Chakotay, played by Robert Beltran, has been the sleeper hit of Star Trek's third spin-off series. Cool, passionate and principled, Chakotay is a character with charisma and acres of hinterland for Voyager's writers to explore.

A Native American, Chakotay caused consternation among his family when he decided to apply to join Starfleet, a bid sponsored by Captain Hikaru Sulu. The rift this created was only resolved when his father died, and Chakotay's pride in his ancestry was reasserted. He plumped for the distinctive tattoo on his forehead to celebrate his lineage and culture.

Proving himself a distinguished pilot, Chakotay left Starfleet to join the Maquis when Cardassians threatened to take over his home world. A slightly unconvincing renegade, he was appointed First Officer of Voyager by Captain Janeway to provide the essential bridge between the Starfleet and Maquis crew on the ship. Chakotay is regarded by the remaining Maquis on board Voyager as a trustee of their beliefs, but he has had to compromise to forge a workable and effective relationship with Janeway and the predominantly Starfleet crew. Sadly, much of the politics and tensions of the Maquis / Starfleet relationship on Voyager - with Chakotay at its hub - has so far been left frustratingly unexplored.

Chakotay has an uneasy relationship with Tom Paris - also a one-time member of the Maquis - but it is improving, and the two evidently have a grudging respect for each other. Between the Starfleet-Maquis banter there have been glimmers of a romance between Chakotay and Captain Janeway during season 2 and 3, but this seems to have been shelved (co-inciding, in fact, with the arrival of Seven of Nine on the ship).

Some of the First Officer's more ardent fans have even gone as far as to suggest that Chakotay would be a more effective captain than Janeway, a thought that would no doubt cause the Voyager captain to tie her hair up in a bun, lean on a 24th century bannister and say something vaguely sardonic in a pseudo-Katherine Hepburn fashion.

Key Chakotay episodes: Caretaker, Tattoo, Resolutions, Unity, Scorpion Parts 1 and 2