star trek voyager lyndsay ballard episodes

• Show Spoilers
• Night Vision
• Sticky Header
• Highlight Links

Follow TV Tropes

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS6E18AshesToAshes

Recap / Star Trek: Voyager S6 E18: "Ashes to Ashes"

Edit locked, tropes present in this episode:.

• Actually Pretty Funny : How Janeway feels about Ballard's comment that her ruined pot roast could help repel a Kobali attack. Janeway: Commander Tuvok finished his analysis of your shuttle and presented me with thirty seven different ways of repelling a Kobali attack. Ballard: Did he include your pot roast? (off Janeway's surprised look) I'm sorry, I didn't mean... I can't believe I just said that. Janeway: Why? It was funny.
• Back from the Dead : Ballard, though modified in her resurrection into a member of another species.
• Brick Joke : Sometime during the episode, Harry and Lindsay joke about messing with one of Tuvok's holodeck programs as a practical joke. At the end, when Mezoti invites Harry to go to the holodeck with her, he has an idea of what to do...
• Came Back Wrong : A less horrific version than usual, but Lyndsay gets a double dose. As a Kobali she's not supposed to remember her past life, and as a human, well, she's not one anymore no matter how much she wishes otherwise.
• Cartwright Curse : Tom: For those of us keeping score, Harry Kim has fallen for a Borg, a hologram, the wrong twin, and now the dearly departed.
• The Comically Serious : Seven, in her attempts to socialize the Borg children with Naomi Wildman. Seven : Fun will now commence.
• When Ballard first contacts Voyager she's surprised that Tuvok is now a Lieutenant Commander. She later talks about how the Kobali claimed her body after she was killed by a Hirogen hunting party, but Tuvok was promoted in the episode "Revulsion," well before anyone on Voyager encountered the Hirogen.
• Harry tells Ballard that he was in love with her even back at Starfleet Academy. Funny, then, that getting home to Libby, his fiance, was a driving motivation for him in the first two seasons...
• Damaged Soul : Let's say getting used to Kobali life wasn't easy for Ballard, and trying to reclaim her past life as a human was becoming difficult.
• Deadpan Snarker : Ballard.
• Happiness Is Mandatory : Seven takes the children to the mess hall, where there are some games (and Naomi Wildman) and flatly states, "Fun will now commence."
• It Tastes Like Feet : Because of her transformation into being Kobali, Ballard says that the fruit salad tastes rather metallic.
• Lethal Chef / Vengeful Vending Machine : Janeway's replicator ruins a pot roast.
• Love Confession : Ballard's return gives Harry, after all these years, the chance to do this. Ballard is initially swayed by Harry's sweetness, but unfortunately, it's Harry Kim.
• Magic Plastic Surgery : The Doctor finds a way to alter Ballard's Kobali appearance so that she looks human, but unfortunately it doesn't last, as her Kobali appearance reasserts itself.
• The Main Characters Do Everything : Apparently Lyndsay wasn't close to anyone else onboard besides the senior staff, the only Voyager crewmembers to appear in her nightmare. Because apparently the studio was too cheap to pay random extras the cost of a few short lines as Lyndsay's friends in one scene.
• My Hovercraft Is Full of Eels : When saying goodbye to Ballard, Harry says something in the Kobali language. She informs him that he said "The comets are tiresome."
• Pardon My Klingon : Twice, Ballard lapses into Kobali.
• Remember the New Guy? : There's been no indication up to this point that Ballard ever existed. This is actually lampshaded when Ballard, thanking Janeway for the nice things she said about her at the briefing, admits she never thought she noticed her.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute : Ballard's backstory is so similar to that of Ensign Jetal from "Latent Image" that it's led to theories that earlier drafts of the story actually did feature Jetal, but they changed it to the new character of Ballard because either they couldn't get Jetal's actress back, or they didn't want to pay royalties to the writers of "Latent Image".
• Switch to English : Lindsay does this during The Teaser when she hails Voyager . "Tam'vitte. Me'iote sendaya Voyager . Federation Starship Voyager . If you can hear me, please respond."
• That Woman is Dead : Lindsay finally admits that the person she was has been dead for years.
• Time Out : Punishment Protocol 9-Alpha. Icheb refuses to go with it.
• What the Hell, Hero? : Janeway is put in the most uncomfortable position imaginable for a Starfleet captain — have a Red Shirt come back from the dead and demand to know why they were picked for that away mission.
• Star Trek Voyager S 6 E 17 Spirit Folk
• Recap/Star Trek: Voyager
• Star Trek: Voyager S6 E19: "Child's Play"

