Will Decker Will Decker was a 23rd century Starfleet officer who in the 2270 s was assigned as captain of the subsequent to James T . Kirk ' s promotion to admiral . Early career . At some point in his Starfleet career , Decker held a posting on the planet Delta IV , where he entered into a romantic relationship with the Deltan Ilia . Decker ultimately chose to end the relationship , however , subsequently leaving Delta IV without saying goodbye to Ilia . The " Enterprise " . Decker was recommended by Kirk to command the refitted USS " Enterprise " following the completion of Kirk ' s legendary five - year mission and subsequent promotion to rear admiral . Despite his recommendation , Kirk conveyed his feelings of envy towards Decker , telling the younger officer his hopes of commanding a starship again in the future . The now - captain Decker went on to oversee the extensive refit of the " Enterprise " throughout its entire eighteen months . In the 2270s , when it became known that an extremely powerful force was en route to Earth , Kirk seized upon the opportunity to convince Admiral Nogura to grant him command of the " Enterprise " in order to intercept the threat . Kirk temporarily downgraded Decker ' s position to executive officer and his rank from captain to commander until the intruder was dealt with , something Decker protested . Decker bluntly expressed his belief that Kirk was only using the emergency to retake command of the " Enterprise " , and that his inexperience with the newly - upgraded vessel could jeopardize the mission . Regardless , Kirk remained adamant that his own experience in dealing with unknown threats was pivotal to their mission , and maintained command . Later , after the unexpected death of Commander Sonak in a transporter accident , Decker was also forced to double as science officer . This assignment proved only temporary , however , when Spock arrived to offer his services . Prior to the " Enterprise " s launch , Decker received the surprising but pleasant news that his former love , Ilia , now a lieutenant , had arrived aboard the " Enterprise " to serve as navigator . When they were alone , Decker apologized to Ilia for leaving her , but Ilia made it clear that she was still harboring negative feelings regarding the unresolved manner in which their relationship ended . They had little time to rekindle their relationship , however , as Ilia was taken from the bridge by a probe from the enemy vessel , reduced to a data stream , and replaced by a probe that duplicated the Deltan officer ' s form . When it was found that the probe not only copied Ilia ' s appearance but her memories as well , Decker was given the assignment of reviving Ilia ' s memories , in an attempt to make contact with her and learn more about the entity approaching Earth , whom the crew had learned called itself " " V ' ger " . " His efforts proved to be a partial success , as , for a moment , Ilia ' s personality was able to surface and explain to Decker that " V ' ger " was seeking an unknown " creator " on Earth . Upon arriving at Earth , " V ' ger " threatened to destroy the planet unless it was allowed to meet with the creator . Decker was among the landing party that also included Kirk , Spock , and Doctor McCoy , which discovered that " V ' ger " was actually an old Earth space probe known as " Voyager 6 " and was seeking to evolve by joining with its creator , namely , a Human . Having lost the captain ' s seat and no longer having Ilia , Decker volunteered to physically join with " V ' ger " . Decker and the Ilia probe disappeared into a blinding source of light , evolving into a new lifeform , leaving for parts unknown . Upon returning to the " Enterprise " , Kirk issued orders that both Decker and Ilia be officially listed as " missing . " ( ) Memorable quotes . " " Admiral Kirk ! Well , we ' re getting a top brass send off . Don ' t worry , we ' ll launch on schedule , even if have to tow her out with our bare hands , right Scotty ? " " " " I ' m sorry , Will . " " " " No , admiral . I don ' t think you ' re sorry . Not one damn bit . I remember when you recommended me for this command . You told me how envious you were , and how much you hoped you ' d find a way to get a starship command again . Well sir , it looks like you found a way . " " " " Report to the bridge , " commander " . Immediately . " " " " Aye , sir . " " " " Permission to speak freely , sir ? " " " " Granted . " " " " Sir , you haven ' t logged a single star hour in two and a half years . That , plus your unfamiliarity with the ship ' s redesign , in my opinion , sir – seriously jeopardizes this mission . " " " " Captain , as your exec , it ' s my " duty " to point out alternatives . " " " " Moving into that cloud , at this time , is an unwarranted gamble . " " " " How do you define unwarranted ? " " " " You asked my opinion , sir . " " " This " is how I define unwarranted ! " " " " You mean this machine wants to physically " join " with a Human ? Is that possible ? " " " " Let ' s find out . " " " " Jim , I want this ! As much as you wanted the " Enterprise " , I want this ! " " Appendices . Background information . The role . Will Decker was played by actor Stephen Collins . Commander Will Decker was to have featured as the " Enterprise " s first officer in " " . Stephen Collins felt that the easiest aspect of being Decker was landing the role . He recalled , " " It seemed pretty simple to me at the time . They had been looking for someone for a while . I was called in for a meeting with Gene while I was in Los Angeles working on a TV show . He thought I fit the overall idea of what they were looking for – a young Kirk in a way , but someone who could still command authority . Several days later , I went to audition for Robert Wise , read a couple of scenes and that was it ! They offered me the part the next day . " " ( " " # 104 , , p . 