Neelix's History
Neelix was a primarily Talaxian (also one-eighth Mylean) hybrid who lived in the 24th century. He joined the USS Voyager when it was pulled into the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker's array in 2371. While Voyager made a seven-year journey through the Delta Quadrant, he served as the ship's chef, morale officer, trade negotiator, "ambassador to the Delta Quadrant" and navigator, in addition to forming close personal friendships with many crew members and becoming a valuable member of the stranded Starfleet crew. Commander Chakotay, who was in charge of personnel on the ship, called him "Without a doubt ... the most versatile member of our crew".
Neelix grew up with his parents, his sisters, and his brothers on Rinax, a moon of the Talaxian homeworld, with the most temperate climate in the entire Talaxian system. Behind their house was a large forest, in which he and his sisters would go exploring every day. His favorite sister was always Alixia. He lived near the Rinax marshlands, where the summers were the hottest in the sector.
For two years, Neelix worked with an orbital tether team on Rinax. He didn't actually serve on one, but worked heavily with scale models.
For a number of years, the Haakonians were at war with the Talaxians. At some point, the Talaxian government called on Neelix to serve, but he went to Talax to avoid military service (and anyone refusing to serve during wartime was given a death penalty) because he felt the war was wrong. While he was on Talax in 2356, the Haakonians unleashed the metreon cascade on Rinax whereby in the blink of an eye Rinax was enveloped by a deadly cloud. The moon that once had the most temperate climate in the entire system was turned into one endless, frigid night, killing more than three hundred thousand, including his family. The day after the cascade, Talax surrendered to the Haakonian Order.
After the death of his family and the destruction of his homeworld and what was left under alien rule, Neelix left the system to move on with his life. He served on a mining colony for a while and worked for two years as an engineer's assistant aboard a Trabalian freighter where he became well-versed in warp theory.
Neelix also spent six years aboard a Talaxian garbage scow, a duty that familiarized him with waste management. While Neelix was aboard, the scow once ran into a theta radiation field that disabled the ship's propulsion. He and the other crew members of the scow had no choice but to remain where they were and were barely alive when they were rescued.
Eventually, Neelix would become a merchant and buy his own cargo ship, the Baxial. When he first laid eyes on it, he thought she was ugly, but eventually couldn't imagine life without her.
At some point, Neelix befriended fellow Talaxian Wixiban. Although the two had a run-in with Ubean authorities, Neelix was able to escape thanks to Wixiban, who was unfortunately caught and forced to serve a brutal prison sentence. Neelix also befriended a Talaxian man named Laxeth, and while the two may have conducted some illegitimate business at one time, Laxeth had cleaned up by 2372 and was working as a communications master for a Talaxian convoy.
During his life before Voyager, Neelix also became acquainted with a Kazon-Pommar named Tersa at a Kazon settlement on Sobras. Although Neelix had a "misunderstanding" at a local bar, Tersa would later owe him some "rather large" favors.
At some point, Neelix discovered a debris field near the Ocampa homeworld and claimed it for himself. When he was discovered there in 2371 by the crew of the Starfleet vessel Voyager, Neelix told them that he didn't mind their presence there, as long as they didn't take "his" debris. The Starfleet crew were searching for several missing officers, who Neelix suspected may have been transported by the Caretaker to a city beneath the surface of the Ocampa homeworld. Neelix offered to serve as the crew's guide and took them to the Ocampa homeworld, which was controlled by a Kazon sect led by Jabin. Water being incredibly scarce in the region, Neelix proposed to trade water from Voyager for the release of an Ocampan prisoner named Kes, who could lead the crew to the underground city. Even though the Kazon refused to trade, the crew members were able to escape with Kes, who was actually Neelix's lover. After rescuing the crewmen who were indeed underground, both Neelix and Kes joined Voyager's crew and Neelix was assigned his position as a guide to the Delta Quadrant, since the region was largely unexplored by Starfleet.
Aboard Voyager, Neelix served as a chef, "Special Consultant for the Delta Quadrant", and occasionally as a self-appointed "chief morale officer". Captain Kathryn Janeway gave Neelix the unofficial title of "ambassador" when he proved to have a flair for diplomacy. Neelix could be considered a "renaissance man" for his many duties and qualities.
On one of his first official away missions, in which he prepared for a week studying dilithium geophysics, Neelix's lungs were removed by a Vidiian weapon. There was no way to replicate new lungs for Neelix since Talaxian lungs were too complex to be replicated, because they were attached to his upper spinal column, so The Doctor was forced to replace Neelix's lungs with holographic replicas. The flaw in this plan was that Neelix would not be able to move, and would thus be forced to stay confined in an isotropic restraint until real replacement lungs were available. When the Vidiians who stole Neelix's lungs were found, they were able to devise a way for The Doctor to transplant one of Kes' lungs into Neelix. The procedure was a success.