Important Links

• Action Adventure
• Commercials
• Crime & Punishment
• Professional Wrestling
• Speculative Fiction
• Sports Story
• Animation (Western)
• Music And Sound Effects
• Print Media
• Sequential Art
• Tabletop Games
• Applied Phlebotinum
• Characterization
• Characters As Device
• Narrative Devices
• British Telly
• The Contributors
• Creator Speak
• Derivative Works
• Laws And Formulas
• Show Business
• Split Personality
• Truth And Lies
• Truth In Television
• Fate And Prophecy
• Edit Reasons
• Isolated Pages
• Images List
• Recent Videos
• Crowner Activity
• Un-typed Pages
• Recent Page Type Changes
• Trope Entry
• Character Sheet
• Playing With
• Creating New Redirects
• Cross Wicking
• Tips for Editing
• Text Formatting Rules
• Handling Spoilers
• Administrivia
• Trope Repair Shop
• Image Pickin'

Advertisement:

Your Comprehensive Guide to All Things Trek

• Introduction
• Library Computer Interface
• Bibliography
• Part 1: Big Bang to 2260
• Part 2: 2261-2262
• Part 3: 2263-2266
• Part 4: 2267-2288
• Part 5: 2289-2364
• Part 6: 2365-2367
• Part 7: 2368-2369
• Part 8: 2370
• Part 9: 2371-2372
• Part 10: 2373 & Beyond
• Part 11: To Be Determined
• TV/Film by Release Date
• Books by Publication Date
• Comics by Publication Date
• Games by Release Date
• Early Voyages
• The Lost Era
• The Next Generation
• Deep Space Nine
• New Frontier
• Starfleet Academy
• Corps of Engineers
• Klingon Empire
• Mirror Universe
• Miscellaneous
• Astrometrics
• Cast & Crew
• Prime: Distant Past
• Prime: Millions of Years Ago
• Prime: Thousands of Years Ago (Page 1)
• Prime: Thousands of Years Ago (Page 2)
• Prime: Thousands of Years Ago (Page 3)
• Prime: The Time of Awakening
• Prime: Heroic Age on Kronos
• Prime: Centuries Ago (Page 1)
• Prime: Centuries Ago (Page 2)
• Prime: Centuries Ago (Page 3)
• Prime: Centuries Ago (Page 4)
• Prime: 20th Century
• Prime: 21st Century
• Prime: 22nd Century (Page 1)
• Prime: 22nd Century (Page 2)
• Prime: 22nd Century (Page 3)
• Prime: 22nd Century (Page 4)
• Prime: 22nd Century (Page 5)
• Prime: 23rd Century
• Prime: 24th Century (Page 1)
• Prime: 24th Century (Page 2)
• Prime: 24th Century (Page 3)
• Prime: 24th Century (Page 4)
• Prime: 24th Century (Page 5)
• Prime: 24th Century (Page 6)
• Prime: 24th Century (Page 7)
• Prime: 24th Century (Page 8)
• Prime: 24th Century (Page 9)
• Prime: 24th Century (Page 10)
• Prime: 24th Century (Page 11)
• Prime: 24th Century (Page 12)
• Prime: 24th Century (Page 13)
• Prime: 24th Century (Page 14)
• Prime: 24th Century (Page 15)
• Prime: Possible Future
• ST11 Universe Timeline
• Mirror Universe Timelines
• “Shatnerverse” Timeline
• Myriad Universe Timelines
• Real World Timeline

