Ocampa
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| Species | Ocampa |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Starfleet |
| Posting | Medical assistant, USS Voyager |
| Portrayed by | Jennifer Lien |
| First appearance | "Caretaker, Part II" (Voy) |
Kes /ˈkɛs/ is a character in the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager, played by Jennifer Lien.
She was a regular for the first three seasons, leaving the show in the early season 4 episode "The Gift". She made one guest appearance in the late season 6 episode "Fury".
The character was among several which were originally included in the initial list for Star Trek: Voyager. Described as an alien "Mayfly", the character did not have an assigned gender, but was intended to live for only seven years with obvious aging taking place each season. She was intended to act as a scout for Voyager as it travels through the Delta Quadrant. In expanding the character, it was later suggested that there would be two "Mayflies"; an older one and a younger one. These two "Mayflies" were later separated into the characters known as Kes and Neelix.
A memo on August 17, 1993 by executive producer Jeri Taylor, suggested a superhuman ability for the Mayfly for the first time. The appearance of the character in the pilot "Caretaker" was also suggested in the same memo, as someone caught up in the fighting between two factions - a situation in which Voyager also finds itself. By September 15, the character was confirmed as female.
Kes is an Ocampa, a race native to the Delta Quadrant, with a lifespan of only nine years. In the series pilot, Kes is taken on board the USS Voyager crew with her partner, Neelix, who was responsible for rescuing her from the Kazon. Kes had been a slave of the Kazon after her attempt to escape the tedium of normal Ocampan life. She had also hoped to develop her psionic powers, which her ancestors were rumored to have possessed with great proficiency. The Ocampa's psionic powers were relatively unknown by that time because of the Ocampa lifestyle, which depended solely on the Caretaker for provisions and protection.
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