When Commander Chakotay was comatose, he influenced Neelix to use his medicine wheel in order to plot a safe course for Voyager out of a nebula in which aliens wished to steal the crew's neural energy.
Later that year, Neelix met Ma'Bor Jetrel, the Haakonian scientist who had developed the weapon used to destroy the majority of Neelix's people, including his family. Jetrel informed Neelix that when he had evacuated people from his planet, he had been exposed to the biological weapon and might be dying from metremia. Jetrel claimed that he wanted to help cure Neelix and try to make amends. Jetrel's presence resurrected painful memories for Neelix – not only the horrors of Rinax' destruction, but his shame over dodging the Talaxian draft. Neelix hated Jetrel and questioned him about his ethics and motivations. He told Jetrel about watching Palaxia die and his hope that Jetrel would have to live with his agonizing guilt for a very long time. However, when he discovered Jetrel's experiments in sickbay, Jetrel revealed his true purpose: to try and bring back the victims of the Metreon cascade. Neelix's supposed metrimia had never existed. It was Jetrel who had the disease. His attempt to reconstruct the dead in the Metreon cloud around Rinax ultimately failed and he died of his illness not long after. However, his genuine remorse and efforts to undo his crime earned Neelix's forgiveness.
Neelix almost became a father in 2371. Kes was affected by alien creatures that caused her to become fertile which happens just once in an Ocampa's lifetime, and if she was going to have a baby it needed to be then. Neelix was discomfited by the idea, having never given serious thought to fatherhood, but after talking through the matter with Kes and Tuvok he felt that he might like to be a parent. After the aliens were driven away, Kes decided not to have a baby, and The Doctor stated that this may have been a false alarm brought on by the aliens. Later that year, during a surprise birthday Neelix was giving for Kes, Voyager was disrupted by a spatial anomaly that seemed to change the structure of the ship. Neelix tried to find the bridge but was unsuccessful.
Neelix also became jealous of Tom Paris, who he accused of trying to take Kes away from him. He and Paris got into a fight in the mess hall. Later, they were stranded on a hostile planet. They had to work together to save themselves. After being rescued, they returned to Voyager as friends.
During the second year, Voyager continued its tumultuous journey through Kazon territory. Additionally, Paris decided to leave the ship after a period of malcontent and friction with Janeway and Chakotay. During this time, Neelix had started a daily broadcast, "A Briefing with Neelix", designed to boost morale by highlighting the good things happening on Voyager. Paris' departure upset Neelix greatly and he dedicated part of his next broadcast to defending him. Following the advice of Harry Kim, Neelix began using the program to practice some real journalism and soon found evidence that Paris has been in contact with the Kazon-Nistrim. Janeway hurried to correct him in a closed-door briefing with Tuvok and Chakotay, informing him that Paris' misbehavior was part of an investigation into the suspected espionage. Neelix continued his investigation and discovered that Michael Jonas, one of the former Maquis, was passing information to Seska. Jonas attacked Neelix and was killed when he fell into a plasma fire. Neelix stopped Jonas' sabotage and later interviewed Paris, allowing him to set the record straight for the rest of the crew.
Also in that year, a bizarre occurrence took place. While on an away mission, Tuvok and Neelix were fused into a new being due to a transporter accident with a symbiotic plant. The combined person called himself "Tuvix" and began an independent life. With the skills and personality of both individuals, he became a valuable member of the crew over a period of two weeks, but Tuvok and Neelix's close friends were still upset. The Doctor figured out a way to restore Tuvok and Neelix, but Tuvix refused to consent to the procedure because he enjoyed his existence. In the end, Janeway forced him to undergo the procedure.
The year 2373 brought many adventures to Neelix. When Voyager discovered a planet that two Ferengi, who arrived through an unstable wormhole, were exploiting, Neelix, in disguise as the Grand Proxy, tried to stop them. The plot failed and he was almost burned at the stake with the Ferengi before Voyager beamed them out. Neelix and Kes, while visiting a Nechisti shrine, were struck by an energy bolt that rendered Kes comatose. Janeway, after performing Nechisti rituals, was able to save her.
When Tieran, a despot ruler of Ilari, transferred his mind into Kes, Neelix helped save her when he attached a synaptic stimulator on her neck that drove Tieran from her mind. The incident also resulted in the end of their romantic relationship. Later, Neelix helped resolve a diplomatic snafu with the Tak Tak, a species that communicated with elaborate displays of body language, when Janeway accidentally offended them by putting her hands on her hips. He tried to help Janeway fight off the giant mutated viruses that had infected Voyager but was soon infected himself. He was cured with the rest of the crew when The Doctor developed an antigen.