Ballard, Lyndsay

Ensign Lyndsay Ballard and Ensign Harry Kim were classmates from Starfleet Academy who were both assigned to the U.S.S. Voyager NCC-74656 and were stranded with the ship in the Delta Quadrant in 2371. On Stardate 51563, Ballard and Kim went on a dilithium extraction mission together in the Vyntadi Expanse , where they detected dilithium on a Class-M planet. But when they landed their shuttle and began to explore, they discovered it was a trap set by a Hirogen hunting party, who reconfigured a power cell to give off false dilithium readings. As Kim and Ballard were headed back to the shuttle, they were 10 feet away when Ballard was hit with a neural disruptor. By the time Kim got her back to Voyager, she was dead. Kim gave the eulogy at her funeral, where he noted that she had a favorite saying taken from an old Klingon battle cry, “Own the day.” Ballard was buried in space with a torpedo casing as a sarcophagus.

Jhet’leya

Her body drifted for several weeks when it was recovered by the Kobali , a species that procreates by salvaging the dead of other races. She woke up in a stasis chamber surrounded by Kobali, who told her they used their technology to reanimate her. After the reanimation process, they spent months altering her DNA. They gave her a Kobali name— Jhet’leya —and placed her with a family to help her acclimate. Her Kobali father was Qret and she had a “sister” named Tynsia . She was prohibited from contacting Voyager because it was part of her kyn-steya , or past life. After spending two years letting her new family think she had accepted them, earning their trust, she stole a shuttle and started looking for Voyager. It took her six months to find it, with the Kobali chasing her the whole time.

Ballard rejoined the Voyager crew, on approximately Stardate 53678, in her previous post in Engineering. She also became reacquainted with Ensign Kim, with whom she had been friends since they lived across from each other at the Academy dormitory, who professed his love for her. Meanwhile the ship’s Doctor was able to affect cosmetic changes to make her look human again, but physiologically she was still Kobali, with a six-lobed brain and a binary cardiovascular system. Her taste buds were also still Kobali, which prevented her from enjoying her favorite foods, such as Jiballian Berry salad .

Her Kobali father, Qret, tracked her down and insisted she rejoin the family, but Ballard refused, and Captain Janeway pledged to protect her. In spite of her budding romance with Kim, Ballard never truly felt at home again on Voyager, and she had trouble reconnecting with her past. When her Kobali physiology began to re-assert itself, and when the Kobali attacked Voyager, she became convinced she belonged back with the people who gave her a second chance at life. She voluntarily returned to her Kobali life, but this time she was able to say a proper goodbye to her good friend Harry. [ 1 ]

Portrayed by Kim Rhodes .

• 1. “Ashes to Ashes.” Star Trek: Voyager , Episode 238. Television. 1 March 2000.

Leave a Reply

Recent posts.

• M-113 Creature
• Chapel, Christine (Mirror)
• A Look at Stardates
• Animated Series (60)
• Articles (28)
• Books (447)
• Cast & Crew (79)
• Comics (22)
• Early Voyages (125)
• Education (5)
• Enterprise (373)
• Excelsior (36)
• Games (223)
• Klingon (70)
• Library (1,543)
• Lost Era (55)
• Medicine (18)
• Merrimac (1)
• Mirror (35)
• Miscellaneous (13)
• New Frontier (54)
• Next Generation (635)
• Original Series (681)
• Personnel (436)
• Places (369)
• Politics (12)
• Recreation (10)
• Science (1)
• Shatnerverse (9)
• Ships (455)
• Site Updates (98)
• Starfleet Academy (86)
• Stargazer (42)
• Technology (45)
• To Boldly Go (1)
• TV/Film (214)
• Uncategorized (4)
• Vanguard (76)
• Voyager (236)
• Weapons (27)
• Xenology (54)
• Entries feed
• Comments feed
• WordPress.org

