Chell Chell was a male Bolian who served in both the Maquis and as a provisional member of Starfleet during the late - 24th century . History . The Maquis . After joining the Maquis , Chell served underneath Chakotay on the Maquis raider " Val Jean " until the ship was pulled into the Delta Quadrant by the and later destroyed in 2371 . Chell was then forced to join the crew of the who had also been stranded there . ( ) Life on " Voyager " . Chell , like the majority of the Maquis crew , was given the provisional rank of crewman and served in the operations division . As with many of the former Maquis , he found it difficult adapting to life on board " Voyager " . In particular , he had trouble following Starfleet rules and protocols , and soon developed a reputation for being overly talkative , disruptive , and unreliable , promising to take on tasks which later went undone . As a result of this behavior , he and three other former Maquis crewmembers , Kenneth Dalby , Henley , and Gerron were selected by Commander Chakotay to undergo a rigorous Starfleet Academy - inspired training scenario conducted by Lieutenant Tuvok , with the goal of instilling some discipline . During the training , Chell kept interrupting Tuvok , resulting in him having to run fifty laps around the ship ' s cargo bay . He was also made to degauss one of the ship ' s transporter pad s with a micro - resonator , a 26 - hour task which Tuvok felt would teach him " patience " . The Lieutenant also ordered him to remove a Kazleti pendant he was wearing as it was in breach of Starfleet regulations . Chell initially protested , as it had taken him weeks of study to learn how to make it , but relinquished it in the end . ( ) In 2375 , " Voyager " became trapped in a " subspace sandbar " , causing a number of malfunctions across the ship . With replicator s , lavatories , and sonic shower s offline , Neelix hypothesized it wouldn ' t take long before a serious problem developed , especially among the Bolian crewmembers , of which Chell was one . ( ) Chell , however , only truly became comfortable with the Starfleet members on " Voyager " after an incident involving members of the Maquis were attacked by a mysterious assailant in early - 2377 was cleared up . ( ) Later that year , when B ' Elanna Torres was pregnant with Miral , Chell gave her husband Tom Paris the advice that , according to Bolian beliefs , it would improve the baby ' s disposition if it was born near a warp core . ( ) In late - 2378 , Chell had the assignment of scrubbing plasma conduit s with Q ' s offspring , Q Junior , who had been banished to the ship to learn some discipline . However , Chell had to complete the task on his own when Junior was permitted to take a piloting lesson with Icheb instead . ( ) Later that year , the crew of " Voyager " were permitted shore leave on the planet Ledos . Chell particularly enjoyed the Flame Gardens on the planet , later telling Ensign Harry Kim that he , " " shouldn ' t miss them " " when his turn came . ( ) When Neelix departed the ship towards the end of 2378 , Chell petitioned Captain Janeway to be made the new chef , proposing some interesting additions to the menu , including " Plasma Leek Soup " , " Chicken Warp Core - don Bleu " , and " Red Alert Chili " . Tom Paris later suggested he should add nebula soup to the menu after piloting " Voyager " through a Borg - infested nebula . ( ) Memorable quotes . " " Your report indicates that you are talkative , disruptive and unreliable . You promise to do tasks which then go undone . " " < br > " " Forty laps around the cargo bay . Start running now . " " < br > " " But . . . " " < br > " " Fifty laps . " " < br > " " Maybe he ' ll slip and plunge to his death . " " < br > " " We put our differences aside seven years ago . It ' s ancient history . " " < br > " " Maybe history is repeating itself . " " < br > Appendices . Background information . Chell was played by actor Derek McGrath . McGrath was in Texas filming for a guest role in when he received the call to say he had been given the part of Chell in " Learning Curve " . Then , a few years later , he was offered to reprise his role on the former show and just as he was in Texas filming , he received a call again asking if he would be interested in playing Chell once more for " Repression " , making for a bizarre coincidence . In order to ensure his Bolian makeup was applied in time for shooting , McGrath was required to be on set by 4 . 30am each morning . Because that particular type of makeup was new to the " Voyager " production team , McGrath was asked if he wouldn ' t mind shaving his arms and head to allow easier application . Though he didn ' t mind shaving his arms , McGrath joked , " " No , I don ' t think I ' ll " [ shave my head ] " because there is a life after " Star Trek . " " " As a result , he was given a skull cap to wear instead . When asked if the blue makeup bothered him , McGrath replied , " " They kept discovering things like the fact that it kept coming off on my hands and stayed behind on everything I ' d touched . We ' d do a scene and I ' d have my hands on a railing or another part of the set . Everyone was making fun of my blue face so I began to carry a little sign with me that said , ' Unless your blue joke is both original and clever , please keep it to yourself . " " At one point , he was required to walk across the studio lot in full makeup and a tour of young children passed by . McGrath recalled that most of the group stared at him in amazement , but there was one little boy , " " who was absolutely petrified and could not be calmed down . I tried my best to convince him that it was all just pretend but he wasn ' t having any of that , so I had to leave ! " " ( " Cult Times " magazine , Issue 16 , p . 11 ) Director David Livingston was given the opportunity to improvise upon the script for . " " I got to add a lot of bits into it , " " he said , " " that weren ' t necessarily in the original script . " " This included the scene in which Chell appears for the first time , to which Livingston added a deceptive quality . " " There ' s a three - shot of the three Maquis , and you think that ' s all the people that Tuvok ' s talking to , " " observed the director , " " and then , all of a sudden , this blue guy ' s head comes into the shot and you realize he ' s talking to this fourth guy as well . " " Although Livingston was proud of the shot , Executive Producer Rick Berman felt differently . " " Rick thought it was hokey , which I get accused of sometimes , " " Livingston conceded , " " but I liked it . " " ( " Captains ' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages " , p . 148 ) In a 2011 interview with , McGrath jokingly describes Chell as , " " an exploding blueberry " " . Apocrypha . Chell appears as a selectable crewmember in the video game " " , in which his biography states he was born on Bolarus IX in the year 2341 , which would make him 30 years of age at the time of . It goes on to describe that prior to the episode , he was a Federation civilian on New Cov until the planet was ceded to the Cardassians after the creation of the demilitarized Zone . He then joined the Maquis in 2370 , serving under Chakotay on the raider " Val Jean " . Following the events of , his biography reveals he served on " Voyager " as a systems maintenance technician with no further infractions reported . Chell ' s interests include Kesleki art s & crafts , spoken - word performances and Ancient Bolian mythology . His file also says he has a brother named Koss who resides on Bolarus IX . Chell also appears in the video game " " , in which he is described as having grown up in an upper class family whose attitude towards the poor he resented . He was rejected by Starfleet Academy twice before finally gaining acceptance the third time . However , he left the Academy after only one year because of the amount of work involved . When the Hazard Team is formed by Tuvok in 2376 , Chell applies to join and is accepted , taking on the role of the team ' s field technician . A short way into the story , he is granted a Starfleet commission by Captain Janeway and promoted to the rank of Ensign . Chell is voiced by his " Voyager " actor Derek McGrath . The character is also featured in the " " comic as a member of the Hazard Team . In " " , Chell is reassigned to the following " Voyager " ' s return to the Alpha Quadrant . He plays a role in the Idryll - Attrexian crisis in 2380 , helping to translate ancient Idryll artifacts , and assists in the defense of the " Enterprise " when it is boarded by Idryll invaders . His character is voiced by Boq ' ta actor Andy Milder . In the " " novel " Fire with Fire " Chell is promoted to lieutenant and assigned to the as a technician . There , he operates the bridge engineering station during the ship ' s mission to the Lembatta Cluster , in 2385 .