Neelix

For the mirror universe counterpart, see Neelix (mirror).

Without a doubt, he's the most versatile member of our crew.Chakotay, 2377

Neelix was a 24th century Talaxian man. While most of Neelix' family originated on Talax, he was raised on Rinax, a moon of Talax. Neelix was only seven-eighths Talaxian, as he had a Mylean great-grandfather. Neelix is perhaps best known as the cook, ambassador and morale officer who helped USS Voyager during their seven-year long journey through the treacherous Delta Quadrant.

Biography

Neelix was born in 2337 on Rinax in the Delta Quadrant's Talax system, a son of Eximar and Axa. Following the slaughter of his entire family by the Haakonians in 2355, Neelix became a spacegoing trader until a fortunate encounter with Voyager in 2371, which saw him become guide, cook and morale officer, and "ambassador" for the Federation starship. Neelix remained aboard until 2377, when he joined with a group of Talaxians thousands of light-years away from Talax. (VOY episode & novelization: Caretaker; VOY episodes: "Parallax", "Jetrel", "Homestead"; VOY novel: Pathways)

Neelix had a job as a swimsuit model for a few years on Talax. (ST reference: Star Trek Cookbook)

Aboard Voyager

Neelix came aboard Voyager in 2371 after he provided the starship with helpful information involving the Caretaker. He soon became an extremely versatile member of the Voyager crew. He would be its head chef (albeit to the dissatisfaction of much of the crew), navigator, ambassador, and morale officer. (VOY episode & novelization: Caretaker)

Later that year, he lost his lungs to the Vidiians. He had to spend several days in sickbay with holographic lungs created by The Doctor. The Vidiians later transplanted a lung from Kes to save Neelix's life. (VOY episode: "Phage")

Also in 2371, he confronted Ma'Bor Jetrel man who responsible for the creation of the Metreon cascade that destroyed Rinax.(VOY episode: "Jetrel")

In 2372 he was temporarily fused with Lieutenant Tuvok to create the figure known as Tuvix. He was instrumental in helping the crew survive on an alien world after the Kazon stole Voyager and marooned the crew. These skills were seen many times throughout his Starfleet career. (VOY episodes: "Tuvix", "Basics, Part I, Part II")

In 2373 he found that he knew little of the space beyond the Nekrit Expanse. He then went directly against Starfleet protocols in order to obtain a map of the Expanse. (VOY episode: "Fair Trade")

Neelix was killed in an incident aboard a shuttle mission. He was brought back by Seven of Nine's nanoprobes after being dead for 18.3 hours. This caused him a great deal of stress because he did not see the afterlife he had been taught about for decades. Commander Chakotay helped him through this experience. (VOY episode: "Mortal Coil")

He later encountered a Talaxian colony deep in the Delta Quadrant and chose to leave Voyager and spend the remainder of his time there in 2377. (VOY episode: "Homestead")

After Voyager

In 2381, B'Elanna Torres met with Neelix after she took a shuttle to the Delta Quadrant to rendezvous with Project Full Circle. By this time, Neelix had married Dexa. While surprised, he was quite happy to see Torres and Miral Paris. (VOY novel: Unworthy)

Later the same year, Neelix reunited with his old friends again when he retrieved the shuttle stolen by Meegan McDonnell and returned it to Voyager. (VOY novel: Children of the Storm)

In early 2410, Rear Admiral Tuvok asked Ambassador Neelix to convince the Hazari to join the fledgling Delta Alliance. Neelix traveled with the Baxial to the Neles system, where he met Hazari representative Y'Dren. Y'Dren presented the Alliance with a list of demands directed at the Benthan Guard. Neelix directed an arriving Alpha Quadrant Alliance captain to contact the Benthan high justicar, who monitored the situation from a Benthan battleship nearby. High Justicar Mathan agreed to some of the terms, convincing the Hazari to join the Delta Alliance.

Part of the contract was that the fugitive criminal Captain N'Keden would be turned over to Benthan authorities. N'Keden's Hazari battleship was lured to the Neles system but he resisted arrest. The Baxial, the AQA vessel and Mathan's ship fought together to subdue N'Keden. He surrendered and was arrested by the Alliance, his ship and crew were spared. (STO - Delta Quadrant mission: "Alliances")

Personal Relationships

Neelix was especially close to the Wildmans, providing care for Naomi while her mother, Samantha, was on duty or on away missions. Samantha deemed Neelix as Naomi's godfather. Naomi would often times confide in Neelix for personal advice or school work. Neelix provided assistance to Janeway at virtually any opportunity. This included first contact situations, navigational hazards, and the occasional proverbial splash of water when the Captain would overwork herself.