Original content © Jeffrey Harlan . All Rights Reserved. • Star Trek ™ & © CBS Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved. Used without permission. This site is not for profit. • Powered by WordPress

Modified from the deCoder Theme by webdemar

• Tagging & Taxonomy
• Earn Points
• Notifications
• Favorite Series
• Favorite Movies

• Edit Episode
• Replace Artwork
• Edit Translations
• Delete Delete

Delete Episode

Star Trek: Voyager

Ashes to Ashes

Cast & crew.

Ensign Lyndsay Ballard/Jetlaya

Marley McClean

Scarlett Pomers

Naomi Wildman

Manu Intiraymi

Information

© 2011 CBS Corp.

Accessibility

Copyright © 2024 Apple Inc. All rights reserved.

Internet Service Terms Apple TV & Privacy Cookie Policy Support

• Web Channels
• Star Trek: Voyager

Ashes to Ashes

The long-dead Ensign Lindsay Ballard seeks sanctuary aboard  Voyager  after being killed during an away mission with Ensign Kim three years ago. She is pursued by an alien race known as the Kobali, whose only reproduction method is reanimating cadavers of other species or "resurrection" of the dead through genetic engineering. They had revived her and taken her as a new member of their race. When the full extent of her new Kobali genes is activated, they reach a point where she must choose between her old home on the ship or her new home with her adoptive Kobali family.

Scarlett Pomers

Manu Intiraymi

Cody Wetherill

Kurt Wetherill

Marley McClean

Cast Appearances

Kate Mulgrew

Robert Beltran

Roxann Dawson

Robert Duncan McNeill

Ethan Phillips

Robert Picardo

Garrett Wang

Episode discussion.

No comments yet. Be the first!

• The Original Series
• The Next Generation
• Deep Space Nine
• Strange New Worlds

Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2

People of earth.

Memorial is an episode from Star Trek Voyager that aired in 1995. It follows the crew of the U.S.S. Voyager as they encounter a strange alien race called the Kobali. The Kobali are a race of humanoids who have the ability to resurrect the dead, and the Voyager crew is shocked to discover that one of their own – Ensign Lyndsay Ballard – has been resurrected by them. The crew must now figure out what to do with Lyndsay, who is now a Kobali, and how they can help her adjust to her new life.

The episode starts with a distress call from a Kobali ship, who are currently under attack by two other ships. The Voyager crew responds to the call and arrives at the scene in time to save the Kobali, but it is too late for one of them. The Kobali tell the crew that they are able to revive the dead, and they offer to revive the deceased crewmember, Ensign Lyndsay Ballard. The Voyager crew is shocked and reluctant to accept the offer, but they eventually agree and allow the Kobali to perform the resurrection process.

When Lyndsay awakens, she is confused and frightened – she has no memory of who she was before her death, and is unable to process the fact that she is now a Kobali. The Kobali explain to her that she must now live her life as a Kobali, and that she must accept their customs and beliefs. Lyndsay is overwhelmed by the idea, and she is unable to come to terms with her new identity.

The crew of the Voyager offer Lyndsay their support, but they are unable to relate to her situation and she feels disconnected from everyone. Meanwhile, the Kobali are struggling to accept her because she is not like them. They are unable to understand why she cannot accept her new identity, and they fear that she will never be able to become a true Kobali.

Eventually, Lyndsay finds a way to fit in with the Kobali, and she begins to accept her new identity. However, the crew of the Voyager are still struggling to come to terms with the fact that Lyndsay is now a Kobali, and they are unable to accept her as one of their own. Eventually, the crew comes to understand that Lyndsay has changed and has found her place in her new life. They accept her for who she is, and they are able to move on with their lives.