60 ) Collins felt that an important part of why he was cast in the role of Will Decker was that , unlike many or all of the other candidates for the part , he did not revere " Star Trek " . " " I think it really helped me get the part , " " he said , " " because I walked into the meeting and , you know , it was just a part to me . I mean , I was much more interested in meeting Robert Wise than I was at the thought of doing " Star Trek " . " " Collins auditioned for Wise and , by the time he returned home , not only had Wise decided that Collins was the best applicant for the role but an offer had also been struck up for him to portray the character . ( " A Bold New Enterprise - The Making of " Star Trek : The Motion Picture " " , " " DVD special features ) While playing Will Decker , Stephen Collins often felt as if he was somewhat intruding on the bubble - like atmosphere of the main cast , virtually all of whom had been in ( with the exception of Persis Khambatta as Ilia ) . " " Some of that really helped in terms of the part I played , " " Collins mused , " " because I was supposed to be this outsider who they had to have along on the trip . " " ( " A Bold New Enterprise - The Making of Star Trek : The Motion Picture " , " " DVD special features ) Collins had a particularly bad memory of how the script was written for his role as the " humorless " Decker , " " It was very difficult for me . When I was offered the part of Decker , about two - thirds of the script had been written and that last third was in scenario form . In that last part , Decker really emerged as the story ' s center because he was being groomed to go off with Ilia . But when the film got made , Decker ' s importance was minimized . What I was offered never came to fruition . At the end , I did merge with V ' ger and Ilia , but it didn ' t happen that way in the scenario and it was " very " disappoint to me . " " While Collins , in part , blamed this on the fact that William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were given the ability of script approval , thus taking the focus off Decker and weakening his role . He ended by stating his opinion that " " Decker was not very well - rounded and became sort of two - dimension and uninteresting . [ . . . ] Decker is too stolid and lockjawed , so there wasn ' t much room for humor or real human behavior . As a result , many people think of me that way . " " ( " " # 104 , , p . 59 ) As Matt Decker ' s son . Despite Will Decker having the same surname as Commodore Matt Decker , there is no on - screen evidence indicating any familial relationship between them . Early indications of Decker ' s heritage appeared in the reference guide " " , which stated that Will Decker descends from numerous other Starfleet officers , some of whom are of flag rank . The question of a potential relationship between the two Decker ' s was addressed in the " Star Trek Report " by Susan Sackett in the issue of " " ( # 24 , p . 31 ) , which featured a few fan questions . Sackett ' s printed response was " " There is no mention of Commander Decker ' s parentage anywhere in our script ; however , Gene did have this in mind when he created the character , and I believe you will see certain father - son similarities of character and integrity . " " She repeated this information as a footnote in the reference book , " " , where she identifies Will Decker ' s father as " " Commodore Matt Decker of the episode " . " " It was again reiterated in the issue of " Starlog " ( # 129 , p . 24 ) . StarTrek . com , the official " Star Trek " website , also supports this idea , as it clearly states that Captain Decker is the son of Commodore Matt Decker . For the entry about Will Decker in the , he is identified as the son of Matt Decker . In a background note for this entry , the authors state that Paramount publicity materials for the first movie suggested the existence of this relationship . Legacy . The backstory regarding Will Decker ' s relationship with Lt . Ilia was later " borrowed " for the characters of William T . Riker and Deanna Troi when went into production . Riker duplicated many of Decker ' s character traits , as well , at least in TNG Season 1 . The super - powered Will Decker was rumored to appear in the episode , prior to that episode ' s first airing . ( ) Apocrypha . It was clearly established in the novelization of " " that Will Decker was the son of Commodore Matt Decker . The novel " Ex Machina " gives his mother ' s name as Joan Decker , while " Who ' s Who in Star Trek 1 " calls her Jane Decker . The video game " " calls her Amy Decker . In " The Sorrows of Empire " , his mirror universe counterpart was depicted as being the first officer of the from 2270 to 2277 . After a failed attempt to assassinate on Deneva at the behest of his father Grand Admiral Decker , he was killed using the Tantalus field . Grand Admiral Decker swore vengeance against Spock but he was killed himself shortly afterwards .