and the crew of the USS Voyager departed from Deep Space Nine to track down a missing Maquis ship in the Badlands . It was a fateful mission that ultimately resulted in the Intrepid-class Voyager being stranded thousands of lightyears from home, another starship " lost over there " in the Badlands.

While devising Star Trek: Voyager in August 1993, Jeri Taylor wrote that the Badlands were " a turbulent area of space where some ships have been lost (some of them might crop up during the series) "

Other Star Trek Starships Lost In The Badlands

"a few ships have been lost over there..." - commander sisko.

The USS Voyager was initially sent to track down the missing Maquis freighter, the Val Jean, aboard which Lt. Tuvok (Tim Russ) was undercover for Starfleet. The Val Jean was lost in the Badlands after being pursued by Gul Evek (Richard Poe), who was overseer of the Demilitarized Zone in place between the Cardassian and Federation territories. However, rather than being destroyed by the plasma storms that plagued the region, the Val Jean was actually captured by the Caretaker's coherent tetryon beam and brought to the Delta Quadrant . The Caretaker had also taken a Cardassian Galor-class warship, and a Cardassian Dreadnought missile.

In the Star Trek: Voyager episode "The Voyager Conspiracy" it is suggested that it was Gul Evek's ship that was captured by the Caretaker, however this is later debunked.

The most notable starship taken by the Caretaker was the USS Equinox, which was encountered by Captain Janeway and the crew in Star Trek: Voyager 's season 5 finale . However, given that the Equinox was stranded in a different region of space, it seems that they weren't lost in the Badlands like Voyager was. The Badlands continued to be a key position during the Dominion War in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , until the Maquis were rooted out by the combined forces of the Cardassians and the Jem'Hadar, a devastating loss for Voyager's Maquis crew members.

All episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager are available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.

Star Trek: Voyager

The fifth entry in the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Voyager, is a sci-fi series that sees the crew of the USS Voyager on a long journey back to their home after finding themselves stranded at the far ends of the Milky Way Galaxy. Led by Captain Kathryn Janeway, the series follows the crew as they embark through truly uncharted areas of space, with new species, friends, foes, and mysteries to solve as they wrestle with the politics of a crew in a situation they've never faced before.