At the end of the episode, the crew of the Voyager bids farewell to Lyndsay as she stays behind and chooses to remain with the Kobali. Although it is a bittersweet parting, the Voyager crew is happy for her and wishes her well in her new life. In the end, Memorial is an episode that explores the idea of identity and how it can be changed by the events of life. It is a reminder to everyone that we must accept change and be open to new possibilities.

Related Posts

Equinox (part 2), persistence of vision.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

• Now Playing
• Airing Today
• Popular People
• Discussions
• Leaderboard
• Translations
• Content Issues 0

Personal Info

Known For Acting

Known Credits 34

Gender Female

Birthday June 7, 1969 (54 years old)

Place of Birth Portland, Oregon, USA

Also Known As

• Kimberly Rhodes

Content Score 

Yes! Looking good!

Looks like we're missing the following data in en-US or en-US ...

Login to edit

Keyboard Shortcuts

Login to report an issue

Kimberly Rhodes (born June 7, 1969) is an American actress, known for her portrayal of Ensign Lyndsay Ballard in "Ashes to Ashes" episode of Star Trek Voyager. She also played "Cindy Harrison" on two soap operas, Another World and As the World Turns. In the 2000s Disney Channel sitcoms, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and The Suite Life on Deck she played Carey Martin, mother of twins Zack and Cody (Dylan and Cole Sprouse). She is also known for playing Sheriff Jody Mills on Supernatural. From Wikipedia.

The Suite Life of Zack & Cody

Beethoven's Christmas Adventure

Christmas with the Kranks

Atlas Shrugged: Part II

That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana

Cyrus: Mind of a Serial Killer

Mostly Ghostly

A Crush on You

• TV Shows 21

You need to be logged in to continue. Click here to login or here to sign up.

Can't find a movie or TV show? Login to create it.

On media pages

On tv season pages, on tv episode pages, on all image pages, on all edit pages, on discussion pages.

Want to rate or add this item to a list?

Not a member?

Sign up and join the community

Series: Voyager

Character: Ensign Lyndsay Ballard

Kim Rhodes is an actress who appeared on Star Trek: Voyager as Ensign Lyndsay Ballard, aka the Kobali Jhet’leya in the sixth season episode “Ashes to Ashes”. She also provided her voice to the character Yulana Oxila in the Star Trek game Star Trek: Away Team in 2001.

Like what you see? Buy us a Coffee!

Privacy Overview

Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001)

Kim rhodes: ensign lyndsay ballard, jetlaya, photos .

Release Dates | Official Sites | Company Credits | Filming & Production | Technical Specs

• Full Cast and Crew
• Release Dates
• Official Sites
• Company Credits
• Filming & Production
• Technical Specs
• Plot Summary
• Plot Keywords
• Parents Guide

Did You Know?

• Crazy Credits
• Alternate Versions
• Connections
• Soundtracks

Photo & Video

• Photo Gallery
• Trailers and Videos
• User Reviews
• User Ratings
• External Reviews
• Metacritic Reviews
• Episode List

Related Items

• External Sites

Related lists from IMDb users

Recently Viewed

Screen Rant

Voyager is why star trek is replacing discovery’s spore drive.

Starfleet is abandoning the spore drive in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, having found a better form of warp travel thanks to the USS Voyager.

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 1, "Red Directive"

• Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 bids farewell to the spore drive, as USS Voyager's pathway drive takes over in the 32nd century.
• Commander Stamets reveals Starfleet's decision to halt spore drive development, making Discovery unique in the Star Trek franchise.
• The USS Voyager-J's pathway drive paves the way for safer and sustainable warp travel in Star Trek's future.

The 32nd century's version of the USS Voyager is the reason that Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is abandoning Starfleet's revolutionary spore drive technology. Since they arrived in the 32nd century in season 3, the USS Discovery crew's one-of-a-kind spore drive has represented a potential replacement for dilithium-reliant warp travel in Star Trek 's future . However, various obstacles, most notably rogue Risan scientist Dr. Ruon Tarka (Shawn Doyle) and his theft of the only working prototype have prevented the spore drive from being rolled out.