Neelix became worried that he would be dismissed from the crew when Voyager reached the Nekrit Expanse, the boundary of the space he was familiar with. He frantically tried to find a new occupation for himself, from engineering to security. When the ship stopped at a supply depot, Neelix encountered his old friend and partner-in-crime Wixiban. Wixiban claimed that he had also gone straight and asked for Neelix's help in a trade deal. Neelix agreed so that he could get a map of the Expanse as well as to repay Wixiban for going to prison in his place. However, Wixiban was actually dealing in drugs and the deal went bad when the goods were stolen and one of the criminals killed. The rest of the gang demanded more contraband in exchange for Neelix and Wixiban's lives. Neelix argued with Wixiban over digging themselves even deeper, and the situation was further complicated when Chakotay and Paris were arrested for the criminal's murder. Neelix told Janeway and the head of the station about the crime and made a deal to trap the criminals in exchange for dropping the charges. The plan succeeded, mostly, though Neelix was injured. He offered to leave the ship in disgrace, but Janeway angrily replied that he was part of the family and punished him with two weeks of hard labor instead, an outcome Neelix was quite pleased with.
Neelix's next adventure brought him into conflict with Tuvok. Tuvok found Neelix annoying, and Neelix felt that Tuvok was condescending. Together, they went on a mission to discover why the planet Nezu was being bombarded with asteroids and to rescue a group of scientists. Their shuttle crashed on the planet. They found out from one of the scientists that the bombardment had been created by an enemy of the Nezu and that there was a traitor among them. Neelix not only rescued Tuvok, but discovered who the traitor was. He fixed the carriage that was tethered to an orbital space station so they could escape. After this, Tuvok had a new-found respect for Neelix.
While visiting the Mari, Neelix became interested in a Mari woman named Talli. He intended to ask her out and wore an overpowering cologne made of musk. Talli was killed a few days later by a woman infected with violent thoughts. Neelix was very upset and asked Tuvok to bring justice to her killer.
In 2374, Neelix was killed in a shuttle accident. Seven of Nine brought him back to life by using her nanoprobes. Although his life was saved, Neelix began to question his very existence and his religious beliefs. When a Talaxian dies, they believe they go to the afterlife in the Great Forest. There they are reunited with their relatives and guided to the afterlife. Neelix experienced none of this. He had a vision quest under the guidance of Chakotay, and met his sister Alixia, who told him the afterlife is a lie and his life is worthless. When he had awakened, he decided to kill himself. Chakotay talked him out of it, explaining that visions can mean many things and that his friends on Voyager needed him.
He participated in the battle against the Hirogen when the Voyager crew was being used for a training game in the Hirogen holodeck hunts on Voyager. He first was a resistance fighter who was killed by the Nazi Hirogen. Later, as a Klingon, he rallied the holographic Klingon army to attack the Hirogen.
In his last year on Voyager, he helped find The Doctor, who had been kidnapped and sold by an alien named Gar. He put spices in Gar's food that were incompatible with his physiology, and told him only The Doctor could cure him. This persuaded Gar to give them the location of The Doctor. Neelix, however, had only given him an upset stomach.
He took pity on prisoners that were aboard a prison transport that was damaged in space. The prisoners were housed in a cargo bay made into a prison on Voyager. One of the prisoners, Joleg, told Neelix he was sentenced to die just because he was in the vicinity of a murder and that his race was discriminated against by the Nyrians whose prison ship he was on. But Joleg was only manipulating Neelix. When the time was right, he tried to escape and tried to kill the guards.
Neelix helped free most of the crew from the Quarren workforce. They had been captured and brainwashed into believing that they were willing to work for the Quarren.
Neelix was part of an away team that was held captive by a race whose world was contaminated by an old Earth probe. During the captivity, he helped Paris deliver and save a newborn's life. After he was rescued, he asked Janeway to help the people. Voyager was able to help stop the radiation poisoning and the planet began to regenerate itself.
n 2378, Voyager discovered a group of Talaxians living inside an asteroid located in the Delta Quadrant. Neelix helped them defend themselves against a group of miners that wanted them to leave the ore-rich asteroid. It was also at this time that Captain Janeway offered him a chance to serve as Starfleet's permanent ambassador in the Delta Quadrant. He accepted the position and soon left the starship to live with the other Talaxians inside the asteroid. Neelix stayed with Dexa, a widow, and her son, Brax. He kept the combadge he was issued as a souvenir of his time on Voyager.
However, Neelix also continued to keep in contact with the crew of Voyager. Following his departure, he suggested to Seven of Nine that a picnic might be a suitable option for her third date with Commander Chakotay. Later, Neelix also played a game of kadis-kot with her. During the game, Seven of Nine thanked Neelix for his earlier suggestion. The Talaxian informed Seven of Nine that he was considering making a marriage proposal to Dexa. Their game came to an abrupt end when Seven detected large levels of neutrino emissions on long range sensors and Seven told Neelix that she would contact him at the usual time during the following day.
