Commander Chakotay (Robert Beltran) from Star Trek: Voyager knew a member of the Sulu family, but the show never answered the question of which one. Chakotay was the USS Voyager’s First Officer and a former Maquis rebel who made a complicated addition to Star Trek: Voyager‘s main cast. As one of the few Indigenous characters the franchise had ever depicted, Chakotay should have been landmark representation for Star Trek. However, thanks to a fraudulent Native consultant, Voyager mishandled his heritage badly. Despite this, some of the more engaging episodes involving Chakotay were focused on his Indigenous roots.
One such episode, Voyager season 2, episode 9, “Tattoo,” dealt with Chakotay learning that his ancestors were connected to an alien race from the Delta Quadrant. However, the episode also contained a surprising Easter egg to Star Trek: The Original Series‘ cast of characters. “Tattoo” included several flashbacks to Chakotay’s adolescence, centering on a trip he took with his father, Kolopak (Henry Darrow) when he was 15 years old. During the trip, Chakotay revealed to Kolopak that he had been accepted to Starfleet Academy and had been sponsored by a “Captain Sulu” although no first name was ever given.
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TOS’s Sulu Might Have Sponsered Chakotay At Starfleet Academy
It is possible that either the legendary Hikaru Sulu (George Takei) or his daughter, Demora (Jacqueline Kim) were the ones who sponsored Chakotay at Starfleet Academy. Although Hikaru Sulu would have been 107 when Chakotay was 15, it’s entirely plausible that he was still alive. Star Trek has established that people live longer in the future, even going so far as to depict a 137-year-old Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy (DeForest Kelley) in Star Trek: TNG. If Bones could live that long and still be an Admiral, Sulu could also have worked into his old age.
However, given what a distinguished officer Sulu was, he was likely promoted to Admiral in his later career, meaning Chakotay’s mention of a “Captain Sulu” wouldn’t fit. A more probable explanation is that Chakotay’s Captain Sulu was Demora Sulu, who appeared in Star Trek Generations. Demora was established to have followed her father into Starfleet, even taking on his old position at the helm of the USS Enterprise-B. Although Demora hasn’t been seen in the franchise since Generations, she could have continued to have an impressive career in Starfleet and possibly made Captain somewhere down the line.
Voyager’s “Captain Sulu” Reference Is More Likely A Hikaru Sulu Descendant
Although the idea of Chakotay knowing Star Trek: TOS‘s Hikaru Sulu is an interesting one, Voyager‘s “Captain Sulu” reference being about Demora or one of her descendants makes more sense. This is backed up by the fact that Chakotay says he got Captain Sulu to sponsor him because the Captain was one of the officers sent to patrol the Cardassian Border and the Demilitarized Zone between Federation and Cardassian space. Even if Sulu was still alive and hadn’t been promoted to Admiral at 107, it’s very unlikely that Starfleet would have sent him to patrol the border at his age.
Demora would have been in her 40s when Chakotay was applying for the Academy and more than capable of both border patrols or sponsorship of a young officer. However, it’s also possible that Demora had children, and although they would likely be no older than their early 20s, there could very well have been a young Captain Sulu out on the border willing to use their family name to help other young people join Starfleet. The fact that Star Trek: Voyager never clarified who Chakotay was talking about when he referenced “Captain Sulu” means that the possibilities are endless.
Star Trek: Voyager
- Release Date
- May 23, 1995
- Cast
- Kate Mulgrew , Robert Beltran , Roxann Dawson , Jennifer Lien , Robert Duncan McNeill , Ethan Phillips , Robert Picardo , Tim Russ , Garrett Wang , Jeri Ryan
- Seasons
- 7
- Story By
- Rick Berman, Michael Piller, Jeri Taylor
- Writers
- Rick Berman , Michael Piller , Jeri Taylor
- Network
- UPN
- Streaming Service(s)
- Paramount+
- Franchise(s)
- Star Trek
- Directors
- David Livingston , Winrich Kolbe , Allan Kroeker , Michael Vejar
- Showrunner
- Michael Piller , Jeri Taylor , Brannon Braga , Kenneth Biller