In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 1 , "Red Directive", Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) reveals that Starfleet has shuttered further development on the spore drive . Starfleet's decision means that the USS Discovery will remain one-of-a-kind, making season 5 the last outing for Starfleet's spore drive. Instead of taking Discovery's spore drive further, Starfleet are instead forging ahead with the new pathway drive, first trialed by the USS Voyager-J in Star Trek: Discovery season 4 .

Star Trek Is Ditching Discovery's Spore Drive - And That's Good!

Uss voyager is why star trek is quitting discovery’s spore drive, voyager has a history of scientific advancement in starfleet..

In Star Trek: Discovery 's season 4 premiere, "Kobayashi Maru", it was revealed that the USS Voyager-J had been newly fitted with a protoype pathway drive . Federation President Laira Rillak (Chelah Horsdal) was looking for the right captain to command the ship and test out this new technology. Now, Discovery 's season 5 premiere, "Red Directive" reveals that those tests were successful, leading to the pathway drive being the new standard for future Starfleet ships. The rollout is still in the early stages, however, as Captain Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) states that his ship, the USS Antares, doesn't have a pathway drive fitted.

Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) was under consideration to command the USS Voyager-J, but President Rillak didn't believe that she was ready.

It feels appropriate that the USS Voyager is responsible for replacing Star Trek: Discovery 's spore drive, given its namesake's impact on warp travel centuries earlier . Star Trek: Prodigy revealed that, after returning to the Alpha Quadrant, much of the technology the USS Voyager encountered in the Delta Quadrant was adapted by Starfleet. For example, the USS Dauntless, commanded by Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) had a quantum slipstream drive fitted, first encountered in Star Trek: Voyager 's season 4 finale, "Hope and Fear".

10 Ways USS Voyager Changed In Star Trek’s Delta Quadrant

When will we see star trek: discovery's pathway drive in action.

As the USS Discovery is in the middle of a vitally important mission to find the Progenitors' technology to create life, it doesn't seem like there will be much time for a refit. Therefore, it's unlikely that Discovery will be using the pathway drive at any point in Star Trek: Discovery season 5. It's certainly possible that Captain Burnham could receive assistance from a starship like the USS Voyager-J at some later point in Discovery season 5, but it's also possible that the pathway drive was just a tease of things to come in the now- canceled Star Trek: Discovery season 6 .

As it will focus on a batch of new recruits, the Starfleet Academy show feels like an ideal way to reveal more about the pathway drive.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will pick up the baton in the 32nd century, however, making it the most likely candidate for a pathway drive demonstration . As it will focus on a batch of new recruits, the Starfleet Academy show feels like an ideal way to reveal more about the pathway drive. As the cadets learn how a pathway drive works, and how it differs from a more traditional warp drive, so too will Star Trek fans who tune into the YA-oriented show. Starfleet Academy leading the way with a new warp drive replacement would be a fitting way to continue the legacy of Star Trek: Discovery and its spore drive.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is looking to begin production in late summer 2024.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

After being closed for over a hundred years, Starfleet Academy is reopening its doors to those who wish to pursue a career as Starfleet Officers. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will follow a new group of cadets as they come of age, and build friendships, rivalries, and romantic relationships while being threatened by a new adversary that could destroy the Academy and the Federation itself.

Why Star Trek Keeping Standard Warp Travel Is Best

The specifics of how the pathway drive works are still a mystery in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, but it's presumably rooted in traditional warp travel. The spore drive was an incredibly complicated method of travel that required specific calculations and a willing host to navigate the mycelial network . In "Red Directive", Stamets states that, with more time, he could have worked out the issues with navigation, but never got the chance. The grisly fate of the USS Glenn in Discovery season 1 revealed that the slightest miscalculation in spore drive navigation could have devastating consequences for the crew.

