All 5 Star Trek: Voyager Character Promotions After Janeway’s Ship Returned To Earth

Not every member of the Voyager crew has been revealed to have risen through Starfleet's ranks. For example, Robert Duncan McNeill's Tom Paris is still a Lieutenant in his Star Trek: Lower Decks cameo. However, Lower Decks is set just two years after Voyager's finale. So, it's understandable that he hadn't yet achieved the rank of lieutenant commander. Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) also appeared in Lower Decks, with the animated comedy's final season playfully riffing on Kim's lengthy stretch as an ensign. Unfortunately, Lieutenant Kim wasn't the main version of the character - nor were the other Ensign Kim variants.

Captain Kathryn Janeway Became Vice Admiral Janeway

Star Trek has shown 2 versions of Admiral Janeway

Kathryn Janeway spends most of her onscreen appearances with four rank pips on her collar - signifying her position as a Starfleet captain. The USS Voyager was Janeway's first command, and it could not have gone more wrong. As such, she spent almost her entire career as a captain stranded in the Delta Quadrant, trying to make the decades-long trip home. Thankfully, she managed to bring Voyager home in just seven years thanks to various shortcuts - including a future version of herself from an alternate timeline. Captain Janeway was rewarded upon arrival home with a promotion to Vice Admiral.

The Starfleet brass were so impressed with Janeway's efforts as a captain that they seemingly allowed her to skip the ranks of commodore and rear admiral, which traditionally come before vice admiral in the organization's hierarchy. After all, it wasn't her fault that the Caretaker (Basil Langton) pulled her ship so far across the galaxy, and she thrived in a scenario that would have defeated many of her peers. She can first be glimpsed as a vice admiral in 2002's Star Trek Nemesis, but Admiral Janeway has a far more pivotal role as part of the Star Trek: Prodigy cast.

Commander Chakotay Became Captain Chakotay

Chakotay took command of the USS Protostar before Star Trek: Prodigy

Chakotay (Robert Beltran) left Starfleet before the events of Star Trek: Voyager to join the Maquis. After his ship was then pulled into the Badlands just before Janeway's vessel, he was forced to join the crew of Mulgrew's character when his own mode of transportation was destroyed. Because Janeway's original first officer was killed by the Caretaker's reckless actions, Voyager's captain was left with a difficult decision to make but ultimately bestowed a field commission of commander upon Chakotay. He was a lieutenant commander when he left for the Maquis, so this was actually a promotion for Beltran's character.

Chakotay could easily have been stripped of his rank when he returned to Earth for defecting to the Maquis. Thankfully, just like they did with Janeway, Starfleet recognized the importance of his contributions to bringing the crew home safely. Chakotay was promoted to captain, despite spending his tenure as Voyager's first officer under a provisional rank, as a result of Janeway's field promotion. He returns to the saga along with Janeway in Star Trek: Prodigy, as the captain of the USS Protostar. Just like the USS Voyager, the Protostar was one of the most advanced ships in the fleet.

Lt. Commander Tuvok Became Captain Tuvok

Tuvok was promoted twice after Star Trek: Voyager

Tuvok (Tim Russ) was passed over for promotion in Star Trek: Voyager's pilot episode. Despite being next in line for the position of first officer, Chakotay's installation as the ship's second-in-command kept Tuvok as a Lieutenant, and he remained head of security instead. In Star Trek: Voyager season 4, Tuvok is finally promoted to lieutenant commander, and he retains that rank for the rest of the show. Later points in the Star Trek timeline prove Tuvok continued to rise through the ranks. He's a commander in Star Trek: Lower Decks, and a captain in Star Trek: Picard.

Starfleet Officers' Traditional Career Path

• Ensign
• Lieutenant (Junior Grade)
• Lieutenant
• Lieutenant Commander
• Commander
• Captain
• Commodore
• Rear Admiral
• Vice Admiral
• Admiral
• Fleet Admiral

Tuvok had a taste of what it was like to be captain long before he took command of his ship in Star Trek: Picard. In Star Trek: Voyager season 2, episode 25, "Resolutions," Russ' character is temporarily thrust into the captain's chair when both Janeway and Chakotay are left behind on a planet that protects them both from an otherwise terminal illness. Tuvok's cold and ruthlessly logical command style immediately creates friction among Voyager's crew. Presumably, his experience then and since helped him be a better captain when his time came again.

Seven Of Nine Became Captain Seven Of Nine

Jeri Ryan's Star Trek character began her Starfleet career as a Commander

Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) had the goal of attending Starfleet Academy once Voyager reached Earth. Sadly, her application was continually rejected because of her Borg past. Because of this, she joined the Fenris Rangers instead - an independent and controversial police force that ultimately did more good than harm. However, her actions eventually earned her entrance into the Starfleet between Star Trek: Picard seasons 2 and 3. She skipped the ranks of ensign, both grades of lieutenant, and lieutenant commander. She served as the USS Titan's first officer as Commander Annika Hansen under Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick).

Following Captain Shaw's death in Star Trek: Picard season 3, Seven was promoted to the USS Titan's captain. She was able to ditch her human name (which had been forced upon her by Shaw) and was henceforth referred to as Captain Seven. Similarly, the Titan was also rebranded as the USS Enterprise-G. So, Ryan's character didn't just become the captain of any old ship, but the next vessel to fly under the most famous name in Starfleet history.

Lt. Junior Grade B’Elanna Torres Became A Full Lieutenant

Star Trek: Prodigy teased B'Elenna's post-voyager life in a very subtle way

Like Chakotay, Roxann Dawson's B'Elanna Torres was given a field promotion by Captain Janeway. B'Elanna's time as a Maquis freedom fighter was preceded by a failed spell at Starfleet Academy, but she was pardoned and allowed to retain her once-provisional rank of lieutenant junior grade when Voyager reached Earth. Dawson is the only member of the main Voyager cast yet to return in Star Trek's modern era, so it's difficult to tell how B'Elanna's career went. However, there is a very small canonical detail in Star Trek: Prodigy that reveals her promotion to a senior lieutenant.

In Star Trek: Prodigy season 1, episode 19, "Supernova Part 1," B'Elanna's name can be briefly spotted on a console aboard the USS Dauntless. The moment not only confirms she is the ship's chief engineer but also that she has been promoted since Voyager's finale. Dawson has pretty much retired from acting and has focused on directing in recent years, and the franchise has always been careful not to recast characters unless strictly necessary. So, this could be the closest fans will ever get to finding out what B'Elanna's post-Star Trek: Voyager life is like.