Star Trek: Top 10 Ensigns In Starfleet

Ensign’s are the bright-eyed young officers that really remind Star Trek fans how inspiring Starfleet can be.

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Even though captains are always the beloved leaders in most every Star Trek installment, every member of the crew plays a part in each show’s charm. Despite the amount of “red shirt” memes that follow the show, some of its most compelling characters are the low-ranking ensigns.

They are the bright-eyed young officers that really remind fans how inspiring Starfleet can be. That, or their struggles can be some of the most heartbreaking, because their hope can turn sour in the most tragic ways. Also, they can be some of the most surprising heroes, which make for some great one-off episodes. Here are the top 10 ensigns in Starfleet.

10 Pavel Chekov

While TOS had a running rotations of red shirts to sacrifice to weekly enemies, the show changed its tune when appointing the fan-loved Russian Pavel Chekov. Granted, they gave him a yellow shirt to cement the fact he was sticking around.

Obsessed with his own heritage and a Swiss Army Knife of a talented human, Chekov joined TOS in season 2 and became a beloved cast-member. The original ensign just doing his best to keep the bridge together, Chekov got in a lot of trouble but was also a great help.

9 Sito Jaxa

Fans only knew Sito Jaxa for one episode (or two, if one counts her unfortunate time with Red Squad) but she was an upstanding ensign the second she joined official Starfleet ranks. Her Academy days saw her following the orders of older students, letting them influence her. However, by the time she’s on the Enterprise, she’s a strong-willed officer determined to make up for her mistakes.

The fate of Ensign Sito was tragic and effected the entire crew, but at least the young Bajoran will forever be known as a brave Starfleet hero.

8 Sylvia Tilly

In the midst of the very serious Discovery, Ensign Sylvia Tilly is a breath of fresh air (even if she can talk faster than any human anyone’s ever met). Also, she’s not just some ensign happy enough to be there. Though she is psyched about her position on the Discovery, it’s awesome to see her aspirations and goals for commanding a vessel.

One day Tilly will be a fantastic, energetic captain (who will definitely need someone logical like a Saru or Spock to reign her energy in). Ensign Tilly is better than Captain Killy any day.

7 Ezri Dax

When Ezri first met Ben Sisko and even contemplated joining DS9, she was but a mostly trained counselor with the rank of ensign, who just happened to be the new host of their friend, Dax.

Ezri was a strong force for compassion in the middle of the heavy and brutal Dominion War. It’s no surprise they quickly promoted her and let her help the soldiers coping with the battles. However, it was Ensign Dax that proved her worth and place on DS9, so she deserves ample credit for that.

6 Tom Paris

Captain Janeway took a chance on Tom Paris, and it was a risk that (mostly) panned out. Trapped in the Delta Quadrant, Tom struggled for awhile with being a regimented Starfleet officer after being a shunned outcast for so long. With time, though, he eventually proved himself, had some missteps, and then proved himself again.

A fabulous pilot, a holodeck creative, and a compassionate guy, Tom Paris ended up being one of the top ensigns on Voyager. Ignoring his small attempts to jump ship, of course.

5 Ro Laren

As Starfleet began to become suspicious of Cardassia again, they started involving themselves in Cardassian, Bajoran, and Maquis conflicts. This led to great additions to the ship, like Ensign Ro Laren.

A demoted officer who got in trouble for having biased feelings on the Bajoran situation, she highlighted the problem with The Federation’s stance of neutrality on the situation. Because, in reality, neutrality was not the most moral option. Ro Laren was a spitfire character with loud, open opinions who fans love but saw little of. Everyone deserved much more Ro Laren.

4 Travis Mayweather

Bridge ensign and pilot for the first U.S.S. Enterprise, Travis Mayweather was a rare character, a spacer from birth, growing up entirely on a freighter captained by his father. When he did get moments to shine, he was a young officer much more capable than people sometimes gave him credit. He saved his crew many times with his flying skills and his cool head in tough situations.

If only he got more screen time and character growth, what an even better person he could’ve become. Maybe one day the captain of his own starship, even.

3 Samantha Wildman

Out in the Delta Quadrant, Ensign Samantha Wildman did her best to not only keep Voyager going, but also had the tough struggle of raising a daughter so far from home. Several times her life was at risk, but she protected Naomi best she could and made sure she had a well-rounded education (as much as any kid could have on a starship without a teacher).

While she wasn’t the most influential ensign, she still accomplished so much. She and her daughter both became beloved parts of the crew.

2 Nog

In all of DS9, Nog had one of the best and most complex character arcs. He starts a childhood delinquent, stealing things and causing trouble. Over the years, though, he grows into a more responsible and compassionate young man who joins Starfleet to find a new life fore himself.

While at the academy, he becomes a regimented student and one of the best in his class (excluding Red Squad). When the Dominion War started, he became an integral part of the U.S.S. Defiant, a young ensign with a bright future.

1 Harry Kim

The ultimate ensign, Harry Kim spent seven years of working diligently and going above and beyond, only to never get a promotion. Some fans may say it’s because Voyager can’t promote everyone, but Tom Paris got promoted, demoted, and promoted. If she wanted to Janeway definitely could have given him a promotion after one of the times he saved the ship.

Since he can’t exactly quit or transfer, though, it’s not like there’s much he can do about the situation. Fans just must tip their hats to the long-suffering ensign always doing his best for no reward.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/star-trek-top-ensigns-starfleet/