Presumably, the pathway drive is a means to achieve warp travel while using less dilithium, to reduce the Federation's reliance on it following the scarcity caused by the Burn. This is therefore a less risky proposition, which will be why Starfleet are now rolling it out following the USS Voyager-J's successful trial. While it may be disappointing for Stamets in Star Trek: Discovery , the pathway drive's potential to make warp travel safer and more sustainable should be something to celebrate.

Star Trek: Discovery streams Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Prodigy season 1 is streaming on Netflix.

Star Trek: Discovery

*Availability in US

Not available

Star Trek: Discovery is an entry in the legendary Sci-Fi franchise, set ten years before the original Star Trek series events. The show centers around Commander Michael Burnham, assigned to the USS Discovery, where the crew attempts to prevent a Klingon war while traveling through the vast reaches of space.

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.

Star Trek: Prodigy

Star Trek: Prodigy is the first TV series in the Star Trek franchise marketed toward children, and one of the few animated series in the franchise. The story follows a group of young aliens who find a stolen Starfleet ship and use it to escape from the Tars Lamora prison colony where they are all held captive. Working together with the help of a holographic Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), the new crew of the USS Protostar must find their way back to the Alpha Quadrant to warn the Federation of the deadly threat that is pursuing them.

• View history

They were warp-capable , appearing to have a technology level likely not dissimilar to that of Starfleet . While not generally a hostile species, they were highly possessive of those they considered their own and would go to great lengths to find and return any member of their society who attempted to flee. ( VOY : " Ashes to Ashes ")

• 1.1 The reanimation process
• 2 Physiology 
• 3 Society and culture
• 4 Encounters with Voyager
• 6.1 Background information
• 6.2 Apocrypha
• 6.3 External link

Method of reproduction [ ]

Their most distinctive characteristic, and perhaps a unique quality to their species, was their method of " reproduction ". Rather than sexual reproduction or other familiar techniques (such as asexual reproduction ), the Kobali added to their population by obtaining the corpses of deceased humanoids, reanimating them and heavily altering their DNA to match that of their fellow Kobali. This ability seemed to indicate they possessed a form of medical technology highly different from and, by virtue of this ability, more advanced than, Starfleet 's or most other humanoid species.

The reanimation process [ ]

Over a period of several months, the DNA of the reanimated lifeform was altered by means of a genetic pathogen that converted most of the alien's DNA into a Kobali protein structure. These biochemical changes affected every part of the body, leaving only trace amounts of the original being's DNA. 

The reanimating process involved more than merely "resurrecting" corpses and altering the DNA and physiology of the (formerly) deceased. They also trained the newly-reanimated to adapt to their culture and language . This was necessary to help acclimate the new Kobali as he or she adjusted to becoming a member of a new race. It also helped ease the shock of new Kobali finding themselves alive again, albeit in a completely different physiology and culture.

Physiology  [ ]

The Kobali were humanoids with grayish skin and hairless heads. Their internal physiology was quite different from that of Humans , as The Doctor discovered. They also possessed unusual tastes in food : for example, meals normally considered delectable by Humans and many humanoids were strongly disliked by Kobali.

More specifically, Kobali physiology differed markedly from that of Humans. They had a six-lobed brain and a binary cardiovascular system . The effect of the genetic pathogen could not be reversed by Starfleet medical technology because there was not enough original DNA present after the alteration to do so. It was, however, possible to change a person's appearance by inaprovaline injections, which needed to be repeated to maintain the lifeform's previous appearance. This only helped for a short time because the Kobali genetic pathogen counteracted the changes.

There was little variety in the Kobali diet; their main food looked like gray paste. When they tasted other foods such as a Jiballian berry salad , it had a metallic flavor to them.

Kobali had a talent for sensing and manipulating wave phenomena. Vyk'tiote , translated roughly as "crumpled dance," seemed to be their specialty.

Society and culture [ ]

Once a new Kobali was revived from a corpse, he or she would be placed within an adoptive family. Because this was their method of reproduction, the adoptive parents treated their new " child " with as much love and compassion that often accompanied sexually-produced offspring or traditionally adopted children. Still, it could take quite some time for a new Kobali to adjust to the shock of being revived, transformed, and placed in a new family.

Reanimating was a most important part of Kobali culture, which could sometimes lead to conflict with other species' burial customs. Reanimation caused extensive memory loss, usually rendering the formerly deceased entirely new beings, with a new and distinct Kobali personality.  Some new Kobali, however, remembered parts of their former life, known to the Kobali as kyn'steya . There were also some who remembered so much of their previous lives that it caused them to escape the Kobali in search of their former lives. Those that did were searched for extensively by other Kobali to return them.

Their medical capabilities were unique and relatively advanced, for they could reanimate those who had been dead for more than two weeks. The Kobali also had a high regard for every life they reanimated and assimilated, which was illustrated in their adage, " Never harbor anger towards those who have brought you death, for they gave you the chance to live again. "

They are quite stubborn. Even if those who retain their memories wish to leave for their old lives, Kobali refuse the request and even hunt them down and hound them relentlessly to wear down their willpower to make them willing to give up.

Encounters with Voyager [ ]

The Kobali made first contact with Starfleet in 2376 via the starship USS Voyager when they were searching for Jhet'leya , a Kobali kyn'steya who escaped her family in search of her former life as Ensign Lyndsay Ballard , who had served aboard Voyager . The Kobali attempted to track down Voyager immediately after she fled from them. This contact did not proceed smoothly, for initially she did not wish to return. Tensions escalated to the point of the Kobali ship opening fire when demanding her return, which Captain Janeway insisted be left up to "Ballard". Eventually, however, she rejoined her Kobali family voluntarily, removing the previously touchy relations between Voyager and the Kobali ship and forging a better friendship and understanding between the two cultures.

This was the only recorded contact that the Kobali had with Starfleet. ( VOY : " Ashes to Ashes ")

• Jhet'leya (formerly Lyndsay Ballard )

Appendices [ ]

Background information [ ].

The Kobali bore a resemblance to Abdon's species , a race seen on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .

The Kobali had been part of Bryan Fuller 's original pitch for " Workforce ", in that the crew (except an away team made up of Chakotay, Tom Paris, and Neelix,) would have originally died in a Titanic -like disaster, only to be revived without their memories, and discovered making a life in Kobali society. ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 2, Issue 2 , p. 84)

Apocrypha [ ]

The Kobali appear in Delta Rising , the second expansion to Star Trek Online , set in the year 2410; their adopted homeworld of Kobali Prime, a moon orbiting a gas giant, is a major "adventure zone" with a variety of missions, much like the Dyson sphere added in Season 8. The Delta Alliance, a coalition formed by the Federation, the Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Republic, arrive on Kobali Prime to find it under siege by a resurgent Vaadwaur Supremacy.

Captain Harry Kim , assigned as Starfleet's liaison to the Kobali, suspects that the Vaadwaur have something other than conquest in mind, and (with the aid of the player) discovers that Kobali Prime was once a Vaadwaur colony world, and that stasis pods containing Vaadwaur soldiers are buried underneath the surface. The Kobali had taken possession of the pods and were using Vaadwaur bodies recovered from the failed pods for their reproductive cycle. The Vaadwaur in turn were attempting to reconquer the planet in order to recover the soldiers and add them to their forces.

During his time with the Kobali, Harry is reunited with Jhet'leya, who has recovered and reanimated the body of the 'original' Harry Kim (blown out into space during a hull breach in " Deadlock "). Much as Jhet'leya did, the other Harry eventually comes to terms with his new existence as "Keten".

The storyline also establishes that the Kobali's bizarre reproductive method was developed after genetic engineering experiments accidentally rendered the entire species sterile.

External link [ ]

• Kobali at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• 3 Ancient humanoid